News of the Arroyo
Title: | Freeway Closed |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-06-16 |
Summary: | June 16, 2003 - The closing of the freeway opened up new perspectives to everyone who took part in the spectacular ArroyoFest event. |
Author: | Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | PASADENA -- A freeway without cars is eerie, but a freeway filled with bicyclists and pedestrians is downright weird. That was the case Sunday morning as more than 3,500 cyclists and 2,000 walkers took turns touring the historic Pasadena (110) Freeway during ArroyoFest, an event aimed at focusing attention on the quality of life in communities linked by the Arroyo Seco. Stronger neighborhoods, more parks and open space, cleaner water and air, more transportation options and a greater appreciation of local history were ArroyoFest\'s goals. But most folks came for the rare chance to ride or walk on eight miles of a road they normally experience while speeding along at 55 mph. Participants rode bikes of every kind, including three-wheelers, unicycles and high-wheel bicycles. In additional, there were plenty of skateboards and in- line skates in evidence, some skaters pushing baby carriages or with dogs in tow. The bike ride started at 7 a.m., walkers at 8:30 and the freeway reopened at 10:30. Tom Harjo, 45, of Los Angeles, biked to Pasadena from his Mount Washington home for the chance to take it easy on a freeway. \"I only see it from my car and at very high speeds,\' he said. \"I hate trying to get on the freeway. You go from zero to 60 mph in about 50 feet. So this is great. I\'m going to ride 16 miles, then I\'m going to ride home to Highland Park.\' \"The idea of walking on the freeway is absolutely exciting to me,\' said Dino Londis of North Hollywood, walking with his daughter, Polly, 4. \"I just wanted to do it. We\'re going four miles and then we\'ll go to the festival and take a shuttle back,\' he said. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard traded in his customary suit and tie Sunday for shorts, a helmet and a multigeared bicycle. \"I just want to be a part of something unique and historical, and a whole new way of thinking about transportation and the transit needs of our great state,\' he said. \"I\'m going to go 16 miles, the long distance.\' South Pasadena City Councilman David Margrave had a CD player strapped to the back of his bicycle. \"To enjoy the ride, I\'ve got music,\' he said and, as the ride started, he pedaled away to the sound of \"La Bamba.\' Carlin Hsueh of San Marino, a UC Berkeley student, was there for the walk with more than a dozen family members. \"It\'s a family outing,\' she said. \"Also this is a once-in-a-lifetime event where they\'ve actually closed down the 110 Freeway. We\'ll walk four miles south, then walk back. I\'m with my mother, father, three sisters, brothers, a cousin, two aunts, an uncle and two family friends.\' Bob Gottlieb, director of Occidental College\'s Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, an ArroyoFest sponsor, wants to see the nation\'s first freeway returned to its original status as a low-speed parkway. \"We might not be able to do this to a lot of other freeways, but we can do it to this one and a few others,\' he said. \"And we can also be thinking about how do we get cars off freeways ultimately as well.\' -- Emanuel Parker can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4475, or by e-mail at emanuel.parker@s... . |
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