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A new mayor may not fix what ails Los Angeles, a bike street can improve the whole neighborhood, and Caltrans schedules PCH workshop

October 29, 2026 / / 2 comments

Somehow, I managed to get through today’s post, after spending all day yesterday flat on my back with my eyes closed to keep the world from spinning around me. 

Good times. 

As for today’s photo, scroll down lower to see what I missed out on over the weekend, dammit. 

……….

It’s not just you.

Crosstown says Los Angeles is spending more and getting less, in a town that’s “not designed to work.” And getting a new mayor won’t fix things.

From street sweeping to tree trimming, Los Angeles residents are seeing less of the basic services they rely on.

With the mayoral race heating up, candidates are promising to fix the problem. But Los Angeles is spending more and getting less — and whoever wins will inherit a system that limits how much they can actually change.

In five years, Los Angeles’s budget grew 34%. The number of sidewalks it repaired fell 33%.

Residents are feeling the effects in their neighborhoods. In 2021, Los Angeles cut street sweeping from weekly to every other week. In Westlake, a group of volunteers responded by picking up trash the Bureau of Sanitation left behind, said Elaine Alaniz, president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council.

Never mind that the city went eight full months without repaving a single stretch of roadway last year.

Then there’s this.

Rick Cole, an advisor to Nithya Raman’s mayoral campaign, has spent 40 years working in city governments across Southern California. For Cole, the decline in services is the symptom of a deeper problem. In June, during a farewell speech at City Hall as he stepped down from his role as deputy controller, he told the crowd, “LA is not designed to work.” Decades of ignoring “mind-numbing bureaucracy” have made the city ungovernable, he said. “Beneath the broken sidewalks is a broken system.”

On the other hand, Karen Bass has had nearly four years to fix things, and hasn’t shown up for anything but homelessness and rebuilding after the Palisades fire until she was faced with a fight for reelection. And hasn’t made a lot of progress on the former, and complaints from literally burned-out residents on the latter.

So if you like the job she’s done, and the city we have today, vote for her.

If not, don’t.

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A new German study has found that transforming even a busy street into an “advanced bicycle street” can change the character of the entire neighborhood.

Momentum did a good job of translating the dense study results into something a little easier to understand.

Researchers examined Oeder Weg, a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 mile) street in central Frankfurt transformed into what they call an advanced bicycle street. The project went beyond adding signs. It combined traffic restrictions with physical changes intended to make the street safer, more comfortable and more useful to the surrounding neighbourhood.

Before the changes, Oeder Weg carried as many as 9,183 motor vehicles a day, well above the recommended volume for a bicycle street under German guidelines.

The city began by designating it a bicycle street in August 2021. The following April, it introduced bollards, planters and barriers to restrict car access at key entrances and discourage through-traffic. Other changes included red-painted intersections, marked dooring zones, additional bicycle parking and the removal of some on-street parking. Those spaces were repurposed for restaurant patios, greenery, street furniture and delivery zones.

While cars were still allowed on the street, diverters prevented drivers from using it as a shortcut, cutting daily traffic rates nearly in half while increasing bicycle traffic by 25%.

And contrary to common fears, traffic did not increase on the surrounding streets, but actually decreased throughout the entire neighborhood. In addition, traffic collisions fell by nearly half, while bicycling collisions dropped 27%, despite the increase in bicycling rates.

………

Caltrans is hosting a virtual public meeting next month to discuss safety improvements on LA’s killer highway.

Caltrans District 7 invites you to the second virtual public workshop for the PCH Segment A Safety Improvement Project – Project Initiation.

Whether you attended a previous workshop or are joining us for the first time, we welcome your participation. This second virtual workshop provides another opportunity to learn about the project, ask questions, and share your input.

Workshop Details

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Register here: PCH Segment A (meeting link will be sent upon registration)

The project is in the early Project Initiation Document (PID) phase. The workshop will cover the proposed safety improvements and alternatives being considered. Your feedback will help inform the evaluation and refinement of these concepts.

Please share this invitation with others who may be interested. For additional information, visit the PCH Segment A Safety Improvement Project webpage.

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A new movie screening at Laemmle theaters next month is described as “not just a ‘bike film,’ but a film where the bike is the philosophy.

According to a publicity email I received yesterday, A Simple Machine was inspired by a novel from Evan P. Schneider.

