Ciclovía (also ciclovia or cyclovia English pronunciation: /ˌsiːklɵˈviː.ə/, Spanish: [θikloˈβi.a]) is term which translates from Spanish into English as "bike path" and now used worldwide to describe either a permanently designated bicycle route or a temporary event, the closing of the street to automobiles for use by others.
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Each Sunday and holiday certain main streets of Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and Colombian other municipalities, are blocked off to cars for the exclusive use of runners, skaters, and bicyclists. At the same time, stages are set up in city parks. Aerobics instructors, yoga teachers and musicians lead people through various performances. Bogotá's weekly ciclovías are used by approximately 2 million people (30% of citizens) on over 120 km of car-free streets.[1]
In Bogota, permanently designated bicycle lanes are also known as Ciclorutas de Bogotá, while streets temporarily closed for that purpose are called ciclovías.
Ciclovías happen in many cities but the inspiration is credited to Bogotá.[1] The events have taken place since 1976 when they started through the efforts of organizer Jaime Ortiz and others. Some credit Bogotá Mayor Hernando Duran Dusan with starting Ciclovías in the early 1980s. Mayor Enrique Peñalosa deserves some credit for turning Bogotá into a safe cycling city by taking on the dominance of automobiles in the late 1990s.
In 2007, a Colombian congressman, Rep. José Fernando Castro Caycedo, proposed a law restricting the hours of Ciclovias all over the country to between 5 a.m. and 12 noon, charging that it caused traffic jams. Ciclovia users protested the change, and received support from ex-mayor Peñalosa and current mayor Samuel Moreno, as well as several members of the city council and other congressmembers. The proposal was defeated.[2]
In Melbourne, the Moreland city council has held two Cyclovia events, on 28 May 2006, and on 13 April 2008. During these events, a 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) section of the busy arterial Sydney Road was pronounced car-free for a period of 6 hours. Bicycles and pedestrians filled the road, and the city's trams also flowed as normal.[3] A smaller (1.5 km long) section of same road is closed off to trams as well as motorised vehicles for the Sydney Road Street Party in the late southern summer each year.
Rosario was the first city in Argentina to hold an official Ciclovia, called "Calle Receativa". Each Sunday and holiday few important avenues of Rosario, are blocked off for the event to become Carfree. From 8 am to 1 pm, runners, skaters and bicyclists take over the streets. Rosario's weekly ciclovías are used by approximately 30.000 thousand people on over 13 km of carfree streets.[4]
Brussels hosted its first Cyclovia on August 21, 2011.[5] About 10 km of roads were totally or partially closed, with a course spanning from the Cinquantenaire Park throughout the centre of the city ending at the western boundary of the Small ring (Brussels). Another event is planned for September 11, 2011.
Winnipeg was the first city in Canada to hold an official Ciclovia, on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The event saw thousands of people crowd Broadway on bikes, skateboards and on foot. The event was such a success that organizers, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, hope to make it an annual event.[6]
Vancouver will hold its first Ciclovias , called Vancouver LiveStreets, on June 26, 2011 and September 11, 2011. The events are a partnership between The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC).[7]
Calgary, Alberta has hosted the Bow River Flow since 2009. Most recently, on August 21, 2011, it saw the opening of two lanes of the Memorial Drive Parkway for thousands of Calgarians to enjoy dozens of participatory activities in a non-consumeristic street festival Bow River Flow. Organizers have proposed larger scale multi-day events for 2012.
Hamilton is holding its third Open Sreets event, based on the Ciclovia movement on June 12, 2011. The event is organized by a group of community partners and invites people to walk ride or roll down town through over 2K of James St. N car free.
Ottawa has been the site of Ciclovías-type street closures since 1970. Every Sunday morning during the summer over 50 kilometres of roads in the heart of Ottawa and nearby Gatineau Park are reserved for cyclists, in-line skaters, runners, and pedestrians.[8]
Quito, Ecuador has a Ciclovia which runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., every Sunday during the summer and every other Sunday the rest of the year.
Mexico City has several circuits, the most important runs 59 kilometers from Polanco to Fierro del Toro; more information at the government's ciclovia website. Guadalajara also has several ciclovia routes established for use Sundays 10:00 to 14:00.
The island of Waiheke, located about 17.7 km (about 35 minutes by ferry) from Auckland, has had two ciclovia events, in 2009 and 2010, when groups headed by Cycle Action Waiheke temporarily closed to motor traffic The Esplanade, a gravel road between Blackpool and Surfdale.[9]
Lima now has a ciclovia. As one of the first programs undertaken by the administration of the Lima mayor Susana Villaran, the major road Avenida Arequipa is closed to motorized traffic every Sunday from 7am to 1pm, since February 2011.[10]
Wayne County, Michigan has held ciclovias on the Edward N. Hines Parkway since 1983. Called "Saturday in the Park," six miles (10 km) of the parkway are closed to motorized vehicles between Outer Drive Road and Ann Arbor Trail. These events are held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on every Saturday from May through September.[11] Edward N. Hines was Chief Consul of the League of American Wheelmen (Bicyclists) Michigan Division during the 1890s and one of the most important innovators in road development.[12]
Cambridge, Massachusetts, has also opened Memorial Drive to bicycle / pedestrian traffic (only) on Sundays from April to November since 1976.
