Walkers, joggers, skaters and cyclists experienced unusual freedom – and quiet – in Brussels on Sunday, where, for the most part, the city’s residents left their cars at home.
Brussels is one of 1,667 cities across the continent to designate at least one day this week as car-free — part of European Mobility Week.
Participating cities design their own events, which are sponsored by the European Commission and coordinated by campaign groups focused on urban environmental issues, including Eurocities and Energie-Cités.
Some places, like Almada in Portugal, were reported to be handing out free public transport tickets to citizens who handed in recyclable materials as part of an initiative dubbed “Trips for trash.”
The focus in most areas, however, has been cutting down on the amount of time people spend driving private cars. Authorities in Budapest, for example, pledged to hold three car-free days, including Tuesday, Sept. 22, which is the day that European authorities recommend cities use to restrict vehicle-use.
Still, keeping large swaths of a city like Budapest car-free on a weekday may be a tall order.
According to Greg Spencer, a blogger in Budapest writing in support of urban cycling events, only parts of the route that a group of organized bicyclists intend to take on Tuesday are slated to be cordoned off from other road users, meaning that participants still will be riding in weekday rush hour traffic.
Source: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/car-free-days-in-europe-mostly/
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13 comments:
I think it's cool that Europe has car free days. I like the whole idea that everyone participates in this event. It serves for good exercise and environmental issues! Hopefully Hawai'i will soon have car free days as well.
I think having Car-Free days are not only beneficial to a person's health but also to the environment. There will be less exhaust pollution and people will get some exercise. I think people are able to coordinate their workdays around this car-free thing so it should be encouraged more often. Also, I liked the "Trips for Trash" idea because sometimes people do need transportation for days like that, and so they get a free ride without taking their cars out. Good for the environment and good for their wallets! They don't have to fill up gas for the day and they're also recycling(:
I think that this is a good idea. I feel it is nessecary to cut down the use of cars and to contribute to a better enviorment. If Hawaii decides to do this too, it will set the bar for other states to begin to do their part in solving some enviormental issues.
This is a positive baby step towards a cleaner,happier earth.
I think having car-free days is a great idea--and being rewarded for it with "trips for trash" is cool. That would be an awesome idea for Hawaii because we complain a lot about cars and gas. So why don't we just get a good exercise and forget about the cars for a week?
Car free days in Europe is a great idea, something ignorant Americans would never dare think of. Imagine if we all could do this, even if it was just once a month I believe the world will see amazing changes. Let’s do something about it, let’s make the change!
This is a very good environmental issue that is being adressed. This is a very good and interesting way to lessen the pollution thats our cars produce. Hopefull Hawaii follows up on this.
i think car free days are pretty interesting! Hawai'i should have a car free day so it'll help out the environment and it will help our health!it can be a step toward a better Hawai'i(:
This is an excellent idea! If we all took time to stop using an energy demanding item, be they cars or televisions, we would be doing wonders for the ecosystem. I recently took part in a VERB activity, where my family turned off all of our electronic devices and spent the entire day fishing and playing at the park. It was an intruiging experience. I became more aware of my environment and how much time I spend indoors.
I think that this is a good idea, for everyone to not use cars for one day.
but i don't think that would work in hawaii or even america because everyone is so dependent on their cars.
Awesome! Europe is going fossil fuel free! =) I hope they start to recycle more. I went there over spring break and there were almost no recycle bins. I was super sad but I couldn't bring home bottles to recycle! We definitely should have events like that... although we don't have many mass transit systems here in Hilo.
I think car free days is a smart idea! I think Hawaii should start participating in this event! Maybe it will help us live a more happy healthy environment too!
It's a good idea, but in hawaii or even the u.s., would be hard. A lot of people are too attached to their cars, especially the people that work far away from home.
I think that this is a great idea. It would be great if Hawaii would have one of these car-free days because our island is so small anyways. We could also benefit from it through exercising. Lets do a car-free day!
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