Create A Bicycle Friendly Silicon Valley

On October 11, The City of San Jose and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition hosted San Jose's first large scale open streets event - Viva CalleSJ! It was a huge success, with 35,000 attendees. Viva CalleSJ was a free recreational program that closed 6 miles of scenic San José streets to cars and opened them for people to walk, bike, skate, play and explore the explore the city like never before!

The open streets movement started in Bogotá, Colombia over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. Now, open streets events have spread globally from Tokyo to Kiev, to all across Latin America and many cities in the United States. The name combines the Spanish “Viva Calles,” which can mean both “the streets live” and “long live the streets.”

VivaCalleSJ’s Downtown and Eastbound route took people from the heart of San José’s downtown, through the center of the city, west through the unique and charming Calle Willow Business District, all the way to the East Side and Emma Prusch Farm Park.  We brought together diverse communities for a day of celebrating our largest public space, our streets, in a whole new way.

There were activities along the route for people to join in on such as yoga, Zumba, a bike powered DJ, competitive sandwich eating, and more. There were also martial arts demonstrations, BMX jumpers, Taiko drummers, dance performances, live bands, and numerous food trucks for people to enjoy. All of the activity hubs were busy and festive throughout the day. Even the 50 Tour brought the Superbowl trophies with a few star players for people to meet!

There were activity hubs at Emma Prusch Farm Park, Parque Del Los Pobladores, and St. James Park, along with other many other areas of activity along the route, including three micro hubs: Biblioteca Latinoamericana, Plaza de Cesar Chavez, and at the intersection of Senter and Keyes Roads.  Participants started at different points along the route, embracing the spirit of open streets events – no start or finish.

Open streets events are impactful in many ways: These events bring people together - We got people out engaging with their community, and we showcased areas of San Jose to people unfamiliar with those neighborhoods. Also, the health benefits and environmental impact is inarguable. Open streets events help to increase physical activity on the day of an event, and also inspire people beyond the event. Many attendees said that they surprised themselves with how far they rode their bikes. While having fun at the event, they didn’t notice the miles they were covering. We hope that this will encourage people to use a bike for everyday transportation, bettering our environment and community health.

Getting more than 40,000 cars off the street was no easy task. The program was a product of collaboration: funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, organized by the City of San José’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services in partnership with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, and supported by the San José City Council, San Jose Police Department, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Cultural Affairs, and countless community supporters.

So, when will the next one be? With such an enthusiastically positive response, the City of San José and partners are working hard to get the investment needed to make the next Viva CalleSJ a reality. If you’d like to stay updated on future news about Viva CalleSJ, please follow Viva CalleSJ on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.