When: Saturday, September 28, 2019, from 10AM to 3PM
The Media Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), Transition Town Media, Media Providence Friends School, Friends of Glen Providence Park, Media Arts Council, the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia, and other great partners have teamed up to bring residents of Media and our neighboring towns a fun, family-friendly event—Media Open Streets—now in its second year! Certain streets will be closed down and you and your family can play in the streets! Anything non-motorized is allowed—bicycles, strollers, wheelchairs, skateboards, roller skates, or just your own two feet! Of course, there will be vendors and information tables, fun activities, and music along the way, at Borough Hall (3rd & Jackson Sts), and at Glen Providence Park. We are especially excited to announce our three bands that will be joining us this year: Lost Northern Tribe at Borough Hall, Trinidad North (Steel Drums) at Third St. Bridge and Dope Pinhead Band at Glen Providence Park!
Open Streets programs provide a multitude of benefits to their host town. They provide communities with accessible, free recreation, leading to improved public health. They are exercises in social integration, connecting neighborhoods and allowing all residents to meet in the street as equals. Local businesses are provided the opportunity to showcase their wares to new potential customers, without the outside vendors that often accompany street festivals and events. Open Streets programs offer communities the opportunity to experience their city streets in whole new ways, encouraging greater civic participation and building support for the provision of broader transportation choices.
Open Streets also encourages physical activity. They are about exploring your town in a new and fun way, highlighting existing brick and mortar businesses and civic assets, like museums and galleries and parks. Most importantly, Open Streets are entirely free and accessible. There are no user fees or entrance charges. No start lines or finish lines. Participants can enter and exit the route wherever and whenever they wish. You don’t need to be a high-performing athlete to participate, and you don’t need to be able to afford those $100 yoga pants either.
Open Streets programs are for anyone and everyone.So that you and your family and friends can enjoy the streets, there will be several road closures. Jackson St will be closed to traffic from 5th St to Third St; Third will be closed from Jackson St to West, and West will be closed from Third St down to Glen Providence Park (including a little bit of State St from West to the Park entrance). There will be no parking on the route streets during the event. For safest car travel during the event, we suggest you try to use Monroe St for north-south travel, and any street south of Third for east-west travel. If you are driving anywhere near the route, please use extra caution as there may be more people on foot near the event route, compared to normal foot traffic.
There will be no parking on the event route (Jackson between Fifth and Third, Third between Jackson and West, West between Third and Glen Providence Park) from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on Saturday, Sept 28, 2019. Please relocate your car by 9 am on Saturday, Sept 28th. If you’re an early riser, plan to move your vehicle by 9 am. Otherwise, please move your vehicle on Friday night. As a safety measure to protect the attendees, vehicles left on the event streets after 9 am will be towed. The only exception will be the reserved residential handicapped spots.
If you feel like participating in Open Streets as part of the action, we are also looking for volunteers! We are looking for volunteers to help set up the route in the morning, marshal the intersections during the event, and break down the course and clean up at the end of the day. All volunteers will get a cool t-shirt, cold drinks, and a fun day.If you want to be a big help for the day, support this all-volunteer effort, and have fun doing it, please sign up by clicking here.
Come and experience the fun of strolling or biking the streets of Media without cars—it’s healthy fun for the whole family! Check out this video or these pictures from last year’s event to see what it might look like. Click here for more information.