Stratford’s downtown business association is offering more than one reason to consider walking, cycling or scooting in the city’s core later this week.
Stratford’s downtown business association is offering more than one reason to consider walking, cycling or scooting in the city’s core later this week.
The second Car-Free Friday of the season is happening from 8 am to 10 am, which means you can start the day with a free cup of coffee from Balzac’s just for swinging by Memorial Gardens without a vehicle.
If that’s not enticing enough, organizers will also be giving away free bike maps, bells and a chance to win a custom piece of letter art from One Off Shakespeare, a local father-daughter duo who transform recycled license plates into artsy decorations.
“The premise is to promote active transportation,” said Kim Griffiths, the Stratford City Centre’s member liaison, “and give a day where we can reward people for coming downtown without their cars.”
Car-Free Fridays have been happening downtown for about four years.
The occasional events typically draw at least 25 people and have become popular enough among local cyclists to be used as impromptu brainstorming sessions about how to make the city more bike friendly. This Friday, for example, the business association will be conducting a survey that will help determine the location of downtown Stratford’s second bike repair stationGriffiths said.
Those types of grassroots conversations are important, added Stratford City Center chair Pamela Coneybeare, the owner of La Osa Jewelry and Vintage. Not only are business owners interested in freeing up parking spaces for costumers, promoting active transportation is helpful for the environment.
“There are a lot of reasons why we don’t want people to drive downtown,” Coneybeare said. “We know parking has always been an issue and probably always will be an issue. Driving less helps everyone … even if you only do it one day less than you usually do.”
More information about Car-Free Fridays is available on the Stratford City Centre’s Facebook page.