The Open Streets movement is a wildly popular tool in the Tactical Urbanist‘s arsenal. The concept is simple: shut down city streets to automobile traffic for a day so pedestrians and cyclists can fully utilize our most plentiful public spaces. Cities from New York to Los Angeles now celebrate their open spaces with programs that are about to kick off for the summer season. Here’s a roundup of some of the top programs around the country.
The first open streets event made an informal debut in 1965 as “Bicycle Sunday” in Seattle and the movement was later popularized in Bogota, Colombia as the Ciclovía. Today, cities across the United States and the world hold their own open streets programs, inspiring citizens to rethink how public space is utilized in their own hometowns.
The Open Streets Project has collected data about open streets programs around the world, making information about upcoming events or starting your own event in a new city very easy.
In New York, the open streets program is called Summer Streets, and will take place three days this summer. Summer Streets has grown to be one of the country’s most popular events, with a scenic route that spans from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge. Summer Streets 2014 will take place over three successive Sundays in August, closing roughly seven miles of Manhattan’s normally car-choked streets for people to exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
Check out upcoming open streets events below or check the Open Streets Project website to lookup programs in other cities. Mark your calendars now!
Arizona
Cyclovia Tucson – Sunday, November 2th
Silent Sundays – Every fourth Sunday of the month
California
CicLAvia – Sunday, October 5th
Ciclovia Salinas – August
Oaklavia – Saturday, July 12th
Open Streets Santa Cruz – Sunday, October 12th
Santa Barbara Open Streets – Saturday, October 25th
District of Columbia
Rock Creek Park – Every Saturday and Sunday
Georgia
Atlanta Streets Alive – Sunday, September 28th
Illinois
Evanston Streets Alive – Sunday, September 28th
Kentucky
2nd Sunday Kentucky (The country’s only statewide program)— Sunday October, 12th
Massachusetts
Circle The City – Sunday, September 28th
SomerStreets – Sunday, July 27th
New York
Summer Streets – Sunday, August 2nd, 9th, and 16th
Westchester County Bicycle Sundays – Sunday, September 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th
Oregon
Sunday Parkways—July 27th, August 24th, September 28th
Texas
Siclovia – Sunday, September 28th
Washington
Seattle Bicycle Sunday – Sunday, July 6th and 13th
Seattle Summer Streets – Saturday, August 9th and 16th
Spokane Summer Parkways – Friday, July 18th
