World Car Free Day makes impact on Tbilisi roads

Car owners in Tbilisi marked World Car Free Day last week by leaving their private vehicles at home and taking public transport or walking to work – and photos show the positive effect it had.

Joining the global campaign on September 22, many Tbilisi citizens silently voiced their concerns about growing traffic congestion in the city by not using their vehicles for one day.

Levan Tsutskiridze, one of the organisers behind World Car Free Day in Tbilisi urged people to support the cause and "express what kind of city we would like to live in”.

Cities are a reflection of what their residents make of them. If we do not care about having less traffic jams, less noise and less pollution, that is what the city will reflect," said Tsutskiridze about World Car Free Day.

The photos below showed the difference in Tbilisi when people left their vehicles at home on World Car Free Day. Images were taken earlier in September at typically congested areas of the capital city and again on September 22, World Car Free Day.

Looking down on traffic from Dry Bridge before and during World Car Free Day on September 22. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

On World Car Free day there was less traffic outside the Public Service Hall. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

A comparative photo shows traffic on Zviad Gamsakhurdia Right Embankment of Mtkvari River in Tbilisi. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

The square connecting Galaktion Tabidze Bridge, Mikheil Javakhishvili Street and Mtkvari River embankment. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Looking down over President Heydar Aliyev Embankment on Mtkvari River. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

The flyover of President Heydar Aliyev Embankment. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Fewer cars drove along Varaziskhevi Street on September 22 compared to normal. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Another angle of Varaziskhevi Street. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

The road reflected in a mirror at Heroes Square in Tbilisi on a usual day and on World Car Free Day. Photos by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

World Car Free Day has been annually staged all over the world since 1997 by the World Car Free Network; an international hub promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning.

The Tbilisi event of World Car Free Day was held within European Mobility Week, which raises awareness of "sustainable mobility alternatives to citizens" to "induce behavioural change and make progress towards creating a more sustainable transport strategy for Europe".

Marked from September 16-22, this year’s European Mobility Week was joined by 2,345 towns and cities across the world, the highest number since the campaign launched in 2002.