Tag Archive for Bike the Vote

Morning Links: CM Cedillo turns a deaf ear to pleas of bike riders, portraying cyclists as bullies from the 1%

December 17, 2014 / / 8 comments

Evidently, 1st District Councilmember Gil Cedillo doesn’t understand how democracy works.

Word from yesterday’s LA City Council session is that Cedillo turned a deaf ear to the pleas of bike riders begging for a safer street on North Figueroa, and instead went forward with a plan to install diagonal parking rather than the bike lanes called for in the city’s already approved bike plan.

As anyone who has ever ridden or driven past cars attempting to back out of an angled parking space can attest, that does the exact opposite of improving safety.

Standing in the same chamber where retired councilmember Bill Rosendahl famously declared that “the culture of the car is going to end now!,” Cedillo insisted that he would not be bullied by cyclists.

I didn’t know that the pleas of a traffic minority group begging for a safe place to travel on our streets amounted to bullying; it seems more like a constituent group lobbying an apparently uncaring elected leader for relief, to me. Which is the very definition of democracy in action.

But what the hell do I know.

Cedillo also described bike riders as “the one percent,” deliberately miscasting cyclists with a term used to imply social and economic exclusivity, based on census data that bike riders make up just one percent of LA’s commuter traffic.

Never mind that the one percent stat only refers to rush hour commuters, and does not count the many people who ride to school or to do errands. Or the many low income, often immigrant, riders in his own district who ride to and from their jobs any hour of the day, often because they have no other way to get there.

And this from a man who publicly professes his support for immigrants to anyone who will listen.

Of course, no one should be surprised by the cold shoulder bicyclists received from Cedillo. Ever since his election last year, it has been clear that he intended to renege on the promise he made to support bike lanes on North Figueroa, back when he still needed our votes.

Cedillo has evidently made the political calculation that he doesn’t need our support to retain his office, in a city where incumbent councilmembers almost never lose elections.

Let’s hope we can prove him wrong.

More disappointing is that no one else on the council, or in city government — all the way up to the mayor’s office — has had the courage to stand up to the real bully in the room.

On that day nearly five years ago when LA bike riders finally found the voice we so desperately needed at City Hall, Rosendahl proclaimed, speaking for the full council, “We’re going to give cyclists the support they should have been getting.”

Unfortunately, Rosendahl has left the council.

And the support for cyclists appears to have gone with him.

……..

Be careful riding in Glendale, which once again ranks near the bottom on a list of America’s worst drivers.

……..

Local

Who says no one rides in the rain?

LA Curbed offers a look at the design finalists for the planned bike/ped bridge over the LA River at the Glendale Narrows.

The Mid City West Community Council is teaming with the LACBC to offer a bike safety class on Sunday, January 11th.

Streetsblog spinoff Longbeachize celebrates its first anniversary tonight with a happy hour at the Blind Donkey in Long Beach.

 

State

An arrest is finally made after at least six cyclists were knocked off their bikes by a thief who then rode off on the bicycles in San Francisco’s Panhandle area.

Another would-be bike thief is busted after trying to wrestle a bike from a man inside a store in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.

 

National

Cycling Savvy offers ten tips for successful bicycling in traffic.

Bounce back from your next hard ride with a little tart cherry juice.

More Denver residents are biking and walking to work, thanks in part to the city’s investment in better bike infrastructure.

An 18-year old Boston hit-and-run driver was allegedly under the influence of prescription drugs when he took out a cyclist and five parked cars while fleeing police; the rider is expected to survive, no word on the cars.

In more bike thief news, a Louisiana man is busted for burgling a $5,000 bike from a Mandeville bike shop.

 

International

We all know about the most popular bicycling movies, but what about the top five unknown cycling films?

No, really, the doping era in pro cycling is over. Even though a Mexican rider was arrested smuggling EPO through an airport.

Turns out bicyclists in the UK’s north may be marginally tougher than their southern counterparts.

Excerpts from a new book reveal the ugly drug-fueled final days of Italian cycling legend Marco Pantani.

 

Finally…

No, seriously, if you’re going to rob a pedestrian while riding your bike, make sure he’s got more than $7 on him first. It might have been more helpful if advice on how to bike home with your Christmas tree had come before most people had already bought one.

