We're hoping Nancy chimes in on this soon, based on the photo from The Oregonian she looks as if she's having a great time. (Oregonian, sorry for borrowing the image, but I did make sure you got the photo credit). The story from The O indicates the event was a success with no problems and very little disruption to car traffic. I think it would be a great idea to have this type of event regularly, but given the expense ($150,000 according to the story) regular sponsors would need to be recruited.
From The Oregonian:
Thousands of Portland-area residents walked, biked, ran and Rollerbladed through six miles of North Portland streets Sunday, freed by an experiment that closed off the streets to car traffic for six hours.
Like a chain of neighborhood block parties, city organizers banned cars from a loop of streets and scheduled hours of music, food, dance lessons and other activities at parks along the route.
A first for Portland, the event was a huge draw for families -- some looking to gain confidence in riding bicycles and others just looking to get out and enjoy an early summer day. Enthusiasm and smiles abounded, even as cyclists hit the brakes to navigate around one other.
Read the full story.
This was a great event. So many kids riding, so many families, so many amazing bike configurations.
In this photo alone... I have a kid on the back of my bike over the wheel, my friend in the green shirt has her Mom on the back of her bike on an xtracycle, friend's husband has a child in a trailer.
It was so carefree and fun, and we ran into old friends and made new ones. There are lots more photos over on www.bikeportland.org, and more information about the organizers.