WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>=20
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Edition no. 6 - March 2004 - English version
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Contents:
WORLD NEWS
- GERMAN CHURCHES PROPOSE "CAR FAST"
- SHANGHAI RESPONDS TO SCORN FOR BIKE BAN
- CARFREE RED LIGHT DISTRICT FOR AMSTERDAM
- SWISS VOTERS STOP ALPS TUNNEL
- CANADIAN ACTIVIST TOOKER GOMBERG PRESUMED DEAD
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION
- SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT FOR THE FUTURE: MARCH 30-31, NEW DELHI
- "PRT IS A JOKE" WEBSITE LAUNCHED
- RIGHT TO PROTEST - CALL FOR SUPPORT
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
- JOIN US AND WE'LL TAKE ON THE WORLD!
- ANONYMOUS DONATOR SEEKS BICYCLE ADVOCACY GROUPS
- "ONE LESS CAR" STICKER GOES TO CHINA
- CAR BUSTERS MAGAZINE #19 RELEASE
_______________=20
WORLD NEWS >>=20
__________________=20
GERMAN CHURCHES PROPOSE "CAR FAST"
Several Lutheran and Catholic churches in Germany have called a "car fast"
and are asking=20
people to use alternative means of transport during Lent, from March 7 to
April 7. According=20
to a press release by the archdiocese of Mainz, the campaign is "an appeal
to all Christians=20
to question their daily lifestyle and their relationship to the
environment," especially regarding=20
their use of cars, "in order to become inwardly free and independent."
SHANGHAI RESPONDS TO SCORN FOR BIKE BAN
Back in December, local officials decided to ban bicycle use in much of
central Shanghai and=20
raise fines tenfold for bicycle traffic infractions [see World Carfree News
#4]. The new policy=20
drew widespread scorn, leading to a late February announcement that a
network of pathways=20
for cyclists would be built in Shanghai's city centre.
However, this is not a repeal of the bike ban, and it is still unclear
how meaningful the=20
announcement is. If the government is determined to allocate an
increasingly large share of=20
road space to motor vehicles, then the bicycle's viability and popularity
will nevertheless=20
decline. After all, the purpose of the ban was to "control the number of
bicycles on city=20
streets," as police official Chen Yuangao stated in December.
CARFREE RED LIGHT DISTRICT FOR AMSTERDAM
[submitted by Frank van Schaik, Amsterdam]
By 2005, visitors of the Amsterdam red light district ("hooker-walkers" in
Dutch) will have to=20
walk or take a bike. After 20 years of talking, the Amsterdam city council
has decided to stop=20
cars from entering the most famous rectangle in Amsterdam between 8 pm and
7 am. Too=20
many times, pedestrians had to dodge dangerous tourist car drivers who were
obviously=20
busier with honking at hookers than looking at the narrow canal streets. In
line with the=20
couleur locale, the city council has decided to erect a number of
penis-like traffic poles=20
(called "Amsterdammertjes"), which local residents can get up (or down)
with a special pass.=20
Thirty-seven parking places will disappear.
SWISS VOTERS STOP ALPS TUNNEL
On February 8, a majority of voters in Switzerland decided against a
controversial plan to dig=20
another tunnel through the Gotthard Pass, sending a message that they would
not tolerate=20
increased traffic, especially truck traffic, passing through the Alps. The
no vote is a major=20
blow against European transportation policy, which heavily favours truck
traffic over rail.
CANADIAN ACTIVIST TOOKER GOMBERG PRESUMED DEAD
[based on articles in the Canadian press]
High-profile environmental and cycling activist Tooker Gomberg took his
life on the early=20
morning hours of Friday, March 5 in Halifax, Canada. Some readers will
remember his=20
articles in Car Busters magazine, or his "Greenspiration" tour of the world
with his wife=20
Angela Bischoff.