And caught on video: A cyclist survives a collision with a hit-and-run deer that violated his right-of-way, then fled the scene without stopping to render aid or exchange IDs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uCeyUl_9U

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Today’s post, in which I don’t exactly endorse anyone — and urge you to wake the sleeping bike giant

November 3, 2014 / / 6 comments

The future of bicycling in LA County and the State of California is in your hands.

Or more precisely, awaiting your vote.

Bike the Vote LA offers a full slate of endorsements for your voting pleasure in tomorrow’s election.

I’ll leave it to you to make your own choices.

Though I will point out, for those in his district, that District 43 Assembly Member Mike Gatto has proven himself to be one of the most effective members of the legislature — and one of the best friends bicyclists and pedestrians have among California’s elected officials.

……..

As for myself, I plan to cast my ballot for Bobby Shriver for LA County District 3 Supervisor to replace Zev Yaroslavsky.

While I have a great deal of respect for Shiela Kuehl and all she has accomplished at the state level, I’m troubled by her responses to the LACBC’s candidate survey earlier this year. Especially this one, in response to a question about whether she would support protected bike lanes in her district:

Yes, I would, so long as it doesn’t reduce the total number of lanes available to cars.

In other words, she would automatically rule out road diets, even though a US government study shows they can improve safety for all road users by 20 to 50%. And protected bike lanes have been shown to reduce injuries by as much as 90%.

Meanwhile, Shriver expressed strong support for complete streets, and pledged to build at least 40 miles of new bikeways each year.

But don’t take my word for it. Click the links above to read both candidates’ responses, and decide for yourself.

I also plan to vote for Jim McDonnell for LA County Sheriff.

While I’m troubled by his heavy-handed crackdown on the nascent Lang Beach Critical Mass — including bogus tickets and the illegal seizure of some riders’ bikes — I’m impressed by his responses to the LACBC survey. Especially his willingness to meet with cyclists and establish a bike liaison program similar to the LAPD’s to help resolve conflicts between the department and the riding community.

And I have a real problem voting for a candidate who has barely campaigned for the office he’s seeking, and has spent his entire career in a department riddled with allegations of corruption and civil rights violations, as his opponent, Paul Tanaka, has.

On the other hand, I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to throw my vote away by casting it for Republican Neel Kashkari, who has virtually no chance of beating incumbent Governor Jerry Brown. Particularly in light of his misguided pledge to halt California’s planned high-speed rail system — or as he calls it, Jerry Brown’s crazy train — which was approved by voters in 2008, long before Brown took office.

But I can’t in good conscience vote for a man who vetoed every piece of hit-and-run legislation that passed his desk, as Brown did this year.

Is it too late to vote for Meg Whitman?

……..

One last note. Or rather, vote.

I will be voting in favor of LA County Proposition P, which in effect replaces two soon-to-expire property taxes that have funded parks and bikeways throughout the county.

Prop P would create a 30-year stream of funding for parks and open space, beaches and trails — including, possibly, a 22-mile bikeway from Claremont to Rosemead.

Yes, we could all benefit from lower taxes.

But if Prop P fails, everyone in LA County will be poorer for it.

……..

Finally, a quick reminder.

As we’ve noted before, LADOT estimated in the 2010 bike plan that there are roughly 400,000 people in the City of Angels who ride a bike on a monthly basis.

Which is about 22,000 more than bothered to vote in the last city election.

And there’s no reason to believe the same doesn’t hold true throughout the county, where only 17% of registered voters bothered to cast their ballots in the June primary.

That makes bicyclists the sleeping giant of LA politics, with the power to sway elections — especially close ones.

But only if we remember to vote in terms of our own self interests.

Or bother to vote, period.

Because we have the power to ensure a bike-friendly future for the City and County of Los Angeles.

And as we’ve seen, it only takes electing the wrong person to undo hard-won the gains we’ve made.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LACBC Bikes the Vote in June’s county elections, and anti-bike San Marino NIMBYs attack

May 18, 2014 / / 3 comments

Things are starting to get interesting.

As we discussed earlier, the LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee* crafted questionnaires for the candidates for LA County Supervisor and Sheriff in next month’s primary election.

Now responses have finally come in from some of the leading candidates, including Hilda Solis in the 1st District, and Bobby Shriver and Sheila Kuehl in the 3rd, as well as Jim McDonnell, considered by many to be the front runner for county sheriff.

And they have some intriguing things to say.