Shot in luminous black and white in Portland, it follows Nick Allander (Richard Blackmon) as a recent grad drowning in debt who chooses radical frugality. His bicycle becomes his tool for economic independence: mobility without debt, technology that enhances human agency, instead of extracting from it. In a city where cycling is cultural currency, Hoffman reframes the simple machine as a deliberate choice toward simplicity, dignity, and embodied presence.

This moving film will be in LA on Nov 16 at Laemmle NoHo 7, and on Nov 17 at Laemmle Monica Film Center. Q&As with director Mark Alan Hoffman and star Richard Blackmon will follow both screenings, and Santa Monica Spoke is doing a “ride to show” event on the 17th.

Meanwhile, a new documentary tells the story of a 51-year old Army vet who rode her bike across the US and became a Paralympian after losing her eyesight while working as an EMT.

………

Last weekend I was invited to take part in something I would have jumped at under other circumstances — a ride to San Diego on the Pacific Surfliner, followed by a Brompton ride through the city.

Unfortunately, I had to turn it down, despite the combination of two of my favorites, Bromptons and trains.

I’m tempted to say that sometimes dealing with diabetes and the various associated medical conditions suck.

But it sucks all the time.

75 Riders, One Train, Two Cities: Brompton and Pacific Surfliner Celebrate Partnership With LA-to-San Diego Ride

California, October 27, 2026 – Brompton, the London-based folding bike brand, celebrated its new partnership with the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner by bringing 75 riders and their Bromptons aboard the Surfliner from Los Angeles to San Diego. The ride showed how rail and a folding bike together can replace the car for both the daily commute and the weekend adventure.

A bike turns a train trip into a door-to-door journey, and the Pacific Surfliner makes it easy to bring one, with free bike reservations on every train. A folded Brompton goes one step further, riding as carry-on luggage with no reservation necessary. That flexibility is what lets a group this big travel together on a single train.

On Saturday, October 24, riders boarded the Pacific Surfliner at Los Angeles Union Station, with more joining along the way. In San Diego they unfolded their bikes and explored Balboa Park, Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter and the Embarcadero, then took the ferry to Coronado Island to watch the sunset at the Hotel del Coronado. Train, bike, ferry and back: a full car-less day out.

The partnership brings together two leading names in urban mobility: the iconic folding bike brand and the busiest state-supported intercity rail route in the country. Together, Brompton and the Surfliner aim to show how multimodal travel can fit into daily life, and they’re doing it as more Californians choose the train. Preliminary July 2026 figures put the Pacific Surfliner on pace for the highest monthly ridership in its history, with more than 300,000 passengers.

“Southern California is our fastest-growing market in the US, and it’s easy to see why,” said Alex Balansay, Brand Manager at Brompton North America. “The climate, the coastline and a growing rail network make it one of the best places in the country to travel without a car. Saturday showed what that looks like: 75 people, one train, and a whole city to explore at the other end.”

“A great rail journey doesn’t begin or end at the train station,” said Jason Jewell, Managing Director of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service. “Making it easier for passengers to connect to their final destinations is an important part of improving the overall travel experience. This event highlights how folding bikes and passenger rail can work together to give travelers more flexibility, convenience and freedom to explore Southern California without relying on a car. We’re excited to showcase how simple first- and last-mile connections can open up new possibilities for our riders.”

Riders can plan the same trip themselves. On the Pacific Surfliner, folding bikes under 34 x 15 x 48 inches ride free as carry-on luggage with no reservation. Full-size bikes need a free bike reservation when booking.

Schedules and tickets are at pacificsurfliner.com, and Brompton models and dealers are at brompton.com.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

Boston is ripping out a newly installed protected bike lane in front of a senior home, after residents complained they weren’t consulted first, it prevents them from crossing the street, and kept an ambulance from pulling up right in front; meanwhile, the head of a local advocacy group offered a perfectly reasonable response promising to work with residents to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

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Local 

That’s more like it. Long Beach has secured the funding for a $73 million project to move a spectrum of Shoreline Drive out of César Chávez Park, and convert it to a miles-long network of open space. Because cars don’t belong in parks, period. 

LA Times readers take the paper to task for a recent article that basically said “boys will be boys” while using illegal e-motorbikes, not unlike I did yesterday.

