Background
Cities all over the world are focusing on the problem of how to meet the mobility demands of their citizens in a sustainable way. There is a growing recognition that solutions that rely too heavily on private car use come with serious drawbacks — congestion, pollution, unequal access, and a poorer quality of life for citizens. However, many people use cars because an attractive alternative is not available. Change will require people working together, considering their own behaviour, and voicing their support for new ways of doing things. Car Free Day aims to contribute to the debate by getting people thinking about the issues, giving people a feel for their cities with fewer cars on the streets, and promoting public transport, cycling and walking. Nothing can be solved in one day; but a day of entertainment, education and discussion can remind people what is at stake, and build support for change.
Car Free Day 2002
Each year, Car Free Day takes place on September 22nd, whatever day that happens to be. In 2002, the event took place on a Sunday, giving the opportunity to emphasise the family and leisure aspects of cities and towns.
Irish cities and towns which took part in Car Free Day 2002 were:
Cork, Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire, Galway, Greystones, Kilkenny, Limerick, Portlaoise, Waterford, Newcastle West.
As with previous events, streets were reserved for pedestrians and non-car transport, and entertainment and educational events organised for the day. In all cases, alternative routes were well marked and no traffic disruption was expected. Additional bus services were available in many cities and in most cases were free for at least part of the day. Car Free Day enjoys strong public support, and Sunday 22 September was a celebratory, family oriented day, with many special heritage, entertainment and leisure activities taking place.
The Issues
People in Ireland know only too well about some of the disadvantages of excessive dependence on the car for urban mobility: all major cities and towns are congested, journey times are getting longer and more stressful, pollution in cities remains a concern, and road accident levels are a major worry. Of course, no one suggests that cars should be banned from cities altogether, certainly not while alternative modes of transport are insufficient to provide acceptable alternatives. That is why a process of public debate is necessary, and why awareness of our options for urban mobility in the future is so important.
Events involved awareness raising and entertainment activities as well as initiatives run in partnership with public transport providers to encourage increased use of existing services. All activities were designed to attract people into the areas closed to private cars to give them a taste of car free urban spaces and to encourage debate on future options for urban mobility.
Internationally, Car Free Day 2002 was the biggest event ever, and the 2001 record of over 1,000 participating cities was easily broken. Many major UK cities joined for the first time, as did many central and eastern European cities. Many cities were already moving beyond a day and joining European Mobility Week, with a full week of themed days promoting sustainable alternatives for future urban mobility.
Car Free Day in Previous Years
On Friday 22 September 2000, 760 European towns jointly organised the “In town, without my car!” event. The success of this pan-European event, organised for the first time in France in 1998, highlights everyone’s willingness to cooperate in developing a greater respect for the environment in an urban context. In May 2000, Mr Noel Dempsey T.D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government, signed the European Car Free Day pledge and Ireland participated in European Car Free Day on 22 September 2000 for the first time. A total of five centres were involved: Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Portlaoise.
Irish participation grew to ten cities and towns in 2001: Cork, Dublin City Centre, Limerick, Waterford, Saggart, Galway, Portlaoise, Clonmel, Greystones and Sligo.
Many successful events took place across the country, making Car Free Day a truly national event where cities and towns were handed back to people for a day to be enjoyed in peace and quiet. The awareness raising function of Car Free Day was seen through significant media coverage, with debate taking place in newspapers and on radio stations both nationally and locally.
Independent research on attitudes towards European Car Free Day in Ireland in 2001, commissioned by Sustainable Energy Ireland and carried out by Lansdowne Market Research, found that 81% of residents in participating Irish cities and towns would be in favour of the initiative being repeated at least once a year. Key findings of the research included:
- 82% reported being either very concerned (29%) or fairly concerned (53%) with the negative impact caused by using cars in towns and cities.
- An average of 92% surveyed said that the current patterns of car use in towns are a problem.
- 93% of those surveyed in Dublin city centre said that current car use patterns are a problem.
- 87% of those surveyed said that car use must be limited to improve the freedom of movement in cities and towns.
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