Carbusters » Action Report

WCD: Prague

carbusters — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:45:11 +0000

World Carfree Network in Prague celebrated WCD twice this year. First during Prague Bike Ride on September 20, organised by our network’s member organisation Auto*Mat. The bike ride was complemented by a street festival and was the biggest in Czech history (5,000 participants) with the longest route ever (13,5km). WCN and Carbusters were presented by an information stall with two people wearing hungry cars’ outfits. The second celebration took place on September 22. More than 200 people came to join the celebratory party which took place in an underground club; it included four live bands, an eco-action fashion show, a juggling fire show, and presentations from local NGOs.

Lenka Kukurova

www.worldcarfree.net

WCD: Vienna

carbusters — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:13:27 +0000

For the third year in a row, IG Fahrrad organised a public event on one of the busiest roads in Vienna’s town centre. The “Ringstrasse” or “Ring” road encircles the Old Town with four lanes for cars and two tram-lines, while pedestrians and cyclists have to share a small alleyway. On WCD IG Fahrrad, along with a platform of other environmental organisations made a demonstration of how pleasant this road could be without cars. Several hundred people enjoyed a picnic on the ring road, while thousands of passersby got the point. The city government, car drivers and car lobbies were not amused to see this happen during weekday rush hour traffic, but it attracted media attention. The event was a big success!

Alec Hager

lobby.ig-fahrrad.org

WCD: Hanoi

carbusters — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:01:07 +0000

As Vietnam’s economy booms, motorised transport continues to grow, as does the poor air quality in cities. Facing this choking evolution, the Green Transport campaign was born to promote daily use of sustainable transportation in Hanoi. It started with a Green Transport Day in May 2008 which had nearly 3,600 participants. Building on this success, Green Transport Week was created. This year’s theme “Get to work differently” encouraged employees to cycle, walk or take the bus to work. Some friendly competition among workplaces pushed offices to cut their CO2 emissions. The campaign will continue until green transport becomes a sustainable pattern in the city.

Tran Thi Hai

www.vidothi.org

WCD: Munich

carbusters — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:43:09 +0000

Munich’s first WCD in 2000 was organised by Green City who presented the Streetlife Festival, a big carfree street party on one of city’s main boulevards. The second Streetlife Festival took place in September this year and again received a huge attendance, with more than 150,000 visitors. People enjoyed live music, food and, most importantly, were informed about sustainable transportation and innovative use of urban spaces. In addition, Green City participated in a PARK(ing) DAY, where 16 separate parking areas in downtown Munich were transformed into public green spaces where passersby could relax, have a drink or a snack and chat. The message was clear: Less cars make room for more green in Munich!

Johannes Link

www.greencity.de

WCD: Curitiba

carbusters — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:43:06 +0000

Curitiba had a fast paced, but carfree September. The Brazilian city started out on the right foot, with a Commuter’s Challenge. This year’s edition of the multimodal race included a helicopter and a car, but the bicycle once again came out the fastest, cheapest and cleanest. The Federal University hosted a week-long seminar for participants ranging from architects to anthropologists, discussing the city’s mobility issues. On weekends, Grupo Transporte Humano supported free bike workshops in public parks and private garages. Entertainment on WCD included live music at different crossroads, a fashion parade by Curitiba Cycle Chic and, of course, a successful Critical Mass ride.

Luis Patricio

transportehumano.com.br

WCD: Irpin

carbusters — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:45:20 +0000

This year World Carfree Day (WCD) was a success in the Ukraine. More people on city streets found out about the carfree movement for the first time. The city of Irpin had its main street closed to cars and the main square was alive with music and informative speeches. Local officials were active in preparations. The event received nearly 20 different forms of media coverage. Citizens of Irpin came to enjoy the entertainment, as well as join a cycling parade around the town, showing their delight in a town centre free of cars, by waving their hands and applauding. The parade finished in a forest where a cross-country competition was to begin. Several other Ukrainian towns held WCD events including Kyiv, Lviv and Sumy.