Personally, I’ve been leaning towards Kuehl. But I’m starting to seriously question that choice based on her comment — which she repeats twice — that she supports bike lanes as long as they don’t reduce the total number of lanes available to vehicles.

In other words, she’s not in favor road diets.

Even when they reduce speeds and improve safety and livability for everyone. And she seems to be in favor of maintaining the automotive hegemony that has made a shambles of our city and county, and put the lives of their residents at risk.

But other than that, she has some good things to say.

On the other hand, Shriver seems to get that overcapacity encourages high speeds and dangerous driving, and that narrowing lanes and installing bikeways can help tame traffic.

Meanwhile, McDonnell has some good things to say about the role law enforcement can play in making the streets safer and more equitable for people on bikes, and improving relations between the department and county cyclists.

I don’t know yet how I’m going to cast my ballot, whether for these or any of the other candidates who’ve responded to the surveys. But one thing I can guarantee you is that I won’t vote for anyone who didn’t respond.

Because we have a right to know where the candidates stand on the issues that matter to us. And to make an informed decision based on their responses.

Whether or not we happen to agree with them.

*Full disclosure: I chair that committee, and helped write the questions along with LACBC Planning and Policy Director Eric Bruins and some truly outstanding volunteers, including the guy in the next paragraph — and I don’t mean Gil Cedillo.

………

Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Rick Risemberg agrees that you should read what the candidates have to say about bikes now, or be sorry later. And uses 1st District City Councilmember Gil Cedillo — who didn’t respond to the LACBC’s questionnaire for last year’s city election — as the poster child for what could happen otherwise.

The LA Times notes Kuehl and Shriver also disagree on the plans for the Subway Not Quite to the Sea as it passes through Beverly Hills and under the high school. And whether that really matters at this point.

………

Evidently, they have NIMBYs in San Marino, too.

Annonymous opposition has arisen to what had been expected to be a fairly smooth route to adoption of the city’s draft bicycle and pedestrian plan (pdf).

Their objections seem to focus on the plan’s regional connectivity with other local jurisdictions — which could bring dreaded outsiders on bikes! to their fair city. And worse, those dirty, smelly cyclists might “freshen up, shower and change clothes” in their precious parks and schools.

Ooh, scary!

The only thing missing is a reference to Agenda 21. Although I’m sure someone will bring that up at today’s meeting to discuss the plan (pdf).

San Marino flyer front

San Marino flyer back

If you live or ride in the area, you might want to be there.

Because your voice will be needed.

Thanks to BikeSGV for the heads-up.

San Marino Meeting

………

Mark Cavendish bookends the Amgen Tour of California with victories in the first and final stages, while Bradley Wiggins wins the overall title and sets his sights on making the team for the Tour de France. Bike prodigy Peter Sagan won the penultimate stage in a sprint to Pasadena City Hall, as a Spanish cyclist celebrates one lap too early.

Meanwhile, Cadel Evans is back in pink at the Giro d’Italia, as Pieter Weening sprints to victory.

………

Local

Former LACBC board member Michael Cahn writes that a bike rider was injured by a car in Santa Monica on Saturday. And examines both how it happened, and what can be done to prevent something similar in the future.

Paramedics rescue a bicyclist who apparently suffered a heart attack while riding on a bike path next to Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country.

 

State

Not even pedestrians are safe from hit-and-run drivers, as a UC San Diego professor is killed while walking on the sidewalk with her husband; thanks to Mark Ganzer for the heads-up.

KCET looks at Bike Week in Ventura County.

 

National

Passersby help free a Seattle bike rider trapped underneath a truck after she’s apparently right-hooked by a drunk driver.

The bicycling equivalent of a dude ranch is planned for a location near Arizona’s Saguaro National Park.

A 90-year old Arizona driver “thought” he had enough room to pass a trio of bike riders; instead, he hit all three, killing one. Something has to be done now to ensure older motorists are still safe to drive before they kill someone, not after.

A Colorado e-bike builder develops a bike-pulled emergency response trailer to help people stranded by natural disaster.

A Michigan bike builder specializes in wood frame bikes.

 

International

Former Trinidad and Tobago national team cyclist Roger Smart was killed while driving on the island, the second member of the team killed in a collision in the last two months.

An Irish bike rider on 3,000 kilometer fundraising tour for his sister’s medical expenses says the county’s drivers are going to kill someone, and it might be him.

