Support for car free idea (From Penarth Times)

Support for car free idea

7:10am Thursday 20th September 2012 in Letters

ON Saturday, September 22, people across the world will be marking Car Free Day. Here in Penarth, Gwyrddio Penarth Greening (GPG) had been hoping to do something to highlight the benefits of having less traffic on our streets for just one day, but our resources are limited and we had to postpone this idea until next year.

However, not having a Car Free Day of our own doesn’t mean we can’t think about what having fewer cars around might mean.

At this point I can almost hear some car owners saying “there they go again – getting at we car drivers”. I am a car driver and I know the feeling, but I also know that I and my car contribute to congestion, create carbon emissions, often overlook the needs of pedestrians, take over streets formerly used as play areas for children, and yes, we can be rather selfish.

Obviously people with mobility problems must use cars, but many of us can walk, some can ride bicycles and most of us can use public transport. Here in Penarth if each driver consciously thought about how necessary it is to use his/her car for every journey, GPG believes that not only would the centre of Penarth become a more enjoyable place in which to shop, meet up and have fun, it would also free up limited parking spaces for the people who really need them – people with disabilities, older people and those making essential deliveries.

There are many things we drivers can do to cut emissions – go to our website and check out the ten steps to greener driving – nothing too challenging, but we can guarantee that quite apart from being kind to the environment, you will also save money on petrol.

Remember Car Free Day on September 22, and help make Penarth an even better place .

Tricia Griffiths GPG member