Yuliya Mucluk

www.climateinfo.org.ua

WCD: Mumbai

carbusters — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:59:16 +0000

Over 100 citizens participated in a “cycle rally” organised by the Young Environmentalists on the first ever WCD in Mumbai, India. Over 300 other people came to join in the action with the flyers: Come Fight Climate Change. It was a roaring success. According to Elsie Gabriel, the founder of Young Environmentalists: “We are doing this as a symbolic gesture and do not expect cars to disappear from roads in our first year but hope this will be a beginning of options like car pool, public transport and non-motorised transport here in Mumbai.” Hopefully the authorities will make more footpaths and cycle lane provisions in the near future, thus respecting the pedestrians and people who want to cycle in the future!

Elsie Gabriel

youngenvironmentalists.com

WCD: San Sebastián

carbusters — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:16:10 +0000

In recognition of WCD 2009, Kalapie, the Urban Cyclists Association of San Sebastián, as in previous years, offered snacks, bicycle bells, red lights and reflective bracelets on the bikeway during this warm September day to all urban cyclists. The objective was to promote cycling as a means of daily transport and reduce car use. There was food and drink on offer to the cyclists, and there were information stalls about cycling in the city. San Sebastián is a city in Spain which has the lowest percentage of cyclists, not amounting to more than 3%. One of the biggest problems the city faces in increasing its number of bike users is the struggle to secure safe connections for cyclists to enter and exit the city.

www.kalapie.org

Bike Station Expansion Victory

carbusters — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:52:03 +0000

Cyclists in Berkeley, US , were celebrating after the city council approved to help the expansion of a downtown bike park station. The anouncement coming at the end of last year, is a critical hurdle overcome for activists, who now have hopes set on a June deadline for the next set of project funding.

After a 10-year planning process and a protracted lobbying campaign, the council agreed with what bicyclists have said for years: that promoting bicycling requires safe, guarded facilities to prevent bike theft and a convenient location for cycling support. The council now joins the BART District (metro), in funding the project.

The new station will allow parking for over 300 bicycles, at least quadrupling the capacity of the long-jammed existing station.

The project introduces bicycle safety and skills training, rentals, repairs, an advice service from staff morning to night, and mechanicson standby. There will also be space for small businesses, advocacy groups, meetings and cultural events. Research shows that new cyclists are most at risk for injury, fatality, and simply discouragement, and thus social and cultural support are critical for protecting and retaining new cyclists.

As Berkeley embarks on its Climate Action Plan, promoting bicycling at the downtown hub makes environmental sense, and will lead to less use of cars. A BART study shows many rail patrons will switch to bicycling from driving the new facility opens.

by Jason Meggs

Bike it! For a Fitter Future

carbusters — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:24:51 +0000

Obesity is a growing problem in the United Kingdom and worryingly it is spreading to a young generation. One third of 10 and 11-year-old children in Bournemouth and Poole, Southeast UK are either overweight or obese. Today the school run accounts for 20% of all cars on the road and obesity levels in the UK are on the rise with 25% of 11 to 15-year-old children being overweight or obese.

To tackle this driving to school syndrome, Sustrans, National Health Service (NHS) Bournemouth and Poole joined forces to get cars off the roads and children onto their bikes.

Sustrans “Bike It” project encourages pupils across the region to choose two wheels instead of four for the journey to school. This is a nationwide scheme, managed by sustainable transport non-profit organisation Sustrans.

The project was officially launched on March 27, in Bournemouth. 340 pupils took part in the “Keep it Wheel” bike week, which inspired an entire school to saddle up and see for themselves how easy cycling can be. For the next four years “Bike It” will aim to treble the levels of cycling across all participating schools.

The “Bike It” project works with over 400 schools and over 60,000 children and young people across England and Wales. Nationally the project is funded by Cycling England, and the cycle industry through the Bike Hub, locally the scheme is also supported by the local NHS trust and Poole Borough Council.

by Ed Howarth, picture by Jason Falconer