Monday, September 22nd marks the 2nd Annual Car Free Day on Long Island. This year the LIRR is co-sponsoring the day with the hopes that many Long Islanders will ditch their cars for the day and opt for mass transit, like the Long Island Rail Road. Yesterday sponsors of the effort gathered at Farmingdale State College to promote Car Free Day and encourage Nassau and Suffolk dwellers to participate. The Long Island Rail Road is the busiest commuter railroad in the United States and stops at over 100 different stations. With so many stations around the Island it seems that no matter which town you reside in there is always a railroad station nearby.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in 2012 transportation alone accounted for approximately 28% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions earning it the #2 spot in contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation have increased by 18%. The average amount of miles people spend in their vehicle travelling has increased too, by 35%.

To encourage and reward people for participating in Car Free Day the effort will be giving out free prizes. In order to be eligible to win you must make a pledge online to leave the car in park and instead take mass transit, bike, carpool, telecommute, or walk for the day. If before the event you’ve already decided to go car free, don’t fret! You can also fill out a pledge form for contributing to the cause and have the chance to win prizes.

For more information on Car Free Day visit the MTA LIRR website.

Will you be ditching the car this upcoming Monday for Car Free Day? How will you go about your day instead by means of transportation? Let us know below in the comments!

Photo by Andrew Beierle via Free Images

[Source: EPA]