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 Ciclovia means "bike path" in Spanish but it is also used in Latin America for temporary events that close streets to automobiles to allow non-motorized users to enjoy the streets.
Colombia enjoys the most prominent Ciclovia events. Every Sunday and holiday the main streets of Bogotá http://www.bogota.gov.co/decide.php? patron=1.03020105 , Cali, Medellín, and other municipalities, are blocked off to cars for the event. From 7 am to 2 pm, walkers, skaters and bicyclists take over the streets. At the same time, stages are set up in city parks. Aerobics instructors, yoga teachers and musicians lead people through various performances. The largest is Bogotá with 2 million people attending (30% of citizens) on over 120km of car-free streets.
Watch an inspiring video of Bogota’s Ciclovia here http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/12/03/ciclovia-a-moving-experience-in-bogota/
World Carfree Day, September 22 each year, is also becoming very popular. Find out more at: http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/ And other, less prominent car-free events are gaining popularity such as closing off streets to enhance other bicycling and non-motorized events.
Progressive cities are incorporating permanent car-free areas into their cities, inspired in part by these events. So give it a try. Maybe your event will lead to a beautiful transformation of a section of your city, bringing a flood of new life and replacing motor noise with laughter.
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