Safe & Healthy Streets

The City of Glendale has been in the process of revising its Bicycle Master Plan since early 2011. Officially titled the “City of Glendale Bicycle Transportation Plan,”  the document will determine the bicycle facilities to be built and programs to be established in Glendale for the coming years. It’s also the document required for the City to be eligible for California Bicycle Transportation Account funds. After holding community meetings last spring and fall, the Draft Plan is now available for review online. You can download the file by clicking the link here.

You can help determine the future of bicycling in Glendale! A community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 18,  at 7:00 pm in the Glendale Police Community Room, 131. N.  Isabel St.  Map.

Tell your friends and encourage them to attend as well! It’s critical that the bicycling public participate in the development of the Bike Plan.

Members of Walk Bike Glendale have already been discussing the details of the Plan and you are invited to join the conversation! You can contact Walk Bike Glendale at www.WalkBikeGlendale.org or get in touch with Erik Yesayan at yesayan (at) gmail (dot) com. Walk Bike Glendale has also set up a web-page where you can review the Plan and submit your comments within the Plan document. Please note that if you use this site, you will be submitting comments to Walk Bike Glendale and NOT to the City of Glendale. Registration and log-in is recommended so that your comments will not be anonymous. You can review the Plan and comment to Walk Bike Glendale by clicking here.

For those who are unable to attend a Wednesday evening meeting, you can also submit your individual feedback via the City of Glendale’s Bicycle Master Plan update webpage at www.bikeglendale.org , submit your feedback via e-mail to Fred Zohrehvand at FZohrehvand@ci.glendale.ca.us , or call the City’s Public Works Traffic and Transportation Division at  (818) 548-3960.

GREENER GLENDALE OPEN HOUSE

Save the Date! The City of Glendale will host the second Greener Glendale Open House, to invite public feedback for the Greener Glendale Plan for Community Activities. The event will be on Monday, January 23, from 5pm – 7pm. It will be held at the City of Glendale Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206, Room 106. Map

Free parking is available in the City parking structure on Wilson just west of Glendale Ave and bicycle parking is available in the plaza and in front of City Hall. The Glendale Beeline bus and numerous Metro buses stop at the intersection at Broadway and Glendale. This will be a casual, walk through style event so participants can arrive and leave at any time.

For more information, contact Cassandra Pruett at (818) 937-8159 or cpruett@ci.glendale.ca.us

The City of Glendale has been in the process of revising its Bicycle Master Plan since early 2011. Officially titled the “City of Glendale Bicycle Transportation Plan,”  the document will determine the bicycle facilities to be built and programs to be established in Glendale for the coming years. It’s also the document required for the City to be eligible for California Bicycle Transportation Account funds. After holding community meetings last spring and fall, the Draft Plan is now available for review online. You can download the file by clicking the link here.

If you ride a bike in Glendale, you are encouraged to review this document. You can help determine the future of bicycling in Glendale! A community meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, January 18, 2012 (exact time and location has not been announced but it’s likely to happen in the evening). Update: the community meeting will be held at 7:00 pm in the Glendale Police Community Room, 131. N.  Isabel St.  Map.

SAVE THE DATE so you can attend this meeting! Tell your friends and encourage them to attend as well! It’s critical that the bicycling public participate in the development of the Bike Plan.

Members of Walk Bike Glendale will be discussing the details of the Plan and you are invited to join the discussion! You can contact Walk Bike Glendale at www.WalkBikeGlendale.org or get in touch with Erik Yesayan at yesayan (at) gmail (dot) com.

UPDATE JANUARY 5, 2012: Walk Bike Glendale has set up a web-page where you can review the Plan and submit your comments within the Plan document. Please note that if you use this site, you will be submitting comments to Walk Bike Glendale and NOT to the City of Glendale. Registration and log-in is recommended so that your comments will not be anonymous. You can review the Plan and comment to Walk Bike Glendale by clicking here.

For those who are unable to attend a Wednesday evening meeting, you can also submit your individual feedback via the City of Glendale’s Bicycle Master Plan update webpage at www.bikeglendale.org , submit your feedback via e-mail to Fred Zohrehvand at FZohrehvand@ci.glendale.ca.us , or call the City’s Public Works Traffic and Transportation Division at  (818) 548-3960.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Walk Bike Glendale, a newly formed regional chapter of the LA County Bicycle Coalition, invites everyone – young and old, to join them for a free holiday bike ride on Sunday, December 18, 2011. The group will meet at Nibley Park at 5:30 pm and will take a leisurely ride to look at the lights in the Rossmoyne and Glendale Hills neighborhoods. Families and children are encouraged to join the fun (and there will be a stop for hot cocoa). No RSVP is needed. For more information go to WalkBikeGlendale.org . Here’s the flyer for the ride.

Calling all people who walk or ride a bike in Glendale! There’s a new group forming called Walk Bike Glendale and everyone is welcome to join. A website is in the works (it should be www.walkbikeglendale.org) and they have a Facebook page here.

