TripIt Blog
  • Home
  • Travel Tips
  • News & Culture
  • Airport Guides
  • Loyalty Programs
  • Home
  • Travel Tips
  • News & Culture
  • Airport Guides
  • Loyalty Programs

7 Cities Celebrating Summer With Open Streets

By Amanda Wowk • July 30, 2021 • Travel Tips
open streets

This summer, cities big and small have opened their streets to pedestrians (and closed them to cars) in order to promote local community and economic benefits. Benefits like, creating a space for outdoor recreation and activities, improving accessibility and mobility, promoting community engagement, and enhancing the quality of life for local residents.

So, whether you’re a local or looking to explore like one, be sure to take advantage of the cities celebrating summer with open streets. 

1. San Francisco, California

San Francisco’s Sunday Streets program—an annual season of events that reclaim city streets for pedestrian-only spaces—has returned for its 13th year. 

Event routes are one to four miles in length, with free activities provided by local nonprofits, community groups, and small businesses.

Car-free Grant Ave. is where is at … delicious treats, revisiting fave spots … or discovering new ones!

🗓️ Saturdays & Sundays
🕚 11am-5pm, through December#SanFrancisco #OnlyinChinatown

🔗 https://t.co/Xetb0Id7v8@sfoewd @SharedSpacesSF @sfcma @sparetheair @liondanceme pic.twitter.com/1gGhgVDpOu

— Livable City (@Livablecity) July 24, 2021

Sunday Streets is a program run by the nonprofit Livable City, with a mission of “creating temporary open space and recreational opportunities in neighborhoods most lacking, encouraging physical activity, fostering community-building, and inspiring people to think about their streets as public spaces.”

2. Montreal, Canada 

13 streets. 7 boroughs. Space for dining, biking, walking, art, and more. The city of Montreal, Canada has given the streets back to people this summer. For the full list and schedule of pedestrian-friendly streets, check out this article. 

The City of Montreal has converted 13 streets in 7 boroughs into pedestrian boulevards complete with space for outdoor dining, public seating & social space, art installations & enhanced cycling & pedestrian routes. https://t.co/lEzfXgSaG8
📸 @AvenueMontRoyal
📍Montreal 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/tslnehYhpt

— Jonathan Berk (@berkie1) July 2, 2021

3. East Lansing, Michigan

Home to Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan is a case study in the economic benefits of open streets. Following the opening of East Lansing’s pedestrian-only Albert EL Fresco, the city’s Downtown Development Authority estimates that the street closure has increased downtown foot traffic by up to 35 percent according to their early data. Restaurants located in the downtown area also saw a 20-25 percent increase in sales in just the first week. 

Thrilled to see this initiative from @CityofEL come to life as part of the @MEDC's Public Spaces, Community Places program. #CitiesForPeople https://t.co/J4M5oidhwX https://t.co/T2rgIwklrV

— Patronicity (@Patronicity) July 1, 2021

Albert EL Fresco runs until mid-August, with ongoing community events and programming, including yoga classes, live music, games, rotating art installations, and more.

4. New York, New York

Move over, Open Streets. Open Boulevards have arrived in New York City. 

NYC’s Open Boulevards program features multiple blocks in a row closed to vehicles and open to people—and filled with outdoor dining, live performances, and other activities.

Do you like car-free streets, restaurants, and live performances? Well then you're going to LOVE Open Boulevards and #SummerOfNYC. Get ready! pic.twitter.com/Bzr9QVOVgz

— City of New York (@nycgov) May 13, 2021

The new program will start with ten boulevards, opening on a rolling basis across the five boroughs:

Bronx

  • Alexander Avenue (Bruckner Boulevard – East 134th Street)
  • Arthur Avenue (East 187th Street – Crescent Avenue)

Brooklyn

  • 5th Avenue in Park Slope (various)
  • 5th Avenue in Sunset Park (various)

Manhattan

  • Amsterdam Avenue (106th Street – 110th Street)
  • Columbus Avenue (106th Street – 110th Street)

Queens

  • Ditmars Boulevard (33rd Street – 36th Street)
  • Woodside Ave (76th Street – 78th Street)

Staten Island

  • Minthrone Street (Victory Boulevard – Bay Street)

The program will be a permanent fixture in the city. 

Planning a trip to NYC? Check out our City Break: Manhattan guide.

