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QUOTATION OF THE MONTH |
"'I don’t want my
daddy to drive his car on my
painting."
These words were mentioned by a
young Austrian participant in a
street painting event during
European mobility week. Some of the
streets were painted with permanent
paint, leading to new traffic-
calmed spaces. Background and more
pictures available here.
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| WORLD
CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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90TH
EDITION OF WORLD CARFREE MONTHLY
NEWS!
You are now reading the 90th edition
of the World Carfree Monthly News.
The first edition came out in
October 2003. Now this is the 9th
year and we have reached 90 issues.
But that was not the beginning.
Before this we had Car Busters
Monthly Bulletin from the early days
of the Carbusters movement. This
included 50 issues, of which #27 and
up is available in the archive.
For all those interested to know
what has happened in the near or
distant past, don't hesitate to
browse the archives!
Read
more
CREDIT
GOES TO...
The bulletin would like to thank
Harumi Okamoto for providing news
from Curitiba. The picture published
in relation to the Curitiba item was
taken by Ricardo E. Machado. Thanks
goes also to Andy Singer, for
keeping us buzzing with his great
cartoons. Kudos to Mina Madani for
alerting us to the New Orleans
petition highlighted here and to
Heiko Bruns from autofrei leben! for
the Cairo insight. Peter Czernak
brought the Austrian street painting
to our attention. A very special
thanks goes to Jane Vodikoon for
stepping in to help out with editing
the bulletin.
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| GENERAL
ANNOUNCEMENTS |
GREEN
MILE KICKS OFF IN INDIA
A new outfit has formed in Mumbai,
India with the goal to combat the
driving culture and promote Critical
Mass and Carfree Day. This coming
November 27th, Green Mile will
partner with Mumbai Traffic Police
to organize Mumbai's first carfree
day celebration. Andy Singer is
their graphical representative and
will be their invited guest for the
event.
Read
more
BIKE EGYPT!
As Egypt has experienced
their "Arab Spring" of late, so have
Cairo's keen cyclists come out of
the woodwork. You may now follow the
Egyptian capital's cycling community
news on facebook.
Read
more
20'S
PLENTY
One
hundred communities in the U.K. are
now campaigning under the 20’s
Plenty for Us slogan to advocate for
20 mph speed limits on roadways. The
organization offers campaigners
starter packs, contact information,
templates, and so forth. Also, Rod
King, UK Founder of 20’s Plenty for
Us was one of three people
shortlisted (out of over 600+) for
Influencer of the year award with
Directory of Social Change. Let's
hear it for 20's Plenty!
Read
more
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| ACTION |
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SUPPORT A
BIKE-FRIENDLY NEW ORLEANS!
Please join with Bike Easy to
petition the New Orleans City
Council to focus on designing a bike
and pedestrian friendly New Orleans.
The mayor and city council is being
encouraged here to adhere to the
principle of "complete streets" as
well as follow the existing
Transportation Master Plan for
bicycle and pedestrian provisions.
You may find the easy, one-step
petition here.
Please read also more about Bike
Easy, and see if there are ways you
can get involved or volunteer your
time.
Read
more
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| IN THE NEWS
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A
BMW dealership in London has opened
a bicycle shop within its showroom
after market research indicated BMW
customers are expressing a growing
interest in cycling. The store
manager stated the “need to look for
new transportation solutions” as
well as an embracing of a
“multi-modal approach ... of which
the bicycle is an important
component.”
Read
more
Transport for London has partnered
with Recyclebank, which provides
monetary incentives for recycling,
to promote walking and cycling in
the city. The program, which will
launch in 2012, will rely on apps to
track participants’ distances
covered by foot or bike. Points will
be awarded for such trips, and the
points can be converted into
discounts at partnering businesses.
Read
more.
A woman who jumped off a pedestrian
overpass into traffic in Chengdu,
China, has sparked debate over what
people perceive as a lack of
compassion among drivers and
citizens. The incident occurred only
a month after the now-infamous case
of Yue Yue, a 2-year-old in
Guangdong province who was hit and
run over by two separate motor
vehicles while nearly 20 people
passed by without stopping to help.
Read
more
The U.S. High
Speed Rail Association has
proposed a $600 billion plan to
build a high-speed rail network
across the country by 2030. The
current U.S. passenger-train
network is “decades behind” Europe,
Japan, and China, say transportation
experts, but opponents of the plan
lambast the planners as having
unrealistic ambitions.
Read
more
After massive protests by the people
of Bolivia, president Evo Morales
declares that the proposed motorway
through the rainforest reserve in
TIPNIS will not be built. This has
been seen as a victory, although an
indigenous leader has said that the
president must come to support 15
other demands.
Read
more
In Moscow, Russia, a naked and drunk
motorist is caught by the police
after having damaged 12 cars in a
chase. He refused an offer of
clothes by the apprehending police
officers.
Read
more
National Geographic rounds up 12
urban carfree zones in cities around
the world. Each photo is accompanied
by a brief introduction to the area.
The feature showcases cities on six
continents, including Melbourne,
Tokyo, Bogota, New York, Freiburg,
and Fez.
Read
more
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| REPORTS |
"PEAK
CAR"?
Millions
of Westerners are giving up their
cars, according to an article that
suggests we’re reaching “peak
car.” Americans have been driving
increasingly less for the past six
years, and similar trends have
been observed in Canada,
Australia, and Europe. The article
argues that driving’s decline is
due not to environmental or
economic concerns but rather
drivers’ being fed up with traffic
and young people’s perception that
cars are “old technology.”
Read
more
ONLINE
U.S. TRAILS RESOURCE
Here is a point of convergence for
trails all across the USA. You can
read about the economic benefit of
trails and find many background
studies, articles and lots of
information about trails and
greenways in the USA.
Read
more
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| MEDIA &
NETWORKING |
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MARCH
OF THE 1000 BIKES IN CURITIBA
This past 22th of September in
Curitiba, Brazil, there was a
bicycle event titled "A Marcha das
1000 bicicletas" (March of the 1000
bikes). This took place on carfree
day and comes at a time when bicycle
activism is picking up speed in the
city known for its
pedestrian-friendly planning.
Currently a movie is being prepared
as well by Ricardo E. Machado. You
may watch the trailer
(in Brazilian). More pictures of the
event are viewable here.
If you would like to get in touch
with a representative of the bike
movement, you may write to Harumi at
harumi.okamoto@gmail.com. You may
also follow Bicicletada Curitiba via
their website.
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