PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the past year and a half, pedestrians and bike riders had Martin Luther King Drive in Philadelphia all to themselves.
But that changed late Wednesday afternoon.
Police officers were on hand to take down the roadblocks and reopen part of the drive to motor vehicles. It is still pedestrian only from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to Sweetbriar Drive for three more years.
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“We have group rides at least two to three times a week,” said Maria. “This is one of our main thoroughfares.”
She and her friends rode one last time on the open MLK Drive streets, before greeting the first several cars to return to the road with a chorus of boos.
The cars responded by honking their horns and giving the thumbs up.
It was all in good fun, but Maria is still disappointed.
“A lot of us just started cycling during the pandemic, so it was just wonderful to have this blocked and not have to worry about cars,” she said.
“With traffic on here, it’s just one lane. This bike path is shared by runners and walkers as well. It’s not conducive to riding.”
She and her group are trying to figure out alternative routes.
Katherine, another bicycling enthusiast, reflected on how of MLK Drive with no traffic has changed the area.
“I think that it really has helped with Kelly Drive being densely populated, especially over by the Fairmount Park and Museum area,” she said.
“I think taking away some of that pedestrian traffic and bringing it over here has made it a lot easier.”
Many pedestrians are taking solace in the fact they still have part of the drive to spread out.
As for drivers, there initially weren’t a lot of cars on the drive.
Some seemed unsure if it was actually open. Others stopped to express their displeasure that they still need to take a detour to get into the city.
There’s a massive “L”-shaped orange barrier currently in the middle of the drive at Sweetbriar, so people know at what point cars need to get off and pedestrians need to switch to the path.
