Blog: City Blog

Open Streets Highlighted Play, Businesses & Neighborhoods in Bearden

People have actually gotten excited for road closures around Knoxville, but there is no sinkhole or construction that’s causing these closures. On October 9, 2016, Bike Walk Knoxville hosted its third Open Streets in Bearden.

Open Streets events allow for major road closures for community members to walk, bike and play in the streets.
Caroline Cooley, Director of Bike Walk Knoxville, said about Sunday’s event, “It went really well, the weather was great, there were lots of children and families on bikes, scooters and walking. The kids were playing laser tag, and the adults were doing country dancing and physical activity.”

According to Caroline, around 4,000 people attended Sunday’s event, which is the most for an Open Streets Knoxville event so far. The mile-long road closure gives community members the opportunity to be active while dancing and listening to live bands. More importantly, it allowed for people to gather and mingle within the heart of a community.

“I think what people like the most about the event is the interaction with other people, it’s a very social event.” said Cooley. “It’s also great for local small businesses.”

One of the small businesses to attend was Sweet Peas Garden Shop. Owner Dee Lockwood said, “[Open Streets was a] great opportunity to bring people in that didn’t know we were here, and the opportunity was fabulous.”

The event will continue to move to different communities throughout Knoxville, but will revisit past communities, as well. For more information, visit www.openstreetsknoxville.com.

Posted by On 14 October, 2016 at 3:53 PM