http://www.good.is/post/what-l-a-s-new-bike-plan-means-for-cyclists-and-the-city?utm_campaign=daily_good&utm_medium=email&utm_source=headline_link&utm_content=What%20L.A.'s%20New%20Bike%20Plan%20Means%20For%20Cyclistsâ€"and%20the%20City (http://www.good.is/post/what-l-a-s-new-bike-plan-means-for-cyclists-and-the-city?utm_campaign=daily_good&utm_medium=email&utm_source=headline_link&utm_content=What%20L.A.'s%20New%20Bike%20Plan%20Means%20For%20Cyclists%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%22and%20the%20City)
QuoteDespite Los Angeles' near-perfect weather, mostly-flat terrain, and an enthusiastic biking community, cyclists in L.A. still remain second-class citizens behind those piloting automobiles through the city. After yesterday's City Council ruling, that all could change. The 2010 Bike Plan, to be signed this morning, is perhaps the most ambitious pro-cyclist action in L.A. history, designating a 1,680-mile bikeway system and sweeping new bike-friendly policies.
The plan promises several changes for L.A. bikers: the Citywide Bikeway System [PDF] will introduce three new interconnected bike path networksâ€"Backbone (long crosstown routes on busy streets), Neighborhood (short connectors through small streets) and Green (along recreation areas)â€"throughout the city, a new pledge for Bicycle Friendly Streets will make streets more pleasant for riders and walkers, and a series of education programs and safety policies will help cars and cyclists co-exist (you can download the entire plan here). Of course, this is just a plan, and one that's long overdueâ€"for more on that, read last week's cover story in the LA Weekly. The real challenges may prove to be finding the proper funding to drive the plan towards implementation. That will take some massive commitment on behalf of the city.
But what will these changes really mean for the average L.A. biker? And how does this help Los Angeles move towards a culture that truly values those on two-wheels? I asked several bike experts who have been working closely with the plan to help explain what a plan can do for biking in L.A.
What is a bike plan, and what does it mean for biking in L.A.?
"It's a planning document, a guideline for what new things the Department of Transportation will do to accommodate cyclists over the next decade," says Jennifer Klausner, executive director, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. "But it also heralds the beginning of the cultural shift we have been looking for, because the process of getting the document to this point (greatly improved) has been more collaborative that any bike plan that preceded it, and it has real political support, as evidenced by its unanimous approval."
What's the single most important issue the plan addresses?
"By recognizing that bicyclists have different needs, and by addressing them, the plan is something that should improve conditions for everyone who rides a bike to get from point A to point B," says Damien Newton, the editor of LA Streetsblog. "If you need to get across town, the inclusion of the Backbone Bikeway Network ought to help. If you just want to ride locally to the grocery store or to pick the kids up at school, a series of local networks are in place in the plan."
What physical changes will riders start to see?
"Right away, there are going to be some awesome bike lanes (white stripes on arterial streets)," says Josef Bray-Ali, co-owner of the bike shop Flying Pigeon. "Developers will hopefully get a nice bike parking-for-car parking swap towards the end of March (great way to cut down on construction budgets!). Further on, we'll have some big projects that remove car lanes to install protected bike lanes, a ton of smaller neighborhood bike networks that make shopping and getting to work easier." The DOT has already highlighted ten corridors where they will improve the streetscape to make it more friendly for bikers, notes Newton. One of which is along Figueroa in downtown, a project we covered here before.
How will the bike plan make biking safer on L.A. streets?
"The key, and this is the real key, is that bike lanes offer the city an opportunity to reduce the dominion of cars in the city by removing car lanes, slowing cars down in residential and commercial districts, and by focusing bike planning efforts on the city's most dangerous intersections," says Bray-Ali. "By slowing and reducing car volumes on our streets, we'll make the street safer for all user groups and make walking, using the bus or train, and bicycling much more appealing to peopleâ€"and not on some recreational trail in a riverbed, but right outside their doors, on the way to school or work."
What about mountain bikes? Are they included in the plan?
"I wish it would have included increased off-road trail access for mountain bikers," says Klausner. "It does not, and in fact, takes away potential future trail access that was included in the previous (1996) plan. This plan does not change the fact that mountain bikes are illegal on trails in all L.A. City Parks, and that is really a shame, and a missed opportunity for the City's Parks Department, in my opinion."
