Bicycling
Streetsblog LA
New Chief, New Relationship with Cyclists? LAPD Creates Bicycling Working Group
Over the last several weeks, Mayor Villaraigosa and his new police chief, Charlie Beck, have been holding community meetings and town halls throughout the city. At nearly every stop, they were met by cyclists who are concerned with the rising violence on the streets and the worsening relationship between some riders and the LAPD. In West Los Angeles, Alex Thompson pigeonholed his Councilman, Bill Rosendahl, and questioned the Chief on street justice. In the Valley, Bike Advisory Committee Chair Glenn Bailey organized cyclists to get out for the meetings. Downtown, it was the Bike Coalition and representatives from Echo Park Bicycles, who have organized meetings on bike theft in recent weeks. These are just a small sampling of the mobilization efforts cyclists underwent city-wide.
November 25, 2009
Bike Thefts Becoming a Growing Problem in Los Angeles. What Can Be Done?
Last weekend, when I was a guest on Bike Talk, the conversation in the room turned to what can be done about the growing number and boldness of bicycle thieves in Los Angeles. After lamenting that the LAPD basically declared it a non-priority, unless you can hand them the case on a silver platter, at a meeting at Echo Park there was a brief debate concerning personal responsibility and "street justice."
November 23, 2009
More at Stake in City’s Measure R Debate than Just Bike/Ped. Issues
In the summer of 2008, when Streetsblog first announced its "1% for bikes, 1% for peds. campaign" in what would later be known as Measure R, we never thought that a year and a half later we would still be fighting that fight nor that we would be close to a partial victory.
November 17, 2009
The Gold Line Is Rolling, Now What about a Bike Network to Support It?
During our ride on Friday, Steven Frien wondered a couple of times why there wasn't talk of having a bicycle lane on 1st Street running parallel to the Gold Line on First Street . Later in the day, during The Source's review of our review of the Gold Line, Steve Hymon upped the score by asking why there wasn't better bike planning along the entire route. After all, we know how much bike parking there is at every station, wouldn't it be nice to have a bike network to keep those racks full?
November 16, 2009
Feds Propose to Expand Opportunities for Biking and Walking to Transit
When it comes to infrastructure improvements that encourage more people
to walk or bicycle to transit stations, how long will commuters be
willing to travel? The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has
officially answered that question, proposing a significant expansion of
the rules governing how close bike-ped projects should be to transit in
order to receive government funding.
November 16, 2009
Streetfilms: Shocker from New York. 200 Miles of New Bike Infrastructure Leads to More Biking
This year the New York City Department of Transportation measured a 26 percent jump in commuter cycling. Coming on the heels of 2008's unprecedented 35 percent growth, that puts the total two-year increase at a whopping 66 percent.
November 10, 2009
ABC 7 Poses Backwards Poll Question While KPCC Takes a Second Try at Bike-Car Conflicts
As we mentioned last week, there is reason for concern about the way the traditional media is covering the "bike v car" controversy in the wake of the verdict in the trial of Dr. Christopher Thompson. Sometimes there is a soft bias, such as in the wording of the question in today's "Question of the Day" by KABC and sometimes it is more pronounced on radio shows or other two-way communications.
November 9, 2009
Times Op/Ed on Bike-Car Relationship Reveals the Good and Bad of Thompson Fallout
Since the Christopher Thompson verdict was announced on Monday, many cyclists have reacted with dismay to the media coverage of the assault, the trial, and the reactions of other Angelenos on message boards and call-in shows. Cyclists were surprised at the venom shown by callers and mis-information from the host on progressive KPCC's morning show and other radio shows were just as bad. Surprisingly, some of the best coverage, was from the conservative John and Ken Show, the top rated radio call-in show in Los Angeles.
November 5, 2009
With Thompson Behind Bars, What’s Next for “Street Justice” in Los Angeles
Yesterday, cyclists concerned with the safety on their streets got a boost. For many of us who have been harassed or threatened by uncaring and dangerous motorists, it was a relief to see that the system is capable of convicting one of the more outwardly-psychotic drivers out there.
November 3, 2009
Breaking News: Christopher Thompson Found Guilty on All Charges
H/T Roadblock of the Midnight Ridazz,and Stephen Box.
November 2, 2009