Erick Huerta

Weaving together history and art with bicycles, the Pacoima Mural Ride guided participants on a people’s tour of some of the treasures found in the San Fernando Valley (SFV), this past Saturday. The ride introduced cyclists from every corner of Los Angeles to the community spaces, cafes, and murals that tell the history of the community, even as new chapters are added with each new mural that is painted.

In the latest installment in the fight for bike lanes on North Figueroa, North East Los Angeles communities found themselves at yet another community meeting organized by Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo at Franklin High School in Highland Park. These community meetings have been literally dragging on and it looks like they will continue to drag on for the foreseeable future until Cedillo finally decides on a course of action.

What started out as a casual conversation over drinks and food turned into me leading a tour of Boyle Heights for my friend's Spanish class.

If there's one thing that was made clear from yesterday's community meeting for the proposed bike lanes on North Figueroa, it's that Councilman Gil Cedillo is going to continue dragging his feet on whether or not the Highland Park community is going to get bike lanes.

It’s hard to say what North Figueroa Street will actually look like in 2050, but participants in James Rojas’ latest interactive model workshop shared their ideas on what the future might hold. Unlike so many events that focus on future-planning, many of the participants in this event were children. One of the two tables final visions was dictated by Scarlet, an eight-year-old who lives in the area.

“Mister, who’s coming to class today?” asked a curious student from Gene Dean’s 9th grade English class at Roosevelt High School.

Bringing together seven different bicycle collectives, the Tour de Co-Ops was a half-day ride that celebrated the "do it yourself" (DIY) spirit of the Los Angeles cycling community. Split up into two separate routes, the ride acted as a fundraiser for the participating volunteer-operated co-operatives. In 2005, Los Angeles didn't have any store-front bicycle co-ops.

“Most people on bikes are resilient cool people. Most have dealt with harassment before. I will not let others prevent me from enjoying a fun and healthy activity in public space. I will ride my bike even if I have to adjust my route.”

City Council Member Jose Huizar, who represents Boyle Heights, East L.A. and parts of the Downtown, held a community meeting with the current residents of Wyvernwood Apartments to hear their concerns regarding the proposed redevelopment project to replace the current apartment with a higher-cost mixed-use housing development. In 2011, Huizar expressed concern with the project, but last night seemed more neutral while listening to the 200 residents in attendance.