Can You Do Without a Car for a Day?

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 22, 2011 1:20PM

Today is Chicagoland Car-Free Day, a plan by the Active Transportation Alliance which they hope will get more motorists to hang up their car keys for the day and get around Chicago by any other means necessary.

Motorists who take the Alliance's car-free pledge become eligible for a $100 gift card from REI. Communities throughout the area have partnered with local transportation authorities to promote the event. Evanston, for instance, has set up a car-free pit stop at 909 Davis St.

While it's noble of the Active Transportation Alliance to promote using alternate means of transportation, Chicagoland Car-Free Day also serves to highlight much of the nearsighted planning for public transportation in the area and our reliance on the automobile. Friend of Chicagoist the Expired Meter is celebrating Chicagoland Car-Free Day by driving:

Honestly, as a hardcore motorist who has to rely on my car to every single solitary day to drive kids to school, to work, to make deliveries to customers, to meet with clients, et cetera, et cetera, et freaking cetra-I don’t see the point of this goofy day without a car to get around.

Besides the joy The Expired Meter gets from driving, Chicagoland Car-Free Day inadvertently reminds us of how much we rely on the automobile to get around - for work, for play, etc.