Car-free day on Douglas Street deemed a great success

THE reaction from the recent Autumn Fest 2022 shows that car free days could potentially have a positive impact on communities.

“People forget that there is a community in these places that they pass in their cars and it’s not just a highway to get one from one place to another as fast as possible,” said Justine Looney, President of the Douglas Street Business Association (DSBA).

The festival, ran by the Douglas Street organisation, saw festival goers enjoy the day without fear of busy traffic as all roads had been closed off to cars.

Speaking about the car-free day, Justine expressed: “It was just a lovely, car-free experience. We really got to use every inch of the street to do amazing things for the day like performances, face painting and dancing.

“Closing off the streets had a great reaction, and everyone got to meet.”

Studies carried by Joshua Hart, a researcher from the University of the West of England, have proved that friendships between neighbours living on streets with busy traffic is 75% less than those living on quiet streets.

Living near busy roads has also been proven to worsen the health of residents, including children.

Each year Cork City is one of just three towns and cities registered to take part in European Mobility Week, an EU initiative to help better connections through sustainable mobility.

The key element of the Mobility Week each September is Car Free Day, where thousands of towns and cities close off streets for enriching urban environments.

Of the three Irish locations registered, Waterford City and Kildare Town, Cork City was the only one not to partake in this event.

According to the 2021 Impact Report for the event, “The three countries with the most registered Car-Free Days were: Turkey (242), Spain (199) and Hungary (185).”

The report continued: “Conversely, the weakest performers (where participation is below 15 percent) include Austria, Finland, France, Ireland and Sweden.” Reports from towns and cities across Europe who participated in the show an increase in its residents opting for more sustainable transport methods and permanent traffic calming measures, all of which have attributed to the bettering of said communities.