The group has been engaging Glendale City Staff and the community in the update of the Bicycle Master Plan, advocating for bike racks in the Montrose Shopping Park, and working with City Staff to ensure the formation of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee which is included in the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan. They’ve also been working on organizational details like a mission statement, their name and logo, etc. as well as setting up to be a regional chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Members have been leading informal bike rides on Tuesday nights which are posted on Facebook here.

Get in touch with Walk Bike Glendale today and help make Glendale a better, safer place to walk or ride a bike. Contact Erik Yesayan at Yesayan (at) gmail (dot) com.

Ride and Walk in the Montrose-Glendale Christmas Parade

Safe & Healthy Streets Parade Participants, 2010.

This year Walk Bike Glendale will lead a group of people in Glendale who walk and bike in the Montrose-Glendale Christmas Parade. In 2009 and 2010 we decorated our bikes with lights, dressed in green and red, and proudly paraded our way down Honolulu. It’s always a lot of fun and everyone is excited to ride and walk again this year. The parade will be on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 6 pm. Contact Rye Baerg (rbaerg (at) gmail (dot) com) to RSVP or for more information, or check out the Facebook event page here.

Final Safe & Healthy Streets Plan Is Now Online

The Safe & Healthy Streets Plan was formally adopted on April 19, 2011. Since then, only a “draft” word document has been available to the public while we’ve been working on the graphic design of the plan. A professional layout with photos and links was the last step needed to make the plan a truly finished work. We’re proud to announce the final document is now online and ready to download from the City of Glendale website as a PDF here! Once again we thank everyone who helped make the Safe & Healthy Streets a reality and we hope you like how the final document looks!

Alan Deane was a friend and fellow cyclist that many of us at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition knew. He was a consistent attendee at Glendale Safe & Healthy Streets meetings and events –  planting trees on the Riverdale Maple Glendale Greenway, riding with us on Glendale bike rides, and helping to create the Safe & Healthy Streets plan through his participation in community meetings. Alan also volunteered his time in our downtown Los Angeles office and we often saw him riding the streets of Glendale and the City of L.A.  Alan was friendly, energetic, inquisitive, and generous.  He lived his convictions. We will miss him.  His family has organized a memorial service on November 20th and they encourage all of Alan’s friends to be there.

There will be a short bike ride to the memorial.  Here are the details:

Meet at the Los Angeles Bicycle Kitchen, 706 Heliotrope at 12:45 pm. We ride, rain or shine at 1:15 pm.

Here is the full obituary written by his family and close friends, followed by the memorial invitation.

Alan Deane, a Los Angeles guitarist who played with some of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s, died Sept 22nd, 2011 in Pasadena, the victim of a car-bike collision. It was his 61st birthday.

Born in Los Angeles on Sept 22nd, 1950, Alan Charles Deane was a natural musician from a young age. When he was about 8, he was able to tap out the Gene Krupa drum solo from “Sing, Sing, Sing”. At age 12, he took lessons from a symphony percussionist, who after 6 months said, “There’s nothing more I can teach this kid!” He then taught himself guitar, which led to his professional career touring and recording with bands such as The Captain & Tenille, The Grass Roots, and Johnny Rivers.

Alan also had frequent small acting roles in films, including on the television show 24 and as the jailer who drags Christian Bale to the gallows in “The Prestige.”

In recent years, Alan, long an environmentalist, devoted himself to a carbon-free, anti-consumerist lifestyle. He lived simply, rode his bike for transportation and volunteered with groups such as Revolutionary Autonomous Communities as they distributed fresh vegetables to poor families in Macarthur Park. In addition, he volunteered for the LA County Bicycle Coalition and radio station KPCC, where his ebullient and curious personality was a constant presence at public events.

Alan started the music project “OK Everybody, Sing!” (http://okeverybody.com) with his friend and student Aurelius Prochazka, devoting countless hours — usually at the Starbucks in Eagle Rock — to painstakingly transcribing the music of The Beach Boys, The Drifters, The Eagles and other bands, so the songs could be more easily learned and played by the public. Over the last year, the two were writing a music book, completing it just a week before the crash.

Alan was preceded in death by his mother, Alice, a skilled classical pianist. He is survived by his father and stepmother, Gil and Evelyn Deane, brother, Don Deane and sister-in-law, Ellen Flannelly, stepsisters, Laurie Martin and Marla Martin Hamilton, aunts and uncles Shel and Esty Deane and Marv and Cookie Berman, and cousins Jeff and Lisa, Joel and Deidre.

A memorial will be held on Sunday, November 20th. E-mail cookieberman (at) yahoo (dot) com for more information.

