Streetsblog

Allison Mannos: Why Streetsblog Matters

Why give to Los Angeles Streetsblog? Exactly for the reason that LA Streetsblog has become a game changer in transportation in Los Angeles, even more so than the other cities it's appeared in. Before Streetsblog hit the scene, in order to hold carcentric agencies accountable and know what developments were happening, you either had to be a total nerd or a government planner/engineer. I was the former, and Streetsblog gave me an informal and crucial crash course education during my years at UCLA in transportation politics.

By Damien Newton

9:35 AM PDT on June 27, 2011

Well, we’re in the last week of our first spring/summer fundraising drive, and the donations have come in at a steady pace. Add to that, some extra cash brought in from advertising and our fundraiser and we’ve done pretty well. Not great, but pretty well. As we approach the end, I asked advocacy superstar Allison Mannos, from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Mannos has helped us in every way imaginable having made donations, attended fundraisers, written a story, and she’s even bought a Streetsblog t-shirt. So, if you’re on the fence as to whether or not to help us out, Let Allison tell you why.

Why give to Los Angeles Streetsblog? Exactly for the reason that LA Streetsblog has become a game changer in transportation in Los Angeles, even more so than the other cities it’s appeared in. Before Streetsblog hit the scene, in order to hold carcentric agencies accountable and know what developments were happening, you either had to be a total nerd or a government planner/engineer. I was the former, and Streetsblog gave me an informal and crucial crash course education during my years at UCLA in transportation politics.

On top of its amazing, high quality coverage of all things trains, buses, bikes, and pedestrians, LA Streetsblog has been on the cutting edge, for giving attention to underrepresented communities. This has included articles ranging from the Expo/Dorsey conflict, to City of Lights, to TOD’s and gentrification.

By tying together comprehensive, daily transportation news in LA, Streetsblog has helped inform our campaigns here at Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and also helped mobilize and unify our members and others in the bicycle advocate community. We all need to pitch in to support (I am a supporter of Streetsblog) and continue to read the media we want to see. By extension, the diverse, progressive movement we want to build, that of a multi-modal, non-carcentric, equitable Los Angeles starts here!

There’s a lot of ways you can show your support. You can donate directly here, or buy a t-shirt here, or join us for our fundraiser at Flying Pigeon on June 17 (details here). We can receive through PayPal sent to “damien@streetsblog.org.” Last but not least, you can purchase an advertisement by emailing me directly.

Thanks for your support!