About Sunday Streets Missoula

Sunday Streets Missoula is a free community event that transforms seven blocks of Higgins Avenue into a carfree space, opening the street to cyclists and pedestrians, and playing host to various forms of recreation, exercise and family fun in the street and adjacent parks.  Inspired by the renowned Ciclovia of Bogotá, Colombia (where residents enjoy 72 miles of open streets every Sunday!), Sunday Streets Missoula is quickly becoming a much-loved celebration that promotes physical fitness, builds neighbor-to-neighbor relationships and supports active transportation choices.

The 4 major goals of Sunday Streets Missoula are to promote:

Biking and Walking

Automobile traffic is consistently recognized as one of the greatest barriers for potential cyclists and pedestrians.   By closing the street to cars and opening it to cyclists and pedestrians, Sunday Streets Missoula encourages increased levels of walking and biking.  The route currently runs along Higgins Avenue, where recent improvements to on-street and off-street bike lanes have made downtown Missoula safer and more comfortable for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.  Sunday Streets Missoula provides attendees with a chance to try riding a bike downtown, walking to brunch, and using the new infrastructure without the fear of automobile traffic. 

Along with encouraging new users of non-motorized transportation, the carfree streets allow current cyclists and pedestrians to celebrate their healthy and sustainable choices by having the freedom to walk and ride wherever they like.  

Public Health

As Americans, and Montanans, continue to be confined to cubicles and cars, many people do not get the exercise they need.  Obesity is on the rise, and childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions.  Sunday Streets Missoula seeks to combat obesity by providing an outdoor recreational venue in the heart of the urban area.

Event participants can enjoy the nearly 2-mile Ciclovia route, walking and biking in the street and through the adjacent parks.  In June of 2011, over 60 businesses and non-profits hosted as many healthy activities, including Tae Kwon Do classes, African dance lessons, gymnastics and tumbling, a bounce house, and more.  While many of these focused on children, there were several options for adults to recreate, including urban golf, spinning classes, and loaner bikes.  For a full list of activities, check out the Events Calendar.

Public Space

With nearly 80% of our trips taken by automobile, a lot of us only go outside to get in or out of a vehicle.  Those of us that do spend time outdoors usually like to “get away,” go into the woods, or enjoy quiet time in our back yards.  While we have chosen to live in Missoula because how great the community is, many of us rarely get a chance to build and reinforce this strong community through sharing thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a public space.

The streets are a public space, maintained by all of us but used by only those who drive.  Even as motorists, we are generally isolated in our cars and rarely get a chance to interact.  Sunday Streets Missoula invites you to come reimagine a public space free of cars.  A place where you can sit and talk, walk and discuss, or just ride and smile along with thousands of other community members.   

Local Business

Sunday Streets Missoula is a FREE event that encourages you to get moving, get healthy, think about public space in a new way, and in general help build and maintain the community we have all come to love.  This great event is made possible through the generous donations of our Sponsors, by all of the businesses and organizations that provide so many wonderful things to do on that day, and by all of the stores and restaurants along the route, many of whom open their doors wide to Sunday Streets Missoula.  So, the next time you are downtown, be sure to thank the businesses you visit for embracing Sunday Streets Missoula.  And at the next Sunday Streets Missoula, be sure to thank the groups that made this event possible.

Past Successes

On September 12, 2010, the first ever Sunday Streets Missoula saw over 3,500 participants engaging in healthy physical activity, making active transportation choices and celebrating Missoula as a bikeable and walkable community.  2010 events included a “Missoula Mile” foot-race to support prostate cancer research; free yoga, dance and fitness classes; live music; arts & crafts activities; local nature walk; bike stations; Aikido; dog training; urban golf; wellness screenings; gymnastics; climbing wall; roller derby; bounce house; rickshaw rides, and many more.

June 5th 2011 saw the event grow – well over 6,000 people came to enjoy the open streets, the healthy activities, the proclamation by Mayor Engen of “Neighbor Day,” the plaza on Pine St., and the glorious sunshine on the first hottest day of the year. 

To learn more about the great success of the first Sunday Streets Missoula, check out the 2010 final report (PDF)!

If you or your business are interested in sponsoring Sunday Streets Missoula, please fill out our Sponsorship Form.