(editor's note: This interview was recorded last Friday afternoon, hours before anyone was shot.  If we had talked afterward, you can bet that would have come up in our conversation.)

It's Friday, and that means throughout Los Angeles, cyclists are gearing up in some way or another for the weekend. Since February of 2004, when the Midnight Ridazz rode for the first time, a part of those weekends has included some sort of large, open group bicycle ride somewhere in the city. Or, as has become the case these days, several large group bicycle rides.

Recently, I had the chance to sit down with three "Originalzz." Since we decided to refer to them by their Ridazz handles, meet Ma Bell, Kelly Green and MuffMaster Flash. For the record, I'm only typing out the word "MuffMaster" one more time, so enjoy it.

I've wanted to do this interview since I got out here, because whether the Ridazz themselves realize it or not, Midnight Ridazz is a phenomenon. Back when I was sitting at a desk in New York writing testimonies about widening the New Jersey Turnpike, I knew about the Midnight Ridazz. It's a legend that's constantly growing.

Cruising through the pictures section of the current Midnight Ridazz website, a couple of things occurred to me. The shot of the first ride is a great example about how the actions of a few people can snowball and change the world. Of course, it also occurred to me that I had sat down with the only three Ridazz in the world who are somewhat camera shy.

For the first time, I had to cut some of the interview off. Our threesome talked for an hour and a half, setting a record for an interview, and they constantly mentioned the contributions of others to help the Ridazz roll off into the night and repeatedly gave me names of other people I should be talking to. Particularly, Kim Jensen, aka Skull, was a name that came up as often as the three names of Roadblock combined. As soon as we have Skype set up, we'll do something with her too.

In the meantime, you can read the abridged interview after the jump.

Kelly Green: I guess the precursor was the Critical Mass bike rides, but they never really caught on like they did in San Francisco. We were excited if we got forty of fifty people.

What started happening was a couple of bike focusing groups got started. People were going and hanging out at places like the Bicycle Kitchen or people would do their own rides after Critical Mass. For example,Joshua Moody would organize a "my favorite taco trucks" ride.

And that's how I ended up doing social rides. I was doing Critical Mass, but was looking for something else then I found a bunch of crazy, enthusiastic and bicycle riders and joined the Bicycle Kitchen.

Ma Bell: I moved here from Boston in 2003, and I didn't really have an experience with L.A. Bike Scene prior to that. My bike background was that I had briefly been a bike messenger in Boston.

So I was riding my bike around L.A. and a woman at Skylight Books, I think her name was Andrea saw me, saw my bikes, so my license plate and said, "hey, you must be a messenger. You should check out a place called the Bicycle Kitchen at the Eco-Village." That's how I got into the bike scene.

I knew about Critical Mass, but I could never get there on time from work

MM F- I discovered the bike scene when I did my first Midnight Ridazz. I had been a roadie back in Texas, and had been doing some riding in L.A.; but for the most part had put my bike away after moving here. Basically, I got here and said, 'Fuck this place, this is not rideable." But I had a mountain bike I had decorated for Burning Man. I heard about Midnight Ridazz from an old schoolmate - she and Kim Chi and I went to Art Center together. I came and brought this burner bike on the Bone Ride in July of 2004. There were about 40 people and by the end of the night I was like, 'this is it.' I had found how bike riding worked for me in Los Angeles.

Ma Bell: So I moved from Boston, and hanging out at the Eco Village, it was like that Blind Melon video (editor's note: that would be No Rain for the curious) where the girl is dressed like a bee and finds the other Bee People. That was me when I found the Bike Kitchen People.

Kelly Green: You even had a bee bike.

MM F: And a Bee Haircut

Ma Bell: So, by happenstance I was working at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and one of my colleagues there invited me to a show at the Knitting Factory. Myself and a friend of mine road our bikes to the Knitting Factory. I can't remember what the show was, but afterwards my friend, Kim (editor's note, aka Skull) said, "tomorrow night me and some friends are going for a bike ride, do you want to come with us?" I was like, "I'm there, what time and where?"

So, she gave me her phone number, and her address and told me to meet her at her apartment on Echo Park Boulevard across the street from Magic Gas at nine o'clock and we were going to go on a bike ride. So I come and there were two or three other people on bikes, two more on skateboards. Roadblock was on a skateboard. I know him as "Too Tall Jamal," I always call him "Too Tall."

Anyway, we jus t have a magical night. This was before the Downtown rejuvenation, and the streets were dead. You could hear a pin drop. There were no cars. There was no law enforcement. There was nothing. Closed doors and closed gates. The city was our adult playground. We could go up and down things and over things. Climb on things…and that was in the winter of 2003.

MM F: Actually if it was winter, it was probably 2004.

Kelly Green: The anniversary rides are in February, so February 2004.

Ma Bell: I didn't know the Downtown then, or really Echo Park, so I felt like I was lost in Wonderland. , You know Kim Jensen was the brains of this. It was modeled after the Bike Club in another city and the idea of riding at midnight came from rides she did while traveling in Cambodia.

A lot of people like to credit me and Kim for getting this started and keeping it going, but there were a lot of people who spent a lot of time and effort to keep it going. It was a real collaboration. A lot of people don't get fair credit for their contributions.

Kelly Green: One of my favorite early magical bike rides was when a bunch of people rode to see VBC (Very Be Careful, an old favorite LA cumbia band of the cooks at the Bicycle Kitchen) in Manchester. So we had this midnight trip to a disco club and late-night picnic on the sidewalk of the cop shop and when we rolled up on our bicycles the door people were like, 'what the hell?.' But we just walked in and danced our asses off.

MM F: As for Ridazz, my first ride was the Bone Ride. I guess by the time I came along it was on its sixth month or so. We were still meeting at Magic Gas. By now there was a clear protocol already in place and a lot of the people that get mentioned such as Joshua and Orlando they were already part of the picture when people thought of the rides. They would take up the rear and keep everyone moving and make sure people are ok or be up front and set the pace. At that ride I was one of the assholes that showed up with a bike that really wasn't working properly. I think it was Joshua who actually helped me a couple of times that night.

In her civilian identity, MM F has a long history of bike advocacy as shown by this profile in the Times.

Ma Bell: How romantic

(laughter)

MM F: There were a lot of people who would just automatically take care of the different aspects of the ride and help people out. No Rider Left Behind was already a slogan by the time I arrived -- The ethic of occasionally stopping and making sure everyone was with us or making sure someone stayed back who knew the root so they could eventually catch up.

In the beginning it was a real community. How many scenes can someone get involved with where they develop life-long friends? This was my first.

Ma Bell: You found your Bee People.

MM F: Yes. And we see this with so many people in so many ways. We've had romances come out of this, I met some of my best friends: Jen Hofer, and these two ladies here.

Jen, along with Kim Jensen, co-founded a group called the WhirlyGirls,(also known as the Los Angeles Ladies' Bicycling Association) which was partly a reaction to the very masculine energy that was already starting to run through Ridazz.

Re-Introducing, the WhirlyGirls.  There's a couple of familar faces here.

We can sing it for you if you'd like.

Ma Bell: Uhm

MM F: <laughter>

Streetsblog: That's ok. When I get a digital recorder back, we'll meet again and we'll do a whole story just about the song.

Ma Bell: There are two other things. One of the really cool things about the early rides was that they were at night. It added a key element of excitement because we were out and doing something that nobody else was doing in Los Angeles. Especially Downtown Los Angeles. It added a level of mischievousness and excitement to our trips to Downtown L.A.

I also wanted to add especially in conjunction with the Bike Kitchen we were getting a lot of people to do biking. I could walk around Echo Park and Silver Lake and never see anybody on a bicycle! It wasn't a lifestyle yet. There was this unique synergy of the Ridazz and the Bike Kitchen that really changed the face of all things bike. People were riding bicycles.

Now, if you look at the Midnight Ridazz website you see a ride everyday.

Streetsblog: Heck, you see a ride in the San Fernando Valley everyday, city-wide you see a lot of rides everyday. And, rides to other rides.

Ma Bell: That didn't exist before Midnight Ridazz.

MM F: Midnight Ridazz was seen as fun and sexy and that got things started for a lot of people. Then you had the Bicycle Kitchen making it more viable for people to have their own bike, and know how to work on it. That's a lot of what started the bike boom in 2004. I was doing some biking before, but now I was part of something.

There might be days when something would be getting me down, and I didn't feel like riding; but I'd keep doing it because I felt like I was part of this movement.

Kelly: And don't forget, Bike Summer of 2005.

<everyone says some sort of agreement at once>

Ma Bell: And another thing, the founding of Ridazz was very queer. The original Ridazz and rides were just…queer. In every meaning of the word.

Skull's Skull. Via Midnight Ridazz

MM F: Well only a couple people had access to laminating machines.

Streetsblog: I actually here from a couple people that the biggest mistake they made in Los Angeles was letting people know they had a laminating machine.

Kelly: Going back, awhile back I was at Forever 21, that crappy store, in the men's section there was a t-shirt that said, "Midnight Riders, Los Angeles Chapter" that had a picture of a bicycle on it.

<mixed reactions of bemusement and disgust>

Streetsblog: Well, I guess that's the price of success. You guys didn't have a copyright lawyer on staff? So what were some of the favorite rides?

Kelly: The Stairmaster Ride. We had about 80-100 people at that one.

MM F: I like the Heavy Metal Ride. It was amazing to me how many people already had the clothes and outfits to do it. Everyone's a metal fan inside.

Kelly: At the end of the ride didn't Too Tall's band play?

MaBell: Yeah, his AC/DC cover band.

Streetsblog: Uhm, Roadblock had an AC/DC cover band?

Kelly: Yes!

MM F: You missed out on that one.

Streetsblog: I totally should have talked to you before having dinner with him last night.

Ma Bell (gesturing at Kelly's Tron Ride t-shirt): The Tron Ride

Streetsblog: How did you do that, did everyone wear cardboard with blue lights?

Ma Bell: No, we got a bunch of those fluorescent bendy lights and handed them out to people in groups based on the speed people wanted to go. Each group had its own route as we criss-crossed the city.

Streetsblog: That sounds amazing.

Ma Bell: The concept was amazing, but the execution was a little off.

Kelly: I didn't like that one, even though I'm wearing the t-shirt because (Kelly proceeds to tell a story about a young woman who she took care of after breaking her nose that I'm omitting as to not embarrass the woman if she happens to be reading this).

Streetsblog: So, I don't see you out there on these rides anymore, when were your last rides.

MM F: My last Midnight Ridazz ride was the Pirate Ride in 2007. There were 1,400 people, and it was just too many. I still do a lot of social rides with my friends. A small group biked down to Manhattan Beach on the 4^th, and it was one of the best rides I had done in a long time.

Kelly: Mine was actually more recent. As part of the Bike Summit I organized with Joe Linton the Root Down Ride Around which visited a lot of the old sites from the early days. I invited Joe to design the flyer/spoke card illustration and help me come up with the root.

Ma Bell: The whole thing had just gotten to be too much. Ridazz was becoming my monthly anxiety attack, the police would call me at home….

MM F: Yeah, with such a large group, it was impossible to keep everything together. I heard a story about one guy who bragged to a motorist that he was "1,200 deep" (she does some gangsta style motion with her arms) like that made him invulnerable. We also had more confrontations with the cops and even people pulling knives and guns on the rides.

People don't know this, but we almost killed Midnight Ridazz…instead a group of the core got together and eventually we turned it over to Too Tall. The thought of killing it made too many people too sad.

Ma Bell cooks at the Kitchen.

MM F: The same with the Bike Kitchen.

Ma Bell: I just got off the Board of that a couple months ago. I still volunteer sometime.

Streetsblog: Hey, I think you helped me build my bike! (Upon a review of my pictures and an old Street Heat story, it was Mike Hammer who helped me build my bike. Ma Bell gave my Mom's bike its first tune-up in nearly a decade.)

Ma Bell: I thought you looked familiar…But, the point is we haven't stepped away from the cause. I'm as devoted now as I ever was.

And Leahy appreciates what it means to be an Angeleno. "In Los Angeles people have vision and a belief in exceptionalism. When I say that Los Angeles is the best city in the world and I want it to have the best transit agency people don't bat an eye."

And what does the best transit system in America look like? Leahy professed no favorite project when I asked him if he had a favorite Measure R project, but did get excited and animated when we talked about bus routing. In Leahy's view, Metro's biggest challenge include making the buses run on time, and that buses that arrive and leave early are a bigger problem than those that run late.

"Our schedules are a contract with our customers. And if a bus leaves at 8:41 when it's supposed to leave at 8:42 that's breaking that contract. A bus that leaves a minute early is worse than one that leaves a minute late because someone is going to be waiting much longer than a minute for the next one and it can throw off the entire system. "

Leahy went on to explain that early leaving buses are going to be getting less and less people every time it stops while the other buses trailing are going to get more and more people. The increased boardings and alightings will leave the second bus running farther and farther behind schedule. All because one bus was early, the entire line can be thrown off for hours.

"Think about it this way. If a bus is one minute early on a five minute headway, and the bus behind is late for some reason, that second bus could have 40% more passengers than the one before it. Those passengers are going to think we need more buses, more service; but better service that runs on time would accomplish the same thing."

As a driver, Leahy himself wasn't immune to running ahead of schedule, but he tried not to. He even has a copy of a citation he received for running early framed behind his desk. According to Leahy, 15% of Metro buses actually run ahead of schedule, a number he and his staff are working on lowering. While the passage of Measure R brings new opportunities to Metro, it also requires that staff work harder to, in Leahy's words, "to be worthy of the public trust."

"We need to constantly be working. Constantly be thinking. The public trusted us, and we have to be constantly doing everything we can to be worthy of that."

The other major obstacle facing Metro, and every other transit agency, is funding.

"We're looking at zero state subsidy next year. And that means a $250 million dollar defecit. We're ok for the next 12 months, but after that we could be looking at making some changes."

Leahy, on the right, poses with a bunch of cartoon characters and Bart Simpson. Photo: Blogdowntown

 People seem fascinated with the "local boy makes good" angle of Leahy's story. Leahy, the son of two transit drivers and himself a bus driver in Los Angeles who rose to become the head of the transit agency in the second largest city in the United States. However, according to Leahy, the choice to come back to run Metro wasn't about coming back to where he started.

"It's always great to come home, but I took the job because it's impossible to turn down one of the few jobs in the world where you can make a difference on a grand scale," Leahy responded to the numerous articles that focus on his return to Los Angeles."

We also talked about Leahy's tendency to walk to meetings when he has a chance.

