While I was on paternity leave there were a lot of stories that I would have covered if I had been writing.   I didn't want to let them pass without any commentary or coverage beyond a sentence in Today's Headlines.  H

AnsaldoBreda

After half a year of debate, numerous reports from Metro's new CEO staff begging them not to continue the contract and one of the most ethically challenged public relations campaigns I've ever seen; the Metro Board of Directors decided to extend their exclusive contract with Italian Rail Car manufacturer AnsaldoBreda.  You may remember that the company "promised" to build a rail car manufacturing plant in Greater Los Angeles if they got the contract, a fact that couldn't legally be considered by the Metro Board.

However, every month that went by since the debate erupted last March brought more reasons to not trust the rail car company.  Board Members Zev Yaroslavsky, the Westside's representative to the County Board of Supervisors, and Santa Monica Council Member Pam O'Connor were among the rail car manufacturer's harshest critics, but that wasn't enough to stop Mayor Villaraigosa and his allies from pushing the contract extension through.

At least Villaraigosa, who bent over backwards to keep his union supporters happy, didn't insult our intelligence by pretending the decision was made in the best interest of Metro or its riders.  One day after they extended the contract, Villaraigosa held a press conference announcing all the new jobs coming to L.A. with the new factory.

For our full coverage of the AnsaldoBreda controversy, click here.  Note that the coverage started neutral and became more negative as time went on.

Alarcón, City Council Offer Reward for Information on Deadly Hit and Run.

Earlier this week, Councilman Richard Alarcón succeeded in getting the City Council to allocate $50,000 dollars for any information on the deadly Hit-and-Run that killed Judy Ramos on July 28.  In a city where too often there seems to be a lack of energy on finding Hit-and-Run drivers, this is an encouraging sign of elected officials and the LAPD taking this instance seriously.  What would be more encouraging would be harsher fines for Hit-and-Run Drivers.  Under current law, there are harsher fines for drunk driving than hit-and-run driving.  This encourages murderous drivers to flee the scene of the crime.

For more information on the crash and how to inform the LAPD, visit this article in the Daily News.

OCTA Wants Ideas on How to Improve Transportation

h/t to Spokker and Transit Rider OC

The Orange County Transportation Authority has an online survey to solicit feedback from residents on how to improve transportation behind the Orange Curtain.  Naturally, the majority of the questions are about freeways and capacity enhancement, but at least this time they mention buses several times.  You can take the survey here.

Mel Gibson Gets DUI Expunged

I was shocked to find out that Mel Gibson was able to get his 2006 DUI Conviction expunged from his record; but I was even more outraged to read that such an act is routine in California.  The Times reports:

As a first-time drunk-driving offender, Gibson was eligible to have the conviction removed from his record after completing the terms of his probation. The expunging request and procedure is routine and took place before Judge Lawrence J. Mira during a 90-second hearing.

I guess it's a good thing that you have to drunkenly hit people with your car twice before hurting them or else this law would make no sense.

A New Bike License Controversy Brewing in Santa Monica?

We have yet to hear a report for someone getting ticketed, but our friends the Santa Monica Police Department are at it again.  Blogger Gary Kavanaugh noted that the SMPD is flyering about the need to have your bike licensed before you can ride in Santa Monica.  Long-time readers may remember that the LAPD was taken to task for abusing a state law that allows police departments to create licensing programs to help cyclists recover stolen bicycles.  The LAPD had to back off after it came to light they were handing out illegally high fines and repeatedly running out of licenses when cyclists asked for them.

Is Santa Monica going to copy one of LAPD's less than inspiring attempts at law enforcement?  The city has somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde reputation with cyclists.  On one hand, the city has more and better bike facilities per capita than any city in the county save Long Beach.  On the other, the SMPD are known to harass group rides to the point of comically over-policing Santa Monica Critical Mass and of course became national laughing stocks for taking a principled stand against people who exercise in public spaces.

Controversial Bike Lane Stays in Santa Clarita

Way back in August we discussed the angry reaction of some in Santa Clarita to new bike lanes on Decoro Avenue.  The City Council eventually reached a compromise after lengthy debate.  The bike lanes stayed and the road was re-striped to increase automobile capacity.  Hooray?

