LACBC PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

LOS ANGELES COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION APPLAUDS SUCCESSFUL MORATORIUM OF ONEROUS L.A. BICYCLE LICENSING LAW

Los Angeles, Calif. — The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) today applauded the planned discontinuation of the Los Angeles Police Department's Bicycle License Program, a rule that bicycle advocates throughout the County have deemed onerous and unfair to bicyclists.

LAPD police chief William Bratton recently issued a report recommending that the Bicycle License Program be ended and an immediate moratorium be implemented on the enforcement of the program in response to a chorus of bicycle advocates, including LACBC, Midnight Ridazz, Bike Writers Collective, LAStreetsblog and other bicycle advocates.

The program was seen by the bike community as ineffective. Bicyclists' main complaint was that the bicycle license was very difficult to obtain, had some language discrepancies which rendered the law unenforceable, and was not the most efficient way to recover stolen bikes, yet it was still being enforced by LAPD as a means to ticket cyclists.

L.A. City Councilman Ed Reyes initiated the motion within the L.A. City Council asking the LAPD to revisit the effectiveness of the bike license program based on cyclist concerns.

"I am happy to see the City take action to support bicyclists in our community. It is important for both commuter and recreational bicyclists to have City policy that reflects their needs and this is an important first step," said Councilmember Ed Reyes, First District

The LA City Council Transportation Committee met again on Wednesday, January 14th and came to the final decision to put a moratorium on the Bicycle License. They will continue to do some research on the implementation of a program that could aid in the safety of youth cyclists.

"LACBC was very pleased to see the correspondence from LAPD today and we thank all the agencies and individuals involved in conducting the research that lead to this decision," said Jennifer Klausner, Executive Director of LACBC. "The bike license program should be voluntary. Unfortunately in my case the police decided to interpret it as mandatory and use it as a tool of harassment," stated Roadblock, bicycle advocate.

Founded in 1998, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) works to build a better, more bike-able Los Angeles County. LACBC is the only nonprofit, membership-supported organization working exclusively for the millions of bicyclists in Los Angeles County. Through advocacy, education and outreach, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition brings together the diverse bicycling community in a united mission to make the entire L.A. region a safe and enjoyable place to ride.

For more information please go to www.la-bike.org or contact aurisha@la-bike.org

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