Drivers in an Aussie state could now face up to two years in jail for endangering cyclists, motorcyclists and “riders of animals.” I assume they mean horses. Or do they have a lot of koala and wallaby jockeys Down Under?

Nice. A 60-kilometer Hiroshima expressway has bike and pedestrian lanes for its full length, even as it connects six separate islands.

 

Finally…

Cambridge, UK cyclists are being targeted by a drive-by egger. And an Aussie writer wraps her story in so much anti-bike bile it’s impossible to take seriously. Which is too bad, because she  actually has a point.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

More bicyclists than voters in L.A., and it’s déjà vu all over again as 3-foot law makes a comeback

March 28, 2013 / / 5 comments

If you don’t remember anything else from today’s post, remember this.

Only 377,881 Angelenos bothered to cast a ballot in the city election earlier this month. That’s less than the estimated 400,000 people who ride a bike in Los Angeles every month.

If we don’t have power in this city — and we don’t — it’s our own damn fault.

Seriously.

If you don’t care enough to vote, don’t complain about the dangerous streets and lack of infrastructure you’ll help saddle the rest of us with in the years to come.

………

A California legislator makes a third attempt to pass a three-foot passing law — and get it past two-time veto pen wielding Governor Jerry Brown, who seems to be popular with everyone but bike riders these days.

This law seems significantly better than the last version; as I read it, it requires a minimum three-foot distance even when passing cyclists riding in bike lanes, unlike last year’s bill. And this one includes the exemption allowing motorists to briefly cross a double yellow line to pass a bicyclist, which is the excuse reason Brown gave for vetoing the last bill, and which seemed credible to virtually no one.

Even Sutter didn’t buy that crap.

Meanwhile, a bill that would have required drivers to be tested on their knowledge of bike laws and infrastructure was inexplicably gutted by it’s own author; it now deals just with distracted driving.

………

CD 14 Council Member Jose Huizar supports bike lanes on a reconfigured Colorado Blvd, while Tom “Bike Bell” LaBonge comes out against bike lanes on Lankershim. A public forum was held at Occidental College to examine the battle over NELA bike lanes; reports are cyclists came out in force, even if those who regularly ride the corridor were bizarrely called outside interests. Walk Eagle Rock addresses, in advance, some of the concerns expressed at the meeting.

Meanwhile, KCET’s SoCal Connected offers a good look at the bike lane controversy, which really shouldn’t be one unless you consider cars more important than human beings. The Times examines the conflict over a planned bikeway on Polk Street in Baghdad by the Bay; Boyonabike effectively dissects the story to expose an inherent anti-bike bias.

And apparently, building bike lanes is no easier in Riverside. Or Omaha, for that matter.

Once everyone is done attacking bike lanes, I’m sure Mom, baseball and apple pie will probably be next.

………

Flying Pigeon says the recent Rowena road diet creates the opportunity for a real bike network. MyFigueroa presents the updated plan for Downtown’s iconic boulevard on Tuesday, April 9th with guest speaker Charlie Gandy, who I want to be when I grow up. LA/2B offers a March update without really saying anything. Not surprisingly, UCLA says children who live next to parks are more physically active, which should be an argument for more parks, everywhere. An L.A. cyclist enters a light-bearing helmet in the James Dyson Award competition. The West Hollywood city council promises to leave room for possible future bike lanes in approving the La Brea streetscape design, while the WeHo Bicycle Coalition invites you to ride the city’s new sharrows on Fountain, Sunday, April 7th. VeloNews uses the recent Wolfpack Hustle Marathon Crash race to explore the trend towards unsanctioned bike races across the U.S. Will Campbell wishes a jerk cyclist a nice day. A French couple stops in Malibu halfway on their round the world tour. KCBS-2 says there’s a turf war between cyclists and pedestrians on the beachfront bike path. The Santa Monica Bike Center celebrates women and bikes tonight with a Cycles and Suffragettes Tea Party. Glendale considers capping the 134 Freeway with a park. Environmentalists and mountain bikers clash over access to backcountry routes in the Angeles National Forest. Ride to benefit Habitat for Humanity in Palos Verdes on Saturday, April 6th; and mark your calendar for the Ride 2 Recovery Honor Ride in Agoura Hills on Saturday, April 27th.

