Bicycling

At long last, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Phase II of the Expo Line is now online and even though I got the announcement in my inbox just under two hours ago, I have yet to get any emails from proponents or opponents of the line commenting on it.  I'm going to wade into reading the document tonight when I get home from City Hall, but if anyone wants to get their shots in early, here's your chance.

Last fall, responding to reports of violence on the Ballona Creek Bike Trail, a group of Streetsbloggers responded by creating their own Livable Streets Discussion Forum and organized the Tour De Ballona ride to educate riders to the safety issue and draw attention to the problem.

Looking to circumvent a citywide bike lane injunction or avoid bike lane-related Community Board histrionics? Alex Tee and Evan Gant from the product design firm Altitude Inc. have a novel solution for you: Use laser beams to project your own lane from the back of your bicycle. Gant tells me that he and Tee developed their LightLane concept for a design competition aimed at encouraging bike commuting. For now, the idea exists only on paper but the duo has received so much positive feedback, they are planning to build a prototype.

Anticipation for the first Los Angeles Bike Summit, a gathering of cyclists, activists and organizations to create a common agenda for cycling in Los Angeles scheduled for March 7, is growing.  With announcements of new speakers coming from around the country, and the launch of a new website the summit is starting to come together in a visible and exciting way.

Let's face it, the end of 2008 presented a lot of bad signs that hopefully won't be carrying over to the New Year.  President-Elect Obama seems to be pushing a stimulus plan that would poor billions into road projects and much less into transit or other green transportation and locally the streets are getting less safe for cyclists and pedestrians.

One of Glendale's Better Streets for Pedestrians