"I'm not anti-car by any stretch, and I don't want to tell you that I'd never take a car if I were running late…but my first day here I had a meeting with the Mayor and people seem shocked that I wanted to walk to City Hall. Three different times I was told there was a car available, but it's just a couple blocks away. There is a time when it doesn't make sense to drive."

As for his own transit and driving habits…

"I take transit here for the most part. It's been three months now and I've driven in twice."

People that are familiar with Streetsblog interviews know that I always end by asking what, if anything, they would change about transportation in Los Angeles if they had a magic wand. Usually this question is one that gives people pause, but Leahy had a quick answer.

"I would want full federal funding for the Subway to the Sea and the Downtown Connector. Not only would we get those projects done as quickly as possible, but we'd also be able to do everything else that we want to do with the other money we'd save."

(editor's note: If you have ever read one of my interviews before, you've probably noticed the format is a little different for this one.  Blame a lost tape recorder and my first time transcribing from short-hand.  We'll be back to our usual format for the rest of this week's interviews.)

Aurisha Smolarski talks to Fox 11 after the first Car-Free Friday.

Streetsblog: Let's start with the obvious question. Where are we on the city's Bike Plan? What's the LACBC's strategy?

Dorothy: We haven't seen the full Bike Plan yet, just some of the maps. We're expecting the policy document soon, maybe in the next couple of weeks. And then once that's out there, there will be public meetings.

Aurisha: We're putting out the maps to as many people as we can to encourage people to submit comments.

We're also writing a letter asking that the "infeasible" category be changed to something else. To us infeasible means "no" and that's not cool. We have put out other ideas such as "possibility streets" or "potential streets." We want to work with them to change that language.

We're also putting together a list of streets that are currently in the "infeasible" category, that we feel should actually be "proposed bike lanes". These would have a lower amount of street reconfiguration needed to install lanes.

Dorothy: Third, there are the streets that we want to add that aren't even on the current Bike Maps.

Aurisha: One of our main concerns is the current maps look like a step back from the 1996 plan. Many of the proposed bike lanes from the 1996 plan are now in the 'infeasible' category. So the current plan draft is actually proposing fewer bike lane mileage than it had in 1996.

That's a step backwards in our eyes.

Streetsblog: Do you have any insight on what that policy document is going to look like or what it says?

Dorothy: We haven't heard a lot on it…

Aurisha: …but we have heard that it's a lot better than the maps, but not much else about the document. I'm hoping that it's pretty good. Some of the people that I know who have been involved with the plan have said that they wish the policy document had been released with the maps and there would have been fewer backlashes from the bicycling community.

That says to me it could be better than the maps.

Streetsblog: So let's talk about Sharrows. What the heck is taking so long? It keeps looking like we're ready to roll and then….delay…

Aurisha: No matter what excuses, the issue always seems to be about funding and timing with the LADOT. LADOT says the delay is because they don't have enough time, they don't have enough staff, they don't have the money, they can't work on this and the Bike Plan at the same time. Now, we're trying to get funds from private donors and we're waiting to hear back on that.

We've had a lot of support from Eric Garcetti's office, but we would like to see Garcetti and the Mayor use their leadership to push LADOT to prioritize this project. Implementation in 2009 is our goal.

Streetsblog: 2009 is over half over.

Aurisha: It is! But if they paint the Sharrows on Christmas Eve I'd be happy.

I've had a conversation with Rita Robinson where she's also expressed surprise that it's taking this long. She says she's going to talk to bikeways staff, but the reality is it's all about priorities.

Streetsblog: So what do you think about the Sharrows and painted lanes in Long Beach?

Aurisha: Awesome, awesome, awesome. They're gorgeous. It makes me jealous.

Streetsblog: Four months from sketches to on-the-ground.

Aurisha: Department of Transportation is quick to say that L.A. is not Long Beach and our streets are different than anywhere else. (editor's note: yeah, they're wider. They had to fit streetcars) We've been pushing them to implement these Sharrows because that's what's important to us.

Dorothy and Aurisha at "Car-Free Wilshire" on Earth Day

Streetsblog: So let's move on. You've been doing some work on the "4th Street Bike Boulevard?"

Dorothy: A lot of people have worked on this before and are still working on it: to try and make 4th Street a better place to bike. To make it a true Bike Boulevard. First, let's acknowledge all the work that's already been done.

Now we're just building off that effort, and putting some of our political muscle behind them. Right now, we're trying to get a second section of the street repaved. A couple of months back the city repaved a stretch of 4th Street between Hoover and Norton, and now we're trying to get them to do the same thing between Norton and La Brea.

But this is a lot more than repaving. The big question is how we create the political will and funding to get the kind of treatments that would make 4^th a true Bike Boulevard. Right now we're meeting with people to find out exactly what they want exactly where they want it. People talk to us about chokers, traffic circles, Sharrows…

Streetsblog: Everybody loves the Sharrows

Dorothy: Why not?

Aurisha: People have been talking about 4^th Street for a long time, and it's listed in the Bike Plan as a Bike Friendly Street, so we think we can do this. Also, 4th Street is one of the streets that will get Sharrows as part of the pilot.

Also, let me add that it's crucial for the Mayor to get involved with these issues. Whether it's the Bike Plan, or Sharrows or Bike Boulevards, all of these things can positively impact the environment which is why we're asking him to make these bike projects a priority. He says he's committed to sustainability, and (getting behind) these types of proposals would be a great way to show it.

Streetsblog: It's a kind of paradox with him, because he's pretty good on transit issues but so bad on bicycle and pedestrian issues. I mean with Measure R…

Le with Metro's James Rojas at a Site LA event on the future of transportation planning.

Streetsblog: We did a little coverage of City of Lights when you launched it, but why don't you take this chance to tell us a little more about it?

Dorothy: City of Lights is a program that works to increase bike safety and advocacy among low-income communities in Los Angeles. Right now we're handing out lights and doing some safety education in underserved areas such as the Highland Park area…We're hoping that in the fall we can start talking about advocacy, what the cyclists want as a community; what kind of infrastructure changes would make their rides easier and safer. It will be much more campaign focused in the fall and in the future.

Streetsblog: So there's a lot more to this than giving out lights

Aurisha: One of the main goals of this program is to activate these communities to advocate for what is important to them as cyclists. We're hoping that our interaction with them will lead to participation in some important campaigns, thus contributing to create a stronger voice for all of us. Issues like the bikes on trains being discussed by Metro will effect them, and they need to be heard. I think it would make a big difference if policy makers heard them. There are many more people interested in bike issues than those who are out there speaking, a lot of people have to work and aren't making it to afternoon hearings.

Streetsblog: Changing gears, let's talk about the relationship with the police. There have been a couple high profile incidents recently, the Hummer incident and a cyclist being killed in a crosswalk and blamed for her own death by the police being two of them, that are starting to catch the public eye a little bit. What do you see as the state of the relationship between cyclists and the LAPD, and what should we be doing about it?

Aurisha: Recently, I've been on the phone everyday trying to get a meeting. The LAPD is getting to know me, it's like "Hey, Aurisha!" everytime I call now.

The City Council Transportation Committee has told them that they need to reach out to cycling advocates to put together a comprehensive workshop (for officers) on bike rules and rights. After two weeks of unreturned phone calls I was finally able to schedule a meeting with Commander Michael Williams. I'm not going to stop until we have these workshops scheduled and we make sure that they are getting the information out to their officers.

In general, there is a lot of missing information and a lack of education when it comes to cyclists rights to the road. We need to make sure they have all the correct information so they can enforce the laws more justly.

Dorothy: As for what cyclists can be doing when they're getting bad tickets, we're working on a resource page about how to fight bad tickets, what are the rules of the road, what are the specific laws under the Municipal Code and state law and what are your legal options.

Ideally, cyclists could carry the law with them. So when you're pulled over by a police officer you can have the Municipal Code, with the identifying numbers, on hand. There are also avenues for filing formal complaints to the LAPD on top of contesting the ticket, but it's not something a lot of people are doing. Also, we need to go to the Police Commission more. That group meets at LAPD headquarters and has direct oversite over the LAPD and needs to know what's happening on the streets.

We're hoping that as more people file complaints and we get these workshops going that we can turn this around.

Aurisha: One of the things we're seeing now is a lot of the tickets are being left up to "officer discretion" about what some of these rules mean and whether or not to give a ticket. So if you have an officer with an anti-bike bias, you're going to see bad tickets. This has to change, because people get different tickets in different places depending on who you are and where you are. That's becoming more and more apparent.

Streetsblog: So there's a lot going on and you've got a lot of balls in the air. But you're real strength comes from your members. Is membership growing? I know a lot of non-profits are seeing a dip because of the economy.

Aurisha: We've seen our membership go up in the past year for two reasons. First, the cycling community is growing and second we've stepped up our outreach and our advocacy efforts. More people want to get involved in the issues that affect them. We're seeing more people at more events getting more involved. Fortunately, one of those things is signing up as a member of LACBC.  (editor's note: interested in membership?  Visit their new members website here http://www.la-bike.org/membership/membership.html)

Streetsblog: So my typical last question is, if you could wave a magic wand and change something about L.A.'s transportation network what would it be?

Dorothy: Less space for cars. More space for non-motorized traffic. More space for transit users. That could mean taking away parking. Taking away some car travel lanes. I'm not saying take away parking and not giving people a chance to park anywhere, but we need to think bigger than that. There's ways to limit parking that makes the roads more usable for everyone.

Aurisha: I'd like to see a system that's geared towards moving people and not just moving automobiles. In separating interests, you have to examine what other cities have done to address mobility and bike issues to create more sustainable cities. I would like to see an LA that has more bike lanes, more respect for cyclists and a prioritization for non-motorized travelers in general.

Sadly, there was a great anecdote at the end of our discussion, after the tape recorder was turned off about working with Ron “Bike Sage” Milam to become an urban cyclist himself.  I guess we’ll have to wait for Milam’s Streetsblog interview to get that story on tape.

The full text of the interview is available after the jump.

Streetsblog: One of the main things we’re here to talk about is Senate Bill 375, which has been dubbed by many people as the “Smart Growth” bill.  This legislation was passed last winter, and now we’re talking implementation around the state.   Could you start by giving us a brief summary of what the goals are.

Woo: The goal is to tackle the number one source of Greenhouse Gas emissions here in California, which is the transportation sector.  40% of all of the Greenhouse Gas emissions produced in California are transportation related, and the largest share of the transportation-related emissions are caused by the cars and light trucks which most people use for their daily trips.

I work with a statewide coalition called ClimatePlan which was organized to advocate land use and transportation strategies to address climate change. In many discussions about climate change, you hear a lot of talk about demand for electricity, the need for alternatives to burning coal, energy conservation resulting from green building techniques, and of course the negative effects of our reliance on oil.  But many times you don’t hear much about the impact of the transportation choices which are caused by our land use patterns.

Climate Change’s position is if we’re going to be serious about Greenhouse Gas emissions, we have to focus on the transportation sources.  In other words, if we create cities that put housing far away from jobs, and create low-density patterns that don’t support transit very well; , then it’s no surprise that people have to drive cars a lot to get from one place to another.

S.B. 375 is the first major law in California that makes that connection between land use- , transportation, and climate change, and sets up a process to encourage the creation of communities which grow in a more sustainable way.

Streetsblog: A lot of the push for cleaner air has been about cleaner cars.  This isn’t about that, it’s more about less cars than cleaner cars?

Woo: That’s right.

Senator Fran Pavley is the author of a law (AB 1493) that which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles by about 22% by 2012 and by about 30% by 2016.  These California clean car standards were held up for years by lawsuits from the auto industry, but the new federal standards announced by the Obama Administration should settle the matter.

SB 375 tackles a separate problem.  Pavley’s landmark climate law AB 32 committed California to a the goal of rolling back greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, but it didn’t really spell out how California is going to achieve that goal.  SB 375 authored by Senator Steinberg is the next step in terms of addressing one of the major causes of Greenhouse Gas emissions related to transportation and land use.

Streetsblog: In a perfect world, how should Greater Los Angeles embrace SB 375.  As a City, a county, a Metropolitan Planning Organization?  What changes can we expect as a city and a county.

Woo: SB 375 sets a process whereby the 18 so-called “Metropolitan Planning Organizations” (MPOs) such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California are responsible for adopting plans for reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions generated within each region.  The Southern California region is huge, the largest region in the state, with 48% of the state’s population. .  The MPO in our region is called the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and is a voluntary association representing local governments across the region, not just the City of L.A. and the County of L.A., but also Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties, and all the cities large and small within them.

Under SB 375, the California Air Resources Board will set a target for each for proportional reductions in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions relating to land use and transportation.  In Southern California, since we have the largest and most complicated region, the sub-regions can adopt their own plan to reduce Greenhouse Gases as it applies to transportation.

To answer your question, a large city such as Los Angeles or a subregional association of cities in Western L.A. County or Western Riverside County may collaborate on what this law calls a “Sustainable Community Strategy” that will start to be serious about relating land-use decisions and transportation to the creation of Greenhouse Gases.  Various local governments will start to focus on this.

Inside the cities, people will have to think about what role transportation and land-use make in their personal decisions.

Streetsblog: We’ve talked a lot about development, but what role does alternative transportation (transit, walking, biking) play in meeting the goals of 375?

Mike Woo as portrayed in City Beat.

Woo: The modes of transportation matter a lot.  The availability of rail transit, bus lines, car sharing and even bicycles are very important to anyone making a transportation plan.  If a plan is going to be developed at a local level, the people making this plan have to address how these alternatives help accommodate a reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions.

The expectation is that the parts of the region that have the most alternatives to cars, that is have access to transit, ought to do more than areas that don’t have as many alternatives and aren’t going to have the opportunities to do it.

Yes, the availability of alternatives will have a lot to do with a local community’s ability to do their fare share in reducing their Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Streetsblog: What is your role, and what is Climate Plan’s role, in getting this moving in Southern California.

Woo: I wear many hats in connection to S.B. 375.  I’m appointed to the Regional Targets Advisory Committee, RTAC, which is appointed by the Air Resources Board to make recommendations to the ARB by this September about how to develop targets for each of the regions for the state.

In addition to that, I’m an advocate in that I do work for Climate Plan.  Climate Plan is pushing for the phrases “ambitious but achievable targets.”  We want to push the envelope to set the targets as high as possible as a way of showing that land use and transportation changes can play a big part in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions.  Furthermore, by getting serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we can also get more serious about planning for communities which rely less on driving cars and encourage diverse, lively, and sustainable mixed-use communities which aren’t wasteful about land, energy, and water.

