Bill Rosendahl

(Update 4:04 P.M.: I just got the following message from Council Man Rosendahl's Office.  We're cheered to know he's doing well, and wish him a speedy return.

Some good news to end the week.  Yesterday, City Council Transportation Committee Chair Bill Rosendahl underwent successful surgery to treat atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm of the heart.  The Councilman is resting comfortably and is expected to return home later today and resume duties next week.

In an odd quirk of L.A. City Council rules, a Committee can "meet" with just the chair present and move legislation along to the full Council for a vote.  Thus, with the majority of the City Council downstairs debating how to frame the outsourcing of political will to raise parking rates in a way that didn't make them look like a rubber stamp, Transportation Committee Chair Rosendahl served as a one man committee.  Rosendahl's office explained to me that if the Full Council Meeting was still happening, that the Chairman would not ask all the witnesses who trekked Downtown to come back later and would hold the hearing himself.

A new front in the debate over on-street bike parking opens this week with a motion by Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz that asks the city to study allowing residents to park in front of their own driveways and garages on the street.  The motion will be debated as part of the City Council Transportation Committee Hearing that begins tomorrow at 2:00 P.M. at City Hall.

Any cyclist who has ridden the streets of Los Angeles with any regularity has a horror story.  Sometimes the story is because of negligence, such as a driver who passes too close or a taxi that pulls out of a parking space without looking.  Sometimes the story is caused by maliciousness, such as a hummer that drives through a group of cyclists or some kids in a truck that throw things.  These stories almost always end with the no consequences for the aggressor, because the police don't like to file reports without witnessing the act.  No report, no legal recourse.

Earlier this year, the City Council ordered city staff to create a list of changes to city and state laws that could help cyclists see justice after crashes.  At the time, City Council Transportation Committee Chair Bill Rosendahl referred to the motion as an anti-harassment ordinance, and hopes ran high that the city could create a three foot passing law, or could somehow further criminalize unsafe and aggressive behavior by drivers.

(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)

Today's City Council Transportation Committee Hearing has a couple of big-ticket items sure to earn ink.  A proposal to increase the city's allotment of spaces for car-sharing has already been covered in LAist.  A second motion asking LAPD and LADOT to make certain that the President can't shut down the Westside next time he needs to raise some money is even more press friendly.  But a one-page motion by Bill Rosendahl and Tom LaBonge represents a small step in changing the way the city plans its transportation projects, and will almost assuredly earn little press outside of Streetsblog.

Despite the Monday 9am hour and the picture perfect weather, a standing-room only crowd assembled in the Metro Board Room for city of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's first Bike Summit.  Alongside Mayor Villaraigosa were Department of Transportation (LADOT) General Manager Rita Robinson, Metro CEO Art Leahy, Department of City Planning (DCP) General Manager Michael LoGrande, and  Police Department Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese sitting in for Chief Charlie Beck.