Bicycling
Streetsblog LA
What Is a “Call for Projects” and Why Is the City Gearing Up for It?
Today's City Council Transportation Committee Hearing has a couple of big-ticket items sure to earn ink. A proposal to increase the city's allotment of spaces for car-sharing has already been covered in LAist. A second motion asking LAPD and LADOT to make certain that the President can't shut down the Westside next time he needs to raise some money is even more press friendly. But a one-page motion by Bill Rosendahl and Tom LaBonge represents a small step in changing the way the city plans its transportation projects, and will almost assuredly earn little press outside of Streetsblog.
September 8, 2010
Living on Earth, a National NPR Radio Show, Looks at Cycling and L.A.
It's a story that's told so often, it's almost cliche. Biking in Los Angels is hard, and dangerous. More people are taking to two wheels in the Car Culture Capital, but they're taking their own life into their hands. If only Los Angeles were run by people who cared about bicycling, the city could be a cycling paradise. I mean, consider the weather and reasonably flat terrain...
September 7, 2010
SM Planning Commission Hears Arguments for and Against Agensys Bike Path
A heated debate has broken out in Santa Monica casting cyclists and the City Council against a proposed research complex by Agensys, a biomedical engineering company. According to Santa Monica's much ballyhooed Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) to their Master Plan the site should have a bike path running through the development. According to Agensys, the proposed path is a safety hazard. The two sides will face off at a Planning Commission meeting tonight at 7:00 P.M. in Santa Monica City Council Chambers, SM Civic Center on Main Street.
September 1, 2010
Metro Moving Slowly to Make Space for Bikes on Trains, But What About Bikes for Trains?
During my hiatus, the issue of how Metro deals with cyclists and their bikes on Metro trains rose again. You may remember way back during Bike to Work Week, Metro staff announced that they were working to reverse their rush hour ban on cyclists bringing their bikes onto certain trains at rush hour. While Metro hasn't backed off that commitment, they also haven't exactly been rushing to implement bike areas on trains, proper signage in stations, and then finally reversing this long-standing policy.
August 30, 2010
Friday StreetsPoll: How Can Sacramento Make Streets Safer for Cyclists
Recently, there's been a lot of talk about changing the California Vehicle Code to make streets safer for Cyclists.
August 27, 2010
Eyes on the Street: Give Me 3 Appears
On Tuesday morning, the Mayor's Office, LAPD, LADOT, LACBC and Midnight Ridazz held a press conference to announce the winner of a slogan contest that will appear on posters throughout the City of Los Angeles. Last night, Gary Kavanaugh of Santa Monica Spokes told me that he saw a sign on the way to the Streetsblog re-launch party. He mentioned that it was at the corner of Pico and Barrington. Sure enough, there it is!
August 26, 2010
Push for 3 Foot Passing Law Finds a New Booster
At least eleven states have laws requiring drivers to leave three feet between their vehicle and cyclists while passing. If the Mayor of Los Angeles has anything to say about it, California will join those states before the year ends.
August 25, 2010
Reseda Boulevard Bike Lanes Extended, Wilbur Avenue Lanes Questioned
This past weekend, the city of Los Angeles striped two additional miles of bike lanes on Reseda Boulevard. The new 2-mile stretch of lane, reported in-progress here last week, extends from Devonshire Street to Parthenia Street. This stretch is nearly complete with lines fully striped, bike symbols added, but directional arrows missing and hopefully coming soon. It's great to see relatively rapid progress on this formerly-controversial project.
August 23, 2010
Helmets Ready! Mayor Hosts First Bike Summit
Despite the Monday 9am hour and the picture perfect weather, a
standing-room only crowd assembled in the Metro Board Room for city of
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's first Bike Summit. Alongside
Mayor Villaraigosa were Department of Transportation (LADOT) General
Manager Rita Robinson, Metro CEO Art Leahy, Department of City Planning
(DCP) General Manager Michael LoGrande, and Police Department Deputy
Chief Kirk Albanese sitting in for Chief Charlie Beck.
August 17, 2010
New Bike Lanes Underway in West Valley on Eve of Mayor’s Bike Summit
This past weekend, city of Los Angeles work crews were out scraping and putting down preliminary bike lane striping on Reseda Boulevard. The final thermoplastic striping isn't there yet, but the preliminary lines are down. The lanes extend from Devonshire Street to Parthenia Street - a total of 2 miles. Streetsblog readers will recall that these lanes were
approved in 1996, but remained unimplemented until bicyclists caught city staff lying about planned peak-hour parking lanes, which would have precluded the approved bike lanes.
August 15, 2010