A Bit About Us
We advocate for accessible and active transportation, and for free, sustainable mass transit. We challenge the idea that cars are the default way to get around.
Join the #ChallengeCarCulture Coalition and #ThinkOutsideTheCar with us. Private vehicles are not our future, and they do not serve our planet or our communities. While they've come to be thought of as the default way to get around, this hasn't been the case for most of human history and it's pretty obvious who's benefiting...the automobile and petro industries! We can do better. We can move as a community with free, accessible, public transit, and walkable, bikable, rollable neighbourhoods.
Pop Up Crossing Guards
A proactive response to pedestrian safety concerns: Challenge Car Culture members host "Pop Up Crossing Guard'' events around St. John’s. This initiative, launched early in 2023, sees volunteers hit the streets to help pedestrians cross safely, foster positive community interactions, and draw attention to the follies and dangers of car centric culture and neighborhoods.
Equipped with high visibility vests and homemade stop signs, Challenge Car Culture volunteers pop up in areas known for their lack of safe crossings or stressful pedestrian experiences. Our first event took place at the junction of Military Road, Bonaventure Avenue, and Garrison Hill, helping people navigate the triangular crosswalks, where motorists often fail to stop appropriately. The second pop-up was during the NL Folk Festival, where the team set up at the intersection of Military Avenue and Bannerman Road, ensuring festival attendees could navigate the area safely.
Reception from the community has been resoundingly favorable, with pedestrians expressing gratitude for the increased safety and reduced anxiety experienced during the pop-ups. The homemade stop signs have proven to be particularly effective, catching the attention of drivers and facilitating smoother interactions between pedestrians and motorists.
Challenge Car Culture's Pop Up Crossing Guard initiative represents a practical approach to fostering people-centered neighborhoods, making a tangible difference in pedestrian safety and challenging the prevailing car-centric culture. Would you like to see us at a crosswalk or intersection near you, or join us on the streets for a pop-up? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Wheatpasting
Challenge Car Culture is all about action with a creative twist. Our recurring "wheat-pasting" events are a creative way to challenge car culture and nudge people toward alternative thinking – all while having a good time.
Armed with impactful posters and a sense of camaraderie, Challenge Car Culture members hit the streets, transforming dull walls into thought-provoking canvases. These posters disrupt the status quo, urging folks to reconsider their car-centric habits and explore more eco-friendly ways to get around.
But it's not just about serious messages – these events are also about fun. Laughter fills the air as posters go up, creating a sense of community and shared purpose. The process itself becomes a statement, showing that change can be enjoyable and engaging.
Challenge Car Culture's wheat-pasting events serve a dual purpose: they spark conversations and actions while also injecting a dose of enjoyment into activism. So, keep an eye out for our posters – they're more than decorations, they're invitations to join a movement that's steering us toward a more sustainable future, one paste-up at a time.
Want to join us next time? Please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you
Near Hits Project
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Slippery Sidewalk Open Mic
Last year (Nov 2022) we hosted an open mic at the BIS, where we invited people to rant, roar, rap, scream, scowl, weep, sing, speak, plead (non-exhaustive) into the mic about experiences with snow, icy, slippery, or unsafe sidewalks!
Are you sick of the slip? Do you have something you want to get off your chest about slippery sidewalks? Click the button and use the form to share your story with us.
Advocating for Accessibility
On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dec 3rd, 2020, we gathered in honour of those who have been injured or killed trying to navigate our inaccessible, dangerous sidewalks. We gathered to bear witness for those who are isolated in their homes for half of the year, every year, due to negligent sidewalk clearing. Access is a right not a privilege and our city is failing to safeguard the rights of People with Disabilities in even the simplest, most basic ways.
We gathered with three asks:
1. Clear our sidewalks with the same priority as adjoining streets.
2. Use a Universal Design approach in all further developments, including the Kelly's Brook Shared Use Path: consult Universal Design experts and community members with diverse lived experiences and accessibility concerns.
3. Reverse the recent cuts to Metrobus. (We won this one!)
Support the Kelly's Brook Shared-Use Pathway
The Kelly's Brook Shared-Use Pathway is going ahead with asphalt trail surface! This is a big win for inclusivity in our city! Thanks to everyone who supported this project!
Engage with City St. John's!
The ‘What We Heard’ (WWH) document summarizing feedback from the Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path public engagement process is now available.
Action Archive
Mobility Justice Discussion with the Human Rights Commission
Presentation by and discussion with the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, Carey Majid. The focus was on mobility justice, especially lack of sidewalk clearing, as a human rights issue. We explored the details and process of launching a human rights challenge on the matter.
Street Skeets present: Stairway to Inclusion
Residents protest state of sidewalks in St. John’s
Protestors Shut Down Traffic to Demand Accessible Sidewalks
News & Views
Dec 8, 2020
Statement
Dec 03, 2020
The Telegram
Oct 22, 2020
The Indepeendent
Sept 28, 2020
Statement
August 21, 2020
The Independent
Feb 15, 2020
CBC
Jan 25, 2020
Statement
Sept 9, 2019
The Independent