Bicycle riders of all ages are being invited to meet in front of the the Fayetteville Public Library on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 PM for a leisurely ride around town to celebrate World Carfree Day.

World Carfree Day was established in 2000 as a grassroots movement by the World Carfree Network meant to promote more sustainable ways of transportation and new ways of building and thinking about the urbanism of cities. The event coincides with European Mobility Week, a politically supported event which also promotes awareness of sustainable transportation.

Since it’s inception, World Carfree Day has grown to involve official and unofficial participants in over 1,000 cities in 40 countries.

From the World Carfree website:

Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighborhood blocks to remind the world that we don’t have to accept our car-dominated society.

But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to “normal” life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, it is up to our cities, and our governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists, and other people who do not drive cars.

Let World Car-Free Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars 365 days a year.

As the climate heats up, World Car-Free Day is the perfect time to take the heat off the planet, and put it on city planners and politicians to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport, instead of to the automobile.

For more information, visit worldcarfree.net.