Bike Master Plan

Nearly three years ago, Mia Birk, a principal with Alta Planning and Design, stood in front of a skeptical audience and promised that the final Bike Master Plan would be something that all Angelenos would celebrate.  What followed was a three year slog which saw repeated battles between cyclists, LADOT, cyclists, City Planning, and cyclists.  But now the end is in site.  A new draft of the plan was released yesterday to the cheers, yes cheers, of our city's bike advocates.  The first hearing on this draft will be held next Thursday, December 16th at 8:30 am. at San Fernando Valley City Hall, 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard, Van Nuys, California 9140.

In a marathon meeting yesterday, the City Planning Commission sided with an unusually cohesive pack of Los Angeles bike advocates and decided not to approve the city's draft bike plan. The commission voted to continue (delay) the bike plan decision until their December 16th meeting, directing staff to work with commissioners to continue to improve the plan.

An internet search didn't find any other accounts of the proposed bike plan update turning Los Angeles into a world-class bike city. Critiques of the plan have been considerably less effusive than the staff report, calling it "an entertaining and inspiring experience that bears no connection to reality" (Bikeside) and "a bunch of phoney bloney jargon to hide the fact that there are no real plans [for bike lanes on major streets]" (Brayj Against the Machine.) Even supportive articles include qualifications "... a step in the right direction ... we are requesting that Planning and DOT ... show further commitment" (LACBC) and "I like a lot of what I see in the draft plan, though." (Biking in LA)

(This is the first of a two-part series on the Bike Plan before it's heard by the Planning Commission.  Part II, by Joe Linton, is coming tomorrow. - DN)

(Note: There is a Bike Plan meeting tonight in South L.A. and Saturday in Van Nuys.  Check out the Streetsblog calendar for more information.  A list of Streetsblog's complete coverage of the Bike Plan from the launch of this website can be found here.- DN)

Traditionally, the Friday before a holiday weekend is considered the time to release news that you don't want to get traction in the public.  Sure, the story could get picked up, but there's less people watching the news that night or reading the newspaper the next morning than any other time.

The city of Los Angeles is in the process of releasing the components of its 2010 draft Bicycle Plan, available at the city's website. The plan's chapters and most of its maps were released in early June 2010. On Thursday July 22nd, the city released its "Five Year Implementation Strategy." Still remaining unreleased is the actual listing of bicycle facilities contained in plan. Despite "1633 miles" of bikeways being stated on the plan's cover, and touted by the mayor, the Planning Department has yet to release a list of the facilities that total those 1633 miles.

While the 2010 draft is, in some ways, an improvement over the disappointing 2009 draft, it's still incomplete and problematic. This article reviews the bike plan process, then begins to analyze what's in and what's missing from the 2010 draft, as released so far.