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L.A.'s popular open streets festival CicLAvia returned to the streets of South Los Angeles yesterday. The five-mile long route took place on portions of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard - historically and presently two of the most prominent streets in L.A.'s Black community. The route was easily accessed via the Metro E Line, at the site of the nearly-completed, but frustratingly long-delayed Crenshaw/LAX Line's Expo/Crenshaw Station.
Leaders kicking off the event included L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, U.S. Representative Karen Bass, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) David Kim, and Caltrans District 7 Director Tony Tavares.
I dusted off my helmet to help welcome CicLAvia back to South LA. This marks the 38th @CicLAvia event and I couldn't be more proud to see all the families, friends, and neighborhoods that came out to enjoy and promote open and safe streets for everyone. pic.twitter.com/bWQD32HgcF
Tens of thousands of people participated in the car-free streets event - most on bike, but also plenty on foot, skates, scooter, and many just hanging out in front yards along the way.
L.A. County needs to embrace physically-protected bikeways, robust traffic calming around schools, and similarly transformative, safety-focused projects