Green Streets Initiative

Green Streets' mission is to promote healthy and environmentally sustainable transportation practices, thereby making happier, safer, and more livable communities. Our goal is to make our organization sustainable, to deepen our penetration in the Boston area, and to be able to seamlessly and easily spread our programs to other cities.

Green Streets' signature event is a monthly car-free day called Walk/Ride Days, a recurring celebration of sustainable transportation.

Walk/Ride Days take place on the last Friday of every month, year round, and challenge people individually, and as members of workplaces, schools, and communities, to meet their transportation needs by walking, biking, or using public transportation. Participants are rewarded with in-house incentives (at schools and workplaces), online (by Green Streets), and in the community (by a network of local businesses). By combining specific and easily achieved goals, gentle peer pressure, and a sense of competition and fun, Walk/Ride Days give people positive experiences that lead to immediate and long-term behavior changes.

Walk/Ride Days involve a broad cross section of the population. In the Greater Boston area, more than 160 businesses, community governments, schools, and other groups participate.

On Walk/Ride Days, the number of commuters choosing sustainable transportation increases substantially. Walkers increased by 52%, cyclists by 34%, subway/train riders by 3%, bus riders by 14%, and carpooling by 6% (Tufts Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning study, April 2011).