Inspired by Bogotá, Colombia’s Ciclovía—the original, weekly street closure event—CicLAvia opens Los Angeles streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which all of us can walk, bike, socialize and celebrate. On the 15th of April 2012, ten miles of L.A. roadways will temporarily close to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, and past MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, also north to El Pueblo/Olvera Street, and south as well, CicLAvia encourages us to make active use of our streets… and rediscover roadways and neighborhoods that, in a car, too often go unnoticed.

From Long Beach on bicycle, an easy way to get there is to board any northbound Blue Line Metro train, deboarding at the Washington Station or at any station beyond that. For more details, check out www.ciclavia.org.

¡Calles abiertas a los peatones y ciclistas! ¡Gratis!

An expanded route of Los Angeles streets will be closed to motorized traffic Sunday, October 9th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

The Los Angeles CicLAvia means free, family-friendly cycling, jogging, and strolling through downtown L.A.  (This will be L.A.’s third one!) People from far and wide will be there, including many friends from Long Beach.

CicLAvia is not a race. It’s a fun opportunity to enjoy L.A. on your bicycle or on foot… without the noise and fumes of nearby vehicle traffic!

Click on the map to enlarge it on your screen.

The route T’s at L.A. City Hall. From there you can head west to the Bicycle Kitchen (northwest of MacArthur Park)… and/or east to Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights… and/or north to Chinatown… and/or south to the African American Firefighter Museum near the 10 freeway. You can start anywhere along the route. You can head in any direction.

You can stop anywhere you like. There are rest hubs at the four end points and also at MacArthur Park and close to City Hall. You’re sure to come across friends or discover a new, favorite café.

To get to L.A. from Long Beach, it’s easy and inexpensive to board any northbound Blue Line train. The one-way fare (including bicycle) is just $1.50.

For more information, go to www.cicLAvia.org, or contact info@cicLAvia.org.

The Bikestation’s new home is located along First Street between Long Beach Blvd. and Pine Avenue. It is an integral part of the downtown transit hub.

Bikestation is about day-use and long-term safe bike parking for commuters, and it is about rental bikes. Also, staff mechanics can fix your flat tire or do a bike tune up. Bikestation is run by Mobis Transportation Alternatives, Inc., a firm specialized in multimodal transportation systems. Mobis runs Bikestations in a growing number of cities, including Washington, D.C.  The very first Bikestation was here in Long Beach, California.

The following images trace Bikestation as it has moved four times over the past fifteen-some years.

Back in the mid 1990s, Bikestation Long Beach was a brand new idea. The first temporary Bikestation structure was placed on what had been an empty plot of land along First Street immediately west of the Promenade. (Since then, a multi-level condominium with first-floor commercial spaces was built on that parcel.)

East Village artist Anna Wooten created the following drawing, celebrating the Bikestation in its first Long Beach home.

In 2000′s, the Bikestation moved several hundred feet east into a second temporary structure.

In 2009, that second structure was demolished.

Between 2009 and July, 2011, Bikestation was housed on Broadway, one block to the north.

On July 27, 2011, Bikestation moves into its new, permanent, two-story facility on First Street east of the Promenade.

Go to www.mobisinc.com for more information about multimodal transportation system projects in planning and underway in many cities. Also, check out www.bikestation.com.

To learn about projects coordinated by the City of Long Beach to help make our city a great place for cycling safely on city streets, check out bikelongbeach.org.

Also, you are encouraged to participate and support the activities of the various cycling groups in the region… most of us operating on little more than shoestrings and enthusiasm.

Each Long Beach Bikeway route is assigned a number. Some signs also have arrows or destination information. How might we make use of these new traffic tools?

Local cyclist Peter Dopulos—no ties to the City of Long Beach nor to Long Beach Cyclists—has been cycling newly posted bikeways. Over time, Peter has been describing what he has observed and felt while cycling the routes he has explored so far. To read his interesting descriptions, full of discovery, see www.everythinglongbeach.com/lb/long-beach-bikeways/.

Peter visited Long Beach Cyclists during a recent monthly meeting to share what he has observed and learned. It was wonderful to hear Peter’s stories and sense his enthusiasm as he explores routes on his bike, without initially knowing where a new route will lead him.

What Long Beach Cyclists knows from our ongoing interactions with City planners and engineers is that many cycling-related projects are being contemplated or sketched out, and some are already being implemented. City staff developed a detailed list of preliminary route options. However, City engineers in turn are making adjustments, based on road widths, traffic flow and other considerations. Someday not too far off it would be good to have in hand an excellent map for cyclists indicating all of the eventual numbered bikeways.

Lacking a map of bikeways already posted no doubt has made Peter Dopulos’ adventure of sniffing out the where to’s all the more fun for him.

