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Open Streets DC hosts mile-long event in Northwest

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Open Streets DC has hosted another block party in Northwest, giving the area an opportunity to have a little midday fun in the summer heat. From Shaw through Penn Quarter, more than a mile of 7th Street NW was closed to cars from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. so pedestrians could, as Mayor Muriel Bowser said, enjoy a little summer fun. “I encourage residents to meet us on bikes, skates, scooters or feet as we enjoy a day outdoors,” she said The event, hosted by the District Department of Transportation, is part of an ongoing global initiative to allow people to “experience their city streets in a whole new way.” Temporary road closures made space for Bike Rodeos, Virtual Reality experiences, Live art and fitness classes, a silent disco and a fit zone with Zumba, yoga and strength training options.



Open Streets DC has hosted one other event this year in Anacostia. The next planned event will be in Ward 7 along Benning Road Northeast — a date has yet to be announced. Updates for plans in Wards 5 and 3 are available at OpenStreets.dc.gov.  

Metro and IndyCar team up for a busy weekend of Freedom 250 Grand Prix events

No, you weren't hallucinating Thursday morning — that was an IndyCar being pulled along the Metro tracks through a portion of D.C. It was part of a promotion between the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to remind people that the best way to navigate the expected huge crowds this weekend is to take Metro. "Even IndyCar knows the fastest way to get around is actually on Metro," said Randy Clarke, the transit agency's general manager and CEO. "We're really excited about this, and this car was a really kind of fun way to show a different way that people can see the Metro system, and we're having a little fun." The IndyCar, described as a work car that will not run in any of the races scheduled over the weekend, was fastened aboard a flat-bed train car and pulled along the yellow line, beginning at the King Street station up to the Mount Vernon station then back south to the L'Enfant Plaza station. Metro riders gawked at the multicolored, low-profile racecar as the train paused at L'Enfant for a photo op.
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