How Closing Streets to Cars Might Be Good for Brisbane Businesses Gil Penalosa, founder of 8 80 Cities, has been advocating in Brisbane this week for closing streets to cars and embracing people focused urban spaces.
As a keynoter at the Transport Professionals Association national conference, Penalosa brings experience from his role as Bogota's parks and recreation commissioner in the 1990s, where he championed Ciclovia, a movement that closed city streets to traffic between 7am and 2pm every Sunday, giving pedestrians and cyclists free rein.
Ciclovia has had remarkable success. Cities like Guadalajara, Mexico, and San Francisco have seen businesses thrive along designated bike routes, even furniture stores offering free restrooms to visitors.