CicLAvia

CicLAvia is a nonprofit, car-free streets initiative in Los Angeles, California. The organization temporarily closes streets to motor vehicles to make them accessible to vendors and the public. It runs six times a year (once every two months) on new and repeating routes.[1] The event is completely free to the public.

CicLAvia
CicLAvia—Iconic Wilshire, 23 June 2013
StatusActive
GenreOpen streets
FrequencyBimonthly
Location(s)Los Angeles County
CountryUnited States
Years active10
InauguratedOctober 10, 2010 (2010-10-10)
Most recentDecember 8, 2019 (2019-12-08)
Websitewww.ciclavia.org

Upwards of 100,000 people attend individual CicLAvia events,[1] and it’s estimated that, cumulatively, more than 1.6 million people have attended them since 2010.[2]

History

The First CicLAvia

The first CicLAvia event, on October 10, 2010 opened a stretch of streets from East Hollywood through downtown Los Angeles into Boyle Heights. Over 100,000 people turned out, exceeding organizers’ expectations.[3] The event itself was inspired by Ciclovia, a similar, annual open streets event taking place in Bogota, Colombia since 1974.[4]

Route History

Over 30 subsequent CicLAvia events have taken place in communities across Los Angeles County, usually covering a 5-10 mile stretch of city streets. Some of the locations used are Pasadena,[5] South Los Angeles, Culver City,[6] Thai Town and West Hollywood.[7] In 2013, CicLAvia—To the Sea ran 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles to Venice Beach.[8]

Event

Details

Local businesses often get involved with the event, offering deals and specials along the route to take advantage of the increase in activity. At “hubs” throughout each route, there are typically food trucks, climbing walls, arts and crafts, and other games.[9]

Partners

Los Angeles Metro provides funding to CicLAvia to support event planning, coordination, promotion, and other costs as part of a larger funding package for car-free streets.[10] Other organizations work with CicLAvia for specific events, like the LA Phil[11] and UCLA.

Impact

The goal of the nonprofit is to encourage public health, mass transit and vibrant use of public space through car-free street events.[12] In addition to fostering bicycling and walking, LA Metro staff report that CicLAvia events coincide with a 10% or greater increase in rail ridership and system-wide increases in sales of day passes.[13] RAND Corporation researchers evaluated the physical activity at a CicLAvia event, reporting that 45% of participants would have otherwise been sedentary, and recommending CicLAvia increase event frequency.[14]

A UCLA study found a reduction in local crime by 40%, as well as additional benefits for local businesses along the route, which see sales increase anywhere from 10% to 57% on event days.[15] A separate study measured the air quality impacts of a CicLAvia event in downtown Los Angeles, finding a substantial decrease in particulate matter and ultrafine particles along and near the route.[16]

The event has also renewed calls to turn the intersection and portion of Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Hollywood & Highland Center into a public plaza, similar to Times Square.[17]

References
  1. "Opening the Streets of Los Angeles to Showcase Its Culture". Bicycling.com. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. "Bicyclists take to L.A. streets for latest CicLAvia festival". latimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. "An estimated 100,000 turn out for L.A.'s inaugural CicLAvia event". latimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. "The Angeleno Who Got CicLAvia Rolling Doesn't Just Produce Festivals; He Aims to Reshape L.A." lamag.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  5. "Thousands turn out for first-ever CicLAvia in Pasadena". latimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  6. "CicLAvia 'Culver City Meets Venice': A guide to the route, deals, activities and more". scpr.org. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  7. "Here's the route for CicLAvia's 'Meet the Hollywoods' event". la.curbed.com. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  8. "Miles of Streets Closed for 'CicLAvia To the Sea'". cbslocal.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  9. "100,000 expected Sunday as CicLAvia rolls through L.A. to the sea". latimes.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  10. "Metro Awards CicLAvia $2.35 Million for New Routes". ciclavia.org. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  11. "L.A. Phil and CicLAvia join forces for Celebrate LA! Here's a guide to Sunday's citywide performances". latimes.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  12. "CicLAvia gets underway on Wilshire Boulevard". latimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  13. "Metro Moving Forward With $4 Million For 17 Open Streets". la.streetsblog.org. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  14. Cohen, D.; Han, B.; Derose, K. P.; Williamson, S.; Paley, A.; Batteate, C. (2016). "CicLAvia: Evaluation of participation, physical activity and cost of an open streets even in Los Angeles". Preventive Medicine. 90: 26–33. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.06.009. PMC 5083970. PMID 27317978.
  15. "Economic Impacts of CicLAvia: Study Finds Gains to Local Businesses". ucla.edu. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  16. "Air quality impacts of a CicLAvia event in Downtown Los Angeles, CA". sciencedirect. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  17. "Make the Oscars street closures permanent". la.curbed.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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