SoylentNews

Paris Will Ban Cars for One Day

posted by CoolHand on Monday August 31 2015, @02:59PM   
from the living-luddite dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Most major cities now have their own versions of open streets events that temporarily transform streets into car-free freeways for the day. Some of these have gotten quite expansive: Each Sunday, Bogóta famously closes about 80 miles of streets. But Paris is hoping to best everyone next month by closing a large, contained portion of its urban core to all cars for a day.

La Journeé sans Voiture will be Sunday, September 27 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, limiting cars from a substantial area that includes much of the city’s center, around landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, and two major parks. (And, yes, of course, certain exceptions will be made for emergencies.)

Paris may be onto something here--NYC can be at its loveliest after a large snowfall stops all traffic. The concept could also be generalized to other frenetic activities in modern civilization, such as "No TV Day" or "Day Without Social Media."

---

Original Submission

• ''make a major event out of it'' ''make a major event out of it'' (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2015, @06:50PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2015, @06:50PM (#230361)

  October 10 - Orange County, California [ocregister.com]

  "Re:Imagine Garden Grove by Day and by Night".
  [...]
  there is a planned one-mile stretch of streets dedicated to re-imaging Garden Grove without cars.

  “This year’s event will once again showcase the community as a lively, bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly civic center,” said Mayor Bao Nguyen. “It’s a true celebration of our city’s cultural diversity, strengths, and future.”
  [...]
  from about 3 to 6 p.m., the event will be similar to last year’s: there will be workshops, action sports, live music, interactive games, and an open house by the Garden Grove fire and police departments.

  Historic Main Street, Acacia Parkway between Nelson and Seventh streets, Civic Center Park, and the Pacific Electric Right-of-Way will be the hub.

  Once the sun goes down, the event will become a block party, with a Mardi Gras-like parade, live music, and DJs.

  .
  More like Paris:
  Swedish capital to go car free in September [thelocal.se]

  Cars will be banned from Stockholm city centre for the first time on September 19th as the Swedish capital takes part in a Europe-wide initiative to encourage greener travel.
  [...]
  the Swedish capital will join at least five other towns and cities taking part in the project. Piteå and Lycksele in northern Sweden, Täby in central Sweden and Älmhult and Varberg in the south have also signed up to go car free for a day in the autumn, with other municipalities also organizing green initiatives during the campaign week.

  All roads will be closed in Stockholm's Gamla Stan (Old Town), which is already partly pedestrianized, as well as many of the busy shopping streets around the central station, and several of the city's major bridges.
  [...]
  Last month a global index looking at cycling in urban environments named Malmö in southern Sweden the sixth most bike-friendly city in the world [thelocal.se] while criticizing Stockholm and Gothenburg for not pushing themselves far enough in terms of innovation or political will.

  The 20 Most Bike-Friendly Cities in the World (with a weird graphic) [alternet.org]

  -- gewg_

  Parent

• Re:''make a major event out of it'' (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2015, @01:52AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2015, @01:52AM (#230598)

  If they want old europe back, they need to legalize man+girl marraige.

  Parent