Car Free Day on the Drive

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – What began as a protest more than a decade ago, has blossomed into an eco-friendly summertime celebration.

Today’s “Car Free Day on The Drive” is Vancouver’s original car-free festival. Fifteen blocks of Commercial Drive will be home to artisans, musicians, food, and entertainment.

And while Vancouver has made big strides in terms of car-free options, including bike lanes and additional transit, festival co-lead Amelia Huang says there is still more that could be done.

“We’re trying to make the concept of car-free space, especially the idea of pedestrian plazas, kind of a year-round thing. And not just in kind of the more highly-densified areas, maybe in certain neighbourhoods that we can have that, you know, maybe every other weekend, especially throughout the summer when the weather is nice,” she says.

The festival has inspired similar events across the city, Huang wants to see the car-free mentality not just limited to the warmer months.

“It’s really the other eight months of the year that’s very challenging, I find, and that’s where people are less inclined to do cycling, to walk, to take transit, and so I think to make any part of that a bit more enjoyable is very key,” she says.

She adds, if you’re going to today’s event, try not to drive and to bike or take transit instead. TransLink is re-routing its Commercial Drive bus, to allow you to get to the festival car-free.

This year, there will be two family fun zones and three entertainment stages. Make sure you bring a water bottle today–It’ll be hot out and Huang says there are a few water stations for you to refill at.

The festival runs from noon to 7 p.m.

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