World cities drive change on Car-Free Day

A global event which aims to shift cars off the road and encourage people onto alternative transport modes takes place on Sunday. World Car-Free Day 2019 gives metropolitan areas from Bangkok, Thailand to Reykjavik, Iceland, the opportunity to stop traffic and open their streets to pedestrians and cyclists. While some cities, including Vancouver, Canada and Berlin, Germany, hold car-free days at other times of the year, the weekend will see a number of events. In Washington, DC, it is hosted by Commut
September 20, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

A global event which aims to shift cars off the road and encourage people onto alternative transport modes takes place on Sunday.

World Car-Free Day 2019 gives metropolitan areas from Bangkok, Thailand to Reykjavik, Iceland, the opportunity to stop traffic and open their streets to pedestrians and cyclists. While some cities, including Vancouver, Canada and Berlin, Germany, hold car-free days at other times of the year, the weekend will see a number of events.

In Washington, DC, it is hosted by Commuter Connections and will be celebrated over three days, with people encouraged to “take the pledge, even if you’re already car free”.

Paris is also celebrating on Sunday, but the French capital’s first four arrondissements are already closed to automobile traffic one Sunday per month.

In the UK, large areas of central London will be closed, with 6352 Santander Cycles free to hire across the whole of the capital for 24 hours as part of the ‘Reimagine’ festival.

However, a new white paper - Kicking the UK’s car habit - reveals that 44% of the British population claim ‘nothing’ would induce them to give up their private car. Commissioned by 5957 Ito World, the research finds that just 5% of those who say they could be persuaded to do so cited ‘concern for the environment’ as a reason for ditching their car.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The real case for driverless mobility
    May 13, 2024
    What will automated driving really be good for? Bern Grush of Urban Robotics Foundation offers his thoughts on the big issues around its implementation - and suggests a newly-published book might point the way forward
    Read More
  • Put ‘people, not cars' first in transport systems, says UN Environment chief
    October 21, 2016
    Lack of investment in safe walking and cycling infrastructure not only contributes to the deaths of millions of people in traffic accidents on unsafe roads and poorly designed roadways, but also overlooks a great opportunity to boost the fight against climate change, according to a new UN Environment report. In Global Outlook on Walking and Cycling, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) claims that greater investment in such infrastructure could help save millions of lives and reduce emissions of global w
    Read More
  • Substantial savings from smarter street lighting
    February 25, 2015
    As authorities strive to reduce expenditure and carbon emissions, Colin Sowman looks at some of the smart ways of managing street lighting while containing costs and maintaining safety. Street lighting can account for 40% of an authority’s energy consumption. So, faced with the need to reduce outgoings, some authorities are looking for smart ways of managing street lighting or even turning off swathes of street lights in the small hours. Back in 2008 the E-street Initiative report concluded that authorities
    Read More
  • Cable cars come of age in trans-continental expansion
    April 30, 2015
    David Crawford explores a high-level option of public transport. Sharing its origin with that of ski lifts at winter sports resorts in the European Alps, urban aerial cable transport is attracting growing interest as a low-footprint, low-energy alternative to conventional public transport that can swoop over ground-level traffic congestion.
    Read More

Highlighted Content