Stony Brook University has won this year’s Car Free Day Long Island, with the highest number of pledges on a college campus, 892 people, who will go car free for at least one trip.
Car Free Day is an international event celebrated in September where people are encouraged to travel car-free, opting to instead ride public transit, a bicycle, travel by carpool, or walk. This year, Car Free Day Long Island was held on September 22, 2024. This was the 12th year Long Island has participated in the event.
Stony Brook University has been participating in Car Free Day Long Island since 2013 with the aim of getting students, faculty, and staff to participate in alternate ways of traveling to reduce carbon emissions. The event aligns with Stony Brook’s sustainability goals, and also promotes the use of its Wolf Ride Bike Share program and coincides with its recent recognition as a Bike Friendly University. To spread the word this year, coordinators sent out emails to students and employees as well as posted on the Stony Brook University Office of Sustainability’s Instagram.
“Participating in initiatives like Car Free Day Long Island helps to bring awareness to the power of collective action when approaching climate solutions,” said Erin Kluge, sustainability coordinator, from Stony Brook University’s Office of Sustainability, which led the university’s participation. “Incorporating alternative travel options in our routine when possible is one of the many great ways we can help lessen our carbon footprint.”
“A great part of Car Free Day Long Island is that it helps put our reliance on our vehicles into perspective. While the event reduced carbon emissions, the awareness it sparked will continue to have lasting effects,” said Environmental Studies major Max Cruz, ‘25.
Last year, Car Free Day was celebrated in 3,100 cities in 50 countries. The event draws participants in a variety of fields, from interested parties to organizations committing to the pledge. This year, 3,912 Long Islanders pledged to go car free.
Of the organizations involved in the final pledge count, categories included participants from colleges, healthcare, companies, municipalities, libraries, and nonprofits. In the colleges category, Stony Brook out-pledged other participants by four-fold, with NY Tech coming in at 196 pledges and Farmingdale State College with 99 pledges.
