From 15 to 22 September, the Councils for Citizen Participation, Sport, Trade and the Environment will celebrate European Mobility Week, a celebration coordinated by the Ministry for Ecological Change to raise awareness of the negative consequences of the irrational use of cars and the benefits of using sustainable means of transport such as public transport or cycling.
On Sunday 15 September, the "Festival without Cars" will take place; the Pintor Sorolla road and part of the Corbeta road for road traffic will be closed to carry out activities for all target groups throughout the day. The activities range from Zumba courses to workshops for children, eco-carts, storytellers, traditional games and inflatable castles. From 19:30 there will be a jazz afternoon with the group "Swing Machine" and at 22:00 the participants can enjoy live music with the group "Swagg".
Throughout the week there will be stories about mobility in schools and on Wednesday the 18th there will be a lecture in the Blue Hall of the Culture House of the Calpe Cycling Club.
The cycle route takes place on 22 September and starts at 11.45 from Plaza Colón and ends at the Merced Church. There will be a raffle of bicycles and other accessories for cyclists, including prizes, and all participants will receive a backpack. The event coincides with the Virgen de la Mercé festivities and includes workshops and mattresses for children. And at 2 p.m. a huge paella is planned for all participants, animated by the music of "Underkover".
Mobility Week was launched in Europe in 1999 and is celebrated each year with activities to promote sustainable mobility and the development of good practice. Last year, 473 of the 2,792 participating European cities were Spanish.
The Calpe City Council joined the European Network of Cities for Mobility years ago to work for a more humane city, with less noise and emissions into the atmosphere and where people gain space on vehicles. The city also received the SEMS 2015 prize (Spanish Sustainable Mobility Week Awards) in the bronze medal category awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment in recognition of initiatives to introduce sustainable transport.