Or your transit scenario: assuming that transit riders drove instead of taking transit on that day because it affected their schedule. In the Sacramento region, the transit mode share is about 5%. In Folsom, it is certainly less than that. So, 5% of 1200 is 60 parents. If every parent who normally takes transit drove that day (again, highly unlikely), that would add 60 round trips. That leaves about 240 trips by car for planning and fire department visits. Robert, you say you want facts, but you're spouting nonsensical numbers to make a point.
It should make people like you, Robert, feel better because there are less cars on the road to get in your way.
The evidence I have is that I know first hand of a friend who normally takes light rail to Butterfield everyday, but on this day drives to & from work. On this day the year before made 3 trips back & forth to work and school, because of the biking.
I also know of a client who has their grandparents drive down from Lincoln to take pictuers of the kids riding to & from school on this day. Add those 100 miles of commuting into the equation. How many other grandparents drive over this day to see their grandkids ridng their bikes to school?
You know very well that some parents follow the kids to school in their cars. There isn't any savings when this happens is there?
You know very well that some parents do have to make extra trips because the kids can't carry their back packs or musical instruments to school on their bikes.
How about those parents who follow the kids to school and then are afraid to leave the kids bikes at school, so they take them home only to return later in the afternoon to drop them off so the kids can ride them home. I've seen this as well.
There are additional car trips generated with the organizing and planning of this event no matter how much you want to imply there isn't. Everyone of these trips would need to get counted into the total of trips that this event generates.
There is a cost involved when the police & fire show up. Fire could be out doing comercial inspections or cutting back brush in open space. Police work is never finished.
The bottom line is simply making the claim that there are 1200 trips saved because of this event is misleading. My sole motive for asking the questions that I did was to point out no matter what is the subject or project there are other factors to consider, we can no longer afford to look at things from one perspective.
The problem is people get so personally wrapped up in their projects, that they are absolutely impervious to anyone asking any questions about the merits of the project, because they take it personally as though its a reflection on them and NOT the project.
Its really too bad that a person can't ask legitimate questions without being castigated and having false lables applied to them while being prejudged.