Congratulations, Los Angeles, your official slogan for the ’28 Olympics is “Stars Align.” Which could pretty much refer to anything, and therefore means absolutely nothing.

 

State

Calbike says California could soon have its best chance in years to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop, aka Idaho Stop, aka Stop as Yield, because Governor Gavin Newsom will soon be out of office, after vetoing two separate versions of the bill.

USA Today takes up the sentencing of 33-year old Samuel Matthew Rocha to 27 to life for intentionally killing 16-year old Pedro Valdez as he rode his bike in Port Hueneme, in a traffic crime rampage that began with a confrontation with another man in a case of mistaken identity.

A Bakersfield bike rider suffered major injuries when they were struck by the driver of a white vehicle. Because evidently, the color of the car has a big impact on how bad the crash is, pun intended.

Sad news from Visalia, where a 63-year old woman was killed when she tried to make a left turn on her bicycle, and was struck by an oncoming driver.

San Francisco Streetsblog says a new 0.2-mile quick-build protected bike lane wasn’t quick, it’s not really protected, and it’s not continuous, with gaps for handicapped parking and a bus stop.

 

National

A woman in an undetermined city posted video of a driver getting stuck in a protected bike lane, as she walked ahead of him — never mind that as a pedestrian, she didn’t belong in the bike lane, either.

The New York Daily News calls for rejecting a ballot measure that would speed approval of street safety projects, including bike lanes, because of “lawless” ebike riders, most of whom are riding e-motorbikes that aren’t legally allowed in bike lanes, anyway. But then they hide the editorial behind a paywall, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of voicing their opinion in the first place.

The NYPD called off a “hastily planned” raid on an ebike parking lot used by hundreds of delivery workers, because a) it’s not illegal for bikes to be parked in spaces which would otherwise be used by motor vehicles, and b) the workers politely moved to the other side of the street. Although a local radio station says the raid was called off after cops spotted reporters waiting for them.

Oddly, New York continues to function as a world-class city, as Mayor Mandami announced plans to redesign a 2.1-mile stretch of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets. Something Los Angeles somehow seems unable to do.

A Florida police captain will ride his bicycle around a four-mile park route for 24 hours to raise funds for a Spanish-language religious mission.

 

International

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 39-year old road-raging driver walked without a day behind bars for grabbing a bike rider by the neck and throwing him to the ground and causing a serious brain injury, for the crime of being in his way.

 

Competitive Cycling

The chief of USA Cycling says the one thing missing after Brandon McNulty won the world road championship is an American WorldTour race.

Nineteen-year old ‘cross cyclist Tofik Beshir has a long way to go in his recovery after he was struck by a driver while on a training ride three weeks ago, as his teammates rally around him; a crowdfunding page has raised has raised over $142,000 of a $200,000 goal.

Instagram post

 

Finally…

You know you’re good when you set a new Strava KOM during a photoshoot. And apparently, bicyclists legally using the roadway are road hogs.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

15-year old ebike rider busted for DUI, HLA foot-dragging means worsening LA streets, and trial date for killer Vegas teens

March 26, 2025 / / Comments Off on 15-year old ebike rider busted for DUI, HLA foot-dragging means worsening LA streets, and trial date for killer Vegas teens
Day 85 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Teenaged ebike riders are in the news once again.

And once again, for not-so-good reasons.

Like the 15-year old boy who was busted for DUI after crashing his ebike into a parked car in Newhall Monday night, suffering minor injuries and major problems.

Or the 16-year old ebike rider who was hospitalized after getting hit head-on by a driver while riding salmon in Rancho Cucamonga Tuesday morning.

Although, as always these days, the question is whether these scofflaw victims, who haven’t been publicly identified, were riding electric motorbikes or ped-assist bicycles.

Because police reports and the press don’t seem to be able to distinguish between them.

………

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, the city’s foot dragging on implementing Measure HLA is resulting on worsening conditions on some of the streets that had been scheduled for repaving.

That’s even though pavement cracks and pot holes can pose a significant risk to bike riders, especially after dark when they can be almost impossible to see.

And even though Los Angeles has already paid out large settlements for bike riders seriously injured by crumbling pavement.

………

Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys, the two formerly teenage suspects accused of recording themselves laughing as they intentionally ran down and killed former Bell police chief Andreas Probst as he rode a bike in Las Vegas, are now scheduled to go on trial November 3rd.

