A Sunset stroll

Hundreds now turn out for the Great Los Angeles Walk. Photo/Atwater Village Newbie via Flickr

When it comes to challenging our car culture, massive events like CicLAvia, with its 100,000-plus cyclists, send a loud message about the growing momentum and demand for alternative transportation. But before there was CicLAvia, there was the more modest—but equally committed—Great Los Angeles Walk, which has been putting one foot after the next on L.A.’s most famous streets for the past 8 years.

Michael Schneider has organized the walks since 2006, when about 30 to 40 brave souls met to tackle all 16 miles of Wilshire Boulevard. Walkers now number around 300 each year.

“It always sounds daunting to people who haven’t done it before,” Schneider said. “But it’s not a race. It’s about taking your time and exploring. I come back with hundreds of photos of things that you normally miss.”

Taking a slower, closer look at L.A.’s street life is a motivating factor behind the walk, an outgrowth of local historic trips that Schneider used to organize. After Wilshire, the event sauntered along a new route each year, including Hollywood and Pico boulevards and Melrose Avenue.

On Saturday, November 23, the walk will take on that most iconic of L.A. thoroughfares, Sunset Boulevard. Schneider says the boulevard’s streetscapes have plenty to offer, from the boutiques and eateries of Silver Lake to the legendary night clubs of the Sunset Strip.

Walkers will embark at 9 a.m. from the “Lady of the Lake” statue in front of Echo Park Lake. They’ll follow Sunset westward to the edge of Beverly Hills before turning south on Whittier Drive to Wilshire, where they’ll head  west to the statue of Saint Monica at Santa Monica Beach. “We’re going from statue to statue,” Schneider said.

The Great L.A. Walk has a very SoCal swagger. All comers are welcome, including dogs and kids, and they’re encouraged to break into groups, walk at their own pace and tackle as much or as little of the 17.8-mile route as they want. The event’s Twitter account will be updated throughout the day with the location of the group’s nucleus, should latecomers want to jump in along the way.

Walkers will be responsible for their own safety during the event, which takes place on sidewalks only. Getting there and back is also walkers’ responsibility; Schneider said many choose to take public transportation, while others join friends and station cars at each end of the route.

Those are the basics, but more is forthcoming on the Great L.A. Walk blog, where Schneider said he will announce an opening speaker, identify the location of an official after-party and add other details in the coming days. On the day of the walk, flyers with historical information and landmarks will be distributed.

With the holidays fast approaching, Schneider said, this might be a way get a head start on the gravy and pumpkin pie. “It’s a way to get out there and get some exercise,” he said, “before we gorge ourselves on Thanksgiving.”

Posted 11/14/13