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Tommy Blog DC Car Free Day: September 18th
Tommy Blog DC Car Free Day: September 18th | DC Car Free Day: September 18th |
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| Written by Neha Bhatt | |
| Tuesday, 10 July 2007 | |
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Picture it. It's another humdrum weekday morning. You drag yourself out of bed to tackle the day. As you're walking over to the bus stop to catch the 96 or 32 or 54 or any other line, you notice, it's kind of quiet this morning. When you get to the stop you notice a whole bunch of your neighbors already waiting for the bus. The bus arrives kind of close to schedule. You all ride together chatting up last night's Nat's game. Or maybe you dust off the old rollerblades or hop on your bike to roll into work. Hey, where are the gangs of cars normally snaking through the streets by this time? And where did all these other bikers come from? You usually only see a few tucked between long lanes of cars, but today there seem to be hundreds. How luxurious to have an entire lane to travel on. If you're like so many DC'ers, you live where you work - or close enough to walk over. You notice a lot more people out today. Is there another festival in town? Outside of the twilight zone, can scenes like these ever be experienced in a city like Washington, D.C.? What if we all pledged to leave our cars at home on the same day? We still go to work, do our errands, and drop in on happy hours or dinner with friends. We still go to school, pick up kids, and swing by the store. It's business as usual, but we all choose a travel option that does not involve the car. If we all did this at the same time what would it be like? We have the chance to find out. The DC Council just designated September 18th as "DC Car Free Day." Residents and commuters are invited to use any travel mode other than driving to get around for the day. The idea is to have a day's reprieve from congestion, smog, noise pollution and the isolation that comes from traveling alone in a car. What are your ideas to make DC Car Free Day a successful and special day to remember? Share your comments... One person has commented on this article. (1) Untitled 2007-07-11 00:24:24 I must commend the DC city council and Councilman Wells for taking this progressive step toward making DC a more livable city and promoting transportation alternatives with their associated benefits. I'm involved in a project that is planning an event to celebrate Car Free Day and promote alternative transportation, aptly named, CarFree DC. We're at www.carfreedc.info although there won't be much information until permitting details are finalized. Interested parties can contact me directly at william.fish at gmail. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 July 2007 ) |
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