Bogotá's ciclovía: the city that closes its streets on Sundays
A B2 Spanish reader on Bogotá's Sunday ciclovía: how it began in 1974, who runs it now, and why the argument about it is still open.
La ciclovía de Bogotá: cincuenta años cerrando calles
Reading for practice
Read for free. Create an account to translate words, save progress, and practise.
Every Sunday and public holiday, about a hundred and forty kilometres of Bogotá streets close to cars from seven in the morning until two. It began on 15 December 1974, when a group of cyclists and an organisation called Pro-cicla took over Carrera 7 and Carrera 13 for three hours with the backing of the transit department. In 1976 two decrees made the programme official, gave it the name ciclovía and opened its first forty kilometres of Sunday street closures, and since 1995 it has been run by the city recreation and sport institute. The text also gives the case against it: closing main avenues complicates life for people who work on Sundays.
La idea no nació en una oficina de urbanismo. El 15 de diciembre de 1974, un grupo de ciclistas y una organización llamada Pro-cicla salieron a la carrera séptima y a la carrera trece, en el centro, con el apoyo del departamento de tránsito. Las calles se cerraron durante tres horas, de nueve a doce. Sin embargo, aquella jornada no fue solo un paseo: fue también una manifestación a favor de la bicicleta.
La ciudad respondió rápido. En 1976, con el apoyo del alcalde Luis Prieto Ocampo, dos decretos oficializaron la ciclovía, le dieron ese nombre y abrieron sus primeros cuarenta kilómetros de calles cerradas al tráfico cada domingo. Por consiguiente, lo que había empezado como una jornada suelta pasó a ser una cita fija del calendario.
Desde 1995 la ciclovía la administra el Instituto Distrital de Recreación y Deporte. No obstante, la palabra administrar se queda corta: cada domingo hay que cerrar cruces, coordinar el transporte público, poner personal en los puntos difíciles y volver a abrirlo todo a las dos. Asimismo, en varios puntos del recorrido el mismo instituto organiza clases gratuitas de ejercicio al aire libre.
Las cifras explican por qué la cosa importa. De dos carreras del centro se pasó a los ciento cuarenta kilómetros de hoy; de tres horas, a siete. Además, la ciclovía no cobra entrada ni exige inscripción: quien tiene una bicicleta la usa, y quien no la tiene camina.
Por otra parte, la ciclovía no le gusta a todo el mundo. Cerrar avenidas principales un día a la semana complica los desplazamientos de quien trabaja el domingo y de los negocios que dependen del carro. En consecuencia, cada cierto tiempo alguien propone recortar el horario o cambiar el recorrido.
De hecho, la discusión no se ha cerrado. Los defensores responden que la ciudad tiene calles siete días a la semana y que los parques no alcanzan para una ciudad de millones de habitantes. Ahora bien, ese argumento pierde fuerza si el servicio deja de ser gratuito o si el recorrido llega solo a unos cuantos barrios.
Lo que sí está claro es que la idea viajó lejos. Muchas ciudades de América han copiado el modelo con otros nombres, como calles abiertas o vías recreativas, y algunas ciudades europeas lo adoptaron más tarde. En 2024 la ciclovía bogotana cumplió cincuenta años, y para entonces ya se estudiaba fuera de Colombia.
Si alguna vez llegas a Bogotá un domingo, no madrugues demasiado. A las siete la ciudad todavía está fría, porque Bogotá se levanta a más de dos mil metros de altura y las mañanas no perdonan. Hacia las diez, en cambio, las avenidas parecen un río lento de gente.
About this article
What you'll learn
Advanced connectors in the right position with the right punctuation: sin embargo, no obstante, por consiguiente, en consecuencia, asimismo, por otra parte, ahora bien, en cambio. Also Colombian vocabulary: el carro, la carrera and la cicla, which appears here inside the name Pro-cicla; plus two words of general Spanish that the text puts to work, el festivo and madrugar.
Every Sunday and public holiday, about a hundred and forty kilometres of Bogotá streets close to cars from seven in the morning until two. It began on 15 December 1974, when a group of cyclists and an organisation called Pro-cicla took over Carrera 7 and Carrera 13 for three hours with the backing of the transit department. In 1976 two decrees made the programme official, gave it the name ciclovía and opened its first forty kilometres of Sunday street closures, and since 1995 it has been run by the city recreation and sport institute. The text also gives the case against it: closing main avenues complicates life for people who work on Sundays.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
la palabra administrar se queda corta
newthe word "administer" falls short
The phrase says that what was said or done is not enough: the word does not capture the scale, the portion was too small, the estimate too low. The adjective agrees: «la palabra se queda corta», «el presupuesto se quedó corto».
It is the ready-made way to say "and that is putting it mildly". Its opposite is «pasarse», to overdo it.
los parques no alcanzan para una ciudad de millones de habitantes
newthe parks are not enough for a city of millions
In this sense «alcanzar» has nothing to do with reaching: it means to suffice. The subject is the thing that is or is not enough: «el dinero no alcanza», «la comida alcanzó para todos». It is especially common in the Americas.
An essential verb for talking about money, time and space. In Spain the same idea often goes through «llegar» or «ser suficiente».
cada cierto tiempo
newevery so often somebody proposes...
The phrase marks regularity without naming an interval: it happens again and again, but how often is left open. Its neighbours are «de vez en cuando» (now and then) and «cada dos por tres» (constantly, too often).
It is the phrase to reach for when you do not want to invent a figure: it says honestly that something recurs without claiming how often.
