Thousands of bikes, skates, skateboards and other human-powered transportation swarmed the streets of Broadway from Redondo Avenue to Downtown Long Beach for the annual Beach Streets on May 20.
The single-day event was created in 2015 to encourage residents and visitors to experience the city more actively and sustainably by closing a major thoroughfare to car traffic.
Beach Streets gives the city a more Amsterdam feel of families and friends cycling among roaming pedestrians along Broadway from Redondo to Pine Avenues, as opposed to the usual honking of frustrated drivers.
Along the route, the city hosted several hub areas and resident-focused events, which included live music. At the “Extreme Hub” in Downtown at Pine Avenue, visitors were treated to live skate demonstrations, lessons and a DJ spinning records.
Residents kicked off Pride Month at Bixby Park near Broadway and Cherry Avenue as it was transformed into the “Proud Hub” for the Long Beach Proud Fest. The festival began in 2020 and celebrates LGBTQ culture before Pride Month officially begins in June.
Before the event began, City and Long Beach Port officials met at Long Beach Civic Plaza to dedicate a new bike and pedestrian path.
The new path on the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge is named after the late Mark Bixby, an avid cyclist who advocated for increased biking infrastructure in the city.
