Guadalajara, Mexico

Name – Via Recreativa
When it started – 2004
Kilometres of road open – 64 km
Participants – 245 000
Organizers – Guadalajara 2020 and Municipal government
Unique features – Via RecreActiva Free bicycle rentals, extreme sports, soccer and volleyball matches and many other activities

Via Recreativa (Recreational Street), Guadalajara’s Car Free Sunday program, began in 2004 with the closure of 11.4 kilometers on one of the city’s main avenues, starting not as a pilot project but for every Sunday of the year, bringing out thousands of people to walk, bike, or skate every week! Prior to the Via Recreativa the biggest recreational activity in the region was a half marathon with 3,000 participants, just one Sunday per year. 

Over the years the Via Recreativa route has increased in size with neighbouring municipalities joining in and linking to the route. Today an incredible 64 km of streets are open to people and closed to cars connecting four main municipalities of the Greater Guadalajara Region. What’s more is that every Sunday over 245,000 people go out to be physically active and enjoy the streets car free. 
 
The Via Recreativa program was created and driven by leadership of a local nonprofit organization Guadalajara 2020 who was able to bring the idea to their city and garner support from the Municipal government, which administers the program. Via Recreativa is also supported by the State government and local Universities. The program is extremely well managed with a multitude of activities including a free bicycle lending program, extreme sports, soccer and volleyball matches, kids educational games, dominoes and chess.