This is a guest post by Irena Toljan. It first appeared in her newsletter The Third Place on August 16, 2026.

I promised we would deep-dive into some of the streets, so let’s start with the new kid on the block, Hornsgatan.

Hand-drawn sketch of Hornsgatan with trees, flowers, food stalls and seating, surrounded by the words café, sitting, food, flowers, walking and kids play.

Last time, we talked about summer street champions, and in the next articles, we will look more into streets that deserve more attention.

This year, Stockholm moved car-free weekends from Sveavägen to Hornsgatan. 2 car-free weekends are now over. We still need to wait for statistics, but the overall impression was that it was quite successful.

Before and after on Hornsgatan: Google Street View with queuing cars on top, a car-free weekend with ping pong tables, flower pillars, swings and playing children below.

Children had the opportunity to learn to bike; there were plenty of chairs to chill on a usually busy street, play ping pong, and grab some street food.

Four photos from the car-free weekends: deck chairs in the traffic lane, a ping pong table and street chalk, picnic tables by food trucks, and children cycling on the closed street.

Excerpt from the street league: Hornsgatan scores 30.2 out of 100 and ranks 688 of 859, with air quality 1, traffic volume 3 and noise 2 out of 100, but city life 85.

The numbers come from the street league, where Hornsgatan ranks 688 of 859.

These awful statistics are, of course, from when the street is not pedestrianized. The horrible air quality, traffic, and noise are the perfect reason to make this plan more frequent. It has a tremendous number of shops and restaurants, though.

Local businesses

A local second-hand shop owner shared their experiences and thoughts with me on how the summer street initiative can be improved. They see great potential in the concept, as it creates a more inviting and relaxed atmosphere where people can stroll around without the stress of cars and traffic. However, they have also identified certain challenges and areas for improvement.

One of the biggest challenges is how the spaces in front of the stores are used. During the car-free weekends, for example, an information tent was placed right in front of one of the shops, which made the shop less visible and harder for passersby to notice. This highlights the importance of carefully planning the placement of activities and installations so they do not block views of the shops or create obstacles for visitors.

The business owner on Hornsgatan has also shared specific ideas to maximize the benefits of the car-free weekends. They suggest that restaurants and shops should be given more space and freedom to adapt their outdoor environments during these periods. This could mean expanded seating for restaurants, more sunny spots for bars, or the opportunity for shops to display goods on the street. By allowing businesses to contribute to the atmosphere themselves, for example through music or creative installations, the street can become even more vibrant and attractive.

Another important point raised is marketing. The business owner feels that the car-free weekends could be marketed better and more effectively, especially through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. They believe that the current marketing, which mainly consists of a few posters along the street, is not sufficient to attract visitors. By increasing awareness of when the car-free weekends take place and what happens during these periods, more people can plan their visits.

Finally, they suggest reconsidering the timing of the car-free weekends. Instead of having car-free weekends sporadically, such as every fifth weekend, they believe it would have a greater impact if the weekends were more continuous. By having four car-free weekends in a row, or for example every payday weekend, both visitors and businesses would find it easier to adapt and plan their activities accordingly.

There is a disconnect between local businesses and Stockholm Stad, and this is not the only example I will present.

Plan for pedestrianization

There is a plan to make part of Hornsgatan pedestrian (Stockholms stad, source 10), and thus, with its challenges, the car-free weekends are a great way to test it. The thing is, though, the part of the street that is supposed to become pedestrian is not the part where they are testing it.

Sweco's plan drawing of the section of Hornsgatan proposed for pedestrianization, seen from above with trees, outdoor seating and planting.

Sources

  1. Admin (2024). Cyclists and Pedestrians Contribute Significantly to City Centre Spending. Dutch Cycling Embassy. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  2. Debattredaktionen (2026). Låt fakta och inte magkänsla styra stadsutvecklingen. Dagens industri. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  3. The Power of 10+. Project for Public Spaces. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  4. Gatupotential (2025–2026). Spacescape. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  5. Ny bryggpromenad och upprustad strandpark på Bergsunds strand (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  6. Munkbrohamnen. Visit Stockholm. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  7. Miljöpartiet Stockholms stad on Instagram: “Sommargågatan Rörstrandsgatan är ett av Stockholms livligaste stråk som 12 000 personer passerar varje dag.” (2025). Instagram.
  8. Rörstrandsgatan blir gågata året om (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  9. Levande Stockholm 2018: Resultatrapport. Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  10. En del av Hornsgatan blir gågata året om (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  11. Sommargågata (2026). Solna stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  12. Trots utslaget Sverige: här fortsätter VM-festen (2026). Mitt i. Accessed 28 July 2026.