What it’s like to ride a belt drive bike. Firefighters rescue an injured mountain biker from Laguna Canyon. A look back at the founding of the Redlands Bicycle Classic in 1984. Once again, we’re reminded that bicyclists need to follow the rules, and assured that virtually none of us ever does; yawn. Biking to Costco is easy; biking back with a fully loaded trailer, not so much. A San Francisco writer enters a Dickensian urban underground in search of his stolen bike.

Riding is usually a refuge from whatever is going on in our lives, but not always. An evangelical minister has travelled nearly 220,000 miles and worn out seven bikes after leaving Portland in 1993 to spread the gospel by bike. Jackson Hole WY cyclists have a month-long car-free route cut in half due to budget cutbacks. A Corpus Christi publication correctly observes that if the roads aren’t safe for cyclists, they aren’t safe, period. For the second time in three days, a hit-and-run driver runs down a cyclist in a Louisiana parish; the first rider was killed. Before it was Motown, Detroit was a bicycle town. Bikes to be banned at Ohio State University; not unlike like their football team. The granddaddy of unsanctioned fixed gear races rolls this weekend with the Red Hook Criterium. Why don’t police take a broken windows approach to traffic violence? New York cyclists are posting living wills online begging police to investigate the crash if they killed. A petition calls for adding bike and pedestrian pathways on New York’s famed Verrazano bridge.

Science looks at why bicyclists ride through red lights. São Paulo cyclists fight for justice after a rider loses an arm in a hit-and-run. Canadian students develop a crash-test dummy to study bike collisions, something that’s long past due; one of my life’s goals is to establish an academy to study the unique forensics of bicycling collisions. Even cities in the Northwest Territories consider bike lanes, while Whitehorse wants help updating the rules. A UK plastic surgeon claims vanity is driving middle-aged male cyclists to have varicose veins removed; mine were caused by the road raging driver who deliberately crashed into me, so I’m keeping them as a reminder, thanks. British Cycling wants to get more people biking to work. Brit cyclists will soon get a four-mile train tunnel repurposed as the country’s longest underground bikeway; in this country, it would soon be overrun with homeless camps and lurking criminals. A Queensland Sikh successfully fights a ticket for not wearing a bike helmet. Two Christchurch cyclists are killed in three days. Scofflaw Tokyo cyclists could face up to three months in jail.

Finally, the Onion says it’s pretty incredible that American’s are entrusted to drive cars; yes, it’s satire, but there can be a lot of truth in humor. And as if parking in a bike lane isn’t bad enough, a Santa Cruz man is arrested for jerking off in one near a junior high school.

No, seriously.

Ewww.

……..

Thanks to Neil Myers for the kind words; always good to hear from a new reader. Especially one who isn’t pissed off or wants to threaten me.

And I somehow forget to offer passover greetings to my Jewish readers; fortunately, it’s an eight day holiday, giving me time to atone for my mistake. 

Chag Pesach sameach!

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Los Angeles bicyclists claim partial victory in Tuesday’s apathy plagued election

March 6, 2013 / / 8 comments

LA-City-Hall-— TreesCall it a mixed bag.

Last night’s election results showed some major victories for L.A.’s bicycling community, along with some painful losses.

Along with a number of cases where we have no idea how the winners stand on issues important to Los Angeles cyclists.

In the most important race, however, we can claim a clear victory as Eric Garcetti and Wendy Gruel both qualified for the May runoff election. Then again, victory in that race was a given, as all five major candidates for mayor were on the record with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition for their strong stands in support of bicycling in the City of Angels.

So regardless of who wins in May, we can expect at least another four years of support from the mayor’s office. And hopefully, continued progress on the streets.

City Council is another matter, as a several bike supporters fell to defeat, while a number of other candidates either won outright, or qualified for a runoff without responding to the LACBC’s survey or taking a public stand on the issues that affect our right to ride and safety on the streets.

In District 1, Jose Gardea took a strong stand in support of bicycling, while Gil Cedillo failed to respond. This district has long been represented by termed-out councilmember Ed Reyes, who has been a strong supporter of bicycling.

District 3 was won outright by Bob Blumenfield last night. He failed to respond to the survey, so we currently have no idea whether he supports bicycling; we’ll have to wait until he casts his first few votes in City Hall to get a feel for where he stands. He replaces Dennis Zine, who hasn’t always been a friend of bicyclists.

Westside District 5 Councilmember Paul Koretz easily won re-election last night, and has gone on the record supporting bicycling, though he questions the much-needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd.

