News
July 24, 2012
Tanner Zurkoski MOVEs out and on as his month in a car comes to an end
Tanner stands next to the car he called “home” for the past month with his new set of wheels—a bike courtesy of Curbside Cycle in Toronto, ON (Photo: Evergreen)July 24, 2012 – Toronto, ON – Following one of the hottest months on record, Evergreen, a national charity dedicated to making cities more livable, will be releasing Tanner Zurkoski from his month spent living in a car. Tanner spent the last 29 days seeking solutions to Toronto’s transportation woes while raising awareness of MOVE: The Transportation Expo.
“I’ve had the opportunity to talk to people from every possible angle on the transportation challenges in this city, from those who helped design it, to those who work in it 12 hours a day. The one thing everyone agrees on—be they bike advocates, city planners, federal ministers or cab drivers—is that something needs to be done, and now.”
During his Month In a Car, Tanner endured record-breaking heat waves, flash floods and 2 hour and more traffic jams. He also got to speak with local TV and radio celebrities, and experience a drive-in movie for the first time.
“This has been one of the most trying experiences of my life, but it made me think very hard about the transportation choices available to Torontonians every day,” said Tanner. “The hardest part of the month was the heat—that and sleeping, eating and being in a car for the month."
While Tanner exits the car today, his journey isn’t over just yet. He will continue to release episodes from his 12-part Passenger Seat Web Series, which includes interviews with some of the city’s most influential transit experts and pundits including; Paul Bedford (former chief city planner for Toronto), Sue Zielinski (managing director of SMART), Kevin McLaughlin (founder AutoShare), Wayne Roberts (food policy expert) and Jared Kolb (Cycle Toronto). These interviews can be viewed on Evergreen’s YouTube channel, playlist Passenger Seat Series: www.youtube.com/evergreenbrickworks
As a reward for his efforts, Tanner was presented with a new bike courtesy of Curbside Cycle. “It was really important to Evergreen that Tanner embody change and showcase some of the most powerful solutions—what better way than to get him out of his car and onto a bike?” says LeaAnne Armstrong, Creative Director at Evergreen.
Tanner’s #monthinacar campaign was created to draw awareness to the MOVE Expo, now open in the historic kilns at Evergreen Brick Works. MOVE is presented by Evergreen in collaboration with Institute without Boundaries, to explore the past, present and future of urban transportation in Toronto, and around the world.
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For more information, contact:
Aarathi Edward-Paiva, Coordinator, Evergreen Public Relations
416-596-1495 x252
aedwardpaiva@evergreen.ca
Chris Booth, Creative Director, ReThink
416-583-5731
chrisb@rethinkcanada.com
MOVE: The Transportation Expo is a multi-sensory tour of the past, present and future of transportation. Set amid the spectacular heritage kiln buildings of Evergreen Brick Works, visitors can learn about key transportation issues facing us today, here in Toronto and in cities around the world, as well as explore innovative ideas and technologies needed to build and connect our communities in efficient and sustainable ways.
About Evergreen
A national charity since 1991, Evergreen empowers Canadians to take a hands-on approach to improving the health of our cities—now and for the future. evergreen.ca
About Institute without Boundaries
Institute without Boundaries is a Toronto-based studio that works towards collaborative design action and seeks to achieve social, ecological and economic innovation. worldhouse.ca
