This Friday September 22nd, 2006 the annual Car Free Day event will be hosted on Yonge Street from Shuter to Dundas. Details of the event are quoted in the media release below. You can also see more on their web site www.carfreeday.ca

Sierra Club of Canada with the generous support of
BOMBARDIER, VIA Rail Canada, Greyhound
And the proud sponsorship of the Toronto Star and CP24 Presents:

Toronto Car Free Day 2006

Yonge-Dundas Square and Yonge Street
10 am to 2:30 pm
A Celebration of Sustainable Transportation
International Car Free Day
Friday September 22, 2006

Mayor David Miller will be on the Square to proclaim the City of Toronto's participation in Car Free Day, an expansive global movement celebrated by millions in over 1,500 towns and cities in 30 countries. Joining the Mayor in saluting Toronto's future of sustainable and healthy transportation will be Hélène Gagnon, Senior Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Bombardier Transportation, Pierre Santoni, Regional Director (Ontario), VIA Rail Canada, Councillors Adam Giambrone and Kyle Rae, along with public health and environmental advocates.

International Car Free Day is an official program of the United Nations and the European Union. Sierra Club of Canada has sponsored Toronto Car Free Day activities for 6 straight years beginning in 2001 with our initial celebration on St. George Street.

Regarding this year's celebration Sierra Club of Canada, Ontario Chapter Director Dan McDermott said today “Sierra Club of Canada is pleased and honoured to be working with Mayor Miller and the City of Toronto along with BOMBARDIER, VIA Rail Canada and Greyhound to present Toronto Car Free Day 2006”.

Bicycle stunts, music, art, street sports, speakers, and a fun zone are all part of the celebration. The Yonge-Dundas Square program begins at 11 am and kicks into high gear at noon. Toronto Car Free Day 2006 proudly takes its place in the global movement that is International Car Free Day.

Be there in the Square.

This is the first time that Toronto has had a major downtown location for the annual Car Free Day. Come out and support sustainable transportation in Toronto.

Car free day is officially September 22nd this week. In Toronto an event is being hosted today, September 18th on Concord Avenue from Bloor Street West to Dewson street from 10:00 am to 8:00 PM. You can see the poster and more information at the at www.carfreeday.ca.

To mark Car free day, Thursday September 22nd, the Sierra Club is asking Toronto Residents to take the Car Free Day Challenge by cycling, walking, skating or taking public transit to work that day. You can get more details at their site:Toronto Car Free Day Challenge.
Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca

Car Free Day is held every year in communities around the world on September 22nd. Its goal is "to encourage and explore alternative forms of transportation and travel other than the use of the private car." as stated on the Car Free Day web site: Car Free Day Motivation.

In Toronto Car Free Day is celebrated by 'Open Your Street' parties around the city. This year there are about 25 street parties around the city. Most are being held this weekend. You can see a list here: Open Your Streets - Toronto 2003". For these events the street is closed and a variety of activities are held on the street such as bike clinics, face painting, chalk drawing, bike repairs, skate board demonstrations etc. Come out and join the fun.

Car Free Day is now an annual event in Toronto. This year it will be on September 22, 2003. It will be celebrated this year with "Open your Street" street parties. If you want to have one of these events in your neighbourhood the organizers of Car free Day have posted the how to on their web site: Open Your Street. It explains how to send in an application to get a street closure for your event. The deadline for applications is July 31, 2003. So send you info in soon. For more information about Car Free Day go to www.carfreeday.ca.

Below is the announcement from the people organizing Car Free Day in Toronto with all the contact information.

OPEN YOUR STREETS

Celebrate Car Free Day 2003 by initiating a street party in your neighbourhood on Sunday September 21st. Applications due by July 31st.

What Is It?: Car Free Day is an great event which promotes cycling, transit and other alternatives to the private automobile. Last year there were events in 15 neighbourhoods: some people had speeches and music, others played badminton or street hockey, others simply with their neighbours and enjoyed the quiet and safety. If they can do it, you can do it!