The other hat I wear is as a member of the City Planning Commission.   I can play a role in making a decision about specific development projects in L.A. in terms of what impact they have on transportation patterns, what kind of development patterns are created in the long-term and what are the climate implications.

Streetsblog:  What kind of opposition are you facing in terms of people that don’t want to see this legislation implemented for whatever reasons?

Woo: When S.B. 375 was first addressed, it was much more of a mandatory bill, with a lot more teeth in it.  There was strong opposition from the building industry, city governments and county governments that felt they were going to be required to do something but not be given the money to pay for it.

As the bill moved through the legislative process, it became less mandatory.  You could say it’s a lot less mandatory bill and it is weaker than the original version of the bill.  But it’s still quite an accomplishment that it got passed at all.  And it can be a very constructive influence moving local government land use and transportation decisions in a more sustainable direction.

There is still some opposition to what were trying to do.  Just last week I was at a meeting of the Southern California Association of Governments and there was opposition being articulated from two levels.

One source of opposition was local elected officials who questioned whether climate change was a real problem or questioned whether what they do has any impact on climate change.  So there’s still a certain amount of foot dragging going on with local officials who don’t think it’s a problem or think it’s someone else’s problem.

Separate from that, right now I’d say there are a lot of people in local government who know of S.B. 375 but they are very unclear on how this affects what they’re doing right now.  I know there’s a lot of conferences and outreach planned to help demystify this problem and explain clearly how this law will effect local government.

The next level is the general public, most of whom have never heard of S.B. 375.  But if things start to change the general public will start to notice things happening differently then they would without this law.  At some point this becomes a political issue: how do you make change if the goals aren’t very clear and if the effected representatives of the public aren’t very clear about what’s going on.

Woo speaks at the CALPIRG confernce on transportation reform earlier this month.

Streetsblog: If someone reading this interview likes what you’re saying and wants to help move the ball forward, what should they do?

Woo: They can contact us at ClimatePlan and beyond that if you belong to a local organization that has any interest in the environment or urban planning or transportation issues you can encourage those groups to get involved with the process.

In the end, the changes we’re talking about won’t happen without a groundswell of support which currently doesn’t exist.  So, there is a role, a very critical and important role, for getting people involved with the process and building public awareness.

If there are elected officials, such as the ones I heard from last week, who don’t think it’s a problem or think it’s someone else’s problem, this is a place where the public can get involved and start influencing the local officials who are thinking about their place in relation to climate change.

Streetsblog: Anything else you want to add on Climate Change?

Woo: Ultimately, this does come down to some level of personal responsibility.  This is not an abstract issue.

I sometimes mention when I give talks on the subject that if you stay up late and are watching cable television you can sometime see these public service announcements for the World Wildlife Fund with a sad polar bear sitting alone on a rapidly shrinking piece of ice.

The urban viewer is most likely wondering what that polar bear has to do with me.  So this can be a hard point to get across, it might seem too theoretical; but clearly the decisions we make about urban sprawl and giving people few options except to drive a car ultimately have an effect on that polar bear.

In other words, there is some level of personal responsibility which is necessary in order to be serious about addressing this global problem.

Streetsblog: This is unrelated.  On my way biking here as part of the “Bike Not to Work Day,” two people told me to ask you “Why Do the Streets of Hollywood Glitter?”

Woo: Back in the 1990’s when I was a Member of the L.A. City Council, someone suggested an experiment on Hollywood Boulevard using recycled glass mixed in with asphalt, aka “glassphalt” to use recycled material, to stretch the amount of money available for street repaving and creating this glitter effect on the streets of Hollywood.  This is very appropriate given the reputation of Hollywood.

That was the reason there was some experimentation in paving Hollywood Boulevard with glassphalt.  At the time there were a lot of people that made fun of it, thought it was a joke.  But now I think it’s something a lot of people think should be done more because it encourages recycling and I just learned that it does relate to Global Warming.

Streetsblog: Everything relates to Global Warming

Woo: Typically black or dark colored streets retain heat much more than older streets in Los Angeles that are lighter colored or made of cement.  I’m not a scientific expert on this, but if a the material in the street is reflecting light back , maybe that would retain heat less than using dark colored asphalt.

Maybe there is a carbon change benefit to using reflective material rather than dark colored material.

This is actually a good example of how some mundane decisions can be part of the solution.

Streetsblog: I’m hardly a scientific expert on anything, but I’ve heard the same thing: glassphalt is better for the environment than traditional road materials.

Woo: In the 90’s we talked about it only as a way to expand the demand for recycled materials.  Nobody was talking about urban heat island effects on the city streets.

Streetsblog: So you were ahead of your time!

Woo: I guess so.  I didn’t know everything about the underlying problem either, but  at least there was an underlying idea about making a connection between a mundane project like street repaving and the state of the environment.

Streetsblog: The last question I ask everyone when I interview them is “if you could change one thing about transportation in Los Angeles, wave a magic wand and it would be changed, what would it be?”

Woo: I think I would borrow and idea from Bogota, Colombia.  I would close the streets on Sunday, or one day a week, for two reasons.  The first reason is to take over the street for recreational purposes on that particular day but also to show urban residents that there are dramatically different ways about thinking of urban space.

In Bogota, Mayor Penalosa started this idea and was initially ridiculed.  Now, years later, this Sunday tradition is wildly popular.  There are people on bikes, on roller skates or just walking down the middle of the street.

Every Sunday I go to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market to get fresh produce and I’m surrounded by people who just like walking in the middle of the street. Reclaiming the urban space.

To take this concept further, imagine Wilshire Boulevard completely closed to (automobile) traffic from the beach to Downtown L.A. and turning it into the world’s longest linear park.  Things like that would be really exciting, wouldn’t cost much money and would really change the way people think about our streets.

Back on the bike: Tena after the "Bike Not to Work Day" ride last week.

But whatever happened the cyclist who was thrown from his bike when the H3 ran into him?  What is his take on the controversy and what does he have to say to those people who say it was his fault?

I’ve had the chance to twice ride with Andres Tena since he was assaulted and had a chance to sit down with him to talk about the crash.  The smiling, good-natured Tena provides a contrast to the anarchist vandals that were described by the LAPD spokesperson last week at the City Council.

The full text of my chat with Tena is available after the jump.

Streetsblog: A couple of weeks ago you were involved in a crash with an Hummer H3 and didn’t get the support and protection you would expect from the Los Angeles Police Department.  Can you tell us, in your own words, what exactly happened?

Tena: It was a Thursday night/Friday morning, there was a group of us riding home.  We were promoting a friend’s bike shop downtown called the Bow and Sparrow.  We were going down Los Angeles Street about to make a right on Seventh Street to go to Tacos Mexico.  It was pretty late, but there was a good amount of us.  We were pretty noticeable.

It happened so quick...it happened so fast that I don’t really know everything that happened.  I was riding, and I felt contact.  It was a black hummer.  H1, H2, H3, it doesn’t really matter.  They’re all about 8,000 pounds.  I feel contact.

I’m in the air for about two or three seconds.  The car hit me from behind and on my left side, and I’m in the air and I feel the side of the car as it whizzes by me.  I see the wheel like two or three inches away from my head.  It was kind of scary.

I hit the floor.  My bike drops.  I’m freaking out, I mean what just happened?  I try to get up, but I hit the floor again.  I realize that I can’t feel my foot.  I can’t feel my left ankle.  Pretty much from my ankle down, I can’t feel anything.

That’s pretty much it.  My friend Tom picks me up and asks if I’m allright.  I’m repeating, “I’m allright, but I can’t feel my foot.  I can’t feel my foot.  It might be broken…”

I had a couple scrapes here and there, bruises on my knees and elbows.

The funny thing is, at the time I didn’t know that the driver tried to get away because all I remember was sitting and waiting on the curb for the ambulance to get there.  I heard a sound of metal scraping on pavement, and then all of a sudden the cops showed up and the ambulance showed up.

I know the rest of the story from other people.  Three other bikes were run over while the Hummer was getting away.

And that’s it!  There have been different stories from different people.  But here’s what you need to know.  I was hit.  Three other bikes were totaled.  Now, we’re just waiting to see what happens.

Streetsblog: Just to be clear, how visible were you?   Do you have a rear light?  Was it working?  Were you wearing dark clothes?

Tena:  I have a rear light, a front light and I was wearing bright clothing.  They’re always on.  And I always wear light clothes when I’m biking;.

Streetsblog: How long have you biked in the city?  You know what you’re doing?

Tena: It’s been close to two years of city riding.  I’m not new to this.  I try to stay right ride consistently.  You never expect to get hit from behind by a car, but I was hit by a hummer.  It’s something I can make fun of…I wasn’t hit by a car…I was hit by the biggest vehicle you can.

Streetsblog: You weren’t drunk, were you?

Tena: (Laughing)  No, none of us were drunk.

Streetsblog: So everyone got home safely from there, except for you who went to the hospital until later in the afternoon.  Was that the last you heard about things until we went to the Police Commission?

Tena:   Actually, Officer Cho called me the next day to tell me it wasn’t a crime that the hummer hit me.  But that it was an "accident."  It was because of all the bike riders.  It was a pretty biased opinion.

Streetsblog: Because you were on the road in a group you got hit.  How many of you were there?

Tena:  About a dozen.  It was really strange the way he was saying it.  Really biased.  He was saying it was all our fault.  I could feel that he wanted to say it was because we’re always drunk.  It’s because we’re like a mob activity. 

Streetsblog: One of the weird things about this crash is, you almost never hear of a bike getting hit by behind.  It’s a lot less common than a “right hook,” because you’re right in front of them…to rear-end a cyclist that’s lit up is either negligent or aggressive.  It’s not like he couldn’t see you.

Tena: Well, to Officer Cho, it was an accident.

Streetsblog: Obviously nothing was broken in your foot, because this is the second time I’ve seen you since then and you’re on your bike.

Tena: It’s amazing really.  I’m fine, I’m fine.  The only limp I have is from a left ankle sprain, a contusion, and some bruising on the left side of my hip that turned out to be hematoma.  Now I’m getting some chiropractic work done and I exercise.

Streetsblog:  There’s been more controversy about the police’s reaction and reporting of the crash than just the crash itself.  Yesterday down at City Hall, they described the cyclists in the incident, including you hit from behind wearing brightly lit clothing on a brightly lit bike, as at fault for being struck from behind by a Hummer.  So, how’s that make you feel…

Tena: …I just found out the story today.  It sounds like they labeled me as a vandal.  They pretty much say that I ran it to it.  On purpose.  On a bike, I decided to run into a hummer.

Let’s be clear.  I didn’t, just a little sarcasm here.

Streetsblog: A vandal.  For getting hit in the street.  Say, if I leave a marker here and turn my back, are you going to tag my bike?

Tena: (laughing) No, that’s not. No.

Streetsblog:  I’m just kidding here…Again, I haven’t seen the video yet, but it sounds sort of shocking in its content.

Tena:  Yeah, blaming me for it.

Streetsblog: It hasn’t stopped you from biking.  You’re back on the streets.

Tena: Back on the streets, riding safer than ever.

Streetsblog: And you were back quickly.  I saw you for the first time less than a week later, you biked to and testified at the Police Commission hearing.  Is that your first advocacy ride?

Tena: It was my first day back in the street.  It wasn’t paranoia, but I was watching cars as they went past.  I was definitely traumatized, but I can ride a bike, I will ride a bike and stay on the street.

Streetsblog: Was it easier to do that ride because you were surrounded by the group of friends?

Tena: Actually, I didn’t do the group ride.  I went to public comment and it was 10-15 minutes away.  I live in Highland Park, not that far away, but biking on Figueroa and Broadway was kind of nerve racking.  I felt and heard cars as they rid by.  I was definitely going at a slow pace.

Tena, with Chicken Leather looking on, testifies at the LAPD Police Commission Hearing for May 2009.

Streetsblog: What was more nerve racking?  The bike ride to the LAPD, or testifying at a Police Commission hearing for the first time?

Tena: It was testifying at the Police commission.  It’s very scary, very nerve wracking,  to get up there and do that.  I was very nervous, my voice was cracking a little…a little squeaky.

Streetsblog: Your testimony was very good.  I wrote at the time that you could tell that you weren’t a professional activist, not as polished as the LACBC or Stephen or the bike lawyer, but your experience and testimony was very powerful and lent heart to what everyone else was saying.

What’s the take home message from this incident for people out there? 

Tena: I just never thought it would happen to me.  You see things on the news, Ghost Bikes and things like that…but you don’t think it’s going to happen to you.

A friend of mine actually just got hit too.  He just had a couple of scrapes and his bottom bracket was broken.  He was going down seventh, and the guy that hit him drove off.  It was just yesterday.  This stuff happens everyday, and now I guess I’m a part of it.

Streetblog:  You going to stay involved as an advocate now, beyond seeing your case through to the end?

Tena: Yeah, sure absolutely.  I want the outcome to be positive.  I’m not the type to get all riled up and make a big deal.  I just want it to be safe for everyone else.  I’m building a bike for my little brother, and I want it to be safe for him.

“Ride safe.”  That’s what I say to everyone now when they’re going somewhere, biking, driving, flying, “ride safe.”

Streetsblog: I say the same thing to people unless its Stephen or Alex.  Than it’s “try not to get arrested.” (we both laugh)

My standard last question to everyone I interview is that if you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about transportation in Los Angeles, what would it be?

Tena:  Smaller cars.  Smart cars.  Everyone should drive a smart car.

Streetsblog: Not everybody ride a bike?

Tena: Well, that too.

Streetsblog: Of course you want smaller cars, you're the guy that was HIT BY A HUMMER!

Tena: Ok, let's say smaller cars and more bikes.

Earlier, I had a chance to sit down with Hilary Norton, the executive director of the non-profit organization Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic.  F.A.S.T. was formed to take the recommendations of last year’s much-publicized RAND report on reducing congestion.  The interesting thing about the F.A.S.T.’s model for building a transportation constituency is that it is building it’s base one community at a time by having Norton present to Neighborhood Councils, community groups, Homeowner’s groups, civic and transit advocacy groups who are interested in learning more about “best practice” short-term transit solutions.

Norton began working in Los Angeles in 1991 as an intern in the office of Tom Bradley and since then has worked for a collection of L.A. political figures including Richard Alarcon and Mark Ridley-Thomas before moving to the private sector and then to F.A.S.T.

Streetsblog: Last year, there was a report released by the RAND Corporation and one of the results of this report was the formation of F.A.S.T.  Could you describe the report a little bit and what role F.A.S.T. is going to play in bringing the report’s suggestions to the public.

