Bike LA (formerly LACBC)

Allison Mannos from the LACBC's City of Lights Program and Allison Mannos and Councilman Ed Reyes Install Bike Parking at the CARECEN Day Laborers Center

At least eleven states have laws requiring drivers to leave three feet between their vehicle and cyclists while passing. If the Mayor of Los Angeles has anything to say about it, California will join those states before the year ends.

In what has to be a double victory for the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition, reports are coming in that Sharrows are appearing on 4th Street in the Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown areas.  The LACBC hasn't just been the leader in pushing for Sharrows on the street, but also in turning 4th Street, a popular bike route, into something resembling the Bike Boulevards of Portland and Berkeley.

Over 500 slogans have been submitted to the Bike Safety Slogan Contest being organized by the un-likely (some would say un-holy) coalition of the LAPD, the LACBC, MidnightRidazz.com, and the LADOT. These groups have been working with the City of Los Angeles to procure ad spaces in bus shelters and Public Amenity Kiosks (PAK.) The goal being to raise awareness among road users about issues such as rights, rules, safety, and road courtesy in relation to bicycles. The final slogan will be designed and illustrated by the world renowned artist Geoff McFetridge.

(I'll be out of town for the River Ride this year.  Instead of the normal Streetsblog review I asked the LACBC to help me write a preview of the 2010 River Ride. - DN)

Everyone who had a problem with the "Caution! Pass With Care" posters because they were "illegal" can rest assured that the next awareness campaign aimed at motorists, but designed by cyclists will be perfectly legal.  Of course, that the LAPD, along with the LACBC and "Midnight Ridazz," is sponsoring a contest to create the poster theme that will appear in bus shelters and Public Amenity Kiosks (PAK) throughout the city.  People interested in learning more about the project, or how to submit a theme for the posters, the art is being donated by Geoff McFetridge, can read more about it at the LACBC blog.

Oftentimes, cyclists find themselves arguing with non-cyclists about many different facets of life riding the streets of Los Angeles.  Cyclists ride the wrong way, spending money on bike lanes are a waste of money, cycling is just something people do to be trendy or exercise; these false arguments get repeated so often that non-cyclists, even ones sympathetic to the cause of safer streets for cycling, found themselves believing it. 

This morning, while preparing "Today's Headlines" I came across a story in the Times about cyclist Jose Guzman, our friend Ramon Martinez and a day in the life of a day laborer on a bike.  I thought the story was a good narrative, and was probably a more relevant story about what happens every day in L.A. than the story about bus riders earlier in the week; but it was missing one thing.

The Sharrows Pilot Project has been an ongoing campaign for LACBC, nearly five years running now, as we jumped hurdle after hurdle working to clear the pilot through the LADOT. Last year City Council President Eric Garcetti championed the issue and the idea began to take off. Now in 2010 we will finally see Los Angeles city streets catch up to other surrounding cities and start implementing sharrows to help create safer and more bike- friendly streets.