Two years ago, we launched a petition to show support for the Open Street on Vanderbilt Ave and the Underhill Bike Boulevard. Within 3 days, thousands of people had signed to voice their support. Years later, the petition continues to thrive, with more than 5,000 signers, the majority of them locals.

We’re only a few days away from the start of the 2025 Open Streets season on Vanderbilt Avenue! The start of the season is always exciting and reminds us why we do the hard work of running the Open Street — the benefits are incredible when it all comes to life!

Today Open Streets organizers, elected officials, and advocates gathered on the popular Vanderbilt Open Street to demand the City provide sustainable funding for the Open Streets program. Rally organizers and elected officials are asking the City for a renewed investment in the popular program, totaling $48 million over three years; they warn that without a sustainable funding model, the Open Streets will not survive.

Common questions we’ve received during our fundraising for the 2025 season are, “Why do you need money?”, “How much does the program cost?” and “What exactly is this to pay for?” There is a lot that goes into making Vanderbilt Open Streets happen — not even counting any of the unpaid volunteer labor — and we want to break this down for those of you who are interested in the details.

We, the undersigned Open Streets volunteer committees and coordinating organizations, call on the City to fully fund the Open Streets program by allocating $48 million over the next three years to expand DOT and the City’s capacity for supporting Open Streets and directly fund the organizations operating these programs.