Following is a message I received about Car Free Day on August 31. The goal of Car Free Day is to reduce car dependency and to promote more environmentally forms of transportations such as transit, cycling and walking. I don't know if having a big street party is the ends or the means but it is going to happen on Saturday September 22, 2001. For more info see their website www.carfreeday.ca or read the the message below.

Car Free Day Kick Off!

Update #3 - Friday September 31(sic)

Everything is falling into place for this year's Car Free Day festivities. As more people hear about it, the list of partners, volunteers & sponsors keeps growing!

We are now three weeks away from our opening night at the Bloor Cinema. We will be showing a series of car free movies as well as hearing from a handful of speakers about Car Free Days and alternatives to the automobile. The event is free, so we are hoping to fill every seat (800!).

The Saturday Street Celebration is guaranteed to be a success. We have plans for a bicycle service station, grass on the street, super-wide bike lanes, info tables, electric bike & scooter display, Car Free Fashion Show, valet bike parking, and of course music, food and a car piniata.

We're going to need lots of help with promotion and on-site volunteers to make this happen.

If you want to help out, please come to our next volunteer meeting:

Friday September 7, 6PM Community Bicycle Network 761 Queen W (West of Bathurst)

We will have our posters and leaflets ready for this meeting!

Last year, members of the community organised a successful Car Free Day "Parking Meter Party" on College Street. This year the Sierra Club is closing a whole street, with the City of Toronto on board as a partner as well as major media sponsors and financial donors.

The plan for next year is even bigger with the goal of shutting down (or "opening up") a large segment of the downtown area providing a safer environment for cycling, a faster transportation system and air that doesn't require a gas mask!

Let's make this year's Car Free Day events as big and colourful as possible!

{Don't forget Critical Mass tonight! 6PM @Yonge and Temperance}

www.carfreeday.ca

Sierra Club of Canada - Eastern Chapter [phone] 416-960-9606 [Fax] 416-960-0020 eastern.canada.chapter@sierraclub.org

Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca