The Bicycle Advisory Committee, on the dais. Photo: CiclaviaAs budget cuts hit agencies across the city, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation continues to make cuts by retreating from its already lacking commitment to public outreach. In a letter addressed to Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair Glenn Bailey LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson informs the Committee that the LADOT will no longer be able to provide staff to attend any meeting that takes place after business hours and won't provide any support staff at all. The LADOT has already backed away from its commitment to have a working Memorandum of Understanding with Neighborhood Councils, and now they're bailing on providing support for its own advisory bodies. You can read Robinson's letter here.
Bailey, in a letter to the rest of the Committee, notes that the city's commitment to the B.A.C. has been waning for years,
I would make the observation that for the first decade or so of theBAC's existence, it was staffed by someone from the Mayor's Office. During that period it seemed that the BAC had more influence with Cityagencies, perhaps because all communication came from the Mayor's office.
However, not everyone is going to mourn the reduced role for the LADOT in the working of the city's official cycling body; LADOT staff has been blamed for the bureaucratic nature of the committee. It will be interesting to see how, if at all, the Committee changes in the coming months and whether the LADOT will continue to back away from its commitments to interact with the public.
