This is an experiment, attempting to do a post by email.
I am cheating, because to insert this nice "No Car" sticker from the Boston
bloggers "Choosing No Car," I had to log
on to my Typepad account.
Okay, enough geeky detail.
The important thing is this: for the nth time in recent years, Brussels, seat of the European Union, is turning itself into a carless capital. "La Journée
Sans Voitures" is a joy for anyone who values fresher air, walking IN the
streets, and peace and quiet.
Not that our leafy neighborhood is noisy, but
this morning, going out for fresh bread, it was like the final scene (minus
the scary post apocalyptic music) of the end of the world in "On The Beach." No sound, empty
streets.
That will have changed when we take the tram a little later; last year our
tram could barely move for all the cyclists and pedestrians clogging the
city's many cultural and historic venues.
Brussels, a city of only about a million people, can go carless thanks to
its wonderful integrated public transport system, where one simple ticket
gets you on to trams, buses, metros, and trains. We almost never go into
city center by car.
So, looking for inspiration for a post-Detroit future? Come to Brussels
next September and savor what it's like to spend a day without The Car.