Ulaanbaatar
Citizens keen to increase frequency of car-free day
Society
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Today, May 20 is a car-free day in Ulaanbaatar, conveniently coinciding with the annual Ulaanbaatar Marathon, and Ulaanbaatar residents are taking it to the streets to enjoy the free roads despite of a rainy weather.
Observed once in a year in conjunction with the annual international sporting event, the car-free downtown is a place to be today. The downtown Ulaanbaatar is completely free of cars except for ambulance vehicles on the main roads, allowing walkers to feel the peace and quiet, and take the roads instead of the pavements.
“I feel good looking at all these excited kids running around freely. They seem to be the happiest around here”, said D.Nurzedsuren, 73 who came to the central square to partake in the warm-up exercise before the marathon. She appreciated how the car-free downtown has turned to a gathering point for young people, saying a car-free day should be observed more often.
“It is really cool. I think it’s interesting to have no cars in this area, so that everybody can walk”, said Trenton Schneiders, Peace Corps social worker who came from Arkhangai aimag to partake in the Ulaanbaatar Marathon. “I think, it would be good for the community to organize car-free days more often”, he said, suggesting monthly car-free days.
We interviewed several more people about what they thought of the car-freeness, and they all agreed that the city administration should observe more car-free days when possible. Commonly agreed number of possible car free days in a year was 3.
As such, the car-free day is widely enjoyed by the residents of Ulaanbaatar, including cyclists who held a parade in the car-free area despite of a weather that would have otherwise discouraged many people from coming out.
Observed once in a year in conjunction with the annual international sporting event, the car-free downtown is a place to be today. The downtown Ulaanbaatar is completely free of cars except for ambulance vehicles on the main roads, allowing walkers to feel the peace and quiet, and take the roads instead of the pavements.
“I feel good looking at all these excited kids running around freely. They seem to be the happiest around here”, said D.Nurzedsuren, 73 who came to the central square to partake in the warm-up exercise before the marathon. She appreciated how the car-free downtown has turned to a gathering point for young people, saying a car-free day should be observed more often.
“It is really cool. I think it’s interesting to have no cars in this area, so that everybody can walk”, said Trenton Schneiders, Peace Corps social worker who came from Arkhangai aimag to partake in the Ulaanbaatar Marathon. “I think, it would be good for the community to organize car-free days more often”, he said, suggesting monthly car-free days.
We interviewed several more people about what they thought of the car-freeness, and they all agreed that the city administration should observe more car-free days when possible. Commonly agreed number of possible car free days in a year was 3.
As such, the car-free day is widely enjoyed by the residents of Ulaanbaatar, including cyclists who held a parade in the car-free area despite of a weather that would have otherwise discouraged many people from coming out.
Kh.Aminaa
