West Los Angeles is trading tailpipes for two wheels this Sunday, as CicLAvia turns a three-mile stretch of major streets into a car-free corridor for walking, biking, skating, and all-ages hanging out. The open-streets takeover runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with closures lasting much of the day and activity hubs, free water, and basic bike repair sprinkled along the route.
According to CicLAvia, Santa Monica Boulevard from Centinela to Westwood and Westwood Boulevard from Santa Monica to Le Conte will be closed to vehicles starting around 7 a.m. and reopening at roughly 6 p.m., even though official participant hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Driveways along the route will not be accessible during the closure, and parking restrictions enforced by towing will kick in overnight before the event.
Hubs, pit stops, and family programming
Two main activity hubs, on Santa Monica Boulevard just west of Centinela and at the Westwood Hub south of Le Conte, will double as rest stops and meetup points with restrooms, free water-refill stations, first aid, and basic bike repair, according to WestsideToday. A pit stop near Santa Monica Boulevard and Purdue Avenue will offer more amenities, and organizers say the route will be lined with community booths and family-friendly programming.
Rules and who can roll
CicLAvia is keeping the focus on people power. Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed, while Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes may be used only with the motor switched off. Electric scooters, hoverboards, and other motorized gadgets are explicitly prohibited, per vehicle rules from CicLAvia. Mobility devices for participants with disabilities, including motorized wheelchairs and adaptive bicycles, are welcome, and organizers say all hubs are ADA-compliant.
Transit detours and getting there
Transit riders will need to build in some wiggle room. Big Blue Bus reports that Routes 1, 2, 8, Rapid 12 and 17 will be detoured on April 26, with temporary stops set up around Westwood and Santa Monica, and operators advise allowing extra travel time. If you can, organizers suggest arriving by bike, on foot or via nearby transit stations and checking service alerts before you head out.
Kickoff and officials
An opening press conference is slated for 8:30 a.m. at the Westwood Hub at 923 Westwood Blvd., with scheduled speakers including Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Traci Park, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo, Westwood BID director Michael Russell, CicLAvia co-founder Adonia Lugo and Executive Director Romel Pascual, according to NBC Los Angeles. Pascual has said that opening streets to people is about “reimagining what is possible,” language organizers use to capture CicLAvia’s broader civic goals.
Why the day matters
Researchers and post-event reports have found that CicLAvia days can bump up nearby business sales, cut local air pollution and get attendees moving more, and a local writeup summarizes studies that show measurable economic, health and air-quality gains, per WestsideToday. Organizers also note that since 2010 CicLAvia has drawn more than 2 million participants and temporarily reclaimed hundreds of miles of Los Angeles streets from car traffic.
If you are heading out, bring water, lock your bike when you stop at a business and check transit alerts and temporary stop maps before you leave. For an interactive route map and full event listing, see Discover Los Angeles.
