Your Car-Free Campaign

Your Car-Free Campaign | Facts first | Public meeting | 
Volunteers please | Go rallying | Spreading the word | Working with others | The Woman Who Stops Traffic home

If your local environment is blighted by excessive traffic then why not take a leaf out of Kris Murrin's book and try to convince the driving locals to change their ways for just one day a week.

Kris identified major traffic problems in the Lincolnshire town of Boston, Berkshire's picturesque Marlow and the city of Durham in County Durham. But getting the locals to leave their cars at home for one day a week in order to combat the congestion was a hard message to sell.

Follow our step-by-step guide for hints and tips on how to organise your local campaign:

Top Tips

• Get your facts straight. This is the best way to illustrate the problem.
• Hold a public meeting. This will give you a clear idea of how people feel and the level of interest in your campaign.
• Ask for volunteers to set up a core campaign group. Meet with the campaign group to thrash out an organisation strategy. Your group of volunteers will collectively provide creative ideas, resources and contacts, invaluable for a successful campaign.
• Lobby your local MP to support your campaign.
• Rally your neighbours and the wider community.
• Start a petition for cycle lanes and car-free alternatives (especially effective at local election time).
• Involve the local press (radio shows and newspapers and seek the backing of any local celebrities).
• Advertise your campaign via word of mouth, leaflets in local shops and adverts in the free local papers. Leave leaflets in church halls, doctors' surgeries and the local library, schools, colleges and hospitals.
• Seek advice from other people and groups.

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