Inaugural Week Without Driving PGH highlights transit gaps and community resilience

Next week, a coalition of activists, advocates, and electeds is urging Pittsburghers to forgo using a car. From Monday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 6, participants in the inaugural Week Without Driving PGH will avoid driving, instead walking, rolling, cycling, or taking transit or a rideshare to their destination. For those who can’t fully participate, organizers frame this as an opportunity to reflect on the ways the 30% of Allegheny County residents without cars choose to — or have to — navigate the local landscape.

“For many people, like the nearly 25% of Pittsburgh households that do not have access to a personal vehicle, life without driving is a daily reality with its own set of challenges,” Julie Walsh, BikePGH’s communications and marketing manager, tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “Week Without Driving is an opportunity to highlight those challenges, hear those stories, and advocate for better mobility in all of our communities.”

Walsh highlights the ways the challenge can reveal gaps in non-car networks such as bike trails and bus lines. “Does a week without a car sound daunting to you? Think about the reasons why you may feel that way,” she says. “It’s important to think about those barriers and why they exist.”

Pittsburgh has made strides in car-free transportation — but advocates still see areas of need, especially given COVID-related service cuts to Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) services. Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT), another organizer, recently announced their push for visionary transit and continues to advocate for greater access across all modes of transportation.

“The Week Without Driving PGH was started out of organizing within the disability justice movement,” PPT digital organizing director Dan Yablonsky tells City Paper. “People with disabilities are using the effort to give both drivers and non-drivers a wider perspective on their experience and invite them to organize for a system that extends more access to all people.”

Other organizers and signers-on include Access Mob Pittsburgh, AARP, and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, who will host a press conference alongside Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Week Without Driving organizers on Sept. 30. At least 45 organizations have signed on as co-sponsors. The effort has also released a series of profiles to detail why different participants have gotten involved. Walsh says 35 organizations and 80 individuals and counting had signed on as of Sept. 25. (Full disclosure: as a bicycle commuter and monthly Transit Talk author, I have also signed the pledge.)

Studies have shown that ditching driving even part-time can have a major impact on carbon dioxide emissions. One European study found that commuting by bike one day a week reduced individuals’ carbon footprint by up to a half-tonne per year. Walsh says “time will tell” when it comes to measurable impact, but tells CP the community aspect of the challenge is just as, if not more, important.

“We urge our neighbors and elected leaders to think about the barriers people face in our current system,” she says. “For some, it’s the lack of safe, accessible sidewalks for walking and rolling, or lack of wheelchair access. For others, it’s the absence of reliable public transit. When we set an intention to take a week away from our cars, we can more clearly see the gravity of these issues and pave the way for solutions.”

“Transportation access impacts every part of our lives and communities,” Yablonsky says. “When we improve the transportation system for those with the fewest options, we improve it for all.”