海角大神

Helmet on, Peter Cheung zips up his bright green jacket, matching the rest of his attire, down to the sunglasses. Without his signature outfit, people don鈥檛 recognize him. Mr. Cheung knows the busy streets of Boston intimately. Biking in the city since his college years, the Aruba native is now a leader in Boston鈥檚 biking community.

But ever since the coronavirus pandemic emptied the streets, Mr. Cheung鈥檚 rides feel eerily quiet.听From Boston鈥檚 Jamaica Plain neighborhood, to the towns of Brookline, Needham, and Newton, the cyclist now often goes through his almost daily 10-mile ride without seeing anyone on the road.

鈥淸There鈥檚] definitely less stress,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it seems like cars are respecting cyclists more because they know that people are out trying to get some exercise.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,听all our coronavirus coverage听is free. No paywall.

For years, organizations addressing climate change have been advocating for a reduced number of cars on the road.听It鈥檚 a goal many Boston commuters can agree with, if not for environmental reasons then in hopes of taming some of the nation鈥檚 worst traffic congestion. But so far, any agreement on how to limit cars on the road has remained elusive. Then came the pandemic.

Within a month, average distances driven in Boston fell by 75% compared to February鈥檚 average. As cars step back, leaving space for other modes of transportation, the pandemic offers a glimpse of what one possible carbon-neutral future could look like.

Boston, like many other cities in the United States and around the world, is trying to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But with 65% of Boston's transportation emissions coming from personal vehicles, the city will have to dethrone gasoline-powered cars as king of the road.听

鈥淭ransit is key to carbon neutrality and moving people out of cars onto bicycles and other carbon-free modes is very important,鈥� says Vineet Gupta, the director of planning and engineering at the Boston Transportation Department. 鈥淭hat comes first.鈥澨�

鈥淭he worst option鈥�

While a mostly-car-free city may look uncanny in the middle of a global pandemic, there used to be a time when that was the norm. At the turn of the 20th century, when cars first appeared on U.S. roads, they had to share the paved streets with the previous tenants 鈥� horses, bicycles, pedestrians, and carriages.听

Today, cars hold a near-monopoly. of Americans drive alone to their jobs every day. In 2019, Boston was the most congested city in the country with drivers spending 149 hours in traffic that year. And the rest of the country is no different 鈥� San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York all face congestion and pollution problems.听

鈥淎merica is car-centric. You see it everywhere. In advertising at the Super Bowl, there are car commercials. Buy this car 鈥� faster, stronger,鈥� Mr. Cheung says.听 听 听

But as the pandemic forced millions to work remotely, the reduced number of cars on the road led to a drop in greenhouse gas emissions. shows that nitrogen dioxide levels 鈥� primarily emitted from burning fossil fuels for transportation and electricity 鈥� were about 30% lower on average in March 2020 over the Northeast compared with the previous five years.听

While these statistics look encouraging, experts expect air pollution levels to rise again when economies restart. To reach carbon neutrality, cities will need to implement lasting changes.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to make driving, you know, the worst option in order to change things,鈥� says Joan Fitzgerald, professor of public policy and urban affairs at Boston's Northeastern University.

Improving bus lines and adding lanes on the road, transitioning to electric modes of transportation 鈥� whether it be buses or cars 鈥� and adding bicycle lanes throughout cities are ways to push people onto other modes of transportation, and meeting the 2050 goal.听听

鈥淭hat鈥檚 really the future of cities,鈥� Julia Wallerce, the Boston program manager at the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, says. 鈥淐ars are not.鈥�

Recently, Boston closed some of its streets to automobile traffic to offer more space for pedestrians, runners, and cyclists. Cities globally are already brainstorming ways to transform initiatives taken during the pandemic into more permanent urban redesign. In Milan, over the summer, city officials will implement a to expand cycling and walking spaces and reduce car use as residents go back to work.听 听

A breath of fresh air

Sharing the roads with cars 鈥� that鈥檚 what Mr. Cheung and the Boston Cyclists Union, a nonprofit group of cyclists with paid staff, have been fighting for. For 10 years, the BCU has been campaigning for better bike infrastructure with additional bike lanes, and safer, more accessible streets throughout Boston.

Riding through a quieter and cleaner Boston, Mr. Cheung enjoys the newfound, but temporary, freedom and safety on the streets.

鈥淎 lot of people have been depressed and sad. But everyone has been saying that when they go out on their bike ride, it just totally makes them feel better, healthier, fresher,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just been great just to be out on a bicycle. It really, really helps a lot of people to go through these times.鈥�

The solutions to achieve carbon neutrality are already here, says Craig Altemose at Better Future Project, a Massachusetts organization addressing climate change; we just need to use them. The 2050 goal might even be underambitious, he says, and we might not have 30 years to tackle climate change.

鈥淲e have electric buses, we have electric trains, we have electric cars. We have bike paths, we have sidewalks 鈥� none of this is new technology. We know how to do all of this,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is purely a question of political will to implement solutions.鈥�

He adds: 鈥淎s we see more wildfires, more hurricanes, more heat waves, more severe storms, more droughts, more floods, the political will for bold and aggressive action is only going to increase exponentially.鈥�

This story was published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

Editor鈥檚 note:听This story has been updated to clarify that the Boston Cyclist's Union is a nonprofit with paid staff and to clarify that personal vehicles account for 65% of the city's transportation-related emissions.听As a public service,听all our coronavirus coverage听is free. No paywall.