Gomberg founded one of Canada=92s first curbside recycling programs in
Montreal and=20
headed Edmonton=92s EcoCity Society. He was also elected to and served on
Edmonton city=20
council and cut a colourful figure as executive director of the Edmonton
Bicycle Commuters.=20
In 2000 Gomberg took on Toronto incumbent mayor Mel Lastman, in a mayoral
campaign=20
filled with humour and publicity stunts.
Gomberg became famous for his vociferous and unconventional sense of
political theatre.=20
Last spring, he was arrested at a rally protesting the war in Iraq when he
used a megaphone=20
without a permit. In 2002, he was dragged out by police from Toronto=92s
Empire Club after=20
shouting down Alberta Premier Ralph Klein during the premier=92s speech on
why Alberta=20
doesn=92t like the Kyoto accord.
He organised a group of protesters who threw pennies at the head of
Imperial Oil during=20
the company=92s annual general meeting to make the point it would cost only
pennies per share=20
to reduce greenhouse gases.
Gomberg=92s term on Edmonton city council was marked by his advocacy of
bicycling. He=20
once aggravated his fellow councillors by chaining his bike to Edmonton=92s
new City Hall.
Environmental groups in Halifax, Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton are
planning memorials=20
for him. As one activist wrote, "May he rest in peace. Or continue to
disturb the peace... That=20
would be fitting."
Police believe that Gomberg, who friends said had long battled
depression, jumped off=20
Halifax's Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, leaving a helmet and a bicycle behind.
As of March 8,=20
his body had not been found. He was 48 years old.
___________________=20
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS >>=20
______________________________=20
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION
[submitted by Elizabeth Allingham, Canadian Urban Transit Association]
The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) is pleased to announce the
upcoming=20
International Youth Summit on Sustainable Urban Transportation. The Summit
will be taking=20
place from May 26-31 2004 in Ottawa, Canada. Youth aged 17-24 are
encouraged to apply.
For more information visit their website where you can find further
information and apply=20
on-line: <
www.cutaactu.ca/youthsummit> or <
www.cutaactu.ca/sommetdesjeunes>.
If you require more information on submitting an application, sponsoring
a youth participant,=20
or if you have any questions or comments about the Summit please do not
hesitate to=20
contact: <Elizabeth.Allingham(at)ottawa.ca>.
SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT FOR THE FUTURE: MARCH 30-31, NEW DELHI
[submitted by Rajendra Ravi, LOKAYAN, New Delhi]
Lokayan, along with its partner organisations, is organising a two-day
event on March 30-31=20
under the title "Sustainable Urban Transport for the Future." The event
comprises three=20
parts:
=B7 An exhibition: "The Cycle and the Cycle Rickshaw - Across Space and=
Time"
=B7 A book release and panel discussion: "Ricksha: ek mahagatha"
=B7 A workshop: "Sustainable Urban Transport for the Future: A Vision for th=
e
Non-Motorised"
For inquiries, please contact: Rajendra Ravi, LOKAYAN, 13 Alipur Road,
New Delhi 110=20
054; tel: 011 23940154, 011 23951378; e-mail: <lokayan@???>.
"PRT IS A JOKE" WEBSITE LAUNCHED
Ken Avidor, the Minneapolis artist known for his Roadkill Bill comic strip,
has launched a=20
website compiling various critiques of Personal Rapid Transit, or PRT. As
featured in Car=20
Busters magazine #15, PRT is a proposed system of publicly owned cars
attached to=20
elevated guideways, in an attempt to replicate the automobile's speed and
mobility without its=20
traffic problems. The website, <
www.roadkillbill.com/PRTisaJoke.html>,
includes excerpts of=20
independent PRT studies and an expose of PRT patriarch Shef Lang. In
response to the=20
website, Avidor is getting considerable feedback from around the USA, with
people sending=20
in negative, sometimes scandalous information about PRT-promoter Ed
Anderson and about=20
PRT in general.
