

CicLAvia revelers on Sunday at Mariachi Plaza inb Boyle Heights.

The third CicLAvia of the year went down on Sunday — looked like the "heart of LA" route drew a good crowd. The Metro trains in and out of downtown were certainly hopping. I bumped into CicLAvia founder Aaron Paley at midday in the Libros Schmibros bookstore at Mariachi Plaza, a new Eastside hub for this version of the event. Paley said that next year CicLAvia intends to revisit some form of this year's very popular beach route and the Wilshire Boulevard event in June that drew so many new riders and walkers. A recent study at UCLA found that the Wilshire closure for CicLAVia was a boon to businesses along the route that stayed open. They made on average ten percent more, researchers found. Paley said the exact route for the next Wilshire event has yet to be decided, but he's hopeful it would include Beverly Hills.

Then in December of next year, Paley said, CicLAvia will try a Valley route beginning probably at the Red Line and Orange Line stations in North Hollywood. Details to come.

Today's CicLAvia was the eighth to be held in Los Angeles.

A media note: An LA Observed reader emails that in KTLA's report Saturday night anticipating large crowds at CicLAvia, a Channel 5 news head pondered aloud, "I wonder where they're all going to park."

