CicLAvia South L.A. Opens Western Avenue – Open Thread

CicLAvia's first event along South L.A.'s Western Avenue featured mayoral hopeful Karen Bass, City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and tens of thousands participants.

By Joe Linton

2:09 PM PDT on July 11, 2022

CicLAvia South L.A. Opens Western Avenue – Open Thread

Photo of CicLAvia by Joe Linton/Streetsblog

LongBeachize_Ad_Concepts — This article supported by Los Angeles Bicycle Attorney as part of a general sponsorship package. All opinions in the article are that of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of LABA. Click on the ad for more information.

Yesterday, L.A. County’s popular CicLAvia open streets festival arrived at South L.A.’s Western Avenue for the very first time. The free event took place on three miles of Western Avenue between Florence Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. Tens of thousands of Angelenos bicycled, walked, skated, scootered on car-free streets.

L.A. City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson welcomed participants to the event, tying it to his work with the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT) to make Western safer for people on foot and on bicycle.

“Western Ave. is our most dangerous thoroughfare for pedestrians and cyclists. Opening it up so that we can use it safely lays a marker on the future we want to create… we want to change this from one of the most dangerous streets to one of the safest.” @mhdcd8 pic.twitter.com/i1IFNxEAt0
— CicLAvia (@CicLAvia) July 10, 2022

Congressmember and L.A. Mayoral candidate Karen Bass bicycled alongside her brother.

My brother and I have been riding bikes in South L.A. since we were young, which is why we were so excited to participate in @CicLAvia this morning.

We must continue to work to make our streets more accessible and more safe for bikers throughout our city. pic.twitter.com/Cp8YCxINHK
— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) July 10, 2022

One highlight of South L.A. CicLAvias is the participation of the area’s many bike clubs cruising on their customized bikes.

xxx — Tyrone “Tmoney” Williams of the South L.A. Real Rydaz is always the center of attention. Though his bikes are constantly evolving, there’s no mistaking a T’s Kustom creation. Get a closer look at the pink low-rider to his left (also his creation) on his Facebook page.

CicLAviaWestern04 — Cruising with custom chrome.

xxx — Heavy traffic and high speeds usually conspire to make Western one of L.A.’s more uncomfortable streets to bike on. Not yesterday.

CicLAvia will return on Sunday, August 21, on a route that includes East Hollywood, Hollywood, and West Hollywood.

Did you participate in yesterday’s event? How was your day? Tell us in the comments below.

Joe Linton

CicLAvia | Streetsblog LA

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