LA County Bicycle Coalition www.la-bike.org

To celebrate receiving a 25,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente, Urban Programs Coordinator Allison Mannos helped coordinate LACBC giving out 25 helmets and 25 lights to day laborers on Monday. LACBC Executive Director Jennifer Klausner, Jose Veliz from CARECEN, Councilmember Ed Reyes, Kaiser Med Ctr.’s CEO, Mark Costa, and Cesar Herrera, one of the day laborers, all spoke about the importance of bicycle safety and how this grant can help realize that goal. Aurisha Smolarski and Reyes’ staff also did a presentation on the effects of the bike plan and how to weigh in on it (you can view LACBC’s comments here).

The event was covered by a few media outlets, including Univision, Hoy, KCRW, KPCC, and ABC. Check out what other people have written about the event: Reyes’ blog from November 8 and 9, or this Daily News article.

We’ll keep you updated on how the grant is put into effect.

Executive Director Jennifer Klausner, Councilman Ed Reyes, and day laborer cyclists

LACBC submitted their official letter and comments to the City on Friday Nov.6. Here is the letter and list of comments.

Dear Jordann,

We would like to convey our appreciation to you and the Bike Plan update team for all of the work that has gone into bringing the document to this stage. We are pleased that the plan proposes numerous new and innovative policies to improve the cycling environment. Nonetheless, the new Bike Plan needs to do much more too effectively guide the creation of a pervasive bikeway network with a better mix of bike facilities to meet the needs of all types of cyclists. The 2009 Plan must provide significant improvements compared to the 1996 Plan to justify its adoption. Below are our recommendations.

1 – Set goals and monitor progress
One of the primary flaws of the previous Bike Plan was the lack of targets to motivate implementation. It is crucial that our new plan include goals and a process for evaluating the progress on fulfilling them.
City Council should approve annual or biannual bikeway mileage goals and Planning/LADOT should report progress on these goals to the BAC and Transportation Committee.

Specific goals should be set for all categories of bikeways (bike paths, bike lanes, Bicycle Friendly Streets, bike routes).

Annual mileage goals should also be set for implementing Potential Bike Lane Projects.

2 – Implementation

Strategies the Plan should incorporate to accelerate implementation of Potential Bike Lane Projects:

• Review a specified amount of roads listed as Potential Bike Lane Projects within a given time period to identify projects for priority implementation.

• Examine road capacity and streets standards for projects identified. If ADT is lower than capacity, downgrade the road standard to allow implementation of bike lanes.

• If the ADT is at capacity, determine if the level of service can be downgraded (expectations for LOS should be lower for streets listed for Potential Bike Lane Projects).

• On streets where on-street parking might be needed to free up space for bike lanes, perform a parking survey to assess if there is sufficient off-street parking or the ability to reduce the amount of on-street parking to provide room for bike lanes. (Note that the Cornfields and Arroyo Seco Specific Plan provides examples of how street standards can be modified.)

Numerous streets listed in the Potential Bike Lane Project category should instead be listed in the Proposed Bike Lanes category. See attached list.

Develop a list of specific pilot projects for Non-Standard treatments described in Chapter 5.10 and provide a schedule in order to follow through with implementation.

Whenever roads are scheduled for repaving and restriping, integrate bikeways whenever possible, regardless of whether they are listed in the planned bikeway network.

Adopt a new method of measuring level of service that considers the flow of pedestrians, cyclists and transit in addition to automobiles. We need to recalibrate our priorities so that LOS measures oriented predominantly for automobiles do not skew the ability to implement bikeways.

3 – Prioritization

The weighting of criteria in the Prioritization List needs to be rebalanced and take into account local retail destinations and level of bicycle usage as factors.

Final prioritization should be reviewed by local Council offices, Neighborhood Councils and the BAC.

The Plan should include the methodology, criteria and weighting used in the Prioritization List.

4 – Special Study Areas
The Draft Plan does not propose adequate bikeway networks for some of the densest districts and areas of high demand. The Plan should designate Special Study Areas to improve bicycle access to and mobility within:

– Downtown
– USC vicinity
– UCLA vicinity
– Other college and university adjacent districts as needed

5 – Process
When updating documents, old versions should remain available online.
Any changes should be included in an errata list, available online, with revisions dated.

6 – Policy
Policy 8.1.4 – “Conduct bicycle counts along corridors in the Bicycle Plan before and after the implementation of bicycle improvements.”

