Downtown Dash Adds Family Bike Ride
The Glendale Downtown Dash has added a Family Fun Bike Ride to the 3rd annual edition of this popular 5K event on Sunday, March 14, 2010. During the 4k bike ride, young kids and families can enjoy riding car-free streets in downtown Glendale. The ride starts at 9:40 am (just after the 5K run), rain or shine. Helmets are required. Proceeds benefit Glendale Adventist Medical Center Stroke Services for the community. Free event parking is available. For more details and to register, go to http://www.glendaledowntowndash.com/body.cfm?id=176&SubDomain=true
Los Angeles County Bike Plan Update
Los Angeles County is updating its Bike Plan which hasn’t been updated since 1970. This plan will affect unincorporated areas in LA County, including areas that border Glendale and La Canada Flintridge. The public process for updating the plan is scheduled for the next 6 months. A county Bicycle Advisory Committee has been formed and will be meeting on the third Wednesday of each month. There will also be 30 community meetings scheduled: 3 rounds of 10 meetings, 2 meetings for each of the 5 County Districts. Public input will be collected during the entire process from the plan update website and at the community meetings. For more information and to submit your comments go to http://lacountybikeplan.org/
America Walks – Safe Routes to School Webinars
America Walks, a national pedestrian advocacy group, will be hosting two Safe Routes to School Webinars in January and February. The first webinar on January 26 will be “School Bicycle & Walking Policies: Addressing Policies that Hinder & Implementing Policies that Help” and the second webinar on February 23 will be “Connecting Safe Routes to School with Health”. From the America walks website, here’s a description of their webinars.
“These monthly webinars are FREE and are designed to educate individuals and organizations about safe routes to school. We have selected topics that lead to successful grassroots action, including how to attract and collaborate with important partners in your effort. Each Webinar lasts 60 minutes and includes a Feature Presentation and a National Update. The calls include an opportunity to pose questions of the presenters and see real-time polls of the meeting attendees.
A web seminar, or “Webinar” is a conference call accompanied by a real-time presentation using a computer connected to the Internet. After registering for the Webinar, you’ll receive a toll-free telephone number and access code via email. Webinars enable engaging and high-quality experience for conference call presentations.”
For more information and to register for the webinars, go to the America Walks website, http://www.americawalks.org/.
L.A. Street Summit 2010
Mark your calendars for the L.A. Street Summit 2010 to be held on Saturday March 20 at Los Angeles Trade Tech College. Last year’s successful L.A. Bike Summit has been renamed to the L.A. Street Summit to include walking and other street related issues. The summit is being organized by The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. The keynote speaker is going to be Janette Sadik-Khan – NYC DOT commissioner who has implemented numerous bicyclist and pedestrian friendly projects in New York City. The summit is free and the organizers are currently accepting proposals for workshops and guest speakers. For more information and to register for the summit, go to the L.A. Street Summit website.
LACBC Releases Bike Parking Community Resource Guide
Created by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s “City of Lights” staff and volunteers, the Bike Parking Community Resource Guide will have an important impact on creating a more accessible, empowering way for communities to improve their neighborhoods and make them more livable, especially low-income neighborhoods that may have been left behind in the city’s planning process. This guide can help residents get started on increasing the number of bike parking racks in their neighborhood. To open and save the guide, click here.
Mandeville Canyon Doctor Sentenced to 5 Years
Dr. Christopher Thompson has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for intentionally causing two cyclists to crash on Mandeville Canyon Road on July 4, 2008. This story has been followed closely by local and national media. The Thompson case has become significant for sending a clear message that it’s not okay for motorists to threaten or injure cyclists with a car, despite the ongoing debates about scofflaw cyclists, the rules of the road, and rude behavior. While the comments posted online can be depressing (many are hostile), the message from our legal system is clear: use your car as a weapon and you’ll go to jail. For more details, you can read the LA Times article here, the Streetsblog Los Angeles story here, and a Velo News story here. There was also an excellent op-ed piece in the LA Times by Bob Mionske (author of Bicycling and the Law) worth reading.