Briefly, it depicts a street scene in four panels: in the first, the street is filled with cars; in the panel opposite, the cars are replaced by people sitting on chairs, who fill up the road; in the third, the same people are shown boarding a bus; and in the final panel, the bus is replaced by the people sitting in their chairs, only this time taking up only a fraction of the road space occupied in the 'cars' panels. The point is, of course, to illustrate how single-occupancy private cars represent a sub-optimal use of road space compared with a bus carrying the same number of people.
To mark international Car-Free Day 2005 (also know as 'In Town Without My Car' Day) on Thursday 22nd September (and make up for the fact that Birmingham will once again not be formally participating this year) Birmingham FoE will be recreating this image, or something like it, for the 21st Century in Digbeth.
Preparations are still ongoing but the most important things we need are a location and about 50 volunteers. If you could help by being one of those volunteers on Saturday 17th September (the day we plan to take the picture) then call Martin or myself on 0121 632 6909 or e-mail info@birminghamfoe.org.uk.
Meanwhile, Birmingham FoE campaigner Kate Nancarrow has been preparing the ground at the Environment Agency in Solihull for a special Car-Free Day support event. The Agency is currently very keen to reduce the number of business miles staff travel each year, so this is a timely event.
The aim on 22nd September will be to encourage staff to leave their cars behind for the day and use walking, cycling and public transport where practical to get to and from work. Some ideas so far: a competition with prizes to see which department can save the most car-miles on the day; free breakfast bap for those who get to work under their own steam; and a demonstration of the video conferencing facilities available on-site.
