Bicycling

Late last month, I asked you to submit questions for Los Angeles Police Department Sargent David Krumer, the officer who has been the point person for bicycle issues for over a year.  Many of you responded with solid questions, and Krumer was good enough to respond to each of them.

A Missing Story

Lance Armstrong has said that, “if you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.” But what happens when you have gotten on a bike… for 15 years and loved every minute of it—the physical activity, the camaraderie, the pure joy of experiencing new sights and sounds—and then you fall…and are seriously injured? What happens when that passion for cycling is eclipsed by fear? Fear for your own health and safety and fear of the possibility of putting your family through another touch-and-go trauma?

Last summer, a coalition of bicycle groups and the City of Los Angeles joined forces to create the "Give Me 3" public service announcement campaign to encourage drivers to give cyclists a larger berth when passing.  Less than a year later, the California Bike Coalition (CBC) has launched its own "Give Me 3" website and campaign to build support for Senator Alan Lowenthal's (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill 910.  S.B. 910 would create a state 3 foot passing law for California.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa remains personally committed to enshrining a passing law in the California Vehicle Code.

For decades, a little known Caltrans advisory committee dominated by highway and automobile interests has been setting the design standards for signs, signals and pavement markings for California's urban streets. If a city wants a green bike lane, it has to be approved by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC), which also develops the state's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Located east of Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley is home to over 30 cities and 2 million persons.  A strong recreational cycling scene exists in the region, particularly in the northwest and foothill communities where large, long-standing group rides like the seasonal Rose Bowl ride have been a fixture for decades.

Yesterday, while plotting out my Bike to Work Day route that would allow me to see the most booths as possible, I got a phone call from my Mom.  She was biking to work, and wanted to know if I wanted to join her.  Longtime Streetsblog readers will note that Mom and I have had several bike adventures together in L.A. at Tour de Ballona's, the 2009 River Ride, and a pair of CicLAvia.  Now we're rounding out our experience with a Bike to Work Day Ride.

Well, tomorrow is the big day, Bike to Work Day is finally upon us.  I'll be riding with a special guest to her job tomorrow and reporting on her experience biking to work.  This guest is not a usual bike commuter.  To help us round out our coverage, I need your help.  While riding to work tomorrow, take pictures, video, or take note of special stories as you complete your commute.  Send them to me at damien@streetsblog.org or leave links in the comments section below.  As the day goes on I'll update our Bike to Work Day events page with your stories, pictures and other media.

The Sylmar Business Improvement District (BID) is seeking to improve and re-imagine a just-over-half-mile section of San Fernando Boulevard through the power of greenspace creation and landscaping.  The BID isn't seeking to change the use of the road, all changes will happen on existing medians.  Instead, they just want to make San Fernando Boulevard a more pleasant place to be.