Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Could You Give Up Your Car for Lent?

10:40 AM EST on February 11, 2013

The season of Lent is coming up, and here's an idea we like a lot.

false

The Catholic and Protestant Churches of Austria are encouraging their followers to give up, or reduce, car usage for Lent. Mikael Colville-Andersen at Network blog Copenhagenize has the story:

Our friend Paul in Vienna sent us a link to an intiative by the Catholic and Protestant churches of Austria. Car Fasting - or Autofasten, in German. A brilliant initiative to encourage people to go on a car fast and seek alternatives.

Here's what I lamely translated from their website:

Car Fasting is ...

- An initiative to encourage a change of independent mobility between Ash Wednesday (13 Feb) to Holy Saturday (30 March).- Suggesting choosing available alternatives like rail, bus, bicycle, foot, car-pooling in order to discover something new and to experiment.- Contributing to new experiences and to public health.- An opportunity to shape a better future -- together.- An initiative of the environmental officers of the Catholic and Protestant churches in Austria.

The church offered a list of suggestions to its followers for how to comply with the fast, including walking children to school, forming a carpool and urging political leaders to improve public transport. Sounds like a pretty healthy initiative.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater City Providence demonstrates the wrong way to plow snow, namely by removing an obstacle for cars and placing it on the sidewalks. This Big City looks at Seattle's streetcar renaissance. And Streets.mn shares a Valentine love note in honor of the pedestrian commute.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Don’t Feel the Need for Speed

Tell me again, which constitutional amendment is it that gives people the right to drive as fast as they want?

December 1, 2023

Komanoff: IMHO, TMRB is A-OK

Here’s what’s to like about the Traffic Mobility Review Board's central business district toll recommendations. It's a lot!

December 1, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: The Sexy World of Bus Speeds

When you start to add up the numbers, you can see why agency leaders would be interesting in finding ways to reduce those costs.

November 30, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines See Daylight

Daylighting, or removing parking near intersections, is an often overlooked way to improve pedestrian safety.

November 30, 2023

Why So Many U.S. Drivers Think Speeding Is Perfectly Safe

Do Americans hit lethal speeds because they're in a rush, or because they have no idea that they're increasing their chances of death with every tick of the odometer?

November 30, 2023
See all posts