Jon on April 09, 2011, at 07:33PM – #1

I saw on the news that today was the last day the Muhammad Ali art piece would be on display at LA Live.

Was there a blog post about it?

dogolaca on April 09, 2011, at 10:42PM – #2

Bicyclists on Spring Street, 1899, from USC Digitial Library. http://liten.be//jAkES

downtown vibe on April 09, 2011, at 11:07PM – #3

I'm just wondering if there was any effort made to replace the lost parking at homes and businesses along the route.

I moved a car to a meter a couple blocks away because otherwise I would be trapped tomorrow. I see no notice at the lot, nor in the building lobby. Seems a little irresponsible to me.

Simon Hartigan on April 09, 2011, at 11:38PM – #4

This is an amazing event that boost the quality of life in DTLA. The more often this happens, the more our desirable DTLA will be. DTLA offers a life-style that doesn't require a car, which is why many move here away from the suburbs where the car-culture is still king.

Rich Jesmer on April 10, 2011, at 12:55AM – #5

Downtown Vibe - there was a flyer offering free parking for residents along the route that directs people to "Lot 7" southeast corner of Temple and Judge John Aiso St in Little Tokyo. I'd bet this didn't make it to everyone that would need it, and it says you need a copy of the flyer to use it.

It always seems like they only half think these through, and it's a shame that whatever outreach they are doing is never going to make it to everyone it should.

There's all kinds of filming still scheduled for tomorrow. I'd love to see those guys trapped somewhere :)

LAofAnaheim on April 10, 2011, at 08:44AM – #6

Folks - just because you don't have access to your car for 5 hours on one day in one month, it's not the end of the world. The Metro system will be running longer trains and more headways to accomodate people going in and out of downtown. If you moved to downtown, you should look at alternative transportation modes besides your car being your ONLY source of transportation. Everyday we have to hear about "parking, gas, traffic", etc... Now, enjoy the streets were people are having fun! Go out and play at cicLAvia!!!

BobbyD on April 10, 2011, at 10:13AM – #7

For the second time in six months, a 7.5-mile ribbon of Los Angeles streets will be denied to the citizens of the City of Los Angeles who pay for the streets by their taxes. During the elections did anybody on the city council say they would stop the taxpayers from using what they paid for? Is anybody going to ask them when they run for re-election?

Bert Green (@bgfa) on April 10, 2011, at 11:35AM – #8

I pay taxes, and I support CicLAvia. So get off your high horse. This is a good thing.

Alisa Rivera on April 10, 2011, at 01:55PM – #9

I pay taxes, I'm a driver and I just got back from enjoying CicLAvia for three hours with my husband and son. Love it!

Jon on April 10, 2011, at 02:45PM – #10

Also, KXSC is putting on a free music festival today on USC's campus. From 4pm to 11pm. Nice way to wind down after all the bike riding.

Eric Wang on April 10, 2011, at 06:40PM – #11

I also pay taxes, and 100% support Ciclavia. Rethink your negativity please.

Simon Hartigan on April 10, 2011, at 07:01PM – #12

BobbyD, there were a lot more tax-paying Los Angeles citizens using the road today than if it was open to cars. So your angle is nonsense, were you trying to make some sense?

David McBane on April 10, 2011, at 09:11PM – #13

BobbyD - Do you say the same thing when the L.A. Marathon is run or parades happen? I doubt it. Ciclavia is about showing people that there is more than one way to use a road. And it's fun to boot.

By the way, roads are not the exclusive domain of cars and trucks. Bicycles are legally allowed to be on all the roads in California, besides freeways, at all times. Unfortunately, because of so many bad drivers and the City's sole focus on efficiency for cars, most people won't ride their bikes on the road even though their taxes go to pay for it. Ciclavia is an occasional event for a few hours to put the bicycle first.

And yet you still found the time to complain about it.

downtown vibe on April 10, 2011, at 10:25PM – #14

So...

I guess there was a half-assed attempt to notify some of the people affected by Ciclavia, but the fact is that the City's job is to maintain access to people's homes. you just can't have an event and then say Oh well some people didn't know "f-em".

There was inadequate outreach to residential buildings in downtown. If someone was getting paid to provide outreach, they should not have been.

We parked the car on Main St. near fourth the night before to avoid problems. There was a ticket on the window in the morning. Apparently there is no parking from 3am to 5am for street cleaning.

By the way that particular sign was not posted at the corner of 4th and main with the other parking signs. It looks like someone thought the map of the neighborhood was prettier than the parking restriction sign. We would have had to assume that all of the parking restrictions were not in one place and walk about 75 behind the car to get the rest. . Nice. This is why tourists can't use downtown.