5. Oxford, England

The city of Oxford, England’s open street project is drawing life back to its high street—and reinforcing the fabric of its community in the process. Oxford has turned Broad Street into Broad Meadow, opening the street to pedestrians and adding placemaking features like garden boxes, parklet-style seating, and expanded outdoor dining. 

No1 rule in transport and city planning:

✨ “Build it and they will come” ✨

Business is booming. Wildlife is returning. Community is coming back together

This is building back better. Let’s do more of this! 🌱👩🏻‍🦽🌺 🚴🏾‍♀️☕️💷🌍🚶🏼‍♂️✨ pic.twitter.com/6xAqKeKkiU

— Charlie Hicks (@Charlie_Hicks_) July 9, 2021

The historic street has been turned into a public square for the summer, as part of plans to permanently turn it into a pedestrian-only space.

6. Greensboro, North Carolina 

Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina’s Open Streets program has returned for the 2021 season (they kicked off in March), creating a pedestrian-friendly Elm Street (from Market Street to Lewis Street). Every Saturday through October, visitors to the area can enjoy expanded patio dining as well as shop at local stores, all in a car-free environment. 

Summer nights and Open Streets: a match made in #dgso ❤️‍🔥#downtowngreensboro #openstreets pic.twitter.com/gXwPlt6kPy

— Downtown Greensboro (@DowntownGSO) July 10, 2021

7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

OpenStreetsPGH is Pittsburgh’s way of encouraging residents to reimagine streets for people and partake in safe outdoor recreation. 

This year, the event closed two miles of streets in the Hazelwood neighborhood, and hosted a series of events, including free fitness classes, learn-to-bike classes for kids, food trucks, and more. 

@openstreetspgh is back in 2021, and will host a single “mini-route” in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Sunday, July 25! Enjoy fun activities hosted by local organizations and much more.
Learn more at https://t.co/sww8ARMzwW #ad pic.twitter.com/9blx4g28FH

— Pittsburgh City Paper (@PGHCityPaper) July 22, 2021

The program is organized by Bike Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of the Pittsburgh community “to transform the city’s streets and communities into vibrant, healthy places by making them safe and accessible for everyone to bike and walk.”

new york cityopen streetspublic spacessan franciscotravel tips
Tweet
City Break: Chicago
National Forests, Preserves, and Lakeshores—Oh My! 9 Public Lands to Visit in the U.S.

About the Author

Amanda Wowk

Amanda Wowk is a freelance writer, founder of Amanda Wowk Creative — a content writing services company — and avid traveler. Her experience spans the travel industry, supporting clientele in travel tech, luxury travel, and consumer brands. When she's not helping clients tell their stories, Amanda writes about her own experiences to inspire others to travel as far, wide and frequently as possible.

    TripIt's New Traveler Resource Page

    Subscribe & Follow

    Archives

    Find us on Facebook

    Popular Posts

    LBGTQ+ books

    10 Books That Illuminate the LGBTQ+ Experience Around the World

    On June 1, 2021
    01
    navigating the airport

    Remember Navigating the Airport? These Tips and Tools Can Help

    On June 9, 2021
    02

    TripIt Data: Will Fourth of July 2021 Be the Return to Normal?

    On June 16, 2021
    03

    Latest News

    • city break London

      City Break: London

      May 24, 2022
    • Lee Abbamonte

      Going Places: A Conversation with Lee Abbamonte

      May 18, 2022
    • TripIt analyzed U.S. origin flight, rental car, lodging, and vacation rental reservations made by our TripIt users for Memorial Day weekend 2022

      TripIt Data Shows One-Third of Memorial Day Weekend 2022 Flights Headed Abroad 

      May 10, 2022
    • dear jen

      Dear Jen: Tips for International, Business, and Greener Trips 

      May 5, 2022
    • budget-friendly air travel

      5 Tips for Booking Budget-Friendly Air Travel

      May 4, 2022

    Products

    • Download App
    • Tripit
    • Tripit Pro
    • Help Center

    Company

    • Press
    • Jobs
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • Security
    • Google Data Policy

    Partners

    • Developer API
    • Supported Booking Sites
    TripIt
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube RSS

    Our Products

    Products

    • Download App
    • Tripit
    • Tripit Pro
    • Help Center
    Concur

    © 2006-2022, Concur Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. TripIt® and Concur® are registered trademarks of Concur Technologies, Inc. Other trademarks held by their respective owners.