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The Rittenhouse Square neighborhood in downtown will have a temporary pedestrian zone for four consecutive Sundays starting September 8.
And there are about 50 retail stores along the stretch between 15th and 19th streets along Walnut Street. There are no mobile food trucks, street vendors or pop-up markets – only existing retailers can participate.
The shopping street is home to a cluster of clothing stores, cafes, restaurants and specialty shops that could see an increase in sales as pedestrians can stroll, shop and eat without the stress of traffic. Existing restaurants can extend their tables onto the sidewalk for customers to create a sort of pop-out street space.
The Center City District, the Rittenhouse Row Group of Companies and the City of Philadelphia collaborated on this program to improve foot traffic for retailers in the business corridor. Rittenhouse Row’s retail occupancy rate is approximately 83 percent, according to Center City District data.
The concept is similar to that of Newbury Street in Boston, a one-mile stretch that is open to pedestrians only on Sundays during the summer and fall.
“I think the hypothesis is that people walking down the street are more beneficial to retailers than people driving down the street,” said Prema Katari Gupta, president and CEO of Center City District. “We’re excited to collect a lot of data. We’re trying to approach it with an open mind and run it like an experiment.”
Center City District is coordinating free public space events during the pilot project, including children’s games, circus performers, salsa dancing and live music on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The organization has been creating pedestrian-friendly public spaces, beautifying bike lanes and landscaping streets throughout the downtown core for decades. Some intersections along Walnut Street will allow car traffic during the events.
About 75,000 people already live downtown and overall pedestrian traffic – including visitors – has returned to about 84% of the levels last seen in 2019. All visitors are asked to leave their vehicles parked for the events.
“It’s not a festival, it’s more peaceful,” said Katari Gupta. “I remember the first time we saw the street closed and people eating outside (during COVID). I remember being very moved by that experience, just seeing people together having fun.”