RIGHT TO PROTEST - CALL FOR SUPPORT
Swiss activists are asking for help in defending a group of protesters
charged in connection=20
with blocking a road during the G8 conference in June 2004. During the
protest, a policeman=20
cut the rope on which two protesters were hanging, seriously injuring one
of the protesters,=20
who fell 20 metres. Website: <
www.aubonnebridge.net>.
________________
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>=20
______________________________
TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
[Register today: <
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/>]
This is shaping up to be our best conference yet. The latest news: Derek
Turner, responsible=20
for implementing London's congestion charge, will be among our keynote
speakers. Please=20
see the rest of the conference programme at the website above, which now
includes a=20
German section.
This is your final notice that the early registration discount expires
March 19. The on-line=20
registration form contains a link for on-line credit card payment.
JOIN US AND WE'LL TAKE ON THE WORLD!
Twelve months after the network development process began at Towards
Carfree Cities III in=20
Prague, we=92re now ready for member organisations to join World Carfree
Network. So if your=20
group promotes cycling, walking, or other alternatives to car dependence
and automobile-
based planning, we want you to join us, get involved, and help create an
effective=20
international voice for change. The benefits include assistance with
campaign resources,=20
contacts, outreach and fundraising, and collaboration in international
projects and organised=20
exchanges. Become part of this new community by sending in a signed copy of
the network=20
charter. Go to <
www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/memberorgs.php> for further
details, and to=20
download a PDF of the charter. We look forward to hearing from you!
ANONYMOUS DONATOR SEEKS BICYCLE ADVOCACY GROUPS
We have been approached by an anonymous supporter who wishes to donate
approx.=20
US$5,000 each to ten bicycle advocacy organisations, anywhere in the world.
The donator's=20
interest is in supporting effective groups promoting every-day cycling. We
received a=20
substantial donation from this individual in 2003, so we know that this is
a genuine offer.
If your organisation is interested in being considered for such a
donation, please send us=20
(info(at)worldcarfree.net) the following by April 15:
- your group's name, location, name of contact person, contact info,=20
and website
- up to 300 words describing your group's work, its successes, and=20
what you would do with the donation
We will compile the submissions and turn it over to the donator to make
the final selection.=20
The offer is not limited to World Carfree Network member organisations,
although we would=20
hope that you would join to help us offer such services in the future.
"ONE LESS CAR" STICKER GOES TO CHINA
We=92re sending the famed =93One Less Car=94 bike sticker to China! Printed =
in
Chinese, they=92ll be=20
distributed in April at a Beijing confrerence called =93Shifting Social
Spaces in China=92s=20
Transition?: Environmentalism, Public Participation and Popular Protest.=94
More ambitious=20
distribution plans are in the works, to be carried out by Special Agent
Chopstick and team=20
under the auspices of the top-secret "Operation Shanghai Surprise."
CAR BUSTERS MAGAZINE #19 RELEASE
Car Busters issue #19, to be released March 18, includes all the usual
goodies, plus a=20
special focus on mass motorisation in China, and a look at d=E9croissance, a=
n
idea that has=20
been gaining steam in France as an alternative to growth and "sustainable
development."=20
There's also a debate on whether campaigners should single out
sport-utility vehicles=20
(SUVs).
Following Prague's Spring Critical Mass bicycle ride on March 18, a
magazine launch party=20
will kick off at 8 pm at the Bila Vrana club. The evening will feature the
locally famous DJ=20
Liquid A, as well as film screenings, vegetarian food, and a juggling and
fire show.=20
Admission: 50 CZK, or 30 CZK for Critical Mass participants in costume.
-----------
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http://www.worldcarfree.net/bulletin>.
________________________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-816-727
<info@???> - <
http://www.worldcarfree.net>
________________________________________________
"La bicicletta =E8 il veicolo pi=F9 rapido nella via della delinquenza;=
perch=E8
la passione del pedale trascina al furto, alla truffa, alla grassazione!"
-Cesare Lombroso-
