The city and Seattle Climate Action Now have launched a pilot program called Car Free Days to encourage Seattle drivers to leave their vehicles at home to aid the city's battle in its fight against global warming.

On Sept. 7 from 6 p.m., Harbor Avenue and Alki will be closed from noon to 6 p.m. The closure, including the waterside lane, will be closed off with cones on from Seacrest Park to 63rd Avenue Southwest.

"Here we are at the city's best beach, though a few up at Golden Gardens might argue, and here it's pretty easy to imagine life without a car," said Mayor Greg Nickels at a recent press conference just down the hill from his house on Alki on a blustery summer morning.

"We're going to experiment ... have a little fun this summer and open up some of our streets to pedestrians and cyclists at three car-free events," he said. "Since we were kids we've been told to stay out of the streets ... but we've gone too far to turn over our streets and neighborhoods to the automobile.

"I know there will be folks concerned about access, and I ask just for the one day, just chill," Nickels said. "Just get out of the car and have a nice walk or ride the bike. Transportation accounts for nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions. We're asking drivers to set a goal by driving 1,000 miles less per year. The average is about 12,000."

"Critical Mass is too extreme," said Chuck Ayers, executive director, Cascade Bicycle Club, after the press conference, acknowledging cyclists are getting some bad press. Some of the 100 cyclists of Critical Mass, a controversial bicycle group, allegedly surrounded while some of its members attacked a motorist July 25 who they claimed fought back aggressively.

"Traffic does create a major danger for bicycle riders and discourages people to ride their bikes in the city. But while I think we need to bring awareness to that, I don't think Critical Mass is going about it the right way."

For more information, go to: www.seattlecan.org