CicLAvia Gets $500,000 Donation From Wasserman Foundation, Could Be Monthly Event

CicLAvia Gets Massive Donation

CicLAvia, the popular Los Angeles bike and pedestrian event group, has received a $500,000 contribution, organizers said Tuesday.

The non-profit received the donation from the Wasserman Foundation, said CicLAvia organizer Aaron Paley.

"It will help us to continue to grow CicLAvia," Paley said of the new funds.

CicLAvia shuts down streets in certain sections of Los Angeles, giving bikers and pedestrians access to car-free roads and drawing tens of thousands of participants.

The event originated three decades ago in Bogota, Colombia and is now held in many cities across Latin America and the United States.

Paley said his group is planning four CicLAvia events in 2014. One of the new routes, he said, may be through the San Fernando Valley. The Valley spur would likely be located near the Red Line subway station, Paley said.

In 2015, the group hopes to have five or six events in Los Angeles. But the long-term goal, he said, is to produce CicLAvia on a monthly basis. That goal is also supported by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who frequently mentioned shutting down the streets once a month during his recent mayoral campaign.

"Mayor Garcetti wants CicLAvia to happen on a monthly basis," said his spokeswoman Vicki Curry. "His staff has already met with the CicLAvia organization, MTA, and city departments to discuss what it will take to make that happen."

Each Los Angeles CicLAvia event costs about $500,000 to produce, Paley said. The city picks up about half the costs,

The next CicLAvia will be held October 6. Streets from Chinatown to South LA and from Westlake to Boyle Heights will be open to bikers and pedestrians. ___

(c)2013 the Daily News (Los Angeles)

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Distributed by MCT Information Services

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