Bicycling

Three weeks ago, I announced a new Streetsblog feature where "every Friday" we'd examine a particularly bike-unfriendly place to visit. The idea was to show how far we have to go to have the Los Angeles that we all want and that's it's not all a political problem.  Many places in Los Angeles can actively discourage bicyclists from visiting by doing the little things wrong, such as not having bike parking or just being rude to people with helmets. While I asked for submissions, I also promised that I would write the first one up on my own. However, if there's a place you would like to receive the same treatment, please email me at damien@streetsblog.org. If you have pictures to support your story, all the better.

Two recent road rage incidents are all over the news in Portland. Earlier this month, a drunken man on a bike became aggravated when a driver, himself a self-described bike advocate, reprimanded the cyclist for blowing a stoplight. The cyclist threatened the driver, picking up his bike and hitting the car with it. Then this week, a driver struck a cyclist and continued to drive as the victim, who escaped without serious injury, clung to the windshield.

A Promo for the Les Ninjas Du Japon, Showing on Saturday at 3:30 P.M.

Today we're launching a new feature on Streetsblog -- Wiki Wednesdays -- where we'll highlight new content coming online at StreetsWiki, the community-created livable streets knowledge base.

Yesterday, the Bottleneck Blog reported on the breakdown of highway expenditures that Metro is proposing if the proposed half cent sales tax increase is successful in this fall's election. Snoble was most likely trying to counter some of the spin coming out of the San Gabriel Valley that they are getting less than their fare share of the sales tax dollars. In addition to funds for the Gold Line extension to Azusa, the San Gabriel Valley will also see a $1.7 billion investment in expanding its highway system.

Last night, Councilman Rosendahl's Task Force on bicycle safety issues a in Mandeville Canyon met for the first time. Occasional Streetsblog contributer Kent Strumpell was there, and offers these notes from the meeting. Some of the highlights include many points of agreement between the community and the cyclists and that there will be a public community forum sometime this fall.