People want alternatives to getting around by car. For proof, maybe ask Emily Hinsdale.
She recently told WMNF public affairs program The Skinny that last year during World-Car Free Day, the number of bicyclists and pedestrians that crossed Tampa’s Cass Street bridge was double what it usually is on a regular day.
Sure, the Tampa Bay area is eighth-worst for pedestrian deaths in the U.S., according to a 2024 report by Smart Growth America, but interest in the event is proof that people are looking for an alternative to getting behind the wheel. And this weekend’s World Car-Free Day is an education, too.
“Yeah, there are some very, very dangerous places to be on the road as a biker or pedestrian, but there are also a lot of routes that are very successful for a bike or pedestrian,” Hinsdale—a board member for Walk Bike Tampa, which organizes the event—added. “This is a really good way to demonstrate how you can get around, to show off the routes that you can take where you can feel more confident walking or biking.”
World Car-Free Day w/Walk Bike Tampa
Time Sat., Sept. 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 2025
Location , ,
About 2,000 cities in 50 countries take part in World Car-Free Day annually, and 2025 marks Tampa’s third time. This year, the celebration spans five hours, with multiple activations including two bike-friendly routes that originate in Ybor City. One goes north to TampaWell in Altamonte Heights (3.5 miles), the other south and west to Midtown (5.5 miles). The latter includes a stop at another World Car-Free Day’s official location, the Encore district, where a bicycle rodeo happens from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Live music, markets, walking tours, free bike valets, games, and more are part of the festivities, too.
And if you want to just get on the bus, Transit Now Tampa Bay (TNTB) hosts a ride meetup for Hillsborough Regional Area Transit’s fare-free Route 1; the 10 a.m. meetup is at the Independent in Seminole Heights with TNTB co-founder Dayna Lazarus while the noon meetup is at Jug & Bottle with Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak. Hinsdale said Seminole Heights and Channelside are two of her favorite areas for walkability.
Many transportation activists get involved after a tragedy. Hinsdale, a writer by trade and also co-founder of the Sidewalk Stompers pedestrian advocacy group, was luckier and was radicalized after wanting a safer way to walk her kids to school. Elected officials weren’t ready to create a safer place for pedestrians, so she took it upon herself by working towards, and finding, opportunities to make the streets safer.
“In doing so, I found an entire subculture of people in Tampa who are also interested in walking and biking and have been able to grow through that,” she added.
Today, Walk Bike Tampa includes an all-volunteer board of eight members who are also involved in other transportation initiatives. World Car-Free Day, Bike Month and the group’s annual award ceremony, Hinsdale said, draws about 100 people that are part of the movement, too. “You are in it if you want to be a walker and a biker and be excited about that in Tampa,” she added.
Now, Hinsdale’s style is not to necessarily ask electeds to make the changes, but organize and activate in a way that forces decisionmakers’ hands. Demand more buses by filling the ones on the road. Pack the sidewalks so the city and county have to make them wider.
After years of knowing seemingly everyone in that niche group of activists, Hinsdale is starting to get to a point where she doesn’t recognize a lot of the people at World Car-Free Day. “I didn’t know the parents, the people who came to help me run it. I didn’t know them. I love seeing strangers at these events, because that means there are more people out there participating,” Hinsdale said.
Young people are a part of the festivities, too, thanks to a half-mile “Kidical Mass Ride” for littles happening at 10 a.m. beneath the Poe Garage on Cass Street in Tampa. Kids, Hinsdale told WMNF, are easy converts to a car-free lifestyle that opens the door to meeting people and building relationships in your community.
“When you are in the back of your parents car, your relationship is probably going to be with the iPad they gave you to be quiet,” Hinsdale explained. Being out on the road brings other kids of all ages into the picture alongside adults supporting what the kids are up to and looking out for them, too. “It goes beyond better safety infrastructure on the road. It’s a safer community when we have more eyes watching out for each other.”
WHAT TAMPA BAY NEEDS
To be a better place in four years, Tampa Bay needs to become more bikeable
‘I just returned to Tampa and miss riding my bike everywhere.’
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This article appears in Sept. 11-17 2025.