It’s been five years since the residents of Northeast LA, South Pasadena and Pasadena took a bicycle ride down the car-free 110 freeway.
LA Times blogger Steve Hyman remembers the event.:
“I was lucky enough to cover the event. And, I must say, riding a bike on a big, car-free freeway was exceptionally fun.”
And Robert Gottlieb outlines a vision for a bikable freeway in an op-ed in today’s LA Times.
So will there be another ArroyoFest? Or can we truly make the oldest freeway in the west a corridor for alternative transportation? Let us know what you think!
Recent UEP grad Ericka Fick’s research project on Bike Culture, Community, and Politics in Los Angeles after the jump.
Building the Velorution: Bike Culture, Community, and Politics in Los Angeles
by Erica Fick, ’08
Los Angeles is a vast and sprawling
Landscape of concrete
Panorama of parking
King of cars
Maelstrom of steel
25 freeways
5 hour commutes
10 million people
Isolated landfill
Pollutant capital
Fragmented chaos
Manic journey
Dystopian nightmare
on the verge of collapse
Los Angeles is a city built for cars
Los Angeles is all of these things, but it is also a vibrant cycling culture that seeks to challenge all of these preconceived notions and stereotypes. LA’s citizens are tired of the long commutes, the isolation of cars, the stress of road rage and the immobility that plagues their every day life. In response to this, they are getting on bikes and taking back the streets in big numbers. On nearly every night of the week now, one can find an organized bicycle ride somewhere in the county of Los Angeles. These rides are entertaining, social in nature, usually themed, and attract Angelinos from all over the county. They get people out of their cars and force them into direct contact
with each other and the exposed city that surrounds them. They take people to neighborhoods they’ve never seen and open their eyes to things they’ve never seen before. They remind people that riding a bike can be fun, easy and even exotic in the city defined by cars. These rides have made cycling cool and popular in Los Angeles and have played an important role in building this unique cycling culture. Download the full report (PDF).
Supplemental material:
LA Bicycle Master Plan Update
Cyclist’s Bill of Rights
LACBC Enhanced Public Outreach Project
