Remembering the best bike and walking event ever

It was five years ago this Sunday that officials turned over a six-mile section of the Pasadena Freeway for three hours -- from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. -- to cyclists and pedestrians.

I was lucky enough to cover the event. And, I must say, riding a bike on a big, car-free freeway was exceptionally fun.

The event was called ArroyoFest. The idea behind it was to give people a better idea of the sights and sounds of the Arroyo Seco, where environmental activists have long sought a bunch of restoration projects.

One of the organizers said Friday that such an event could happen again.

Robert Gottlieb, Occidental College urban environment professor, said he was recently approached by Caltrans -- the agency wanted to know if another ArroyoFest was on the way. Gottlieb said that rather than having a one-time event, the thinking now at Oxy is to try to pull together a summit of area cycling groups that can create momentum and pressure for regular street rides in the Southland.

Gottlieb's book "Rethinking Los Angeles" was published last year and it features a photo on its cover of bikers peddling down the Pasadena Freeway. While promoting the book, Gottlieb said that he was -- not surprisingly -- asked about the event because it was so unusual.

"It’s an interesting thing, L.A. doesn’t have a lot of support for bike stuff like Portland does," Gottlieb said. "But we did it first and closed a freeway and had a bike ride. This was a big deal and having an event like this shapes the way that we start thinking about things."

--Steve Hymon

Photo: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Maren]

Looks like those of us daily bike commuters in SGV will have have one of our premier bike paths closed practically this entire summer: http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_9607505?source=email ... if anyone could explain why the ENTIRE 38 miles of the San Gabriel River Trail needs to off limits while they scoop up sediment I would appreciate an explanation!

[ubrayj02]

Preach it Dr. Bob G.!

Gottlieb has obviously been doing his homework on this bike thing, and thank God he has. The time is ripe for change in the way transportation is planned and funded in Southern California.

The ArroyoFest is nice idea - but why think about a more meaningful street closure? Like, how about closing off Figueroa Street to cars for a full day? Turn the street into one long ribbon of a street festival and fitness fair. It would bring all the benefits of human-centered urban design and the foot traffic to benefit merchants in the area.

The local people would have a chance to experience their neighborhood as more than a bypass for the 110.

[Brian C. Brooks]

As the other posters stated, the Arroyo Seco once had a wooden bikeway that was used for daily commuting to Los Angeles. My proposal for a monorail along that route includes a landscaped bikeway beneath the beams. The bikeway would be almost entirely separated from vehicle traffic and would almost certainly be faster than the freeway. Any supporters?

At Your Service, brianc.brooks@verizon.net

[yours truly, Johnny Dollar]

Some 17-18 years ago, I completed "The Tour of the Five Cities" which included riding bicycles over the
Coronado Bay Bridge--off limits to bicycles and
pedestrians. Now, if you want to talk about a view.....
This event covered San Diego, Coronado, Imperial Beach,
Chula Vista, National City and back to San Diego. I have
not heard if the ride is still active.

[Roger Gray]

I was there; as were my wife and (then) 8 year-old son and 5 year-old-daughter -- we walked a:ll the way with a stroller down the Freeway. It was an amazing, wonderful moment. I would VERY much like to see us do it again!

Perhaps this time we could highlight the route of the historic Horace Dobbins Cycleway, a quick and easy, gas-free way to downtown from Pasadena.

Roger Gray
City of Pasadena, Environmental Advisory Commission
Former Chair, Transportation Advisory Commission
Co-Founder, Pasadena Walks!

[Anthony Fernandez]

Just amazing. Look at all those bikes. I wonder if the people knew that a bikeway used to run along that route.