PORTLAND, Ore. - Drivers were not welcome in a particular part of north Portland on Sunday and the experiment brought out strong opinions from all sides.

From pure joy to frustration and anger, we heard it all when the city decided to block off 150 square blocks near Interstate Avenue and police directed traffic out of the area.

The idea of the 'car-free' event was to shut out all traffic so people could bike and walk without worrying about vehicles.

The streets were packed with people, from experienced cyclists to young families, and whether it was a success or a failure depended on who you talked to. Here are a few of the comments we received:

• "With the price of oil these days, anything that lets us use ourself to be our power is a wonderful thing."
• "I would be all for spreading it out more if they would want to."
• "Anybody going to the store from this area is having a difficult time."
• "This thing was ill conceived, badly executed and the people who thought it up should be strung up."

Portland was the first city in North America to hold such an event, which was modeled after one in Bogota, Columbia where 70 miles of roads are closed.

Grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, Kaiser Permanente and other sponsors covered the city's $150,000 bill for the event.