Get on your bike - Car Free Day gives communities glimpse of a world without traffic
Posted on in Cycles News , Outdoor News
This Thursday, September 22nd is World Car Free Day, an annual worldwide event that gives communities the chance to imagine a life without traffic. It also encourages families to come together and enjoy a range of outdoor community celebrations with the focus on play and neighbourhood get-togethers - with no cars, vans or lorries spoiling the fun.
Car Free Day is also an opportunity to encourage people to try travelling on two wheels instead of four. The event is being marked in several areas when streets in some locations will be transformed into Play Streets as part of the local authorities’ environment and sustainability strategies.
In London, folding bike firm Brompton’s using a dilapidated former petrol station as a hub for cyclists. The petrol station will be open between 8am-8pm, to offer test rides and track facilities for both standard and electric bikes.
In Scotland, initiatives like Street Play in Glasgow will enable residents to close roads to host parties and workshops between 22nd and 25th September. Edinburgh Council will be shutting Waverley Bridge for special events, and more than 200 Kidical mass rides are planned across Europe, which protect children cycling in areas without segregated bike lanes through temporary measures.
And on Tyneside, an office park is offering members of its community the option of a carefree commute.
Quorum Park’s new fleet of e-bikes can be hired on a daily or weekly basis, and members of its workplace community that cycle to work on World Car Free Day this Thursday will be rewarded with a “range of incentives”.
The park is one of a number of businesses across the borough to be working with North Tyneside Council Climate Change Action group to encourage people to ditch their car for the day as part of the annual initiative, or perhaps longer.