Grab a Capital Bikeshare bike, hop on the Circulator or carve out some extra time for a walk to work Sept. 22 and join commuters across the Washington Metro-area and the world ditching their cars Sept. 22 for Car Free Day.
Take the pledge online here to eliminate or reduce your car usage and be entered to win a Kindle Fire and other great prizes!
This world-recognized day is designed to help reduce the number of automobiles on the road to decrease traffic congestion, gasoline demand and create a healthier, greener environment for all.
Plus, choosing to forgo a car in the D.C. region can also offer benefits at the individual level.
In addition to potential exercise and health benefits, choosing not to drive can be economically beneficial, something many BID employees have discovered on their own while working in Downtown.
DowntownDC is a place where transportation options abound, from bikeshares, protected bike lanes and bike parking, to Metrorail stations, and other safe pedestrian and public transit routes.
DowntownDC BID Capital Projects Manager Megan Kanagy said working in Downtown means she has multiple transportation options available to her each day. “Depending on whether I feel like riding my bike, if there’s any Metro track work, the weather, or if I want to do some reading on public transportation, I have a menu of options,” she said.
Kanagy believes she and her husband were able to purchase their first home in the District sooner because they didn’t own a car and didn’t have the insurance, parking, maintenance and gas fees associated with an automobile.
BID Quality Assurance Manager Blake Holub is a metro rider who gave up his car years ago due to financial reasons. “Economically speaking, it doesn’t make sense for me to own a vehicle,” Holub said. The city’s walkability and its range of transportation options meant that he found himself using a car for just several select tasks such as grocery shopping or going to the veterinarian, he said.
Sam Mullins, BID special assistant to the deputy executive director owns a car, but doesn’t use it to commute. “There are so many transportation options that are easier than dealing with a car,” he said. Mullins typically uses Metrobus or Metrorail to get to work or rents a Capital Bikeshare bike.
The DowntownDC BID and the DowntownDC ecoDistrict, which encompasses the BID’s 138-block area, support the goals of Car Free Day which are in line with the city’s Sustainable DC Plan to make 75 percent of all commutes in D.C. to be non-auto by the year 2032 and for 25 percent of commutes to be walking or biking. (In 2012, 55 percent of commutes were non-auto: 13 percent were walking and 4.1 percent were biking with the remainder public transit.)
Walking, biking and using public transportation instead of driving is one of the meany healthy options that fall under the BID’s Healthy Communities initiative, which supports and promotes healthy alternatives for Downtown residents, workers and guests.
Join us!
To officially participate Sept. 22, sign the pledge online here to eliminate or reduce your reliance on a car Sept. 22. For more information about D.C. transportation options, visit goDCgo’s website here.