People were walking, running, and riding their bikes on the streets of Philadelphia, with no cars in sight. It sounds like a dream, but it actually happened. For only one day, Philadelphians were able to use the streets of the city and do whatever they wanted.
For 7 miles, from 3rd & Chestnut all the way up to 5th & Indiana, cars were not allowed to drive through these streets from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This idea came from the Office of Transportation.
Charlotte Castle, the director of the Philly Free Streets talked to Temple Update about the program.
“Philly Free Streets is a program is which we temporarily closed the streets to cars, inviting people to walk, bike, and play,” said Castle. “We are the Office of Transportation and it is an opportunity for us to invite people to really see how walkable and bike-able their neighborhoods can be if streets are not just designed for cars. I mean, really, to promote people making the choice to walk and bike as part of their everyday routine.”
Castle also said a few things about the new route for this year’s event.
“This year along our new route, it is really exciting to get to know new neighborhoods and new neighbors, and have them be a part of our planning process,” she said. “And I really hope that shows through, and that you see how diverse are the neighborhoods we are visiting, which will be reflected through the program, and you’ll be able to explore.”
Along with Philadelphians enjoying the event was a popular YouTuber, Elijah Watene, who visited the city and stated his op
inion about the Philly Free Streets event.
“I mean, everybody loves it. It is honestly super cool, it is great. The community is all coming together, everybody is meeting each other, we are all meeting new people,” said Watene. “Honestly, I think it is awesome. I mean, from what I can see, everybody looks super happy and ecstatic. Everybody looks happy to be here.”
Overall, people of Philadelphia and visitors were satisfied with this project and their comments about this effort were positive. One person hopes that “this event will be happening every year, because it is something that brings people together.”
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