Arlington's Car-Free Diet Blog

Celebrating Car-Free Day

In celebration of World Car-Free Day on September 22, Arlington's Car-Free Diet held a breakfast for local Car-Free Diet retail partners to thank them for their participation in the Car-Free Diet and how they can continue to help spread the word about going car free and car lite to the community.

The event was held at Revolution Cycles in Clarendon and provided an opportunity for business owners to meet with representatives from BikeArlington, WalkArlington, Fresh AIRE, and Arlington Transportation Partners and learn about the various transportation options available in Arlington County.

At the event, two businesses were honored with plaques for their ongoing active and local partnerships with the Car-Free Diet. The Crystal City BID received the Pioneer of the Year award for their participation in helping to bringing Capital Bikeshare to Arlington. Revolution Cycles was presented with the Partner of the Year award for their continued support of the Car-Free Diet.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event and for helping to make it a success!

Observe, Participate, Celebrate, Walk About

World Car-Free Day 2010 is next Wednesday, September 22. Join the world in observing this celebration by going car-free or car-lite right here, in and around Arlington. Walk, bike, take transit, carpool with a friend, or work from home!

To seal the deal, pledge to go car-free or car-lite at http://www.carfreemetrodc.com/ and you will be automatically entered into a raffle for cool prizes. You can still pledge even if you’re already car-free.

Of course, there will be many events happening on Car-Free Day, but here’s one that's ready-made for you to participate in -- the WalkArlington Walkers Meetup Group weekly walk around Clarendon neighborhood. Learn why The Washington Post calls Clarendon a “best bet” in the DC area. Meet up with other fellow walkers for an hour walk through residential and commercial neighborhoods in and around Clarendon. There’s even a year-round Farmers' Market at the Clarendon Metro from 4-7 p.m., so walkers can grab a snack before the walk.

Continue the celebration of going car-free or car-lite all week, Try Transit Week is the entire week of September 20-24. Pledge to use transit during the week of September 20-24 and you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a pass to the transit service of your choice to ride free for a year, and two round-trip tickets on Amtrak Virginia!* In addition, your pledge could help your locality win the contest for the highest number of pledges.

And as a fitting finale to a car-free week, Walk Arlington is debuting its newest Walkabout in Arlington’s Yorktown neighborhood on the afternoon of Sunday, September 26 Led by Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette, the Walkabout will kick off at 3:00 p.m. from Greenbrier Park and cover a nine-stop, two-mile route, ending up right where it started around 5:00 p.m. This recreational walking tour is free of charge and open to all ages. Registration is not required. The Walkabout will take place RAIN OR SHINE. Contact info@walkarlington.com or visit http://www.walkarlington.com/.com for more information.

Whether you walk, bike, bus (ART 41 and 77 or Metrobus 38B and 24P) or Metro (Orange Line-Clarendon), we hope you celebrate, participate, and observe Car-Free Day on September 22 and all week long!

Lauren Hassel
WalkArlington