Ciclovia
Posted by Glenn on December 8, 2007 - 11:00am in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: alternative transportation, bicycling, bogota, car-free, colombia [list all tags]
One place that many of the alternative transportation advocates around the world look to is Bogota, Colombia where a revolution in transportation has occurred over the last ten years. In the face of major complaints of traffic congestion Former Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa made a critical decision to not widen roads, build more highways or otherwise facilitate automobiles. Instead, the local government implemented a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and opened a number of bicycle routes. They also started a system of Car-Free Sundays and Holidays to allow local residents to take back their streets and publis spaces from automobiles to enjoy for recreation.
The Streetfilms above shows how Ciclovia works and what the locals think about it and how it adds to their life.
On Sunday we spent the entire day - from 5 AM ’til nearly 5 PM - riding bicycles around the city courtesy of the Ciclovia, a weekly event in which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic where residents come out to walk, bike, run, skate, recreate, picnic, and talk with family, neighbors & strangers…it is simply one of the most moving experiences I have had in my entire life.I shot with no plan, not knowing much of what was coming up next while we rode our bikes, just trying to capture the event in the moment. We were aided tremendously by the indefatigable Gil Peñalosa, Executive Director of Walk and Bike for Life (yes, brother of Enrique, the former Bogotá mayor.) Gil and his friendly support crew booked us an ambitious schedule and provided unparalleled access to people and places, allowing this mini film to be so much more than I had planned. And dare I leave out our StreeJ Karla Q, who was just so great on the mike. I think we came up with something very special and fun that will hopefully support and propel this movement forward in U.S. cities.
Based on the success of this program in Bogata and the copying of this successful program in many other cities around the world, Portland, OR is moving forward with it's own plan in June next year.




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