Ditch your car and join the community for World Car Free Day on Sunday
CBC
What would it take for you to leave the car at home and find another way to get where you need to go this Sunday?
That's the challenge behind World Car Free Day, an event encouraging people to reduce their dependance on cars and find more eco-friendly ways to get around.
The City of London's Climate Emergency Action Plan has greenhouse gas emissions targets that include a 55 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, along with further reductions aimed to hit net-zero by 2050. According to the city's data, greenhouse gas emissions have fluctuated in recent years, remaining at the same level recorded in 2017.
"We seem to have been stalled since 2017 and I think it's time for us to really reengage and rededicate ourselves to reducing our carbon footprint," said David Stanford, co-chair of the working group for Car Free Day 2024 and a retired professor of statistical and actuarial sciences at Western University.
In London, public transit will be free on Sunday and streets will be closed along Dundas Place and Wortley Village to promote a people-over-cars alternative, welcoming a host of activities, entertainment and fun for families from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There is also a 7 km group bike ride from Springbank Park to Ivey Park that starts at 1 p.m.
"We're really trying to focus on how the Thames Valley Parkway is really just a jewel of resource," said Stanford. "It's a great backbone for getting around the city on cycle."
Leah Derikx, the director of operations for the London Environmental Network, said the day could show people that it's possible to take an alternative way to get around, even if it's just one day a week.
"Hopefully, World Car Free Day is a day to test that out and see how you can incorporate that more into your life," she said. "It does take a bit of thinking, a bit of planning, but you know, making small changes definitely adds up. So hopefully people can try it out this weekend."
Here's what's happening on World Car Free Day in London:
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.