Visions of cities without cars

Tomorrow, September 22, is the annual World Carfree Day, part of a worldwide effort by the World Carefree Network to encourage people to find alternatives to automobiles. The network publishes Carbusters magazine which explores personal transportation possibilities and features graphics on the theme of going carfree. Many of the best are by cartoonist Andy Singer.

Singer draws the comics panel, No Exit, and has compiled a collection of biking cartoons that's worth checking out.

Boston-area cyclists got to indulge a fantasy of a carfree city this morning when the annual Hub on Wheels ride steered bikers on a gorgeous 50-mile loop through urban parks and neighborhoods. Here's a shot of cyclists at Government Center preparing to start the ride.

And this is a short video clip of Storrow Drive, closed to cars, occupied by Sunday morning bikers. (Warning: video shot handheld from moving bicycle.)

To glimpse what a major city can do every day to promote bicycle commuting, check out this video from The Washington Post, showing the automated bike storage system at Tokyo's biggest subway station.