Open Streets: Bucharest event turning city’s main arteries into pedestrian areas kicks off this weekend

Open Streets – Bucharest, Urban Promenade, the weekend program that sees streets close for traffic and open for pedestrians to attend various events, returns with this year’s edition on April 12.

The program, with events as varied as live concerts, street shows, dance, parades, workshops for children, guided tours, and areas for exercise and sports, takes place on Calea Victoriei and various other Bucharest neighborhoods. It will run for 24 weekends, until October 12.

This year, it will partner with other events, including Street Delivery, Dâmbovița Apa Dulce, Bazar de Cotroceni, Dorobanți Street Art Festival, and New Urban Habits, to take the program further to the city’s neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the purpose of the event remains the same as it was at its first edition: to show that the city belongs to its people, who need spaces to meet and interact, the organizers explained, while pointing to the benefits for local businesses and “the friendlier and more accessible urban dynamic.”

On weekends when the event takes place, Calea Victoriei becomes pedestrian between 10:00 and 22:00, on the road segment between Dacia Boulevard and the intersection with Splaiul Independenței, without affecting the intersections. Calea Victoriei can be crossed on Știrbei Vodă Street, C. A. Rosetti Street, Dem I. Dobrescu Street, Ion Câmpineanu Street, Regina Elisabeta Boulevard.

Some routes of the buses operated by the Bucharest Transport Company (STB) will be diverted without impacting passengers.

Road traffic on Calea Victoriei resumes during the night until the morning (Saturday to Sunday), from 23:00 to 09:00. The bicycle lanes will also be closed on the arteries where cars are not allowed.

Open Streets is a project of the Bucharest City Hall, organized by Arcub – the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Bucharest, and Proedus – the Center for Educational and Sports Projects.

The calendar of events is updated on the Arcub and Proedus websites.

(Photo: Arcub)