Asheville kicks off “Strive Not To Drive” week with Walkable Wall Street event May 13

From the City of Asheville:

May Walkable Wall Street event to serve as kick-off for Strive Not to Drive Week

Put on your walking (and biking!) shoes and get ready to experience Asheville’s Wall Street for a fun, pedestrian and bike friendly festivities.

The next Walkable Wall Street is set for 2 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, May 13.The third in a pilot series, this Walkable Wall Street marks the launch of events in Asheville for Strive Not to Drive May 12-19 and is being hosted in partnership with Asheville on Bikes and Land of Sky Regional Council.

Bicycle parking will be expanded for attendees who want to enjoy an afternoon of car-free ambience, dining and shopping. Businesses will offer special promotions and activities in the street. Swing by the Strive Not To Drive table and pick up a Wall Street Passport. Visit shops, fill your passport and return it for prizes — and to be entered into a bike giveaway! Join Asheville on Bikes for their annual Bright Light Biker, leaving from Wall Street at 8:30 p.m. and returning following a 3-mile group ride to DJs and games at Wall Street’s later-night establishments.

Walkable Wall Street is a collaborative series facilitated by the City of Asheville, Wall Street merchants and other community partners designed to support place-making downtown and improve pedestrian safety. The initiative celebrates Wall Street as a pedestrian-friendly corridor, while supporting its businesses and providing a safe, enjoyable community-oriented experience downtown. The series is as a pilot for consideration of regular and more frequent (though temporary) closures of streets to car traffic.

Strive Not to Drive ART bus tie-ins too

In addition to the Walkable Wall Street event, the City of Asheville will promote Strive Not to Drive Week with reduced bus fares on ART buses all that week. Ride for only a quarter! Also paratransit service will be free May 12-18.

And ART will observe Transit Rider Appreciation Day on May 16, with breakfast snacks at the ART Transit Station from 7 to 10 a.m., plus busker performances from 3 to 6 p.m.

Any day of the week, riding ART bus service is a bargain, for only $1 adults and 50 cents for students. Strive Not to Drive Week offers a little more incentive. For information about ART bus routes, visit the ART bus webpage. The City of Asheville is proud that its transit fleet includes seven hybrid buses and 23 fueled by biodiesel, contributing to a more earth-friendly, sustainable Asheville.

Get out of your car and groove to alternative ways of getting around, Asheville!