As Streetsblog L.A. closes out its 5th Anniversary Year, it's important to note how far we've come. I don't just mean Streetsblog L.A., which will have literally ten times the annual budget we had when we launched, but also how far we've come as a city. In 2008, there was no talk of dramatically expanding the city's bicycle network, Measure R hadn't passed and was considered a long shot, CicLAvia was just a funny word, and the city refused to install the safest crosswalks.
A lot of that has changed, but as recent setbacks in Westwood demonstrate, there's a lot left to do. Even as the streets begin to transform from car sewers to Livable Streets, new fronts open up from Hyperion, to Lankershim, to Measure R++, to Eagle Rock.
And while we fight the good fight in Los Angeles in 2014, our reach has broadened all the way up to Sacramento where a new writer will keep an eye on Jerry Brown, the legislature and Caltrans. Back home, a new reporter joins me and Sahra in doing the same with Eric Garcetti, LADOT and the City Council.
While we've had our share of success attracting foundations and major donors, the lifeblood of Streetsblog has always been the readers who join us every day. Please make a tax-deductible gift to Streetsblog and Streetfilms so we have the resources to hold the next administration accountable and keep L.A. and all of California moving in the right direction.
Our audience has helped sustain our reporting, commentary, and videos for several years. Thank you to everyone who's supported our work -- and please keep it coming, because your contributions are essential to producing influential Streets Media.
For extra motivation, thanks to our friends at PUBLIC Bikes we are giving away one classy C7 and one beautiful V7 bicycle to two lucky readers who give $50 or more. We'll hold the drawing after December 31, and the first name out of the hat gets first pick. Feast your eyes:
Thank you for giving and making Streetsblog and Streetfilms a valuable, high-impact, community-supported resource.
