LADOT

Yesterday's e-blast from the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition contained the sad news that the city's ongoing study to think about installing Sharrows is going to be delayed yet again.  The LACBC tried to put a happy face on the announcement by focusing on their progress; but with cyclists already riled up by the Bike Master Plan maps it's hard to imagine that the LADOT's excuse for delay is going to go over well

Last night when biking home from the Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting, I noticed that Fourth Street, home to the 4th Street Bike Boulevard movement, had been repaved for large stretches of the street.  Stretches of asphalt that used to be populated with potholes and was now smooth, flat roadway.

What's going on with the Bike Master Plan?

As we approach the summer season, a time when streets are more filled with people NOT in a car, and the number of crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians continues to grow; now would be the perfect time for some city or county leader to take a stand and make this the start of a new commitment to making the streets safe for cyclists and pedestrians.

Yesterday afternoon, the City of Los Angeles began the slow roll out of the Bike Master Plan by emailing members of Neighborhood Councils a letter announcing that the maps that will be the framework of the engineering portion of the BMP are available for public viewing on their website and at other public places around town.

If anyone doubts that the city is starting to hear and understand the issues of cyclists after a series of organized May rides, those doubts should be expelled today.

It finally appears as though the Expo Bike Path, the path that is going to run parallel to Phases I and II of the Expo Line is going to be built.  After the Expo Construction Authority punted on taking the lead on the project earlier this year, leaving the federally funded path to Los Angeles, Culver City and Santa Monica to complete the environmental reviews; it appeared the path might not happen.  After all, if construction couldn't begin by the time Phase II of the Expo Line began construction, the path would become unaffordable.  

Last night the City Council passed a motion recommending that the Mayor and LADOT not include any "special fund" positions, i.e. those funded by a source not funded through city revenue which includes , in their budget cuts as part of the "Shared Responsibility" budget requested by the Mayor.  The LADOT's Bikeways program, which is funded through state funds, is included in "special fund" projects so for now, Bikeways is safe.

Some people think that Bike to Work Day and Bike to Work Week are cop-outs.  I've heard and read a couple of notable cyclists that complain that governments roll out the red carpet for cyclists one week per year to try and make up for the other 51.