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"Celebrating the People of Park View,"
mural by Rose Jaffe and Kate Zaremba in 2016 |
"If you close it, they will come?" Washington's Open Streets program returned to Georgia Avenue NW this month and got a turnout every bit as numerous, diverse, and fun-loving as they had two years ago.
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| Georgia Avenue north of New Hampshire Avenue |
Again, job stuff kept me away until the last hour or so. This year, though, I walked south from the Metro station instead of north, so while the joy was the same, as was my commemorative t-shirt, the pictures are different.
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| Out of the Metro |
The absence of cars on the street enabled activities including...
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The Honey Larks on the Reduce Energy Use DC Main Stage
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| young and very young walkers |
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| Enjoying snacks and company in the shade of street trees |
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| Recreation at Bruce Monroe Community Park |
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| Chalking and painting |
Services along the route included...
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| Water station |
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| Roller skating lessons |
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| Police chilling with everybody else |
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Dance lessons in progress
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| Information booth (where I filled out a survey to get the t-shirt) |
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| City Council member Brianne K. Nadeau |
I did not see Council member Nadeau, but one of her staff was in a vigorous discussion about the future of Bruce Monroe Community Park, where a housing development is planned. Conversations like this can happen naturally when the design brings people together.
There seemed to be less public anxiety about the chaos that would ensue when the street was closed, possibly because I didn't have the local FOX station on during breakfast. Local merchants were definitely taking advantage of the opportunit
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antique shop
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| restaurant with outdoor seating |
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| more outdoor seating with jaunty pretzels |
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| They have all the herbs |
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| They have all the beans |
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Ice cream!
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The long festival came to an end at the intersection with Barry Place...
...adjacent to historic Howard University
By this time, they were taking down their booths...
...and the police were warning all the mellow people that cars were about to return.
I'm glad Washington gave people the opportunity to imagine for a day all the many things we could do with some of the space we currently devote to cars. Soon, the city
will try other streets. I hope I can be around when it happens!
SEE ALSO: "Open Streets DC," 11 October 2019
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