Then the trip to Washington and Broadway began... what does that usually take? About 5 minutes. Today, 45 minutes.

Someone should do a calculation to show the amount of fossil fuels people burned up today , driving miles out of their way lost because of Ciclavia. They should also take a poll and figure out how much business was lost because people couldn't shop with a vehicle. It looks like a cheap way to provide recreation space that the City clearly doesn't have, but, it is not good government to simply claim resources and redistribute to the underdog.

Especially if the event is being used as a blatant attempt to build popularity necessary for a run for Mayor.

Bert Green (@bgfa) on April 11, 2011, at 12:58AM – #15

There was outreach to the buildings. If your buildings management did not inform you it is not the fault of the event organizers. Maybe take it up with your management. The event was announced months ago for this date, and it was only for part of the day.

CicLAvia brought a lot of joy to tens of thousands of people today. It's sad to see a few cranks making it sound like some kind of awful conspiracy. The whole point is to show alternatives to the slavery so many people have to their cars. Lighten up.

Josh on April 11, 2011, at 06:03AM – #16

I don't really understand the purpose of Cyclavia. Bicyclists can already ride on the street alongside cars whenever they please and they already have right of way all the time; why is it necessary to have an event where ONLY bicycles can ride? Seems like the entire thing is specifically designed to inconvenience car drivers and nothing else.

Alisa Rivera on April 11, 2011, at 06:39AM – #17

One thing that drives me nuts about Los Angeles is the lack of a community ethos, the sense of shared public space. CicLAvia wasn't just about promoting bicycles as transportation. It was a way to break down barriers and bring people together in a public space and have fun! Getting people out of their cars and interacting with one another on the streets is a good thing. It builds communities, breaks down barriers, and improves communication.

When people complain about the inconvenience to drivers (of a one-day event which takes place for a few hours on a Sunday), I really think it's about the threat of being removed from their little car-bunkers and having to interact with all those people on the streets. Oh, the horror of it all!

Look, drivers get the streets most of the time in LA. Having some time for other activities on the weekends is no big deal, and this tax-paying driver with a family is 100% in favor of doing it more often. We need it as a city and as a community.

Eric Wang on April 11, 2011, at 06:41AM – #18

"Someone should do a calculation to show the amount of fossil fuels people burned up today , driving miles out of their way lost because of Ciclavia. They should also take a poll and figure out how much business was lost because people couldn't shop with a vehicle."

Why don't YOU do it? Sounds like you already have a point and perception to prove.

"Especially if the event is being used as a blatant attempt to build popularity necessary for a run for Mayor."

Villaraigosa is limited to 2 terms. He's is in his second term already.

Valerie Watson on April 11, 2011, at 07:16AM – #19

What a wonderful day, out enjoying the sunshine and riding bikes with friends. Truly marvelous!

Robert A on April 11, 2011, at 08:10AM – #20

Reading a comment like Josh's and I think it has to be a joke. I see Tweets from Sydney, Australia and they want to have a CicLAvia event there...like Los Angeles. Josh, have you ever been to Berlin? One of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world. We need more events like CicLAvia....getting to know your neighbors makes this a healthy, vibrant and safer community! I guess there are Debbie Downers everywhere.

Karin Liljegren on April 11, 2011, at 08:48AM – #21

I honestly don't understand how anyone can be negative about CicLAvia - what a fantastic event!!! I live on 7th and work off of 7th. There are street closures ALL the time downtown - Marathon, Marches, Street Fairs, Filming. . . btw - I only know about street closures through Blogdowntown and other sources.

I was so excited to participate and it was definitely a community event!!!

Kelly Kinney on April 11, 2011, at 09:54AM – #22

If we listened to all the negative nancys out there, we would never have Marathons, Farmer's Markets, Parades, Street Festivals, etc etc.

CicLAvia is a fantastic event which I continue to support by showing up, enjoying, and donating. I hope this can be a MONTHLY event.

crystal on April 11, 2011, at 10:11AM – #23

My building had the alternative parking posted. You should ask your management.

I woke up to birds chirping on Spring St as opposed to buses. Was a great day! I enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one July 10. maybe all the negative Nancy's should leave town that weekend.

As for biking with cars on a daily basis..... i prefer not to take my life in my hands.

