Mon 10/2-Sun 10/8
Wed 10/4 @ 7:30-9AM
Fri 10/6 @ 5-7PM
Given the realities of transportation in Northeast Ohio, the idea of participating in the first annual National Week Without Driving is a pipe dream. But the Northeast Ohio Coalition of Disability Organizations (NOCDO), Bike Cleveland, Youth Challenge, and Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) are promoting it anyway.
Despite that a quarter of Clevelanders don’t have a car, the city and region are structured in a way that severely constricts their lives. A car is freedom.
The National Week Without driving suggests that participants get around in someway other than driving themselves (They can try to get someone else to drive them or pay for taxis or Uber) They say, “We understand that not everyone will be able to participate in this challenge completely, but we are asking for participants to embrace the barriers and difficulties that come with living car-free. We encourage participants to try many different modes throughout the week including transit, biking, and walking.”
“Not everyone” means “virtually no one.” For older and disabled people, biking and walking are often not serious options. Whether public transit is an option will depend on your location and destination being fortuitously located, increasingly rare. It seems unlikely that sacrificing a week of freedom will sway Columbus lawmakers; pick up the phone and call them instead.
On Wednesday October 4, the participating organizations will host a Walk, Ride & Roll to Work Day event at Public Square with donuts, coffee and information from 7:30-9am. On Friday October 6 @ 5-7pm they’ll hold a car-free happy hour at Masthead Brewery. Good luck getting there!