#cyclouvia

It’s worth taking one more look back at the two events to help remember that this process is just starting. Now that we’ve had some inspiration for better streets, it’s time to get out there and make it happen for real. Here are 24 of our favorite photos culled from Metro Louisville, project organizers and supporters, and Broken Sidewalk readers.

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An astroturf park with games and inflatable furniture was a nice alternative to asphalt. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Shelby Park’s bus stop, dedicated last year at CycLOUvia, looks even better surrounded by plants. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

And better yet filled with people. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

Two artworks created during Better Block. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

A protected bike lane demonstration on Oak Street was part of Better Block Shelby Park. (Courtesy Louisville Forward / Instagram)

An astroturf parklet at Better Block. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

LMPD officers enjoying a Better Block parklet. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

A game of checkers in the street. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

The scene at Better Block. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

An impromptu bike lane on Oak Street. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

(Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

A colorful parklet partially made with bike parts. (Mary Beth Brown)

A booth by Falls City Community Bikeworks, which is located on Logan. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Plenty of bike parking, people, and good conversation. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

A crowd fills Logan Street. (Mary Beth Brown)

Riding down Goss toward the Three Points Mural. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

The scene on Logan Street approaching the epicenter of Better Block. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

Riding on Goss Avenue has never been this peaceful. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Crowds of cyclists and pedestrians filling Goss Avenue. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Pedaling car-free down Goss Avenue. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Riding down Goss Avenue past Hauck’s. (Jim Williams / Twitter)

Lots of installations to re-imagine the street at Better Block. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

A colorful parklet and lots of bikes at CycLOUvia and Better Block. (Courtesy Shelby Park Neighborhood Association)

Former Mayor Abramson was spotted at the event, posing next to CFN director Tom Stephens and others. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

A couple other notable highlights include a fat-tire bike with a serious sound system (video here or here) and attendance of not just one mayor, but both Greg Fischer and former Mayor Jerry Abramson.

While CycLOUvia will be back a couple more times this summer, this iteration’s cooperation with Better Block made for something really special. I’m sure CFN will be working to make the most of the event in coming months, and we already know Shelby Park is on the lookout for improving its streets. We hope this is only the beginning of more great things to come for the Goss Avenue / Logan Street / Shelby Street corridors and beyond!

Did you get a chance to attend? Share your thoughts about how the events went in the comments below!

Tonight, Friday, May 12 from 5:00p.m. to 9:00p.m., head down to Oak Street at Logan Street to get a first-hand experience of what a not-so-distant Shelby Park could look like. With help from the community, the street has been completely transformed.

A parklet installed on Oak Street for Better Block Shelby Park. (Courtesy Three Points Beautification)

Did you know? CycLOUvia was made from the Spanish word Ciclovía, which means “bikeway.” It comes from Bogotá, Colombia, where one of the earliest Open Streets projects has been running every Sunday for decades.

Then Saturday, May 13 from 10:00a.m. to 8:00p.m., head back down for more Better Block, and, later, an Open Streets program. CycLOUvia is back between 2:00p.m. and 6:00p.m., shutting down a circuit of streets including Goss Avenue, and Logan and Shelby streets till Mary Street.

Both of these events combined should bring the crowds to test out the new street improvements and see what works and what doesn’t. Throughout Better Block tonight and tomorrow, local bands will provide entertainment and food trucks will be on hand. (Here’s a schedule.) Many more local businesses will be joining in along the CycLOUvia route as well.

Shelby Park’s unique bus stop at Logan and Oak. (Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

(Courtesy Center for Neighborhoods)

You’ll also get a chance to check out Shelby Park’s crowdfunded, FirstBuild-built bus stop concept, installed at Logan and Oak. Another small-scale improvement adding up in the neighborhood. But if you rely on TARC buses in the corridor of Goss Avenue, Shelby Street, or Logan, you’ll want to catch up with service changes here and here. And plan to leave your car at home!

