Bicycling

Dear Sam,

When I first heard of the signs that popped up all over Los Angeles two nights ago urging drivers to pass cyclists with care, my first thoughts were that L.A.'s D.I.Y. culture has reached a tipping point.  Not only have advocates learned that the LADOT and other city departments are unwilling to sacrifice car capacity to cyclist or pedestrian safety, but now they've learned that because of the city's fiscal woes, the city is unable to do anything about other people taking matters into their own hands.

About half way through the above video, KTLA's Eric Spillman talks to the L.A. Marathon's Peter Abraham about the transportation plan for people wishing to be at the end of the marathon.  Under KTLA's banner of "Parking Problems," Abraham rationally explains that you should probably bike (free bike valet!) or take transit to the end of the race.  That's when things go off the tracks if you will.

Oftentimes, cyclists find themselves arguing with non-cyclists about many different facets of life riding the streets of Los Angeles.  Cyclists ride the wrong way, spending money on bike lanes are a waste of money, cycling is just something people do to be trendy or exercise; these false arguments get repeated so often that non-cyclists, even ones sympathetic to the cause of safer streets for cycling, found themselves believing it. 

The Port of Long Beach is green. Very green. And no, we're not talking about the unsightly tint the port used to give the Alamitos Bay. Port administrators are making a concerted effort to make the giant shipping facility as environmentally friendly as it can be.

This week's National Bike Summit culminated in an ambitious new campaign to recruit a million bike advocates and the unveiling of a new Google Maps bike feature. But in a Wednesday session dedicated to the outlook for federal bike investments, cycling advocates hesitated to declare that they could secure new commitments from Washington.

Last week, hundreds of bike advocates descended on Washington D.C. for the tenth annual National Bike Summit -- the largest one yet. Hosted by the League of American Bicyclists, the summit is always a great opportunity for advocates to share ideas and make the case for cycling on Capitol Hill. This year attendees encouraged their senators and representatives to sign on to several key pieces of legislation, including the Active Community Transportation Act, Safe Routes to School Act, and the Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act.

The bike blogs and even some traditional news outlets are buzzing with the news that Google Maps will be launching a "bike directions" application later today at the National Bike Summit in Washington in 150 cities, including Los Angeles.  The New York Times reports:

Photo: Lisa “no relation” Newton/Flickr Last year’s Bike Summit is this year’s StreetSummit, taking place next week – Thursday March 18th and Saturday March 20th. The summit features opening keynote speakers, and a day full of workshops and networking. It’s hosted by the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, which urges attendees to pre-register online by … Continued