Dunedin is inviting residents to leave the car keys at home on Saturday, September 19, as Josiah Cephas Weaver Park hosts a passport-style crawl along the Pinellas Trail for Dunedin World Car Free Day. The event runs from 2:15 pm to 5:45 pm, with participants signing up at the park before setting off on foot or bike into downtown Dunedin to visit local shops offering car free day-themed specials.
The celebration is presented by City of Dunedin Florida on Facebook, which detailed the day's schedule and participating partners in a post shared Wednesday. Connect Pinellas, a regional transportation advocacy group that lobbies for pedestrian safety infrastructure and multi-modal transit options across Pinellas County, is presenting the event, according to research compiled by Hoodline. The group has previously campaigned against Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus route cuts, a fight Hoodline covered in its report on PSTA weighing cuts to six Pinellas bus routes.
Arrival begins at 2:15 pm, when participants sign in, complete a required waiver and release, and receive an event passport along with a map of participating businesses. Free helmets will be available at the park until 4 pm. At 2:25 pm, Dunedin City Commissioner Jeff Gow will kick off the day with a short speech; Gow was first elected to Seat 4 on the city commission in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, according to the Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation.
A Trail Crawl With a Prize at the Finish
At 2:45 pm, participants can walk or bike into Dunedin along the Pinellas Trail at their own pace, beginning the passport-style crawl that runs until 5:30 pm. Along the way, participating downtown Dunedin businesses — including Cycle Brewing Company, The Bike Flab, Kafe Racer, and Local Tiki Rides, per the event flyers — will offer their own car free day specials, with each stop adding a stamp to the passport. Those who return to Weaver Park with a full passport between 5:30 pm and 5:45 pm can enter to win a special prize.
The Pinellas Trail itself runs directly along Weaver Park, providing what organizers describe as convenient access to the participating businesses. The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail is a 47-mile continuous paved multi-use path built along a former CSX railroad corridor that first opened in December 1990, connecting St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs through Dunedin, according to TrailLink. The trail was inducted into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2007.
Getting There Without a Car
Organizers are promoting several ways to reach the park without driving. Riders can take the Jolley Trolley, which provides regional coastal transit connecting Dunedin to Clearwater Beach and Tarpon Springs, and get off directly at Weaver Park. Those coming from Clearwater can ride the Clearwater Ferry's Blue Line service from downtown Clearwater to Dunedin Marina, though bicycles are not allowed on the ferry, meaning riders will need to walk the roughly 15 minutes from the marina to the park.
That ferry service only recently returned to full operation. The Blue Line to Dunedin Marina resumed in October 2025 after a temporary suspension caused by dock damage during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, according to the City of Dunedin. The ferry operates through a partnership between the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and local municipalities, a system that relies heavily on property tax revenue — a countywide millage rate accounts for roughly 61% of PSTA's operating budget, while passenger fares fund less than 10%, per Hoodline's prior reporting.
Helmet Law and Safety Backdrop
The free helmet giveaway lines up with Florida's bicycle helmet law. Under Florida Statute § 316.2065(3)(d), bicycle riders and passengers under 16 years of age are legally required to wear a CPSC-compliant helmet, while adult cyclists face no statewide mandate, according to The Florida Senate. Florida law classifies bicycles as vehicles, granting cyclists the same rights and duties as motor vehicle operators on the road.
The event also arrives against a backdrop of ongoing safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians countywide. Pinellas County has historically experienced elevated rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic crashes, a trend that has driven local safety coalitions to push for expanded trail connections and signalized crosswalks, Hoodline previously reported in its coverage of a fatal Pinellas Park crosswalk crash. That March report detailed how a 66-year-old man was killed by a Lexus SUV in a crosswalk, underscoring the stakes behind advocacy for safer non-motorized routes.
Dunedin's event is a local expression of a much larger movement. World Car Free Day is an annual international observance held each September 22, tracing its roots to energy conservation efforts during the 1973 oil crisis before formalizing as a global campaign in the late 1990s, according to the Clean Cities Campaign. More than 1,000 cities worldwide hold events every September to promote alternative transportation. In Dunedin, the celebration is anchored at Weaver Park, located at 1258 Bayshore Blvd, a waterfront park offering direct access to the Pinellas Trail, a fishing pier, and other public amenities. The City of Dunedin and Pinellas County are both listed as event partners.
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