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The campaign is hosted by the Active Transportation Alliance and our regional transit agencies, RTA, Pace, Metra and CTA.
i'm wondering if the transit agencies be doing anything besides business-as-usual on those days? it'd be really encouraging to see the CTA offer "penny rides" on car-free day... but i'm not holding my breath.
Chicagoland Car Free Day is a regional campaign encouraging people to leave their cars at home on Sept. 22 and explore getting around by biking, walking and transit.
but only on the 22nd, mmkay folks?
...i find it frustrating that this campaign a) assumes everyone has a car; and b) only wants them to leave it at home for one day. ah well, perhaps i'm not the target audience.
And this why we love you Lauren!
The Penny Ride idea is genius and perhaps can be brought up next year with the CTA as I don't imagine they will go for it it's first year out and so close to the actual date. And perhaps the same can be done for Pace suburban buses and a drastically reduced rate for Metra riders. I won't hold my breath on Metra though.
In the same, I would love to see the ATA maybe step it up next year if it takes off and offer travel suggestions for people who choose to leave their cars behind outside of the city like bike routes and such. For people where I live, when they get out of their cars, I am fearful that they will know how to get to work safely otherwise. Perhaps suggested bike routes to local buses and trains within the communities that ATA had embedded themselves in kind of like the RTA trip planner or something.
lauren sailor said:The campaign is hosted by the Active Transportation Alliance and our regional transit agencies, RTA, Pace, Metra and CTA.
i'm wondering if the transit agencies be doing anything besides business-as-usual on those days? it'd be really encouraging to see the CTA offer "penny rides" on car-free day... but i'm not holding my breath. Chicagoland Car Free Day is a regional campaign encouraging people to leave their cars at home on Sept. 22 and explore getting around by biking, walking and transit.
but only on the 22nd, mmkay folks?
...i find it frustrating that this campaign a) assumes everyone has a car; and b) only wants them to leave it at home for one day. ah well, perhaps i'm not the target audience.
thanks for the thoughtful reply, ethan, as well as some insight into the process. hopefully this 9/22 will be a huge success so that future car-free days can offer even more incentives! (and you did assume correctly: i have been car-free for 24 years now...)
and gin, your addition of pledging to go "(or remain!)" car-free was spot-on.
no problem, but caribou coffee???
One easy tweak I used in my email to promote this was to pledge to go (or remain!) car-free on that day. Also, Break the Gridlock will be sponsoring a One Million Less Cars rally that evening, ending in the Bike Winter Kick-Off Meeting. Some details below, more to follow. Would love some help from Chainlinkers to make this a great event. Thanks to Active Trans for getting the car-free day campaign rolling in our region. Even if you are car-free, make the pledge to show support.
***
BTG will be hosting a rally/networking/self-propelled action, "One Million Less Cars!" at Daley Plaza, starting at 5:30pm, leaving at 6pm, ending at the Bike Winter Kick-Off Meeting. The idea is that we spread love and thanks for walkers, bikers, skaters, bladers, transit users etc downtown. . . . and encourage the drivers hitting the highway ramps to join us next time. Details to follow. Let me know if you want to help organize.
With one week to go, we are 400 pledges away from our first-year goal of 1,000!
If you haven't, please take the pledge to go (or remain) car-free next Tuesday. You'll get a coupon for $1 off a large drink at Caribou Coffee and the satisfaction of doing good for yourself and the environment.
Tell your friends to do it, too!
www.chicagolandcarfree.org
And check out the cool article in yesterday's Sun-Times...great mention of Break the Gridlock's big plans!
http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1769153,CST-NWS-ride14b...
Thanks,
Ethan, with Active Trans
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