Greater Greater Washington had an excellent post yesterday morning advocating that D.C. create its own version of New York’s Summer Streets. We at TheCityFix think this is a great idea. To further motivate DDOT to implement this plan, we’re re-circulating this Streetfilm on Ciclovía, Bogotá’s wildly successful car-free event that inspired Summer Streets and countless other similar events around the world.

Started in the early 1980s, Ciclovía is a weekly event during which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic and opened up to walkers, bicyclists, runners, rollerbladers, and all kinds of other activities. Every Sunday 1.5 million people from all walks of life come out to enjoy the car-free streets and healthy activities.

Ciclovía is combined with Recreovia, a program of free public exercise activities including dance, aerobics, yoga and classes for kids. Sessions are led by professionals paid by the city and accompanied by music. Additionally, free bicycles are available for use in the parks, and food vendors line the streets.

Ciclovía is orchestrated by a group of event managers known as Bikewatch (named after the show Baywatch, which was popular at the time) who give directions, watch out for peoples’ safety, and generally make sure that everyone’s having a good time.

Check out the video, imagine a Ciclovía-type event here at home, and tell DDOT you support the idea!