Brian Addison

Contemporary. Hip. Accessible. Vibrant. Artistic.

As Los Angeles quietly (but directly) abandons Bike Nation and Santa Monica pirouettes past both cities to pave the way for its city-wide bike share program, one can't help but ask Long Beach: Are we continuing to go forward with a company which largely ignores the media, lacks a fulfillment of promises, and ultimately seems to wear a name tag it put on itself instead of earning?

After two attempts at gaining money, the three-year long dream to remove the northern portion of the Terminal Island Freeway (I-103) just took another step towards reality after the City of Long Beach scored a quarter-million Cal Trans grant for environmental justice transportation planning.

Looks like the electric buses coming from China-based company Build Your Dreams (BYD)—the ones procured by both Long Beach Transit (LBT) and Los Angeles Metro—are becoming an even larger nightmare.

"I think of a busy mother," Kathleen Irvine--someone Long Beach can safely call our own Mother of the Westside--said. "And there she is: stressed out from work and wanting to cater to her children and herself. But how? I think of someone who doesn't have the physical capabilities of most and there he is: unable to enjoy a park because he can't even access most of it."

It's been no major secret that things with Bike Nation aren't pedaling so well.

In December of 2011, the state formally dissolved all Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) in an effort to balance the budget while cutting state costs. This was ultimately a blow to many devastated communities whose RDAs were vastly responsible for a given city's structural and social health, including increasing the walkability of streets, the beautification of sidewalks, the modernization of building facades, and other key components eradicating blight in a given city space.

The electric vehicle industry is booming—one is even safe to say ahead of the common hybrid thanks to the gas prices and accessibility. And honestly, it makes sense that one of the largest events in the upcoming National Plugin Day (NPID)—advertised as NPID: Los Angeles —is set to actually take place in Long Beach.

If you've ever spoken to someone who is physically disabled—any one of the 650 million who are estimated to be living with disabilities on Earth—though resilient, there is still something a bit disconcerting about boarding a public bus.