According to the New York Times , "having a major thoroughfare through Manhattan free of cars created a giddy sort of excitement."
If so, then Chicago's about to get its own "giddy sort of excitement." The Windy City is launching its own "Sunday Parkways" program, shutting down some main city streets for two Sundays in October. It's a first for the city.
NYC officials say they may continue the Summer Streets program if it's successful; Chicago likely would too.
It's an event that has taken off in some foreign cities -- including Bogotá, Colombia; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Paris -- as well as some smaller U.S. cities -- including, perhaps unsurprisingly, Portland, Oregon.
Is this the start of a new trend? Should more places in the U.S. start "carfree" weekends?
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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