Streetsblog Los Angeles

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We just got word that CicLAvia has announced the route for CicLAvia VII: Iconic Wilshire Boulevard. The event runs a record 7 hours, from 9 am to 4 pm. The route runs a cool 6.3 miles from Wilshire and Grand in Downtown Los Angeles to Wilshire and Fairfax, just a couple of blocks from the historic 3rd Street Farmers Market.

• This CicLAvia is signifgantly different than the other events for a couple of reasons.
• For the first time, CicLAvia has a pair of pedestrian only zones for a couple of blocks at each end of the event.
• Additional hubs include MacArthur Park, Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire.
• There are only four car crossings for the 6.3 mile route
• As mentioned above, the event runs for a record seven hours

Iconic Wilshire Boulevard is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. This collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together 17 local cultural institutions from April through July for a wide-ranging look at the postwar built environment of the city as a whole, from its famous residential architecture to its vast freeway network, revealing the city’s development and ongoing impact in new ways. Major support for CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard has been provided by the Getty Foundation.

In addition to the 150,000 cyclists that took to Venice Blvd. on Sunday, at CicLAvia VI: CicLAvia To the Sea, the “King of CicLAvia”  was crowned. The crown was not awarded by the event-creators, but by the buzz surrounding Richie Trimble’s over a hundred pound, 14.5 foot – to the seat, 17 foot – to eye level, tall bike: “STOOPID TALL” aka “Big Boy” as it made its way from La Cienega to Venice beach. 

“Everyone looks at you like your nuts and they’re right!” He laughs, “My Mom even said so!”

The day after CicLAvia’s event, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Richie, whose smile from the excitement of the previous day, infectious, never left our conversation. He tells me he arrived in L.A. six years ago, going on his first group bike ride: a Wolfpack Hustle Monday night ride known for its speed through the Los Angeles streets.

“I didn’t know what i was getting into,” as he showed up on a full suspension mountain bike. “They kicked my ass,” but he was never dropped.

He returned week after week and then, “I got a road bike thinking I’d blow everyone away, but I had to keep up in the back, using a whole new set of muscles.” So, Richie along with a few other cyclists, started Cub Camp, the training ride for Wolfpack on the Westside of Los Angeles. “And that was when the Westside crew, the family, began.”

“We were having issues with Santa Monica Critical Mass – issues with police, so we decided to create a ride that was the opposite, it was a rebel. It was about putting our energy into having FUN instead of putting our energy at the Santa Monica Police and that was when [the] C.R.A.N.K. Mob [bike ride] came about. And that’s when all of the FUN exploded: Los Angelopes, Freak Bikes; it was a mission to level up every ride. Some way or another; a costume, a bicycle, a game, a sound system, a smile.” Read more…

Three generations: Caron Reid, Sadio Woods, and Sadio's son, Zahnki, riding up to CicLAvia from Leimert Park. (sahra/LA Streetsblog)

With each iteration of CicLAvia comes the stress of trying to figure out what new things can be written about it besides, “People rode bikes. And it was good.”

I mean, people did ride their bikes.

Lots of them.

More than 150,000 of them, apparently.

And it was good.

Very good.

So good, in fact, that as I was heading toward downtown at 2:45 p.m., throngs of riders were still headed to the beach, as if the party was just getting started.

And, it brought out the best in people.

People squished in the crowd at a stoplight couldn’t really honk at others to get out of their way, cut them off, or give them the finger and shout indelicate things about their mothers. So, they turned to their right and commiserated with whomever was next to them. Which led to questions about where each of them had rode in from, if they had done CicLAvia before, and so forth. And, voilà! In the throes of traffic delays, road rage was thwarted and community was born!

In other words, CicLAvia managed, even if briefly, to convey to Angelenos the sense that we are all in this together.

"Volunteer Bike Mechanic" was one of many good Samaritans helping out stranded riders throughout the day. (sahra/LA Streetsblog)

Within limits, of course. Read more…

Photo: Marta Every/Facebook. Check out her images for some great ones of the Mayoral Frontrunner having fun at CicLAvia.

Leave your thoughts about yesterday’s CicLAvia and links to your favorite social media in the comments section below. I’ll throw my thoughts in after I finish a little work and dropping Sammy off at pre-school.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the map.

For readers and Long Beachers alike, they have known of my dream to bring a ciclovía to our city, my dream of shutting down a large stretch of street to make way for cyclists and skaters, walkers and runners.

According to officials, it wasn’t a matter of discussion but one of money. And according to my own experience with Tony Cruz, it wasn’t just about money, but about the space itself–where the hell would we put one without causing a cramp in the neck of the police department and city planning?