Better Block is overseen by the Center for Neighborhoods (CFN) and was funded by Louisville Forward, the Shelby Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA), New Directions Housing Corporation, and Lowe’s Home Improvement . CycLOUvia, Louisville’s contribution to the Open Streets movement, is put on by Metro Louisville with local partners.

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A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

A community design workshop helped give shape to Better Block Shelby Park. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Volunteers from CFN have been busy for months planning the event. A community design workshop was held on March 25 where a crowd gathered to re-imagine the street. A lot of great ideas were generated by four teams. This week, more volunteers put in sweat equity to bring the project to life.

Using Better Blocks’s new wiki of buildable temporary furniture and donations from local companies, the area is looking pretty sharp. Some of the interventions you’ll find include parklets, expanded sidewalks and street trees, seating, and a public space theater.

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Standard conditions in the Logan and Oak street area. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Standard conditions in the Logan and Oak street area. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Standard conditions in the Logan and Oak street area. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Standard conditions in the Logan and Oak street area. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)

Both Better Block and Open Streets are national programs aimed at redefining how we interact with and use public space. Like Park(ing) Day, ReSurfaced, and the Alley Gallery, they fall under the umbrella of tactical urbanism. That movement seeks small-scale, temporary fixes that lead to long-term change. Get enough people rethinking our streets and public spaces, and the ideas start flying.

A scene from CycLOUvia Three Points last year. (Courtesy John Paul / Vic’s Classic Bikes)

CycLOUvia Three Points route. (Courtesy Louisville Forward)

Louisville has plenty of experience with these programs already. Open Streets has been going on since 2012, and they’re popular on several corridors around town. This is its second appearance in the Three Points area. The Urban Design Studio also hosted a Better Block event a couple years ago imagining a rebuilt Kenton Place median park on East Market Street as part of a Tactical Urbanism Salon. CFN brought Dallas-based Better Block founder Jason Roberts to town last year to headline its annual Neighborhood Summit.

Shelby Park, notably among Louisville neighborhoods, has embraced tactical urbanism. A robust collection of murals have made its streets a veritable art gallery. And more are planned thanks to groups like Three Points Beautification. The aforementioned bus stop is another good example, and the SPNA is exploring how to make its neighborhood streets two-way once again to promote safety and business.

Let us know what you think of this year’s Better Block and CycLOUvia. What would you like to see happen to Shelby Park’s streets to make them more inviting for people? And you know the drill: send your photos to the tip line.

Beta Bus Stop in Shelby Park to be installed Wednesday, dedicated at CycLOUvia

Shelby Park is about to install the second crowd-funded bus stop in Louisville. The first so-called Beta Bus Stop was installed and dedicated in the SoBro neighborhood last November.

Workers are expected to install the new bus stop on Wednesday, August 3, and an official dedication ceremony will be held this Sunday at CycLouvia Three Points. The dedication and ribbon cutting will be held at…

CycLOUvia debuts new route through Shelby Park, Germantown, Schnitzelburg

CycLOUvia is no longer the new kid on the block, with several successful Open Streets events already held on Frankfort Avenue and Bardstown Road and another great event on Broadway. Open Streets is the international initiative that shuts city streets to motorists for a day and opens it up to people, whether they’re walking, biking, or anything else.

The next CycLOUvia route. (Metro Louisville)

An…

For the vast majority of the year, we shut down our streets and turn these public spaces over to those whose price of admission is a private automobile. And as we’ve seen, this was a move carefully orchestrated by the automobile industry itself to help sell more cars.

That’s why the CycLOUvia concept is part of a greater Open Streets movement. CycLOUvia didn’t shut Frankfort Avenue down, as a Courier-Journal headline about the event read, rather it opened the street up for use as the true public space that our streets represent.

CycLOUvia is a small part of how Louisville is slowly becoming a more diverse city in terms of transportation choice. It shows people how much fun a human pace on foot or a bike can be when getting around the city—and so much more. Be sure to check out our 11 reasons CycLOUvia makes Louisville an even better city!

Click on a photo below to view a larger version.

Share your observations of Louisville’s growing Open Streets movement in the comments below. See you at the next CycLOUvia!

[All photos by Broken Sidewalk.]