Felipe Fuentes claimed an outright victory in District 7 without completing the bike survey; he replaces Richard Alarcón, who was not always a reliable voice for bikes.

In District 9, of the two candidates who qualified for the runoff, current state Senator Curren Price did not respond to the survey, while Ana Cubas did, promising to work with the LACBC to make L.A. a more bike-friendly city. However, Price did take a stand in support of bicycling when he ran for the Senate in 2009.

District 11’s Mike Bonin won election outright last night. Not only did he complete the LACBC survey, I’m told he’s an even stronger supporter of bicycling than Bill Rosendahl, the councilmember he replaces, who has been the bike community’s best friend on the city council.

The crowded field in District 13 resulted in a runoff between Mitch O’Farrell, who has been one of the strongest candidate voices in support of bicycling, and John Choi, who failed to respond.

Finally, District 15 was won outright by incumbent Jose Buscaino, who failed to complete the survey.

While I’m disappointed that some of the leading voices in support of bicycling, such as Odysseus Bostick in CD11 Josh Post in CD13, failed to qualify for the runoff, strong bike supporters either won outright or made the runoff in both districts.

Meanwhile, Emanuel Plietez, who was featured here recently, was always a long shot to qualify for the runoff; in fact, he finished last among the major candidates for mayor. However, he has a lot to offer the city and the bicycling community, and hopefully we see his name again in another race in the not-too-distant future.

The bigger disappointment, however, was the lack of turnout by L.A. voters. And L.A. cyclists.

Just over 285,000 people bothered to turn out for the election, a pathetic 16% of eligible voters. And far less than the estimated 400,000 regular bike riders who live in this city.

We have the power to permanently change this city and its streets for the better. But L.A. will never be the city it can and should be until the bike community gets off its collective ass and into the voting booth.

The LACBC will redouble its efforts to get all the remaining candidates in the runoff on the record for where they stand on bicycling issues. Including the race for City Attorney between Mike Feuer and incumbent Carmen Trutanich, which makes the all-important decisions on how bike and traffic laws are interpreted and enforced in the city, and who gets charged with breaking them.

But it’s up to you to get out and support the candidates who support us.

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , , , ,

Waking the sleeping giant: The future of Los Angeles bicycling is in your hands — and ballot — tomorrow

March 4, 2013 / / One comment

We could own this city.

After years of begging for crumbs at the city table, Los Angeles cyclists have finally been offered a seat of our own, earning respect and support from our elected leaders.

The result has been a dramatic change on the streets of L.A. From a bold new bike plan to the first-ever ordinance treating harassment of cyclists as a civil, rather than criminal, offense, allowing bike riders to take scofflaw drivers to court themselves for the motorized threats and violence that occurs on our streets.

A law so innovative, it’s rapidly spread far beyond our city limits.

Not to mention new buffered bike lanes, green lanes, an upcoming bike share and next month’s CicLAvia to the Sea.

It’s been enough to make hell freeze over, as formerly bike-unfriendly L.A. has become just the opposite in a remarkably short period of time, since our outgoing mayor fell off his bike following the last city election.

And it could all go away just as fast.

The progress we’ve made has come as a result of a mayor who understands the power of bicycles and bike riders to transform the city for the better. And city council members who’ve fought for improvements on our streets, including anti-harassment standard-bearer Bill Rosendahl, and Downtown/Eastside bike champions Reyes and Huizar, just to name a few.

Two of those three will join our mayor in being out of office by the end of May, along with five others. In fact, only one of the eight council districts up for election this week features an incumbent running for re-election.

Which means that L.A.’s continued progress in making the streets safer and more inviting for bike riders depends entirely on who wins Tuesday’s primary election and advances on to the May general election.

Which, despite the name, has nothing to do with electing military leaders.

What is does have to do with is shaping the future of a city that is finally moving in the right direction, yet still has a very long way to go.

A lot depends on who is elected as the city’s new mayor.

It’s the mayor who will select the next police chief, and determine whether the department continues as one of the nation’s most progressively bike-friendly law enforcement agencies or reverts to the bad old days when we were treated like criminals for simply for riding the streets. And were virtually powerless to do anything about it.

It’s also the new mayor who will appoint the next head of LADOT, and determine whether the city continues its newfound support for non-motorized transportation or reverts to the auto-centric motor-maniacal capital of car culture it was for far too long.