What did the bike plan not do that you wish it would have?
"There's a great part of the plan that lists some progressive transportation options (for example, separated bike lanes) but didn't say when or where they're going to put them in," says Newton. "I would love for every Council Member to embrace a different one for their district." He points to the city's first bike corral in Highland Park which opened last week, and transformed a street car parking space with 10-12 bike parking spaces.
"It's too bad that the Cyclists' Bill of Rights [a document authored by the Bike Riders Collective] wasn't included," says Alex Thompson of Bikeside LA. "We expect it will be the next time around but it really should have made it in this time. The Cyclists' Bill of Rights simply collects together cyclists rights that are already in the law, so there's really no reason why they shouldn't be in there."
Say I'm not a cyclist. What's in this plan for me?
"Many of the bike lane facilities will be 'road diets' so they're safer for drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians," says Linton, who points out that federal studies show that these lane removals reduce overall collisions on roadways. "The same is true for the bike-friendly streetsâ€" they're safer for everyone. Car collision fatalities and injuries are a huge, huge epidemic, much greater than crime or terrorism." He also points to the other health perks: cleaner air, cleaner water, less noise pollution, reduced oil consumption, increased public health (especially reduced obesity), increased foot-traffic for local businesses, cheaper mobility, and a more egalitarian and vibrant public sphere.
Do you think this is the right plan for the city?
"I support it... but it's been exhausting," says Linton of the almost decade-long journey. "The city hired a consultant which did a good-not-great plan then the city threw it out and fucked around for another year and a half. I think that the plan is good but leaves some hard decisions for implementation. It's not visionary. We got the worst poison pills out of the really awful versions... then we said finally, 'Let's just approve this.'"
"This plan is a 70-30 mix of great new stuff blended with the wishy washy language of bike plans gone by (the 1996-2002 plan specifically)," says Bray-Ali. "There is still way too much 'Staff shall encourage' and 'Staff shall communicate' that leaves you wondering what the hell that exactly means." But he does point to some solid details provided in the plan so advocates can be more informed, like the pledge to build 40 miles of bike lanes per year, an annual bike count, an annual crash data release, bike parking reform, and a guaranteed $10 million per year from Measure R, a major transportation-funding measure passed last year.
Where does the bike plan rank in comparison to other cities like Portland or San Francisco or even Long Beach? Is our master plan as progressive?
"L.A. is decades behindâ€"those cities are committed to implementation on the ground," says Linton. "Our master plan is just a planâ€"it will take a fight with the LADOT to get one-tenth of the kind of innovation we're seeing in New York City, Long Beach, or San Francisco (or a change in leadership at the LADOT). We're already hearing that the city doesn't have the staff to implement the bike plan on the schedule that was approved."
Thompson was more optimistic. "Portland and San Francisco have more mature movements but this is L.A.," he says. "We're movie stars and we've got great biking weather all year round and we're going to give them, and Long Beach, a run for their money."
How would you describe L.A.'s bike culture?
"L.A. is already the most effervescent city to go on a group bike ride," says Bray-Ali. "I think we kick other city's butts with how many bike collectives we have. How many life-altering or downright fun, free, open-to-all-classes-and-genders rides we have every day of the week. Once you couple the people of L.A. with a city government-sponsored bike network, things are going to explode. Everyone will be on bikes, it will be the stupidest, most fun fad to slam the entire city in quite some timeâ€"think of the 1984 Olympics or the L.A. riots, or maybe both, in the way this plan will change the way business and governance is done in L.A."
What will help increase the number of bikers in L.A.?
People need to feel safe on the streets before they'll embrace bicycling in traffic, says Newton. "Look at CicLAvia [a 2010 event that closed 7.5 miles of streets to cars]. Heck, look at Critical Mass [a regularly-scheduled public ride] since the LAPD began escorting the ride. When people know it's a safe option, they embrace bicycling." Also likely to be passed soon is an anti-harassment ordinance that will protect bikers from violence against them, like a road rage episode in 2008 that put two cyclists in the hospital.