HN: Over a year before Measure R was placed on the ballot, Jim Thomas, who has been a developer, philanthropist and resident in Los Angeles for 40 years, recognized that his beloved city was never going to be a great city if it continued to be crippled by traffic. 

So, being a smart business person he understood that in order to bring about real change,  we have to think about what can be done in the near-term --  the next 3-5 years.  He asked RAND to look at examples from around the globe at what near-term changes can be implemented that would bring permanent improvement to traffic.  The RAND report looks at what can be done quickly and inexpensively, for millions of dollars not billions, and yet have a lasting effect on reducing L.A. traffic.  These solutions work alongside the long-term solutions proposed by Measure R. 

Streetsblog: While we talk a lot about “fixing traffic” a lot of what’s in the RAND report and a lot of what you talk about when you go into communities are alternative transportation fixes.  Just so that Streetsblog readers don’t think you’re all about cars, since I know you’re not, what do you see as the role of transit, bikes, walking and alternative transportation in L.A.’s future?

Hilary hangs out with the bikes at the racks in front of 5th and Flower downtown.

Every time you are taking up that spot of road as a single driver, you’re making traffic worse in a ratio that people are actually surprised about.  Go back to the 1984 Olympics, people found out traffic was amazingly reduced, yet there was only about 5% less traffic on the road. 

We should really be looking at getting people out of cars, and making better choices.  Better choices for people’s health by increasing the amount we walk or ride bikes from place to place.  These better choices have broad positive social effects and also help  those who must use their cars with less traffic to negotiate.

Streetsblog: Now that we know what the report is.  What is your job to do with it?

HN: The RAND Report essentially outlines solutions that can be implemented right away.  The goal of F.A.S.T is to not have the report sit on the shelf, instead have it be a real call to action.  The good news is  that many of the ideas in the study are not new, but in fact just need that last bit of impetus and public awareness and support to be implemented.

For example, consider the expansion of the bike network.  We know that a plan is supposed to be released this year, but very few people really know the plan is in the works.   With F.A.S.T, our goal is to educate neighborhood councils and other civic groups throughout the county, making people aware that in many cases solutions are already being worked on, that the recommendations being considered are doable, and that what is needed is an extra push or showing of public support to make the recommendations a reality.

That’s the most exciting part of going out to Neighborhood Councils, business groups, rotary clubs, is bringing to them the message  that we’re all on the road to making good ideas happen.  We’re not starting from scratch, but that F.A.S.T. is  part of bringing ideas and proposal that  are already underway to reality, but need additional input and consensus.

One of the things I like about F.A.S.T. is our focus on outreach to the grass roots, to people who are already volunteering their time in some way but don’t think  that there is a workable solution to  traffic.  What I’ve found is that there are so many groups and individuals who are interested in picking up the ball and helping us advocate for workable, near term traffic solutions.  I think the conventional wisdom is that as a community we are  rather cynical, that people wouldn’t participate because they’ll be asked to do all the work.  But, what we’ve been able to demonstrate is that  there is a broader community of interests who want to change our approach to transportation and are ready to help.

F.A.S.T is building support for implementing traffic and transportation solutions.  We are getting individuals to sign up and we are growing our database of interested residents.  And, by building our database of support and creating strength in numbers, we’re going to be able to remind our elected officials that the silent majority spend a lot of time thinking about how bad traffic really is and want to get around more easily.  In the most basic sense, it’s about advocating to elected official that people want to  get their quality of life back.

It has been exciting to take a very common sense report and breathe life into it.    In this age of technology, F.A.S.T. is able to communicate good solutions to communities so that they are able to go to DOT’s or the county or Metro and say “I like that idea.”  What I’ve found is that people want to see where things are working and what solutions can work, especially in a time when they feel cynical about the ability to solve complex community challenges.  That’s why reaching consensus is really becoming priceless.  I am excited and energized that F.A.S.T. is able to help build consensus around some great common sense solutions to traffic. 

Streetsblog: And you’ve been using the Internet, and particularly your website, to help get the message out.

HN: Absolutely.  www. Fastla.org is our website.  FASTLA.org  shows not only what the RAND report is, but gives people a real place to comment on traffic solutions, look at how we can improve our traffic, and highlight good ideas that are being proposed throughout the County.  We’ve also designed the site to poll people, to get  a better sense of the types of solutions Angelenos support or think are good ideas. It also allows us to test ideas before they’re put out on the street.    

We see the website as a modern town hall meeting place, where people can come, day or night, on their own time to give input on what we all can do to make L.A. County’s traffic situation better.  Perhaps most importantly, we  work have these people become members of FAST  so that we can get our information directly to those members regarding the latest good ideas.

Even though traffic is costing the region $9 billion a year in commerce, it’s not a day-to-day topic of conversation.  Luckily you have Streetsblog, luckily you have other websites, including F.A.S.T’s, that make sure that the topic never leaves the consciousness of Angelenos and provide meaningful status reports that there are things that can be done to improve traffic in the county for everyone.

Streetsblog: That covers the basics of F.A.S.T.  You’ve been telling me a lot about what’s going on Eagle Rock as it relates to bicycling, walking and everything else.

HN: I’m a 17-year resident of Eagle Rock.  I love living there and raising my family on the eastside.  We are looking at some great transportation alternative in Eagle Rock, ideas that, who knows, may spur other commonsense solutions to traffic.     

The stretch of Colorado Boulevard near Eagle Rock is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the county.  The community has had some real challenges because people will speed down Colorado Boulevard, through a  very small town, very family oriented community.  There used to be a Streetcar that ran down Colorado Boulevard.  As a community, we are trying to revisit that experience by working with Caltrans to take one traffic lane out and have that be for bikes and buses.  That will ensure cars obey the speed limits while encouraging residents to choose available alternatives to cars with a  dedicated lane for bikes and transit.

 What we want to accomplish in Eagle Rock  is for people to be able to enjoy the east side of Los Angeles for what it is, and that’s a beautiful community.  And part of that would be for people to commute from Eagle Rock to Downtown on L.A. on bike everyday of the week.

Streetsblog:  My last question when I do these is always, “if you could change one thing about transportation in L.A., what would it be?”  Care to take a shot?

HN: I think it would be that we could all take a good look at “the last mile problem.”  We actually have a very good transit system, but we have a “last mile problem” that is a barrier to people taking subways everyday or riding the bus everyday.  They just can’t make that last mile work for them.

I think it would be very interesting to look at ways the different user groups make this work.  Biking, walking, car sharing, bike sharing, shuttles, buses…what can we do to get people to walk out of their house and respond to that last mile and not be afraid of it.  How can we use the things we’ve all invest  a little better?

That’s what we want to do at fastla.org.  In some communities, such as Hollywood, it’s figuring out how to get the buses to go up hills so we can get more people to use the Hollywood and Highland stop.  Going back up that hill at night, especially if you’re elderly, is a real challenge.  Or shuttles from the MacArthur Park Station so that people can ride the subway with their children and take them to and from school day and night.   These solutions would really increase subway ridership. 

So, I would want to use our technology to collectively solve the “last mile” problem to get people to take mass transportation a couple of times a week.  That would fix a lot of our traffic problems as quickly as anything.

In this interview, we discuss his trip across the country and his experiences walking around the Capital during the inauguration.  If you're more interested in just his D.C. experiences, use the jump and scroll down until you see a picture of a crowd gathered in front of the Capital.

Streetsblog:  We’re here today with Drew Reed, a regular cyclist and transit user who just traveled across the country to witness the Obama inauguration.  We’re going to talk about some of the things he saw and wrote about at the blog chronicling his journey, Obamathon, and how Washington, D.C. was transformed to a pedestrian town for the inauguration.

Let’s start with the obvious.  What cities did you stop at?

Reed: First stop was Denver.  I didn’t have the idea to start writing about the trip until I was already in Denver.  We spent two weeks in Denver, an afternoon in Kansas City, Columbia, Saint Louis, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Nashville Tennessee, Charlotte and Richmond Virginia before staying in the D.C. suburbs for the inauguration.

Streetsblog: Did anything stick out at any of the cities that you think we should bring here to L.A. or any lessons we can learn from what’s being done elsewhere?

Reed: Every city is different.  In every city you can see things you like and some things you don’t.

In Denver they seemed like they’re really getting their act together.  Unlike here in L.A., in Downtown Denver, there aren’t massive freeways cutting the downtown up.  They had a nice outdoor mall, the 16^th street mall.  They have a free bus that moves people from one end of the mall to another…about 10 or 12 blocks.

Because it had a dedicated right-of-way, it functions as a trolley and it was amazing how useful it was.  It was twice as fast as walking and came by every couple of minutes.

Living in Long Beach, we also have a bus service that’s free in the downtown, but there’s no limited access way.  The walkway running next to it was nice, wide and clean too.

Streetsblog: We’ve been talking about a trolley way for Broadway, part of the Bringing Back Broadway Campaign.  Do you think that the success of this trolley in Denver speaks in any way to what we should be doing here?

Reed: It would be a different set-up here.  A better parallel would be bringing a transit service to the Promenade in Santa Monica.  The Promenade is only about half as big, and Denver is a lot less shi-shi than Santa Monica, but what made the Denver bus so useful was the dedicated right of way and the regular stops.

Streetsblog: Was there any place you visited along the way that was just so terrible that you wouldn’t want to see it replicated anywhere?

Reed: Well, we stopped in Kansas City, and while I wouldn’t say it was terrible, they are one of the largest cities in America not to have any sort of rail system.

Streetsblog: Wait, don’t they have light rail?  I seem to remember a blog called KC Light Rail or something like that.  (editor’s note: I was right, there is a KC Light Rail Blog, and it can be found here.  However, Drew was right and the Light Rail itself isn’t a reality as of yet…)

Reed: I’m pretty sure they still don’t have it, but that they’re still pushing for it.  I believe there was a ballot initiative this fall or recently, and it lost.

Streetsblog: Where you there long enough to see how the lack of light rail affected people’s mentality towards transit?

Reed:  It wasn’t that bad.  Downtown Kansas City was very walkable, and we were still walking around late at night and able to find open markets and restaurants and we felt safe.  I mean, it wasn’t like our least favorite place, a place we didn’t even stop at, Las Vegas.  They have a monorail and it’s a terrible place to move around.  I mean, there’s places there where they have barricades up to keep people from crossing the street without going over and overpass and through a couple of casinos.

Just because a place has better transit doesn’t mean it’s automatically a better place to be.

You know what were the best places to be as far as mobility were?

Streetsblog: Go ahead.

Reed: College towns.  We made a point at stopping at a couple of college towns and they were just as oriented towards bicycles and walking as Santa Barbara was when I was a student there.  We stopped at Columbus Missouri for the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois.

You can judge how a community is doing with their bike planning by the state of their bike racks.  Are they full?  Are there enough of them?  In both cases, we saw lots of bikes but not so many that they were chained to every available piece of street furniture.

I think a lot of why people bike has to do with perception creating reality.  To many people out here, biking is just a way to get around before you’re sixteen and can get a car.  Thus, they may continue to do it while they’re in college, but it’s become something you don’t do “as an adult.”  Maybe that’s why college towns are so bike oriented.  For us, bikes are just the most practical way to get around.

Maybe we’ll get it so that when people go to college they’ll learn there’s real value to biking around and they’ll keep doing it when they leave.

Anyways, when we stopped later in Urbana we saw a lot of the same things we saw at Missouri except there people were riding bikes in the snow.  For me, being used to Long Beach and Santa Barbara, to ride a bike on an icy street would be the height of terror.  But people were doing it and there must be ways to cope.

Streetsblog: Between the college towns, you stopped in Saint Louis?

Reed: We did.  We talked to some bloggers and advocates there and it’s funny.

Streetsblog: Yes?

Reed: They complained that the transit system in Saint Louis runs underground through the downtown.  They want it to run on the street, because people don’t think of it as a transportation option if they can’t see it.  It’s funny when you compare it to here, where there’s a big fight to get the Expo Line to run below-grade.

(editor’s note: To read Drew’s interview with Saint Louis’ Steve Patterson, click here.)

Unfortunately, he also told me there was a ballot initiative that failed so train service is going to be cut off after 8 P.M.  When I compare it, it makes me really happy that Measure R passed even though I did have some serious reservations about it.

From there we went through Springfield which was exciting because I was able to meet people that knew Obama when he worked there, people that waited on him at restaurants and such.  In some ways it was mundane, because they knew him as someone that worked there, but it was still a nice stop.

From there it was onto Urbana, through Illinois and into Kentucky.

Streetsblog: From Obama-land to the Deep South.

Reed:  We got through Kentucky but into Nashville.  In Nashville there really wasn’t a train system to speak of, nobody was really biking either and there wasn’t anything special there; but I did have one cool thing to report.

We got to talk to the American Barbershop Harmony Society and they actually picked their headquarters based on walkability.  They relocated to Nashville from Kenosha, WI in large part because the downtown area was great for walking.

Streetsblog: They ought to write a song.  Take that Walking in L.A.

Reed:  Moving on from Nashville, we spent the day in Atlanta, which was pretty nice.

As far as bikes go, the city-scape there is similar to L.A. There weren’t many people riding bikes and there were a fair amount of people in the downtown area walking around.  They did have a nice grade-separated rail system, I guess Damien Goodmon would be a fan of that.

It was a little annoying because to ride the rails you had to buy a $5 credit card.  It’s a one-time fee, so I saved mine.  If I ever have to go back I’ll be ready.

It was nice though that they had a subway from a big park-and-ride lot, so we took the subway in and out, skipped the traffic and were able to get right into downtown.  They seemed to have put some thought into putting business around subways.

It reminded me of B.A.R.T.  In a lot of ways Atlanta’s system was similar to San Francisco’s and Washington D.C.’s, maybe because they were built at around the same time.  It’s a different feel from the older east coast cities, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

Streetsblog: Anything from Atlanta we should be importing to L.A.?

Reed: Well , the trains connect directly to the airport.  I guess Metrolink goes straight to Burbank, but the train only runs what, once an hour?

Streetsblog: Atlanta a straight shot into D.C.?

Reed: We took our time.  We stopped in Charlotte, which has a light rail system but it was recently opened and pretty skeletal.  They’re just starting to ween off a car reliant mentality.  There was also a spread out downtown.  It was good to see them starting to get on the right track.

From there into Richmond, where we had family living.

In D.C., they did a pretty good job moving people but in Richmond they didn’t.  It’s a little similar to here in that they used to have a trolley system, but they ripped it out and now it’s gone.  Even the bus service didn’t look that good, so we didn’t really try to ride it.

