Starting June 19, Church Street in Montclair closed to cars on select weekends for the first time in the town’s history. It won’t be the last. The township has approved a five-weekend pilot that runs through October.
The idea is not new. Resident petitions to close Church Street to through traffic have circulated at different times, arguing the block between Bloomfield Avenue and South Park Street was too good a gathering place to share with cars. The petitions had gone nowhere at the time. What changed is that Montclair now has a Complete Streets director, a role focused on designing roads for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users alongside drivers; a Vision Zero mandate committing the township to eliminating traffic deaths altogether; and a township council willing to try it.
When Church Street Closes and What to Expect
The closures run 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the third weekend of each month, with five total dates: June 19-21, July 17-19, August 21-23, September 18-20 and October 23-25. The block closes between Bloomfield Avenue and South Park Street. Cross streets stay open.
The name the township gave this is “Summer on the Street 2026,” and it’s part of a broader push some planners call pedestrianization, the practice of converting streets from car use to pedestrian use.
Jacob Nieman, Montclair’s Complete Streets director, has said Church Street already has the bones for this. Asked directly what should be done with the street, he didn’t hesitate. “I think it’s great the way it is,” he told the Pod in a March interview. “It’s got a great wide sidewalk, which is a really undervalued thing in kind of urban design and town design. You’re able to have those sidewalk cafes. You’re able to go to a Monte Vino and have a bottle of wine.”
Research from New York City’s Department of Transportation found that pedestrian-focused streets “significantly outperformed” comparable nearby areas in sales growth, restaurant and bar growth and business retention. The township is betting Church Street follows that pattern.
How to Get Involved This Summer
The township is actively looking for organizations to fill the space. Both for-profit and nonprofit groups can apply to host programming during the closure weekends, with approved events receiving promotional support from the township. The application form is live now. Deadlines line up roughly two weeks ahead of each weekend: June 30 for July, July 31 for August, August 31 for September and September 30 for October.
For everyone else: show up. The closures are free and open to the public.
Why Montclair Is Running This Pilot Now
The Vision Zero Task Force formed in 2023 in response to a series of traffic injuries and a fatal pedestrian collision at Park Street and Bellevue Avenue. Since then, Montclair updated its Complete Streets ordinance in May 2025 and hired Nieman to lead implementation. The Church Street pilot is the kind of low-cost, real-world test that approach was built around.
Nieman’s argument for pedestrian spaces is economic as much as it is about safety. “Montclair is a great place to be a person,” he told the Pod. “It’s not the best place to be a car because there’s a lot of traffic and parking’s hard. But that’s what makes it so desirable as a person. That’s what makes it so great to be on Church Street or to walk along Walnut Street or head down to the South End.”
He’s also clear about the limits of his role. Whether Church Street becomes permanently pedestrian-only “is a decision for the mayor and council,” he said, but he sees room for a middle path. “It doesn’t have to be pedestrian only at two in the morning when places need to get deliveries, but it can be at certain peak times. “But I will say that there’s many ways in which pedestrian-only spaces become really desirable and exciting places to go. Places for cars are less fun to spend time in as a person. That’s why no one likes parking decks.”
Five weekends, one street, and a town about to find out whether Nieman is right. The next closure is July 17. If you’re applying to bring programming, the deadline is June 30. If you’re just curious, the only thing you need to bring is yourself.