Cleveland, Ohio hosted two ciclovia-type events in August 2006 which were attended by approximately 10,000 people. The event was spearheaded by two individuals, Lois Moss and Julia Sutter, and was funded by a grant from the Cleveland Foundation's Civic Innovation Lab. In 2007, Walk+Roll Cleveland coordinated five community street-closing events and in 2008 the Walk+Roll program expanded to Lakewood, Ohio. For 2009, Walk+Roll is being held in two additional Cleveland neighborhoods. The events have been held on Saturdays and on Sundays and are generally in the mid-day rather than very early mornings. Additionally, the Walk+Roll organization has been helping communities all across the U.S. by providing guidance, information and consulting services on how to bring ciclovias to new locations. More information including videos, photos and contact information for Walk+Roll Cleveland can be found at www.walkroll.com.
Tucson, Arizona held its first cyclovia event on April 18, 2010.[13] It included the closure to motor vehicles of portions of four main bicycle arteries (4th Ave, University/3rd St, Mountain and Seneca), along with a variety of activities along the route.[13]
El Paso, Texas ran a ciclovía each Sunday in May 2007.[14] The program has since been renamed Scenic Sundays (the events occur on Scenic Drive) and runs April through August.[15]
Las Cruces, New Mexico started holding ciclovîas on the last Sunday of each month, starting in March 2008. They were held at the city's Meerscheidt Recreation Center in 2008,[16] and in 2009 moved to Young Park.[17] Activities include biking, walking, dance, Wii, Bungee Run, aerobics, and weight training.[18] The Las Cruces ciclovías are put on by a partnership of the New Mexico Department of Health, New Mexico State University's Southern Area Health Education Center, the Cooperative Extension Service from NMSU's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, the City of Las Cruces, Southern New Mexico Diabetes Outreach, and the Doña Ana County Diabetes Action Coalition.[19][20]
Chicago is planning a ciclovia for two Sundays in October, 2008.[21]
Portland, Oregon has run several ciclovia, called "Sunday Parkways", having undertaken their first one on June 22, 2008, three in 2009, and five in 2010.[22]
New York City ran a ciclovia for three August Saturdays each in 2008 and 2009, turning almost seven miles (11 km) of road from 96th st to the Brooklyn Bridge into a car-free route from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.[23]
Miami, Florida held its first ciclovia, called Bike Miami,[1] on Sunday, November 9, 2008, as part of the City of Miami's Bicycle Action Plan. The event was created and hosted by the then City Mayor, Manny Diaz, who decided to make it a monthly event. On March 14, 2009, the City of Miami became the first US city to host 5 cyclovias. The monthly event, called Bike Miami Days, is supposed to promote livable streets and community as well as cycling and walking.
Clearwater, Florida hosted Sunday Ciclovía on March 1, 2009, and again on April 26, 2009, after the first event was cancelled due to severe weather. The event was initiated by the city's East Gateway District in downtown to encourage social interaction and community building among diverse population groups. Sunday Ciclovía hours were 8am to 2pm and the route was 2 miles (3.2 km) in length.
San Francisco, California hosted its first Ciclovia-styled events in 2008. Called "Sunday Streets" the events take place in different areas of the city. See http://sundaystreetssf.com.
Roanoke, Virginia held its first Ciclovia on Saturday, August 1, 2009. The event closed down streets around the central market area of Downtown Roanoke, including sections of the main thoroughfare, Jefferson St.[24] The event was held again in June 2010 with the expansion of closed streets to a square mile in the urban core. The June event received recognition from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) with its 2010 Excellence in Rural Transportation award.[25]
The Roland Park neighborhood hosted Baltimore's first ciclovia, or "Sunday Streets" event on October 25, 2009. This modest event closed down south-bound Roland Avenue over a 2 km stretch.[26]
Several cities in San Mateo County, California will hold their first ciclovia-style events on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The event is named "Streets Alive San Mateo County" -- participating cities will include Belmont, Brisbane, Foster City, Millbrae, North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, San Mateo, and South San Francisco. See http://streetsalivesmc.org/ for more information.
Durham, North Carolina started their first ciclovia with Bull City Summer Streets on May 23, 2010. Over 1,000 people [27] participated in the four hour physical activity celebration that had a one mile (1.6 km) course around Durham Central Park and Durham Farmers' Market. Photos from the event can be seen here and a video was produced by Jim Haverkamp. Bull City Summer Streets will return to Durham four times in 2011 as Bull City Open Streets.
Atlanta, Georgia held its first ciclovia called Atlanta Streets Alive on May 23, 2010. Road closures, totaling just under 2 miles (3.2 km), included Edgewood and Auburn Avenues in Downtown Atlanta. Approximately 6,000 people attended. A second event including a slightly expanded route was held on October 17, 2010.
Spokane, Washington will hold Summer Parkways on July 11 and August 22, 2010. It is being presented jointly by the City, The Parks and Recreation Department, and the SpokeFest Association. It will link downtown Riverfront Park with Corbin Park, up Howard Street, for a total of 3 miles (4.8 km) of car-free activities.
Los Angeles, California had its first CicLAvia on October 10, 2010 followed again on April 10, 2011. The next cicLAvia is scheduled for October 9, 2011. Another is tentatively scheduled for April 2012.
San Antonio, Texas Síclovia 2011 on October 2, 2011 with another scheduled for March 2012. The city is closing down 4 miles of Broadway street and there will be multiple Reclovia's ( stopping points) along the route.
Fort Worth, Texas will hold Open Streets Fort Worth on October 23, 2011 on Magnolia, 5th Avenue, and Allen, and on October 30, 2011 on South Main, Broadway, and Jennings. [28]