Taking back the streets

Sometimes I groan and moan about living in New York... the unbelievable amount of money we pay in rent and mortgages and taxes and grocery... the lack of space (I wish everyday that we have just one more closet)... the wafts of spoiled garbage during the summer... and well, the list just continues and continues.

Every time I get to a point where I want to move away, something really great happens that makes me appreciate being a resident of the Big Apple.

Today, it is the Summer Streets event. For three Saturdays in August, the city opened up 7 miles of streets to pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, skateboarders, basically anything that's not a car. Today is the first Saturday. Let me just say, it is all kinds of wonderful and just an absolutely amazing experience.

It's sort of surreal to walk around the street without having to worry about cars. The roads are quiet. No one was in a hurry, everyone ambled along... the number of smiles I encountered, the friendly mood shared by everyone... is this what our lives could be like if we removed cars from the equation?!?!

In addition to closing off the streets to pedestrians, there was a myriad of events - helmet giveaways, live music, and a little fitness. My favorite part of the walk is stumbling upon a Crunch class. Imagine a crowd of pedestrians that's willing to pause for a few minutes and shake their booty. It was a diverse group of people - young, old, male, female, all races... and everyone was having a blast... even the crowd was smiling on the sidelines and shaking their tush a bit too :)

This is the first year NY is doing this event... I really hope this not only become annual tradition, but maybe this will also impact city planning in NY. For those of you living in other cities... this is so awesome!!! I hope other cities follow suit and everyone can experience this!