Pedestrians Rule at Open Streets on State Street

Curbed paid a visit to the inaugural Open Streets on State Street over the weekend to see what all the fuss was about. The organizers, Chicago Loop Alliance and Active Transportation Alliance, bet on good weather and curiosity to spur attendance. They got both. Part urban playground, part interactive instruction, the pedestrianized festival set out to showcase alternative urban past times while signaling to City Hall the importance of pedestrianized public space. Where better to strut it than along historic State in The Loop? We visited the varied activity stations between Lake and Van Buren and snapped some shots. Not your typical amenity-jammed street fair, Open Streets offered little in the way of provisions, leaning instead on nearby restaurants which in some cases offered discounts. That was fine by us, preferring our open streets to be clean streets as well. Essentially a long tranquil zone disrupting familiar traffic patterns, there was little evidence of chaos in the adjoining streets. Most importantly, everyone on foot was having a blast. Let's hope for a lot more of this in the future.
·Official Site: Open Streets on State Street