Klausner says that physical changes to the city can be encouraging to potential bikers. "Infrastructure solutions serve as tangible invitations for people to come out and ride," she says. "But more people are riding bikes here and in cities everywhere these days, and even more so when gas prices increase, so we hope the question will ultimately become 'can this bike plan keep up with the expectations of an ever-expanding bike community?'" Thompson agrees that the growth will be more organic. "Each generation of cyclists is a little bigger and helps pave the way for the nextâ€"I expect to double the number of people riding in two or three years," he says. "What we really should be concerned about isn't growing cycling, which is happening, but protecting cyclists' safety as it grows."
How do people get involved with the bike movement?
"We're always looking for new volunteers who will help us out at Bikeside LA," says Thompson. "We created the original Backbone Bikeway Network proposal, and we were basically told it would never happen. Now it's in the bike planâ€"so we're good at what we do and we love to do cutting edge work."
In addition, the other groups mentioned here, including the LACBC are always looking for volunteers as well. You can also attend the DOT's Bike Plan Implementation Meetings. Regularly-scheduled rides like Critical Mass are open to the public, and of course there's also CicLAvia, which will open L.A. streets to biking and walking on three dates this year.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention GOOD LA's fundraiser for CicLAvia, happening this Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Atwater Crossing. There's also a public bike ride being led by Flying Pigeon from the Brewery to the CicLAvia fundraiser. With many of these advocates in attendance, it will be a good time and place to learn more about the bike plan and celebrate a new age of cycling for the city.
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Painting sharrows on L.A. streets as part of a pilot program. Photo by LACBC
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A new bike corral installed in Highland Park is a first for the city. Photo by LACBC
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The plan could create "bike boulevards" like this one proposed for 4th Street
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Detail of the Citywide Bikeway System Map, which you can download here.
http://www.labikeplan.org/public_involvement/ (http://www.labikeplan.org/public_involvement/)
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"Give Me 3"posters designed by Geoff McFetridge went up around the city last year. Photo by LACBC
http://www.good.is/post/using-design-to-give-l-a-bikers-more-room/ (http://www.good.is/post/using-design-to-give-l-a-bikers-more-room/)
LABIKEPLAN.ORG
http://www.labikeplan.org/public_involvement/ (http://www.labikeplan.org/public_involvement/)
Can't post the entire article, but a GREAT article on the city councilman that MADE IT HAPPEN
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-02-10/news/the-bikeroots/# (http://www.laweekly.com/2011-02-10/news/the-bikeroots/#)
QuoteFor Stephen Box, it all began in the summer of 2005, when he was almost killed by a bus.
It was Bike Summer, a series of bicycle-related events all over Los Angeles, and Box and his wife, Enci, were riding their bikes home from a screening at the Echo Park Film Center. A bus passed Box, a little too close for comfort. When it pulled up to a stop, Box went around it. A few blocks later, the bus shot by him, and again Box overtook it.
Then he heard Enci scream. He looked to his left in time to see the bus bearing down on him. Panicking, he swerved, hopped the curb and crashed into some bushes.
OK, that's just wrong, Box thought to himself.
So he called the police. They referred him to the Sheriff's Department. The sheriffs told him to call the LAPD. He called them all, and then called Metro, which led nowhere. Then he called the region's biggest group of bicycle activists, the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, and even they didn't seem interested. It was as if the city as a whole genuinely didn't mind that a Metro bus driver had run a cyclist off the road.
"I'm not happy with the department of No," Box says.
That's when he became an activist.
After decades of neglect, L.A. is finally taking bike riders seriously, thanks in part to a mayor and City Council members who ride bicycles, but more because of activists like Box, who approach the issue with all the fervor and righteousness of civil rights marchers in the 1960s. They're challenging the car-centric culture that all but defines Los Angeles, and demanding a new vision.
"Clearly they've turned the corner from being the bad guy, disrupting traffic, being abused by cops, being run over by motorists without anything being done about it, to a movement that's being embraced by everyone from the mayor and council, to winning major concessions to policies they've advocated," says Ron Kaye, former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, now a blogger and activist known for his vitriolic posts against city overspending.
