|
|
|
Articles
|
| DC Car Free Day on Sept. 18 |
VOICE writes, "DC Car Free Day on Sept. 18
BY BEN WEINSTEIN
The D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian Fenty are asking residents and commuters to take a train, bus, bike or walk to work next Tuesday, the first annual DC Car Free Day.
Earlier this summer, Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells proposed the event to council members, who unanimously supported the resolution. On Sept. 18, the District will join a handful of other U.S. cities with designated car-free days."
|
“We chose to live in D.C. because of the amazing opportunities this city provides and I am working hard to ensure that we have the greatest number of choices when it comes to how we move around our neighborhoods,” Wells said in a release. “My challenge to you is to take the very easy step of pledging to be car free on Sept. 18.”
During his council campaign, Wells promised to ditch his car if elected. Now, the first-term councilman can be seen most days riding his bike to work.
Wells spokesman Charles Allen said DC Car Free Day shouldn't be viewed as "anti-car," but as a chance for residents and commuters to rediscover the city by stepping out of the isolation of their cars. Riding a bike, walking or skating to work is also a healthier, oftentimes faster routine than driving, he added.
Pushing alternative forms of transportation and building bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure is a big part of Wells' agenda. He's advocating dedicated bike paths on roadways — not just paint-marked strips — and more bike-storage and rental facilities.
DC Car Free Day organizers say Washington's a great city to travel around without a car. The DC Car Free Day Web site notes that the District's public-transportation system is the second most used in the country — New York City is first — and the city has the highest "walk-to-work rating."
Allen noted that this week the mayor took the No. 52 bus, instead of his SUV, to Cardozo High School to announce DC Car Free Day.
Other U.S. cities with car-free days include Madison, Wis., Oakland, Calif., Carrboro, N.C., Freemont, Wash., and Portland, Ore., according to Wells' office, which also noted that more than 1,500 cities around the world promote car-free events.
DC Car Free Day is an offshoot of World Carfree Day, which organizers call a "celebration of cities and public life, free from the noise, stress and pollution of cars." It's an annual event falling on Sept. 22 "to showcase alternatives to the automobile," according to World Carfree Network's Web site.
A celebration for World Car Free Day will be held this Saturday on the 1500 block of 17th Street, NW.
BOX
More information on DC Car Free Day can be found at www.carfreedc.info. Wells invites car-free participants to pledge online at www.tommywells.org.
|
Posted on Sep 12, 2007 20:50pm.
(Return)
|
|
|
|
|
Categories
|
|
|
