This Sunday, a significant stretch of Los Angeles will temporarily transform as CicLAvia celebrates its 16th anniversary with the "Heart of LA" event. A 6.5-mile route of city streets, linking neighborhoods from Echo Park to downtown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District, and Boyle Heights, will be entirely closed to motor vehicles. This initiative creates a unique public space, inviting Angelenos to walk, jog, bike, skate, or use any other form of people-powered transportation.
The free event is set to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., making it accessible for people of all ages and abilities to experience the city's thoroughfares in a new way. For seven hours, the usual traffic gives way to a vibrant streetscape where residents can explore downtown-adjacent communities on foot or wheels, at their own pace. This particular event marks CicLAvia’s 68th open-streets gathering, demonstrating its sustained presence in the city’s calendar.
The day's activities will officially commence with a kickoff news conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Echo Park Hub. Among those slated to attend are notable city figures, including Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo, Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, CicLAvia Executive Director Romel Pascual, and CicLAvia board chair Israel Rojas.
To ensure participants have a comfortable and well-supported experience, four dedicated hubs will be positioned strategically along the route. These hubs, located in Echo Park, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and at Mariachi Plaza, are designated as walking zones. Organizers have confirmed that each hub will offer essential amenities such as activities, restrooms, water-refilling stations, basic bicycle repair services, secure bicycle parking, first aid, and complimentary pedicab rides.
For those planning their route, the Echo Park Hub will be found on Bellevue Avenue near Glendale Boulevard, specifically on the south side of Echo Park Lake. Moving eastward, the Chinatown Hub is located on North Broadway, just north of College Street. In Little Tokyo, participants can find their hub on South Central Avenue, south of First Street, while the Mariachi Plaza Hub is set up on First Street, east of South Boyle Avenue.
CicLAvia operates as a nonprofit organization with the core mission of temporarily closing streets to motor vehicles. Its purpose is to reimagine these urban spaces as public areas, fostering community engagement through walking, bicycling, skating, and other forms of human-powered mobility. Since its inception, organizers report that nearly 2 million people have participated in CicLAvia events, collectively traversing over 380 miles of streets across Southern California.
