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Open Streets TO is coming back to Toronto for its second year! Last year, the concept was tested on Yonge and Bloor streets and was met with a ton of enthusiasm. The streets were entirely closed off to cars for a few days last summer and instead were infused with bikers and pedestrians. The main goal of the project was to promote physical activity but also prove that people in Toronto would run, hop, skip, and jump on the opportunity to have a car-free area like this.
Since it was so successful last year it was no surprise that it came back, and we’re happy that our building is (literally) at the heart of the event. The routing for Open Streets spans from Bloor and Spadina all the way to Parliament, and along Yonge Street south of Bloor to Queen - that puts us right in the middle! In addition to the streets, 6 parks along the route will have activities going on put on by organizations from around the community.
Want to know something cool? This type of event actually originated in Colombia under the name “Ciclovias”. Over the years, cities all over the world followed suit and began hosting Ciclovias themselves, for example Texas’ ‘Viva! Streets Austin’ or Mexico’s ‘Via RecreActiva.’
This year the project is running on Sunday August 16th and Sunday September 6th, from 9am to 1pm, and is entirely free to attend. Will we see you there?
All photos via Open Streets TO Facebook Page
