Tom Fuculoro of the Seattle Bike Blog is in Portland right now dreaming about the possibilities for Ballard.

Particularly, he is thinking about Portland's Sunday Parkways, a series of events around the city which Fuculoro describes as a something like a cross between Seattle’s Summer Streets and Bicycle Sunday events.

He writes, "A loop of mostly residential streets are closed to motor vehicles throughout a neighborhood and opened to fun and games of all kinds. People play music, kids sell lemonade, fitness instructors lead free zumba or yoga classes, and much much more. Sections of the loop a filled with vendors and information booths, and businesses near the route embrace the never-ending stream of people flowing by on foot and bike."

He says routes range from 7.5 to 9 miles and all busy intersections are controlled by police officers.

Here in Ballard, the event could be used to introduce people to the new neighborhood greenway on 58th Ave NW and, if it does come into existence, the Ballard Box, which would form a loop from 58th up to the Crown Hill and Loyal Heights area.

Fucoloro drew up a sketch of what the Sunday Parkways event might look like in Ballard (above), using Seattle Neighborhood Greenways' proposed Ballard Box as an outline. (Note: An actual route for the Box has not been picked out yet, so it's approximate.)

"Imagine this on a Sunday during the farmer’s market," Fucoloro writes.

You can read Fuculoro's full blog post here.

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib