Westside Kids “Testify” on Bike Plan and Are Heard Across the Country

Today on the Streetsblog Network,
a story about some kids in Los Angeles who did their research and came
up with several good ideas about improving conditions for bicycle
commuters. Then they ran up against the reality that the public forums
on the city’s bike plan weren’t so public. But they didn’t let that
stop them.

Stephen Box at SoapBox LA reports:

The FIRSTteamWestside (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology) is a group of kids who prepared a presentation that they
intended to give at the Bike Plan (draft) workshops.

Their
mission was to develop a plan to improve local transportation. They did
the research and they prepared and they discovered that the public
workshops were not the robust public arena they desired, so they adapted.

Their
coach reports, “The kids were hoping to give a presentation at one of
the “public forums” but were badly disappointed when they found out
that members of the public would not be allowed to speak so they posted
it on YouTube and submitted the link at labikeplan.org.”

The
kids give an amazingly articulate and informed statement, recommending
additional bike cars for the region’s commuter rail system. The future
is coming.

More from the network: The Transport Politic looks at the importance of aligning transitways with walkable neighborhoods. On Transport
discusses the concept of “lifestyle centers” and their aspirations to
create a sense of community in a suburban mall setting. And Intersection 911 reports on the 38 percent bump in Philadelphia bike commuting during the SEPTA strike.