LA Metro Adds $1 Million for CicLAvia and Open Streets Through 2028
LOS ANGELES — CicLAvia and other car-free community events gained a fresh financial runway Thursday when the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved $1 million in additional support for its Open and Slow Streets program. The money is intended to help cover events scheduled between September 2026 and March 2028, a period that will bring extraordinary attention to how people move around Los Angeles before the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mayor Karen Bass, who chairs the Metro board, led the motion. Her office said the allocation will support programs that temporarily open streets for people to walk, cycle, skate and roll through neighborhoods normally dominated by vehicle traffic. Metro's board file shows the agency had already awarded $10 million in the current funding cycle. The added amount addresses a request made in July for at least $1 million more for the 2027 fiscal year.
The decision matters because open-streets events require more than barriers and a route map. Organizers coordinate traffic control, transit connections, public safety, outreach, accessibility, sanitation and participation from local businesses. A major CicLAvia route can cross several council districts and connect neighborhoods that residents often experience only through a car window. Predictable funding allows that planning to begin early enough for permits and community coordination to work.
The next large event is CicLAvia—Heart of LA on Sunday, October 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CicLAvia says the route will again turn central Los Angeles streets into public space for a day. Participation is free and does not require registration. The organization encourages people to enter at any point and travel as much or as little of the course as they want, whether by bicycle, wheelchair, skateboard or on foot.
Open Streets is not the same as creating a permanent protected bike lane or pedestrian district. The road reopens to cars after the event, and the temporary experience does not solve the region's everyday safety or transit problems. It does, however, let residents test a different use of familiar corridors. For a few hours, intersections become gathering places, children can practice riding in a low-stress setting and shops receive customers arriving at a slower pace.
That public experiment has become part of Los Angeles culture. CicLAvia's model was inspired by Bogotá's ciclovía, and the local program has grown across dozens of neighborhoods since 2010. Events now function as recreation, transit education and neighborhood tourism at the same time. Readers planning to reach a route without driving can use CityLA's car-free guide to Los Angeles to compare rail, bus and walking options before road closures begin.
The funding also arrives as Los Angeles prepares for a sequence of global events. City leaders frequently describe the World Cup and Olympics as opportunities to improve mobility, but the benefits will depend on whether investments serve residents after visitors leave. Open-streets programs are comparatively small beside major rail and highway budgets. Their value is immediate and visible: people can experience the public realm differently without waiting years for construction.
The additional $1 million does not guarantee every proposed event will be funded, and Metro still has to administer awards through its program. Organizers will also need cooperation from the cities and agencies responsible for individual streets. The important change is that the board has created more room for the calendar instead of leaving successful community events to compete for a fixed pool that was already under pressure.
For Angelenos, the practical takeaway is to watch for route announcements beyond the October Heart of LA event and to plan around transit and street closures. Organizers typically publish detailed maps, crossing points and transit advice closer to each date, so residents should rely on the official event page rather than an old route graphic. For policymakers, the harder test comes later: whether a popular one-day glimpse of safer, quieter streets influences permanent decisions about access. Metro's vote keeps that conversation on the road through 2028—and gives more neighborhoods a chance to join it.
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