Cars Ruin Cities!
We want to be clear—Critical Mass Nola's agenda is to decentralize the motor vehicle in the city of New Orleans. Most people in New Orleans can’t imagine a city without cars. This is because we’ve been bombarded by car commercials our whole lives and trained to think that there is no other way to commute other than by a gas-powered vehicle.
This consumption-based messaging has been reinforced by the oil and auto-industrial complex that has lobbied for our streets to be privatized for the sale of their products. For corporations, quarterly gains for investors and the pursuit of profit are the bottom line. They have no regard for creating community and protecting the environment.
Via lobbying, commercialism, and selling us the idea that automobiles give us status, they have thoroughly trained our minds into thinking that there is only one way to commute.
We are not anti-car. Many of us drive when necessary, and most of us have friends and family who do. The problem isn't individuals who drive—it’s the car-dominated system that forces people into cars, often against their will or best interest. Rather than blaming individuals, we aim to change the way the city is organized. Critical Mass Nola is part of a broader movement for safer streets, cleaner air, fair wages, and a more livable city for everyone.
The spot where Michael Milam was killed in a hit-and-run in the bike lane on St. Claude and Alvar.
We believe in building solidarity, not division. Our agenda is to decommodify our streets and render them public. Our movement aims to level the playing field and give equal and safe access to pedestrians, public transit, bicyclists, and motor vehicles alike.
While bicyclists are often hurled with constant criticism for the way they bike, motorists in New Orleans routinely speed, run red lights, and blow through stop signs. The result is a prevalence of preventable traffic deaths.
We will not rest until there is a network of separated bike lanes with a concrete buffer between us and motor vehicles, extended crosswalks for pedestrians, and adequate public transportation and covered transportation stops.
We can only make an impact with our collective voices. Join us every last Friday of the month at 6pm on the Barrack Street side of the French Market and let us make an impact with every pedal, every chant, and every direct action we commit to.
United we will never be defeated!
-Eric Gabourel