If bike counts are not available for a corridor, this policy should not preclude the timely implementation of planned bikeways.

Policy 2.5 – Add language to assure that planned bikeways are not preempted by road projects. A public hearing should be required before any planned bikeway is precluded by a road project (such as peak hour lanes).
LADOT should hire or assign a Bikeways Coordinator for each of the 5 LADOT planning districts in the city.

The Bicycle Plan Implementation Team’s meetings should be open to the public and their documents, including lists of planned roadway projects and pavement maintenance schedules should be available online. The BPIT should include representatives from BAC, Bureau of Street Services and other relevant city departments.

Planning Department and/or LADOT should provide BAC and the Transportation Committee with a list of streets they are reviewing in Community Plan Updates.

7 – Mountain Biking
Parks in the City of Los Angeles should include opportunities for mountain bicyclists; mountain bikes should not be excluded from all dirt roads and trails in the city.

Trail access for mountain bikes, in areas where appropriate, opens up transportation corridors as well as recreational opportunism that are desirable alternatives to urban road riding for some cyclists. Expanding mountain bike opportunities and access to off-road trails are necessary and appropriate Bike Plan elements for any city with parks/open space that truly aims to become bike-friendly.

The 2009 plan should incorporate the 1996 Bicycle Plan language that called for pilot projects and a gradual increase in mountain bike opportunities in the parks.

Thank you for your consideration of these recommendations in the next revised draft.

Reposted from Business Wire

Kaiser Permanente and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Get Cyclists Out of the Dark with Safety Equipment

Helmets and Bike Lights Will Be Provided to Local Day Laborer Cyclists

PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Columbian immigrant Cesar Herrera rides his bicycle to and from work every day – not by choice, but by necessity. Herrera is part of a large community of day laborers whose primary mode of transportation is a bicycle. With the increase of cyclists sharing the road with motorists and the recent daylight saving time change, there is a greater need for cyclists to be visible and to use safety equipment. Many cyclists, including Herrera, are riding during early mornings or nights without lights and helmets and are not familiar with traffic laws that can make their commutes safer.

To address that need, today Kaiser Permanente presented a $25,000 grant to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) to provide bike safety education and supplies such as bike lights and helmets for the day laborer cyclists. “Ensuring good health extends beyond our doors, which is also part of our mission to bring total health to the communities we serve,” said Mark Costa, Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. “We invest significant resources through our Community Benefit programs to improve the health of our communities. Riding bikes, including bicycle commuting, can be a healthful, environmentally friendly part of a healthy lifestyle.”

“The grant also allows LACBC to develop workshops and leverage partnerships with organizations such as Central American Resource Center, the Bicycle Kitchen, and the UCLA Labor Center,” said Jennifer Klausner, LACBC Executive Director.

“The safety of our bicyclists, especially in my district, is just as important as that of our drivers and pedestrians. We need to do everything we can to ensure their safety,” said First District Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, who has spearheaded legislation to make Los Angeles a more bike-friendly city.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.3 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

Christopher Thompson found guilty!
Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson, the physician who seriously injured 2 cyclists with his car on Mandeville Canyon Road last summer has been found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon on 7 counts:

01 23105(A) VC RECKLESS DRIVING CAUSNG INJURY
02 243(D) PC BATTERY W/SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
03 243(D) PC BATTERY W/SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
04 23103(A) VC RECKLESS DRIVING HIGHWAY
05 245(A)(1) PC ASSAULT W DEADLY WEAPON/INSTR.
06 245(A)(1) PC ASSAULT W DEADLY WEAPON/INSTR.
07 203 PC MAYHEM

The Judge has refused bail.

The district attorneys office took this case very seriously. Deputy DA Mary Stone did an exemplary job laying out the facts of the case. These convictions should send a very strong message to any aggressive motorist who would use their vehicle as a weapon.

This shows that cyclists’ rights are not just a matter of opinion, but a matter of law!

Cycling journalist Patrick Brady has been following this case very closely for VeloNews. Here’s his article on today’s verdict.
http://velonews.com/article/99800/_

For more background information go to:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikers12-2008dec12%2C0%2C147065.story

LACBC has been at all the LA Bike Plan meetings thus far.  Below are some highlights that have come out of them.  These are not meant to be complete accounts, just snippets that give you a sense of how our staff and board individually have felt about these meetings.