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This is what the Vermont Corridor could look like, if Metro continues to refuse to comply with Measure HLA, which requires bike lanes, as well.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

He gets it. Former Top Gear host James May calls out the “anti-cycling rage” of London’s Telegraph newspaper, saying the “anti-cycling opposition out there ‘smacks of sheer bloody-mindedness.'”

………

Local  

Streetsblog takes a look at the newly opened Big Dalton Bike Path, nee Vincent Community Bikeway, which traverses three-miles through Irwindale, Covina, Azusa and unincorporated points in between, and is part of a planned 130-mile bike network through the San Gabriel Valley.

The manager of the Velo Pasadena bike shop says the shop has been burglarized “constantly” since the start of the pandemic, losing a total of over a hundred grand worth of bicycles — including three break-ins in just the past three months.

 

State

The Triathlon Club of San Diego talks with BikinginLA sponsor, Oceanside bike lawyer and tri supporter Richard Duquette.

La Mesa is starting its own ebike incentive program, offering 150 vouchers to people over 18 who live and plan to ride in the city. Let’s just hope they manage to do a better job than California has so far. 

After Berkeley gave 56 free ebikes to a group of low-to-moderate income residents, they reported driving less, but also learned how crappy it is to ride there.

Marin County approved an ordinance banning children under 16 from riding Class 2 throttle-controlled ebikes; presumably, Class 1 ped-assist bikes are still okay.

The Sacramento city council was scheduled to vote on approving a quick-build bike lane program for the state capital. Something a certain megalopolis to the south could stand to emulate. 

 

National

A writer for Cycling News says skip the power meter, and use a heart monitor instead — even if it’s ugly and sits on your chain collecting grease. Or better yet, skip them both and just enjoy riding a bike if you don’t race for a living.

A legal website calls out the deadliest and safest states for bicyclists, as well as offering strategies for how to make things safer. Good news and bad news — California didn’t make either list. 

Bike riders in Houston protested the removal of concrete armadillos along a formerly protected bike lane; they had intended to form a human bike lane, but moved to the sidewalk when police threatened them with criminal sanctions. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

You’ve got to be kidding. An Illinois county board member was cited for a lousy crosswalk violation, despite leaving the scene after hitting a little kid riding a bicycle with the walk signal; she ended up driving herself to the police station, claiming she was confused and didn’t know what to do. Seriously, if you don’t know that you’re supposed to stick around after a crash — especially after hitting a little kid — you shouldn’t be driving. Or in office, for that matter. 

New York State will begin an ebike voucher pilot program in Ossining offering up to $1,000, with plans to eventually expand to the greater Hudson River region. Apparently, the rest of the state can keep paying retail. Unless you know a guy with a few that fell off a truck. 

 

International

An English man was left shaken after he tried to recover his bicycle from the young thieves who grabbed it outside a bike shop; he was chased, threatened and beaten, but somehow ended up with his bike.

Researchers in Sweden and Iran have developed a better shock-absorbing material that contracts bilaterally, resulting in bike helmet liners that provide better protection from head injuries; because it’s 3D printed, it can also be custom crafted to fit individual heads.

Forbes says add sunny Morocco to your bike bucket list.

An exploring website says the story of the bike-touring Chinese grandmother calls out the problem of “silver tourism,” as China caters to older tourists, while most Western country’s don’t.

A Kiwi website credits the extensive bike lane network Christchurch built after the city was devastated by a 2011 earthquake for its high rate of bike riding, using the damage as an opportunity to re-envision its streets. Something else a certain SoCal megapolis could learn from after the recent fires.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian police raided the home of a doctor previously “affiliated” with a professional cycling team, after noticing “atypical prescribing behavior” that raised the possibility of doping practices. But the doping era is over, right? 

 

Finally….

Apparently, bike lanes make it hard to visit long-closed libraries. Now you, too, can take your final bike ride after you’re gone.

And if you’re not inclined to walk your bike up an incline, maybe you should be.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Union Station Bike Hub opens today, and LA wastes millions earmarked to fix crumbling streets

November 15, 2017 / / 10 comments

I hope you’ll forgive my unexcused absences for the past few days.

The good news is, my wife is doing well, and should be back home from the hospital before the week is over.

