Bicycling
Streetsblog LA
Call to Action: No Justice for Cyclist in Beverly Hills Hit and Run Suggests Pattern of Contempt.
Last summer Paul Livingston, an experienced cyclist of 15 years, was commuting along Santa Monica Blvd heading east through Beverly Hills. He began slowing as he approached a stale red light. Relaxed, it was about 6pm on a clear skied Sunday afternoon and his lane - the right lane - was clear. He was estimated to be moving at about 8 miles per hour. Suddenly his world changed forever. Witnesses describe an impatient and unpredictable driver racing in and out of pockets heading east towards the soon to be green light that Paul was approaching. Paul had no chance. He was smashed from behind and thrown. It was reported that the driver never braked but instead accelerated to get away after impact.
August 17, 2012
Riding for a Cause, They Cast a Shadow Wherever They Pass
(If you want to help Cast a Shadow raise funds for clean water filters in Ghana or a cause closer to home, you can donate here.)
August 2, 2012
Spreading the Gospel of CicLAvia in Southeast L.A.
One of the great things about the rise in riding events in South L.A. and the surrounding areas is that they are starting to take on the feel of a family reunion for me.
July 23, 2012
Rider Review: The Orange Line Bike Path Extension
Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to visit all five of the new Orange Line stations on a tour of the newly installed art (more on that tomorrow.) The afternoon also gave me a chance to ride and review the Orange Line Bike Path. While I found the bike trail easy to use for the most part, the delay caused by the crossings create a trail of two bike rides.
July 16, 2012
5 Things I’m Thinking About Transportation
There have been a handful of stories that I partially developed, but are on the back burner this week as I work to try and get out some stories that were researched last week, interview for the Long Beach writer position, and prepare L.A. Streetsblog's tax forms. So, with apologies to Steve Hymon, here are five things that have been on my mind.
July 16, 2012
LADOT’s FY11-12: A Banner Year for Bikeways
Back in a January 2012 L.A. Streetsblog article, Joe Linton stated that LADOT was "not quite on track" to complete Mayor Villaraigosa's pledge for 40 new miles of bikeway each year. In that article, Linton projected only 31 new miles to be completed during Fiscal Year 2011-2012. The fiscal year ended two weeks ago, and LADOT not only met, but greatly exceeded the 40 new miles pledged.
July 12, 2012
Welcome to the Bike Wars. City Announces Meetings for Bike Plan EIR.
Bicycle advocacy in the city entered a new phase last week, when the Department of City Planning released a five page Notice of Preparation (NOP) for an environmental review of forty three miles of bike lanes. These projects represent some of the more controversial bicycling projects as they often times require removing curbside parking, mixed-use travel lanes, and/or turning lanes. The public process, which begins with scoping meetings next week, could prove to be contentious as this is the first time the City of Los Angeles has publicly proposed a city-wide program of creating bicycle facilities at the cost of mixed-use facilities or automobile parking.
July 2, 2012
Bike Hubs? Walkable Orange Line? What’s Your Favorite Planned Transportation Project? CRA Vote Could Help Determine Its Future
Regardless of one's feelings on the dissolution of Community Redevelopment Agencies mandated by Governor Jerry Brown, there are some important transportation projects left hanging by a thread in Los Angeles by the sudden departure of one of the city's largest grant receiving agencies. Tomorrow, the CRA's Governing Board will vote on the fate of many of these projects at tomorrow's "Successor Agency" meeting. If the Board approves transferring these projects to local agencies in the City of Los Angeles, the transfer could still be stopped at a meeting of the "Oversight Board" meeting later this month.
June 20, 2012
Unpacking the Numbers: Measuring Success One Rider at a Time
If I were in the market for a grant and told the funder that the distribution of hundreds of flyers via face-to-face conversations with area residents had resulted in the appearance of exactly one participant at our event, and that I counted that as a wild success, I'm guessing they would consider me insane.
June 18, 2012
Separated Bike Lanes on South Fig? LADOT Presentation Hints at Future Project
In January 2011, consultants for the South Figueroa Corridor Project unveiled three different visions for the soon-to-be Living Street. The visions were labeled "Good," "Better," and "Best." A recent presentation to Caltrans, made available on their website, shows current thinking on the legacy project from the project team and the new lead agency, LADOT.
June 15, 2012