Bikers, Walkers, Skaters Crowd The 110 Freeway For ArroyoFest 2.0

A section of the 110 Freeway was packed Sunday morning — but this time, it wasn’t because of car traffic.

The second-ever ArroyoFest took place on the northern stretch of the 110 Freeway Sunday morning, bringing a new energy to a parkway best known for its twists, turns, and white-knuckle onramps.

The majority of the Arroyo Seco Parkway was closed to vehicles in the spirit of other local open streets events like CicLAvia. The northbound lanes were for wheeled transportation, and the southbound lanes were reserved for pedestrians.

Walkers and bikers could enjoy peace and quiet in some parts of the 110, especially before 9 a.m.

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Kevin Tidmarsh

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On the pedestrian side, people walked their dogs, pushed strollers, and jogged at their own pace. Bikes dominated the other side, while others traveled by skateboard, roller skates, scooters, and even a penny-farthing.

Thousands of people packed the closed freeway, exit ramps, and surrounding areas, blasting ‘80s and ‘90s jams as they sped down the downward incline from Pasadena to Lincoln Heights.

Ricardo Lopez (left) and Catherine Nguyen were two of many pedestrians enjoying ArroyoFest Sunday morning.

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Kevin Tidmarsh

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Meanwhile, the activity hubs attracted hundreds of local residents. At the South Pasadena hub, bikers and rollerbladers rolled past information booths and live music performances on their way to enjoy the rare open roads.

“It’s a crazy experience, being from L.A., we always go through these freeways, but we’ve never actually been able to be on it,” said Ricardo Lopez, who was walking on the 110 in Pasadena. “I think it’s a beautiful thing.”

Normally a selfie like this would be dangerous and illegal, but not during the ArroyoFest!

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Kevin Tidmarsh

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The Arroyo Seco Parkway opened in 1940, making it the oldest freeway in the Western U.S.

“It’s pretty crazy to be walking on something so historic, and something most people haven’t been able to do,” Catherine Nguyen said.

This is the only the second ArroyoFest. The original event took place in 2003, after two years of planning and coordination with state freeway agency Caltrans.

“It changes the way we talk about things like transportation and environment and as it stands today around climate,” Robert Gottlieb, one of the organizers of the original ArroyoFest, told LAist. “An event like ArroyoFest breaks through that sense of impossibility.”