A&B editors join the European Day Without a Car and went to work by public transportation, bicycle and some even on foot. We are on the first day of astronomical autumn, and in many Polish cities the weather does not encourage us to leave the house, much less move around. When it's raining and we're in a hurry to get to work or to a meeting, usually our first decision is to choose a car as a quick means of transportation. However, when we think of those jammed streets.... European Car Free Day - an annual initiative to promote clean and sustainable transportation - is just around the corner. Maybe today is not the only day we can choose public transportation, bicycle, scooter or just walk?
Many of us dislike the morning commute to work and often the rush hour commute back. It turns out that the generally acceptable time for everyone to travel to work is about 30 minutes, after that we lose patience and irritation can spoil our whole day. Quite uncool to start the morning with a bad mood.... What are our alternatives? If possible, let's use public transportation, and when the weather is nice and our health is good - let's choose a bicycle or a walk.
healthy change of habits
Today the entire editorial board decided to give up cars in favor of other means of transportation. In Krakow, as well as in other Polish cities, as part of the European Car Free Day campaign (ending the Sustainable Transport Week), travel by public transport is free.
Both the European Sustainable Transport Week and European Car Free Day are initiatives of the European Commission - Directorate General for Mobility and Transport. Its goal is to promote sustainable transport in cities and municipalities and change the behavior of residents. The campaign has an international scope and is also organized in the US, Latin American countries and Asia, including India, Japan and China.
The idea is not to leave the car in the garage for a day, but to change habits. Maybe traveling to work by streetcar or bus is faster than by car? In most cases, yes! If you add to this the loss of time searching for a free parking space (mostly paid) and the negative impact on the environment, the choice seems obvious.
direction of the compact city
The centers of many cities in Europe are closed to cars. Thus, sidewalks, to the delight of pedestrians, cease to serve as parking lots, greenery is being introduced and more and more bicycle lanes are being built. Examples from Western European cities, especially in the Benelux area, show that replacing cars with bicycles, makes urban space healthier and friendlier. A good model for introducing the idea of sustainable transportation are cities such as Amsterdam or Brussels, where cyclists are the dominant group of street users.
As I read in Jan Gehl 's book"Cities for People," compact and environmentally sustainable cities are those that evolve around public transportation, walking and cycling. But to make this possible, cities need to increase the quantity and quality of well-designed public spaces - healthy, safe and full of life.
That's right, spaces designed for people. Are Polish cities ready for this? Krakow, where I live and where A&B's editorial office is located, started the European Sustainable Transportation Week rather poorly, with the elimination of the bike path on Grzegórzecka Street. As you can see, it's still difficult for us to reconcile the development of automobile, public and bicycle transportation, and to ensure adequate city capacity, greenery and clean air. Let's hope that we won't have to wait very long for good pro-social changes. And in the meantime, let's start them with ourselves, treating public space in the city as an asset that can be shared by choosing environmentally friendly means of transportation, for example!