Scott Lowe and "Cave" Jen work on mapping exercise. Photo: Justin A. Klein (c) 2011

The City of Glendale will be hosting community meetings for the Draft Bicycle Master Plan update on October 13 & 20, 2011. The last community meeting was on April 28, 2011. At that meeting, community members were asked to participate in a mapping exercise to help determine what streets might be designated as bikeways in the updated Plan. Now the City is ready to present a draft map for community feedback. Your input is crucial, so please help spread the word and make sure you attend at least one meeting. Here are the details:

Thursday October 13, 2011
Glendale Civic Center
633 East Broadway, Room 106
6:00 pm
MAP

Thursday October 20, 2011
Sparr Heights Community Center
1613 Glencoe Way
6:00 pm
MAP

The City has set up a special web-page for the Bicycle Master Plan update. The URL is www.bikeglendale.org You will find the Draft Map there and be sure to keep checking that site for any other updates.

CYSTIC FIBROSIS CYCLE FOR LIFE October 30

The Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life will be happening on Sunday, October 30, 2011. The ride start and finish will be in Pacific Park in Glendale. Sign up and ride your bike to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Details at www.cfcycleforlifela.com .

Scott Lowe and "Cave" Jen work on mapping exercise. Photo: Justin A. Klein (c) 2011

The City of Glendale will be hosting community meetings for the Draft Bicycle Master Plan update on October 13 & 20, 2011. Your input is crucial, so please help spread the word and make sure you attend at least one meeting. Here are the details:

Thursday October 13, 2011
Glendale Civic Center
633 East Broadway, Room 106
6:00 pm
MAP

Thursday October 20, 2011
Sparr Heights Community Center
1613 Glencoe Way
6:00 pm
MAP

The City has set up a special web-page for the Bicycle Master Plan update. The URL is www.bikeglendale.org Keep checking that site for any updates.

TOUR DE FAT – October 8, 2011

The second annual Tour de Fat Los Angeles is happening on Saturday, October 8, 2011. Don’t miss the fun at this traveling “carnival for bikes” and help raise money for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, the Los Angeles Bicycle Kitchen, and CICLE. For more details go to http://la-bike.org/events/new-belgiums-tour-de-fat-los-angeles

CICLAVIA – October 9, 2011

The open street festival, CicLAvia, is happening for the third time in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 9, 2011. This free event is not to be missed! Ride your bike. Walk. Rollerskate. Play dodge-ball. Or just relax and watch all the people. For more details, go to www.ciclavia.org

CYSTIC FIBROSIS CYCLE FOR LIFE October 30

The Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life will be happening on Sunday, October 30, 2011. The ride start and finish will be in Pacific Park in Glendale. Sign up and ride your bike to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Registration is normally $50, but this Thursday, October 6th thru Monday, October 10th they are offering a registration special of $20. Details at www.cfcycleforlifela.com .

Don’t forget, Mayor Laura Friedman will be leading a free Mayor’s Ride in Glendale on Sunday, September 25, 2011! This is a great way to visit with the Mayor and tour the City of Glendale. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is proud to partner with the City on this ride and we encourage you to join us. Here is the flyer for the ride:

INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY IS OCTOBER 5, 2011

Walk to school with your children on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. RD White Elementary has lead the way for Glendale’s participation in this annual event for the past two years. The concept is simple: to encourage children to walk to school as a means to improve health and safety.

This is the second year that the City of Glendale has officially proclaimed Walk to School Day in Glendale. Check with your local school for details about how you can participate in an international movement to encourage healthy, active lifestyles among our children. Don’t miss the fun!

Mayor Laura Friedman will be leading a free Mayor’s Ride in Glendale on Sunday, September 25, 2011. This is a great way to visit with the Mayor and tour the City of Glendale. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is proud to partner with the City on this ride and we encourage you to join us. Here is the flyer for the ride:

NEW BIKE RACKS APPEARING CITY-WIDE

Bike rack on Glendale Ave. near Broadway

You may have already seen some new bike racks like the one pictured above. This is the new standard bike rack that the City of Glendale is currently installing in public locations city-wide. By ensuring a place for cyclists to lock up at destinations all over town, the City is supporting cycling as an option for riding instead of driving to restaurants, local shops, and public venues. As always, we encourage you to voice your support of the new racks by contacting the City Council here. If you would like to request a rack at a specific location, contact the City’s Public Works Traffic and Transportation Division. Keep in mind that rack locations must be in the public right of way.

The group poses at the ride start, Glendale Train Station

Thanks to everyone who came to the Glendale History Ride on Saturday August 13, 2011. Thanks especially to Scott Lowe, who led the ride, the Glendale Historical Society, and the City of Glendale Community Services & Parks Department who co-sponsored the ride. Here are a few photos courtesy of Scott Lowe, Marc Stirdivant, and Martin Orozco. More photos are on the Glendale Historical Society’s Facebook page and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Facebook page. If you’re not on Facebook, you can also see more photos on the Safe & Healthy Streets Photobucket page. If you have photos you’d like to share, please contact colin@la-bike.org  Thanks!

Riding the bike lane on Glenoaks

Descending the ramp to The Cave Wine Storage in the Hotel Glendale basement

Riding the Cottage Grove neighborhood in south Glendale