Bicycling

"We're in the same place with pedestrian planning that we were on bicycle planning 15 years ago, and that's nowhere."  With that strong opening statement, Bill Rosendahl kicked off discussion of a proposal that the city create a data-driven plan for Los Angeles' Safe Streets to Schools Program.

Last night, ABC's sit-com Modern Family showed "Slow Down Your Neighbors," a re-run of an episode that deals with both the joys of cycling and the danger that speeding drivers create on local streets.  A show that takes place in Los Angeles that shows children biking to school to fit in with the cool crowd and excoriates unsafe drivers?

“How many people are stuck in traffic on their way to ride a stationary bike in a health club?”

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, LADOT, has released it's report on how it plans to spend the portion of the Measure R Local Return funds that were "set-aside" for bicycle and pedestrian programs.  You may remember that during debate on whether or not bicyclists and pedestrian safety projects deserved a set-aside some Council Members, notably Bernard Parks and Greig Smith, were worried that there wouldn't be enough projects to meet the set-aside.

A new ordinance that gives cyclists broader legal options after being harassed, assaulted or just run-down, heads to the City Council Transportation Committee for review before heading to the Full City Council tomorrow afternoon.  Bill Rosendahl has been championing such an ordinance since at least 2009, and now it seems close to becoming a reality.  If passed, this ordinance would be the first of its kind in the nation.

The National Bike Summit begins tomorrow, bringing together an estimated 750 cycling advocates. They'll hear from NYCDOT Chief Janette Sadik-Khan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and they'll descend on Congress in droves, plastic bike pins fastened to their lapels, to deliver a message about safe cycling access.

Yesterday, Streetsblog looked at the funding differences in the long range planning in the San Diego County Region as compared to the "SCAG 6-County Mega-Region" that includes Los Angeles.  But instead of looking at the success in San Diego and going "why not us," a group of advocates, notably Gloria Ohland and Beth Steckler at Move L.A. and Jessica Meaney at the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, is fighting to secure billions for active transportation in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) long range transportation plan.

Earlier this week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) allocated $2.58 billion of their thirty year plan for bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.  If that seems like a big number, it is.  While Los Angeles has been celebrating it's Bike Plan, and the Measure R set-aside that's going to help make it a reality, we should remember that the total funding set aside for the Bike Plan hovers around $50 million of Measure R funds plus whatever grants the city earns over the same time frame as San Diego County's multi-billion investment.

There's going to be plenty of press on today's press event celebrating the passage of the Bike Plan at City Hall.  Rather than join the dozens of stories that are going to appear in the press, on the web, and over the airways; Carter and I thought we'd relax, enjoy the party and take some pictures.  The good vibe wasn't just from the cyclists, but also from the politicians.  After months of arguing over what budgets to cut and what taxes to raise, it must have been nice to spend a morning presenting a clean, green and healthy city of the future.