Opinion: Car-free streets reduce noise and air pollution. More cities should have them

Pedestrianized spaces can help support local businesses, give public spaces back to people and retrieve them from cars.

Every summer, cities around the world host car-free days and temporarily pedestrianize streets. Following their success elsewhere in the world, temporary pedestrianized streets are becoming more common in North America, such as for large sporting events, cultural festivals and farmers’ markets. This year, as part of the FIFA World Cup, some cities in North America created pedestrianized fan zones for spectators and visitors.

In Vancouver, the city pedestrianized a large stretch of Granville Street in the downtown core. Doing so can help support local businesses, give public spaces back to people and retrieve them from cars. The City of Vancouver recently announced that Granville Street will remain pedestrianized until at least September.

Pedestrianized streets emerged in Europe more than seven decades ago. The two most notable precedents are Lijnbaan in Rotterdam and Strøget in Copenhagen. Despite apprehension from some business owners and a minority of drivers, many success stories have put those concerns to rest while often exceeding expectations.

These streets have proven to be major draws for pedestrians and cyclists, yielding increased economic activity without needing to inefficiently devote public spaces to private vehicles. Critics often worry that pedestrianization simply shifts traffic elsewhere. While the effects depend on local design, many cities have found that some trips disappear altogether as people switch routes, travel modes or destinations.

Pedestrianized streets are often evaluated economically, but their health benefits receive far less attention. Our recent study at Carleton University measured air and noise pollution experienced by people walking and cycling along Ottawa’s Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED), with and without the presence of vehicles. What we found The QED is part of the National Capital Commission’s Bikedays program, which temporarily provides long stretches of its scenic roads to people on foot and bike.

The program dates back to 1970, making it a pioneer. However, despite extended hours during the COVID-19 era when downtown residents otherwise lacked recreational space and the adjacent pathways were overcrowded, the hours have since become restricted to daylight hours on weekends. The QED presents a particularly enticing research opportunity because the roadway is exclusively open to pedestrians and cyclists on certain weekend hours in the summer.

Accordingly, a near-perfect natural experiment allows the impact of vehicles to be measured. We measured particulate matter and ultrafine particles (both of which are produced by cars and have numerous health consequences) and noise at 12 measurement stations along the roadway. Traffic noise is not just the most annoying