People exercise on Kirkwood

Instead of the usual car traffic, West Kirkwood Avenue was filled with bikers, dancers and even rock climbers Sunday.

The goal of the event Open Streets was to celebrate public street space and help create a more sustainable and healthy city, said Vince Caristo, co-organizer of Open Streets Bloomington.

Cities all over the country, such as Minneapolis, have organized similar events.
The City of Bloomington Planning Department decided to bring Open Streets to Bloomington. It organized the event in conjunction with the Monroe County Planning Department and the Center for Sustainable Living.

West Kirkwood Avenue between Rogers Street and College Avenue was closed to cars for part of Sunday afternoon.

The street space was filled with more than 20 groups demonstrating a variety of physical activities.

All the activities were “crowdsourced,” Caristo said.

“We did not plan any of the activities ourselves,” Caristo said. “The groups came to us with their ideas.”

Some of the activities included yoga from Vibe Yoga Studio, rock climbing from Hoosier Heights and an obstacle course from the Boys and Girls Club.

IU Health Bloomington Hospital sponsored a booth giving away free pedometers and walking maps of Bloomington.

“Physical activity can benefit you in many ways,” said Carol Weiss-Kennedy, director of community health for IU Health Bloomington Hospital. “It can be as easy as taking a walk, parking further from your destination or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.”
In addition to the physical activities, there was also a public art exhibition.

Hannah Hunt, an intern at the Monroe County Planning Department, said the idea of the exhibit was to get people to think about and get excited about their local community.

An open canvas was displayed for individuals to write or draw what they find inspirational in their community.

Caristo said they chose the location because it is a street people usually only experience in their cars.

“We chose a street that was familiar and busy, but often overlooked,” Caristo said. “Hopefully, people will think about the street in a new way.”

The event was financed via a combination of corporate sponsorships and a Kickstarter campaign for individuals to make small donations online.

Caristo said the Kickstarter campaign allowed for supporters to show excitement, even if they didn’t attend.

The organizers plan to use any extra money they raised from the campaign to explore bringing Open Streets to other parts of Monroe County, Caristo said.

Follow reporter Brianna Meyer on Twitter @brmmeyer.