Hastings car free day on Sunday 22nd

Sunday, 22 September is World Car Free Day. It will be marked by events in Hastings town centre from 11am to 3pm, organised by Hastings Sustainable Transport Forum, on whose behalf Ian Sier explains what lies in store.

World Car Free Day is a celebration of public transport, cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable mobility. By reducing reliance on cars, this day aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and foster a sense of community as people engage more closely with their surroundings.

The event is being organised by Hastings Sustainable Transport Forum, which was set up to provide a voice for voluntary and community organisations to discuss and campaign for sustainable transport and active travel to reduce car use, tackle climate change and improve health and wellbeing for all ages.

There’ll be a Stagecoach bus parked up in the pedestrianised area in front of Owens, with local bus operators to answer your bus service questions; cargo bikes with their riders to answer your safe, cheap cycling questions and who may even let you take a ride so you can see if such a bike would suit you.

There will be gazebos and tables stacked with literature and campaigners from Hastings Urban Bikes (HUB), Hastings Area Bus Users Group (HABUG), Hastings Greenway Group and Sussex Greenways to answer your Connectivity and Streetscape questions.

You will be able to find out what action is needed to progress the long-awaited Hastings Greenway network of walking and cycling routes.

Plus – transport-related face painting!

You’ll be able to sign up for invites to Hastings Urban Bikes bike rides and, if you’d like to, sign our on-the-day petition asking our Transport Authority for Borough-wide safe walking, cycling and bus-priority measures

Hastings Urban Bikes will be asking you, if you’d be so interesting and helpful, to write your Hastings travel and street life stories. There will be blank postcards and lots of pens for the purpose. We’ll read them and use them for of our future campaigns to get what we all need for better walking, cycling, bus riding, car clubbing…and whatever else you tell us would make travel and life in our shared space better, and help to reduce car use and carbon emissions.

And there’ll be an Active Traveller’s wish-list banner for you to be photographed in front of – as a statement for our social media and yours.

Please do come. We’d love to see you!

Hastings Car Free Day Sunday 22nd September, 11am to 3pm, pedestrianised areas in and around Robertson Street in the Town Centre.

Last year World Car Free Day was marked in Hastings by a mass bike ride from the Town Centre to Glyne Gap.

Also in: Transport