NOTE TO MAYORAL CANDIDATES: Anyone who promises to poach Janette Sadik Khan from the New York Department of Transportation will have my vote. And my undying gratitude.

Meanwhile, the winners of the eight odd council districts — that’s odd in the numerical sense, rather than strange — will control the purse strings that dictate whether the streets get repaved and the bike plan built out. And whether cyclists will enjoy a willing ear before the council as we have since 2008’s infamous Mandeville Canyon incident.

Or whether we’ll get a political wink and a nod, and be politely shown the door as we were for the many decades that came before.

The funny thing is, we hold more power than we may think.

Because instead of begging for crumbs, we could decide who sits at every chair in City Hall.

That’s because, according to estimates included in the city bike plan, Los Angeles has somewhere around 400,000 bicyclists who ride at least once a month.

And only 285,658 people bothered to vote in the last mayoral election.

I’ll wait while you do the math.

Even subtracting bike riders who may not be old enough or eligible to vote for whatever reason, it still makes bicyclists one of the largest untapped voting groups in the city.

If we turn out in force and vote in our own interests, we can decide the outcome of every race in every election in the city, and every other city in the county, for that matter.

If only because most Angelenos don’t care enough to vote.

And ensure not only that we’ll enjoy a bike-friendly city government for the next few years, but that L.A. will continue to remake itself into the livable, world-class city it should be — and that Los Angeles bicycling will continue to grow in numbers and safety for the foreseeable future.

Chances are, nothing you do on Tuesday will be more important than the ballot you cast. Even the May general election pales in comparison, because you won’t have bike-friendly council candidates to elect in May if you don’t vote for them now.

It’s long past time to wake the sleeping bike giant.

………

Before you vote, check out the candidate questionnaires collected by the LACBC, which managed to get every candidate for mayor on the record supporting bicycling in the City of Angels, along with 14 of the 39 city council candidates. And I’d almost forgotten that CD13 candidate Josh Post offered his thoughts on how to take L.A. biking to the next level right here last May.

Those other 25 council candidates who didn’t bother to respond include some people I genuinely like and respect. But speaking strictly for myself, I wouldn’t vote for anyone who wasn’t willing to tell you where they stand on bike issues.

Period.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times offers its endorsements, while noting that the mayor’s race is up for grabs; you can look up your polling place and sample ballot here.

And don’t forget to Bike the Vote on Tuesday.

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , , ,

It’s Election Day in L.A. And yes, your vote matters.

March 8, 2011 / / One comment

It’s high noon.

Otherwise known as Election Day in L.A. And just like in the movies, this town ain’t big enough for all the candidates — and the showdown is taking place at the polls across the city.

Most of the attention has been focused on the LaBonge/Box/O’Grady race in Council District 4. While history shows it’s virtually impossible to unseat an incumbent councilmember in Los Angeles, bike advocate Stephen Box has run a very smart race and stands a real chance of pulling off an upset, drawing support from throughout the biking community, as well as significant support from local food truck operators.

But make no mistake. Neither Box, nor anyone else in the CD4 race, is likely to reach the required 50% to avoid a runoff. Right now, my best guess is that we’ll see a runoff between Box and incumbent Tom LaBonge; however, this race looks close enough that any of the three could emerge on top. And any of the three — including the incumbent — could get left off.

So if you live in the district and care who wins — or who loses — get out and vote.

And yes, your vote matters — two years ago David Vahedi won the first round of the CD5 voting by just 60 votes before losing to Paul Koretz by a slim margin in the general election.

And this one could be just a close.

There are also vital elections in council districts 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. KPCC offers a great overview of each race, as well as candidates for the Board of Education, Board of Trustees and a raft of City Measures including pension reform, library funding and a proposed tax on medical marijuana.

You can find your polling place here. And if you can’t ride to the polls, you may be able to take a free taxi.

So you don’t have any excuse.

Now get out there and vote for someone who supports your right to ride.

.………

This week marks two important meetings as the BAC Planning Subcommittee meets today at 1:30 pm; the City Council Transportation Committee meets Wednesday at 2 pm to consider the proposed anti-harassment ordinance and Safe Routes to Schools. L.A.’s newly adopted bike plan will be effective the day we convert street parking or travel lanes to protected bike lanes. Matt Ruscigno is looking forward to a RAD Bike Night at the Hammer. The Times asks readers to name the ugliest intersections in L.A. Photos from Saturday’s CicLAvia fundraiser. How to use an eraser on the streets. In a fitting gesture, this weekend’s Tour of Murietta will honor fallen rider Jorge Alvarado.

