Santa Monica
Streetsblog LA
From Sprouting Rail Bridges to Complete Streets, Santa Monica Advancing On Multiple Fronts
For those who didn't know, some commitments came up that demanded nearly all of my time the past few weeks so I took a break from the blogging. For my first post back I thought I’d quickly go through a few of the recent or developing Santa Monica stories I caught word of or have seen that have been mulling around in my brain during my blogging absence. Things are moving quickly these days in Santa Monica, on more fronts than just bicycling, and there’s a lot to talk about out.
February 13, 2013
New Parking at Santa Monica College: Not Just for Bikes
Riding on Pearl Street a few weeks ago, I noticed preparations for a new bicycle parking lot. This past Saturday, before Santa Monica College students returned for the spring, I had a chance to check out the new bicycle parking. I was surprised to see not only bike parking, but other parking and amenities for those who travel to Santa Monica College without a car.
February 11, 2013
Fixing a roundabout that isn’t, Just a Block from the Beach
When is a roundabout not a roundabout?
January 22, 2013
Blocking bike lanes in Santa Monica and Putting Bike Riders at Risk
A week or so back, I was riding eastbound on San Vicente Blvd in Santa Monica, a block or two above Ocean Ave.
January 10, 2013
Apple’s new Santa Monica store — beautiful for tourists, ugly for bikes
Just because Santa Monica is officially bike friendly doesn’t mean everyone there is. Even the ones you’d think would get it.
January 8, 2013
An Apology: Santa Monica Gets Bicycling Right, and This Writer Got It Wrong
Consider this a public apology to L.A. County’s bike-friendly city by the bay.
January 4, 2013
Big Blue Bus Still Behind The Curve On Digital Tools
One game changing advancement to help users navigate public transit websites is the proliferation of smart phones, apps, and map services catering to public transit. While we shouldn’t assume everyone has access to these tools, it is foolish to not embrace the opportunities these new tools make possible. However, Big Blue Bus remains behind with a lack of real time updates made available. In addition, scheduling and routing data remains inaccessible to independently developed apps and websites.
December 11, 2012
New Signage Discourages Sidewalk Riding In Santa Monica, But It’s An Issue That Defies Simple Resolution
This past week I first noticed signage and stenciling in Santa Monica telling cyclists not to ride on the sidewalk. This new stencil signage is at present only on 2nd St near Arizona, and is inconsistently implemented with one intersection with a walk your bike icon (2nd & Arizona), and another with a bike crossed out (2nd & Wilshire, as well as at one mid-block point). If we are to going to have such markings, I prefer the "walk your bike symbol". "Walk your bike" frames the issue in the positive, and makes it more clear the riding a bike on the sidewalk is the issue, not simply a message of "no bikes". For simplicity sake, "walk bike" would be shorter and communicate the same message.
December 3, 2012
Santa Monica Family Bike Fest Coming Up In Early December
Coming up on Saturday, December 8th, Santa Monica is hosting a Family Bike Fest, through a collaboration of the city, local schools, and the Safe Routes To School program. Just as the preparation events held in conjunction with the Bike It! Walk It! Days, the festival will have an educational component with youth bike skills courses and information. With food and other activities planned, it should be a pretty good time for people of all ages.
November 26, 2012
Next Steps For The Bike Movement In Santa Monica (p. 2/2)
In the first post of this two part series, I laid out some of where we are in Santa Monica with regards to bicycling, and my belief that we are a regional leader even if Long Beach has silver and we remain ranked bronze. However a lot remains to be done if we are to make bicycling truly accessible in Santa Monica, and as promised, in this second part I'll outline some specific strategies and milestones that may be useful in guiding the next few years.
November 20, 2012