We Can Show You How: The Sierra Club will help you organize your event and navigate through the city's requirements for applications & permits. We'll even pay for your permit and insurance fees!

Applications are due July 31st so contact us today:

Call 416-960-9606
Eml: mnoble@carfreeday.ca
Web: www.carfreeday.ca/openyourstreet.php

The People who bring you Car Free Day will be hosting a Car Free Forum this week on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. You can see all the information here: Car Free Forum. It will feature a variety of speakers with ideas on how we can reduce car dependance.

Car Free Day is coming on September 22nd. You can find out more at their web site www.carfreeday.ca. There is currently an article on the Toronto Bike Plan there.

I got this announcement from Dave Meslin of the TCC and also one of the organizers behind Car Free Day here in Toronto. The day before Car Free Day there will be another evening event as explained in the announcement below.

CAR FREE MOVIE NIGHT - Saturday September 21st


"The Fight for Public Transit"

6:45pm - FREE - Bloor Cinema


Featuring the film Bus Riders Union

The film traces three years in the life of Los Angeles' Bus Riders Union as it forges a powerful multiracial movement to fight transit racism, clean up LA's lethal auto pollution and win billion-dollar victories for real mass transit for the citizens.

Guest speakers include: City Councillors Olivia Chow & David Miller

www.carfreeday.ca

On September 22nd there will be the 'Open your Street' event which I posted in an earlier article.

Toronto is getting ready to host its second annual Car Free Day on Sunday, September 22nd, 2002. Last year a section of St. George Street was closed and there were many events hosted along that street. This year the organizers have taken a different approach and want to spread the celebrations across the city. There will be 15 "Open Your Street" events which are listed on their web site. Included in the listing are the times of the events, the location and the activities that will be taking place. The activities range from bike repair clinics, BBQs, face painting, street sports, yoga classes, and more.

Car Free Day is a world wide phenomenon. The goal is to reduce car dependancy and explore alternative forms of transportation, cycling being one of them. You can read more information at the International Car Free Day web site www.22september.org. More information about Toronto's Car Free Day is at www.carfreeday.ca

In addition to the events on September 22 there will be a film night on Saturday, September 21, 2002 at the Bloor Cinema at 6:45 pm. To get more infomation about that go to the Car Free Movie night page.

A group of local residents will try to promote the idea of a car free Kensington Market by hosting a party at Augusta Avenue and Oxford Street (S.W. of College and Spadina). The venue for the party will be some parking spots along the street that they will be occupying for the afternoon plugging the parking meters as needed. This celebration of 'Bicycles, Pedestrians and the idea of a car free Kensington Market' will include music, free bike repairs, bicycle giveaways and refreshemnts. The event will last from noon to dusk and end in a critial mass ride at 8:00 pm.

For more information you can go to the Carfree day web site

On September 22nd, 2001 Toronto was the first North American City to host and official "Car Free Day". Now planning is underway for the next one. A meeting will be held on June 3rd, 2002. The details are quoted below.

Car Free Day Planning Meeting,
Monday, June 3, 7pm
Sierra Club Office
24 Mercer St., Suite 102

Come join in the organizing, including planning for movie night, guest speakers, street parties etc.

If you have time this Sunday, join Mike Noble to hand out flyers at the Ride for Heart. (flyer attached, feel free to print and distribute) Contact Mike at mnoble@carfreeday.ca

For more information on Car Free Day you can go to their website: www.carfreeday.ca.

Or should that be "Car Free Day-Free Movie Night? Anyhow here is another update that I received regarding the festivities around Car Free Day.

Join us for this FREE night at the Bloor!!

CAR FREE DAY MOVIE NIGHT AND SPEAKERS FORUM

Thursday September 20, 7PM
Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor West)

Speakers:

- David Suzuki
- Enrique Penalosa (Former Mayor of Bogota)
- Olivia Chow

Movies:

- 'In Town Without My Car', a documentary about Car Free Day in Europe.
- 'We Aren't Blocking Traffic, We Are Traffic', a "bikeumentary" about Critical Mass.
- 'The Bus Riders Union', a film about the Los Angeles transit riders union.

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

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