More TAP Problems

On the Metro Rider discussion forums, writer J Marino writes about how he was falsely accused of trying to evade TAP fares because the TAP readers were broken:

Fare officers started checking tickets about 7 stops in. They check my TAP card and tell me that it hasn't been used since June, 2009! This is clearly not true, but I have no way to prove it. Officers march me through the train like a criminal and escort me off the train at Imperial station. This is in Compton. I will probably catch hell for this, but I should mention that I am a 5'1'', 100-pound girl. And I'm stranded, alone, in Compton. Awesome. I also hold in my hand a citation that will cost me several hundred dollars to correct.

I bought another day pass (paper this time, no way will I trust the TAP card again), and headed right back home. As soon as I could, I called the number on the TAP card and spoke to a wonderful customer service agent, Rita, who verified that I had indeed bought and used a day pass through TAP that morning. She had me send copies of my citation, bank statement showing the $5 deducted for the fare, and ID to TAP customer service, stating that she would have the citation voided. Super!

When reader Erik Griswold wrote to Cubic and Metro about the issue he was told that monthly pass holders can avoid these kinds of problems by carrying their receipt with them.  Uhm, wasn't the point of TAP cards that Metro would move to paperless ticketing?  Now we're supposed to carry around a paper receipt?  I think I'll stick to day passes, thanks all the same.

It's no wonder that Foothill Transit announced they were opting out of the TAP system.

Photo: Brandon Wise/Daily Press

Responding to concerns over safety on a 12-block stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard after several pedestrians were struck over the past few years, City Hall launched a pilot project in which they condensed the busy corridor from Lincoln to Cloverfield boulevards from two lanes in each direction to one, hoping to calm the speed of traffic and eliminate some of the dangers posed in the previous configuration.

Nearly two years and several community workshops later, the project is still in its pilot phase, partly the result of an understaffed Transportation Management Division that lost two planners whose positions have yet to be filled. 

The Daily Press takes a neutral view on the controversy between motorists who complain about the traffic congestion and residents who view the 2007 narrowing of Ocean Park as a needed safety improvement.  If you read the article you'll see a rather dispassionate article examining both sides of the issue.  Given that, you might expect a rather even-handed evaluation from the Times.  You'd be wrong.

First, the headline of the LA Now post is, "Traffic is snarled on narrowed Ocean Park Boulevard," and second it only takes one quote from the Daily Press article.  Typically, it's the most inflammatory and pro-car one that you could imagine.

Lloyd Saunders remembers when Ocean Park Boulevard was his go-to route, driving on the neighborhood's main drag daily to reach any points east and west. Today, the 30-year Santa Monica resident avoids it at all costs, opting for other streets because of "bottleneck traffic" that he blames on the current configuration, which city officials changed from four lanes to two in December 2007. "It's hard to get onto Ocean Park because there's just a stream of cars," he said. "It's the sign of the times, there's so many darn people here (in the city) now."

Fortunately, the story does have a temporary happy ending as we wait for the final word from Santa Monica on whether to keep the configuration.  If you read the comments section of the LA Now, article; you'll find that as of this writing they couldn't find one person to back the position that there's something wrong with taking away a travel lane to slow traffic and increase bicycle and pedestrian access.

A Marine pedals through D.C.'s Congressional Cemetery. (Photo: M.V. Jantzen via Flickr)

The Post ran a letter to the editor on Friday that suggested as much, relaying the tale of a local resident named David Jordan who was prevented from pedaling to the military cemetery to observe Memorial Day. Jordan suggested that the cemetery's private security guards were discriminating against cyclists:

Of all the places in Washington, where the words "freedom" and "liberty" are uttered frequently, it seems especially sad and ironic that anyone seeking to pay his respects would be denied the opportunity simply because he wasn't in a car.

Today, the newspaper ran two letters responding to Jordan (viewable here and here). Both were sent by locals with family members interred at Arlington, and both expressed concern about bikers overrunning the facility if it were opened to them. One letter-writer worried that cyclists could turn the cemetery into "an exercise track".

As it happens, neither cars nor bikes are allowed to move freely through the grounds at Arlington. M.V. Jantzen A local blogger at WashCycle contacted the cemetery and found that cars and bikes are treated equitably when it comes to access issues.

The back-and-forth over cycling at Arlington appears minor on its face. But it could prove emblematic as lawmakers decide how to tackle bike and pedestrian access in the upcoming federal transportation measure.

