This Saturday is the closing a mile of 7th Street NW to cars and opening up the roadway for people to safely walk, run, bike and play.
The shutdown spans from Rhode Island Avenue to E Street, cutting through Shaw, Mount Vernon Triangle and Chinatown.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the downtown section of 7th Street, from Mount Vernon Triangle to E Street, will shut down early at 2 p.m. The street itself will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for set up and clean up.
There are fitness zones throughout the walk that offer free classes for passersby, including yoga, dance workouts and wrestling lessons. Local performers 鈥� from rock bands to gospel groups 鈥� will be supplying entertainment with some breaks for cultural dance performances, like a Chinese Dragon Dance and Flamenco. Small businesses will also have stands along the street, selling food and other wares.
Like past years, there is also a focus on bicycle safety, with bike repair workshops, free cycle maintenance, and a giveaway of 22 adult bikes and 29 children’s bikes.
鈥淥pen Streets is about coming together as a community, staying active, supporting our local businesses, and reimagining how we use public space,鈥� said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in a release. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a walkable city, we鈥檙e a city that is focused on expanding biking and public transportation options, and Open Streets shows us what鈥檚 possible.鈥�
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) says Open Streets helps to get people excited and thinking about pedestrian plazas, which are part of a new downtown plan.
鈥淥ne of the things that the mayor is doing in terms of downtown revitalization is looking at adding more pedestrian plazas,鈥� said DDOT鈥檚 director, Shannon Kershbaum. 鈥淭his is going to be one of our inaugural ways to do that right downtown, on 7th Street.鈥�
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