Drew Reed

As unlikely as it may seem, the City of Long Beach has taken significant steps this week to making the above rendering a reality - or at least having it redone by a much more expensive design team. Last week, the Long Beach City Council succeeded in convincing the port to commit to building a bike/pedestrian pathway on its proposed replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge.

The story of high speed rail is one of extremes. The thought of high speed trains whizzing up and down the state is enough to induce a futuristic giddiness - and carry a plurality of voters in 2008's bond measure. But for some, the train line will be a community crushing blight, a noisy Berlin Wall carving deep into suburban utopia. So far, opposition to the high speed train has mainly been confined to Northern California, but that's probably because LA's NIMBYs are too busy suing the Expo Line.

And now for a quick photographic update from the one bicycle project you've all been waiting to hear about: Long Beach's new bike boulevard on Vista Street. There have been a few hangups along the way; additional money needed to be allocated to remove unwanted concrete from under the street, and apparently the painters had difficulty spelling "yield". Nonetheless, the project appears to be progressing nicely, with construction of a new stop light at Redondo scheduled for next month - providing there aren't any more typos.

On Monday, the Passenger Rail Symposium kicked off with an impressive display of train technology, most of it being used in Europe. But the problem of how to effectively implement train stations, European or otherwise, remains. Fortunately, Tuesday's speakers had plenty to say on the matter, both describing successful stations elsewhere or the prospects for better ones here.

(Drew Reed is usually our volunteer Long Beach writer.  However, he volunteered to cover the CTA's rail transportation symposium in Long Beach that took place Monday and Tuesday.  Here is a review of Monday's coverage.  Tuesday's will come tomorrow.  With the exception of the above graphic, all images are by Drew Reed.)

As the LA area slowly inches toward having a viable rail network, we occasionally need to be reminded of the tremendous benefits passenger rail can have for our region. And we'll have a great opportunity to do so next week, when the 2010 Community Transportation EXPO comes to Long Beach. The conference is presented by the Community Transportation Association, a prestigious DC based transit advocacy group.

Michael Wolfgang Bauch is a Long Beach based filmmaker, videographer, kayaker, and avid cyclist. He recently talked with Streetsblog over the phone about his latest full-length documentary, Riding Bikes With The Dutch. The film premieres this Sunday, May 9 at the Art Theatre in Long Beach at 5 PM, as part of the Long Beach Bike Festival.

The League of American Bicyclists is something of an oddity in Washington DC. While most other organizations advocate for strip mining, carcinogens, and other unpleasantries, the LAB argues for something which will actually improve people's lives. And while they have sadly spent most of their 130 year history in the shadow of auto, highway, and petroleum lobbies, they seem to be making something of a comeback lately, winning allies in congress as well as the support of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood.

We've got another election coming up this Tuesday, and while most cities in LA county residents won't be doing any voting, there is one important election in America's Most Bike Friendly City. Yes, Long Beach is having a mayor's race, though so far it doesn't appear to be terribly exciting. The incumbent Mayor Bob Foster has so far raised $250,000 for his reelection, vastly outpacing his lone challenger, Stevie Danielle Merino. Nonetheless, the election provides an opportunity to reflect on the role of the mayor in improving the state of bicycling and transportation so far, and what the outcome of the election will mean for Long Beach residents. Even for people who live outside of LA County's second largest city, Long Beach provides a useful (and local) case study in how civic bureaucracy can be penetrated to achieve a worthy cause. Without further ado, let's meet the candidates.