But they do have a nice science museum.

Streetsblog: Uhm, ok…

Reed: I used to go there as a kid.  It actually used to be their Union Station.  They moved the station to a Bungalow for some reason and kept this ornate train station as a science museum.

Sort of emblematic to their planning in a way.

(editor's note: From here we get into the inauguration stories.  For a more detailed breakdown of the mechanics of the inauguration, see here, here and here.)

Streetsblog: So now it’s close to the inauguration.

Reed: At the last minute we got some friends in Hancock Maryland to put us up for the night.

We were fortunate enough to be on the side of Washington that the Metro could take us in.  The Metro picked us up in Shady Grove which is 15 miles from downtown.  I was expecting a wall of traffic into D.C. but it wasn’t.  We were able to get into the parking structure and on the train without too much of a problem.

We got to the Metro Station at around 7 A.M. and the congestion was pretty much non-existent at that point, both on the road and at the station.  We got into the station and despite all of the people hocking stuff and we were able to get on the train no problem.

We were listening on the radio and heard about someone falling on the tracks on the other side of Union Station and were worried that would lead to major delays, but there weren’t.  Whether they were good at getting the man off the tracks or just not letting it back up the system, I don’t know, but they kept us moving.

We got off at the Farragut North station, because we knew the parade route would be cut off and walked around the White House to the mall.  There wasn’t a lot of people and they had out port-o-potties out for people to use.

Streetsblog: How was walking to and through the mall.

Reed: It was interesting, I have some pictures online…

Streetsblog: Oh, I’ll steal them, don’t worry.

Reed: They had it pretty well planned out.  People were getting out with us at Farragut and others at McPherson plaza.  They were probably hoping to get better access to the parade route then gave up.  So it was us at Farragut and another wall at McPherson.

They had the route blocked off and funneled us all on the same route.  Sort of our own parade.

Streetsblog: And this walk was carfree?

Reed: Yes.  Except for the occasional emergency vehicle.

Streetsblog: How well organized was the walk?  Was it just a mob?

Reed: A well organized mob.  A happy, well-organized mob.

Streetsblog: Armed with hope instead of pitchforks.

So after you got over the hill to the mall, you were able to walk to the inauguration.

Reed: It was a dramatic moment, cresting the hill and then you can see the monuments and see where Obama was going to be.  There was a gaggle of people at the top of the hill, and there was a big break to 12^th street and then it was just completely packed.

Streetsblog:  In general, what kind of grade would you give the system?

Reed: I would give it, from a pedestrian standpoint, it would be a B+, A-.  From a bike standpoint it would be lower.

Streetsblog: How about on election day?  Moving people through mostly car-free streets?

Reed: That was pretty good.  I was expecting pandemonium, and it wasn’t.  I would give it an A.

Streetsblog: Was moving around town after the inauguration as easy as getting to the event itself?

Reed:  It was tough getting out of the mall because while we had 10 hours for people to trickle in, everyone wanted to leave at the same time.  They had designated exit areas which bottlenecked very quickly.  That was really the only aspect I would give a lower grade.

We headed Southeast to the Eastern Market hoping it would be a little less crowded and we wanted to sit down.  Most of the streets were still closed off, so that was good.

When we wanted to get out of D.C. it was a little tougher.  The Metro was packed.  I have a good picture of people at the South Capitol Station waiting in an around the block line.  We walked pretty much across the Anacostia River to find a station that wasn’t that crowded.

Streetsblog: So let’s wrap up with a brief talk of the first month of the administration.  Do you have any thoughts on the stimulus or other issues?

Reed:  I had mixed feelings about the stimulus.  It's similar to how I felt about Measure R, which I ultimately supported but felt was too watered down and car oriented. I know what Obama's trying to do, but at the same time it seems that he's relying too heavily on the mantra that infrastructure (mostly roads, of course) should be built primarily to "stimulate the economy".  He really should be giving equal consideration to making sure that stimulus goes toward building livable communities. If all we wanted to do was help the economy, we might as well build twenty freeways through Sylmar. Though I suppose it's good politics; for a measure to pass, it has to give partial support to everyone and full support to no one.

Also, I'm a bit disappointed that Obama missed his chance to show that bikes and mass transit are for everyone, not just for people too young to drive or people who can't afford a car.

Streetsblog: Thanks very much for your time, and good luck moving forward in the future.

Or, you could just skip all of this and buy your own copy here.

Damien:  Why don't we start off with the simple description of what the book is?

Tim: It's a book about urban planning, aimed at kids.  It takes the idea of the rural to urban transect as a jumping off point, of course greatly simplified for a younger audience, to expose children to the idea of what cities are, how they come together, and what urban planning is.

Damien:  So the kid moves from a rural area to a city?

Tim: Well, no.  The main character, Hugo, is in a playground in a city and asks his mom, "how did those buildings get here?"  He's looking at all these tall buildings from his vantage point and asking, "how did this happen?"

Damien: …and his Mom knows?

Tim: His Mom turns out to be an urban planner.  She walks him through, if you know about the urban transect, the different zones of the transect.  He goes from dense city, to the urban neighborhood, out to the suburbs, to the rural areas in the countryside.

Damien: Is there a moral to the story, or is this more of an exercise in stimulating young people's minds?

Tim: It's more an exposure thing.  One of the inspirations for this book was Richard Scarry's Busy Busy World, which was one of my favorites as a kid.  In a way, the story is a vehicle to expose you to a lot of detail and fun in the built environment.  The idea was to give kid's a sense that there are different kinds of development.  If you live in the suburbs, you may not have a sense of what a city is, what a city neighborhood is or even what it's like in rural areas.  It's about showing that spectrum and that these areas aren't just happenstance.  There's a reason these places are built as they are.

Damien: Is there a reason you decided to write a children's book?

Tim: There are a couple of reasons.

First is that Chris, Chris Steins, the founder of Planetizen, got his hands on a book called, Neighbor Flap Foot: The City Planning Frog, from 1952 about urban planning.  His first thought was that if it was now in the public domain we could just republish it to introduce kids to planning; but when we got it, it was very outdated.  It had a very 'Dick and Jane' feel to it.  The ideas were outdated as well.  It really trumpeted zoning as the 'be all and end all' of the development of cities.

The other side is that since Chris has twin boys, three years old, and rapidly growing.  He wanted something that could explain to them what planning really is and what their Dad does.

Damien: So are either of them the model for Hugo?

Tim: He's not based on anyone in particular, but the book is dedicated to his kids.

Damien: How difficult was it to write it?  I sometimes have trouble explaining what I do and what Streetsblog is to adults who don't either live in a city or think about transportation issues beyond the price of gas.  Was there a challenge to write for this audience?

Tim: Absolutely.

A lot of the challenge was working with an illustrator.  As great as the book looks, the illustrator wasn't versed in urban planning.  What we did was break the book into sections to fit into the transect zones to make them have a feel for the different places.

Then, we put together an idea book for the different zones saying this is what the fire station looks like, and here's what we want on this page.  We were able to create our own streetscape and the types of buildings that went into these pictures.

Damien: How much time do you spend on the different transportation modes that you see in the different zones?

Tim: Most of the transportation topic is implied.  One thing that you get is a cutaway view of the underground, the Busy, Busy World sort of feel that you get.  There's all these different layers going on.  The city has a subway that follows through the downtown and stops.  Underground you follow a storm drain that stops at the rural area.  There's also a bus that ends in the rural area before you get out to the countryside.

Damien: Besides that, you see people on the street.  You see people on bikes.  You definitely get the idea that there's more going on than just people driving cars. 

So, let's move on to the nuts and bolts.  When was the book published?

Tim: Last December.

Damien: In time for the holidays.  Smart.  What's the response been like?

Tim: It's been good. 

The best response we've had was when Andrés Duany purchased a couple copies of the book.  He wrote us an e-mail saying that it was one of the best tributes that he's had.  That was great, because he was the creator of the "rural-to-urban transect."

The other response was a picture from someone who got a copy for their kid.  On Christmas Eve the kid was all huddled up with the book, fast asleep.

Damien: The cover of the book looks great.  Everyone is smiling, happy urbanists.  And are Hugo and his Mom walking down a car-free street?

Tim: The cover was an interesting piece because it's a combination of the different zones.  You have the combination of the countryside to the city.

Damien: So, let's talk about the event on the 25^th.

Tim: It's going to be pretty cool.  A friend who's an actress and a teacher will be doing the reading and we're going to project some images from the book onto the wall so everyone can see them.  We'll also have some of the original artwork available for sale.

When that's done, I discovered that the Natural History Museum has a model of Los Angeles from the 1940's in their basement.  I thought we could walk down there and show people how it was used.

Oh, and James Rojas is going to be joining us.

Damien: Let me guess, he's making a model.

Tim: Yeah.  He's going to be modeling the LA River.  Do you know James?

Damien: I've done his modeling workshops, twice now?  I think he has a modeling project at half of the events I go to.  I'm half surprised there's not one being built at the table next to us.  Are the kids going to be working on a model, or is it a demonstration project?

Tim:   I think so.  It will be a mix of people working on it.

Damien: And if I wanted to buy the book, where should I look?

Tim: You can get a copy at the Planetizen website, and I think, at Amazon.

David Pulsipher has a varied career as a bike advocate here in Los Angeles. Currently a Board Member for C.I.C.L.E. and a staff member at Alta Planning, Pulsipher also served in the bike department at Metro working on a variety of bike-related issues. At Alta Planning, Pulsipher is working on the city’s Bike Master Plan, a draft of which should be available for public viewing in early 2009.

Streetsblog: Thanks for doing this. We’ll get into C.I.C.L.E. in a little bit, but first the main event… Are there any updates on the Bike Master Plan that you would like to share with us?

David P.: So I feel pretty good about the progress we are making.  We've spent a lot of time working on the bike network (in response to the public input). I've also spent a substantial time on a policy document that is being vetted before public review.  It's like a bicycle policy bible for Los Angeles. I really want to encourage feedback from the public - because not only does it keep us honest, but it helps us make sure we've addressed the common concerns out there.

This is especially relevant with the maps, of course.

Streetsblog: It sounds like there's a lot to look forward to in early 2009.  As someone that has worked for Metro, and worked with LADOT, what's the one thing that a lot of us in the advocacy world don't know or think we know but don't.

David P.: Just one thing?  

Just kidding.  

I sometimes get the feeling that many people in the advocacy world underestimate city staff's motives.  By and large, my professional and friendly relationships with these individuals has proven to me that they care just as much (if not more than) as the advocates do about bicycling in Los Angeles.   I think that too often advocacy-folk misplace their frustration on Metro/LADOT staff, when it would be more properly directed at bureaucracy in general, i.e., political processes.  I think an area that has been untapped by advocates is normalizing bicycling to the point where it has real political capital. If bicyclists had the same political capital as some of the other groups in the city - we'd be seeing real change because the elected officials would have to jump through hoops to appease us.  We're begging for crumbs when we haven't even been invited to the table. 

Pulsipher, with Will Campbell in the Background, Addresses the Tour De Ballona

Streetsblog: As an activist who can see things from the side of the buerocracy, do you think there is any real value to the large group rides that people put together?  In other words, does something such as Critical Mass, which I think most readers of Streetsblog know I personally support, actually do anything?

David P.: Good question.  I once read in a popular bicycle-oriented magazine that the worst thing that ever happened to bicycling was Greg Lemond winning the Tour de France.  This person argued that Lemond's success is what shifted (bike pun) bicycling from being viewed as a means commuting and utility use - to pure recreation.  This is reflected in bike culture today in America, which by and large is dominated by the recreational/"spandex" crowd.  Finding bicycles, let alone bicycle shops that cater to utility bicycling is very difficult compared to the effort required to find a racing bike.

What's great about social rides is that they are getting people to realize that bicycles aren't just for those who want to dress in tight clothes and ride on highways.  Group rides are great for strengthening the individual's resolve to get out and ride more often.  There's no doubt that the growth of social bike rides is introducing bicycling to people who normally wouldn't bike... by the thousands.  I think a larger question is - do social bike rides translate their popularity into more bicycle commuters on the road?  I think that is a question that needs to be addressed by someone out there in academia, for sure.  Right now it's tough to say if they do and I think that explains many people's hesitancy to endorse or support them.

What do the rides accomplish? It's tough to say... in Santa Monica (the CM I'm most familiar with) the ride means different things to different people.  For the riders, it means a night of fun and community.  For the SMPD, it's a headache. For MOST of the people watching us ride by... it is a very fun thing to watch.  For people temporarily delayed in cars - the ride is public enemy number one.

One thing that we try to do at CICLE is host group rides that try to prepare people better for when they aren't riding in a group.  It's one thing to be brazen and cocky in a swarm of 400 bicyclists, but it's quite another when you are riding home in rush hour by yourself.  CICLE rides follow traffic rules and emphasize the responsibility we have while on the road.

Ultimately - a group ride's efficacy is dependant upon their end game.  If their mission is to provide fun, wreak havoc, gather toys for the disadvantaged, that's great.  But I think group rides will start to be taken more seriously if they can be proven to get people out of their cars and on to their bicycles, by themselves.

Streetsblog: Looking back at 2008, do you think the city and county is in a stronger place now than it was a year ago in it's efforts to ween people out of their cars, and if so what do you think has changed.  If not, what do we need to do differently?

David P.: Hmm, it's tough to answer that question without factoring gas prices.  Unfortunately - it seems like the critical mass of people out there who are willing to switch over to bicycling will only do so when they can't afford to drive.  During the summer - there was a huge boom in bicyclists.  Bike shops were busy, and I know that the bikerowave was teeming with new people. Now that gas costs have plummeted, it seems like people have breathed a huge sigh of relief.  So in that sense, 2009 poses a challenge where 2008's high gas prices had gift wrapped the issue for us.

I'm not sure the city/county can do much without the electeds taking a significantly stronger stance in favor of bicycle infrastructure, education and policy.  With their support, we could really make strides towards getting people out of their car.  I think the classic example of the "do as i say, not as i do" mentality is the mayor's deputy cruising around town in a hummer.  Where cities have been successful, it's come from advocates working with politicians who "get it."  In 2009, I want to see the Los Angeles bike crowd mobilize towards getting one of our own elected.  

That would be amazing.

Streetsblog: And for the magic wand question…you can change one thing in Los Angeles transportation by just wishing it too happen. What do you change?

