PlayStreets Day 2015, a city-wide block party!

July 30th was PlayStreets Day and Active Trans was out in the neighborhoods having a ball!

PlayStreets, a Chicago Department of Public Health youth obesity prevention initiative, closes traffic to specific neighborhood streets for three or more hours to transform the community into safe, supervised play areas for families to stay active and healthy. 

Active Trans has been a proud partner and program provider for PlayStreets since the beginning, and we were thrilled to be a part of this year's PlayStreets day, which included a record-high 16 events in the city in a single day.

If you've never been to a PlayStreets event, imagine an amped up block party with a super-kid-friendly activity-oriented focus.

The street is cleared of all cars the day before the event to maximize the amount of safe public space for children to use for various activities, and during the event there is a smorgasbord of fun, engaging activities for children of all ages and abilities to participate in.

The goal of Playstreets is to get more kids moving and reduce childhood obesity in Chicago by providing a safe space for activities.

Active Trans has long been an advocate for this kind or repurposing of the public right-of-way to return it to the public.

Our neighborhood streets are for people, the neighbors who live in the neighborhood, and not just for automobiles.

Please visit www.playstreets.org for a full calendar of events and more photos. There are plenty events left this summer, so if you see one happening near you, come out and play!