Take Over a Parking Spot For World Car-Free Day

World Car-Free Day is upon us. What are you doing to celebrate? The World Carfree Network is helping spread the message about revitalizing our towns and cities to help create a sustainable future.

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, Streets Are For People! will be celebrating with a meter party along Queen St. W. from Bathurst to Trinity Bellwoods Park. Join in and park your bike in a spot normally reserved for a car. Pay for a parking spot and then do whatever you choose with that space for the allotted time. What could you do with a six-foot by 12-foot parking space? The space is yours for only $2 an hour.

Other local participants will include Bells on Bloor, Bike Pirates, Samba Elegua, the Kensington Horns, the New Kings and Mr. Something Something.

There will be a critical mass bike ride leaving Bloor and Spadina at 4 p.m. and a parade leaving Trinity Bellwoods Park at 5 p.m.

On Monday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. a section of Yonge St. near Dundas will be closed to motorized traffic for Car Free Day as the streets open to bikes and pedestrians.

Park your SUV and walk, take a bicycle, e-bike or public transit instead on Monday to give credence to other forms of transportation. Hey, if 87-year-old Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion is able to ride a bike in to work on Monday in honour of Car Free Day, so can you.

There are lots of other activities planned across the country and worldwide. What are you doing locally to make a difference?

Photo by Roger Cullman.