GObike Buffalo will be hosting an Open Streets event on Grant Street on Saturday, July 10, from 11 am to 3 pm.

Activities include bike rides, live music, e-bike and crosswalk painting demonstrations, mobile bike repair, and small business sales and expos. We invite community members to enjoy the Grant Street International Market while engaging in this fun, healthy community-based event.

“This is a wonderful event for cyclists of all ages to get together and enjoy a beautiful summer day in Buffalo, and a perfect opportunity to patronize some of the great businesses on Grant Street,” said NY State Senator Sean Ryan. “My thanks to GObike Buffalo for their important work in the community.”

Open Streets are programs that temporarily open streets to people. People traffic replaces car traffic and the streets become ‘paved parks’, where people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can come out and improve their health. First initiated in Bogota, Colombia, in 1976 to create more space for city residents to recreate and play, Open Streets are now held in more than 30 communities across the United States to encourage healthy activity, foster community connections, and support local businesses.

Due to the on-going pandemic, Grant Street will remain open during this event to discourage crowds.

“The ‘Open Streets Bflo’ event represents the culmination of GObike’s summer efforts to promote bike-abilty and a new cycle-friendly environment in the city of Buffalo. Through three unique ‘Slow Roll’ rides, this event will highlight our city’s progress as its neighborhoods begin to cultivate distinctive features integral to communal living, and will also give our community’s small businesses a much-needed boost in the aftermath of a pandemic that had a devastating effect on entrepreneurship,” said Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera.

Connecting old Buffalo to new arrivers, from refugees and immigrants to students at Buffalo State, the historic Grant Street fuses the best of Buffalo, with businesses forming the bedrock of community vibrancy. The Open Streets event recognizes the importance of this landmark corridor. Through the event, we hope to encourage involvement in the Grant Street streetscape study underway by GObike and the community preservation planning process by Preservation Buffalo Niagara. Initiated by State Senator Sean Ryan, the project is funded by The John R. Oishei Foundation, with additional funding from Niagara Councilmember David Rivera.

“Grant Street has always been such an important part of the Niagara District. I look forward each year to events that bring together district and non-district residents alike to enjoy Grant Street and all it has to offer,” said Niagara Councilmember David Rivera.

“Through the Open Streets event, GObike hopes to demonstrate the benefits of a healthy Grant Street–one that supports individual and community health, as well as economic and cultural health,” said Thea Hassan, GObike’s project manager for the Grant Street streetscape study. “Through the streetscape study, we hope to see these changes made permanent.”

“We’re excited to connect our community with all the excitement around Grant Street, from the daily buzz of businesses to the bright future of a more equitable street design,” said Slow Roll Buffalo cofounder Seamus Gallivan. “Our three short rides for Open Streets on Grant will show how critical Grant Street is in connecting the entire West Side.”

Event Schedule and Map

Activities will start at 11 am at Grant Street and Lafayette Avenue.

Slow Roll Buffalo rides will lead at the following time and locations:

• 12 pm from Freddy J’s BBQ (195 Grant Street)
• 1 pm from West Side Bazaar (25 Grant Street)
• 2 pm from Gypsy Parlor (376 Grant Street)

Additional activities include e-bike demos with Shared Mobility, Inc., mobile bike repair from GObike, FREE giveaways from presenting sponsor, Independent Health, crosswalk painting demonstration, live music, and informational sessions by West Side Business and Taxpayers Association and Entrepreneurship for All. In addition, businesses in the Grant Street Marketplace will host sidewalks sales and expos, including free hot dogs from Lorigos Meating Place, 10% off at Gather & Game, herbs from Stephanie Adams Law Firm, and much more.

View the event map here.

RSVP to the Facebook event here.