The city of Santa Cruz closed off a two mile stretch of West Cliff Drive between Lighthouse Field State Beach and Natural Bridges State Beach for the 2nd Annual Open Streets event on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Several thousand people showed up to bike, skate, dance, walk, party, hula hoop, pole dance, play Jedi mind tricks and have fun in the street.
I have lots of video and photos to process, but for now here’s a four minute quick trip showing the final ten minutes that West Cliff was closed to traffic.
Update: This is weird: my original video got clipped to 30 seconds somehow :-(. I’ll upload to Vimeo in a second to see what happens.
Santa Cruz Open Streets was once again organized by local bike safety instructor Saskia Lucas. Participation seemed more diverse and spontaneous than last year’s inaugural Open Streets, when people were getting a feel for what a two mile long block party is supposed to feel like. Several homes along West Cliff became impromptou bandstands as local acts played and passerby listened and danced in the street.
A delegation from Santa Barbara participated in preparation for their own first ever open streets event. They’ve attended plenty of Ciclavia street parties in nearby Los Angeles, but wanted to check out the vibe in a smaller beach town like their own.
A great time was had by all.
Elsewhere:
- Sentinel: West Cliff street party draws a crowd.
- Lots of photos at Santa Cruz Open Streets Facebook page.