Imagine Manhattan without a single car. It is hard to imagine, but that is exactly what the organizers of Car Free Day New York City desire New Yorkers to think about today. On this Earth Day, the advocacy group is asking individuals to travel by subway, bike or bus, or to car pool, instead of driving.
The ecologically mindful idea caught on in Paris in 2015 when officials there, just months before the city hosted a global top that yielded a landmark climate accord, banned cars in part of the city and pedestrians flocked to the Champs-Élysées.
In New York City, a number of streets in Manhattan will be closed today: Broadway, in between the Flatiron Building and Union Square; streets near Washington Square Park; and Wadsworth Opportunity in Upper Manhattan, between 173rd and 177th Streets.
Lots of regional companies are taking part. Citi Bike is offering free rides to mark the occasion. Columbia University is supplying complimentary bus rides to campus.
Mayor Bill de Blasio stated he would go without a vehicle as much as possible today, taking public transit and strolling “whenever feasible”.
The primary organizer, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, stated the goal was twofold: to decrease emissions, and to accentuate the requirement for more financial investment in mass transport. Mr. Rodriguez, who lives in the Inwood area of Manhattan, said he would leave his vehicle in your home and take the bus or get a bicycle on rent.
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Let’s put in place now whatever is needed to make Earth Day 2017 car free.