Vehicles will be banished from certain Los Angeles streets
"CicLAvia" will be held Oct. 10
LOS ANGELES - Vehicles will be banished from certain Los Angeles streets for a day next month to give pedestrians and bicyclists a chance to explore the city, local officials announced today.
"CicLAvia'' will be held in Los Angeles for the first time on Oct. 10.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, a 7.5-mile route from East Hollywood to Boyle Heights will be closed off to motor vehicles.
"As the car capital of the world, we know a lot about congestion and pollution,'' said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "CicLAvia encourages Angelenos to get out of their cars and walk, ride or skate safely through some of our most diverse communities and experience the city in a new way.''
Aaron Paley, the event's producer, said CicLAvia "is an amazing opportunity for Angelenos to rediscover their city—a new kind of free street festival.''
The route starts in East Hollywood at Heliotrope Drive and Melrose Avenue near Los Angeles City College; extends to Koreatown and the mid-Wilshire District; then passes by MacArthur Park, Los Angeles City Hall and Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles before ending at Hollenbeck Park on First and St. Louis streets in Boyle Heights.
Plans are in place to ensure motor vehicle traffic will flow smoothly on surrounding streets, said Councilman Jose Huizar.
"I don't think (the event) is going to cause that much additional traffic on that day. But if anybody is inconvenienced, I don't think they're going to look at it as too much of a bad thing,'' he said. "(CicLAvia) is good for people's health, for the environment, for community-building.''
Other cities across the world have been holding similar events—called "ciclovias''—for decades, according to Councilman Tom LaBonge.
He said the practice began in Bogota, Colombia, more than 30 years ago to encourage physical activity and draw members of a community together. It was also a way to counteract congestion and pollution.
Other cities that hold the event are New York, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Portland and Guadalajara.
Villaraigosa said he hopes CicLAvia will become a new tradition in Los Angeles.
"It is my hope that CicLAvia is not just a one-time event, but merely the beginning of a shift in the culture of Los Angeles away from the single-passenger automobile and towards healthy and environmentally-friendly modes of transportation,'' he said.
The event is expected to cost about $240,000. The city will shoulder half the tab; the rest will come from private donors and other sources.
A map of the route can be found at www.ciclavia.org.
Owners of small businesses that make between $150,000 and $4 million in revenue, have operated their company for at least two years, have at least four employees (including themselves), and want to take their companies to the next level of growth might consider applying for a free training program operated by Los Angeles City College.
Whether you’re on business or vacation, if you’re sleeping in anything more sophisticated than a zippered sack, staying connected is a necessary part of travel.
For years, a crusty USB jack and some intermittent Wi-Fi were enough to constitute a full suite of technological hotel amenities.
Today’s future-forward lodge has to offer in-room nightclub lighting and 3D television just to keep up with the Skywalkers.
The new breed of techie lodging is no less a hotel than a Best Buy with blankets.
The Crenshaw Subway Coalition is gearing up for a possible showdown over additional funding for the Crenshaw-to-LAX light rail line, including a Leimert Park Village Station, but may have to await a May 23 decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on just how bruising—or necessary—a showdown will be.
Southern California is famous as the land of the automobile. In fact, the car is so tightly woven into our daily culture that when something happens to disrupt the flow of traffic—Carmegeddon I and II—it takes top billing on news stations and warrants live television coverage throughout.
Now that Carmegeddon II is a memory for most people, there is one more car-less day upcoming.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The first auditions for the new Fox singing competition "The X Factor'' will be held Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
Wristbands required for those seeking to audition will be distributed at the arena from approximately 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.
Once auditioners obtain their wristbands, they will be asked to return to the arena by 8 a.m. Sunday. Auditioners will not be allowed to camp out.
