We're no strangers to streets closing in Los Angeles. During major events like Fiesta Broadway and the Los Angeles Marathon, Angelenos will find great stretches of our great streets closed off to cars, while runners and revelers take to the asphalt. We're used to it, is all -- and do we all have our secret streets around the hubbub? Most of us do, yes.
But what if the streets simply closed to allow people on bicycle, or people on foot, just to wander for the pleasure and joy of wandering down a car-free expanse? That's some of the purpose behind CicLAvia, which is happening for the first time in Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 10.
CicLAvia began in Colombia, and the people behind it say "...it is not just for recreation. It is social integration." So don't come out just to pop some wheelies; come out to make some connections. And if you don't own a bike, and you're not the world's biggest stroller, you can still show with your skates. Or just show up to see what's happening along the perimeters of the closed streets; a couple of nearby museums are discounting their admissions for the day.
And of course, there are several famous restaurants along the route, which is really the case with practically any route in Los Angeles. Mmm. Langer's.
Eye the map and the hours here. The closed thoroughfares run from downtown to near MacArthur Park, and there are a few twists and turns along the way the seven-and-a-half-mile route. It looks like a stretch of 7th Street makes up roughly a third of the distance.
This is free, by the way. Why pass up a chance to walk down the middle of a road you usually sit in inside your car? Fresh perspective.