And my beleaguered laptop is up and running again, leaving me somewhat poorer, but back on the job. Let’s hope it stays that way.

We’ll just assume that nothing important happened while we were gone.

Right?

………

LA’s biggest Bike Hub is opening today at Union Station. The new Metro site will offer secure parking for up to 200 bikes for $5 a week, or $60 a year.

Photo by Metro’s Julia Salinas, taken from The Source website.

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KCET examines the crumbling state of LA’s streets, and the risks it poses to people on two wheels.

Not to mention the needless expense to the city, as the Bureau of Street Services has returned tens of millions of dollars to the city, rather than making desperately needed street repairs, even as the city pays out millions in legal settlements to injured riders.

………

It’s been a heartbreaking few days for elderly bike riders.

A 76-year old man was killed in a collision while riding his bike in Bakersfield; John Rous was a well-known and longtime member of the local riding community.

An 80-year old British bike rider was killed in a collision with Tesla, which may or may not have been driving itself.

An 83-year old man in the UK was killed when his bike apparently hit a pothole; new rules could mean that more British potholes won’t get fixed.

An 86-year old Indian man was killed in a collision with a truck as he was riding his bike to an outdoor gym.

………

Rest easy, folks. Ed Sheeran is playing guitar again, and promises he’ll keep riding his bicycle, despite injuring both arm in a recent crash.

………

Let’s catch up with a couple of stories we missed from last week.

Manhattan Beach voted to install sharrows and bike route signs throughout the city. Even though one councilmember is afraid they’ll just embolden cyclists to ride exactly where they’re supposed to.

UCLA students plan to form their own neighborhood council, and split with the “NIMBY and obstructionist” Westwood Neighborhood Council. While the story is about housing, the Westwood NC has also been active in blocking much needed bike lanes in the area.

Mobility advocates gathered in Leimert Park for Untokening California to discuss creating greater equity in transportation.

Next year’s CicLAvias will include a seven-and-a-half-mile route from Disney Hall to the Hollywood Bowl on September 30th, with performances by the LA Philharmonic orchestra along the way. And ending with a free performance by the orchestra at the Bowl.

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Local

A writer in the UCLA paper calls for an awareness campaign to get students to walk and bike more safely.

Bike SGV names Doug Strange their Community Advocate of the Year; the founder of the reborn La Verne Bicycle Coalition will be honored at their 2017 “Noche de las Luminarias” awards dinner next month.

Pasadena-area Rotarians will meet this weekend to assemble 300 bicycles for underprivileged children.

Santa Monica is moving forward with plans for a “radical” transformation of traffic-choked Lincoln Blvd into a more human-scale Complete Street.

 

State

Newport Beach police are looking for man riding a red cruiser bike who was seen following a San Bernardino County prosecutor before she was severely beaten while jogging in a park this past August.

A Riverside bike rider was shot in the leg as the result of an attempted robbery.

In a bizarre story, a Bakersfield man died in police custody shortly after using a fake gun to threaten a woman riding her horse on a bike path.

Sad news from the Sacramento area, where a 19-year old North Highlands man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike.

Sacramento State University is now a silver-level BFU. And no, that does not stand for Big Effing University.

A Marysville woman has been arrested in last week’s hit-and-run that left a bike rider seriously injured; she was taken into custody after calling the police to claim her car was stolen before the crash. An excuse that never seems to work in real life.

 

National

The GOP Senate wants to take away your measly $20 monthly benefit for riding your bike to work; the Bike League has more information on what you may be about to lose.

Architectural Digest examines how the threat of vehicular terrorism will change our cities in the wake of the New York bike path attack.

Bicycling offers tips on how to wash your bike.

A Seattle grandfather is suing after being left a paraplegic when he crashed into an unmarked bollard on a bike trail, which probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

An Iowa bicyclist says no, really, it’s much safer if she doesn’t give you any warning as she glides past on the sidewalk. That is what is technically known as a load of crap.

Evidently, flipping off the president pays. A Virginia woman who was fired from her job after her employers learned she was the bike rider who was photographed flipping off the presidential motorcade will receive at least $77,000 from a crowdfunding campaign. She says she did it because he wouldn’t have heard her through the glass.

 

International

A new crowdfunding campaign promises to turn your bike into an ebike for just $299, with an extra eight pounds of weight.

