The Beginner's Guide to Open Streets

from We Are Mode Shift:


DETROIT -- If you stood next to the main street in your city or town today, what do you think you would hear? Chances are, it would be the sound of cars driving past, perhaps a honking horn or two. What if, instead of traffic, you heard the sounds of bike bells ringing, rollerblades stroking, and people laughing? There’s a movement happening in cities throughout the U.S. and the world to bring this latter scenario to life.

They go by many different names – Open Streets, Ciclovias, BikeDays, Streets Alive, Summer Streets, and Summer Sundays – but all focus on one thing: closing city streets to vehicle traffic and making them available for people to walk, run, bike, rollerblade, and skateboard.

Open Streets programming often takes place on Sundays from early to mid-morning through mid-afternoon, as this tends to be a day and time of the week with the least amount of vehicle traffic.

In addition to turning the streets over to people, Open Streets often include complementary programming at locations along the route, such as yoga, dancing, basketball, and other health and wellness activities.

You may not realize it, but Open Streets programs have already started to pop up in Michigan. Every summer, Wayne County Parks hosts Saturday in the Park, where the County closes six miles of Hines Drive to traffic from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm. In 2007, a group of cyclists worked with the City of Ann Arbor to close just over a one-mile stretch of Huron River Drive to cars and open it up to cyclists for several hours. .............(more)

http://wearemodeshift.org/the-beginners-guide-to-open-streets