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BICYCLE HEADLINES LOCAL BIKE HEADLINES L.A. measures aimed at aiding bicycle-riding commutersFor bicyclist Alex Cantarero, commuting to work can be a death-defying feat. He follows traffic rules and carefully keeps an eye on the pandemonium around him, but still feels as though he takes his life into his own hands every time he straps on his helmet and pedals into the streets of Los Angeles... August 13, 2008 Read the complete Daily News article  Ron Durgin and Henry Hsieh on KTLAHenry Hsieh (LACBC Treasurer) writes about his TV appearance on KTLA (local channel 5) Morning News, where he and Ron Durgin rode with KTLA TV News Anchor Frank Buckly from his home in Studio City to Hollywood. Henry and Ron are co-instructors of the Road 1: Bicycle Street Skills Class. August 10, 2008 Check out Henry's blog and the broadcast video.
HOW TO BICYCLE RIDE ON MANDEVILLE CANYON ROAD RAGE ON MANDEVILLE - LATEST NEWS The case is being handled by the District Attorney's office, and LACBC has learned that the multiple felony charges filed against Dr. Thompson today could land the 59-year-old emergency physician in state prison for up to 7 years, 8 months, in additional to collateral consequences of such felony charges, which may include the revocation of his medical license. He is charged with Reckless Driving Causing Injury, Inflicting Gross Bodily Injury, and Battery Causing Serious Injury - two counts each (for the two cyclists that he hurt), six felonies altogether. The Deputy District Attorney assigned to the case said he has "no sympathy" for this motorist, and called this "a dark day for Mr. Thompson". In response to escalating tensions over the July 4 incident that sent two cyclists to the hospital, Councilmember Bill Rosendahl is replacing a public Town Hall meeting with a task force on how cyclists and residents can better and more safely share Mandeville Canyon Road. LACBC has been invited to be a part of this task force and will continue to work with Rosendahl to insure that cyclists' needs on Mandeville Canyon are met. Rosendahl said he also welcomes any feedback at councilmanrosendahl@lacity.org. All of us at LACBC wish Ron and Christian, the two cyclists injured in this horrible incident, a complete and speedy recovery! And we will continue to follow this case to see that this kind of illegal, dangerous road rage behavior is appropriately punished. Jennifer Klausner Executive Director Note: Dr. Thompson, was arraigned at the Los Angeles Superior Court's airport courthouse. A preliminary hearing is scheduled there for Sept. 12. Stop harassing cyclists LACBC & BIKES ON THE RADIO AGAIN: KPCC 89.3 FMLACBC Planning and Policy Director Dorothy Le spoke on behalf of LACBC on the Pat Morrison segment "Can Bikes and Cars Share the Road in LA?" Listen to the July 21st broadcast (audio is in RealAudio format. Get the RealAudio player). Other guests are Bill Rosendahl, City Councilman for CD11, and Michele Mowery, senior bicycle coordinator at LADOT. if you listen, please give Dorothy some feedback at Dorothy@la-bike.org LACBC ON KCRW 89.9 FMLACBC Planning and Policy Director Dorothy Le spoke on behalf of LACBC on "Which Way LA," hosted by Warren Olney. Listen to the July 15th broadcast... Dorothy spoke about bicycle safety, cyclists rights and cyclist/motorist relations, anecdotal rise in number of cyclists in Los Angeles, what's in store for the future of cycling and what is Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition doing to improve conditions for cyclists. if you listen, please give Dorothy some feedback at Dorothy@la-bike.org All this bike stuff in the news lately probably has to do with the recent Mandeville Canyon incident. Bikes help commuters get around gas prices Merchants' sales rise as more people trade four wheels for two. July 8, 2008 Read the Los Angeles Times article by Leslie Earnest Another run at biking in L.A. Before the freeways, the bicycle ruled the road in L.A. It could be that way again. June 15, 2008 Read the Los Angeles Times article by Robert Gottlieb Community Comes Out for a Better Van Nuys June 2, 2008 By Damien Newton The Orange Line bus station in Van Nuys moves a lot of passengers without heavy reliance on car parking. True, the station has a dedicated parking lot, but most users of that station arrive by bus, foot or bicycle. For that reason, it proves a great case study of what can be done to improve access to the station for people in the community who don't want to drive to a bus stop. Read the complete article. A Future Best City: Los Angeles Concerns 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
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  SHE'S L.A.'S PEDAL PUSHER1/14/08 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). 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). 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 NATIONAL BIKE HEADLINES PEDAL POWERWith Gas Above $4 A Gallon, More And More People Are Trading In Four Wheels For Two July 27, 2008 (CBS) "Pedal Power" is coming into its own these days, as Americans of all ages are coming to realize biking can be practical, economical, and good clean fun - or should we say, good GREEN fun? Our Cover Story takes us from California to Cambridge, and is reported by Serena Altschul: Read the CBS News article, includes video. NYC closes 2 lanes on Broadway for bike lane, leisure space Closing on Broadway: Two Traffic Lanes By WILLIAM NEUMAN Published: July 11, 2008 In a surprising reshaping of the urban landscape, the city is creating a public esplanade along a portion of one of its most prominent streets, Broadway in Midtown, setting aside the east side of the roadway for a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters. Read the New York Times article Something to work towards in LA. 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 WORLD BIKE HEADLINES PEDAL POWER CHALLENGES CAR CULTURE AS CYCLISTS SEIZE LOS ANGELES FREEWAYSLos Angeles, meet the bicycle. July 28, 2008 - From The Times (London) By Chris Ayres in Los Angeles Of all the least-expected consequences of soaring fuel prices, this has to be near the top of the list: swarms of cyclists are taking to the intimidating, multi-lane thoroughfares of Los Angeles, some even defying the law and whizzing between the stationary cars on the gridlocked freeways... Read the compete Times Online article. 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 | ||
| LOS ANGELES COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION - Building a Better, Bike-able LA County | |||