In the process of complaining about poor treatment by motorists and policymakers, cyclists have learned how to navigate the ins and outs of city government. They've learned who and how to ask for what they want. They've learned how to get people to listen. And they could be the next big political force in a city government as dysfunctional as any out there.
On March 8, Box faces City Councilman Tom LaBonge in the Council District 4 race. If he forces LaBonge into a runoff in the three-way match, which also includes small businessman Tomas O'Grady, that would be a major upset. In Los Angeles City Hall, the last time an outsider beat a City Council incumbent was when slow-growther Ruth Galanter ousted pro-growther Pat Russell. That was in 1987.
But the bikeroots crowd has been producing a lot of surprises lately.
Despite L.A.'s climate and relatively flat topography, less than 1 percent of commuters bike to work in this city. The reasons: the roads, which aren't built to accommodate cyclists, and the culture, which revolves around the automobile.
Before the Model T, even before the Pacific Electric Railway, there was the California Cycleway, a 1.25-mile wooden turnpike lined with electric lights, that its creator hoped would one day connect Pasadena and Los Angeles â€" for bicycles only. The round-trip toll was 15 cents. But it didn't attract enough users to turn a profit, so the bike turnpike was torn down, making way for the northernmost part of the Arroyo Seco Parkway, California's first freeway (now the Pasadena Freeway or 110).
"If we could turn back the clock," LaBonge says, "there could have been bikeways down San Vicente, instead of coral trees. Mass transit, as well as bicycle routes. Shared space. A little like Europe. After World War II, during the reconstruction of Germany, they really thought about land use. They know how to deal with traffic and bicycles and pedestrians."
Instead, we got freeways, long, fat and monolithic, perhaps the most iconic structures in L.A. And we got streets, wide and gridlike. The city's streets and freeways are, by most accounts (studies by IBM and the Texas Transportation Institute, among others), the most congested in the nation. That congestion has set off a conflict among drivers, transit riders and cyclists over L.A.'s most fought-over resource: its hundreds of miles of pavement.
In the 1990s, everyone knew everyone else among L.A.'s small population of serious bicyclists. One of them was Joe Linton, a Zeligesque figure in the bike community who seemed to know every other person riding a bicycle and, like the movie character, kept popping up at key moments. "There were a lot of lone-wolf activists in L.A.," Linton recalls.
L.A. resident Ron Milam was 22 and just out of college, with a degree in urban planning when the California Bike Coalition, a Sacramento-based lobbying group, approached him about starting a similar group in Los Angeles. Milam turned to Linton, 13 years his senior, for help. They met for sandwiches at Doughboys in Mid-City.
READ THE REST HERE:
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-02-10/news/the-bikeroots/# (http://www.laweekly.com/2011-02-10/news/the-bikeroots/#)
A friend of mine who lives out there and is an avid bicyclist told me the LA Mayor really got behind this plan after he was invloved in a serious bicycle accident. Kind of like Redman and the Southbank Riverwalk.
Quote from: fsujax on March 03, 2011, 09:04:59 AM
A friend of mine who lives out there and is an avid bicyclist told me the LA Mayor really got behind this plan after he was invloved in a serious bicycle accident. Kind of like Redman and the Southbank Riverwalk.
Too bad our Mayor for the last 8 years is an oil guy.
During an earthquake, the bike trail doesn't act like a freeway, and it would provide an excellent EVACUATION path for pedestrians and cyclists regardless of any personal or specific agenda. There is always a possibility of the freeways would flop and murder poor motorists like pancakes slapping another pancake trapping the butter.
-Josh
Quote from: peestandingup on March 03, 2011, 09:10:49 AM
Quote from: fsujax on March 03, 2011, 09:04:59 AM
A friend of mine who lives out there and is an avid bicyclist told me the LA Mayor really got behind this plan after he was invloved in a serious bicycle accident. Kind of like Redman and the Southbank Riverwalk.
Too bad our Mayor for the last 8 years is an oil guy.
Yeah, which makes this hard to figure out:
QuoteThey've learned who and how to ask for what they want. They've learned how to get people to listen. And they could be the next big political force in a city government as dysfunctional as any out there.
And guess what........light rail is safer for bicyclists than busses. Maybe something we can all work on!!