Not surprisingly, young drivers are more distracted than older ones. If you don’t notice a lot of cyclists on the streets, it’s because we often take the roads less traveled by. One more reason to move to the front of the intersection, as riders stopped in traffic often enjoy two types of second-hand smoke. If anyone is surprised a lawsuit has been filed to force the removal of New York’s Prospect Park West bike lanes, you haven’t been paying attention. Zeke says you can now get a degree in cycling; if real world experience counts, I should have a PhD in bikeology. After a teenage bicyclist is killed, South Carolina cycling advocates question how safe the roads really are.

British officials recommend retaining the Cycle to Work program despite anticipated budget cuts. A cyclist’s helmet cam captures an assault, as a driver jumps out to throttle him. Another driver caught on video threatening a cyclist says he didn’t do it, really. Despite political claims that cyclists pose a danger to pedestrians, stats show just .03% of all London road injuries and 13% of pedestrian injuries are caused by bikes. The definitive refutation of the UK’s long-abandoned road tax. Lots of cyclists supplement with flax, now your next bike could, too. Then again, you could just print it instead. An Aussie man intentionally runs over his lover after seeing him kiss a woman; Cyclelicious looks at the hidden phenomenon of drivers using cars as weapons — which seems to happen on a daily basis, as many cyclists can attest. Naked bike ride season has officially begun.

Finally, after bragging about her new bike, a cyclist learns a lesson in humility courtesy of a low-flying pigeon; no, not that one. And you can vote to honor a hero dog who helped save his master’s life after a bike accident.

Happy Mardi Gras! Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , ,

Bike the vote in CD2

September 22, 2009 / / Comments Off on Bike the vote in CD2

As Stephen Box points out, today could turn out to be one of the most important days in determining the future of cycling in L.A.

That’s because today there’s an election to fill the city council seat recently vacated by former Transportation Committee Wendy Greuel. And whoever is elected to represent the 2nd Council District will have an outsize influence on the council, since many of the members currently on the council are in their final terms — and thanks to the effects of term limits, will soon be more focused on running for their next office than representing the district they currently serve.

Which is not so much a comment on our current council members as it is a comment on a highly flawed system that throws out the good with the bad.

As Box put it:

Los Angeles has a Mayor and a City Council made up of 15 Councilmembers. A significant number of those in office are lame ducks, politicians in their last term who can’t run for reelection. The person who wins the CD2 seat is in a position to set the tone for the next round of candidates who run for the even numbered seats in 2011. That’s seven seats and the person who wins today will be setting the pace for that race. As for today, there are ten candidates and it’s a bit late to try to cover the many issues and the many positions and the many debates and the many forums. Suffice to say that there are two kinds of candidates, those who embrace the Cyclists Bill of Rights and those who don’t.

I’ve written before how cyclists can have an outsized influence on the electoral process. In the CD5 primary, the winner was determined by a total of just 60 votes — votes that could have easily come from the cycling community.

60 votes.

And with 10 candidates in today’s election, this one could easily be closer. Which means that your vote may never mean more than it does today.

You can learn more on Stephen’s blog, where he has video from four of the candidates, and written statements from two more. And over at Streetsblog, Damien Newton has done a great job covering the race from a more general transportation perspective.

But whatever you do, if you live in this Valley district that wraps around the west sides of Glendale and Burbank, from Mulholland to the Verdugo Hills and west to Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks, get out and vote.

Because your vote today could determine how you ride tomorrow.

……..

A cyclist was injured in a collision behind the Orange Curtain. The hit-and-run epidemic has spread to the East Coast. New York cracks down on illegal rental bikes. Boston plans to put more bikes on the street to end its bike unfriendly image. There’s a new shockproof, waterproof bike mount for all you iPhone users. Bike & Brew reaches Kalamazoo. The wife of British gold medalist Bradley Wiggins was hit by a car while riding over the weekend; as usual, the driver claims he just didn’t see her. A ghost bike in Bogota. Finally, ride your bike to the polls when you Bike the Vote in CD2 today — after all, it’s World Carfree Day.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,
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