This past weekend was the first OpenStreetsPGH event of the summer. On Saturday May 11th a stretch of streets from downtown Pittsburgh to South Side Flats was closed off to car traffic, freeing up this vital public space for human activity and people-powered movement.
Having attended as many OpenStreets event as I could over the past few years, this was my first time volunteering at the event. As such, I headed out on the route slightly before the official start of the event so I could check in for my shift. This provided me with the opportunity to ride nearly empty streets along Carson, across the 10th Street Bridge, and all the way to Market Square.
This also included riding through an empty Armstrong Tunnel, one of my favorite features of this particular route.
Even ahead of the official start time the Market Square hub was already abuzz with activity. It was a beautiful and cool morning although thunderstorms were in the forecast.
Meeting some of the other volunteers was an absolute highlight of the event. I got to meet some very cool and friendly people (including a follower of the MilkCratesPGH account!) and laid the groundwork for some future group rides and interactions. It was exactly the sort of community building that I had hoped for when volunteering in the first place.
Here’s a short montage of video I shot during the event: