Open Streets Chicago

What does it feel like to take a stroll right smack in the middle of a major street?

What would my neighborhood, Wicker Park, look like in a post-apocalyptic society?

Two very important questions, obviously.  

I got to find this out two weekends ago with Baby Max during Open Streets Chicago, which closed down a solid 1.5 mile length of bustling Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park on a normally busy Sunday afternoon––which, in Chicago, is a very big deal. Open Streets promotes the idea of fostering community, culture and health, all with a car-free concept. Basically, it means pedestrians, four legged pals, and anyone with wheels of the self-powered kind (bicyclists, scooters, big strollers) rule the road. It's no wonder Wicker Park made the top 5 hippest hipster neighborhoods in America in a recent Forbes list!  

What was interesting were all the mini tableaus/vignettes staged here and there––people sipping coffees on random tables and chairs in the street, dance parties and DJs spinning off-sidewalk, and hula hoop contests. And backpacks. There were lots and lots of Wicker Park hipsters and their backpacks, out and about.   

A cool idea but the execution wasn't the best. And then when it was all over, the cops in their cars warned people to "get off the street" like a broken megaphone record, until I finally heard one roll by me and mutter, "Get off the fucking street." Spoken like a true Wicker Park-ian.