Philly Free Streets: Road Closures and Parking Restrictions
Here’s where you can cross North Broad if you’re driving in the area on Saturday — and where you’ll get towed if you park.
North Broad Street during the 2018 Philly Free Streets | Photograph by Gina Tomaine
If you were planning to drive along North Broad Street on Saturday, then you’re out of luck.
This weekend brings Philly Free Streets, the one day a year when the city shuts down a road (or a few of them) to vehicular traffic, opening a path for people to walk, jog, bike, roller blade, or just hang out.
The event will return to Broad Street on Saturday, August 3rd, for the second year in a row. Highlights along the route include a giant pop-up sandbox beach, free workouts, historical exhibits, Mayor Jim Kenney’s annual Free Streets power walk, and appearances by poet Sonia Sanchez and the Phillie Phanatic. You can find a full list of programming right here.
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and take place between Arch Street and Germantown Avenue. If your commute or travel plans cut through the area, you might want to consider staying put. Go ahead and park your car (just not on a restricted street) and check out the event. Or just take public transportation — the Broad Street subway line will still be running underground, and the Market-Frankford Line will take you to 15th Street, near the start of the four-mile Free Streets route.
If you have to travel in the vicinity of Philly Free Streets, we’ve got a list of east-west roads where you can cross North Broad, as well as parking restrictions, so you can plan around it.
Cross Streets
North Broad will be closed to vehicular traffic from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Butler Street starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
The following streets will be open to traffic to cross North Broad Street:
- John F. Kennedy Boulevard
- Arch Street
- Vine Street (Eastbound Only)
- Spring Garden Street
- Ridge Avenue
- Girard Avenue
- Diamond Street
- Lehigh Avenue
- Allegheny Avenue
- Erie Avenue
- Butler Street
One-way streets that feed onto Broad Street will be designated local access only and monitored by the Philadelphia Police Department.
Expect traffic delays until at least 5 p.m. on Saturday, when all event-related road closures will be lifted.
Parking Restrictions
Parking restrictions will begin at 2 a.m. on Saturday and include both sides of North Broad Street between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Butler Street.
Additional restrictions include:
- Arch Street from Juniper to Broad
- Vine Street (westbound) from 13th to 15th
- Brandywine Street from 15th to Broad
- Mount Vernon Street from Watts to Broad
- Wallace Street from Watts to Broad
- Fairmount Avenue from Broad to Ridge
- Brown Street from Broad to Carlisle
- Poplar Street from Watts to Carlisle
- Stiles Street from Broad to Carlisle
- Oxford Avenue from Park to Broad
- Cecil B. Moore Avenue from Park to Broad
- Montgomery Avenue from 13th to Broad
- Susquehanna Avenue from Watts to Broad
- Huntingdon Street from Broad to Carlisle
- Glenwood Avenue from Cambria to Broad
- Westmoreland Street from Park to Broad
- Rising Sun Avenue from Watts to Broad
- Germantown Avenue from Erie to Butler
All cars parked in restricted locations after 2 a.m. on Saturday will be towed. If you think your vehicle has been towed because of Free Streets, call your local police district for confirmation.
