LAPD Asks "What Are LA's Worst Intersections for Bicyclists"

February 3, 2010 at 3:37 pm | Posted in Bike News, Get Involved | 2 Comments
Tags: Collisons, lapd

Yesterday,  LACBC, members of the Bike Working Group and BAC Chair Glenn Bailey attended the second Bicycle Task Force meeting with LAPD. The sit down came out of an initial meeting with Glenn Bailey, members of the Bike Working Group, and Carlos Morales of The Voice Blog as well as a separate talk between LAPD and LACBC.  We had a very productive dialogue with LAPD’s Commander David Doan and Sargent David Krumer just before they made a presentation to the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Sargent Krumer presented on the power point he has been putting together from data related to bicyclist traffic incidents, statistics that the LAPD reports to the CHP every year.  Commander Doan stated that he could begin mobilizing his officers to help get these numbers down if only he could get a better sense of where the most dangerous locations for bicyclists are.

So we’re asking you: “What are Los Angeles’ most dangerous intersections for bicyclists?”

Let us know any incidents you’ve had and where.  Some of the “tools” Commander Doan mentioned they could start using to make sure drivers are respecting bicyclist safety are stings (similar to the pedestrian stings happening earlier this year), increased uniformed enforcement, and LAPD supported recommendations to DOT on streets and intersections that need to be reworked—including broken or non-existent bike-detectors that leave you forced to run a red light to get home at night and impassable intersections designed without any considerations beyond vehicles. At the very least, by getting the word out on these problem areas, we as bicyclists can know when to take extra caution and where to push for better facilities.

Our first nominee: Glendale Blvd, at Park st, just south of the Sunset Blvd Bridge.

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Not only was this the site of Roadblock’s on going hit-and-run incident, the death of jornalero bicyclist Jesus Castillo, and other untold nightmares, it’s also one of the most used bicycle routes in the city–connecting Echo Park and Downtown–and it’s smack dab in a residential neighborhood surrounded by a historic park.

So what’s your least favorite intersection in LA?  Let us know via Twitter @lacbc, on Facebook, or through an interactive Google Map we’ve set up.

—ramon@la-bike.org

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