1) San Pedro

From Alex Amerri, LACBC Board Member:

“At the “community workshop” the arrangement was as follows: a large room that was circularly divided into ’sections’ of the LA Bike Plan and Stations with a large open space in the middle. Going clockwise: sign-inDesign Guidelines/Alta, Mapping/Alta, Legal/Alta, LADOT/Planning Dept rep.  That’s about it. There was no “town hall” format where you’d have a typical rows of seats for the community and a panel to be addressed. The plus side to this format is that in enabled direct, face-to-face, one-on-one and handshake-introductions to people involved with various aspects. On the down side, there was no sense of ’solidarity’ in issues.”

….One thing that Helene did want us to really push for is a part of the Bike Plan that, I believe, has not been brought up by anyone so far but in fact may be the best part of the Bike Plan yet: The Bike Plan pushed forward a statute that forces an increase in Developers fees for traffic regulation that would then be funneled directly into Bikeways.

As someone who is intimately familiar in dealing with developers, architects, and construction coinciding with Urban Planning and the Planning Department’s operations, this is equivalent to forcing any new development in the City of Los Angeles to accommodate cyclists prior to vehicular traffic. This is huge. If that happens, it’s a bigger victory than people realize. Sure it may not counter the loss of bike lanes, bikeways, and how this Bike Plan does very little, but if that does pass… it’ll have a very important long-term effect on the City of Los Angeles on the scale of what a small, unknown Tax-Law passed by Regan in his first term did to dramatically shift Contemporary Art in Public Museums since.”

2) South LA

From Allison Mannos, LACBC Urban Programs Coordinator:

At the South LA one, I felt like the set-up diffused conflict and complaint, since it was clearly a community education focused effort, but that it was difficult to discern (for non-advocates) who to make comments to. It seemed like a receptive meeting, but I felt that none of the city leaders whom we could communicate with to truly change the Bike Plan were there. Stephen Box, Alex Thompson, DJ Chickenleather, Joe Linton from Cicle, Jill Sourial from Reyes’ Office, other planners, and some USC cyclists were there, as well as Alta and Carlos Morales. There were probably about 30 people or so.

3) Van Nuys, from Colin Bogart, PLACE Grant Coordinator

http://lacbc.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/some-insight-from-colin-bogart-gained-at-the-van-nuys-bike-plan-meeting-last-night

4) West LA

From Jennifer Klausner, LACBC Executive Director:

The West LA meeting was well attended and many vocal and well known advocates were in attendance. There was a nice range of cyclists from across LA. The newly formed UCLA bicycle coalition was there in force. I was told by folks that they learned quite a bit by going around to the different stations. It was the same format that previous meetings have been. A number of equestrians showed up but not as many as on Monday in the Valley. I think the format actually worked really well for the Westside meeting. Again, mountain biking was a central issue. Currently mountain bikes aren’t allowed in LA city parks and open space. For more than a decade advocates have been working to change the policy so that mountain bikes could be accommodated on trails where it would be reasonable and appropriate to have multi-use trails (where horses, hikers, and cyclists can coexist). I think the mountain bike issue will be difficult to resolve, but LACBC firmly stands behind the mountain bikers and supports mountain bike access in places where it is appropriate.

LACBC recently invited the Mayor’s office, LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson, LA City Planning Deputy Director, Jane Blumenfeld, Deputy Mayor for the Environment David Freeman, and Deputy Mayor for Transportation Jaime de la Vega and LA City Mayor staff to meet with us to discuss the Bike Plan.

With this meeting we hope to work to discuss and develop a plan that is acceptable for cyclists.  We included, among other points, the following in the e-mail:

…we are concerned that in January we will continue to see a bike plan that is unacceptable for cyclists.  This plan lacks vision and creativity and the maps continue to show a lack of commitment for bicycle infrastructure in LA City.

Cyclists from a variety of locations and organizations have been expressing their dismay in the bike plan. LACBC would like to set up a time to discuss the LA Bike Plan with you and to discuss how we can collectively make this plan more creative, have validity and vision and be acceptable by LA cyclists.

Here are some immediate and feasible changes that will make this plan be a step in the right direction and show commitment to creating a cohesive bikeway network in LA.