And at least for me, I believe a ciclovía holds this strange philosophical power–you invert a street to be used for people’s feet and bikes and skateboard, not cars–that when enacted, suddenly shows off a very tangible benefit–that our urban landscape thrives most when people are exploring it at a human scale.

Now, we have the chance to show off just what type of event this could be since this coming Thursday, Long Beach will finally get its first ciclovía.

Okay, okay, so I slightly misled you, dear reader. But in all fairness, the fact that the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach is opening up its race circuit–which runs the length of Shoreline Drive and Seaside Way in its entirety–to everyone but motorized vehicles and your four-legged friends (sorry, they don’t trust you’ll pick up after your critters and we don’t necessarily blame them, particularly when cars will be reaching speeds of 180MPH right where your pup might alleviate itself). Read more…

Coolass Mike Bowers hands out water while the Black Kids on Bikes wait for their turn to join in the MLK Day Parade (photo: sahra)

When a week starts off with senseless acts of violence like those seen in Boston, it feels a little frivolous to prattle on about less serious subjects. That said, in its defense, CicLAvia is not as frivolous as it might seem on the surface. In the name of fun, health, good neighborships, and more livable cities, with each iteration, it manages to seamlessly bring together more and more people from all races and classes in what can otherwise be a very segregated city.

We’re still waiting for the route to come deeper into South L.A. — we would be thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce Angelenos to the South L.A. we know, not the one people might think they know. Since that still seems a little ways off, we’ve got some ways for you to start your day by getting to know the community through some of its best ambassadors — the cycling groups in the area. So, whether you are a resident from the community or looking to dip your toes in it for a day, we’ve got a bunch of rides for you to choose from.

Leimert Park
The Black Kids on Bikes will be hosting a ride up Crenshaw, leaving around 9:30 a.m. Read more…

Hi! Photo:LA Streetsblog

Yesterday’s news out of Boston rattled me.

Those that know me well, know that September 11th made a deep impact in my family’s history. On top of that, my Dad and my Aunt Joan both completed the Boston Marathon.

So when I look at yesterday’s tragedy and say that there’s a peaceful way Angelenos can fight back against whoever plotted and executed that attack and, it’s not something I say lightly. Think about it for a second. Terrorism is using force in some form to scare people and keep them apart. Keep people in their houses and behind closed doors. Keep people from meeting and understanding their neighbors. Keep people angry.

The idea of Livable Streets is the exact opposite.

Livable Streets is about breaking down barriers our society has accidentally (and not accidentally) created that keep people apart now. There’s no greater example of the power of Livable Streets than our own CicLAvia.

This Sunday, somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 of your neighbors will take to the streets in Downtown and Mid-town Los Angeles and West Los Angeles. Tree Hugger might think that nobody in L.A. rides a bicycle, but we know better.

You won’t know many of the participants. But one of the many great things about CicLAvia, is you’ll probably know more of them by the end of the day. And that gives all of us a chance to make Sunday about more than a car-free trip to the beach.

CicLAvia provides an easy chance to thwart those who aim to keep all of us from getting to know, understand, and love one another. Get out and enjoy your city on Sunday. Make a point to meet someone new, someone that doesn’t look or act like you. Maybe it’s someone wearing a logo you don’t recognize. Maybe it’s someone wearing a Reason Foundation t-shirt. Maybe it’s someone riding a Streetsblog themed bucket bike.

Every new person you meet, every chance you take to connect with a neighbor is a strike against those that would divide us. If you can’t make CicLAvia, and I’ve missed the last two myself, you can accomplish the same thing by making it a point to meet your weird neighbor with all the cats, or the angry person in the grocery store who never seems to find the time to be polite.

I’m sure there are some people that feel like framing CicLAvia as a response to what may or may not be a terrorist attack is bonkers. There are others that may object to what they see as politicizing a giant block party. But CicLAvia has always been about more than just a party and always has some politics mixed in with the revelry. After all, what better use of public space than peaceful political expression be it the rally against coal power at the first CicLAvia or the intersection of CicLAvia and Occupy in October of 2011.

And when expressing a political preference and being a friendly person happen to require the same action…even better.

Even from 3,000 miles away, there’s a lot of ways you can help the victims of the attack in Boston. Huffington Post has a pretty good list right here. Certainly there are more concrete ways to lend aid to those attacked than being nice at CicLAvia. But the best long-term strategy to end this kind of senselessness is to create a world where we can all live, and learn, and love each other. Sunday’s car-free party is just one way to make the community of 11 million L.A. County residents just a little bit smaller. A little bit less scary. A little more unified.

