A picturesque sight down at the Cooks River
Today, by chance I came across Ciclovia – a Council-run event of car-free roads throughout Bogota, Columbia that happens every Sunday from 7am-2pm. Ciclovia was established in 1974, initially with 13 kms of car-free roads. Now it encompasses 113 kms & includes the CBD.
Thousands of residents, young & old get out onto the streets & ride their bikes or scooters, grab their dog & put on their walking shoes or skates. There are 20 exercise stations where free aerobic classes are held, even classes targeted to children. Hundreds of people of all ages & fitness levels participate in these classes. Those who don’t have bikes can hire a bike for free in some of the city’s parks. Food & drink vendors line the streets offering a pit stop so it is good for business also.
Runs on flower power
Cars are not stopped completely as some of the roads only close some lanes for the 7-hour period. Having been established for so many decades I’d guess that anyone travelling in a vehicle on Sundays would know to drive around the Ciclovia route anyway.
The Guardian newspaper wrote in 2010 about Ciclovia, “More than 2 million people come out every week to cycle, hang out, flirt, pose & eat on the street. It’s transport policy in a Critical Mass dreamworld, & the weekly event makes Boris Johnson’s once-a-year cycling ambitions for London look like the lily-livered, business-loving, small-thinking, can’t-do claptrap they truly are. If a city as busy & poor as Bogotá can close its roads every Sunday of the year, & every one of the dozens of holidays enjoyed here, why can’t London, or Manchester, or Liverpool, or Glasgow or Cardiff or Newcastle? Is it so radical a concept to promote healthy, non-polluting, silent forms of transport that bring people together, rather than locking them behind airbags & safety glass, for just half a day a week? Must we measure everything so drearily in pounds lost to business?” http://bit.ly/anctmy
Other Colombian cities have versions of Ciclovia – Cali, Medellin, Villavicencio, Soacha & Pasto. So does Chili & Venezuela. Guadalajara in Mexico started with 12.8 kms (8-miles) & have since expended to 25.7 kms (16-miles) of car-free roads on Sundays. Ottawa in Canada creates 56.3 kms (35-miles) of their version of Ciclovia during the warmer months from May to September. San Franciso has held at least 2 ‘Sunday Streets’ where they connected 2 communities together, set up a number of free exercise events along the route. http://bit.ly/94hl1b
Portland in Oregon USA is holding 5 ‘Sunday Parkways’ in 2012 from May to September. They say, “Portland Sunday Parkways promotes healthy active living through a series of free events opening the city’s largest public space – its streets – to walk, bike, roll, & discover active transportation. Sunday Parkways fosters civic pride, stimulates economic development, & represents the community, business, & government investments in Portland’s vitality, livability, & diversity.” http://bit.ly/cTovQq
The City of Wilsonville, also in Oregon, will hold a one-day ‘Sunday Street’ event in 2012 with an 8 km route around the LGA. New York opens nearly 11 kms (7-miles) of streets from 7am-1pm on 3 consecutive Sundays for their program called ‘Summer Streets.’
Considering Marrickville Council has recently had a Recreation Survey completed, their minds are on this issue at the moment. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if something like this could be set up in Marrickville LGA. It would be a great way for Council to get thousands of people out on the streets exercising, distressing, having fun & getting to know each other.
Ciclovia has been credited with making people feel more united with the city, more tolerant, more conscious of their actions & much happier with a better quality of life. They would be fitter too with less obesity. It’s a community program that is obviously very good for people & with shrinking space & more traffic that comes with development, would be a great idea for this locality.
You can watch a great video of Bogota’s Ciclovia here – http://www.8-80cities.org/Videos03.html
Bikes for hire
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June 24, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Kristina
I love the idea of traffic free days.
I was in Warsaw Poland a couple of summers ago & their main street that linked the newer part of the city to the Old Town was closed to traffic on weekends. It is a very long street! People were out & about everywhere, enjoying the atmosphere, soaking up the sun. Business was getting a roaring trade & it was wonderful to walk free of traffic. Not even the buses went down this street very long main street on these days.
It would be amazing to experience this here! Imagine King Street being free of traffic for a day or part of a day! Imagine how great it would be to have that freedom and ambience. Room for strolling, kids, dogs, bikes… Cafes could open out on to the street…
And the benefits that you mention above – yes, brilliant for individuals, the community & the environment.