Dublin Cycling Campaign are looking to create car-free Sundays in the Irish capital every week to “allow pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy the city centre without the noise, pollution, and danger of motor vehicles.”
The advocacy group has launched a petition on Uplift and at the time of writing had received over 1,200 of the target 2,000 signatures. The aim from the campaign is for Dublin City Council to launch this initiative some time during the summer of 2018.
Various cities around the world have car-free days and amongst those are Paris, Bogota and Jakarta. The first car-free day in Paris took place in 2015 and Airparif, an independent air pollution monitor, said that nitrogen dioxide levels dropped by up to 40% in some parts of the city that day and Bruitparif, which measures noise, said sound levels fell by half in the centre of the city.
The statement from Dublin Cycling Campaign on their Uplift page is as follows:
“We want people to be able to enjoy Dublin City Centre without the hustle and bustle of motor vehicles. By creating just a few car-free streets every Sunday we could enable people of all ages and abilities to walk, cycle and enjoy themselves in the heart of Dublin City.
“Car-Free Sundays have been trialled successfully in cities around the globe including Paris, Mexico and Singapore. The ‘Paris Sans Voitures’ (Paris Without Cars) initiative was started by the city’s Mayor to tackle chronic air pollution. The first car-free day in Paris resulted in a 40% drop in air pollution and a 50% fall in noise pollution.
“Each year in Ireland, up to 1,600 premature deaths are linked to air pollution, with motor vehicle emissions making up a substantial proportion of that pollution.
“The Car-Free Sunday concept can also be combined with free public transport for the day to encourage people to leave their cars at home. A large-scale switch to public transport, or to cycling and walking, could ease congestion in Dublin and improve the city for everyone.
“We are calling on Dublin City Council to realise the potential of Car-Free Sundays and to begin trials of the concept in the summer of 2018.”
The petition is available through the following link: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/car-free-sundays-in-dublin-city-centre
