Ciclavia Update
Here's an update from the Ciclavia website:
CicLAvia Expands in October, Forgoes July
[re-posted from Ciclavia.wordpress.com]May 24, 2011
CicLAvia has exceeded all expectations. When the streets were opened last October and again in April, Angelenos of all ages, shapes and sizes flooded in. CicLAvia connected the city in an entirely new way.Due to overwhelming success, and the need to expand, CicLAvia and the city of Los Angeles have decided to focus our energies on expanding the CicLAvia route on October 9, 2011 and to forgo the announced July 10, 2011 date.With such huge crowds in April, Los Angeles experienced its first bicycle traffic jams! CicLAvia and city staff have decided to expand the route to accommodate the overwhelming demand. The goal is to allow all participants to share the road. This includes pedestrians, skaters, wheelchair users, and, of course, all kinds of cyclists – from beginners to experienced. Due to lead-time for planning and permitting, it was too difficult to re-tool for July, and it would be difficult to focus both on October expansion and anticipation of even bigger crowds in July. So, July is off the table, and October is going to be bigger and better than ever.For October 9th 2011, we plan to:
- expand the existing route by introducing new spurs:1. South L.A. (including Fashion District, Central Avenue and Exposition Park)2. Additional Boyle Heights neighborhoodsand maybe new connections with El Pueblo and Chinatown
- introduce new features, areas, and signage that will better welcome more families and pedestrians
- include more music and other activities along the route
- revamp and expand the CicLAvia website
- and a few more surprises still in the works!
And since a lot of us already have July 10th on our calendars, we figured we’d plan to do something fun that day… though not quite as big a production as CicLAvia. We’re planning to host a preview ride to introduce Los Angeles to the new October route spurs. The streets won’t be closed. It won’t be CicLAvia, but it will be a chance for Angelenos to gather and bike and explore parts of our city that we may not be as familiar with.
