Car Free Day Metro DC, organized by the Commuter Connections program of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, is back this year on Thursday, September 22, 2022.
Use Transit, Carpool/Vanpool (Car-Lite), Bike, Scooter, Walk, or Telework
Car Free Day is a worldwide event that encourages greener methods of travel; meaning ways to get around other than driving alone by car. Commuter Connections hosts Car Free Day in the Washington, DC region to bring awareness to the many benefits of travel options such as transit, bicycling and walking; and also telework for people who can work from home. Carpooling and vanpooling count too; they’re considered “car-lite” since they are both lighter on the wallet and the environment than driving alone in a car.
Reduce your Carbon Footprint
Using more sustainable ways to get around helps reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion. The more people who travel using bicycles, buses, trains, carpools and vanpools, the fewer pollutants are released into the atmosphere.
All are welcome to take the Car Free Day pledge whether you’re a Washington DC area resident, commuter, or student. Once you take the Online Pledge, you’ll be automatically entered into a raffle for all sorts of great prizes. Click any of the links above, and select the travel method that fits your mobility best!
Start Friday, May 20 with a healthy bike ride, and join the fun. Celebrate and promote clean, healthy, affordable, and joyful transportation; meet fellow bike commuters, enthusiasts, and supportive officials; collect bike-to-work-day swag; and enjoy free breakfast snacks and beverages. Some pit stops will also have free bicycle inspections and adjustments. Register online now!
Bike-to-Work Day (BTWD) Metro DC is traditionally held on the third Friday in May. For the past 20 years, the event has been organized and promoted annually throughout the metropolitan Washington DC region by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) Commuter Connections program.
The event celebrates bicycling as a viable commuting mode and encourages all commuters to try bicycling for all–or for just one segment–of their work commute trip . Teleworkers are also welcome to participate, by bicycling to one of the roughly 90 BTWD rally locations (known as ‘pit stops’) throughout the Washington region and then bicycling home for their workday.
As most people know, bicycling is healthy, clean, economical, and fun. Bicycle commuting is energy efficient, reduces traffic and parking congestion, improves air quality, increases employee morale and productivity, and can lower employer healthcare costs.
Bike to Work Day was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, but it ‘s back this year, with some COVID precautions in place at each BTWD pit stop.
This year, seven Bike-to-Work Day pit stops will be held throughout the Prince William area. At these locations, participants can pick up a BTWD t-shirt, water bottle, and snacks. Participants should register online in advance and show up at their selected pit stop at their scheduled check-in time with a mask on and maintain social distancing.
Click on the links below to learn the exact locations, hours of operation, and contacts for the seven Prince William area pit stops.
In the United States, the League of American Bicyclists established National Bike Week (now National Bike Month) in 1956, emulating an event begun in the United Kingdom in 1923. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association organized DC-based Bike-to-Work Day events on Earth Day (April 22) for several decades until MWCOG’s Commuter Connections program adopted BTWD Metro DC as a region-wide event.
At the peak of the lockdown period from COVID19 we witnessed an “extreme” effect on carbon emissions, causing a 17% drop globally. As our economy begins to recover and emissions begin increasing again, we are presented with an enormous opportunity for growth.
The clean energy sector has been one of the fastest-growing in recent years and Virginia is #10 in the number of clean energy jobs, with more than 78,000 Virginians working in the industry with more being created as we facilitate the transition to renewable energy.
Though the task seems overwhelming there are concrete, significant actions our County Supervisors and citizens can take right now, which would result in significant benefits for our environment and economy.
Our panel will feature:
Jay Fisette, former Chair of Arlington County Board & Managing Principal, DMV Strategic Advisors.
Steve Walz, Director, Environmental Programs at Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Taylor Brown, Chief Technical Officer at Sun Tribe Solar
Tune it to find out about…and discuss these questions and more:
What localities are leading our region on climate action?
Do we need a community-wide climate plan?
Do citizens have a role?
What specific actions can our local leaders take this year?
Should the County and Schools work together?
Please register and you will receive the zoom link the day prior to the webinar.
Invite your local leaders to help inform and educate them on how they can act on climate right now!
Co-hosted by: Mothers Out Front, The Greater Prince William Climate Action Network, Youth Climate Action PWC, Active Prince William, Sierra Club – Virginia, Earth Rise Indivisible, The Climate Reality Project, Food & Water Watch.
Proposed Prince William County Trails Network from 2007
1) Establish Citizen Transportation Advisory Commissions for Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
2) Provide
Meaningful and Robust Public Participation Processes for the Coming
Comprehensive Plan Updates for the County and Cities.
