Car free day is celebrated worldwide on 22nd September. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate how pleasant life could be if there were fewer vehicles on the roads, and more people feeling safe to walk and cycle. In Amsterdam a couple of years ago on Car Free Day entire streets were closed to traffic, and people dined on long tables down the middle of the street. There are lots of good ideas on the car free day website and check out the great banner across the top of the European Mobility Week website
Events were run around New Zealand. These included:
Dunedin : Living Streets Dunedin gave out "free fuel" of finger food to walkers, together with information about the health and cost benefits of walking, in the Octagon over lunchtime, and many Dunedin commuters travelled to work by train - read the article have a look at some photos
Christchurch: Some peaceful 'mini-parks' were created in metered car spaces, with really, with really small vehicles parked, leaving lots of space for people to sit and enjoy reading the newspaper, sip a coffee from one of the great local cafes, or to find out about Living Streets. See the press release and photos
Wellington: Greater Wellington Regional Council launches their on-line walking and cycling journey planner and the Film Archive screens "Notes from an NZ City" at 12.15
New Plymouth: see what's happened here