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Taking up one of the contrarian slots in today's "Room for Debate" segment about Vision Zero and pedestrian safety in NYC, Jennifer Lynch of The Electronic Frontier Foundation staked out the civil libertarian position against automated traffic enforcement. EFF does great legal and policy work in general, but Lynch is way off base here. At this point, there's a mountain of evidence that traffic cameras save lives, and it's highly irresponsible to suggest, as Lynch does, that we need more data before taking action.

The well-dressed and good-looking young man with enormous glasses walked toward where I was standing at the front of the packed Blue Line car, gave me a wink and a smile, then turned around and began delivering his sales pitch for headphones to the passengers.

With today's deadline looming for comments on new rules governing the way the state analyzes transportation planning impacts, many transportation planners and engineers remain confused about what the new rules might mean while others join advocates in hoping that new rules will create better projects.

I won't be able to be at the Ride4Love in Watts this weekend, and I am more than a little bummed out about it.

When trying to decide whether or not the City of Los Angeles is serious about becoming a safe and inviting place to walk or ride a bicycle, it's easy to look at the largest projects, such as MyFigueroa! or the Hyperion Bridge re-design, or the statistics. But, its equally important to look at some of the smaller projects that can improve mobility for all road users in an area, such as the newly announced project to improve the Lincoln Blvd. bridge over the Ballona Creek.

The Santa Monica City Council took a historic vote last night to approve the conceptual design for the city’s first greenway on Michigan Avenue. The goal for the Michigan Ave. Neighborhood Greenway (MANGo) is to reduce and slow car traffic primarily through street design changes, making biking and walking through the neighborhood a safer and more pleasurable experience. The bikeway would also connect such destinations as Santa Monica High School and Virginia Avenue Park, eventually including the beach to the west, and the Bergamot Expo Line Station and Edison Language Academy to the east.

This is a packed week, which isn't surprising because next week will be less than exciting. There's something for everyone. : sidewalk repair, progressive road changes, Santa Monica, Bicycle rides and commuter festivals and even a discussion of Metro's proposed fare changes.

(I'll be back in L.A. in about a week, and really covering L.A. stories then. Right now we're packing, so here's the third installment in my NYC stories.)

“This is such a pretty neighborhood!”