LAST CicLAvia Ride of 2025
Normally gridlocked, Melrose Avenue turned into a sunny “upside down” on Sunday, Nov. 23, as nearly three miles was closed to traffic for CicLAvia’s last event of the year, this time in partnership with Netflix to promote the upcoming fifth season of “Stranger Things.” From Fairfax to Vermont, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and thousands of Angelenos filled the avenue on bicycles, scooters, rollerblades and on foot, celebrating community, health and the joy of reclaiming public space. The collaboration with Netflix fit naturally, as some of the most memorable scenes in “Stranger Things” involve kids pedaling furiously through danger.
Residents from across Southern California came to ride and celebrate. Cyclists in “Stranger Things” cosplay rode alongside families with children on training wheels, and their bikes.
Some of the most memorable scenes in Stranger Things involve kids pedaling furiously through danger. On Melrose, the only danger was battling the lines for a chance at a free donut from Voodoo Doughnut, a “Demodog” from Pink’s Hot Dogs, a “Stranger Things” promo tattoo from Generation8Tattoo, or a buzzcut from Ace of Fades LA.
Santa Clarita resident Melanie Whitney said the Netflix partnership drew in her family from an hour away. “The ‘Stranger Things’ event brought us out. Our whole family loves it. My daughter, and our friends that we cosplay with, are all meeting up here,” Whitney said.
The music from the main stage pulsed across the blocks as local officials joined CicLAvia leaders for the Open Streets event. Bass encouraged the students of Santa Monica College to embrace the city on two wheels, saying, “Everybody should get out and ride and have a wonderful Sunday, whether you’re officially a part of CicLAvia or not.”
Bass connected the event to the global spotlight Los Angeles will soon face. “In just about eight months, we will have the world here for the World Cup, and I hope that we have events like this all across the city,” she said.
Events like this aim to raise awareness in addition to the festivities; District 13 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez says they’re urgent. “Not only is this something visionary from CicLAvia, but it also makes a lot of common sense,” Soto-Martinez said. “A lot of folks might not know this, but last year in the city of Los Angeles, more people died of traffic violence than homicides. That should be unacceptable.”
District 5 resident Chris Bissonnette appreciated the car-free zone as he watched his children pedal past. “My kids love to bike,” he said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to get outside and just get some biking in.” He pointed as they rode past. “There’s my kids right there, biking, freely, safely, without having to worry about cars.”
Soto-Martinez biked to the event himself, telling Bass onstage, “Something Mayor Bass and I have in common is that we love to bike.”
There’s truth to cycling’s benefits, including improved cardiovascular fitness, reduced stress and decreased exposure to air pollution. On streets closed to cars, those benefits are accessible to nearly everyone — from experienced cyclists to families pushing strollers.
For CicLAvia, which has now hosted 64 events throughout the county, the mission remains the same: put people first.
“This is the 64th time we’ve done this, we open up streets for people biking, walking, rolling on your roller blades,” said CicLAvia board member Catherine Geanuracos. “We’re all about reclaiming space for people from cars on our streets,” Geanuracos said. “CicLAvia is about people coming together to make our city and our county and our community a better place.”
“It’s an opportunity for all of us to imagine our streets in a way that prioritizes people over cars,” said Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) General Manager, Laura Rubio-Cornejo, who was there gathering public feedback.
“We are looking for input on the city's first ever mobility action plan, where we are laying out a building map for what transportation advancement should be in the city over the next 20 years,” Rubio-Cornejo said, encouraging residents to visit the Vermont hub where an LADOT booth was stationed, “we want to make sure that that plan reflects your priorities, your needs,” she said. “We are investing transportation dollars in the way that really provides transportation services you need and prioritize.”
District 5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky reflected on years of planning. “When my team and I first sat down with the Melrose business improvement district a couple years ago to talk about what they wanted to see happen to Melrose, to help revitalize it. It was all about bringing people back to this iconic space,” Yaroslavsky said. “Helping to support local businesses, planting trees, making it safer for people to get on their bikes. And this day is sort of emblematic of what peak activation looks like.”
Daniel Farasat, president of the Melrose Business Improvement District, highlighted the district’s recent rebranding. “With the help of councilmember Yaroslavsky,” Farasat said, “we’ve renamed the area the Melrose Art District, so please go out there, enjoy some of the street art.”
Along Melrose’s extensive avenue of vintage shops, restaurants and street art, business owners welcomed the foot traffic. Some offered special deals, while others pulled racks of clothing onto the sidewalk.
“Melrose has been an iconic street. It’s gone through a lot of trends,” Farasat said, “but one thing that’s kept in common is that we focus on street art and independent retail and wanted to say thank you to all the elected officials for all their help and making this happen and all the support they give us and helping us revitalize the street.”
Lindsey Horvath, representing LA’s 3rd District, praised the event’s ability to bring neighbors together. “I have been to so many of the CicLAvia events before in my time on the board of supervisors,” she said. “To see it grow and to see you all here and make community connection is really what this is all about.”
Local resident Bianka Aguilar came out to show her “Stranger Things” costume, but noticed the event was more than a reason to dress up. “Because they blocked out all the streets, you can walk, or you can get your bike, you can bring out your pets and just hang out. I love it,” Aguilar said.
Horvath tied the collaboration into the day’s theme, saying, “I’m very glad to see ‘Stranger Things’ here on the streets, and while the world that we live in right now can feel like the ‘upside down,’ we do know that it’s events like this that bring people together.”
“It takes all of us,” Horvath said. “It’s not just us up here on stage, it’s you showing up. It’s you demanding this space. It’s you reclaiming these streets that makes a difference.”