BikinginLA

By Dennis Bredow

Art and bicycling will collide in Los Angeles this weekend.

And for once, no one will get hurt. Unless maybe you get there too late to get the limited edition poster of your dreams.

This Saturday, ARTCRANK LAX returns to the city, offering original, limited edition bicycle-inspired prints from 32 different artists. Better yet, each signed and numbered poster will be available for purchase for just $40 each.

And yes, I have my eye on a few.

The popular show has been a huge success in cities across the country, from the original show in Minneapolis, to New York, Austin, Portland and San Francisco, as well as London and Paris. This is their second visit to Los Angeles, and it promises to be a huge hit.

By Coby Gewertz

The night will also be a fundraiser for LA Streetsblog.

Just buy an exclusive ARTCRANK pint glass filled with beer from Widmer Brothers Brewing for $5, and the proceeds will go to support the city’s best reporting on transportation issues; the same goes for raffle tickets.

It all takes place from 4 pm to 10 pm on Saturday, November 9th at Space 15 Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd, just above Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.

You might even see me there if I can convince my notoriously bike-averse wife to make an exception this time.

Anything’s possible, right?

By Cache

………

Another event you won’t want to miss on Saturday.

The authors of Vancouver Cycle Chic are coming to town to present a workshop on Marketing Bicycle Culture at the New Urbanism Film Festival.

While city officials around the world focus their efforts on bicycle policy and infrastructure, they continue to overlook a critical third prong of increasing ridership: marketing the cycling lifestyle. This gap is currently being filled by advocacy groups and the bicycle industry, who often fall into the trap of dangerizing, politicizing, and overcomplicating the act of citizen cycling. Enter the Cycle Chic Movement, which exploded from the streets of Copenhagen in 2006, inspiring millions around the world to dress for the destination, and choose “style over speed”. Vancouver Cycle Chic – an active member of the Cycle Chic Republic – produced a series of short films to promote the simple and stylish act of getting on a bicycle, in the hope they would also motivate authorities to reconsider how they market bicycle culture to their citizens.

It takes place this Saturday at 5:30 pm at the ACME Theater in Hollywood, 135 N. La Brea Ave.

And don’t forget The Long Bike Back, which screens at 4 pm Saturday at the All Sports Film Festival at the El Portal Theater, 5269 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood.

………

I had planned to attend Metro’s Bicycle Roundtable earlier this week, and report back about the latest developments.

Unfortunately, life got in the way when a last minute client deadline I couldn’t push off kept me from attending.

However, Eric Bruins, Planning and Policy director for the LACBC, took exceptional notes, and graciously agreed to share them with us.

Bikeshare

Metro staff was tasked by the board last month with conducting a business case analysis for bikeshare in LA County.  Metro is investigating two basic options:

Metro as Facilitator

• Metro would establish a bench of qualified vendors for cities to choose from.  Vendors on the bench would agree to a technology compatibility standard.
• Cities would issue individual RFPs to vendors on the bench.
• Metro would provide technical assistance and limited funding.

Metro as Lead

• Metro would issue an RFP and select a single countywide vendor.
• Metro would set the business model and have an active role in managing the system deployment.
• Cities would determine station locations and other infrastructure within their public rights-of-way.  Cities would likely manage redistribution of bikes at the local level.

There will be an update at the December 5th Metro board meeting and the final report and recommendations will be released in January.

Bike Hubs

Metro is developing three initial bike hubs (a.k.a. bikestations/bike centers) at El Monte, Hollywood/Vine, and Culver City.  All will be operating by summer of 2014.  An RFP for operations will be released at the end of the month and a contract awarded in February.  Metro is intending these facilities to be cost-neutral. All bike hubs will feature:

• Secure access and CCTV monitoring
• Membership (fee TBD)
• Self-lock parking for minimum 50 bikes
• Unattended layout with flexible area allowing for potential tenant to staff and operate

Open Streets Program

Metro board allocated $2 million for CicLAvia-like events around the county, to be competitively awarded to local jurisdictions.  Guidelines are available now.  Application will be released early next year and a workshop held for interested jurisdictions.  Cities are encouraged to partner with a nonprofit/community-based organization.  20% local match required, but can be in-kind.

Education/Encouragement

Metro contractors (LACBC, BikeSGV, Multicultural Communities for Mobility) conducted 88 classes and reached 863 participants for a cost of ~$150,000. Everyone wants to find a way to make these a regular program.

CICLE has conducted 4 of 20 rides they will do over a 26-month period.  Next one is in Northridge in two weeks.

Campaigns

Universal praise for “Every Lane is a Bike Lane.”  Metro can and will do future campaigns.  Next educational messaging will provide tips for putting your bike on the bus with brochures and Transit TV PSAs.  9 bikes are forgotten on buses every day!  Bike theft from buses is an increasing problem.

Rail Car Refurbishment

Metro is doing a midlife refurbishment of its rail cars, offering an opportunity to reconfigure the layout and improve bike accommodation.  This will be a multi-year capital improvement from 2015-2018.  New features may include:

• Digital displays
• Separate wheelchair and bike locations in car
• Bike securements
• New flooring
• New train controls
• Sideways seating for wider aisles & greater standing capacity

Next meeting tentatively scheduled for February 4th @ 5:30 PM.

One quick aside.

If you don’t know Eric, you’re missing out on one of the most dedicated, skilled and hardest-working bike advocates in Los Angeles. Many of the recent victories for bicycling in the city can be traced directly back to his efforts.

The LACBC — and the City of Los Angeles — are lucky to have him.

………

Finally, I’m told we can expect the city to install permanent street signs along the LA River bike path by the end of this month. I’m waiting for confirmation from my source, but it looks like you may soon be able to know where the heck you are on one of the city’s most popular bikeways.

And Margaret Wehbi forwards photos of the new bike racks in newly bike-friendly downtown El Segundo.