You know those Armageddon themed movies where the streets of the city are silent? Have you ever wondered what it would be like in a city with no cars? If you’re in a European city on 22 September you’ll find out – it’s Carfree Sunday!
European Carfree Day began during the oil crises of the 1970s. Car driving was banned on Sundays in an attempt to save fuel. Since then Carfree day has become an international day to celebrate walking, cycling and taking the train. The only vehicles allowed are Emergency Service Vehicles and buses; that’s when the cyclists and pedestrians take over.
Brussels embraces Carfree Day wholeheartedly and from early morning thousands of cars remain parked while their owners find other ways to enjoy the city. There’s standing room only on trains and buses and bicycles fill the streets.
From a vantage point looking over the city the atmosphere is eerie. The only sounds to be heard are birdsong, laughter and children calling to each other. Festivals in the parks attract large crowds and people take advantage of the empty streets.
It’s a strange feeling to be walking in the middle of a main road and instead of looking out for cars it’s bikes and rollerblades you have to avoid.
At 18.00 the prohibition on cars comes to an end and it doesn’t take long for the streets to become busy again. The utopian vision of life without cars comes to an end but hopefully more people have been inspired to find alternate ways of travel. Give the environment a break – don’t take your car!
For more on Carfree Sunday, click here.
We’d never heard of this before but that’s such a good idea! Must be a very odd but pleasant change of scene 🙂 will definitely be following for more!
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It was a unique experience for us. Glad you enjoyed the post!
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I was wondering why you hadn’t been knocked down 🙂
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I could have been skittled by a bicycle if I wasn’t careful.
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That’s a very good reason for a visit!
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We were lucky to do this in both Brussels and Bruges, because we had never heard of Carfree Sunday before.
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Wow! I love the idea of a car-free Sunday. I wish we had something like that here in the USA. It must have been nice to hear sounds other than traffic!
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It was delightful to hear the birds and the children’s laughter. Carfree days wouldn’t work in Australia. The cities are just way too spread out and public transport in all but the capitals in practically non-existent.
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I don’t think car-free days would really work in America either, for the same reasons. Oh well, it’s nice to dream. I think European cities are much more suited for this. 🙂
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COOL!
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It was for sure!
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I love the idea of a car free day. A couple of years ago, when it was the Queen’s Jubilee, we went to a local street party. The road (just a normal residential street) was closed to cars, and no cars were allowed to be parked on it. The children played games and football, we did some Scottish dancing and set up tables for lunch – it was wonderful.
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It sounds like good old-fashioned fun.
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It was – it reminded me of the ‘good old days’ of childhood.
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What an amazing sight; car-free roads! 🙂
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It was the sound, or rather the lack of sound, that amazed me. So peaceful.
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I had no idea! I wonder if they do that in Portugal? I will mark it on my calendar and see (and refrain from using the car that day too)! What a good idea!
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It was a fun day for us Cath, and the bonus was the free public transport.
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You don’t get that every day!
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