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Car-Free Day: The Concept That Shook Sebastopol
Chris Culver, Sonoma County Bike Coalition Newsletter, Fall 2001
www.bikesonoma.org

In case you haven't heard, this is the idea: designate one day a month, i.e. the first Sunday, in which citizens of a small town are encouraged to voluntarily not drive their cars and discover the joys of walking, biking, using transit, etc. If citizens must drive they are encouraged to fly a green ribbon on their car in support of those who do go car-free, and then try to go car-free themselves some other day of the month. This is the concept that shook Sebastopol.

"When we in Sebastopol are asked which issues we are most concerned about, what always pops up is traffic. Then when we look at our overall environmental problems, the impact of automobiles is right up there on top, and when we look at solutions that are within our control, driving less seems to be the easiest." says Sammy Nasr, who, along with Portia Sinnott, Fred DeVilliers, and Peter Schurch proposed the idea as a city resolution. They are all members of the local group "Sebastopol Car-Lite".

To most of us bicycling-types, and certainly to many others the idea seemed very exciting, but to some it apparently struck terror in their hearts. The resolution came before the City Council in November butte vote ended in a two-two stalemate. That meeting saw the council chambers packed with passionate citizens arguing both for and against, and a fist-fight nearly erupted capping a surprisingly dramatic evening.

Friend of alternative transport, Chris Coursey, wrote a great piece in the Press Democrat about the whole affair, and seemed to be shaking his head in disgust (or maybe it was amusement) wondering how some of the Sebastopol merchants could have calculate expected losses of $60,000-$1,000,000 if the resolution were passed.

In response to Coursey'scolumn and the wild council meeting, Nanette Schlessman, a cyclist from Santa Rosa summed it up wonderfully in a letter to the editor: "We are talking about one voluntary day a month here. Twelve shopping days out of 365 if one wants to give it some kind of perspective. If people are moved to violence over such an idea, good luck getting them out of their cars until their cold dead fingers are pried from steering wheels and cash registers."

The idea finally came up for a vote again at the January Council meeting. But the group who proposed it decided to pull it from a vote. "We wanted consensus, but it wasn't happening," said Portia Sinnott. "There was still a lot of misconception amongst the public about what the proposal really was, and Council member Bob Anderson was complimentary, but he still didn't want to vote for it." So, what's next?" We're still going to do it" says Sinnott. Her group didn't want to force it down anybody's throat, so instead, they will develop and promote the idea themselves and once it's gotten off the ground then people can decide for themselves whether they like it or not. For more info contact Portia via www.car-lite.org.