So, let’s make this CicLAvia one where we all take advantage of the day, the event, and the city to push back at those people that spread hatred and division. It all starts with a smile to a stranger at L.A.’s biggest party.

See you on Venice.

Last Friday, Streetsblog Los Angeles “hung out,” to use Google’s term, with CicLAvia’s executive director Aaron Paley to talk about the new route for the April 21 “CicLAvia to the Sea” and other issues to L.A.’s biggest and best street party. Since watching a 25 minute video can be daunting, here is what we talked about as we talked about it.

2:00 to 12:50 – Discussion of the new route, including “start” and “stop points,” where there will be dismount zones (as one enters Venice Blvd. from Alvarado on the east end of the event), and where there will be children’s bicycle lessons and fairs at McArthur Park and the Venice Beach.

We also discuss the parts of Venice east of the Mid-City Hub where eastbound traffic will be allowed on Venice Boulevard on the south side of the street. The traffic plan is similar to the one utilized for the L.A. Marathon, and is one that has been used before, with a few tweeks for the larger CicLAvia crowd. Paley assured me that access to the hubs, especially the highly anticipated Culver City hub, will be seemless and safe.

12:50 to 13:13 – Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel are just planning to have fun at CicLAvia this year.

13:23 to 15:40 – We discuss the road conditions and the pothole situation on Venice Boulevard. Venice Boulevard between the 10 and Lincoln is actually a state highway. Many of the worst potholes are the responsibility of Caltrans and the state. CicLAvia usually works with L.A.’s Bureau of Street Services for fixes, but this time it was Caltrans. The north side of the street should be fixed in both the city controlled and state controlled areas by the time CicLAvia rolls around, but Paley was uncertain whether or not both sides of the street would see fixes.

15:40 to 18:44 – Aaron answers a reader question about the future of CicLAvia. Aaron talks about the new routes that are up this year and states that the goal remains to have one CicLAvia every month. The goal is to have “12 distinct routes that would rotate every year on “their month.” We also discussed whether either Garcetti or Greuel talk to CicLAvia staff or volunteers before making statements guaranteeing future expansion of the program. Neither has.

Paley did go on to say that both candidates have been extremely supportive of CicLAvia, and he looks forward to working with “either G” to expand the program.

18:45 to 22:35 – I give a short promotion for Robin Adams’ video that we are trying to place on MTA buses for the June CicLAvia and Aaron and I have a small chat where he debuts the new CicLAvia TAP card (for anyone reading this far without video, we have a screen grab on Streetsblog LITE.) It’s even cooler than the LADOT TAP card (no offense LADOT). You can get the CicLAvia TAP Card by making a $20 contribution to CicLAvia.

We also discuss the “magic wand” question and Aaron pines for a fully built out transit system. It’s beautiful.

22:35 – 23:08 – Our next broadcast is on Live Stream live from MyFigueroa! at 6:30 pm tomorrow night.

23:12 – The debut of our new video mentioned above. We’re hoping it runs on Metro buses in June as part of Freewaves PSA/Arts project with Transit TV.

New route!

CicLAvia announced some changes to the eastern end of the April 21 “CicLAvia to the Sea.” Originally, the route was going to start near City Hall, cut through the Downtown, head south on Figueroa until it hit Venice. Then it was a straight shot to the ocean.

The new route will still run down Spring Main Street to 7th Street in the Downtown. However, now it will go west on 7th all the way until MacArthur Park at Alvarado Street. From there it will cut south until it hits Venice Boulevard. Then it’s a straight shot to the ocean.

CicLAvia will run from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday, April 21. All are welcome to take part in “L.A.’s biggest block party.” Bicycles are optional.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the map.

Earlier today, CicLAvia released the map for the April 21 CicLAvia. “Los Angeles’ biggest block party” had previously announced that it would hold three CicLAvias this year, featuring two completely new routes. April 21 will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

While we already knew that the April route would be mainly on Venice Boulevard heading from Figueroa to the beach, but the just-released map shows that CicLAvia will also spread through Downtown L.A. The easternmost part of CicLAvia is City Hall. From there the route heads south on Main Street until 7th Street.  At 7th it cuts east until Figueroa Street where it heads south until Venice. From there, it’s a straight shot to the beach.

“The new route will demonstrate that it is possible to cross the east/west divide, whether on foot, on bike, or on public transit – and not only is it possible, it can be fun,” explains CicLAvia Executive Director Aaron Paley. “We want to show that CicLAvia can be anywhere in LA.”

“CicLAvia is all about exploring and rediscovering our city, so the new route for April 21 is just the beginning.”

Jaime De La Vega and Aaron Paley (center) celebrate the new CicLAvia route after this morning's presser. Photo: Alaine Azcona