---
title: "Festival Street"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/local-streets/festival-street/"
id: "LOC-FES-08"
description: "A Local Typology that closes to vehicle traffic during scheduled events and reverts to the base modal hierarchy off-hours."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Festival Street

`LOC-FES-08`

Recommended Local

Festival Street

A Local street designed to convert between full vehicle access and a pedestrian-and-bicycle-only event space, on a schedule rather than permanently.

Typical at: Urban Core

Compact is an edge case. Undeveloped, Rural, and Suburban are unlikely pairings.

## Speed and modal hierarchy

Design speed & speed limit

\[SPEED LIMIT 20\]

Vehicle access is excluded entirely during scheduled events. Outside of events, the Local default applies: 20 mph hard maximum, no exceptions.

See [Design Speed & Speed Limits](https://commonwaysystem.org/guide/design-speed.md).

Modal hierarchy

During events:

Pedestrian > Bicycle

Off-hours:

Pedestrian > Bicycle > Transit > Vehicle > Freight

This pattern carries two separate modal hierarchies depending on time of day, not one: full pedestrian/bicycle exclusivity during scheduled events, the Local base order the rest of the time.

## Design notes

The dual-mode design, full street for events and normal Local operation otherwise, is what distinguishes this from a permanent Pedestrian-only Street or Plaza. It requires enough event demand and foot traffic to justify the conversion, which is why it concentrates at Urban and Core density.[1]

## Related patterns

[Pedestrian-only Street / Plaza](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/local-streets/pedestrian-plaza.md) (LOC-PED-09) (the permanent version of what this pattern does on a schedule), [School Street](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/local-streets/school-street.md) (LOC-SCH-11) (shares this pattern's schedule-based structure, per both pages' Design notes)

## References

1.  Precedent-based [Seattle Municipal Code §11.14.203, "Festival Streets."](https://streetsillustrated.seattle.gov/urban-design/public-space/festival-streets/)