Drew Reed

A month ago, I had a few ideas about how Long Beach could go about improving its budding network of numbered bikeways. As it turned out, a few of the suggestions I made are slowly beginning to appear on the street lights and signposts of Long Beach. Is this a happy coincidence, or has the City of Long Beach drawn some inspiration from the pages of Streetsblog?

The Port of Long Beach is green. Very green. And no, we're not talking about the unsightly tint the port used to give the Alamitos Bay. Port administrators are making a concerted effort to make the giant shipping facility as environmentally friendly as it can be.

Long Beach's ambitious campaign to become the Most Bicycle Friendly City in America is well underway. The Second St. sharrows debuted to much fanfare last summer, followed by bike boxes nearby on Second st. and Marina ave. Recently, the city has selected contractors for its Vista Bike Boulevard and Broadway/Third St. bike lane projects, with completion to come in four to five months. In the meantime, a new numbered bikeway project has been quietly debuting across the city.

(editor's note: Welcome our newest guest blogger, live from Long Beach, Drew Reed.  Reed is a writer, film editor, and cycling activist based in Long Beach. He blogs about cycling issues in Long Beach and the greater LA area at LA Loyalist.  We first met Drew when we interviewed him about his experience traveling the country to go to the inauguration of Barack Obama. - DN)