Somebody Walks in L.A.: A Brooklynite Writing for GOOD Magazine

5_20_10_walk.jpg

For those that have missed it GOOD Magazine is running a series by Ryan Bradley about walking in Los Angeles.  Bradley, a Brooklyn resident, basically sets down at LAX and heads out to conquer the city by foot.  Once you get past the idea that a progressive online publication can just drop a New Yorker off in L.A. and expect them to write intelligently about our transportation issues, you discover that Bradley has some interesting things to say.

Everyone gets the joke there, right?

In addition to providing an interesting narrative about his own 70 mile trek through Los Angeles, and some of the connected cities such as Culver and Beverly Hills, Bradley makes several good policy points as well.  For example, from his introduction post, Bradley makes the case that things are getting better, that the tide is turning, in L.A.

But the truth is people do walk in L.A. And bike. Fully 12 percent of
all trips in Los Angeles are by bicycle or on foot—that’s more than
Austin or Portland. In sheer numbers, L.A. has more bikers and walkers
than Washington, D.C., or Chicago, or even San Francisco. And it
happens to be far safer for biking and walking than all three,
according to a 2010 Benchmarking Report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking.
I lump walking and biking together only because, until very recently,
so did everyone else. In the 1990s biking and walking were
"alternative," like rock music. Fifteen years ago, Los Angeles spent "about $1 million"
a year on pedestrians and bike services. This year Los Angeles has
earmarked $36 million on walking alone. Could it be that this western
cow-town, this place that’s synonymous with self-reinvention, is
reinventing itself?

As of the moment I’m typing this, there are three parts to the series, with more coming.  You can find the entire series, or at least what’s been published so far, at the Walking in L.A. page on GOOD’s site.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Examining Google’s Walking Directions

|
I’ve gotten a lot of email about Google’s new walking directions Beta launch this week and now that the Metro craziness is over, I decided to give it a try and see how it worked. I took a street corner near my home and asked for directions from their to the Third Street Farmer’s Market.  […]

Photo Essay: Pacoima’s Opening Celebration For Bradley Plaza

|
Yesterday, the community of Pacoima celebrated the opening of the city of L.A.’s latest car-free space: Bradley Plaza. The plaza closes to cars one block of Bradley Avenue immediately east of Van Nuys Boulevard in the north San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Pacoima. The plaza is a product of the city Transportation Department’s (LADOT) innovative […]

Celebrate Bike Week by Taking a Stand for Walking

|
(Want to celebrate Bike Week but can’t make an event? You can help out Bikeside with their L.A. Bike Survey, helping Bike Nation with their Long Beach kiosk locations, sending us your bike week media or go multi-modal and help L.A. Walks Kickstart their newest campaign . – DN) It’s not considered a good fundraising strategy to announce […]

The Week in Livable Streets Events

|
Schools are on their Spring Breaks, most Council meetings are in recess, so our schedule is a little on the light side. Wednesday – L.A. City’s Board of Public Works discusses mitigation measures for tree removal for construction of Metro’s Crenshaw line. A joint neighborhood council task force has been negotiating with Metro and the […]