Furlough Your Car Fridays July 2-September 3
Posted on August 1, 2010
Filed Under Lake Tahoe Eco-Tips
Furlough Your Car Fridays begin Friday, July 2 and continue each Friday through September 3, 2010.
Residents of South Lake Tahoe are encouraged to reduce their Vehicle Miles Traveled by carpooling, telecommuting, biking or using alternative transportation to get to and from work and around town.
“Fridays in summertime are some of the most congested days on the road in South Shore,” said David Hansen, co-chair of TahoeChamber.org’s Green Business Cooperative. “If residents can work together to reduce their VMT by carpooling or staying out of their cars entirely, we will have a positive impact on both the environment and the visitor experience.”
Local businesses are encouraged to enable their employees to telecommute if appropriate. Locals can also reduce VMT by carpooling with co-workers, biking, or using alternative transportation to get to/from their place of work and organizing carpools with other locals for afternoon and evening activities. Additionally, local business people are encouraged to walk to lunch, schedule web or conference calls rather than in-person meetings, and take care of errands on a different day.
“Beyond reducing vehicle miles, Furlough Your Car Fridays can build community,” said Claire Fortier, vice-chairman of the Sustainability Commission. “Walking or riding a bike focuses us on our town, which, in turn, builds safer and friendlier neighborhoods and helps support our local businesses. On Fridays, let’s get out of our cars and get to know our neighbors. It’s the first step toward a more sustainable community.”
“It is pretty well known that runoff from our roadways is one of the main contributors to the degradation of lake clarity,” said B Gorman, President of TahoeChamber.org. “Every car that stays off the road will help. If residents can plan to commute together or use some other method of getting from here to there, we’ll take a major step forward in our efforts to become a greener community.”
So get your bikes tuned and your walking shoes ready. We can all play a part in preserving our environment while participating in healthy activities that celebrate Tahoe culture.
Residents are encouraged to track their reduction in VMT by posting a comment in the Furlough Your Car Friday discussion tab of TahoeChamber.org’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tahoechamber.