Jamie DeFrisco on April 11, 2011, at 11:42AM – #24

CicLAvia has many benefits:

-Getting a family together to exercise. There were many kids and families out riding at CicLAvia. It's great to not only bring families together. -It's a good reason to get some exercise. There's a lot of overweight people in this country and CicLAvia gives a reason for some of those people to get out and get some exercise.
-Gets people to use alternate modes of transportation. Riding a bike decreases traffic and is better for the environment. -Raises interests in having dedicated bike lanes for those of us who would like to be able to ride a bike to work, the grocery store or anywhere else. -It gets people to explore different areas of LA.

Personally if you rely solely on a car as a mode of transportation then why do you live downtown? Move somewhere that is more car friendly. I'm not trying to be rude, I just don't understand.

I do agree that tenants and people who park downtown need to be told in advance if they won't have access to their vehicle. It's one thing to not have access to your vehicle and have to make alternate plans. It's another thing if you're ready to pull out of the structure to discover that you can't. In that case you need to take it up with the parking management. It's up to the people who run CicLAvia to let the management know, but it's up to management to let you know.

Downtown Cowboy on April 11, 2011, at 11:52AM – #25

It was a lot of fun. However I do wish the cyclists were a little less rude to the pedestrians in the street. According to Ciclavia's website this was to be an event for everyone - bikers AND pedestrians. Not only were walkers were not welcome in the streets downtown we were told to get back on the sidewalk where we belong. Kinda took the shine off it for me.

downtown vibe on April 12, 2011, at 11:32AM – #26

Here is my point....

The streets should be made more safe for bicycles. This takes thought and planning.

You know what would work best?

Come up with a comprehensive offstreet parking plan for downtown so you could remove the parking meters and have bike lanes and parkways all the time. This would also provide space for dog "business" areas.

This would be the responsible thing to do. This would be the way to respect all the people that need to use downtown. Some residences will continue to drive, and they have a right to. Some customers and tourists will be accessing downtown with a car, and they have a right to.

We should be concentrating on solving our infrastructures problems downtown. You should not have to shut everything down just to ride a bike.

For those of you that just say it is for a few hours... I bet you'd like to do this every week...how about a permanent solution?

lovesDTLA on April 12, 2011, at 01:00PM – #27

Its a STREET FESTIVAL People. We all drive cars in Los Angeles because we HAVE TO. whats wrong with shutting things down EVERY NOW AND THEN to have some freaking fun? Some people on here take things WAY to seriously. Get out side and have some fun! Have some pride in your city. I was able to see things that I could NEVER see in a car. Do you cry when the LA Marathon is in town too? What about the traffic DTLA with the art walk? Do you want to shut that down as well? This brings people into our community that would have NEVER thought about coming before. Support our local restaurants and bars, Support DTLA! Its not every sunday! Man.. People need to stop crying and enjoy our community more

downtown vibe on April 12, 2011, at 01:36PM – #28

In Los Angeles streets are used as a commodity to be given away to political supporters. Sometimes they are used for commercial events like Fiesta Broadway.

In many cases, such as with Fiesta Broadway, the event promotor just recycles profits back into the politicians descretionary accounts. Sometimes the promoter will hold a $1,000 per head fundraising dinner to raise money for the Mayor in exchange for the use of the streets. Is this legal? Probably not, but this is how it is done in LA. (City's Ethics Office has the records)

So yes you should be concerned any time somebody suggests giving the streets to ANY EVENT promoter.

By the way, how much did this FREE event cost...don't forget to figure in the cost of traffic control and rerouting of MTA bus routes. I believe the last CicLAvia cost over $250,000. Expensive bike ride.

Sara Jones on April 12, 2011, at 02:14PM – #29

I really, I mean really don't understand the hatred for CicLAvia. It was a very fun event and while I really only walked parts of the route with my dog, I don't know any business that claims to have "suffered" from the event.

Most cities across the country host community events for none other that the benefit and morale of the community. A free fireworks show on the 4th of July might cost the respective city money, and the same can be said for a Holiday parade near Christmas, but I think it's all worth it in the spirit of community morale.

Could CicLAvia be a catalyst for urban planning reform, maybe. If you are seriously concerned about adding bike lanes and traffic, attend and voice your concerns at an urban planning meeting.

Jamie DeFrisco on April 12, 2011, at 05:31PM – #30

There were talks about CicLAvia becoming a monthly event, but honestly I think anything more than quarterly is excessive.

The streets of DTLA get closed off for filming and protests often. Streets being closed off for events that a lot of people enjoy is worth it to me. If the street closures bother you then move elsewhere.

Corruption in government is a different story and extends outside of street closures. You can't blame 'fun' events for the corruption of government employees.

