Bicycling event CicLAvia coming to South LA + Pictures of shoes give new art project sole



Bikers at the last CicLAvia event.

Bikers at the last CicLAvia event.

NBC: Gigantic cycling event CicLAvia will come to South LA in December.

Streetsblog: Artist Kim Abeles helps people understand life in others’ shoes– using the actual shoes themselves.

Hartford Business: A new book follows a South LA entrepreneur as part of its narrative on rebuilding the path to the middle class.

HutchinsonReport: Could a possible smear campaign mar the LAUSD School Board race?

MyFigueroa could bring bike lanes to Figueroa near South LA



MyFigueroa-ARN

L.A. cyclists, drivers and pedestrians are reacting to the L.A. City Council’s MyFigueroa project, an initiative to create more bike lanes, cycle tracks and pedestrian walkways on Figueroa Street from Exposition Park through Downtown L.A.

“If you’re adding more bike lanes … You’re just going to increase the congestion,” said Christina Ramsey, an L.A. native who drives on Figueroa every day.

“I can potentially get somewhere faster for less money and breathe in fresh air while doing so,” said Asha Anderson, a college student who bikes near Adams Boulevard and in downtown L.A.

One in ten households in L.A. does not have a car, according to the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition. The group is pushing for city planners and politicians to change the way they look at transportation in the city as a whole.

Learn more in an audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

CicLAvia Returns, This Time Even Longer



Listen to an audio story by Annenberg Radio News

imageCyclists will be taking to the streets on Sunday for CicLAvia, and this time they will have the chance to bike through South L.A. The new route will include Central Avenue, the Fashion District, and Exposition Park.

“There are many ways to describe CicLAvia. But I would say it’s the biggest block party there is….with bicycles.”

That was Eric Elcaras, a volunteer coordinator for CicLAvia. He’s glad to see that participation is not limited to cyclists

“ You probably have skates, rollerblades, probably have a dog you like to walk and now you can do it in a different way ‘cause now you’re going to be walking in the middle of the street. It’s turning the streets into a park. Anything you can do at the park, you can do in the streets now. “

In addition to contributing to the Los Angeles economy, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa believes that the event will highlight the city’s dependency on cars.

“This isn’t just about the economic impact, though we believe there is one. Look, we gotta get out of our single passenger automobile. This city is absolutely addicted to getting in their car and going two blocks to the market. We gotta get out of our car once in a while and we gotta promote that in this town.”

This is the third time CicLAvia will be held in the Los Angeles area. The last CicLAviaheld in April attracted an estimated one hundred thousand participants. The event originated over thirty years ago in Colombia in response to city congestion and pollution.