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Cars made way for people in Joburg’s Main Street on 9 August, as Main Street Sundays returned to Marshalltown.
A section of Johannesburg’s CBD was transformed into a car-free space with pedestrians, cyclists and skaters taking over the streets. The free event offered something for all ages with activities spread along the route, extending the experience to Gandhi Square.
The latest edition followed April’s inaugural event, which brought more than 5000 people into the CBD and gave Joburgers another chance to experience Main Street differently. This time around, live music, food trucks and pop-up markets and kids’ activities brought Main Street to life without the usual traffic.
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ICYMI: The inaugural Main Street Sundays is a sun-drenched success
So, when is the next Main Street Sunday?
The next event date is yet to be confirmed. Jozi My Jozi will announce the next event date, programme and other details through its official channels in due course. The goal is to turn Main Street Sundays into a recurring city experience rather than an occasional event.
The vision is to create a programme with enough consistency for Joburgers, businesses, traders, creatives and visitors to plan ahead and get involved. Each edition, however, may have its own character and format. Rather than following a fixed format, organisers want each edition to be shaped by lessons from the previous one, including where people gather, which activities draw families and young people, how businesses participate and how the route can be made safer and more accessible.
What could future events look like?
The concept will remain the same, turning Main Street into a place for people and family activities, not just passing traffic. The programme will also weave in the area’s history and identity, heritage and storytelling. Another vision is to make the street itself part of the experience, rather than simply the setting. It also means creating more opportunities for businesses, residents, entrepreneurs and creatives to participate.
The Women’s Day edition was a good example of how the event can develop its own personality. It provided an opportunity to celebrate the people who bring the city to life every day including traders, artists, cyclists, skaters and young creatives. The emphasis on community is expected to continue shaping the future of Main Street Sundays.
The long term vision
The bigger vision behind Main Street Sundays may be its most compelling feature. For one day, Main Street is reclaimed as a place to experience rather than simply a road to travel along. From children, it means space to play. For businesses, a chance to engage with the street. For neighbours, an opportunity to connect. And for visitors, a chance to experience the inner city at a slower, more human pace.
Organisers see the initiative as part of a larger effort to make Johannesburg’s streets more accessible, active and people centred. Instead of focusing solely on reducing car traffic, the idea is to test what happens when public spaces give people more room to connect. The initiative supports a longer term vision for streets that are easier to walk, safer to navigate and more accessible to everyone.
Two successful editions have created momentum and the challenge now is to make it sustainable. Although the next date hasn’t been confirmed, the larger ambition is clear and that is to change the way people experience Joburg’s CBD. Turning it from a place to pass through into a place to explore.
If that vision takes hold, Main Street Sundays could become more than a Sunday event. It could offer a glimpse of a more connected and people centred Johannesburg.
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