PASADENA, Calif. — Car culture dominates Los Angeles. However, on Sunday the 110 freeway, usually crammed with cars, will replace engines with bicycles and roller blades welcoming runners and pedestrians on the historic pathway.
It’s all part of ArroyoFest, which was launched twenty years ago, but has not returned until this weekend.
It paved the way for similar events such as CicLAvia, which started a full seven years after.
Marcus Renner was one of the original event planners and said the location for ArroyoFest makes this that much more special.
The 110 Freeway, historically known as the Arroyo Seco Parkway, was the first freeway in the Western U.S., according to the California Historical Society. It changed the transportation scene forever, which is why closing it was significant to the event’s goals.
Renner said the event aimed to reimagine the landscape and highlight efforts to restore water streams and conserve nature around the area.
Now, he helped pass the baton to a new organization, Active San Gabriel Valley, who has worked for five years to bring the event back. Active SGV explained the impact the event had still lingers two decades later and the issues around healthy mobility, clean air and watershed conversations remain as relevant as ever.
Many attending this year, like Pasadena resident Wen Lee, agree.
Lee was just a college student when ArroyoFest first launched but missed the event, thinking there would be another one the following year. That never happened, and now that it’s back, she has two daughters and a husband who she is excited to bring along.
ArroyoFest is free to the public and does not require registration. It goes from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., starting at Mission Street in South Pasadena. However, people can join through any of the freeway entrances along the seven mile stretch.
Those on bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades and scooters are asked to be on the northbound lanes, while those walking are to be on the southbound lanes.
A couple of other activity hubs will continue the festivities once the freeway reopens for cars.