Breaking News: Rosendahl, Koretz to Assume Transportation Committee Leadership

8_11_09_rosendahl.jpgBill Rosendahl at February’s Car-Free Friday event.

Tucked away in his story on the removal of the Reseda Boulevard Bike Lane Ted Rogers broke the news on the new leadership of the City Council Transportation Committee.  As of September 1st, Bill Rosendahl will take over the Chairmanship and new Councilman Paul Koretz will serve as Vice Chair.  After reading Rogers’ article, I confirmed the future appointment with Rosendahl’s office.

Rosendahl has become the go-to Councilman on the Committee over the past two years for transportation reformers.  In addition to his tireless advocacy for the Green Line and for a yet-to-be-realized rapid bus on Venice Boulevard, Rosendahl has earned his bona-fides as a transit advocate.  Following the horrific Mandeville Canyon Bike Crash, Rosendahl also becoame an outspoken advocate for the rights of cyclists; be it supporting the Cyclists Bill of Rights or demanding accountability from the LAPD on bicycle licenses and their reporting of April’s "bike v hummer" incident.

It also makes sense for Koretz to be a part of the committee as he may have been the most thouroughly vetted council person on transportation issues in years.  He supports the new and proposed transit lines that will run through his district, and probably has ridden more miles on his bike than I have.  Koretz has completed the San Francisco to Los Angeles route of the AIDS Lifecycle rides.

We should also note that the proposed plan to increase capacity on Pico and Olympic Boulevards by removing street parking runs directly through Rosendahl’s and Koretz’s districts.  Both councilmen have been vocal opponents of the plan.

Streetsblog will be following up this story tomorrow with the makeup of the rest of the committee and reaction from the advocacy community.  In the meantime, please leave your comments below.

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