L.A. Now Live: Hordes cycle across L.A. in CicLAvia
Some brought children. Some brought friends. Alden Delos Santos brought Chihuahuas.
Delos Santos, 41, carried his puppies Bianco and Sriracha in a front pack as he joined as many as 150,000 other bicycle riders in the sixth and biggest CicLAvia, a celebration of cycling, walking, in-line skating, skateboarding, scootering and any other form of transportation that requires no motor.
Join us at 9 a.m. as we discuss the burgeoning cycling event with Times reporter Samantha Schaefer.
CicLAvia was inspired by Ciclovia, which has been staged for more than 30 years in traffic-choked Bogota, Colombia.
In Los Angeles, the five previous cycling days drew as many as 100,000 riders and pedestrians. But Sunday’s was the first with a 15-mile route that cleared streets from downtown all the way to the beach. Organizers estimated that the crowd swelled to 150,000 this time, although no one counted those coming and going.
The $350,000 cost to stage each event is picked up by a nonprofit, CicLAvia, and the city, which uses state and federal money for the event. The goal of the nonprofit is to encourage public health, mass transit and vibrant public space through car-free street events.
The next CicLAvia is scheduled for June 23 on Wilshire Boulevard, from downtown to Fairfax Avenue.
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