I admire the way that Quitenians really seem to be serious about cutting down on driving.
I already told you about how car owners are forbidden to use their car one day a week.
Another great idea is Ciclopaseo. Every Sunday an 18 mile stretch of road is closed to cars from 9 to 3 pm so that bicylists can ride through the city from end to end.
We witnessed this today on Venezuela Street not far from our hostal. People were really taking advantage of it! It looked like great fun. We even saw a place where people seemed to getting free bike repairs. I didn't notice that the car access was actually blocked. This would take a lot of effort. I think there was just enough publicity about it that people knew not to drive on the Ciclopaseo. It got me to thinking about what Salem street could be closed to create a Ciclopaseo on Sundays. Hmmm. High Street? D Street?
Please footnote this:
ReplyDelete"I already told you about how car owners are forbidden to use their car one day a week."
I can't find the original reference....!!!! Looks cool!
http://scheppkes.blogspot.com/2012/04/walking-town.html
ReplyDeletePortland should do this -- ban cars one day a week. It might be possible there. In Salem -- never!
Portland already does this! And in fact Mother's Day was the first Sunday Parkways of the Season. If you're interested you can read a Portland wrap here, and one Salem family who left town for it.
ReplyDeleteThe Downtown Vision 2020 group has tossed around the idea, but the main hurdle has been to get a title sponsor. Based on the Portland budget, it seems to be a $75K problem. Police overtime, staff resources, etc.
Never in Salem? Never say never! It seems unlikely right now, but there is some demand and should things align right, it could actually happen.
So keep talking it up among your friends and acquaintances!