ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nearly two miles of Central Avenue in busy downtown St. Petersburg will be closed to cars on Halloween so people can explore the area without having to worry about traffic.

The closure will take place Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. from MLK Jr. Street to 31st street, which is a total of 22 blocks.


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Jeff Schorr, owner of Craftsman House, hopes that more pedestrian traffic will help drive new people to his art gallery who may not have noticed it before.

“We hear all the time customers, will come in and say, 'Oh my gosh, I drove right by your spot,' and those are the customers looking for us,” he said.

The event, called ‘Halloween on Central,’ is put on by Car-Free St. Pete in collaboration with the City of St. Petersburg, Grand Central District, EDGE District, and Open Streets St. Pete.

Organizers hope that businesses see a boost from the increased pedestrian traffic and that the concept of making Central Avenue free of cars will become a reality on a more frequent basis.

“That would be a great thing to have even a portion of Central shut down permanently at some point,” said St. Pete resident William Kilgore.

Bikes, skateboards, roller skates, and e-scooters are all permitted at the one-day event.