Welcome to “Word on the Street”, our new monthly recap of news you should know from the world of open streets, transportation, health, environment and everything else CicLAvia fans may find of interest!
August 2015 Word on the Street:
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We held our first Westside LA CicLAvia since 2013 when CicLAvia – Culver City Meets Venice Presented by Metro took place on August 9. Tens of thousands of people turned out to enjoy the day as seen via Streetsblog LA. You can check out our photos from the day here. If you want to head back to the route on your own, make sure to check out these neighborhood guides put together by by CicLAvia, Time Out Los Angeles, Secret City Tours and the Militant Angeleno.
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The Argonaut discussed the “Big Picture” of open streets and public space with CicLAvia Executive Director Aaron Paley. Aaron emphasized that CicLAvia isn’t a “bike event” but instead offers many ways to experience the city without a car.
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Bicycling Magazine went back to the beginning of open streets events in Bogotá (with a mention of LA) in their article about how a Colombian Cycling Tradition Changed the World.
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Next City had an interesting piece that traces the evolution of urban transportation networks from being totally car-centric to integrating multimodal forms of non-car transportation.
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Speaking of breaking away from car-centric thinking, the City of Los Angeles took two huge steps forward to integrate car-free travel into long-range transportation plans. The City Council showed forward-thinking by passing a sweeping infrastructure change on August 11 called Mobility Plan 2035 (via LA Times) that will add bike and bus lanes, and design streets for pedestrian safety. Two weeks later, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed his Vision Zero executive directive ordering city departments to devise recommendations to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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The City of Santa Monica proudly test-launched the first bike share program in Los Angeles County this month according to Curbed Los Angeles. The initial test of 80 bikes will expand to 500 bikes by November.
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CicLAvia released a new video detailing how it all happens. Check it out for a great overview of how we put this thing together four times a year.
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If you’re going to be traveling, here are some fun upcoming open streets events in Newburyport, MA, Paris, and Milwaukee.
Our favorite social media posts from the month:
Special thanks to the @WassermanFDN for being such a constant source of support for #CicLAvia throughout the years pic.twitter.com/JrUaEhkk5S
— CicLAvia (@CicLAvia) August 9, 2015
#Bikes mean business. @CicLAvia = 200 #emailmarketing opt-ins for #CulverCity #insurance agent on Sunday. People on bikes need services too.
— bikelocally (@bikelocally) August 10, 2015
Best morning moment: delivery man saw my @CicLAvia shirt started smiling and said it's the best day of the year & makes the streets so happy
— daveedkapoor (@daveedkapoor) August 13, 2015
Washington Blvd looks better like this, don't ya think? #CulverCity #CicLAvia @CicLAvia #bikeLA pic.twitter.com/T3DWYhAhqz
— LACntyBikeCoalition (@lacbc) August 9, 2015
#SupSolis peddle pushing to #VeniceBeach for #CicLAvia @CicLAvia @metrolosangeles pic.twitter.com/d6HX093HZu
— Hilda Solis (@HildaSolis) August 9, 2015
Overheard at @CicLAvia #marvista "There are so many cool restaurants here we haven't tried yet" YES #LAGreatStreets pic.twitter.com/CTQipjo5t8 — Mar Vista Chamber (@MarVistaBiz) August 9, 2015