David P.: Man, these magic wand questions are tough for a pragmatist.  As much as I love bicycling I realize that not everyone wants to do it... but at the same time I know that there are tons of people out there who need a little more exposure before they try it and it will change their life.  I really believe that promoting bicycling makes sense for everyone regardless your mode choice. bicyclists are natural traffic calmers, pollution reducers, congestion alleviators, revenue generators... etc.

So with that being said - if i could change anything i would change the way money is allocated to bicycle and pedestrian projects within the city. With all of this new money, the city could afford easements for additional bicycle paths and pedestrian plazas.  I'd build more public parks, and would build the most intricate/far-reaching network of bicycle boulevards in the world. Bike and ped projects are minuscule compared to highway projects, and for once I'd like to see the city put people first instead of cars.  There will be growing pains of course, but maybe with the right amount of money we'd finally get a politician who was willing to stick their neck out for some of this stuff.  What a lovely day dream...

Photos: Alex Thompson and Streetsblog

When I first stumbled on the Bus Bench it was during their “Dead Escalator Series” where Randall “Bus Tard” Fleming basically took pictures of all the escalators around Metro sites that didn’t work.  The Bus Bench became a regular read for me because it provided an alternative viewpoint of the Livable Streets movement because, to be frank, so much of the blogosphere that write about transportation issues tend to be white males.

Browne Molyneaux has become a recognized voice for change around the Los Angeles transportation community.  Not wanting the Bus Bench to get pinholed, she recruited new occasional writers Simon Ganz, Art Gonzo, and Sirinya Tritipeskul…And it’s paid off.  The Bus Bench now appears on the “unofficial” transportation headlines blog, is a member of Streetsblog.net, and is recognized as a clear voice for change around LA.

Streetsblog caught up with Browne to do an e-mail interview to discuss her Murder Your Car Art Project, the Bus Bench and whatever else came to mind.

Streetsblog: Ok, so the title doesn't leave a lot to the imagination for what your theme is…but what will the final project actually look like?

Browne: The Project hopefully will be me destroying someone's car on stage, but to me the project is bigger than just that. To me my anti-car stance and I say anti and not pro alternative transportation, because I want it to be known that I'm firmly anti-consumer driven lifestyle. I know in some parts of the city a car is truly a necessity, but in Hollywood, Santa Monica and donwntown if you are child free you don't need one. I want to challenge that person to get rid of the biggest chain of consumerism in LA: The car. There is no way that public transit is going to get better until that person decides they don't need to spend their disposable income on a car. I would also be willing to destroy people's brand name clothing, shoes and credit cards if that's something people would be up for. Bring the literal item of anything that is making you a consumer junkie and I will  happily destroy it for you and send you a wave file or mov. file of you freeing yourself from whatever your consumer addiction is.

It's going to be a party. A celebration of anti-consumerism. The car will simply be a symbol. I may have to create a symbolic car if I can't get any volunteers. I put a listing on craigslist. We will see how it goes. It's all about the process.

(editor's note, anyone looking to donate a car for the show can get instructions here.)

Streetsblog: What happened to your last car?  Is there any cool story to your car-free conversion?  Did you beat it to death on stage with a sledge hammer?

Browne: There are no cool stories (that are true)  about the end of my driving days unfortunately most of the car free advocates in Los Angeles are not as creative as me, so there wasn't anyone innovative enough to come up with the idea of blowing up people's cars (well getting people to volunteer to have their car blown up) to end the car culture, which is really strange this being the movie making capital of the world. I know I've seen lots of movies with scenes of cars being destroyed. I would have liked to have my car blown up. That would have been fun, but what I did instead was sell it for way more than it was worth and took six months off from working to write a book of poetry. A violent book of poetry.

Streetsblog: Going back a second to the art, are there any other details from the The Loft Gallery's Post-Post Apocalypse show in January that you can share that we might find interesting?

Browne: The show is ongoing. It is a group collaboration.Marshall Astor and Edith Abeyta are the curators. Edith is an amazing conceptual artist who did my Street Wear outfit that I wear to beg for "change" at local art walks. The Post-Post Apocalypse show is a group show where each artists takes their definition of the "perfect" destroyed world and interprets that through their various artistic talents.

Here's a link to one of the performances in still picture format.
http://www.marshallastor.com/2008/12/08/post-post-apocalypse-ruins-photo-recap/

Streetsblog:  Changing gears for a second, let's talk about The Bus Bench.  The site has changed a lot since I first saw it, what are your plans for the site in 2009?  Are you going to continue to recruit more writers or change anything else?

Browne: We plan a mini redesign for The Bus Bench. I want it to have a more magazine feel. I also would like to broaden The Bus Bench's scope. Transportation will always be a major focus, but I also want to bring gender equality, racial justice and working class issues more into the fold. The basis of The Bus Bench is in social ecology. I'm not a big proponent of compartmentalizing lifestyle issues. I think economics, class, race, gender and sustainability issues are all interconnected. I'm also trying to get enough discipline to have a semi-weekly podcast as well as a video commentary on the issues of the day.

As far as recruiting other writers, well I would like to be able to pay people (if you do four posting per month at the Bus Bench I pay an honorarium.) We at The Bus Bench are also very into original stories. We don't do too much cutting and pasting or plugging of events, so if I could get a grant to at least pay people something I would like to have some more people come on. To me the blogsophere is becoming this party of people who don't need to get a paycheck and that's bad when we have this form of media where only "rich kids" or people who have the kinds of jobs where they have computer access can play. There is also this thing that the internet has where it's viewed as this odd thing if you expect money. Why is it odd to expect compensation for what you do? 

In the US unless you are a person of leisure or a college student you need money in order to eat and things. If I can pay a bartender 20 dollars plus tip for a cocktail, I can give you a little something for contributing to my vehicle.

Though for now since my budget is all out of my money making job I can't have a staff nearly as big as I want.

I am not too into advertising (not that it would be an effective way to raise revenue not with our model.) The problem with this new media is that once you start getting advertising and swag how can you help but not be a little bias. I want The Bus Bench to stay as sincere as possible.

I want The Bus Bench to be viewed as an editorial media.

Streetsblog: It's magic wand time.  If you could change one thing about Los Angeles with just a flick of the wrist, what would it be?

Browne: If I could wave a wand and change one thing about Los Angeles I would make it more accessible. And that would include education, mobility, housing, employment and free-time. I think LA the way it is now it's not accessible. There was a time when you could move out here from the middle of nowhere and do something with no connections and a dream or at least that's what people said and that time seems to be gone. It seems like to me LA is becoming one of those big city type places, where you need to know people and you need to come from money to get somewhere. And to me that's not LA.

In LA we had good public transit through the Red Cars.

In LA we had public space.

In LA kids rode their bikes.

In LA our first newspaper "The Star," was bilingual.

In LA we were part of a state where the governor Pio Pico was a biracial person of Latino and African descent.

In LA on the Eastside in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights we had Chinese-Americans, Jewish-Americans, African-Americans and Mexican-Americans living right next door to each other and being buried together in the Evergreen Cemetery.

In LA we had affordable higher education.

In LA we had jobs.

In LA you could come from Des Moines, Iowa or Mobile, Alabama or Guadalajara, Mexico or Tainan, Taiwan and you could come here with a dream and you could make that dream come true. A dream that included your own business or a union job and a little house and some saving so that you could go on little vacations and maybe send one or two of your kids to college.

We need to bring accessibility back to LA.

Photo: LA Observed
Images: The Bus Bench

Web designer and Metro Rider Fred Camino became a household name in the transit advocacy community and with Metro staff by building and nurturing an online community at Metro Rider, still available at Metroriderla.com.  The popular blog attracted hundreds of readers everyday and many more to his facebook, myspace and other social networking webpages.  Then, this spring, shortly after Metro Rider launched its own message boards, Fred Camino hung up his laptop and went on hiatus.  Some of the other writers at Metro Rider still post occasional columns, and judging by the comments section the blog still has a huge following.

Over the course of a couple of days, Streetsblog caught up with Fred Camino and conducted the following online interview.

Streetsblog: Honestly?  I’m as excited to do this interview as any of the other ones.  For those of you that don’t remember, Fred and I were partners in crime for awhile trying to boost Mike Feuer’s legislative package last winter and spring and it’s great to catch up with you.

I know a lot of people were probably wondering what you thought about Measure R, the debate that surrounded it and what it’s passage means for LA County.  Would you like to share your thoughts with us?

Fred Camino: Well, I voted Yes on Measure R, it was one of the few things in the election whose outcome I actually cared about.  Not so much because I feel Measure R will suddenly turn LA into the transit utopia we all dream for, but because the outcome of Measure R proves that the people of Los Angeles (and not just a rag tag group of online transit nerds) really care about improving transit.  I mean this was a vote that required a supermajority and that would directly raise taxes... the fact that it won really shows how desperate Angelenos are for something better.  Will Metro use the money in the most effective way?  Who knows.  I'm sure there will be a great deal of waste, stupidity, and controversy, but I think that's par for the course when it comes to giant politically driven bureaucracies. Certainly, not every one will be happy with every choice Metro makes.  But the fact that Measure R won against the odds means the people care, which means there will be a base of citizens who will (hopefully) be able and interested in keeping the politicians and bureaucrats accountable for the money we've chosen to give them.

Streetsblog: Outside of Measure R, were there any stories or experiences that made you want to grab your keyboard and get to work on a story?  It's pretty clear based on the response that Calwatch and Aaron get when they post a story that the audience you cultivated hasn't gone anywhere.

Fred Camino: There's been a bunch of stuff I've wanted to post about since I "hung up my laptop".  Measure R is probably the least of what I would have hypothetically been interested in writing about had I been interested in writing about anything.  The biggest story in my mind this year when it comes to Metro is how they've really put some effort to modernize and make their service more customer friendly in many respects, but how despite their good intentions they still kind of fall short.  

I mean if you look at some of the stuff that has been implemented this year it's pretty amazing, but each improvement seems to come with a disappointing little caveat or two.  We finally got TAP, and it has without a doubt been a huge improvement, but it still doesn't live up to its promised potential.  It's great that I can now buy a pass from the ticket vending machines instead of some random check cashing place, but what about the promised debit system, where I could simply load my card with cash and have it debited with each tap.  

As it stands now the TAP is little more than a glorified monthly pass.  Ticket Vending Machines are something else that got a nice boost this year, but still fall short overall.  It's hard to believe that just  a few years ago most TVM's wouldn't even take a 5 dollar bill when this year we were finally able to use our credit/debit cards.  That being said it's hard to believe that our TVM's still use the stupid buttons that are hard to line up with the selection rather than touch screens (how long have ATM's had touch screens now??)  and that the interface is still such that not a week goes by that people don't stop me to ask how to buy a ticket using the machines.  

Our splashy new LCD train information displays finally started displaying some relevant information, most notably arrival times, but once again the implementation has been anything but ideal.  On the web Metro revamped their homepage, but left the rest of the site a mess and gave us useless novelty sites like Metro Interactive while the Trip Planner rots and Google Transit is nowhere to be found.  

The list goes on, but it's my hope that in 2009 now Metro resolves to not just have good ideas, but follow them through to completion.

Streetsblog:  So, I know you’re busy with real life stuff, but do you have any plans to write at Metro Rider again?  The site is still wildy popular when one of the other writers posts a story.  If you don't have plans to do anything soon, can you at least tell people you were kidding about my and Hymon driving you out so I stop getting hate mail?

Fred Camino: I really want to bring MetroRider back, I brought it up in forum after Measure R passed and people seemed into it.  It's just hard, because my vision for MetroRiderLA is huge - I don't want to it to be just a blog, I want it to be a resource and a community - but my time and resources are not so huge.  If you have any ideas on how to run a real cool transit blog that either requires no more than an hour per today of work or that provides decent compensation for hours spent working on it, I'd love to hear them.  And since the LA Times has forced Steve Hymon out of the transit blogging game, all blame lies on you!

Streetsblog: Steve's blog is still there, it's just moved.  It's still cool, I promise.  So, we can at least double the blame.  I ask this question of everyone as the last question.  If you could change one thing about transportation in LA with a twitch of the nose, what would it be?

Fred Camino: I would put the rail where the freeways are and the freeways where the rail is. Or I'd just make LA's transportation system devolve about 90 years.

Streetsblog: Normally my last question is the "magic wand" question, but I bet most of the people reading this are your longtime fans, so if you wouldn't mind, take a second to let everyone know how you're doing and say, "hey" back at them.

Fred Camino: Longtime fans, ay?  Well, to whoever you are, I'm doing just fine thanks, hoping to get back to blogging about the Los Angeles Transit Oriented Lifestyle™ sooner rather than later, so don't take MetroRider off your RSS reader just yet.  In the meantime give Damien's posts on Streetsblog more comments!!!

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When I first decided to conduct a series of interviews instead of guest posts to keep Los Angeles Streetsblog fresh while I'm away next week, I wanted to talk with some people that were and weren't regular readers and with at least one person who would be entirely new to me.

Jessica Meaney at the Southern California Association of Governments suggested Angela Johnson-Meszaros, a tireless advocate on behalf of air quality and implementation of A.B. 32, the groundbreaking legislation that rocketed California to the front of the air quality movement.  I was able to sit down with Johnson-Meszaros at a Pasadena coffee house on chilly Monday afternoon.

Streetsblog:  Let’s start with some of the basics, such as who are you and what do you do for a living?

AJM:  I’m Angela Johnson-Meszaros.  I’m with the California Environmental Rights Alliance and my title there is director of policy and general counsel.   The Alliance works at the local level providing technical assistance  to community organizations that are mostly working on air-quality issues.  We work on brownfields and water quality and other issues such as land use that are relevant for communities’ quality of life. 

We work on the regional level mostly at the Southwest Regional Air Quality Management District on policy, rulemaking and regulation.  My colleague Joe Liu sits on their governing board.  At the state level we do lobbying and regulatory work around air quality and public health issues and other community participation.  Right now, I’m co-chairing the state’s A.B. 32 Implementation Advisory Committee.

Streetsblog: Just in case anyone doesn’t know, can you give a brief description of A.B. 32, what it is and what it does?

AJM:    A.B. 32 is the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.  Passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in 2006.  The purpose of A.B. 32 is to have California reduce it’s Greenhouse Gas emissions.  The goal was to have our emissions in 2020 to be what our emissions were in 1990. 

As part of that effort, there is a three part process.  The first part are early actions the state took to reduce green house gases.  The second piece, which we’re in right now, lays out the scoping plan from where we are now to 2020.  The third phase begins in 2012 which is the implementation phase.  Between 2012  and 2020 is when we hope to really begin reducing emissions.

Streetsblog: Ok.  So, how are we doing?

