“Any city can do it, cities of 50,000 people, or cities of ten million people”
I got back to Bogota last night and have already met Mike Ceaser, owner of Bogota’s Cafe Bici and Bogota Bike Tours. Today I pick up a bike and I am getting a tour of the ciclo rutas in Bogota plus hopefully a few other things.
Of course I am most excited about attending the Ciclovia. The above video is something Streetfilms put together two years ago, and it is a really outstanding short video showing what Bogota has done.
It is so fascinating to me how this city can have such different priorities with respect to transport and the health of their people than cities in the U.S. do.
Of course, the program is not perfect. Mike documents problems with bike safety and the bike routes at his blog, mikesbogotabikeblog, and encounters many of the same things we see in Tucson, and some others you could only find in Colombia!
–Erik Ryberg
November 6th, 2009 at 9:26 am
FWIW, the organizers of the weekly Meet Me at Maynards run/walk around Downtown have been looking to branch out into bicycling events. I e-mailed one of the organizers and suggested the Ciclovia idea.
I think that a Ciclovia could work very well in Tucson. Among other things, it would appeal to the “just folks” who often feel excluded from athletically-oriented events like El Tour.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Hi Erik,
I lived in Bogota for a couple years and am now in Tucson. I have often thought that Tucson’s large multi-lane streets would be perfect for ciclovia. Let me know how we can start working towards this!
November 6th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Well this was the first for a long time.
In the US it is a hit. NYC, Portland, and SF.