“It was a GREAT day and a record fall turnout,” cheered Al Brown, Treasurer of Partners for Parks, the financial nonprofit partner for Open Streets 704. “The newest addition neighborhoods to our routes, Wilmore and Dilworth neighborhoods, really embraced having their streets added to Open Streets 704.”
“And the West End, Seversville, and Wesley Heights neighborhood associations, really went ALL OUT — I’ve never seen such crowded streets in all of our Open Streets 704 events!” he added. A generous grant from the Knight Foundation added live music and games to the fun in the Southminster Family Zone along the Stewart Creek Greenway in West End.
The warm weather and fantastic turnout brought the total of Open Streets 704 participants to 52,000 for 2019 — another record. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County’s largest fun, FREE, active community event has grown from 25,000 participants its first year, in 2016, to more than double that size this year.
“It was a great day for Mecklenburg County, for the City of Charlotte, and for our Open Streets 704 team, volunteers, and participants,” says Scott Curry, the Active Transportation Coordinator for the City of Charlotte and an Open Streets 704 leader. “It was a huge success!”
Some of the highlights along the 4-mile route from State Street to Latta Park included:
Open Streets 704 will soon release results of its business and participant surveys. The next Open Streets 704 event is planned for April 19, 2020. We can’t wait!
