Time's Up!
TIME'S UP! is a grassroots environmental group that uses educational outreach and direct action to promote a more sustainable, less toxic city. For more than 15 years, TIME'S UP! has worked to educate people about the environmental impacts of everyday decisions, from the food we buy to the means of transportation we use.
They have done much for advocacy especially with ongoing environmental campaigns. They are a group that takes action, and you can consult our calendar of events and see what we're doing -- and what you could be doing with us!
They are most famous in New York City for publicizing the leaderless critical mass bicycle rides throughout the city.
Critical Mass is an event that began in San Francisco in the early 1990s and has since spread to hundreds of cities around the world. It usually occurs monthly (sometimes weekly), as bicyclists spontaneously come together to ride the ordinarily car-clogged streets of their cities. Critical Mass focuses on the rights of bicyclists and the rights of pedestrians on our own streets. It also brings attention to the deteriorating quality of life -- starting with the toxic levels of air and noise pollution -- that cars create for cities.
It is a leaderless ride, free and open to all, where bicyclists take to the streets to promote bicycling as the best means of urban transit.
Bicyclists are just as much traffic and have just as much right to be on the roads and travel at their own speed as anyone else. Having said that, TIME'S UP! recommends all road users obey all traffic laws, especially one-way street restrictions and traffic lights. Remember, the respect we seek as cyclists must be matched by our respect for the rights of other people, including pedestrians and drivers.
Critical Mass is a bike ride, not an organization, and no two riders participate for exactly the same reason. "What is Critical Mass?" is a question that has as many answers as participants. The only real way to answer the question is to join the ride yourself. So what are you waiting for?
Critical Mass is not a protest, it's a pro-bike celebration. There are as many reasons to ride as there are riders. Some may want to protest, others may want to demonstrate, and others may want to celebrate. It is certainly an expressive event, but it's quite different from protests.
Times Up! does not organize Critical Mass. As an international movement, Critical Mass is bigger than, and independent of, TIME'S UP! TIME'S UP! does not lead or control New York's Critical Mass. What we do is promote Critical Mass (which is typical for local groups in Critical Mass cities), getting the word out with fliers, web listings, banners, props, special bikes, etc. On occasion we suggest theme rides (such as an Earth Day theme for the April Mass) and throw after-parties. TIME'S UP! is also there documenting both the positive and negative aspects of the rides.
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