Every year in September, the EU calls on cities in the community to spend a week for reflection on urban mobility and experimenting with ways for temporarily reducing the use of vehicles. This year some 2000 cities joined the European Mobility Week, which runs under the motto "Our Streets, Our Choice." It aims to encourage citizens to reclaim urban spaces and create cities we want to live in. "For too long, private cars determined the way in which cities were planned. Today, however, economies lose 100 billion euro annually because of traffic jams, not to mention the adverse effects on weather and human health," said at the opening of the Week EC Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport. European Commissioner in charge of environment Janez Potočnik added that when it came to personal mobility, we really had a choice, and making a good choice had a noticeable effect on our health and quality of life. "So let us choose cleaner air and urban spaces meant for people. Cities are for the people, not for the cars,” he said.

Sofia is one of the cities that certainly need to get rid of some of the vehicles as it has the most polluted air among the EU capital cities. For several years during the Mobility Week events related to the global PARK(ing) Day initiative enjoy great interest. The initiative transforms for a day parking lots into green areas and spaces for entertainment. Public car parks in the Bulgarian capital city are few and cars have taken over much of the sidewalks. On the last working day of the week, September 19th, 28 parking spots in Sofia changed their purpose. A grand piano performed in front of the city gallery and a spot on the Slavyanska street was turned into a small garden with flowers, herbs, stones and water, dedicated to Bulgarian spiritual teacher Petar Dunov. Exercises for the body and spirit were also demonstrated. Not far from there residents and guests to the city could engage in collective making of “lyutenitsa” – traditional spicy vegetable relish. The event was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the invention of the “chushkopek” - a Bulgarian appliance for fast and easy roasting of peppers.