{"id":415737,"date":"2026-10-01T14:10:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415737\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:10:33","slug":"everyone-is-in-their-cars-and-they-dont-really-ever-socialize-world-car-free-day-takes-over-tampa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415737\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Everyone is in their cars, and they don\u2019t really ever socialize’: World Car Free Day takes over Tampa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnMarissa Schwartz (L) with an onBikes DJ during the World Car Free Day celebration in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 26, 2026 Credit: Daria Mironova \/ WMNF News via Tampa Bay Journalism Project<\/a><\/p>\n

World Car Free Day brought residents to four Tampa locations on Saturday, Sept. 26. Walk Bike Tampa organized the celebration with local partners, including onbikes and Sidewalk Stompers.<\/p>\n

In downtown, people walked, jogged, and biked along the waterfront while music played near the Tampa Museum of Art and Glazer Children\u2019s Museum.<\/p>\n

Four locations, many ways to travel<\/p>\n

The celebration included stops in Westshore, Midtown Tampa, downtown at Meacham Urban Farm, and Ybor City. A 5.3-mile bike route connected Midtown, downtown, and Ybor City.<\/p>\n

At Gasparilla Plaza near Poe Garage, riders of different ages gathered for the family-friendly Kidical Mass ride. Meanwhile, adults outnumbered children. A DJ played music from a trike as people talked and had fun before setting off.<\/p>\n

Marissa Schwartz, CEO of onbikes, said planning the route changed how she saw Tampa\u2019s streets. \u201cAs we were riding and mapping out the routes, I realized how bikeable it is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Schwartz said people could make everyday trips, including errands, by bike. She hoped the event would encourage more people to get outside and explore the city.<\/p>\n

Matt Ferreira, a University of South Florida electrical engineering student who volunteered at the event, said he walks, bikes, and drives. \u201cI do it all,\u201d he said. But he wants streets where people have more chances to meet. \u201cEveryone is in their cars, and they don\u2019t really ever socialize.\u201d He believes making room for walking and biking would give neighbors more opportunities to talk.<\/p>\n

A busy Saturday downtown<\/p>\n

For Emily Hinsdale, president of Sidewalk Stompers, the ride was one way to bring people together. \u201cWe walk, we bike, we run, we roller skate, we rollerblade,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Families had another reason to visit the waterfront that morning. Nearby at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Glazer Children\u2019s Museum held its 16th birthday bash, a separate event with many activities for children.<\/p>\n

WMNF volunteers, including Pamela D. Robinson, staffed a booth at the park. Robinson said the station brought a portable mixing system so children could hear how they would sound on the radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey learn a little bit about the behind-the-scenes part of music and radio,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bike rides, walks, and the museum\u2019s birthday celebration gave families and neighbors plenty of ways to enjoy downtown Tampa together.<\/p>\n

This story first appeared at WMNF News<\/a>, which is part of the Tampa Bay Journalism Project<\/a> \u00a0(TBJP), a Creative Loafing Tampa Bay effort supported by grants and a coalition of donors who make specific contributions via the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation<\/a>. If you are a non-paywalled Bay area publication or donor interested in Tampa Bay Journalism Project<\/a>, please email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Support WMNF News by visiting the community radio station\u2019s support page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article appears in Sept. 24 \u2013 30, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marissa Schwartz (L) with an onBikes DJ during the World Car Free Day celebration in Tampa, Florida on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-415737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}