My wife made a good point the other day;
“Remember the days during Covid, when everything was shut down, how the air quality all over the world suddenly jumped to all-time best”?
And then I just happened to read an article in one of my local newspapers about what happened on December, 9th 1973 in Switzerland!
Back then in the 70s, the government ordered 3 Sundays of no traffic, November 25th, and December 2nd and 9th. But the Swiss didn’t let this ruin their lives. They had fun and experienced things that are not normally possible, people walking on the highway, roads to cycle, and skating on, using horses and buggies as vehicles, and riding horses through the cities.
World Star Joan Baez
(now 82)did the same, She was scheduled to give a concert in Montreux VD on the first car-free Sunday. But because there is no taxi available, the American folk singer travels from her hotel to the concert hall on horseback.
Despite the festival atmosphere that prevails on the three car-free Sundays, the population does not want to enshrine them in law: on May 28, 1978, the introduction of twelve such days per year was not approved in a federal referendum and on may 18,2003 an initiative was sent down the drain that called for car-free Sundays every year!
However, as a homage to the special days of 1973, one could see the “SlowUps”, in which streets were closed to car traffic. Inspired by the “German Wine Route Adventure Day” (abolished in 2022 due to high safety requirements), the “SlowUp” was launched in the run-up to the state exhibition “Expo.02”; on September 3, 2000, roads around Lake Murten will be exclusively released for bicycles etc. The “SlowUp” is now available in numerous places in Switzerland.
Now, why can’t governments and the G20 members come up with the same scenario, 3 – 4 Sundays a year, no traffic, all over the world? The public shall use public transportation such as trains, trams, and buses. The exception would be, of course, essential people working as police, emergency, postal staff, and public transportation operators.
There are car-free cities
and villages in Switzerland now, Mürren and Wengen, also Zermatt is carfree, only electric taxis are allowed for the transporting of customers from the train station the their hotels.
We did during COVID-19,
why not now, since everyone is so concerned and worried about climate change and the environment?
This would cost a lot less than the trillions they try to accumulate, which are surely going into the wrong hands( or accounts!!)
