I think she meant the community in regards to the working class people, bus riders, moms, security guards…that’s the community, but of course I am not a mind reader.

I had a great time at the Bike Summit, but when I talked to many of the students at Trade Tech, many who take public transport and ride their bikes, they seemed not be aware of what the Bike Summit was, which was a bit weird.

Also I talked to many people who were artists and cyclist with more working class roots and got this very cold response in regards to me attending the event. I went up to my friends who I know are very into cycling and they just sort of stared at me and I wondered why they weren’t there, because some of these people live in the Eco-Village which I know was closely related to the Bike Summit.

And please don’t shoot the messenger, because I try very hard to be an objective observer, but objective doesn’t mean never giving constructive criticism, but they said in general and I’m going to say this politely but they said they didn’t feel included and they felt really marginalized and the language that some of the cycling community uses in regards to:

oppression and equal rights

That came up alot actually.

I have a unique position of having friends on both sides in LA and there are definitely two sides in LA.

I can tell it’s really hurtful to people who have seen different kinds of struggles and I heard alot of that hurt when I talked to people. I don’t know if you guys care, but I’m just putting it out there, because I feel like it should be said.

Great successes at the Bike Summit, I got a lot of info, I met alot of cool people, but still it’s that thing. And I think that’s a bridge that needs to be built or crossed or something.

Browne

Other cities know what works for them, but LA has many unique issues that need to be addressed.

I’m looking forward to moving on all the areas discussed at the LA Bike Summit………………:)

“Later, during the Question and Answer portion of the presentation, Solares and the other speakers seemed somewhat confused when asked where the funding for these bike studies come from. In most bike-rich cities studies such as these are built into the budget, not something special that needs a special appropriation.”

I had a really sarcastic comment, but I’ll ditch it to say that L.A. (despite its $400 million deficit) has A LOT of money. If we cannot start pulling from general transportation funds to hire bike planning staff and pay for bike improvements, we’ll never get where we need to be.

I’ve been hearing about the MTA’s money, and the State’s money, oh, and don’t forget about peanuts from the Feds – these pots of money cost too much to obtain. L.A.’s got the resources to build a bike network and to make big parts of the city more livable.

It is not about growing the pot of money, we need to shift where the money goes. General transportation money going to speed up cars via the “ATSAC” money pit is a great example. Take that money and improve signal timing for bus, bike and pedestrian traffic. Use the ATSAC staff to time lights for these modes and to find places in need of new walk signals.

Coordinating this type of effort with a program to re-do every single sidewalk in L.A. (wider and better if possible) would make an immediate improvement in the physical infrastructure of the city.

No special plans needed, no new money required.

The reply to my question was another question, “Have you thought about running for office?”

After thinking of that response for awhile, I realized that we can’t expect our council members and mayors to magically solve our problems. WE must be our own champions and demand that our elected officials respond to our needs as bicyclists and pedestrians. Only then will we have bike champions within the elected ranks.