People looking to stretch their legs and shop, foodies looking to dine al fresco, and dogs looking to show off — take notice. Every Sunday this April, the streets near Rittenhouse Square once again will go car-free.
This will be the Central City District’s third installment of its Open Streets program. It follows a successful September run — which brought in thousands to shop, dine and socialize — and a short sequel during the holiday shopping season in December.
“We want this to work for everyone,” said Prema Katari Gupta, CEO of the district’s business association. “Above all else, we want the restaurants and retailers to thrive. We want to send out as many real and positive images of Center City as we possibly can, because those of us that are here know that it’s great.”
For most of the few dozen storefronts along the corridor — extending along Walnut Street between 15th and 19th, and along 18th Street between Chestnut and Locust — foot traffic and sales ticked up both times versus a typical Sunday.
During those late-summer open streets, more than 9 in 10 of businesses surveyed said they saw more people in their stores, and nearly 80% said their sales increased, CCD said in a statement. Over 90% of businesses said they wanted the program to return.
John Castellaneta, store manager of Philadelphia Runner Center City, on Walnut Street, said that during September’s Open Streets, the shop benefitted from the increased foot traffic in the car-free space.
Castellaneta also admired the general energy of the people walking around and shopping.
“A lot of people just in great spirits, ” said Castellaneta. “Everyone just really enjoyed the whole idea of being able to head out and walk around Walnut with so much freedom.”
He added that he and store employees were “quite excited” about the program’s spring comeback in time for a few local races, like the Broad Street Run in May.
Philadelphia’s first open street program may have been the Walk on Walnut Street events in 1971. Organizers then remarked how quickly the street filled with people once the roads were closed to traffic. The popularity led to “Super Sundays” that blocked off cars between Logan Circle and the Art Museum, which continued about once a year for over a decade.
Gupta said she was struck by how closing the roadway for CCD’s first Open Street program last September had such an immediate effect.
“An hour before our very first one started when we had to close the street early for setup, people were walking their dogs and going jogging and strolling. And the stores weren’t even open,” she said. “It felt like a natural use of the street.”
The lack of cars made it feel safe for South Philly resident Helena Jaramillo, co-founder of online map tool Pam Pam, who has attended Rittenhouse open streets multiple times. As a parent, she said she could be more relaxed about keeping her child away from vehicles.
“I wish that it was all summer or April and May at least,” she said. “Every time it feels really short.”
Adding more days or a longer run for the program is in “beta testing,” according to Gupta.
The outdoor dining during Open Streets attracted at least one local food influencer, Amanda Marie Barr, who runs the Instagram account “phillyfoodandbarrs”. Barr, born and bred in Northeast Philly, said she liked seeing everyone taking advantage of the temporary outdoor space.
“It honestly gave a little sense of community,” she said. “I thought it brought people together in a really nice way. So I’m happy to see it come back.”
This community aspect is part of a lofty, if secondary, goal of the Open Streets initiative, said Gupta.
“We are just in a time as a city, as a country — if I could be super ambitious with our goals here — we need to come together and enjoy ourselves in public space,” she said.
The biggest winner might not be retail, eateries or people enjoying the open space, said Gupta. It could be the dogs.
“I think dogs liked it most of all because you see the dogs going for walks in the middle of the street would get a lot of attention.”
