Tomorrow will be the first Saturday of NYC’s Summer Streets. A NYC Dot sponsored event, Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park will be closed to motor vehicles and open for pedestrians and bikers on Aug 9, 16, and 23rd from 7am to 1pm.

If you’ve ever experienced the Museum Mile event, you know that closing a street to cars for just a few hours can transform it into a great public space. Kids use chalk to turn the street into their own public canvas, street performers come out, and people walk 30 blocks just for fun.

Summer Streets is part of NYC’s “greening initiative” – by closing these streets, the city hopes to encourage alternative (and more sustainable) means of transportation. I might have to come into Manhattan Saturday morning, just so I can walk at my leisure down Park Ave.