ro-monster

Interesting news article:
Paris Will Go Car-Free for One Day.

Roody

That is very exciting news. It surprises me that there hasn't been more discussion of this, as we even had an earlier thread about it:
https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...-free-day.html

The other huge news in the carfree world was the enactment of a radically new transportation policy in Los Angeles that is definitely not car-centric:
https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...icy-shift.html

It's weird to me that actual pro-carfree issues are unpopular on this forum, while anti-car issues get a lot more play. I think it's extremely important to note the positive. We may not all live in mega-cities like Paris and LA, but what they do there can be very influential all over the world.

ro-monster

It is great to see cities changing policy to favor non-motorized transporation and public transit. Definitely a step in the right direction.

B. Carfree

Didn't Paris limit driving last year because of severe smog? Ah, yes they did. Paris car ban imposed after pollution hits high - BBC News

Perhaps that created the opening politically to bring the powers that be around to the notion that the city will be limiting cars at various points from here out, so they might as well get in front of it.

CliffordK

Now all they have to do is to try it on a MONDAY.

Roody

Not only politically but in practical terms it may have opened the way. In the previous partial car ban, they got good co-operation, few complaints, and people still got around. I imagine that living with blinding pollution and paralyzing congestion gets old after a while.

Roody

Maybe, if the Sunday one is successful and popular. For now, doing something is better than doing nothing in this case, I believe.

CliffordK

I'm not sure what it is like in France.

One-Day strikes are not uncommon in Italy, so suddenly all the buses shut down, or all the trains shut down (or both) for a day. Then the next day life returns to normal.

Tony Marley

Jakarta, Indonesia does that every Sunday morning (with rare exceptions) from 06h00 - 11h00 in the central business district.

Roody

Is that city-wide as Paris is planning?

Roody

I hope somebody remembers to post here with reports of how the Paris Carfree Day goes, in case I miss the news that day.

Ekdog

The mayor of Paris, Anne (Ana) Hidalgo, was born here in Andalusia. She has stood up against cults such as Scientology, and she has banned diesel engines in Paris, while promoting bike sharing. I wish she would come back to Spain. We could do with someone like her.

Paris bans diesels (and restricts traffic) | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Roody

Mayors seem to be the ones to watch for when it comes to progress towards a more carfree world.

You're pretty close...you should hop on a train and go to Paris for Carfree Day.

cooker

Hopefully this thread will gain more momentum than one on the same topic last week

Ekdog

That would be great. If only I could...

gerv 

We are having our third annual car-free Sunday in Des Moines this fall. It isn't the full city, just a 20 block area but it is one of the main drags... and it is a very popular event. I recall working one of the car roadblocks on the event and remarked how most people seemed to accept a radical event.

I was and continue to be amazed at how much traction cities have around the idea of alternate transportation. These type of events really give you a feel about how much space we've given to cars. Their absence is a cause for celebration!!

I'm also amazed at how the bicycle revolution is being fuelled mainly by cities, who see the bicycle and foot traffic as the means to a liveable future.

Roody

I really like this message. In my city, although we don't have any carfree events, we do have a long-standing smart commute thing which encourages carfree commuting. I think about 300 new bike commuters participated this year, and bus ridership also saw an uptick during Smart Commute Week.

The mayor and city planners often stress that more carfree transportation is a big part of future development and progress. They say that attracting and retaining young workers and young families is vital to a small Midwestern city, and that attractive carfree facilities will help with this, as will infill development and the creation of vibrant residential and commercial districts. (Of course, on a bad note they also grant huge tax rebates to companies that want to build parking ramps for their employees....)

I love the suburbs, country and the wilderness, but cities will be home to larger and larger numbers of people, especially in poorer countries. So Mayors can be the heroes of the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Pe%C3%B1alosa
London's Mayor Boris Johnson: Raising the Bar for Biking | BikeNYC
Paris aims to become a world cycling capital! - Paris.fr

gerv 

I'm guessing there are a number of motivating factors driving this kind of thinking. But a common idea is that they future belongs to hi-tech service industries. Those industries typically need well-educated and often younger employees. If you city isn't on-track to bring those people in, the hi-tech industries are already at a disadvantage.

I do know that Des Moines was losing young people at an alarming rate 20 years ago when I first arrived. Nowadays, it's turned around. The city has affordable housing, a vibrant youth culture and not-coincidentally a good bike culture. It compares well with cities like Omaha and is generally ranked highly nationally.

You won't get there forcusing oon big box stores, malls and suburban growth.