Get involved in Car Free Day 2022

Car Free Day takes place every year to encourage us to reimagine our transport system.

It is an opportunity to think about how we move around and what changes we need to make. Cities and towns around the world close a street and create parklets and people avoid using their cars, to help us imagine what it would be like to have more space to enjoy without having to watch your back for cars.

Anyone can get involved, with actions big and small being planned for this year’s Car Free Day on 22 September.

It’s a chance for you to shine a light on the transport problems in your area. Transport is Scotland’s biggest source of climate wrecking emissions, air pollution causes 2,500 premature deaths in Scotland each year and most of the country has inaccessible, infrequent and expensive bus networks – so we need to improve how we get around..

For Car Free Day 2022, let’s reimagine what transport could look like and make it happen for a day, to show what is possible. We need everyone to get involved so that what we come up with works for everyone.

To get some ideas of what you could do on the day, think about how you want your local transport system to improve.

Could you encourage everyone who drives their children to the local school to walk, scoot or cycle for a day?
Could you make signs to stop engine idling?
Could you run a community bus for a day?
Transform a parking space into something else, like a community cafe, or a pop-up garden?
Design your ideal bus timetable or route?
Draw a redesign of your street where there would be enough room for people with wheelchairs and prams?
Decorate your local bus stop?
Hand out fliers about clean transport?

We need to get our politicians involved too. Email your council and ask them if a road will be closed locally as part of Car Free Day, 22nd September.

You can find all the information you need to email your councillors here: www.writetothem.com

If you want to learn more or get involved, or if you have an amazing idea but you need some help with it, email me at gthomson@foe.scot