Bicycling

As budget cuts hit agencies across the city, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation continues to make cuts by retreating from its already lacking commitment to public outreach.  In a letter addressed to Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair Glenn Bailey LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson informs the Committee that the LADOT will no longer be able to provide staff to attend any meeting that takes place after business hours and won't provide any support staff at all.  The LADOT has already backed away from its commitment to have a working Memorandum of Understanding with Neighborhood Councils, and now they're bailing on providing support for its own advisory bodies.  You can read Robinson's letter here.

Some see it as a niche ride for activists.  Some see it as Stephen Box's attempt to get on television and continue his feud with Councilman Tom LaBonge.  Still others as a ride that engenders mire bad will with city agencies than it's worth.  After all, how many hard core cycling activists really want to ride through car choked streets to look at a bunch of holiday lights?

Ever since the opening of S.F. Streetsblog, we spend a lot of time looking North at what our brothers and sisters in Northern California are up to, that we miss stories happening just to our South.  Thanks to Biking In L.A., some were able to keep up with the case of Andrew Woolley, a cyclist wrongly ticketed, tried and convicted of passing car traffic on the left.  Why was he wrongly convicted?  Because, just as the LAPD's obsession for ticketing cyclists for using crosswalks is "extra-legal," there is no law saying that what Woolsey did was illegal.  However, this story has a happy ending as Woolsey successfully gets the city to admit it's own error.

Yesterday Mayor Villaraigosa gave an interview to KPCC, Southern California Public Radio, where he talked about what Los Angeles can do to be a more green city.  CicLAvia has the mayor's comments about bicycles:

Last week, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition announced the preliminary results for the three days of bicycle and pedestrian counts the group completed in the City of Los Angeles in late September this year.  Fed up with the "official" numbers used by the City of Los Angeles, who continues to rely on out-of-date and incomplete census data, the Bike Coalition did its own counts, by hand, to get a more acurate picture.

Amidst the recent barrage of uninspiring bike-related news, here's some inspiring fare: early 20th century catalogue copy from the Chicago-based Mead Bicycle Company, which reminds that the pleasures and benefits derived from human-powered transport are as varied as they are timeless. Here's a taste:

(This is the third installment in what's becoming a series of articles by Ron Milam that I'm calling the GOOD series.  For the other two submissions, click here. - DN)

By the time the bike portion of the "Bike-Only" City Council Transportation Committee hearing began at 3:45, one hour and forty-five minutes late, it was clear that the bicycling-love-fest that we've seen at past "Bike-Only" meetings wasn't going to happen.  Not only did the meeting start late because of an over-run of the City Council meeting, but Councilman Richard Alarcon had already stormed out of the room because Councilman Bill Rosendahl had caused the full Council to lose quorum and Councilman LaBonge had already snapped at the audience for talking during public comment.

Via the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, next Wednesday at 2:00 P.M. will be another "bicycle heavy" Transportation Committee Hearing.  There's some new and interesting stuff on the agenda, such as a "bicycle anti-harassment ordinance," and some old friends such as an update on the Draft Bike Plan.  Below is the LACBC's email, and once the agenda items are posted tomorrow we'll have a full review.