HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	173
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the City and County of Honolulu to implement a car free day in a designated area of urban Honolulu once a year.

WHEREAS, in 2017, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation accounted for about 28.9 percent of total United States greenhouse gas emissions, making transportation the largest contributor of United States greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, World Car Free Day is observed annually by major cities, including Paris, France; Vancouver, Canada; and Reykjavik, Iceland; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the event, which closes segments of the cities to vehicular traffic, is to promote clean air, reduced noise, and a slower pace of life; and

WHEREAS, Bogota, Colombia has also observed World Car Free Day annually for almost twenty years and has found the event so successful that Bogota expanded its car free zone to encompass most of the city and residents approved a referendum to celebrate an annual car-free week; and

WHEREAS, World Car Free Day benefits society by providing less traffic congestion, a greener environment, and reduced gasoline demand; and

WHEREAS, World Car Free Day also reduces fuel consumption and emission of air pollution and greenhouse gases that drive global warming and furthers the improvement of mass transit, cycling, and walking; and

WHEREAS, the State has implemented the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative with the goal of achieving one hundred percent clean energy by 2045; and

WHEREAS, implementing a no car day in Hawaii would encourage people to shift away from the current overdependency on automobiles; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to implement a car free day in a designated area of urban Honolulu once a year, to promote alternative means of transportation, such as walking and cycling; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairs of the Senate and House Standing Committees on Transportation and Director of the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Car Free Day; City and County of Honolulu