Slough Borough Council encouraged more than 100 staff to leave their car at home as part of national In Town Without My Car! Day on September 22.
To mark the day, parking spaces in the staff car park were cordoned off to make way for information stands about alternative ways to travel to work including cycling, walking and public transport, as well as a series of fun activities to encourage staff to think about the benefits of more sustainable ways to travel.
The transport team asked staff to make pledges to leave their cars at home, and there was a special breakfast for those who cycled to work.
Over the lunchtime period there was a host of activities to promote cleaner and greener ways to travel and the importance of healthy living, including:
* A slow bike race to see who can stay on the their bike for the longest in a snail-paced race
* The chance to cycle yourself a smoothie with the Blender Vendor
* An adult bouncy castle
* Exercise bikes and rowing machines
* Free pedometers and water bottles to encourage staff to walk and cycle
The Slough council also promoted their new pool bikes, which allow staff to book a bike to use during the day for work business as a cleaner way to travel around the town.
In Town Without My Car! Day takes place every year and forms part of European Mobility Week.
It encourages people to leave their car at home for a day and to make their journey to work, school, town centre or shop using more sustainable transport such as walking, cycling, public transport or car sharing.
Rub Nawaz, transport strategy manager, Slough Borough Council, said: “As part of the council’s staff travel plan it is important that we promote alternative and more sustainable ways of travelling to and from work.
“At present the majority of staff travel to work by car, and we want to encourage them to make a pledge and travel to work on foot, by bicycle or on public transport on September 22 to see how easy it can be.”
Cllr James Swindlehust, commissioner for Slough neighbourhoods and renewal, said: “Making Slough a greener place to live is a top priority for the council.
“At present, around 40,000 people commute into Slough to work, with 30,000 commuting out to work elsewhere. This generates a huge amount of congestion in a relatively small town.
“If everyone who travelled to work chose an alternative mode of transport such as walking, cycling or public transport for just one day a week, it would considerably reduce the amount of cars on our roads everyday and therefore reduce congestion and pollution.
“But this is not just down to staff at the council. For this to work, businesses across the town need to put in place green travel plans to ensure their staff are using sustainable modes of transport.”
Slough Borough Council
