LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday called on the sheriff’s department and the California Highway Patrol to work with local car clubs and communities to develop safe “cruising” events in Los Angeles County.
Spurred on by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-Arleta, and her efforts to pass a statewide resolution celebrating the history and culture of cruising, the motion also asks the sheriff and CHP to develop multilingual education and outreach strategies to connect with local communities with cruising scenes.
The motion by Supervisor Hilda Solis describes cruising as “the custom of leisurely driving on urban boulevards in dropped and dolled-up vehicles, which includes meetups of lowrider, vintage and custom vehicle owners” that can “occur as gatherings where cars are parked and owners show off their cars and admire other cars, or as one-off cruises where people gather and drive their cars through the streets.”
The motion further describes cruising as an activity popular with post- World War II Mexican teenagers.
“The West Coast style vintage lowrider car is embedded throughout popular culture and is frequently featured in films, music videos, video games, museums, marketing, and the digital NFT art world; and the fountainhead of lowrider culture is Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles,” the motion states. “Whittier Boulevard is among the most famous cruising strips in California.”
