Photos: Elizabeth Daniels Wow, the reviews of CicLAVia are glowing. Glowing! An estimated 100,000 people attended yesterday's car-free street party, many of them on bikes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Streetsblog has some vignettes, including an encounter with City Council President Eric Garcetti, while Blogdowntown was also there, live-blogging the event. Reading the reviews, it just sounds like everyone was so relaxed. When is anyone relaxed in this city? Apparently when they are not forced to be in cars. And here's Curbed photographer Elizabeth Daniels, who hit up downtown: "This event was really LA at its best. Melting pot. I was so proud to be a native. I know that sounds cheesy but it really touched me."
And more from Daniels:
"There were people of every race and ethnicity and every age and economic background all riding, walking and skating around. Even the homeless people were mixing in (I was near the City Hall rest stop--their hood-but even they were not excluded from the party as they usually are).
People were talking, waving, and smiling at each other. Families, hippies, hipsters, artists, activists, old people, kids, all sorts of religious people in their headgear....
There was police presence but it wasn't overkill and they were really there to [do] crowd control. The ones I talked to were in a good mood...The flow worked really well and they did a good job with the traffic, as cars were allowed to cross at certain spots on the route, at least where I was...I have never had the feeling that so many different people were in the same space just enjoying themselves for no reason. It was such a good vibe."
So can we get this event booked for next Sunday, too?
· L.A.'s First CicLAvia Brings Thousands to Car-Free Streets [Blogdowntown]
· CicLAvia : 100,000 Cyclists, 0 Incidents, Millions of Stories [Streetsblog]
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