Road closures begin around FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Road closures and traffic restrictions kicked in this week around the site of the FIFA Fan Festival in Fairmount Park.
Why it matters: The monthlong detours will snarl traffic for commuters and residents in the neighborhood.
The big picture: Philly's Fan Festival will span the length of the World Cup, 39 days between June 11 and July 19.
- Daily attendance is expected to be around 15,000-20,000.
State of play: Local lanes for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will remain closed through Sept. 7.
Meanwhile, the following streets were shut down to vehicular traffic Tuesday, and will remain closed through 8pm on July 26:
- Sedgley Drive from Kelly Drive to Poplar Drive
- Poplar Street from Poplar Drive to 30th Street (local access available)
- Poplar Street from 29th Street to 30th Street (westbound traffic only; local access available)
- Poplar Drive from Sedgley Drive to Girard Avenue
- Sedgley Drive from Girard Avenue to Lemon Hill Drive
- Lemon Hill Drive and N. Lemon Hill Drive
🅿️ All those streets are now temporary no-parking zones.
Zoom out: The road restrictions are part of the city's effort to encourage festival-goers to take public transportation and rideshares to the event.
What's next: Waterworks Drive, which is directly behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will close from June 11 to July 19 at 10am each day.
- General parking there will only be allowed until 9am.
- The city's special parking zone on neighborhood streets near the festival — mostly in the Fairmount and Brewerytown neighborhoods — will start on June 11.