Lehigh University will be participating in its first Car Free Day on September 22, 2015. Join the Lehigh community in taking the pledge to give up your car and use alternative methods of transportation on this day. Bike, walk, run, carpool, or take public transportation. Any small adjustment you make can have a huge impact on your health and on the environment.
But Car Free Day isn't just about a temporary hiatus from cars. Use Car Free Day and your pledge to encourage your co-workers, peers and institution to support a more permanent car-free or car-limited environment. Here are just a few facts and figures to get you thinking about what going car free could mean for yourself, for Lehigh and for the local area:
• Lehigh has issued 1718 faculty/staff parking permits for the 2015 year.
• In a survey distributed to Lehigh faculty and staff in 2014, 90.1 percent of those who answered said they use single occupancy vehicles to get to campus. Further, 4.8 percent said they walk or bicycle to work and 3.4 percent said they carpool to work.
• 434 Lehigh employees live within approximately 2 miles of campus, which is a great distance for walking or running to work. 879 employees live between approximately 2-10 miles of campus, which is a great distance for biking to work (Lehigh University)
• The average car releases 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 15 gallons of gasoline (Car Free Network)
• Drivers spend an average of $9,641 every year on car-related expenses
Are you ready to take the pledge?
All of those who participate in Car Free Day are welcome to a celebration on September 22 starting at 4 p.m. in Butz Plaza. Refreshments will be provided!
For more information about Car Free Day, please visit: https://sustainability.lehigh.edu/car-free-day-2015