TUCSON, Ariz. — Cyclovia Tucson is coming up on Sunday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It's a free event which temporarily shuts down public streets from cars to be more inclusive of all people.
A big block party is what Living Streets Alliance (LSA) calls it. The nonprofit organization puts on Cyclovia to get the whole community involved. There will be more than three miles of car-free city streets and open to people of all ages and abilities to walk, bike, roll, and skate to enjoy neighborhoods and connect with one another.
Vanessa Cascio, the Living Streets Alliance Executive Director, says this is the 24th event, and there’s nothing else like it.
“I really love seeing people from all walks of life at this event, all ages from all over Tucson really being able to enjoy and connect with one another and learn something new about their community," Cascio said.
Cyclovia goes all the way from downtown to the Amphi neighborhood and there’s no start or end point, so you can jump into the fun wherever you’d like.
Along the route, you can expect to see four different hubs that have games, food trucks, music, performances, giveaways, and much more.
"Our partners Amphi Women and Girls Union have planned a really amazing hub and global artisan market, food trucks, vendors, we will also be activating Doris J. Thompson Park in the Sugar Hill neighborhood, the Historic Y near downtown and 4th Avenue, and then the LSA downtown hub which we're standing at right now at the corner of 6th and 7th," Cascio said.
About 45,000 people are expected to attend.
"It really is a great community celebration to really highlight what makes Tucson special," Cascio said.
LSA is a small nonprofit organization doing advocacy around how to make Tucson streets safer for everybody, whether you bike, walk, drive or take the bus.
"And we have other programs like Safe Routes to School where we work with youth. So we do a lot of different things outside of this event, but this is a really special event that brings together so many people from Tucson but also people from outside of Tucson too," Cascio continued.
Make sure you plan ahead so you don't get stuck in traffic if you plan to travel in the area.
Cascio says closures will include portions of 6th Avenue, portions of 4th Avenue from Speedway to Grant, and portions of Fontana Avenue from Grant Road all the way up just north of Fort Lowell.
"But also realize that we will have car crossings at major intersections so cars can get across east west along Fort Lowell, Glen Street, Grant, Speedway, and 6th Street," Cascio explained. "We also have volunteers at every single intersection along the route to help neighbors to make sure that they know about the closure to help them out if they need to get out, but we really stress that this is a time to keep the route for Cyclovia car free and carefree."
If you're unable to make Cyclovia, Cascio says you can always donate to help keep these fun events and programs going.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
