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   FALL 2007 (PDF 5.8MB) |
BICYCLE HEADLINES LOCAL BIKE HEADLINES A Future Best City: Los AngelesConcerns about gridlocked traffic, air quality and obesity have more city officials pushing for bike and pedestrian transportation By Brian Fiske Despite everything that comes to mind when you picture L.A.--gridlock nightmares, a sprawling footprint, smog, swelling population, lack of a centralized downtown--the nation's second--largest city has great potential for biking. It has been toiling away for years building bike lanes and paths; there are more than 350 miles' worth already. Now it's trying to make a sensible, safe network out of them and has hired Alta Planning + Design, a national, progressive transportation planning consulting company, to help design the plan, which is set to be implemented next year. That may sound dull, but Alta has worked closely with cities such as Portland and San Francisco. And its hiring is part of a sea change taking place: For the first time, elected officials are calling L.A.'s bike coordinator to ask about putting in bike facilities, instead of the other way around. "I've been riding a bike in L.A. for 44 years, and doing this job for 14," says Michelle Mowery, senior project coordinator for the city's bicycle program. "And this is the first time I've ever seen excitement like this." Reference: www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610, s1-2-15-17079-1,00.html Studio poses obstacle to riverfront bike path 2/27/08 - Los Angeles Times NBC Universal says it wants the route through its property to loop uphill and back down. www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikelane 27feb27,1,2352452.story LA's City Hall Just Got Friendlier! (for cyclists) 1/17/08 - LAist City Hall now provides bicycle lockers, access to showers and a subsidy to City Hall staffers who ride a bike to work. laist.com/2008/01/17/las_city_hall_j.php  Coalition: Bikes Are a Rail Good Choice1/16/08 - The Signal The Santa Clarita Valley paper features a story on LACBC and Metro's transit hub interview efforts. www.the-signal.com/?module= displaystory&story_id=52776&format=html Bicycle Bully-Vard 1/14/08 - District Less traffic, noise and pollution is a good thingisnšt it? thedistrictweekly.com/daily/writing-shotgun/ bicycle-bully-vard Good news for extending the Los Angeles River bike path! 1/14/08 The LA River Bike Path stretch in Elysian Valley (officially "Phase 1C") cleared an important legal hurdle last week. This is an approximately 3 mile stretch extending downstream from Fletcher Drive to Barclay Street (from just above the 2 Freeway to nearly the 110 Freeway.) The stretch currently has an unimproved access road used by bicyclists and pedestrians every day, though the surface is uneven and there are about a half-dozen large dips where street ends drain directly into the river. In 1999, the city of Los Angeles applied for and received Metro Call for Projects funding for the Elysian Valley (or Frogtown) stretch of the bikeway. The project is to include an undercrossing at Fletcher Drive (to connect with "Phase 1D" upstream of Fletcher), resurfacing, and lighting. The project has been bogged down in legal troubles due to a complicated antiquated easement issue. The Elysian Valley stretch is under a 1920's era easement (awarded to the LA County Flood Control District) which only allows for flood control projects, and, according to city attorneys, was not sufficient for the construction of a bike path. So, even though owners had already seen their property taken away for river channelization many decades ago, the city had to approach each of the 66 individual property owners and negotiate transportation easements. Most property owners accepted the city's initial compensation offers, but one property owner held out and took the city to court. On Thursday January 10th, in Rabie v. City of Los Angeles, the court's verdict was that the city had to pay Mr. Rabie $7,000 for the easement. This was only a little above the city's last offer of $4,000, and much less than the $200,000 that Rabie was demanding. This verdict allows the bike path project to move forward to finalizing design, and constructing the long-awaited extension of the bike path. Once this stretch is completed, the Glendale Narrows portion of the bike path will extend an uninterrupted total of 7.1 miles from the Riverside/Zoo Bridge (near Victory Blvd in Glendale) to the Riverside/Figueroa Bridge (near the Arroyo Seco Confluence in Lincoln Heights). Los Angeles Councilmember Reyes' Bike Plan Proposal Released 12/19/07 Councilmember Ed Reyes has put forth a motion to support bicycling in his Council District 1, and across Los Angeles. His motion supports bicycle boulevards, traffic calming measures, bicycle rental facilities, and other bicycle improvements. Read Reyes' resolution (PDF 92K). LACBC has written in support of the Councilmember's motion and hopes to continue to work with Council District 1 to improve cycling conditions. Read LACBC's response letter (PDF 172K). If you live in Los Angeles CD1, you can write to Councilmember Reyes, to support this motion, also at councilmember.reyes@lacity.org. Metro and LACBC to interview Bicyclists and Pedestrians at Local Transit Stations12/11/07 - Metro The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) has begun conducting a survey at several Metro Rail and Metrolink stations such as Wilmington/Imperial, Compton, Florence, Vernon, Van Nuys and Newhall to identify improvements for bicycle and pedestrian access to the station. www.metro.net/news_info/press/Metro_215.htm MONICA HOWE: BICYCLE 'ACTIVIST BY DEFAULT' Monica Howe Profile on LACBC Outreach Coordinator Monica Howe and her vision for a more "bikey" LA. Get the full story: www.latimes.com/la-he-howe7jan07, 1,7210762.story?coll=la-headlines-health