LA has potential to be bike friendly.

May 8, 2008 at 12:29 am | In Uncategorized |

Check out Bicycle Magazine’s article on Los Angeles and it’s potential to be bike friendly:

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.”

Let’s work to make this a reality!

4 Comments »

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  1. Get involved in L.A.’s bike planning! Updates, meetings, and feedback opportunities available at http://www.labikeplan.org

    Comment by altaplanning — May 8, 2008 #

  2. Why would you link to this article? It’s deceiving and inaccurate - 350 miles of bikeways includes bike routes, not just lanes and paths. 193 miles of bike lanes and paths. It’s deceptive in that it fails to mention the size of LA - 469.1 square miles. Either 350 or 193 sounds great until you realize just how large the city of LA.

    It also asserts that the city is toiling toward a complete bike ways network. Since when? Adding 5 miles of bike lanes/paths per year is not “toiling”. That’s 56 feet per square mile per year. I can do that in my free time.

    Finally - of what benefit is this article to LACBC? Does it rally cyclists? No, it’s too fluffy and removed from the truth to do that. Does it elevate LACBC? No, LACBC is not mentioned.

    What it does do is implicitly argue that there is no need for activist organizations. If LA is making headway already, what need is there for activists? What need is there for LACBC?

    Comment by Alex Thompson — May 8, 2008 #

  3. The reason we posted this article on our blog and in our e-mail blast is because we feel that it shows cyclists, non-cyclists, policy makers, city officials, and others that people are looking to the future of what LA could potentially become. It encourages people to think of LA as a bikeable city, not just a car city.

    - Aurisha and Dorothy, LACBC staff

    Comment by lacbc — May 9, 2008 #

  4. An article written by a non resident, with only one very biased local source, hardly has any credibility on that topic. Particularly when it is inaccurate. Why don’t you just write something yourselves?

    Comment by Alex Thompson — May 9, 2008 #

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