What to Know
- The Philly Free Streets event will be held along 4 miles of North Broad Street on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- People are encouraged to walk, run, bike, roll or scoot, but not drive, during the event.
- This is the 4th year of Philly Free Streets and second on North Broad.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney joined other city officials Wednesday to announce the open route for this year’s Philly Free Streets event, the place where no cars go.
The City is pulling a repeat in 2019 as they are teaming with Temple University to close a 4-mile stretch of North Broad Street, including through Temple's campus. The event will be held on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Philly Free Streets temporarily closes streets to cars, inviting people to walk, bike and play,” the city says on the event’s website. Skating, using wheelchairs, pushing scooters and leashed animals are also encouraged.
Thousands of people from 45 of Philly's 48 zip codes took part in the North Broad Street event last year, Kenney said.
"On my way up North Broad, I saw people of all ages and all physical abilities enjoying the street," Kenney said of last year's event. "One was a father on roller blades towing his young son on a tricycle. One elderly gentleman moved his chair from his porch to the middle of Broad street to be immersed in the positive energy."
The first event in 2016 came in the wake of the 2015 papal visits. Whole sections of Center City were car free because of security closures for the multi-day visit.
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South Street and an informal route through Kensington, Northern Liberties and Old City have previously hosted Free Streets events. Past events have featured community groups, art projects, performances, plenty of freebies and some fresh air.
More than 120,000 people have participated in the previous four Philly Free Streets events, the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (oTIS) said.
“At its core, Philly Free Streets promotes livable streets — streets that are safe and comfortable for people of all ages and physical abilities to walk, bike and meet their neighbors,” oTIS Deputy Managing Director Mike Carroll said.