Lo que sí está claro es que
newwhat is clear is that the idea travelled far
The stressed «sí» here is not the answer yes but an emphasiser: it sets this claim against the doubts just raised. The frame «lo que sí + verb + es que» pushes the main claim to the end.
This is how you close a paragraph of argument: several opinions first, then one sentence about what is not in dispute.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
la cicla - bicycle in Colombia
Pro-cicla
the organisation called Pro-cicla
In Colombia «la cicla» is an everyday word for a bicycle, although today it lives alongside «la bici», the form Bogotá's official campaigns use. That is the word inside the name of the group that took to the streets in 1974. The prefix «pro-» means in favour of: pro-cicla is pro-bicycle.
Regional words for everyday things are the most useful part of a vocabulary, though they are rarely exclusive: in Colombia you hear both «cicla» and «bici». And the same «pro-» turns up in pro-derechos or pro-vivienda.
el carro - car in Colombia and much of the Americas
los negocios que dependen del carro
businesses that depend on the car
One object, three main words: «el carro» in Colombia, Venezuela and most of Central America, «el coche» in Spain, «el auto» in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. In Mexico both «carro» and «coche» are in use, and in the capital «coche» is the commoner one. In Spain «carro» means a cart or a trolley.
Pick one and hold it for the whole text: this article is set in Bogotá, so it says «carro» throughout. Mixing the variants inside one text is the real mistake.
la carrera - a street in Bogotá's grid
la carrera séptima
Seventh Carrera
Central Bogotá is laid out on a grid: «calles» run one way, «carreras» cross them at right angles, and almost all of them are numbered, although some big avenues have names of their own. An address therefore joins three numbers: the street, the street that crosses it and the metres from that corner to the door. A handful of well-known roads keep an ordinal reading, la carrera séptima or la calle primera, but most are read as plain numbers, like la carrera trece here.
Without this system you can neither ask for directions in Bogotá nor follow a news item about closed streets.
el festivo - a public holiday
los festivos
on Sundays and public holidays
The adjective «festivo» is used as a noun: «un día festivo» shortens to «un festivo». It is an official non-working day, not a party, which would be «una fiesta».
The pair «domingos y festivos» is the fixed formula of timetables: shop doors, transport schedules and museum signs all use it.
madrugar - to get up very early
no madrugues demasiado
do not get up too early
One verb replaces a whole phrase: to get up very early. Inside it sits «la madrugada», the hours before dawn. The negative command is «no madrugues»: in the negative, Spanish commands take the subjunctive ending.
It is a high-frequency verb, and it carries the proverb «a quien madruga, Dios le ayuda», the early riser gets God's help.
el recorrido - route, course
cambiar el recorrido
to change the route
A noun from «recorrer», to travel the whole length of something. «El recorrido» is the path actually covered: a bus route, the way a procession goes, the course of a race. «La ruta» is closer to a route drawn on a map.
It is indispensable in writing about transport, sport and public events: «el recorrido del desfile», «el recorrido de la carrera».
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
«sin embargo» - however, and not a conjunction
Sin embargo, aquella jornada no fue solo un paseo
however, that day was not only an outing
«Sin embargo» is an adverbial connector, not a conjunction. It usually opens a sentence and is followed by a comma, but it can also come after a semicolon or sit inside the clause between two commas. «Pero» is the opposite: it joins clauses inside one sentence and takes no comma after it.
Confusing the two is the commonest mistake in written work: «*la jornada fue un paseo sin embargo fue una protesta» does not read without punctuation.
«no obstante» - nevertheless, a higher register
No obstante, la palabra administrar se queda corta
nevertheless, the word "administer" falls short
It means what «sin embargo» means, in a higher register: documents, reports and articles use it, speech less often. The position is the same: at the head of a sentence with a comma, or inside it between two commas.
Moving between «pero», «sin embargo» and «no obstante» shows your level better than difficult grammar does: one meaning, three registers.
result connectors: por consiguiente and its family
Por consiguiente, lo que había empezado como una jornada suelta
consequently, what had begun as a one-off day...
The whole family marks a result and differs only in tone: «por eso» is the plainest, «por lo tanto» neutral, «en consecuencia» and «por consiguiente» the most formal. The text uses both «por consiguiente» and «en consecuencia», each opening a sentence with a comma.
Marking a result is very useful in an argued text. What matters is not mixing registers inside one paragraph.
«asimismo» - likewise, in addition
Asimismo, en varios puntos del recorrido
likewise, at several points along the route...
«Asimismo» adds one more item to what was said, like «además» or «también», but in a more formal tone. It is written as one word. The Academy recommends that spelling for the meaning "also"; «así mismo», two words, is better kept for "in that same way", and «a sí mismo» is something else entirely: "to himself".
All three spellings sound identical, which is why they get mixed up. On paper the difference is immediate.
a connector inside the sentence: two commas
las avenidas parecen un río lento de gente
by ten, by contrast, the avenues...
A connector does not have to open the sentence. When it lands inside one, it is fenced by commas on both sides: «Hacia las diez, en cambio, las avenidas...». Leaving out the second comma makes the sentence look unfinished.
The same punctuation covers the whole family: sin embargo, no obstante, en cambio, asimismo, por consiguiente. One rule for a dozen words.
«quien» with no noun before it
quien tiene una bicicleta la usa
whoever has a bicycle uses it
Here «quien» has no noun to refer back to: on its own it means "the person who". The verb stays singular even when many people are meant. It can be replaced by «el que» or «la persona que».
It is the compact form for general statements, and it runs through proverbs and rules: «quien madruga...», «quien no paga, no entra».
Comments
Log in to leave a comment
LoginNo comments yet. Be the first!