For your information, the long-awaited repeal of the City's bicycle license ordinance is scheduled before the Los Angeles City Council tomorrow Tuesday, June 2, 10:00 a.m. as agenda item number 5:

ITEM NO. (5) - Motion Required
08-2944 COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY and ORDINANCE FIRST CONSIDERATION relative to repealing Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Section 26.01 regarding the City's bicycle licensing program. Recommendation for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR: PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying ORDINANCE repealing LAMC Section 26.01 regarding the City's bicycle licensing program. Fiscal Impact Statement: None submitted by the City Attorney. Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this report. Community Impact Statement: None submitted. (Transportation Committee waived consideration of the above matter)

A public hearing will be held.

Cyclists pack last week's City Council Meeting in Van Nuys after "Storming the Bastille."  Photo: Dr. Alex Thompson/Flickr

The City Clerk's office just emailed out copies of next week's City Council Transportation Committee Agenda.  When the Committee meets next Wednesday at 2:00 P.M. it will be celebrating Bike to Work week with an agenda full of bike items.

As has been the case at every one of these meetings, one of the main topics for discussion will be bike licenses.  This time, the final repeal of the city's bike license program will be debated.  However, just getting rid of the program isn't going to be the end of the story, there's also a motion by Ed Reyes an the agenda that simply reads:

I MOVE that the Police Department, the Department of Transportation and the Planning Department be directed to report with recommendations for establishing a Bicycle Safety and Licensing Program in the City of Los Angeles.

Also on the agenda is the maintenance of the Orange Line Bike Path, better leveraging federal funds for bike safety projects, a motion that would set aside some city funds from Metro for future bicycle and pedestrian programs, and one transit motion about examining the potential public-private partnerships for LADOT transit programs such as DASH and Commuter Express.

Sadly, there is no mention of the nine-months-overdue Bicycle Master Plan.

This Saturday, Crank Mob, possibly the largest of Los Angeles' group bike rides, had a more than interesting evening even by Crank Mob standards.  The Mob experienced a constant police presence including a road block and the detainment of several cyclists at the Ralph's at 3rd and La Brea.

After the police were summoned, perhaps because of a shoplifting incident which saw riders catch and turn in the alleged thief; there are many many reports that the police started harassing random cyclists in an attempt to control the mob.  Apparently, they didn't succeed as later in the evening the Hollywood District of the LAPD referred to them as a "herd of wild buffalo."

A big part of the LAPD's control strategy was similar to those seen across the country.  Grab a small group of cyclists and write up bogus citations.  Unable to effectively arrest those that were breaking the law, after all the Hollywood District didn't issue citations to the "herd of wild buffalo," the LAPD goes for a "guilt by association" strategy that leads to handcuffing and searching a pedestrian for crossing against a flashing red hand and more distressingly ticketing for a violation of LAMC 26.01 b "NO (sic) licence (sic) on Bike (sic)."  Handcuffing someone for not having a bike license?  For crossing the street against a flashing red hand?  What country am I living in?

What's really weird is I would have sworn that I read a report by LAPD Police Chief William Bratton that called for the ending of the program.  Even worse, I then remember the City Council approving Bratton's plan and suspending the city's program.  It's a good thing I write these things down, or I would assume I were going crazy.  Is the City Council just an advisory group these days?

No matter one's feelings on group rides, one should be able to agree that everyone deserves equal protection under the law.  On Saturday night, the LAPD didn't just thumb its nose at the LAPD Police Chief, and the City Council...they also took the opportunity to thumb their nose at the Constitution.

However, just to make sure there is no confusion as to the LAPD's intent, here is the exact wording from the report:

I recommend that we follow other large municipalities and discontinue our bicycle licensing program. Additionally, I have directed that Emergency Operations Division develop correspondence implementing an immediate moratorium on the enforcement of Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) section 26.01 requiring that all bicycles within the City be licensed. It is important to note that per Information and Communications Services Bureau, they were only able to identify five such citations issued by Department personnel. If this recommendation is approved, the Department will move forward with eliminating the City's bicycle licensing requirement (LAMC section 26.01).

Reaction to this afternoon's news has been quick as the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition has already thanked and congratulated everyone involved in getting this law repealed.  Executive Director Jennifer Klausner wrote:

LACBC was very pleased to see the correspondence from LAPD today and we thank all the agencies and individuals involved in conducting the research that lead to this decision.

Over at Midnight Ridazz they are slightly more succinct.  A poster going by i_junes responds to the news by simply posting:

VICTORY!

