Colombia's "Ciclovias" Offer Car-Free Oases

Bicycle Riders Enjoying "Ciclovia" (photo from The Guardian)

South America and "car-free" initiatives are not automatic associations. Yet, one of the world's most popular ways to disengage urban areas from automobiles had its genesis in Colombia.

The idea behind a ciclovia -- or car-free streets -- started in Bogota, Colombia's capital city in 1974, according to a story appearing in today's online editions of The Miami Herald. During a ciclovia, major thoroughfares are closed so that leg-based exercise and exercisers can be accommodated. Amazingly, the urban initiative became an enormous hit. Today, it's not uncommon for over a half-million Bogota residents to hit the streets with their bikes or on foot on a given Sunday.

Bogota's embrace of ciclovia is a tremendous success story for local residents and for other cities that have emulated its approach, such as San Francisco. It's also the rare Colombian product that isn't illegal to export.