For World Car-Free Day, the Paseo de Montejo and the Prolongación will be for bicycles only.
An eight-kilometer Mega Peace Rodada begins at 6 p.m., leading from Yucatán Siglo XXI Convention Center to the Paseo de Montejo’s Remate.
That’s a major thoroughfare for drivers, many of whom will be trying to find their way home from work at that hour. No word on how long the road will be blocked to motor-vehicle traffic.
At the Remate, a bike festival starts at 8 with live music featuring Alyosha Barreiro. A commemorative aerial photograph of the participants will be taken.
Of all the states in Mexico, Yucatán has the highest percentage of households with a bicycle. Just over 39% of homes here have a bike that’s used regularly for getting around.
Mérida ranks fourth among Mexican cities for biking and is first for using tricycles and one of the first for using bikes to get to work.
World Car-Free Day is a United Nations initiative to demonstrate what the world would be like without cars.
“Car-free days are an opportunity for cities to highlight how congested roads can be used in different ways. From races for alternative-energy powered vehicles in Budapest, to horse-riding in São Paulo, to street picnics in Vienna, to running in Jakarta, cities and the people who live in them are stressing the alternatives to polluting vehicles on this important day,” according to a UN statement.