If you're new to Streetsblog and want to read why everyone is so happy, read on after the jump:

Late in the summer of 2008, Roadblock, one of the organizers for the Midnight Ridazz, was ticketed for not having a properly licensed bicycle while observing the police ticket another rider.  This led to a reaction of both confusion and anger from almost all parts of the disparate bicycle community with some preaching defiance of the law, some anger at the LAPD and many confusion that there was a requirement to have a bike licensed in Los Angeles.

Bike activists and bloggers got to work investigating the law.  What we discovered was the LAPD did indeed have statutory power to ticket people for not having a bike license, but the maximum fine was $10, not the nearly $200 that Roadblock received.  While the cost of getting a license sticker for your bike was only $2 a verhicle, licenses weren't available at most precincts ever and not at consistent hours at the few that did distribute them.  The Midnight Ridazz organized a ride to one of precincts that did license with 50 riders and shortly thereafter, that precinct ran out of licenses.

When the City Council Transportation Committee questioned the police about the program, LAPD Deputy Chief Paysinger seemed confused as to what was happening on the streets.  He came prepared to discuss protecting children's bikes from theft and instead ended up hearing a laundry list of complaints about the program from literally a hundred cyclists.  Councilmen Tom LaBonge and Bill Rosendahl requested that the program be suspended, but Paysinger refused promising to update the program early this year.

And update it they have.  The report, dated December 29, 2008, effectively ends this feud between cyclists and the LAPD.  Hopefully it is the start of a better relationship in the year to come.

Any comments on this story will be printed and handed to the Council Members at Wednesday's hearing.

(Editor's Note: This is the second in a five part series examining the five bike-related items on this Friday's City Council Transportation Committee Agenda.  The first piece looked at the city's bike sharing program while the second discussed the Bike Rider's Bill of Rights.  If you want to join a group of cyclists traveling to the meeting, meet at the Red Line Stop at Santa Monica and Vermont Boulevards at noon this Friday.)

Late last summer, the LAPD began sporadically enforcing a city requirement that all bicycles be licensed.  There was an outcry from some sectors of the bike community as most people weren't aware they needed to have a bike licensed and many others found police stations unable to provide those licenses.

On Friday, as part of their Bike Themed-Council Meeting, the city council will start getting some answers that cyclists have been looking for.   A resolution, sponsored by Council Members Ed Reyes and Dan Ruiz, notes that the LAPD had declared bike licensing defunct in March of 2007 and demands to know why the LAPD has decided to enforce the program while only giving out licenses at two police stations.

According the a March 29, 2007 report from the Department of Transportation, the City's bicycle license program is nearly defunct due to scarce resources. Bicycle licenses are sold intermittently by some local police stations and a few bicycle dealers who purchase them from the Office of Finance. Unfortunately, many LAPD divisions are unable to sell licenses at the station counters due to the high volume of other critical police duties.

While waiting for the City Council, some riders have taken matters into their own hands, organizing large group rides to the Downtown District headquarters to get licenses en masse.  While the district was able to sell as many licenses as were needed that evening, they weren't happy to have their front desk area over run with people seeking to protect themselves from harrassment should they be caught without a certain sticker on their bike.  Shortly thereafter, the District ran out of licenses for nearly two weeks.

As before, any comments left below will be worked into testimony I will deliver at the hearing.

Photo: KIDD 240/Flickr via marino at Midnight Ridazz

Cyclists Gather for a Group Ride in Front of Josef's Flying Pigeon Bike Shop

Bike licensing has become a hot issue in Los Angeles the past two weeks.  For those of you that haven't been following the story, some LAPD stations have decided to start enforcing an obscure law mandating that bicycles be licensed and registered through a state licensing program.  In response to ticketing of riders in the popular group rides, some Midnight Ridazz are organizing rides to LAPD stations on one of the few days every week the Central District station hands out licenses.

Last week Ubrayj02 attended the first of these rides.  He reports that for the most part, things went smoothly.

I arrived at the beleaguered 6th street police station later than I had hoped.

I rode a Flying Pigeon bicycle from my shop in Highland Park, stopping along the way to buy a tres leches cake at a bakery on Avenue 56 and Figueroa St. The bike was going to get licensed, the cake was a gift for the hard-working police who patrol downtown's Skid Row.

The bike made it to the police station in great shape, I wish I could say the same for the cake - which got a little smashed on the ride. The officers at the front desk appreciated the sentiment behind the cake, but didn't want what remained of it after a very bumpy ride in my front basket.

A cluster of fellow Midnight Ridazz were sitting on the steps outside the station. They had come for a variety of reasons.

Photo: Ubrayj02/Flying Pigeon Bicycles