LET IT RIDE 1/6/08 - Los Angeles Times Magazine From hip cruisers to haute paths, here's a manual to all things bicycle cool. www.latimes.com/features/magazine/ la-tm-bikeservice.01.jan6,1, 285390.story?coll=la-headlines-latmagazine BICYCLE BRAWL Jan 2008 Pedal-powered transportation is good for your health — no disagreement there. But should local governments and motorists accommodate it as a means of commuting equal to cars? L.A. blogger and cyclist Will Campbell and Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O'Toole (also a cyclist) debate bicycle infrastructure, planning and activism. www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/ la-op-dustup-jan07-11,0,2751611. storygallery?coll=la-home-commentary LBC's ECO-FRIENDLY BICYCLING PHOTOGRAPHER Jan 2008 - Whole Life Times Photographer Russ Roca uses an Xtracycle to get the job done. www.wholelifetimes.com/2008/01/oor_greenphotog0801.html AMGEN 2008: BIGGER AND BETTER IN SANTA CLARITA 12/28/07 - KHTS News Santa Clarita to get double the excitement this year. www.hometownstation.com/amgen-tour-california-2007-12-29-12-06.html REYES ROLLS OUT BICYCLE PLAN 12/19/07 - Reyes urges planners to prioritize bikes in City's public transportation plan, calls for pilot project in his district. Download: Ed_Reyes_bicycle.pdf (34KB). L.A.'S BIKE-UNFRIENDLY FESTIVAL 12/17/07 - Los Angeles Times The 'green' DWP's Festival of Lights is mostly off-limits to cyclists. www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-williamson17dec17, 0,502816.story?coll=la-home-commentary EAT!SLEEP?BIKES! - AWESOME12/14/07 - Street Heat Los Angeles County Bike Coalition and the Bike Oven put on a great event that literally packed the house so tight that people were sitting on the floor and standing in the street. streetheatla.blogspot.com/2007/12/eatsleepbikes-awesome.html CRITICAL MASS BIKE RIDE MAY BE AT BRAKING POINT 12/7/07 - Los Angeles Times Cyclists in the monthly event in Santa Monica say they may pedal elsewhere because of citations from police. www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikers7dec07,1, 7367625.story?coll=la-headlines-california MIDNIGHT RIDAZZ ARE BOUND TO KEEP ON RIDING 12/6/07 - Los Angeles Times In the heart of car culture, massive bike rides are hitting the streets. Should you admire them? Scorn them? Or join the pack? www.calendarlive.com/cl-gd-cover6dec06,0, 1527407.story?coll=cl-home-top-blurb-right NATIONAL BIKE HEADLINES BICYCLE-SHARING PROGRAM TO BE FIRST OF KIND IN U.S.4/27/08 - Ed Alcock for The New York Times Starting next month, people in Washington, DC will be able to rent a bicycle day and night with the swipe of a membership card. A new public-private venture called SmartBike DC will make 120 bicycles available at 10 spots in central locations in the city. The automated program, which district officials say is the first of its kind in the nation, will operate in a similar fashion to car-sharing programs like Zipcar. The district has teamed up with an advertiser, Clear Channel Outdoor, to put the bikes on the streets. For the complete article: www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/us/27bikes.html?_r=1&oref=slogin PORTLAND CONSIDERED MOST BICYCLE-FRIENDLY CITY IN NORTH AMERICA 4/15/08 - Democracy Now For many, Portland is a haven of green-friendly urban planning. It recently topped Popular Science's list of the Greenest Cities in the United States. A big part of that is bikes. Portland is widely considered the most bicycle-friendly city in North America, so much so that bikes are on display throughout the Portland airport. Worldwide, it's seen as only second to Amsterdam. To hear the entire interview on Democracy Now go to: www.democracynow.org/2008/4/15/ portland_considered_most_bicycle_friendly_city PORTLAND'S "BIKE BOXES" TO MAKE THE CITY EVEN MORE BIKE-FRIENDLY 1/10/08 - New York Times "Bike boxes" will be laid out on the roadway to provide a clearly designated place for cyclists, in front of and in full view of drivers, to wait for traffic lights to change. www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/10bike.html? _r=2&scp=1&sq=portland&oref=slogin&oref=slogin CYCLING CONGRESSMAN EARL BLUMENAUER 12/29/07 - Wall Street Journal online Video profile on Congressman Blumenauer, who founded the Congressional Bike Caucus. link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid86195573/bclid86272812/bctid1351361901 EQUALITY FOR CYCLISTS Nov-Dec 2007 - American Bicyclist Local cyclist Dan Gutierrez and LAB Boardmember Amanda Eichstaedt examine state legislature that creates conflicts for cyclists and advocates. Download: american_bicyclist.pdf (596KB). WORLD BIKE HEADLINES 50 PEOPLE WHO COULD SAVE THE PLANET1/5/08 - The Guardian A Guardian panel, taking nominations from key environmental figures, met to compile a list of ultimate green heroes. Monica Howe, LACBC Outreach Coordinator, appears just above Al Gore! www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/05/activists.ethicalliving VIRGIN VACATION'S 11 MOST BICYCLE FRIENDLY CITIES IN THE WORLD 11/14/07 - Similar to the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Communities Campaign, Virgin's list includes four cities in the US. www.virgin-vacations.com/site_vv/11-most-bike-friendly-cities.asp LACBC IN THE NEWS CYCLING IN LABBC piece on Monica Howe, LACBC Outreach Coordinator, and the full-time quest to get Angelenos on their bikes. Click this link to hear it. (This is not streamed, so you may not get good results with a slow connection).
ROAD WARS  SHE'S L.A.'S PEDAL PUSHER Monica Howe sees herself as the voice of a two-wheeled future, dedicated to the notion that an urban bicycle culture will make this a better place to live... Read: LA_pedal_pusher.pdf (35KB). |
| LOS ANGELES COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION - Building a Better, Bike-able LA County | |