Alexis Francisco

Urban Arts Collaborative painted a mural between E. Alisal Street and Wood Street for this year’s event.

This year marked the 12th year of Ciclovia Salinas (with the exception of COVID in 2020). Ciclovía, meaning “bike path” in Spanish, and it began in Bogotá, Colombia in 1976 as a movement to close streets to cars and open them for a recreational space.

Ciclovia Salinas aims to change the narrative of Salinas, unite the community from the East and the South, promote health, support the local economy, and develop youth leadership.

The idea spread around the world to cities like Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Salinas. It started with a group of high school students in 2013, who wanted to address health and gang issues happening in Salinas that were painting a bad reputation. However, with the annual events, families are able to enjoy from 10am to 2pm, for an open street event. “I think it’s so meaningful seeing how intergenerational the community is,” Education Equity Coordinator and Logistics Lead Nancy Chavira said. “[Ciclovia] emphasizes an open community where families can go share time with their kids, neighbors, and be part of the recreational activities.”

Ciclovia has four committees – Volunteers, Publicity, Activities and Logistics – all of which have diverse tasks to accomplish bringing the event alive. “The Activities committee organizes all the fun and engaging activities such as zumba, bike decorating and art zones,” Youth Organizer and Activities Lead Alexis Mendez  said. “[While], the Activities committee is very important, the Logistics committee ensures to run the event smoothly, the Publicity committee spreads the word with flyers for media outreach, and the Volunteers committee that recruits and trains adult volunteers.”

The event was held on Sunday, October 12th and transformed 1.2 miles of Alisal Street, from Front Street to Sanborn Road, into a community route without any cars. According to Chavira, the route had been trimmed from 1.6 miles due to adult volunteer conflicts and city safety concerns. “It took a lot of planning ahead, to do a lot of logistical stuff, and talk to Public Works for a new traffic control plan,” she said.

The event promotes outdoor activity, local business engagement, and connection between the east and south sides of the city. It’s a free event planned by high school students, which this year approximately, the team consisted of almost 80 youth students – all across Alisal, North, Alvarez, Salinas and Rancho. Emphasizing both civic participation and leadership development, the youth were able to rally over 50 community organizations to come out, while also 60 adult volunteers and college students in need of community service. It brought over more than 5,000 families out into the 1.2 mile route, engaging with a recreational space for them all to enjoy.

In addition to promoting physical activity and mental well-being, this year’s Ciclovia Salinas took place by inviting several community based organizations to participate in and offer their services. Services include: Wescom Foundation, TAMC, Urban Arts, CSUMB Habitat Stewardship Project and more. Such activities allowed for groups to celebrate health and unity in Salinas, by having access to free resources.

As for the youth planning the event, which had started in June, it felt great knowing that the hard work from every weekly meeting had paid off. It grows a sense of pride and ownership that Ciclovia Salinas helps promote and guide youth leaders to develop proper leadership skills. “It was just amazing to see the community support the youths’ work and be able to make a difference,” Ashley Martinez-Sanchez, Ciclovía captain and senior at Alisal High School, said .

While Ciclovia Salinas is a free event, the goal this year was to raise $25,000 in sponsorships. Although they came up a little short, the Logistics Committee was able to get $22,000 of funding through sponsorships, with an additional one of them being an in-kind sponsor from the city of $15,000. “[When] I saw the city giving us $15,000 for an in-kind sponsorship, it helped us a lot, like for example the traffic control plan, the pricing for public works, and the sergeant helping with the permit of the street,” Chavira said .

Overall, through uniting residents, youth leaders, and small businesses, Ciclovía Salinas continues to build a stronger, more inclusive community each year.