

CicLAvia organizers estimate that 100,000 people participated in the bike festival Sunday, on par with expectations for what has become L.A.’s marquee event for pedestrians and cyclists.

There were no major incidents during the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and there appear to have been no arrests, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

This was Los Angeles’ fourth CicLAvia, which shut down numerous streets to traffic from East Los Angeles to East Hollywood and turned them into one big bike lane. The first event was held in 2010.

The event is intended to inspire people to get out of their cars, explore the city and burn a few calories at the same time.

Ten miles of city streets in and around downtown were blocked off as cyclists and pedestrians enjoyed music, food and a range of activities from rock climbing to dancing.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also used the event to unveil a new $16-million, privately funded bike share program that aims to add 4,000 bicycles at 400 kiosks across the city.

The idea of shutting down part of a city to motor vehicles began as a weekly ciclovia (Spanish for “bike path”) event in Bogota, Colombia, almost four decades ago and was later adopted by several cities in Latin America and the United States.

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Photo: Mushu the dog rides in a backpack with owner Cristy Ibarra, 23, near the African American Firefighters Museum on Central Avenue on Sunday. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times