Robert A on April 12, 2011, at 05:34PM – #31

downtown vibe...the cost for CicLAvia...for 130,000 Angelenos to get together for healthy gathering for us to interact, and learn to love our city again...PRICELESS!

The comments I heard from those who were brought Downtown for this event will pay dividends for years to come...they could see how beautiful Downtown is and how it has changed in the last 10 years. Seeing the BBQing at Mas Malo, the smiles from those tourists eating at Bottega Louie, those who stopped on the historic 1st St bridge to take photos, those who were pointing to the tops of the historic buildings, the people who stopped to rest at the LAPD Headquarters. It was all good...can't wait for it to be a monthly event.

It is all about interaction...and how there is life beyond the automobile.

Eric Wang on April 12, 2011, at 06:42PM – #32

Quoting Robert A above: "It is all about interaction...and how there is life beyond the automobile."

EXACTLY, man! And that's a real 'downtown vibe' for so many, as we all know. Looking forward to next CicLAvia.

Simon Hartigan on April 12, 2011, at 10:39PM – #33

Here's the good news. No matter what the haters say, it was successful and it's growing in support. Anyone who dislikes this event is likely contributing to what CicLAvia is trying to break through. It's an event that helps make LA home, helps showcase neighborhoods, helps bring people together. For those of you who can't stand the thought of not being able to drive everywhere at any given time, you should really check out a place like Minnesota. In the mean time, Los Angeles, a city with one of the best climates in the country, is going to continue to make efforts to get people to be outside more and out of their car. Not to mention the car is very space inefficient and is costing tax-payers an arm and a leg just to continue to be somewhat of a good option to get around. LA, especially DTLA, would be better off for each car it removes.

downtown vibe on April 13, 2011, at 10:03AM – #34

So why dont we all work on making the streets safer for bicyclists.

Why don't we work on getting all those parked cars into City run parking structures, so that there will be at least 20 feet of roadway freed up for other things.

And as far as festival space.... There are hundreds of private lots downtown that are being exploited by a handful of parking slumlords. There are MANY pieces of land that could be programmed for festivals.

You don't need to to close the streets.

And Simon the word "Hater" is nothing but a word used by children that don't want to participate in the discussion...

LAofAnaheim on April 13, 2011, at 12:12PM – #35

Parked cars is not a problem. If anything, its good for the pedestrian and bicyclist as it slows down traffic and creates a safe buffer between a pedestrian and a car speeding down the curb lane at 50 mph.

It's those parking garages that bring thousands of cars into downtown because its convenient to park.

I'm all for bike lanes, but I want the car still to be parked either to the left or right of a bike lane. I ride my bike weekly between Santa Monica and DT LA and I feel safer with the bike lane in West Hollywood with parked cars to the right (cars just naturally drive slower) than in Century City where cars will zip next to the bike lane at 50 mph.

Alisa Rivera on April 13, 2011, at 06:48PM – #36

Every major city has street closures. Look at this list of events at cities around the world: http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm. Why Angelenos have a tantrum over this sort of thing is beyond me.

downtown vibe on April 14, 2011, at 11:28AM – #37

LA is not like older cities around the world. It was designed to function with the use of the automobile.

LA offered the working class a a chance to own land, and raise a family in a suburban setting. It is designed as a collection of suburbs.

Solving LA's transportation problems is going to require some original ideas.

Let's get past trying to copy what "every other City in the world does". One size does not fit all.

Bert Green (@bgfa) on April 15, 2011, at 01:20AM – #38

Los Angeles was NOT developed around the car until after World War II. This city is older than Chicago and San Francisco, founded in 1781. But it's largest growth was in the period following the 1920s, so it's understandable that some people who came here later might mistake it for a younger city. Also, many remnants of its 19th century past have been erased. The remaining older sections around Olvera Street, Historic Core and Little Tokyo show a traditional relationship of building to street, like in any city anywhere. Where the Civic Center is now was once a thriving, traditional urban core.

The problem in Los Angeles is a pervasive mentality that it is somehow unique in it's embrace of a car culture, and the habit of its suburban residents to deny and ignore its urban qualities. I live here without a car, walk or take transit everywhere, and it's not hard to do so.

There is no shame in learning from other cities, in fact it would be foolish not to do so. Look around the US. With few exceptions, most cities have become hostages to cars. Even New York, outside of Manhattan, is car dominated, and that's where most of the people live.

The desire to carve out some space that can be free of car domination, even of only for a few hours every six months, is noble and necessary. But the fact that we have to do that at all shows how insidious the accommodation to automobiles has become. This is everywhere, not just in Los Angeles. And it sucks and needs to be fixed.