Bull City Open Streets Brings Biking, Dance & Music to Downtown

Durham residents gathered to bike, walk and dance around Durham Athletic Park during the final Bull City Open Streets of 2011 on Sunday.  Foster, Geer, Washington, and Corporation Streets were blocked from traffic and devoted to fun physical activities from one to five p.m.

Bull City Open Streets operates as part of a mission to increase awareness of transit alternatives such as biking and walking and to encourage citizen health through a variety of physical activities.

The event kicked off with a “human powered parade” featuring the Southern High School Marching Band, local bicyclists, the Dixieland jazz stylings of the Bulltown Strutters, and demonstrations of Bhangra, Irish step and belly dancing.

Several organizations worked together to organize the afternoon’s activities, including Clean Energy Durham, Durham County Government’s Partnership for a Healthy Durham, Active Living by Design, and Triangle Transit.

Clean Energy Durham hosted a popular information booth featuring a human-powered smoothie blender. By pedaling a bicycle, participants could power an attached blender and whip themselves a fresh fruit smoothie.

Clean Energy Durham’s Ninna Gagnon said the high percentage of families out walking and biking downtown was encouraging.  “This gave people the opportunity to get used to riding bikes in the streets, so we hope they’ll be more confident after today,” she said.

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