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Recognizing September 30th through October 6th, 2024 as "Week Without Driving" in the City of Philadelphia, honoring all Philadelphians who participated, and encouraging all Philadelphians to join efforts to reduce reliance on automobiles and fossil fuels.
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WHEREAS, A Week Without Driving is a campaign that challenges the public to learn firsthand about the barriers that nondrivers face and to work with nondrivers to create more accessible, safer, healthier, and greener communities for all. The campaign also promotes walking as a mode of transportation, calls for reductions in carbon emissions, and brings attention to the barriers to mobility that many face daily; and
WHEREAS, Access to mobility is a fundamental part of health and community connection, allowing the City of Philadelphia to reach education and employment opportunities, medical services, shopping, recreation, and visit friends and family. It is one of the Commonwealth's six transportation system policy goals, including investing public dollars to improve the movement of people throughout Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, the cost of owning a car is approximately 72 cents a mile, with average household spending on transportation reaching $10,961 a year in 2021. Many people cannot afford the cost of a car, and nearly a third of the people residing in the U.S. do not have a driver's license, either because of their age or a condition that does not allow them to drive; and
WHEREAS, Transportation represents the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. In order to meet our state's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, cities across the country must reduce emissions in our transportation sector; and
WHEREAS, In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, cars also create tire dust that can enter watersheds, have necessitated freeway expansions that have been detrimental to neighborhoods historically home to communities of co...
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