Joy ride at Sunday Streets
Residents, visitors to neighborhood enjoy their first Sunday Streets
One-year-old Reese Norman rides in a car being remote-controlled by his father, Ronald, down Lyons Avenue during the monthly Cigna Sunday Streets event, which was in the Fifth Ward on Sunday.
Scooters, bikes and strollers looped up and down Lyons Avenue and Benson Street on Sunday, passing both colorful sidewalk chalk designs and balloons as well as long grass and a boarded-up house.
The latest Cigna Sunday Streets event closed traffic in the Fifth Ward, bringing residents and visitors outside for vendors and food trucks on the cloudy weekend day.
On Sunday, volunteers and event speakers also stressed health and exercise in a neighborhood where many people live in poverty. Kids danced with and high-fived Mikey Molar, an anthropomorphic tooth that serves as a mascot of Cigna dental, and a “Pedal Party” trolley powered by about a dozen people circled the blocks to cheers and music.
“Burn those calories!” an attendee called between dance songs.
District B Councilman Jerry Davis told crowds that he does between 25 and 45 minutes of biking, running and elliptical exercises five days a week and reminded a young girl who hopped onto the stage while he spoke to brush her teeth for two minutes, two times a day.
“Diabetes, heart attacks, childhood obesity — these are preventable diseases,” Davis said after line dancing on a patch of grass on Sunday. ‘So diverse’ Launched in spring 2014, Sunday Streets shuts down traffic for several hours on a city block to let residents explore a neighborhood in the spaces generally clogged by traffic. This was the first time the event came to the Fifth Ward.
While previous locations have included the Energy Corridor, Montrose and the Heights, Cigma Community Involvement Lead Paula McHam said event coordinators aim to also place the event in underserved communities. Several attendees said they came from other neighborhoods to walk around.
“Houston is so diverse,” said Krystl Allums, 38, standing near the colorful house-turned-art instillation Fifth Ward Jam. “I wanted to see what changes are coming through.”
‘Exciting’ turnout
Sunday’s event blocked off a little less than a mile of Lyons Avenue and Benson Street. Pop-up stands sold lemonade and art. Kids gripped orange monkey bars, swinging from rung to rung, and a group of young men straddled bikes and tapped around a small ball with croquet-like mallet.
Kelvin Ray Lewis, 56, stood and watched the game steps away from the home he’s lived in for the last 17 years.
Though he said he’s disappointed by elected officials who have “failed” the district, he said events like Sunday’s are “exciting” and complimented the turnout.