Joo Chiat Without Cars: A Street Full of People

I live in Joo Chiat, and usually walk along its narrow covered passages beside the shophouses. Someone is coming the other way, someone has stopped at a shop window, someone is moving very slowly ahead of you. We all try to fit. The buildings are lovely, but I tend to see them sideways, from beneath the next awning.

This time I could step into the middle of the road. Same street, same buildings, familiar signs. Between them: people walking, tables and music. I could stop, look around and wander over to the business opposite. I knew there would be a car-free day. I had no idea I would enjoy it this much.

On 3 October 2026, the stretch of Joo Chiat Road between Dunman Road and East Coast Road closed to traffic for Joo Chiat Street Social. For a few hours, our neighbourhood had a proper pedestrian street.

A familiar street, a different feeling

What I liked most was how comfortably people settled into it. Some ate at long tables. Others stood with a beer. Someone had simply unfolded a chair beside a shophouse and was watching the afternoon go by. There was no need to keep moving. You could stay.

The neighbourhood businesses made a lot of this possible. Food, drinks and music had come outside. People were open, friendly and having fun. Before long, I stopped feeling like someone who had come to look at an event. I was part of it. I felt part of the city, and that was a very good feeling.

Pizza, records and ice cream

Choice Cuts Pizza & Records, which I have written about before, was selling pizza right outside the entrance. Big pizzas on a wooden counter, slices on paper plates, oil and herbs. A DJ with records was just beside them. You could understand the name of the shop by watching what was happening at the door.

It is my children’s favourite pizza place, and we go there all the time. Even that familiar stop felt different: pick up a slice, and you were already at the street party.

And beside the pizza, the records kept spinning.

There was excellent ice cream from Birds of Paradise, too. In the clip below, a member of staff finishes a bowl and hands it over the little counter. Their stall was outside IN GOOD COMPANY. Dona Manis had a huge yellow banana above its stand. That one was easy to spot.

There was plenty to eat and drink: pizza, sweet things, beer, tables outside the bars. Every short stretch of the road gave us a reason to stop. Then something else would be happening a few steps away.

Music from every direction

Choice Cuts had vinyl. A band was playing at Katong Point. Outside Hello Arigato, a singer had a guitar. Several little music venues had appeared along one road. At some, people listened from tables; at others they stood just a few steps from the performer.

There was plenty of music, conversation, laughter and general noise. I liked that. Joo Chiat sounded like a street party. I had expected something considerably more restrained.

You could even fit in a workout

Children were drawing on the asphalt. Elsewhere there was a fashion show. There were sports activities and a boxing ring, with people in gloves practising punches with trainers. Around them, everyone carried on walking with food and drinks.

My favourite gym, FiiTBOXX, made it into the photographs too. The same familiar sign, now above a whole street party. The boxing session was run by Spartans Boxing Club.

The dogs came too

There were plenty of dogs: big ones, little ones, dogs beside the tables, dogs being carried. One had a pushchair of its own. While people stood in the crowd, it sat on a soft cushion in a red harness and accepted pats.

A car-free day does not mean everyone has to walk. Some visitors had their transport very well organised.

Finding a table was another matter

I was not prepared for the number of people. There were so many. Walking around was wonderful; finding somewhere to sit down and eat was a separate adventure. Even the nearby places were full. There was a wait wherever we tried.

We did get our pizza, and we found time to sit down. But the usual plan of just dropping into somewhere nearby was not going to work that afternoon. That is the one thing I would plan around next time.

It was a small inconvenience compared with the rest of the day. Despite the crowd, everything felt orderly and stayed clean. People were enjoying themselves. Waiting for a table hardly spoiled it.

More of this, please

It felt as though people had missed this sort of thing. Come out into your own neighbourhood, listen to music, meet people, eat something and spend a few hours without much of an agenda. I loved how friendly and open everyone around us was.

I would like to see it happen more often. Why not Halloween on Joo Chiat Road? Or a proper Christmas street party, with music, food and the same space to walk? Those are wishes, not announcements. I would happily come back.

I went to a car-free day expecting a pleasant walk. I came home especially glad that this is where I live.

Find Joo Chiat on the neighbourhood map.