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Williamsburg might be short on parkland, but on summer Saturdays, the neighborhood is poised to again boast seven additional blocks of open space.

Bedford Avenue is expected to go car-free every Saturday in June and July for the second annual “Williamsburg Walks,” which turns the thoroughfare into a pedestrian-only plaza between Metropolitan Avenue and North Ninth Street.

Cars will still be able to cross Bedford Avenue on all the side streets, but each block of Bedford itself will be free from traffic and parked cars between noon and sunset.

And unlike the summertime street fairs, “Williamsburg Walks” won’t clog the pedestrian-only zone with vendors, said organizer Michael Freedman-Schnapp, whose group Neighbors Allied for Good Growth is planning the Saturday strolls with the L Magazine.

“This is not going be a tube-sock-and-gyro kind of street fair. This is going to be civic space that the community can enjoy,” said Freedman-Schnapp, who urged Williamsburgers to take advantage of the open space by hosting barbecues on their strip of the borough’s longest road.

Organizers said they still need to get their permits from the city, and work out how to reroute the B61 bus around Bedford Avenue.

After the success of last year’s “Williamsburg Walks,” many merchants told The Brooklyn Paper that they were looking forward to the closure of Bedford Avenue — not dreading its possible impact on deliveries.

“It was very good last year — it brought more customers,” said Aya Kiriyama, owner of the clothing boutique Red Pearl, which is between North Fifth and Sixth streets. “I hope it will do the same thing this year.”

According to Kate Hollowell — an employee at Amarcord Vintage Fashion between North Fourth and Fifth streets — shutting down Bedford Avenue can actually draw shoppers to the businesses that line the drag.

“It makes it feel like more of a community,” she said. “[When there is no traffic] people are more likely to go into stores and explore stores that they wouldn’t necessarily visit otherwise.”

©2009 The Brooklyn Paper

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