The Cuban record holder for the world’s tallest tall bike is working in tandem with the previous record holder, LA’s Richie Trimble, on a 20-foot tall tandem.

A Montreal website offers tips on how to stay safe and warm on your bike this winter. Which is especially good advice here in Los Angeles, where it sometimes gets down to a frigid 60 degrees.

Actor Robert Pattinson is one of us, as a gossip site freaks out when he’s spotted riding his bike in London without a helmet. Which is perfectly legal there, just as it is here.

A new UK survey shows 78% of people support protected bike lanes, even if the politicians don’t.

Three people were injured when a French driver with “psychiatric problems” deliberately plowed his car into a group of students.

Lithuanian students illustrate how much space cars take up, and how little bikes need.

A Mumbai website says everyone has a right to be safe when they ride a bike, from milkmen to champion cyclists.

………

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews reminisces about the great Bernard Hinault on his birthday.

Cyclist magazine explores why Chris Froome isn’t considered a legend.

Phil Gaimon released a statement about repeating the rumor that Fabian Cancellara was a known motor doper in his new book, after the Swiss rider’s lawyers demand the removal of the book.

 

Finally…

It’s a sad day when a dog has better form on an upright bike than I do — even if he does need training wheels. No matter how threatened you feel by drivers, riding with an AR-15 is probably not the answer; neither is claiming you just found it in the street and were taking it to the police station.

And if you’re going to ride your bike with a stolen Glock in your pants, put a damn light on it.

The bike, that is, not the gun.

………

Thanks to John P. Lynch for his generous contribution to support this site, as well as his kind wishes for my wife and laptop.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

An open letter to the L.A. City Council — let’s move forward, not retreat to our auto-centric past

January 9, 2013 / / 4 comments

Dear Council Members,

It was just three years ago that CD11 Councilmember Bill Rosendahl famously stood before his fellow council members and declared that “The culture of the car is going to end now!”

True to his word, the City of Los Angeles has made remarkable progress in the last 24 months, rapidly expanding rail lines, moving forward on the long-promised Subway to the Sea — or Brentwood, anyway — and most improbably, being named a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community.

Although pedestrians seem to be lost in the process, as the city continues to remove crosswalks as it build others.

But now the city is threatening to backslide into the same old car-focused past that has repeatedly driven the many communities that make up our city into decline over the last half-dozen decades.

A new proposed bond measure promises to repair our crumbling streets, yet contains not one word committing to improvements for anything but motor vehicles, returning us to the bad old days of automotive hegemony that CM Rosendahl had promised was in the past.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea, though not everyone agrees; some are quite vocal in their opposition for a number of reason.

Yet no one can deny that our streets are crumbling. Too many L.A. streets now resemble the cobblestones of Europe, as a broken patchwork of pavement causes collisions and needless costs for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.

And fixing them now makes sense, sparing Angelenos the estimated $750 a year in added repair costs, not to mention the untold cost to repair countless broken bikes — and broken bones — suffered by cyclists who hit potholes or swerve dangerously to avoid them.

Historic low interest rates mean the city can borrow the money at favorable rates, and repave the streets now at a fraction of the cost it would cost in decades to come. And since the bond will be funded by a relatively insignificant increase in property taxes, the work can be done without adding to the city’s debt burden.

The problem, as always, is in the details.

Or the lack of them, as far too much as been left out of this measure.

Like a commitment to implementing bikeways contained in the city’s new bike plan as those streets are repaved, dramatically cutting the cost of implementation since those streets would need to be repainted anyway. And potentially cutting the time to build out the bike plan from 30 years to perhaps half of that, or less.

Worse, there is absolutely nothing in this massive bond issue that promises to repair the city’s broken sidewalks, estimated to cost $1 billion to $1.5 billion. Leaving a massive obstacle to creating more livable and walkable communities, while failing to give people an incentive to get out of their cars and off our highly congested streets.

My own wife has been injured twice as a result of tripping over broken sidewalks, suffering first a broken foot, followed by wrenched knee that continues to cause her problems to this day. How many others have been similarly injured, or simply stopped walking in their own neighborhoods because it’s simply not worth the risk?

Clearly, this will not be an easy measure to pass.

It will require a two-thirds majority, something very difficult to achieve as the recent failure of Measure J demonstrated, despite getting over 66.1% of the vote.

