community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Car Free Conference: "The Effects of the Auto Age on our Communities and our Lives&qu
by George Brittenburg
Thursday, Jun. 23, 2005 at 5:46 PM
george@carfreepittsburgh.org 4124410432 5435 jackson st. #4
Free Conference on "The Effects of the Auto Age on our Communities and our Lives" to be held June 26th at the Garfield Activity Center
Contact:
George Brittenburg, Organizer
Car Free Pittsburgh
5435 Jackson St. #4
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
http://www.carfreepittsburgh.org
info@carfreepittsburgh.org
Transportation Advocacy Group Hosts Conference on the Need to Transition Away from Single Occupancy Automobiles in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA--June 23, 2005
The automobile, in its 97 years since the Model T was first placed on the public market, has come to dominate America’s transportation scene, effecting our lives and communities for better or for worse. The landscape of America has been devoted to automobile passage, with winding highways stretching from coast to coast, and roadways throughout almost every neighborhood. The invasion of the automobile into the daily life of Americans has become so ubiquitous that pre-automobile America seems almost mythic. Yet, as with any invention, the automobile has its benefits and its detractions, many of which are no longer obvious to our automobile-saturated society.
As Pittsburghers choose to drive alone to work, to the store, and to almost any destination they travel to, they often do not realize how it is that the automobile has gained superiority as the number one form of transportation. They often do not recognize the economic costs of driving in terms of the infrastructure, fuel, manufacturing and more that make driving possible. Moreover, the environmental and societal costs of such exorbitant driving become obfuscated somewhere under the car mess in the back seat.
Meanwhile, Pittsburghers who do not own or travel by personal automotive transport have been wading through a Public Transportation crisis that may leave Pittsburgh bus riders in the dust; bicyclists ride on hostile streets and pedestrians are marginalized in favor of more space for cars. But all share the expenses of road construction, pollution and the hazards of congested traffic.
To help commuters engage the reality of what the auto age has meant for America, Car Free Pittsburgh, an advocacy group working to aid Pittsburghers with the transition to sustainable transportation, is hosting a conference on “The Auto Age and its Effects on our Communities and our Lives,” on Sunday, June 26th, from 10am-4pm at the Garfield Activity Center in Garfield. The conference will feature presentations on the environmental, social and economic costs of the auto age in Pittsburgh and the means available to Pittsburghers ready to transition to more sustainable transportation. Featured speakers include representatives from the Group Against Smog and Pollution, Save Our Transit, the Allegheny County Transit Council, the Citizen Project, Pittsburgh Transportation Equity Project, University of Pittsburgh Urban Planning Department, Bike-Pgh, and Car Free Pittsburgh. Topics to presented upon include Public Transportation in Pittsburgh, Urban Bicycling, Air Pollution and Health, the History of Gasoline Additives in America, Urban Sprawl, Global Warming, Environmental Racism, and the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
The conference is part of Car Free Pittsburgh’s campaign to raise awareness about single occupancy vehicle use in Pittsburgh and the future of sustainable transit. This summer’s campaign will culminate in a Car Free Day, where Pittsburghers will be invited to make a pledge to not drive on July 23rd 2005, to focus on the benefits of alternative transportation and to attend a free Car Free Festival held in Garfield on that date. The festival promises to be a fun day of local arts, music, crafts, food, education, tree planting, a bicycle tractor pull, and much more.
For Information: http://www.carfreepittsburgh.org or
Contact: info@carfreepittsburgh.org
Phone: 412.441.0432
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