CicLAvia Interview

The Architect's Newspaper had a nice interview with Aaron Paley, the founder of CicLAvia, today.  It provides some interesting perspective on the challenges and opportunities for organizing CicLAvia, while getting the word out about the great event.  Below are some interesting excerpts:

We look at this as molding and shaping public space through this temporary intervention. We’re hoping this is the kind of thing that reshapes the way people perceive their city, which will change the way they use their city and change their expectations for the city. We think this can have as big an impact as building a park. We are adding this whole element of new public space, which can be done efficiently and sustainably and cheaply without actually building something.

. . . 

The thing that people said to us was: "Oh my God, I didn’t realize how small LA is. I didn’t realize I could get from here to Boyle Heights in ten minutes." The feeling was that LA is much more intimate, and who knew how beautiful it is? That is the right to be able to look at your city and own your city when people are not in their cars.

CicLAvia!

CicLAvia is back!  After a hugely successful debut last year, the second go-round (and the first of three scheduled events this year) is this Sunday, April 10th from 10am to 3pm.  The free, bike and pedestrian-oriented event should be even bigger and better and will be taking over even more real estate in neighborhoods ranging from Silverlake, Hollywood, and Koreatown down to Downtown. More info is below from CicLAvia's website:

Los Angeles’ second CicLAvia will be Sunday April 10th 2011 from 10am-3pm. It’s FREE, fun, family-friendly! Click for: route map, flier, or volunteering. RSVP/share on Facebook – or just show up! Check FAQ page for answers to CicLAvia questions. See the activtity map page for scheduled events or to add your own. (More 2011 events: July 10, October 9!)

CicLAvia is Coming Back!

Image from CicLAvia. All Rights Reserved.

CicLAvia is coming back to Los Angeles in April.  After a hugely successful inaugural event, the bicycle and pedestrian-focused fete is going to be taking over Los Angeles streets again on April 10th.  Although the route of the event will be similar to the first, the hope is to expand the event with future dates planned for July and October.  The LA Times has more:

Last October, CicLAvia drew an estimated 100,000 pedestrians and bicyclists to a long stretch of city streets that were cordoned off to traffic. Now organizers say they are ready to do it again.

The next incarnation of CicLAvia will take place April 10, according to Aaron Paley, CicLAvia's producer and a member of its steering committee. He said its footprint will be similar to October's route, which zigzagged from East Hollywood through Westlake and into downtown and Boyle Heights.

Paley said the committee, a diverse collection of bike activists, transportation experts, academics, artists and event planners, plans to host two more events in 2011, in July and October, and would one day like to see a monthly CicLAvia in L.A.

"We have tremendous momentum," said Paley, who reported that city officials had approached the group after the first event to start planning the second. "There wasn’t any question of whether this was gonna happen again. It was just, 'How soon can we do it, and how high should we aim?' "

The concept of the ciclovia, which is Spanish for bicycle path, originated in Bogota, Colombia, three decades ago. Now each Sunday there, hundreds of thousands of people take to the temporarily car-free streets. Many other cities around the world, including New York, have hosted similar events.

CicLAvia this Weekend!

10-10-10 CicLAvia Route Map.  From CicLAvia.  All Rights Reserved.

CicLAvia hits the streets this weekend, taking over a large stretch of LA roadways on Sunday from 10am-3pm.  All of LA is encouraged to participate by taking to the streets, literally.  Streets will be closed to vehicular traffic for 5 hours, allowing LA residents to use the streets as pedestrian oriented open spaces to bike, walk, run, play, or generally make use of space usually not reserved for them.  And, in a city like LA, that is a lot of space.  Should be an interesting opportunity for LA to reimagine itself, even if it just for a few hours. A full list of activities is available on the organizing website.  Go CicLAvia!

Bike Corrals at Santa Monica Public Library

(Image from Evan G. on Flickr.  All Rights Reserved.)

