Next CicLAvia - Sunday October 9, 2011

With new north and south spurs, the next CicLAvia is scheduled from 10am to 3pm this Sunday, Oct. 9. Come join us and explore the recreational, cultural and social possibilities when ten miles of city streets are closed temporarily to car traffic.

Source: CicLAvia.org

CicLAvia Reminder - This Sunday 4/10/11

Source: CicLAvia.org

Don't forget to enjoy the second CicLAvia this weekend from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday. A message from the sponsors:

CicLAvia opens LA streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which residents of Los Angeles can walk, bike, socialize, celebrate and learn more about their own city. On 4/10/11, 7.5 miles of roadways will temporarily close to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, CicLAvia encourages Angelenos to not only make active use of their streets, but to rediscover the roadways and neighborhoods that too often go unnoticed in a car. Help open LA’s streets… take part in the second CicLAvia on 4/10/11.

New CicLAvia Dates Announced

The 2011 CicLAvia dates are Sundays April 10th, July 10th and October 9th. April's route will be the same route as last October: 7.5 miles from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood. Later in the year, CicLAvia will extend the route in South L.A. and Chinatown, and further east into Boyle Heights.

Next CicLAvia - April 10, 2011

The route will be largely the same - 7.5 miles traveling through East Hollywood, MacArthur Park, Downtown, Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights. Stay tuned for more details and be sure to check CicLAvia's website for additional information and updates.

"Better Block" Project

The Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas transformed a tired stretch of street into a vibrant community center by gathering donations from local businesses and putting their DIY attitude to work. Their project is called "Better Blocks" and it's about greening the city and reclaiming streets for people, whether they be on foot, sitting outside a cafe or riding a bike. In 24 hours they were able to turn this:

Into this:

Making Los Angeles sustainable is about more than energy and resources; people and place matter. Reorienting streets for people, as demonstrated here and by the overwhelming success of CicLAvia last weekend, can help produce healthy, vibrant and safe communities that are socially sustainable.

It would be nice to see the enthusiasm generated by CicLAvia translated into an effort, like Better Blocks, to repurpose some LA's widest boulevards into people-based places. Clearly it doesn't take much in the form of resources or time to make a big impact. Use the DIY-model provided by Better Blocks and test-run certain neighborhood streets. Inexpensive and temporary demonstration pilot projects are a great way to generate community and business support, and help justify more expensive and permanent infrastructure investments later on. This approach may not be successful everywhere but with so little capital and time needed to implement a pilot program, the City has little reason not support such an effort.

Which streets would you like to see LA turn into "Better Blocks"?

CicLAvia this Sunday - 10/10/10

Check out the street map here. The event is this Sunday, from 10am - 3pm. Enjoy a car-free Sunday in LA!

CicLAvia youtube video

CicLAvia - UPDATE - 10/10/10

The route is still basically the same, though a few changes through downtown are being made, but the date has been pushed back by nearly one month. The new date for Los Angeles' first ciclovia is October 10, 2010. Be sure to check for updates at CicLAvia's website.

CicLAvia - September 12, 2010

A route has been selected for LA's first ciclovía, modeled after the ciclovías started in Bogotá, Colombia over thirty years ago in response to congestion and pollution on city streets. The event is scheduled for September 12, 2010 from 10 am to 3pm. Check out CicLAvia's website for more details about route, safety and other related activities.

This marks a real turning point in the way LA thinks about streets and who they are designed to serve. The proposed route links smartly with metro stations and public parks, increasing access for participants and reinforcing the importance and viability of auto-free living. The route also links together communities torn apart by freeways - it traverses four freeways from East LA to East Hollywood. Freeway construction displaced families and tore apart communities in real and profound ways. Hopefully, CicLAvia can help repair the broken fabric of our city, while promoting transportation sustainability through pedestrian/bicycle mobility.