What exactly is a Car Free Sunday/Ciclovia?
What are the major benefits of holding Car Free Sundays?
What is the first step in organizing a Car Free Sunday in my community?
How long is an average route for a Car Free Sunday?
What are the costs associated with holding a Car Free Sunday?
Do you have any tips and suggestions that will help in the planning of a Car Free Sunday?
What exactly is a Car Free Sunday/Ciclovia? How is it different from the International Car Free Day (September 22) or other similar street events?
Car Free Sundays are an event where the streets are opened to people and closed to cars. People can enjoy the open streets as if they were large linear paved parks, jogging, walking, biking, skating, dancing, and all sorts of fun and creative activities happen during Car Free Sundays. The concept originated in Bogota, Colombia in the late 1970s where it is called the Ciclovia (Cycle way) and has inspired many cities around the world to develop similar programs.
Car Free Sundays differ from the International Car Free Day that falls yearly on September 22nd. Different cities and communities take part in International Car Free Day in various ways, such as events, information booths and other activities that promote the move away from a car-dominated society and the move toward more sustainable transportation.
On the other hand Car Free Sundays/Ciclovias are days where certain streets are open to the public for physical activity and recreation. It is also important to note that Car Free Sundays do not involve the complete disruption of traffic as with other street closures such as for marathons, street festivals, or critical mass rides. During Car Free Sundays, cars still get access to pass through certain intersections, with volunteers or staff directing both human and vehicle traffic.
What are the major benefits of holding Car Free Sundays?
Car Free Sundays allow people of all ages, ethnicities, and income levels to come out of their homes to have fun, meet their neighbours, and be physically active. Car Free Sundays promote healthier living by making exercise a part of a weekly lifestyle and in the process help fight obesity and many chronic diseases.
In addition to health benefits, Car Free Sundays also help strengthen communities by an increasing the level of social interaction. Typically, streets that get opened run between several neighbourhoods which allow residents to explore areas of their city they would not normally see.
Car Free Sundays are also a great way to build awareness of the importance of creating more people-oriented cities. It is amazing to experience the change that takes place when you eliminate cars from a street. Car Free Sundays allow people to actually see what is possible in their city and builds an engaged audience on issues related to active transportation, public spaces and building healthier communities.
Local businesses also benefit from Car Free Sundays due to increased foot traffic by their stores during hours that would normally be considered ‘slow’. This largely depends on the route of the Car Free Sunday.
What is the first step in organizing a Car Free Sunday in my community?
The first step is always initiative. Finding local groups/organizations or individuals with the same mindset and goals is the most important action to take in organizing a Car Free Sunday. Following that, it is a matter of communication and promotion to city officials/councilors that can then get the ball rolling on implementing a Car Free Sunday. Municipal Departments such as Transportation or Parks and Recreation are excellent starting points. After that, building a broad alliance of groups such as local NGOs, community groups, local businesses and local police that support the initiative is important.
Of course, this might be a difficult task in cities plagued by political stagnation, but as always information is one of the best tools to fight skepticism. It is for this reason that we have created this page dedicated to Car Free Sundays. We hope that this website can be used as a tool to help promote Car Free Sundays around the world using examples, videos, pictures, and stories of successful events from around the world. Walk and Bike for Life strongly values the importance of local champions and it is often these individuals who are those leading the way. Our aim is to spread the word, inform, and support individuals looking to start Car Free Sundays in their cities, and use this page as a starting point to achieve their goals.
How long is an average route for a Car Free Sunday?
Since Car Free Sundays vary city to city, it is difficult to give an average distance of the event. The route length will often cater to the population of the city and the popularity of the event. For example, the Ciclovia in Bogota, Columbia is currently seen as the model for Car Free Sundays. It opens about 120 kilometres of streets to the public, but when the event started in the mid 1970s only about 12 kilometres were part of the Ciclovia. As Car Free Sundays become more popular the route length, duration, and frequency of the event tend to increase.
What are the costs associated with holding a Car Free Sunday?
Once again, the costs will vary city to city, but one of the most important aspects of Car Free Sundays is that the infrastructure for the event is already in place. The streets are already there, it is just a matter of redirecting traffic and promoting the event (something most cities are very accustomed to doing when other festivals/events take place). Therefore, the main costs of Car Free Sundays are operational costs.
For specific cost details it is best to contact an organizer from a city already holding a Car Free Sunday. Contact information for organizers of different cities can be found on in the city profiles of our webpage.
Who organizes and runs Car Free Sundays?
Car Free Sundays are organized by different groups in different cities. Some Car Free Sundays are organized by various municipal departments, and some are run by local not for profits. In New York, the Summer Streets initiative is run by the Department of Transportation; meanwhile Chicago’s Open Streets was the result of a collaboration of several local community groups wanting to see a Car Free Day event run in their city. One common denominator for all Car Free Sundays is the importance of getting a broad alliance of groups involved and recruiting volunteers. Volunteers can help fill many tasks for the event, and for such a fun event, it is typically not too difficult to find people that want to help.
Do you have any other tips and suggestions that will help in the planning of a Car Free Sunday?
Throughout the years we have gained significant knowledge from our partners and contacts in terms of best practices and procedures for Car Free Sundays. Here are a few pointers we picked up:
- Run the first event as a “pilot project”
One popular suggestion from organizers is to first run a Car Free Sunday as a pilot project, with the aim of running it three times in its inaugural year. The first day will always have its quips and troubles. The second day will have most of the problems ironed out. By the third day the public loves the event and the momentum grows for the next year. An advantage of running the first Car Free Sunday as a pilot is that you are able to create more buy-in from the community if it is not seen as a permanent change. It is important to communicate that it is a “trial” to see how it functions. Past experience shows that once a city does it once they get hooked!
- Involve as many groups/stakeholders as possible
- Local businesses and community groups
Make sure to get groups or individuals that will be affected by the route involved in the event. Since the events typically occur on Sundays, it is important to talk to local groups or businesses that are affected to make them aware of the event and hopefully get them on board. These can involve churches, restaurants, taxi drivers, etc.
- Local police
We have learned that working closely with the Police is extremely important to run a successful Car Free Sunday. The Police are not only helpful in guiding traffic and keeping order during the event, but they are very well suited to help with many other operational procedures. They also have a lot of experience with planning similar events, especially with ones that divert motorized traffic in the city. The Police can also help provide volunteers, bike units, and extra staff for the event.
- Local Politicians and senior government officials
While the police are an excellent resource for operational functions, politicians and senior government officials are excellent in the decision making process. They are extremely important in getting Car Free Sundays off the ground and running. They can help gather support and with their support, make the entire process run much smoother.
- Marketing, marketing, marketing
One of the most important tips is having an effective communication and marketing plan. Even if you are very organized and have an excellent route, if people don’t know about your event, then nobody will show up. Whether you are working with a big budget or a very modest one, there are many new tools these days to help get the word out, in many cases for free. Social networking websites, blogs, and message boards can all be utilized to help with the advertising campaign.
Contacting the media prior to the event is an extremely important way to gain and sustain support for Car Free Sundays. If the initial buzz is a positive one, it will continue to create more positive feedback. Negative press can do a lot of harm for such events before anyone even gets a chance to go and experience a Car Free Sunday. Generally these are exactly the types of events that the media love as the people really tell the story. Invite the media to come to the Car Free Sunday and see all the happy people.
