CicLAvia and similar open streets events have made their way to the Valley, Pasadena, and, soon, to southeast LA, but one place that hasn't gotten in on the car-free-for-a-day action is Santa Monica. Now, the Expo Line extension into its downtown has given SaMo and excuse to finally get around to having their very own CicLAvia-style event, where just under two miles of city streets will be closed to cars and opened to people.
Many of the details are still being worked out (including a name for the event), but one thing that's set is the date: Sunday, June 5, reports Santa Monica Next.
Reps for the event explained to a Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. committee that the bike- and pedestrian-friendly fun would be "a celebration of the arrival of Expo and an opportunity to experience the streets in a new and inviting way without autos."
The planned route will go along Main Street, Colorado Avenue, and Ocean Avenue, and pass the downtown Santa Monica Expo Line station and its Colorado Esplanade pedestrian plaza. The path will also link to the Santa Monica Pier, which will be closed to cars "as it usually is during summer weekends."
If there's one bummer to the plan, it's that the 1.7-mile route is pretty short as similar open streets events go. In comparison, Pasadena's CicLAvia—the shortest CicLAvia yet—was 3.5 miles.