 Last year's event included a Conga through the town's main street |
Traffic congestion in Wales' cities is well known but the problem is now on the increase in rural area. Lampeter's High Street will shut out traffic for five hours on Monday as part of the annual Europe-wide Car Free Day.
Among Welsh towns and cities, only Lampeter and Cardiff took part in last year's event but both will be joined by Swansea and Mold this year.
The event is being backed by Ceredigion Council which is trying to ease the amount of traffic travelling into the area's major towns.
Car Free Day takes place on 22 September every year and was launched in 2000 by the European Union Environment Commissioner.
A Ceredigion Council spokesman said the local authority had instigated several projects to get people to use public transport or bicycles to get to work.
Walking bus
"We want to show people that they can cycle to work rather than using their car within a five mile radius," said the spokesman.
"We have also introduced a walking bus scheme in Borth where children travel in groups to school."
The spokesman acknowledges that with 6,500 new houses due to be built in the county up to 2015 the problem of traffic congestion would get worse in coming years.
 People will be encouraged to reclaim the streets |
Last year' event took place on a Sunday, but Monday's shut-down will test the Lampeter public's enthusiasm for using alternative transport.
"We need to decide whether high streets are there to maximise the throughput of traffic or for the design of social spaces where people can enjoy shopping in peace and safety.
"It will give us a tantalising glimpse of what our town centre streets could be like with less motor traffic."
Some of the activities organised on Monday include opportunities to establish a car sharing scheme, free park and ride into the town and cycling proficiency information.
Pupils at Lampeter Secondary School have made a model of the town's high street which people can use to make suggestions about what they want to see on the street.
"People can put pins on the model to show where they want a bus stop, seats or whatever else they think will improve the townscape," said Mr Willis.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
It will give us a tantalising glimpse of what our town centre streets could be like with less motor traffic 
