Car Free Day - Will They, Won't They?
You may remember that last year Birmingham City Council excused themselves from
participating in Car Free Day on the grounds that a) it was merely a tokenistic
gesture, (it's not - it's an opportunity for people to discover how easy it can
be to get around without a car) and b) they already had some roadworks, so closing
a street might be a problem. (however they had managed to close one for ArtsFest
the previous week). You may also remember that we press released Birmingham's
inertia, comparing it with our twin cities in Europe, and that this got us more
coverage than most areas which DID take part in Car Free Day, begging the question
were the council on our side all along, in a subtle sort of way?
At this point the UK also managed to sign up nationally - at last - to Car Free
Day, giving Birmingham less of an excuse for the next year.
So this year, we really got our act together and started early: having heard
about a Car Free Day (or In Town Without My Car, as the rest of Europe has so
catchily renamed it) Workshop for local authorities, we immediately started contacting
the city council's transportation department, reminding them what fun they'd had
on television with us the previous year and asking if they'd like to take part
in this workshop. They would indeed! So on April 9th a council representative
will be attending the workshop, following which, they tell us, they will discuss
the suitability of the event to Birmingham. We'll be doing what we can to persuade
them that it will be very suitable indeed.
Karen Leach