South L.A. CicLAvia During the December 5, 2021 South L.A. CicLAvia, we biked through parts of South L.A. from Crenshaw and then along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
We started this route on Crenshaw and soon turned east on to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
A hazy marine layer shields a diversity of participants during another mild South L.A. December morning, perfectly designed for biking.
L.A. Department of Transportation reaches out to get input from CicLAvia participants and the community as they plan safer streets.
Designing safer, more efficient, bike-friendly transportation corridors is a long-term commitment requiring a lot of community input.
Our bike route takes us past signage and businesses that announce we are in working-class L.A. Those without checking or savings accounts will have to pay check-cashing fees and take out loans with interest rates that some consider predatory. Much of the money is sent off to struggling family members in poverty-stricken countries. Abundant fast-food restaurants serve people who live day-to-day and then suffer the long-term health consequences.
We made it all the way to where Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. ends at Central.
At this busy dismount zone, the end of the route is also the end of East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, where the Masjid Bilal Islamic Center stands out. Our year of CicLAvia routes took us past dozens of churches, synagogues, and other places of worship similar to what you might find all around the world.
Parts and repairs, barbershops, 99-cents stores, and industrial landscapes hold on in these working-class communities along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Instead of crowded inner-city housing projects, you can still find remnant open spaces, single-family homes, and residents who cherish and utilize their yards in L.A.’s working-class neighborhoods. Passing bicyclists seem to have caught the attention of this pet pig.
In South L.A., you will also find the old stereotyped transportation landscapes built for and by the automobile. Surfaces are completely paved over here, displaying a harsh urban desert that no person would want to call home.
Local groups of skilled mechanics and artists show off their decked-out and juiced-up bicycles during these CicLAvias. The ubiquitous fast-food restaurants loom in the background.
Signage and this CicLAvia help to connect South L.A.’s Crenshaw pride to the outside world.
Key signage encourages walking tours throughout Los Angeles, allowing participants to connect past history with current landscapes and experiences.
CicLAvia participants are attracted to activities at the old Crenshaw Square. The signage is a remnant of the Asian history here. This was a prime destination for Japanese American families returning after WWII and spreading out from Little Tokyo during the 1950s and 60s. It became an epicenter of the Asian American movement during the 1960s and 70s. Open streets events can remind of the rich history that helps define the most culturally-diverse metropolis on Earth.
