By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter Seoul residents are being encouraged to park their cars and use public transport on Monday, as the city will celebrate its second car-free day. Titled ``Seoul Car-Free Day,’’ the campaign aims to encourage citizens to use eco-friendly transportation and avoid driving their cars to promote a clean city, free from traffic congestion. ``What we want to achieve through the event is to inform citizens that they can easily travel in the city without using their cars,’’ Mayor Oh Se-hoon told a news conference last month. For Seoul’s second year celebrating the event, officials will close government parking lots, shut down major downtown thoroughfares and offer free early morning bus rides. Participation in the campaign is not mandatory, but vehicles will not be allowed to use Jongno Street, which crosses the city from Sejongro Street to Dongdaemun Gate. A 2.8 kilometer stretch of central roads will be blocked from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing only buses to travel the route. The buses will be available free of charge until 9 a.m. for commuters. Those who want to travel by car will have to make a detour by taking northern and southern roads in the city. The event also offers street performances and a parade featuring 1,000 bicycles will take place in the car-free Jongno area. With about 4.65 million personal cars registered in Seoul, the capital city is infamous for its traffic congestion and air pollution. The car-free day campaign was created by the World Car-free Network, an organization dedicated to promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning at the international level. The inaugural event was held in France in 1997 and was established as a Europe-wide initiative by the European Commission in 2000. The World Car-free Day program went global with the participation of 1,500 cities in 40 countries. e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr