Car-free CicLAvia festival will debut in the Valley on Sunday

CicLAvia, the car-free festival that has become a popular fixture in Los Angeles, arrives in the San Fernando Valley for the first time Sunday.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., all Angelenos using a nonmotorized form of transportation — including walking, biking and skating — can travel along stretches of Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and Ventura Boulevard in Studio City without battling traffic.

Sunday’s CicLAvia marks the 12th open-streets event in Los Angeles since 2010. The festivals are based on Ciclovia custom in Colombia, where some streets are closed to cars every Sunday.

The East Valley’s wedge-shaped route follows Lankershim from Chandler Boulevard to the Universal/Studio City Red Line station, then heads west along Ventura, ending at Coldwater Canyon Avenue.

Music, activities and food trucks will be available at four spots along the route, at Coldwater Canyon, the Studio City Farmer’s Market, Universal City and the North Hollywood Arts District.

In North Hollywood, city transportation officials have staged a temporary demonstration of a cycletrack, a bike lane that physically separates cars and bikes in traffic. The organizers say it’s a chance for Angelenos to try out a type of bicycle infrastructure that’s uncommon in Los Angeles.

Activities will also be offered on the banks of the Los Angeles River at Laurelgrove Avenue, including nature walks, poetry readings and a scavenger hunt.

CicLAvia is also offering an interactive iPhone app for pedestrians that plays a blend of interviews, music, historical sound clips and nature sounds based on the user’s surroundings.

The event kicks off at the Metro Red Line North Hollywood station at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, with comments from Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Councilman Paul Krekorian and other elected officials.

Participants are encouraged to arrive on foot, by bicycle or on mass transit. The Metro Red Line subway stops in Studio City and in North Hollywood, and the Metro Orange Line dedicated busway also serves that area.

Cars can cross the route at five designated intersections: Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, Lankershim Boulevard and Moorpark Street, Lankershim and Riverside Drive, Lankershim and Vineland Avenue and Lankershim and Magnolia Boulevard.

According to Caltrans, several 101 Freeway off-ramps will close during the event: northbound and southbound at Vineland; northbound at Campo de Cahuenga; and the left-turn lane of the northbound Lankershim exit.

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