Which means you’ll need every vote you can get for passage, including the support of bicyclists and pedestrians. And right now, we have no incentive to support it — let alone vote yes in May.

In fact, as far as I’m concerned, this is dead in the water unless significant changes are made.

The city needs to make a firm commitment to building out the bike plan as streets are repaired, and rebuilding our streets using best practices that benefit all road users — based on the new mobility plan currently being finalized, rather than the outdated version it will replace.

It also needs to include provisions to fix our sidewalks. After all, while most Los Angeles residents are drivers, we’re all pedestrians at one time or another. And this will never be the great city it can and should be until we are free to walk when and where we want, safely and enjoyably.

Let’s also not fall into the old trap of treating infrastructure as separate elements; streets and sidewalks and crosswalks should be rebuilt as a single Complete Street designed to move people, not vehicles, and bring renewed life to all our communities. And they should incorporate Safe Routes to Schools, while providing necessary access for the disabled.

Granted, CD12 Councilmember Mitch Englander has promised that much of this will addressed down the road.

But with all due respect, you’ll excuse us if we don’t settle for promises than can be broken down the line. These matters need to be included in the ballot measure, locked in as part of the bond issue.

This morning’s City Council session will be visited, not by three ghosts, but by a phalanx of impassioned bicycling, pedestrian and safety advocates determined to fix this bond measure before it goes to the ballot in order to win their support, and the support of countless like-minded Angelenos such as myself.

Listen to them.

Then act on the suggestions they make.

The success of this bond measure, the livability of our city and the safety of its residents depends on it.

Sincerely,

Ted Rogers
Bikinginla.com
Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

A meditation on bicycling and driving in the City of Angels

February 24, 2009 / / 2 comments

One quick note: I emailed Paul Koretz and Ron Galperin again yesterday to offer the use of this site to address the cycling community. If they still don’t respond, I can only conclude that they’re just not that into us.


I don’t drive much anymore.

You see, our apartment is walking distance from just about everything I need. And these days, most of my clients accept that I can work just as well, if not better, from home. So my car spends far more time in the garage, covered in dust, than it does on the road these days.

But every now and then, I need something that isn’t within easy reach, and isn’t practical to do by bike.

Like today, for instance.

So I was reminded once again why I’d much rather be on my bike than slog through weekday traffic in L.A. — especially now that our rapidly crumbling infrastructure is making traffic slower and heavier than ever. But the drive helped me solidify a few thoughts that have slowly been taking shape within my overcrowded head.

For instance, I’ve long thought that L.A. drivers don’t respect the rights of cyclists. Behind the wheel, though, it becomes obvious that’s just not true.

Because it’s not just us.

They don’t respect pedestrians, buses, small animals or other drivers, either.

Not all of drivers, of course. Probably not even most drivers. But you don’t have to observe traffic very long to realize that too many people drive too aggressively and too carelessly.

They drive too fast. They pass too close. They cut off other vehicles. They turn without signaling. And they seldom, if ever, willingly yield the right of way.

In other words, exactly the same things we cyclists complain about.

But when you’re safely cocooned within a couple tons of steel, it may tick you off, but it’s usually not life-threatening. It’s just that the same actions that could cause a minor fender bender between two cars can result in serious injuries when a cyclist is involved.

Because we don’t have fenders. Or any other protection other than a helmet and a thin layer of chamois between our legs.

So it’s nothing personal. They don’t actually hate us.

They just really suck as drivers.

 

The Times continues their series exploring the issues with the candidates for CD5 with an examination of development on the Westside. Now the Google lets you check local traffic conditions before your ride. Under the heading of WTF: S.F.’s mayor calls for $20,000 bicycles for the planned Baghdad by the Bay bike sharing program. Meanwhile, my hometown takes a more populist approach. San Diego can’t figure out who’s responsible for a botched road resurfacing that’s injured four cyclists and counting (second item). Ubrayj asks what happened to the money budgeted for the city’s recently suspended bike licensing program, and offers some good insights into funding bike programs in a recent comment. Stephen Box questions why the city insists on restaurant parking, but won’t provide a promised bike rack.

And finally, don’t forget to register for the Los Angeles Bike Summit on Saturday, March 7 at L.A. Trade Tech College — looks like yours truly will be a late addition. But be kind, I bruise easily.

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