Get moving to Summer Parkways Sunday

Calling all volunteers! There’s lots of free fun to be had in the streets of Spokane Sunday. The July Summer Parkways takes place at Spokane’s North Hill, from Clark Park to Franklin Park to Ruth Park, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Roads are closed to motorized traffic, and people are encouraged to walk, cycle or skate. “We still could use a considerable amount of volunteers—mainly to direct traffic throughout the neighborhoods where residents may need to leave or return to their homes; it’s called a ‘soft closure,’—the streets will be closed to through-traffic but able to be accessed by homeowners,” said Bill Bender, co-chair of the event and head of SpokeFest, a local cycling advocacy group. After all, a neighborhood party isn’t very fun when there are unhappy neighbors. So far, in its second year and three events later, there haven’t been any problems to speak of. “People come out of their homes and picnic on their lawns to watch the procession go by,” said Bender. “It’s a very family-themed event, so it’s all in good fun and everyone seems to enjoy it tremendously.” This shows in the numbers of participants. Prior to the first Summer Parkways last summer, Bender described the event as an “instant product,” where instead of just adding water, “we just need to add people.” While last summer’s two events drew around 1,000 people, Bender estimates this year’s first Summer Parkways, held June 22 on Spokane’s South Hill, from Manito Park to Comstock Park, attracted roughly 3,000 people. The event is also very mindful of businesses, choosing to alter its original conceived routes last year through downtown Spokane. Though many businesses appreciate large-scale community events like Hoopfest or Bloomsday, these celebrations could result in poor sales on those days for businesses along the routes. “We want it to be a win/win situation for everybody, it’s all about fun,” said Bender. A growing number of participants are getting into the spirit of Summer Parkways. In June, about a dozen or so members from the group Inland Northwest Tango rode their bikes along the Parkways course, boomboxes on shoulders, stopping every so often to tango. The idea for Summer Parkways derived from Ciclovia, which began in 1979 in Bogota, Columbia. Ciclovia (Spanish for bike path) events were seen as a means to reduce congestion and pollution on what were normally congested roadways. Thirty-five years later, people still flock to the closed streets of Bogota every Sunday—often numbering up to 2 million people at a time—to walk, ride their bikes, skateboards, scooters (non-motorized), unicycles, to mingle and get fresh air and exercise. Along the almost 3-mile route from Clark Park at Division Street and Garland Avenue to Franklin and Ruth parks, activities and booths will also be part of the fun, including hula hooping, bike decorating, Zumba, martial arts, and disc golf. One change to this year’s events is the fact that instead of signing up to share your activity or booth with the crowds, people are encouraged just to show up and set up. “It has made it much simpler to organize, that’s for sure,” said Bender, adding that everything worked out well at the first event in June. Presented by Spokane Parks and Recreation, The City of Spokane, and the SpokeFest Association, sponsors include Avista, Maloney + Oneil, Community Foundation Building Foundation, Spokane County Medical Society, Apex Physical Therapy, Spokane Metro Magazine, and Premera Blue Cross.