3) Expand and Enhance Public Transportation as an Effective Travel Choice:
a) Add midday, evening, and reverse-commute VRE trips, possibly as shortened runs to/from Alexandria and/or Springfield/Franconia.
b) Add local and commuter bus service along Rte 28 and Sudley Rd, ideally in dedicated lanes.
c) Extend Richmond Hwy BRT south through Prince William County along the Rte 1 corridor to Quantico.
4) Build Complete Streets, especially a Primary Bikeway Network that Crosses Major Barriers (e.g., rivers, freeways, land parcels):
a) Build a continuous “I-66 Trail”, largely along Balls Ford Rd and across Bull Run into Fairfax County.
b) Build a quality bike/ped crossing of I-66 at or near Sudley Rd/Bus 234. In short term, ensure space for paths beneath all new I-66 overpasses of Sudley Rd.
c) Retrofit quality bike/ped crossings of I-95, especially at/near Prince Wm Pkwy/Horner Rd and at/near Dale Blvd/Opitz Blvd, but also at/near Rte 123, 234, & Joplin Rd.
d) Complete a continuous trail along Rte 234, from Rte 1 to I-66, including the totally missing segment between Brentsville Rd and I-66.
e) Include quality bike/ped access along and across Flat Branch and Bull Run in the proposed Godwin Dr Extension (Rte 28 environmental assessment).
f) Improve US Bike Route 1, a Maine-to Florida bikeway: Retrofit paved shoulders along Aden Rd (Joplin Rd to Fleetwood Dr) and Fleetwood Dr (Aden Rd to Fauquier line), fix the Hoadly Rd bike lanes, and sign all of USBR1 in PWC. Plan and create a paved shared-use path along the perimeter of Quantico Marine Corps Base as a long-term project.
g) Improve bike/ped crossings of Bull Run and the Occoquan River, including at Old Centreville Rd/Ordway Rd, Rte 28, Yates Ford Rd, I-66 Trail (connect Balls Ford Rd to Bull Run Dr), and Rte 1.
h) Improve bike/ped access along the Rte 29 corridor (Bull Run to Fauquier line).
i) Establish continuous ped/bike access along Old Bridge Rd.
j) Plan and develop a bikeway and trail network in Manassas Park.
5)Develop
Livable, Walkable, and Vibrant Transit-Oriented Communities:
a) Plan to revive aging suburban retail corridors and malls for higher-density, mixed-use, bus-transit-oriented redevelopment (e.g., Manassas Mall and the Sudley Rd corridor, Rte 28 in Yorkshire, Rte 1, Dale Blvd, Old Bridge Rd).
b) Remove or scale back all or part of numerous proposed road widenings from the Comprehensive Plan, including Brady’s Hill Rd, Carver Rd, Catharpin Rd, Dale Blvd, Dumfries Rd, Farm Creek Dr, Featherstone Rd, Gideon Dr, Godwin Dr Extension, Gordon Blvd, Groveton Rd, Gum Springs Rd, Horner Rd, Lucasville Rd, Manassas Battlefield Bypass, Neabsco Rd, Old Centreville Rd, PW Pkwy, Signal Hill Rd, Station Rd, Sudley Manor Dr, Sudley Rd, Rte 15, Rte 29, Rte 55, and Wellington Rd.
c) Innovation Town Center: Plan and develop a robust pedestrian and bicycle network, including a high-quality connection to the north side of the expanded Broad Run VRE Station.
6)Operate a Vibrant Safe Routes to School Program:
a) All new public schools, including the 13th high school, should be walkable and bikeable and include quality bicycle parking accommodations.
7)Make
Walking and Bicycling Safer:
a) Improve pedestrian crossings of multilane arterials (e.g., add missing pedestrian crossing signals, Leading Pedestrian Intervals, conspicuously marked crosswalks, sidewalk bulb outs, and/or streetlights; remove Right-Turn-Only Lanes).
b) Retrofit missing sidewalks along arterial roadways and on walk routes to schools and transit.
c) Provide a signed detour when pedestrian or bicycle facilities are closed for construction or maintenance activities.
8)Build a Comprehensive Recreational Trails Network:
a) Complete the East Coast Greenway/Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail shared-use path through PWC, generally between Rte 1 and the Potomac River.
9)Improve
VRE Bicycle Access:
a) Provide covered bicycle parking and rental bicycle storage lockers at every VRE station in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
b) Improve bike/ped connections to VRE stations from all directions, including the expanded Broad Run station (including the Broad Run Trail), to improve bike/ped access to VRE from Bristow, the Landing at Cannon Branch, and Innovation Town Center.
c) Expand VRE bike-on-rail access (long capped at 34 bikes on 17 daily trains).
