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December 6, 2007
Ciclovía: A Moving Experience in Bogotá, Colombia
Via Planetizen:
Every Sunday from 7am to 2pm, up to 2 million residents of Bogotá, Colombia enjoy over 70 miles of car-free streets. The event is called Ciclovía. StreetFilms brings you along for the ride.In September, StreetFilms videographer Clarence Eckerson traveled to Bogotá, Colombia to document that city's remarkable Livable Streets movement. Accompanied by former Bogotá Parks Commissioner Gil Peñalosa, Eckerson and his New York City Streets Renaissance colleagues spent an entire Sunday riding the Ciclovía, a weekly event in which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic and opened to walking, biking, running, skating, aerobics classes, vendors, and socializing among family members, neighbors and strangers. Ciclovía, Eckerson says, "was simply one of the most moving experiences I have had in my entire life."
In this 9 minute StreetFilm, translated and hosted by Transportation Alternatives' Karla Quintero, Eckerson takes you along for the ride.
Other cities in the Americas have similar events; how would such an event fare in Portland?
Posted by Joseph Edge at 12:00 AM
Comments
December 6, 2007 9:17 AM
Dave Says:
BikePortland.org had a post about this during the summer:
Ciclovia in Portland? PDOT ponders "Sunday Parkways"
We may have the opportunity to experience a Ciclovia during the Portland hosted International Car Free Conference next summer.
December 6, 2007 5:10 PM
tedder Says:
I've been there for that. In fact, they do that in Quito, Ecuador too. In both cases, it's a main street through town, though not the most major street. Buses have to be rerouted.
It's really popular with bike geeks (such as tall bike fans), normal families, and everything in between. Also popular with walkers, joggers, runners, rollerbladers, you name it.
We lived in Quito for about 6 weeks, and it literally in front of our apartment (we had to motorcycle along the bicycle-only path when we'd come and go.
December 7, 2007 10:17 AM
Joseph Edge Says:
In both cases, it's a main street through town, though not the most major street. Buses have to be rerouted.
Do any fans of Ciclovia have suggestions for thoroughfares in Portland that they would like to see used for this type of event?
December 7, 2007 11:10 AM
OutrageousJ Says:
At bikePortland.org, they have a picture of the streets that are planned to be closed for Portland's one-time trial event:
http://bikeportland.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/sundayparkwaysroutesbig.jpg
I assume if it becomes a weekly fixture, those same roads will be closed.
Seems like a great idea for an early Sunday morning!
December 7, 2007 7:24 PM
Joseph Edge Says:
Thanks for the link, OutrageousJ.
Also, the city of Portland now has more information available about "Portland Sunday Parkways," presently a one-time event scheduled for June 2008, at this link:
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=46103
December 9, 2007 8:30 PM
tedder Says:
Speaking of all this, PBS's "E2" will have an episode on Bogota this Friday:
E2: Bogota: Enrique Peñalosa transformed Bogota, Colombia, by adding greenways, building mega-libraries and creating the longest stretch of bike-only lanes in the world.
December 14, 2007 8:38 AM
Al M Says:
staying on topic, you know what i like about bogota?
they got good cocaine!