AJM:  (laughs) Not so good.  I work primarily with environmental justice communities, primarily low-income communities and communities of color.  These communities are often are the host of a lot of air pollution and are most impacted by the inability of California to deal with not only Greenhouse Gasses but also the criteria and air pollutants.  Most notably, people think of smog.

We thought A.B. 32 had a lot of promise for dealing with the health issues caused by air pollution.  People in Los Angeles don’t usually recognize that for most of the South Coast area, which is all of LA County, Orange County, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties, the average person is exposed to a  1 in 15,000 chance of contracting cancer just from the air quality.  Depending upon where you live, if you live near the port, those chances are close to 1 in 7,000 or 1 in 8,000.

So, we have bad air quality.

If you think about transportation, a large portion of that pollution comes from our transportation infrastructure, cars and trucks with diesel toxins being the largest contributor.

Streetsblog: When you talked about the “early actions” the state is taking now, what are some of the things the state can do between now and 2012 while the state is planning.  Are we already on our way?

AJM: Well, there’s a long, exciting political tale that we can tell when we’re talking about the implementation of the early action items.  In the shortest possible telling, they were supposed to adopt the series of early action, the so-called low hanging fruit.  They went through a huge process, including a multiple day international conference.  They brought in people from all over, to talk about what can be done…

Streetsblog:…they got on the cover of TIME Magazine…

AJM:…on the cover of TIME Magazine.  The Governor was very fancy.   There’s all this stuff going on, but what ultimately ended up happening was they adopted three early action goals.

One of them was the low-carbon fuel standard which was supposed to reduce the carbon intensity of our transportation fuels.  One was a methane capture of landfill gases.  This is one thing our committee pushed hard for the inclusion of.  For a variety of reasons this proposal is zero dollars to implement.

After adopting the three, the Governor fired the Chair of the Air Resources Board.  There was a lot of turmoil.  The legislature was unhappy.  We were unhappy.  Everyone was unhappy.  That’s when Mary Nichols got the job as chair of the Air Resources Board.  Then we adopted another set of measures to improve air quality.

We are making progress…

Streetsblog: Do you believe the political problems that came up during the first implementation phase our things that are going to keep popping up as we try to implement other parts of this law?

AJM: This is an incredibly political process.  Implementation, the decision about what kinds of things to implement, what is doable, and what is not doable has been an incredibly political process.  In fact, there has been a fight going back to before A.B. 32 was even adopted about whether or not to use a policy tool called “Cap and Trade”  as the way to address our Greenhouse Gas emissions.

The environmental justice community has long opposed “Cap and Tradeing.”  There is a lot of evidence from around the world that every time a pollution trading program has been tried, it hasn’t worked.  That seems like something that should be worthy of consideration when you’re making your policy choices, but it hasn’t happened that way.  It’s very clear the governor wants to have a trading program that’s what he’s put out there from the very beginning.  There’s a lot of mainstream environmental groups that have joined him so we’re moving forward with that.  However, it’s created a lot of turmoil.

In short, this will always be a political process because there are a lot of people who are winners and losers in this process.  I think the most recent version of this has been in the last couple of weeks when ARB had to do their economic analysis.

ARB sent out their economic analysis for peer review.  The peer reviewers all came back and said that their economic analysis was really bad.  It’s just substandard.  It couldn’t possibly be worse that it is.  That was the same thing that we’ve been saying.  It looks like you decided on the policy first and then constructed an analysis to support the choice you already made.

Then, the legislative analysis office did a report on it.  Their report said, “You know, this really isn’t so good.”  But, the ARB said it was fine  and they’re going to adopt the thing on Thursday.

Streetsblog:  Hooray!  A story idea for Wednesday.

ALM: In particular for transportation issues, one of the early action measures included was this low carbon fuel standard which is supposed to reduce the carbon intensity of fuel.  Really, for California, in order to reduce the intensity of carbon in fuel, what we’re talking about is corn based ethanol.  That’s a very significant issue that we should consider when thinking about transportation policy.  Because it’s very clear that corn-based ethanol is not a good way to fuel our cars.

Burning food for fuel is a poor idea.

It effectively, literally, causes worldwide starvation.  We can feed 100 people for the same amount of corn that it takes to fill one tank of an SUV.  Part of the increase in food prices has been driven – pardon the pun – by the increasing use of corn-based ethanol for fuel.

It’s got all these ripple problems for hunger issues worldwide.  The U.N. has called for a five year moratorium  on using corn-based ethanol because of this issue of it making the world more hungry.   It’s also leading to price increases in the United States, in California, and locally of corn.  Since corn is such a building block, it leads to increases for eggs, for milk, for everything on the food chain.

This leads to the building of these large farm refineries that are being planned in the Central Valley.  They have pretty serious air pollution issues.  They also have massive impacts on water.  There was a report about a year and a half ago where it was estimated that just by growing the corn that you would need to meet the federal ethanol requirement would completely deplete all of the aquifirs underneath South Dakota.

And…it’s not even clear that it reduce Greenhouse Gasses.

So, what does all this mean.

What it means that we have this moment where the public is really focused on dealing with climate change.  The public is also focused on a lot of transportation issues if for no other reason than in Los Angeles you can’t go anywhere.  It’s just not convenient to travel.  That creates a lot of opportunities to really think about how we move ourselves around the region.  For those of us that care about the urban environment, wanting to create a cleaner urban environment and the roll of transportation in those environments, this is really an opportunity to interact with decision makers to say that we need to make decisions that will result in positive things.

This is the time to do it.

We have an extra opportunity with the economic collapse because there are going to be HUGE amounts of money available for infrastructure.  For those of us that care about these issues it’s time to say, “You’re not really going to build another eight lane highway.  We should build some real urban infrastructure that makes our communities more livable and walkable.  You’re going to take seriously walking paths.  You’re going to think about liking residential centers to retail and other places people want to go.  That’s what we want our tax money to be used for.  We’re all going to work on making our urban environment more sustainable.”

We also would get the kind of communities where people can connect on a more personal level.  That would reduce the amount of transportation, the amount of fossil fuels, that we use and now the agri-fuels that we use.  That would have a TREMENDOUS impact on our health because of what would happen to our air…Studies show that particulates from Diesel fuel kills more than 24,000 people a year.  That’s more than die in car crashes in the state of California and more than the number of people that were killed by second hand smoke.

If we were able to take this opportunity and really require that they put the interests of all of us first, instead of all of them first, whoever they are, it would make a massive, huge difference.

Streetsblog:  If you could give one piece of advice that might be out of the box on how we can make our air cleaner, what would it be?

AJM: As an individual, there are three key things that every individual can do.

The first is to really think about one opportunity to begin leaving your car at home and start taking some other way to get to your destination.  What you’ll find is there are lots of ways to get around without taking your car.  It may seem on an individual level that it doesn’t matter that much, but really what you’re doing is setting up a framework that makes everything a more viable option.

All of a sudden you’ll notice things like, “If there were a crosswalk here it would be easy to walk my kid to school everyday.

The second thing is to contact an elected official.  Take the time, make a phone call, send a letter…those things make amazing impacts in political offices.  They take note when they start to get letters from people.  It doesn’t have to be a massive treatise, it just has to ask them to take leadership on a particular issue.

Once you’ve done those two things, you’re well on your way to the third thing which is, having casual conversations with people about what you’re doing.  Don’t accost people, but let them know and encourage them to join you.

Streetsblog: I’m going to ask this question of everyone we interview for this series, if I remember.  It’s magic wand time.  If you could change one thing, having to do with transportation, what would it be?

AJM:  Maybe I’m tainted, because I work on this all the time…

Streetsblog: Everyone gives strange answers

AJM: I think the key issues of our time is whether we can harness the interest and focus around climate change.  I think Cap and Trade can dissipate all of that.  One thing that I would say is to have a climate change program that focuses on how we make and use energy.  From there, all good things would flow.

Images: Climate Action Team, Marten Law

Robert Gottlieb is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Urban Environmental Studies and Director of the Urban Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College.  The Institute seeks to marry education with action and thus Gottlieb and his students have become a major force for transportation reform in Los Angeles.

In addition to his work on signature projects such as Arroyo Fest and the upcoming Bike Summit Gottlieb has joined the ranks of bloggers.  At UEPI's blog you can read his thoughts and research on the history of bikes in the pre-automobile era and the role of bikes in creating a green economy.

Streetsblog: When you study environmental policy, you focus a lot on transportation issues. When I saw you at the Future Without a Car Conference you were talking about bikes and the history of bikes in America and where we should be going as a country. I guess to start, it would be helpful to get a brief description of your teaching and how you deal with transportation.

Gottlieb: We see things first from the environmental side. Environmental issues are daily life issues. That’s really the mantra of the environmental justice movement, that the environment is where you live work and play. Any environmental agenda would necessarily address transportation issues and housing, urban space, education and green space. There are a range of things that have both environmental consequence and have to do with the way in which urban life is organized.

So that’s the approach. You can’t really talk about urban space and urban politics without talking about transportation…particularly in Los Angeles which is a focal point of the program.

What we do here at the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute is we don’t separate research and teaching from action and community engagement. We see ourselves as action as well as education and research oriented. The opening line in the catalog for our program is, “…if you want to change the world, come to Urban and Environmental Policy.” Thus, we get students who are passionate around social change.

Transportation factors significantly into all of that.

As an institute we first got deeply involved in transportation when we got involved around issues regarding the Arroyo Corridor, the Pasadena to L.A. stretch that includes the Pasadena Freeway, the Arroyo Seco watershed and the communities along the corridor. Out of that came an idea, first broached by community members, about pulling off a bike ride and a walk ON the freeway.

Getting that took two years of organizing by the community and putting pressure on the transportation agencies. When we approached Caltrans they thought it was a joke, so we organized from the bottom up and the top down. First we got some elected officials on board to argue on our behalf while simultaneously undertaking a community campaign. We eventually did it. One transportation planner called it a “community organizing thriller.” We got them to agree to a Sunday morning closing of the freeway and to have bicyclists and pedestrians spend four hours toolin’ around.

Since then we continue to be strongly involved with transportation. Bike issues represent such a core way to get involved in transportation as well as urban space issues. It’s really become essential to what we are.

And that’s what led us to this Bike Summit discussion.

Streetsblog: Let’s hold off on the Bike Summit for a second. I’ve heard some talk about bringing back Arroyo Fest. Have you heard anything about that, or was it our one shot at the freeway?

Gottlieb: It’s not a one time shot, but it’s how and why you do it. When it happened, it took a lot of resources to pull off and a lot of organizing to deal with the agencies. One of the downsides of Arroyo Fest was the limited capacity of the bike movement, as it existed at the time. The bike movement then was weaker; today, there are far more groups engaged in far more activities than there were then. Thus, at the time of ArroyoFest there wasn’t the capacity of the movement to use the event as an organizing tool.

The second thing, in terms of resources, was feedback suggesting that any future ArroyoFest might require commercial sponsorship to turn it into an LA Marathon type of event. We didn’t want to do that. For this to make sense, it had to be a community event, a bicycle event and a livable communities event.

So we didn’t really see the capacity to pull off a repeat of the event of that magnitude at that point in time. When James (Rojas) recently started talking to people at Caltrans saying, “let’s do Arroyo Fest again” and they came to talk to us about the idea, we responded: let’s strengthen the capacity to do events such as Arroyo Fest by strengthening the bike movement and by strengthening the community base for such an event so we’re never dependent on corporate funds to pull it off. We didn’t want to see something like: “Toyota presents Arroyo Fest”

That can happen. It was one of the ideas five years ago to seek out corporate sponsorship, especially in relation to one major sponsor. We didn’t want to do that.

So, yes. It’s possible to do an event like this again. But first you really want to build a constituent base of groups and people and you really want to do it so that closing down the freeway for a bike ride and walk happens every year, every month, indeed every week. Similar to the concept that’s happening in places like Mexico so that you incorporate it into the fabric of the community and it’s not something that just comes along every couple of years.

That kind of thinking is what led to the Bike Summit.

There’s also a group of people that want to pull off a Ciclovia type event which captures the same type of energy that went into ArroyoFest, except it’s not freeway based, it’s surface street based. We are really in favor of that sort of event also. We could see people using the Arroyo Fest model literally everywhere.

All of that being said, that one time event, which we do hope will become an ongoing event, was truly a magical moment. It’s important to grasp what that meant, to take over a freeway, to hear the sounds of silence, to experience a sense of place you can’t experience driving on a freeway, to understand that the Pasadena Freeway was once designed as a parkway for a very different type of relationship to the environments it intersected..

Also, ArroyoFest did have an impact on helping stimulate new bike movement activity. Take the group C.I.C.L.E. C.I.C.L.E did not emerge directly from ArroyoFest, but Liz and Shay have said to me that Arroyo Fest stimulated their imagination. You can see it then as part of a re-emerging bike movement; one magical moment in a process of movement growth and increased capacity.

Streetsblog: You’ve mentioned the upcoming Bike Summit a couple of times so let’s get into it. I know not everything is set yet and I have some idea personally from talking to a representative from T.A. that’s coming into town and I talk and type with Joe almost constantly, but what do YOU envision it being?

Gottlieb: It’s not a one time shot, but it’s how and why you do it. When it happened, it took a lot of resources to pull off and a lot of organizing to deal with the agencies. One of the downsides of Arroyo Fest was the limited capacity of the bike movement, as it existed at the time. The bike movement then was weaker; today, there are far more groups engaged in far more activities than there were then. Thus, at the time of ArroyoFest there wasn’t the capacity of the movement to use the event as an organizing tool.

The second thing, in terms of resources, was feedback suggesting that any future ArroyoFest might require commercial sponsorship to turn it into an LA Marathon type of event. We didn’t want to do that. For this to make sense, it had to be a community event, a bicycle event and a livable communities event.

So we didn’t really see the capacity to pull off a repeat of the event of that magnitude at that point in time. When James (Rojas) recently started talking to people at Caltrans saying, “let’s do Arroyo Fest again” and they came to talk to us about the idea, we responded: let’s strengthen the capacity to do events such as Arroyo Fest by strengthening the bike movement and by strengthening the community base for such an event so we’re never dependent on corporate funds to pull it off. We didn’t want to see something like: “Toyota presents Arroyo Fest”

That can happen. It was one of the ideas five years ago to seek out corporate sponsorship, especially in relation to one major sponsor. We didn’t want to do that.

So, yes. It’s possible to do an event like this again. But first you really want to build a constituent base of groups and people and you really want to do it so that closing down the freeway for a bike ride and walk happens every year, every month, indeed every week. Similar to the concept that’s happening in places like Mexico so that you incorporate it into the fabric of the community and it’s not something that just comes along every couple of years.

