Originally Posted by
gerv
On that note, anyone have any refinements? Better way to pitch the challenge? Web sites, organizations would could promote it??
As I mentioned ... do a Google search on all the Bike to Work days and Walk to Work days. Then contact those organisations. Work together with existing organisations.
When this one is doing one thing and that one is doing another thing, they all lose their appeal.
But perhaps if you could get several to work together and have a coordinated car-free day once a month. As wipekitty says, a Bike to Work day or week is OK, but doesn't promote or encourage long-term change.
These events also lose their appeal when they exclude people. For example, some Walk to Work days don't want anything to do with cyclists or rollerbladers ... and some Bike to Work days don't want anything to do with pedestrians or people who ride the bus. It's all good. The best events include anyone opting for human-powered transportation of whatever sort ... or public transportation.
One good Walk to Work day encouraged people to walk all the way to work, or if they were some distance away, they encouraged people to take the bus or drive halfway and walk the rest. They were inclusive of everyone ... encouraging everyone to get out and do at least some walking. (No negativity or shaming techniques.) That organisation set up a website where people could post pictures and comments of their walk, and many did. And many mentioned that this was the first time they had ever walked all or partway to work ... they hadn't really thought about doing it before. For some who walked partway to work, it was an eye opening experience that they could make the trip half-bus/half-walk and get some exercise and get to work in about the same length of time.
You mentioned Facebook ... have you done a search to see if there is a Facebook page for something like this already?