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MLK Drive will once again close to cars on weekends

The scenic drive abutting the Schuylkill will close to vehicles between the East Falls Bridge and Sweetbriar Drive each weekend through November, Saturdays at 7 a.m. through Mondays at 7 a.m.

People were out riding their bikes and running along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Philadelphia on Saturday, the first day it closed to cars on weekends for the season.
People were out riding their bikes and running along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Philadelphia on Saturday, the first day it closed to cars on weekends for the season.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will once again close to traffic on weekends, allowing pedestrians, bikers, and fresh air enthusiasts unfettered access to the road throughout the season.

Starting Saturday, the scenic drive abutting the Schuylkill will close to vehicles between East Falls Bridge and Sweetbriar Drive each weekend through November, from 7 a.m. Saturday until 7 a.m. Monday, the city announced.

Philadelphia has seasonally closed the road to traffic since 1995 — including an elongated 17-month stint during the height of the pandemic — creating “a safer experience for walkers, joggers and cyclists to enjoy the warmer months,” the city said in a statement. Advocates in 2021 lobbied to permanently ban cars from the four-mile stretch, but fell short in their efforts.

The $20 million construction project on the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Bridge near the Philadelphia Museum of Art remains ongoing, meaning that detours are in place south of Sweetbriar Drive. The 690-foot bridge is expected to reopen in spring 2025.