South Gate seeks funds for open street program

The MTA supports such programs and has allocated $2 million in grants. A number of cities are expected to seek the grants and recipients won't be known until July, Lefever said.

“If we are successful in securing a grant, the Southeast CicLAvia team could host the area's first event, possibly in December 2015,” Lefever added.

Lefever said staff members from state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Huntington Park; and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas's office have attended local planning meetings and are supportive. The county would like to see a route extended west from South Gate to the Watts Towers.

The tentative one-day event would bar traffic, except at major intersections, along the length of Long Beach Boulevard from about Slauson Avenue and Alameda Street in Huntington Park east past Pacific Boulevard to Long Beach Boulevard, then south on Long Beach Boulevard through Walnut Park into South Gate, continuing south to the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway Green Line Station in Lynwood.

Two proposed extensions would be from Long Beach Boulevard along Tweedy Boulevard in South Gate to South Gate Park, 4900 Southern Ave.; and from Long Beach Boulevard west along Century Boulevard to Alameda and west to Watts Towers.

Another alternative would go along the Los Angeles River Trail from Long Beach Boulevard and State Street intersection west to Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, Lefever said.

Connections with the Green Line commuter rail line and the 105 Freeway could encourage out-of-area residents to participate, he added.

“The limited street closures allow the now car-free thoroughfares to be used as linear park space or trails,” Lefever said. “The vehicle-less environment will invite the use of the streets by pedestrians, bicyclists, roller bladers, parents with strollers and skate boarders.

The goals of the program are to encourage a variety of transportation options while providing opportunities to promote civic engagement.

CicLAvia supporters say the programs encourage residents to get to know their neighborhoods and promote the economy by allowing them to examine businesses along the way.

“According to CicLAvia, a UCLA study determined that businesses along the route of its June 2013 event in Los Angeles experienced a 10 percent increase in sales during the event when compared to a typical Sunday. Affected businesses are encouraged to be open to attract patronage from participants,” Lefever said.

He noted that a closure along Tweedy Boulevard to South Gate Park could include activities such as family picnics, carnivals, concerts and a game area.

CicLAvia, which would help coordinate the event in local cities, was established several years ago in Los Angeles and on Oct. 7, 2010, conducted its first open street event along a seven-mile route from East Hollywood through downtown Los Angeles and into Boyle Heights. More than 100,000 took part in the eight-hour event, Lefever said.

He noted that the group made a presentation to the South Gate City Council about two years ago and said local staff has been working with CicLAvia to implement an event in the area.

The Los Angeles group is modeled after the open street events conducted in Bogata, Colombia, for the past 30 years with a program known “Ciclovias."

In other action Feb. 25, the council formally accepted as complete a $305,174 project to upgrade the Municipal Auditorium at South Gate Park, 4900 Southern Ave. It was funded with a $350,000 Los Angeles County Proposition A grant.

Work started last August and was finished on Jan. 28, Parks and Recreation Director Paul L. Adams said.

It included painting, replacement of wall carpet and sound baffles, new stage lighting and sound equipment aimed at meeting current event demands, Adams said.