• • Set implementation goals and timelines for these goals
  • Have only one category for bike lanes and keep language consistent with 1996 plan:  “Designated Bike Lanes” instead of “Proposed” and “Potential”
  • 55-60% of the lanes in 1996 plan have been downgraded or removed from the current plan. We would like to see the remaining 1996 bike lanes included in this current Plan.
  • More designated arterials. With this plan there would be no more bikes lanes in the Valley and very few additional lanes in central LA.

We’re hoping to have the meeting during the first two weeks of November.

Many people were involved at a meeting LACBC held Thursday October 22^nd to formulate and discuss the above ideas.  The people who were in attendance  were Joe Linton from CICLE, Ramon Martinez from Bike Oven, Herbie Huff from the UCLA Bicycle Coalition, and LACBC staff and volunteers.  Thanks to all of them for contributing to these ideas.

More Bike Plan comments from the LACBC October 22^nd meeting:

• Bicycle Plan Implementation Team needs to include BSS (Bureau of Street Services) and needs to be open to the public, with documents online
• Bike Plan should set goals- City council should set goals and LADOT should report progress of goals to T-committee, should include modal share measurement
• Prioritization table from Chapter 6- need to reveal methodology of how they got this table http://www.labikeplan.org/files/draft-plan/chapters/Draft_LABP_Ch6_Prioritization_and_Funding.pdf
• 8.1.4: For Bike Counts section, Bike Counts should not be used to prevent implementation of bikeways
• LADOT should automatically coordinate and implement with Bureau of Street Services (BSS) for lanes when streets get repaved- list of upcoming projects needs to be on the web and be open to the public

• The plan should offer a good mix of routes/lanes on arterial streets, bike friendly streets, and paths so that the network serves all types of riders.

Many of these suggestions have come out of various meetings that have happened throughout the bicycle community.  They are suggestions that LACBC, the Bike Working Group, CICLE, Bike Oven, Bike Writers Collective, Westside Bikeside and some members of the BAC have initiated and/or supported.   The more we repeat the points we agree upon, the stronger they become.

For more comments from other advocates and organizations:

Alex Thompson of Westside Bikeside has listed the Bike Working Group’s set of preliminary talking points here:  http://www.westsidebikeside.com/labp-ladot-woefully-inadequate-8100/

Joe Linton of CICLE wrote about the multiple bicycle coordinator idea: http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=2450

General Bike Plan feedback:

http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/10/09/l-a-s-draft-bikeway-plan-non-committal-sloppy-and-perhaps-illegal/

Josef Bray Ali

http://ubrayj02.blogspot.com/2009/10/letter-to-young-usc-reporter-regarding.html

Stephen Box

http://www.citywatchla.com/content/view/2747/

GreenLAgirl

http://greenlagirl.com/draft-l-a-bicycle-plan-released-cyclist-complaints-begin-before-reading/

On Wednesday October 21^st, we were notified by Jane Blumenfeld from the LA City Planning Department via e-mail responding to the request by all bicycling advocates and activists to extend the timeline for comments on the bike plan from November until January 8^th.  The e-mail excerpt below is to be considered an “official e-mail” from the Planning Department in response to the deadline extension requests.

We would prefer a more specific deadline, but this is the response that we’ve gotten so far. We consider this response an acknowledgment of the deadline being in January and hold the city accountable to this extension, even though there is no specific date.

From Jane Blumenfeld

“We are trying very hard to accommodate people who want to provide constructive comments to make the bike plan as good a plan as possible.  The way the process works is that we will hold a public hearing in January to receive public input about the plan. Following the public hearing our staff will prepare a staff report and recommendations, which will address the input received from now until that time.  The City Planning Commission will then consider the report and recommendations and make recommendations to the Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee and Transportation Committee.  The Committees will similarly make recommendations to the full City Council, which will constitute the final action on the Bike Plan.  All hearings are, of course, public hearings and input will be accepted prior to all of them.

So, I cannot give you a “deadline” right now because we have yet to finalize the logistics of the January public hearing.  To reiterate, we will take all input up until the hearing; there will be several more months in which people can provide input beyond that public hearing as well.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Jane Blumenfeld
Acting Deputy Director
Los Angeles Department of City Planning”

LACBC is working to make 4th Street from Hoover Blvd. to La Brea a bicycle blvd., to make it traffic calmed and make it friendlier for bicyclists, pedestrians, children, the elderly and all users.

Recently, Will Campbell took some great photos of the existing conditions and Joe Linton did some really nice drawings to show the possibilities that this street can offer.  Take a look and click on the jpg itself to view a larger image.