A few months back, many of us participated in the assessment of Metro Blue Line stations in Long Beach. We visited various stations and surrounding neighborhoods, observed conditions and made recommendations to improve access for pedestrians and cyclists.

You are invited to meet at the NPAC (adjacent to Scherer Park, at 4891 Atlantic Avenue near Del Amo Blvd.) on March 25th, 6:30-7:30 pm, to review the Audit Summary and to provide your input. To see a map, click EVENTS at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page and scroll for Metro Audit Assessment at Atlantic/Del Amo.

You are invited to meet at Sipology Café (Broadway and Linden) on March 17th, 7:00-8:00 pm, to review the Audit Summary and to provide your input. The City wishes to identify access issues that you feel need attention.

Read on…

Alliance for Biking & Walking

The first Pedal Movement meeting at the H.U.B. will be Monday, February 8 at 7:00 pm. Click EVENTS at the top of the longbeachcyclists.com page for details, for a map, and for contact information.

The H.U.B. bicycle cooperative is being created from scratch with volunteer labor—you are invited to pitch in!—in a lot and building across the street from the Pacific Coast Highway station of the Metro Blue Line.

At the February 8th meeting, Graham invites all to participate in the planning and roll-up-your-sleeves work of making it happen. The agenda includes volunteer hours, clean-up procedures, leadership, project direction, and 2010 planning.

Recently, Long Beach Cyclists and students from CSULB toured Compton Creek. There is much to discover and learn about the local watershed. Urban drains and curbs channel water towards the Los Angeles River. Water that first trickles into curb drains in the city ultimately finds its way to the bay at Long Beach. 

Light rail Metro trains (the Blue Line) connecting Long Beach to Los Angeles pass over Compton Creek many times each hour. It’s a pretty sight. How many of us have explored Compton Creek up close?

Alex Kenefick is passionate about the L.A. River watershed. Kenefick is the Lower Los Angeles River and Compton Creek Watershed Coordinator—an expert about local watershed issues. And he is an avid cyclist as well. What a great combination!  Here, Kenefick describes how river water that flows into Long Beach Harbor starts upstream as mere puddles… trickles… rain run off. Upstream Compton Creek has been boxed into a concrete channel for many decades.

To get to the general area where Compton Creek has its humble origins, a group of Long Beach Cyclists and CSULB students took the Metro Blue Line light rail to 103rd Street Station. Bicycle travel on the Metro is fast, inexpensive, trouble free.

We have already acknowledged that Alex Kenefick knows a lot about the watershed that feeds the L.A. River. And we already said he is an avid cyclist. In truth… he is even more than that. Alex Kenefick used to serve as president of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

Alex Kenefick pointed out interesting aspects of the creek and surrounding neighborhoods. Each quarter mile has its own, distinctive character. Upstream, the creek is tucked behind houses and buildings. Kenefick is knowledgeable and enthusiastic;  he cycled with us to various places where we could view the creek and learn more about the watershed.

A bit downstream, there is a bike trail adjacent to the creek. The area is pleasant and quiet. There’s a pocket park and other surprises. Here, a grandfather strolls with his grandchildren.

Following a creek downstream makes for cycling at an easy, downstream pace. Life is good.

Lunch break at at 408 W. Alondra Blvd. Cliff’s is “home of the original twenty-two inch Texas-style cliff-hanger burrito”… which means… a meal as big as Texas!

Is it humanely possible for one man to eat a Cliff’s twenty-two inch burrito in one sitting?

Compton Creek at Artesia Blvd. begins to open up wide. There are ducks and much vegetation. We had seen earlier that the creek upstream is squeezed tightly between tall, concrete walls. Here the creek seems to want to break free.

Someday, a continuous bike trail along Compton Creek may run its entire distance without gaps. For now, the cyclist has to connect a few dots. It is likely this stretch will be improved for cyclists in the future. On the other hand, years from now we’ll probably cherish the memory of cycling along these railroad tracks!

There is a wide, smooth, signed bike route that runs adjacent to Compton Creek south of Artesia Blvd. Who else already knows about this lovely stretch?  We observed that with minimal infrastructure adaptation, the Del Amo station of the Metro could someday become a stop that includes a nature center, walking paths, easy access to tumbling creek water and a good view of egrets and other river birds. 

The bike route ends. What might we discover if we walk our bicycles beneath the 710 overpass and cycle beyond that?

This is great fun!  Compton Creek now feeds into the L.A. River. We’re close to Long Beach… and we can enjoy it from a new perspective.

Now we have reached the L.A. River. From here we can cycle home. We extend thanks to Alex Kenefick and Kevin Flaherty for organizing this enjoyable, educational cycling excursion.

Slideshow by Michael Bos. There are more photos on Flickr at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46493017@N04/sets/72157623199255828/

Contact us at lbcyclists@gmail.com. Keep your eye on longbeachcyclists.com for announcements of upcoming rides in and around Long Beach, California.