Stumbled upon this photostream while on LAStreetsblog.  It showcases the new bike corral installed at the Santa Monica Public Library, replacing two parking spots with 18 parking spaces for bikes.  Nice, simple action to encourage biking even more in already bike friendly Santa Monica. 

Freeway System for Bikes

 (Image from LA Times.  All Rights Reserved)

In the city known for its freeways, why shouldn't LA also have bike freeways?  I am late publicizing this effort, but thought it was a worthwhile one to pass along.  The L.A. Bike Working Group proposed a Backbone Bike Network to the City of Los Angeles to provide a network of continuous, long distance bike infrastructure for Los Angeles citizens.  The network would utilize major streets to help bikers get from one end of the city to the other successfully.  As the LA Times notes:

Conceptual maps of the proposed Backbone Bikeway Network envision a network of long-distance routes designed to provide cyclists safe passage between different neighborhoods along heavily-traveled corridors, including Wilshire, Venice, Whittier and Sepulveda boulevards.

"The city really is more palatable when you have a straight shot through it, with less lights and less stop signs," said Mihai Peteu, 28, who helped design the map after holding public meetings with cyclists throughout the city. "I think cyclists deserve to have something similar to the freeway system."

It's just an idea, Peteu said. But given a little funding to paint bike lanes, improve the pavement and create shared bike-car lanes called sharrows, such a system could give cyclists a speedier way around town.

There is no doubt that the strength of the plan lies in its focus on high-profile, direct corridors to different parts of the city.  As opposed to avoiding heavily trafficked areas, or creating circuitous bike routes out of side streets, the plan proposes affording bicycles the same direct routes through the city that cars use, with the potential to encourage more people to consider biking as a viable option for longer-distance trips, or daily commutes. It will be interesting to see whether the city adopts it. 

Car-Free Friday!

In case you didn't notice, this Friday is the last Friday of the month, meaning it is time for Car-Free Friday!  Support the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) effort to promote bicycle use in LA by joining thousands of residents in biking to work.  Not only will you be healthier and promote a greener LA, but you can even get discounts from businesses throughout LA County for doing your part.  Check out LACBC's Car-Free Friday page for a complete list of participating shops.  (image from LACBC at http://la-bike.org/images/car-free-fridays.gif.  all rights reserved)

cicLAvia

Interested in alternative transportation?  Big fan of bicycles, especially when they take over streets?  Then check out the great folks at cicLAvia.  Who are they and what is ciclovia?

Ciclovía started in Bogotá, Colombia over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. Now it is happening all over Latin America and the United States, giving people a break from the stress of car traffic. The health benefits are immense, bringing families out to enjoy their streets in a new way, getting them to walk and bike together.

In Los Angeles we need this event more than ever, as anyone who tries to move through this city knows. Not only is it difficult to walk, bike, and drive here, but more and more children suffer from obesity and other health effects caused by growing up in a park poor city. CicLAvia creates a park by removing motorized traffic from city streets, and encourages people to come out and carve a new landscape for themselves.
. . .
CicLAvía will work to address five core pressing issues present throughout all of Los Angeles: Public Space, Public Health, Community and Economic Development, and Pedestrian and Bicycle Advocacy.  As a recurring free event, set for the same day/time every week or month, CicLAvía will allow for the temporary closure of interconnected routes throughout the region, creating a web of public space on which residents of Los Angeles will be able to walk, bike, socialize, celebrate, and learn about new cultures and neighborhoods.  Similar events have successfully occurred in other US cities, such as Portland, New York, and San Francisco. Bogotá’s Ciclovía has also inspired copycat programs in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Quito, Ecuador, and Melbourne.

So, it's sort of like parking day for roads, only on a massive scale.  In other words - awesome. And, as noted, extremely valuable in a city like LA without many parks or even substantial enough right-of-ways in most places to provide comfortable, safe sidewalks.  More info and coverage on cicLAvia can be found at the links below. 

LA Times - Brand X
LA Streetblog