Join us for a Week Without Driving!
Parking and traffic is a daily struggle for us Volunteers… but what if we took a week off from the hustle of the drive and participated in a different experience?
This year’s Week Without Driving takes place from Monday, Sept. 29th to Friday, October 3rd. The challenge: go about all your regular weekly activities without your car. Take some form of alternative transportation – walking, biking, busing, carpooling, skating – to your classes, work, or extracurriculars and see what it’s like to be without a car.
The initial motivation to create the Week Without Driving was to provide an opportunity for those who drive to learn about the accessibility challenges that nondrivers face. Modern cities are too-often built with the car in mind, instead of the person; for many of us, daily life is far outside of walking-distance from our living spaces.
This challenge also provides a unique opportunity for Vols who battle for parking every day. No car means no need for parking passes… no need for park & ride… no need to hunt for a space around campus. No car means no sitting in traffic, stressed about deadlines, with no choice but to stare at the bumper of the car ahead of you.
What if, instead, your time is spent reading on the bus or enjoying a quiet moment to yourself? What if you explored new scenery on a walk, taking in the smell of freshly-cut grass or the crunching of fallen leaves underfoot? What if you felt the breeze in your hair as you cycle down Ped Walkway?
The UT Office of Sustainability and UT Parking & Transportation invite you to join us for this year’s Week Without Driving. Post your experiences online with the hashtag #weekwithoutdrivingutk and share what it’s like for you to live without a car. Tell us all the ways life changes for the better (or worse).
There are many ways to celebrate the Week Without Driving on UT’s campus, and here are a few highlights:
- We are celebrating the Week Without Driving by giving away a swag bag from the VolShop for free! Here are the ways you can enter to win:
- Post about your Week by tagging us @utksustainability & @parkingutk with the #weekwithoutdrivingutk
- Email cwinn1@vols.utk.edu with your name, address, and primary mode of transportation.
- The Bicycle Advisory Committee is hosting the Campus Bike Fair on October 1st. The Fair takes place on Ped Walkway from 11AM to 2PM and celebrates all things bicycle-related. Meet the Cycling Club, bring your bike for repair, test-ride an e-bike, or register your bike and get a free lock and light.
- Lime is sponsoring the Week Without Driving! Wherever Lime is available, you can save 50% — just enter the promo code AMERICAWALKS
For more information on the National Week Without Driving, check out: https://weekwithoutdriving.org/