Center City District’s Open Streets program began in September 2024 with a simple question: what would happen if streets were closed to vehicles and opened to pedestrians? From the start, the answer was abundantly clear: a people-first environment improves the experience of shoppers and residents while providing a measurable boost to businesses along the corridor.

The groundswell of support from participants, as well as high-profile endorsements from The Philadelphia Inquirer and a “Best of Philly” award from Philadelphia magazine, are an indication that we’re onto something. A year and a half and 20 Open Streets events later, we’ve learned even more than we thought we would. Read on to understand the impact of Open Streets and why we’re doubling down in 2026.  

10,000 visitors per event 

Cellphone-based counts from Placer.ai show how many people are present within the Open Streets footprint during the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on event Sundays. That does not take into account the number of people who arrive early and linger later in Center City. We also measured a spillover effect of 18% for the blocks surrounding Open Streets compared to a comparable non–Open Streets Sunday. 

27% increase in pedestrian activity  

We looked at comparable Sundays (e.g., the first or second Sunday of the year prior) to get as close of a benchmark as possible for comparison. The results showed that the absence of cars led to a 27% year-over-year increase in pedestrian activity, while overall Center City foot traffic increased 3% from 2024 to 2025.

Businesses that extended their footprints into the street said it was an effective way to attract more shoppers into their stores. Businesses on the upper floors also shared that Open Streets was an invaluable opportunity to bring their presence to street level, reaching new eyes and creating interactions they may never have had otherwise.