That kind of thinking is what led to the Bike Summit.

There’s also a group of people that want to pull off a Ciclovia type event which captures the same type of energy that went into ArroyoFest, except it’s not freeway based, it’s surface street based. We are really in favor of that sort of event also. We could see people using the Arroyo Fest model literally everywhere.

All of that being said, that one time event, which we do hope will become an ongoing event, was truly a magical moment. It’s important to grasp what that meant, to take over a freeway, to hear the sounds of silence, to experience a sense of place you can’t experience driving on a freeway, to understand that the Pasadena Freeway was once designed as a parkway for a very different type of relationship to the environments it intersected..

Also, ArroyoFest did have an impact on helping stimulate new bike movement activity. Take the group C.I.C.L.E. C.I.C.L.E did not emerge directly from ArroyoFest, but Liz and Shay have said to me that Arroyo Fest stimulated their imagination. You can see it then as part of a re-emerging bike movement; one magical moment in a process of movement growth and increased capacity.

Streetsblog: You’ve mentioned the upcoming Bike Summit a couple of times so let’s get into it. I know not everything is set yet and I have some idea personally from talking to a representative from T.A. that’s coming into town and I talk and type with Joe almost constantly, but what do YOU envision it being?

Gottlieb: Maybe a good way to think of it is first the goals and then what it does. I think we’re hoping to accomplish a number of things.

One is to strengthen capacities. There’s a mushrooming of interest and things are going on. Whether it’s things like the kitchen or the rides. The Summit, by pulling people together will strengthen capacities. By working together we’ll all be stronger.

There’s a group that even Joe Linton hadn’t heard of in South L.A. that wants to do a workshop on biking in South L.A. and the issues they have to confront. There’s a group in Boyle Heights that would do a Boyle Heights bike workshop which would focus on the lack of lanes in Boyle Heights. There’s a lot of riders there that aren’t part of the greater bike movement. Those kind of workshops that we’re planning are then also aimed at another key goal: diversifying and expanding the bike movement.

We need to bring in more people, especially those that use their bikes to get to work or for other necessities but don’t think of themselves as bike advocates. So, that’s another strategy for the Summit, to bring people in to say that it makes sense for people to push for bike needs or pedestrian needs as part of a community plan process; for example, to change the streetscape of Boyle Heights so that people can bike.

The third component Is to cohere and expand the visibility around the role of bikes so that people don’t see biking as an alternative only when the price of gas is high. First of all, it’s still unclear whether we are in fact seeing a longer term increase in bike use independent of the price of gas. The Summit has been organized to look at bike issues as part of a deeper transformation of transportation and the built environment.

That’s reflected by bringing in speakers from Mexico City to say that in that very city, the pollution headquarters of North America, thanks to effective bike advocacy, a reform mayor, and the potential for a more comprehensive transportation alternative approach, that bikes have an important role in that transformation.

We’re bringing in Noah Budnick from New York to talk about some of the dynamic things going on in that city and other parts of the country. We’re adding a speaker from Portland to do the same thing.

Yet L.A. has in some respects the greatest capacity, in the face of car and freeway dominance, to be at the leading edge of elevating bikes as a key alternative. We have a twelve month bikes season. We have relatively flat surface streets. Also bikes are particularly conducive to short trips. That’s where we can focus on reducing automobile usage and converting streetscapes rather than the exclusive focus of Bike to Work.

Bike to Work isn’t a bad thing but very often you get those responses from people that bike or transit is too far, or takes too long…But what about going that first half a mile? So much of our car use in L.A. are short trips as well.

There are lots of opportunities, even in a “spread out region,” where bikes can play a really substantial part in re-thinking landscape, and transportation and bikes in a community environment.

The LA Bike Summit gives a chance to say that bikes in L.A. really make a lot of sense.

To be a real success it has to be part of a process. It’s clearly designed to develop more networking and more visibility, education and diversity of bike advocates.

By saying we’re not just a niche thing for a group of people that ride around at midnight but for people that want to get around as well for any number of purposes. Not that I have anything against riding around at midnight. That’s great too.

Streetsblog: When you look at L.A. as we are now, do you see anything that makes you think we’re beginning to move in the right direction?

Gottlieb: Yes and No.

We’re moving in the right direction in that it’s a little bit more on the radar screen, not very much but a little more at the city, county, state and national scene. It’s also very clear that we can now make the argument that if you’re talking green economy, alternative transportation or other big-ticket item that is going to be on the agenda that you’re going to have to talk about bikes. Yes, I see it a little bit happening and the opportunity for a lot more.

“No” in the sense that there’s an element of green-washing that goes on when there’s a Bike Master Plan or you do other things that tap what you have accomplished from planning that aren’t thinking outside the box and aren’t moving an agenda forward in a way we need.

Transportation. Air Quality. Global Warming. Sense of Place.

These are all things on public policy agendas, yet bikes are still at best at the margins of policymaking.

There are opportunities and things are moving forward but we have to think a lot more expansively.

Streetsblog: Now the last question. You have a genie that is willing to grant a wish, but it has to be about transportation in Los Angeles, what would be that one thing.

Gottlieb: In a short-term it would be easy to accomplish, from government, the way they’re dedicating spaces in Mexico City that take large spaces and dedicate them as public spaces at least periodically, if not a daily basis.

On streets, on freeways, on parks…in Griffith Park, having bike and pedestrian environments and car-free environments. That way people can visualize what it means to move in that direction even if it means we have to change the streetscape and even if it’s just every Sunday.

In the long-term we really need to enter into a post-automobile era. There’s a saying in the environmental world that you need to create a hierarchy of goals. When dealing with waste issues, for example, the hierarchy is reduce-reuse-recycle.

In transportation we have it all wrong. The focus is make cars more efficient at the top, then rail, then bus, then bikes and pedestrians. That has to be reversed at all levels. When you start doing that it changes the notion of what it means to be involved in transportation planning.

One of the things I do is edit a series for M.I.T. press called Urban and Industrial Environments. We just got a new manuscript called Traffic which was done by this really creative planner and advocate from Italy who’s core thesis is that transportation planning is being done by people who construct it as an engineering paradigm. How do you get people from place to place the quickest. Everything flows from that.

That worldview permeates how we think about urban life.

But what if you had Caltrans run by a group of philosophers who would be thinking of transportation with a different conceptual framework regarding transportation planning and urban life. From that would flow how we build our transportation system. It’s similar to what James Rojas is trying to get at with his modeling streetscape exercises. This book might be published by M.I.T. press. We have to reorient the ways we think about place and “getting there.” Today, that thinking about transportation is placed within that engineering paradigm, about getting there fastest instead of how one experiences the place that one passes through.

Photo: UEPI/Flickr, MIT Press

Hymon, Second from the Left, Joins Sue Doyle in Talking to Richard Katz and Asm. Feuer

Does anyone really need me to write an introduction for an interview with Steve Hymon? If so, I’ll be brief. He’s the transportation writer for the Los Angeles Times, making him one of the five most read transportation writers in the country. On top of that he managed to revive the moribund Bottleneck Blog to the point that the Times had to merge it with its flagship blog LA Now.

I sat down with Steve immediately before a City Council hearing on the Obama stimulus at a Starbucks across the street from the Caltrans building. The conversation was relaxed and good-humored, just in case some of the discussion of Steve’s choice of commute doesn’t seem that way.

Streetsblog: Today we’re talking with Steve Hymon of the LA Times and the Bottleneck Blog. Well, I guess it’s LaNow/Bottleneck.

Hymon: Whatever it is…

Streetsblog: I’ll make sure we link to it correctly in the article.

Streetsblog: So…how did you commute today?

Hymon: I knew you were going to ask that, so I came prepared. I drove! A Subaru Outback 2007. I do drive most days to work. I take the Gold Line occasionally, but I’ll be quite honest. I find it a lot faster to drive. I do take mass transit a lot, but typically during work hours for work purposes. Every couple of weeks I do try and hop on the Gold Line.

Streetsblog: I knew you took transit at least sometime…you couldn’t have done it today? I remember one night you and I were the only people on earth listening to a hearing on one of Mike Feuer’s bills and you were talking about taking light rail home.

I was expecting Gold Line, just for me,..

Hymon: Nah. Since I knew I’d be talking to you, I made it a point to drive. I knew you would ask and wanted to be honest about it.

Look, I have a car. I can afford to have a car, and I like to have a car. I was thinking about this driving in. Probably, having a car amounts to 5-10% of my total salary, but it’s worth every penny because I like the mobility it affords me.

Having the Gold Line out there is great because its an important alternative to have. While my girlfriend takes it more often than I do, it’s still a great option to have. It’s a slower option…but I’ve ridden it before and I’ll ride it again. And it is getting better overtime.

Even if it gets me off the road every couple of weeks, that’s better than I would have done if it had never opened.

Streetsblog: Well, if you believe the Metro Board, if we all did that, everything would be fine.

Hymon: Actually, it’s an easy thing for them to say, but there might actually be something to it. Intuitively, if you were to take 20% of the people that drive everyday off the road, that would certainly take the edge off of it. There’s people out there who study the stuff who say that what you really need to do is get 3-5% off and things would flow a lot better.

Streetsblog: In Portland, and I’m saying this off the top of my head without looking it up, I believe they have a 5% mode share for bicycles and the city has garnered this reputation of being a bikeopolis.

Hymon: And that’s just for bikes. If you look at the 2000 census for the City of Los Angeles, somewhere around 80%, actually I think it’s higher, drive to work alone. That’s really high when compared to Chicago or New York. Those two cities are a lot more saturated with transit than we are here.

If you could reduce that 80% by even a few points it would probably make it a little more manageable.

But back to the Gold Line, I would love to take it more often. But, the fact is that most days I drive to work it’s about a 25 minute drive, 30 if things are unmanageable. About the fastest I can get on the Gold Line is 45 minutes and I’ve tried every combination of riding my bike to the station, taking the city bus, taking an MTA bus to the station, driving to the station…everything.

I think that’s the big thing. I know people say that you’re gaining quality time by riding the train even though it takes longer. But, I don’t buy that.

Streetsblog: What are you going to do read the newspaper </rimshot>

Hymon: Exactly. All newspapers print is more bad news about newspapers.

Streetsblog: So, you didn’t always cover transportation…

Hymon: For a couple of years I was the City Hall reporter.

Streetsblog: And, lucky you, you still get to spend some time there.

Hymon: Well, a lot of stuff goes through there. Villaraigosa is a big player in local transit circles, chairing the MTA Board and such. I don’t have to pay attention to the elephant debate, but there’s still important stuff that goes on here.

Streetsblog: So what was the big story of the year for LA County. I’m guessing you’ll say Measure R and everything that happened during the debate yet there was a decent amount of geographic parity in the results.

Hymon: Absolutely Measure R. At the root of every transportation problem is funding. Now we’ll watch whether those guys are going to build what they say they’re going to build.

I think another major story was the Metrolink Chatsworth Crash. ..It seems that the agency is starting to move in the right direction, but the fact that this sort of thing can happen today is mighty scary.

Streetsblog: I’m happy they started to focus less on just the engineer and his cell phone.

Hymon: We’re still waiting for the NTSB’s final report, so I don’t want to speculate on what happened, but even If the cell phone proves to be a minor factor, it’s still pretty frightening. You would think that someone in charge of a three car passenger train would give their full attention to driving the train regardless of whether it played a key role in him missing the signal or whether the signal was operating properly.

If we don’t want people texting and driving…we don’t want people texting and driving a train either.

Streetsblog: Fair enough. Do you have a favorite story for this year? As opposed to a biggest, a favorite?

Hymon: I don’t know if I’d say it’s a favorite, but one story I’ve wanted to write for a long-time that I just got to at the end of the year was how poor the traffic light timing is. In Pasadena, it’s almost comically bad. It’s as though someone came in and said, “Let’s see if we can program the lights so that drivers miss every one of them.

It’s not like I’m saying that I deserve every green light or you deserve every green light; but in an area where we’re so concerned about Greenhouse Gases and we know that a car stopping every hundred feet is less fuel efficient than one that isn’t that we would do this better.

It’s bad pretty much everywhere. We’re way behind where we need to be.

Streetsblog: Ok, two more…Anything that’s going to come up in 2009 that we should be looking for that might be off the radar right now?

Hymon: I’m going to sort of answer the question. I do think this is on everyone’s radar, although they haven’t thought about it as much as they should, which is that the Measure R tax money is going to flow in on July 1, and there’s going to be an enormous amount of pressure for all of these projects to get some money.

At the same time you have a spending plan that sort of spells out how we’re going to fund different projects. I think what we’re going to see is discussion like, “hey, is there a way to ramp up funding for the subway even though it’s not scheduled yet in the plan” because it’s such a big project. It’s the marquee project for Measure R . It’s potentially 10% of the funds.

Because it’s so expensive the public ‘s going to question whether they’re going to want to pay for it over 20-25 years, as the plan says its going to, or start to move it sooner. If we say it’s going to cost $5-$10 billion now, it could cost $20-$30 billion later. Assuming the economy regains its footing.

So, there’s going to be pressure to spread this Measure R money in a way that’s fare and honest to what they said they were going to do but still has a sense of fiscal responsibility.

It’s going to be controversial to. There’s a lot of people wary of that subway project. Some supported Measure R but others did not.

Streetsblog: So, now the standard last question. If you had a magic wand that could do one thing, transportation related, in the region…what would it be?

Hymon: Let me think about that for a second.

Streetsblog: Take your time, there’s no dead air on the Internet. I will say that we’ve gotten answers everywhere from “get a new mayor” to “Get rid of ethanol.”

Hymon: If I could do any one thing it would be to move the clock forward and get some cleaner cars on the road. I’m of the view that even with Measure R, even with new transit and record ridership, the way for most people to get around is going to be by driving. That’s how the development patterns are. Given that’s likely to be true, let’s at least get people moving around in cars that have less impact.

Most of what you see driving around is still in the 20-25 miles per gallon. If you could greatly ra

mp that up there would be less smog in the region. People who live here are far more excepting of smog then they should be.

Getting back to your first question, when I’m driving in to work I’m acutely aware that what’s coming out of my tail pipe isn’t what most people would argue is good for the global environment. I don’t like that, and try to control it to some degree but it would be nice if when I’m shopping for a car if I had more affordable choices than I do. Most of the fuel efficient stuff is more than someone like me is willing or able to spend.

Streetsblog: Thanks a lot, let’s go to our meeting!

Photos: LA Streetsblog, Via Magazine