Central Avenue will be closed to all vehicles on Oct. 31.
Courtesy of Car-Free St. Pete
By Mykayla Grecco
Backed up traffic and the struggle to find parking in downtown won’t be a problem this Oct. 31 thanks to Halloween on Central, an event hosted by Car-Free St. Pete.
The event will close off 22 blocks of Central Ave. to celebrate the spooky season.
Car-Free St. Pete is an environmentally friendly initiative
Event coordinator Nicole Roberts came up with the idea for the event in hopes that the St. Petersburg community would see benefits in making roads less crowded.
“There’s great environmental benefits to closing off a major street, because you’re eliminating more people using their vehicles, so that cuts down on the carbon emissions that are expelled,” Roberts said.
According to Roberts, in Boise, Idaho, a was declared car-free and businesses have had a 30% increase in consumer activity.
“Really our biggest thing is to create almost a pilot of [a car-free street] to show the business owners that they can still get business,” Roberts said.
Keisha Thrift, owner of Love Food Central, has expressed her enthusiasm for the event.
“I think it’s fantastic. I say that it’s a great idea that Central Avenue, our main road, should be car-free, they should offer an avenue for bicyclists, people on scooters, or people walking, just to be safe. I personally ride my bike a lot. So, I think it is a little more dangerous when there’s cars on the road.,” Roberts said.
Halloween on Central will hold a variety of family-friendly activities, including trick-or-treating, costume contests and a roller disco.
Maria Hernandez Rivera, a senior mass communications major, expressed their interest in the upcoming event.
“I think making Central Avenue car-free could be an incredibly good idea as long as there is parking somewhere for people who don’t live here. The cars make it so hard to move around freely and take up so much of the beauty and energy of St. Petersburg,” said Hernandez.
To help keep the St. Petersburg community healthy, safe, and beautiful, the car-free event hopes to shed light on how to do so.
Mykayla Grecco is a junior digital communications and multimedia journalism major at USF St. Petersburg.
