Guess what, Philly? Even mother nature is on the #OpenStreetsPHL side!

I couldn’t help waking up like a kid on Christmas this past Saturday, walking around South Philly to see what was going on in the blizzard excitement. Rather than a Snowmageddon like the news predicted, it was a joyous day out in the city! People were walking around, in the middle of the streets! Adults having (friendly) snowball fights! Strangers were saying hi to each other!

The last time the city was this friendly? When Pope Francis was in town. The #poperide got everyone excited about Open Streets and the possibilities.

Unsure about the Open Streets movement? Essentially, Open Streets PHL recognizes how awesome it is when pedestrians, runners and bikers rule the streets during events to have communities socialize and exercise. The kicked off in 2015 shortly after the Pope Ride brought a few thousand of peaceful Philadelphians onto the streets. They can’t stop won’t stop and have big plans for 2016.

I asked LeeAnne Mullins, Chair of the Open Streets PHL team about what the blizzard meant to the movement. As Mullins described,

“In Philly, we saw a lot of people using the snowy streets as an excuse to connect with their neighbors and get in some physical activity. That’s really the point of Open Streets. Philadelphians seemed to have a lot of fun with the open streets — we saw people cross-country skiing through Society Hill, running through Rittenhouse, sledding through Kensington, and cycling through West Philly.”

A bunch of people were even supporting #OpenStreetsPHL on social media:

Some #OpenStreetsPHL fan art from @siegel_tweets #snopenstreets #SNOWpenStreetsPHL pic.twitter.com/icdGoPVGB7

— Open Streets PHL (@OpenStreetsPHL) January 24, 2016

https://t.co/RSX9u76rBN #OpenStreetsPHL #PHLsnow #Jonas pic.twitter.com/Ug0lbyvYGm

— Jason Michael (@AJasonMichael) January 24, 2016

Thanks, #Blizzard2016. We get our streets back for a day. #OpenStreetsPHL pic.twitter.com/NcUNoPU6In

— Corey Saunders (@Philambulator) January 23, 2016

Another amazing side effect of the storm? My plans weren’t that negatively affected because I could walk somewhere open.  There IS a reason millennials keep loving on the city. WalkScore really DOES empower you – even during the times that mother nature is a potential disaster. 

I caught these guys playing frisbee in the middle of a clear Walnut St. in Rittenhouse Square! #6abcAction #6abc pic.twitter.com/3g1IiA31DK

— Chuck Purnell (@ChuckP6abc) January 24, 2016

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher