Cars Outlawed On Mackinac Island Since 1898

Can you imagine what it would be like if there weren’t noisy cars everywhere spewing out smelly exhaust? Sounds nice, right? Well, apparently, there is a place that is just like that, and even located within the US — Mackinac Island, located in Lake Huron, has been car-free since all the way back in 1898.

While most people nowadays are used to the presence of cars — and all the noise and pollution that accompanies them — when they first came on the scene more than a hundred years ago, there was actually quite a lot of opposition to them. They were even completely banned within some cities/towns. Over time, of course, priorities have shifted and those in power have relaxed the restrictions, but not everywhere.

Mackinac Island — located offshore of mainland Michigan, in Lake Huron — never rescinded the ban on automobiles, or as one resident at the time called them, “mechanical monsters.” The residents at the time apparently objected to the noise and exhaust — in short, they wanted a cleaner, healthier, quieter environment. Pretty easy to relate to, no?

–> Continue reading about Mackinac Island and its outlaw on cars over on Bikocity.