Today is Mobility Monday
A day designated to voice your support for the LA Mobility Plan 2035, which includes the hard fought bike plan passed unanimously by the city council in 2010. Yet that same plan is under attack by members of that same council, including some who voted for it just five years ago.
And yes, I’m looking at you, Paul Koretz.
We’ll let the LACBC explain, as I shamelessly lift from the coalition’s weekly newsletter.
Action Alert: Mobility Plan 2035 Goes to Committee On Tuesday and Needs Your Support
The long-awaited Mobility Plan 2035 is coming before a joint council committee hearing at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4th at City Hall Room 340 (Council Chambers). In the past several weeks, opponents have launched baseless attacks on the Plan’s bicycle and transit networks, with particular vengeance against proposed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd connecting to UCLA. The campaign was hot enough to get picked up by the Los Angeles Times, KPCC’s Airtalk, and UCLA Green Commuter Blog.
As reported by the Times, Councilmember Paul Koretz opposes these critically needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd. Worse yet, he wants to remove them from the Mobility Plan, not just block the project from being installed. Such a move would be totally unprecedented and reverse nearly a decade’s worth of bicycle advocacy on the Westside.
The integrity of the Bicycle Plan itself is at stake. We need your help demonstrating the community’s strong support for a safer, more accessible streets in Los Angeles.
Take Action Now!
- Mark your calendar and come to the hearing at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4th at L.A. City Hall Room 340 (Council Chambers)
- Email the council committee: use the sample email at la-bike.org/mobilityplan
- Join us for another #MobilityMondayLA day of online action this Monday. For more info, go to: la-bike.org/mobilityplan
Below you’ll find the email address, where available, and Twitter handles for each of the councilmembers; you should be able to contact the councilmembers without public email addressed through their webpages.
- CD1: councilmember.cedillo@lacity.org, @gilcedillocd1
- CD2: @PaulKrekorian, www.cd2.lacity.org
- CD3: @BobBlumenfield, www.blumenfield.lacity.org
- CD4: david.ryu@lacity.org, @DavideRyu
- CD5: paul.koretz@lacity.org, @PaulKoretzCD5
- CD6: councilmember.martinez@lacity.org, @CD6Nury
- CD7: councilmember.fuentes@lacity.org, @Fuentes4LA
- CD8: councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org, @mhdcd8
- CD9: @CurrenDPriceJr, www.the-new-ninth.com
- CD10: @HerbJWesson, www.herbwesson.com
- CD11: councilmember.bonin@lacity.org, @mikebonin
- CD12: councilmember.englander@lacity.org, @Mitch_Englander
- CD13: @MitchOFarrell, www.cd13.com
- CD14: councilmember.huizar@lacity.org, @josehuizar
- CD15: @JoeBuscaino, www.la15th.com
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Cyclists aren’t even safe from drivers on the race course, as yet another pro racer has been taken out by an official vehicle; Greg Van Avermaet had a 15-second lead on a solo breakaway when a race moto ran him down from behind.
A British rider is the only one who didn’t know he’d just won the biggest race of his career.
And cycling has lost the lead when it comes to doping.
………
Too much sad news from the world of cycling this weekend.
Ghana’s top cyclist was killed in a traffic collision while training. A 22-year old women’s racer died from an apparent embolism while on route to a Women’s World Cup race. And a Colorado mountain biker died following a crash near the finish line of a Crested Butte Enduro race.
………
Local
Richard Risemberg complains about being unable to get a sinkhole fixed, in a bike lane that doesn’t connect to anything.
State
A man was found dead in an Anaheim alley with his bicycle around 4 am Sunday; no word on whether he was riding his bike or if it just happened to be nearby. Hopefully, we’ll get more details in the next few days.
Who says cyclists aren’t tough? A former Marine from Escondido who lost both legs and part of his brain in an Afghan explosion just finished a 3,000 mile handcycle trip across the US.
Marin County parks officials are being trained to use radar guns to catch speeding cyclists on fire roads, despite the lack of posted speed limits.
National
Spokane cops bust twelve bike thieves with the help of a bait bike. On the other hand, when Chico cyclists tried to same thing, no one took the bait.
Boulder CO motorists declare the “right sizing” of a city street to add buffers to existing bike lanes a failure in the first week, rather than wait to see if it actually works; the local paper explains what all the markings mean. Meanwhile, a law professor at the local university says buffered bike lanes cause car collisions and encourage law breaking by bike riders, resulting in traffic congestion that will increase noxious emissions and greenhouse gases. And evidently, will basically lead to the end of life as we know it.
A letter writer from Pueblo CO says they should rip out that city’s bike lanes before it becomes a laughing stock for visitors, since there’s not a single bike lane in the UK or the rest of Europe. No, really, that’s what he said.
A Houston lawyer bikes across the country just to talk to people and figure out what makes America tick.
Two Iowa reporters created the world’s largest bike tour in the 70s because they wanted to ride across the state, and have their newspaper pay for it.
A Kansas City paper says the city needs to move faster to finish promised bike lanes.
Boston encourages people to park for free, and pedal the last few miles to work.
When Bono honored the woman who came to his aid following his bicycling wipeout in Central Park, New York concert goers booed her off the stage.
Bikes not guns, as 50 Baltimore men ride across the city calling for an end to violence.
A Virginia advocacy group mails a users guide to local residents explaining how sharrows work, four years after they were installed and the city neglected to do it.
This is why you never say you’re not hurt following a collision, as a 14-year old New Orleans boy is hospitalized with a brain bleed days after he and a friend were hit by a cabdriver while riding their bikes.
International
A new movie looks at how bad planning is the real cause for the conflict between bikes and cars.
Other children pitch in to raise funds to buy a special bike for a four-year old boy with cerebral palsy in Ottawa, Canada.
London drivers have a meltdown when roads are closed for a cycling event.
An Irish paper catches 22 rule breaking bike riders in just half an hour. No word on how many motorists broke the law in the same period, though.
Bangladesh factory workers beat a man to death for allegedly stealing a bicycle.
A passing plumber with a second-hand defibrillator saves the life of an Aussie cyclist who was having a heart attack.
Instead of improving safety on Western Australia streets, government councils want to let people ride on the sidewalk.
China discovers randonneuring thanks to the efforts of a single cyclist.
Finally…
A style website explains how to make a bike your best fashion accessory, because how you look with it is far more important than where it can take you. But if you really want to make a statement, try riding a Big Wheel to the first day of an NFL training camp.
And an eight-year old boy completes his first triathlon, despite suffering from cerebral palsy.
Now then, what was your excuse?
