A stretch of 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan will be closed to vehicular traffic from Friday through Sunday, forming a temporary pedestrian and bicycle zone, the city confirms to DCist.

“The idea would be that this pilot would be a pilot not just for 18th Street, but would also be informative for other street closures around the city,” says John Falciccho, the interim director of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The pedestrian zone on 18th Street — which will fall between Columbia Road and Kalorama Road — would also leave room for walking and recreation, says Falcicchio.

The closure is a pilot for the city’s streateries program, implemented to help restaurants serve a greater number of patrons safely amid the coronavirus pandemic (as well as to help pedestrians in commercial districts effectively social distance both from diners and from one another). The streateries program allows restaurants, including those without outdoor dining permits, to apply for expanded outdoor dining space on sidewalks and in the street via an expedited process.

Washingtonian was the first to report the news about the pedestrian zone.

The exact schedule of the closure is still being worked out, Falcicchio tells DCist. Washingtonian reports that a potential schedule is 3 p.m. to midnight on Friday, and 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. From Columbia Road to Belmont, the street will be completely closed to traffic; between Belmont and Kalorama, the southbound lane will remain open to cars, per the outlet.

Businesses in Adams Morgan don’t have to apply for any special permits to operate in the expanded space this weekend, according to the outlet.

Falcicchio says 18th Street was chosen as the pilot in part because neighborhood businesses and the local ANC were among the first to approach the District to talk about creating a pedestrian zone in their neighborhood. In fact, after the pandemic began, businesses in the area formed the Adams Morgan Commercial Development Coalition and began advocating for expanded outdoor dining space in May.

The coalition is hopeful that the zone will stick around even past the pandemic.

“Adams Morgan is getting crushed right now because it’s so reliant on hospitality and food and beverage,” Foxhall Partners’ Matt Wexler, a partner in the Line DC hotel and AMCDC co-founder, told Washingtonian last month. “This is something we believe in, not just for today but to create something that’s different and can help businesses grow and prosper for the future.”

A bevy of other local business owners are also a part of AMCDC, including chef Erik Bruner-Yang (who heads up two restaurants at the Line hotel), Madams Organ owner Bill Duggan, and SongByrd Cafe owner Joe Lapan.

The city will be evaluating several metrics for the success of the pedestrian zone pilot, according to Falcicchio. For one, they’ll be keeping an eye on how well patrons and pedestrians are social distancing, and how well restaurant workers and patrons are able to adjust to the expanded dining space. There are also bus routes that run along this stretch of 18th Street, Falcicchio says, so the city will also be evaluating how well WMATA is able to adjust around the closures.

Shawn Townsend, the city’s director of nightlife and culture, tells DCist that the city will also be evaluating how beneficial the streateries are for local businesses. On Monday, Townsend will have a meeting with 18th Street businesses to discuss what worked and what didn’t during the pilot, he says.

“We want to make sure we accomplish the goal of the streatery program, which is to provide relief to businesses,” Townsend says.

Despite the expanded space, Falcicchio clarifies that all businesses in the corridor will still have to operate under the rules of Phase Two of reopening: they will only be able to serve diners indoors at 50 percent capacity, and there is still no service at the bar, among other restrictions.

The city has also been in conversation with the Dupont Circle BID, the Downtown BID, and Eastern Market and Barracks Row businesses for similar potential pedestrian zones.

This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Shawn Townsend’s name.