LA Times front page bike story
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marino at 05.7.08 - 9:35 am
LA Times today has a front page left column story on the growing importance of bicycling as transportation in NY.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bike7-2008may07,0,3555170.story
New York bicycle commuters face an uphill climb
With rising gas prices and concern over auto emissions, more workers are taking to two wheels. But they must navigate an obstacle course of anarchic traffic conditions.
By Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 7, 2008
NEW YORK — The undulating asphalt gave way to a sea of potholes and the bicycle shuddered with each curve and dip. Ahead, the Brooklyn Bridge rose in a long incline toward the camera-ready skyline of Manhattan.
But the cinematic quality of the city was lost on an approaching bicyclist, who saw only a tight grid of streets with thin slices of available roadway -- spaces that momentarily widen, then narrow, in the anarchy of Manhattan traffic.
Only a decade ago, the few bicyclists who tried to wedge into traffic were seen as interlopers, scorned by city drivers and pedestrians alike -- "granola eaters from a fringe movement," said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a leading bicycle advocacy group.
But with rising oil prices and heightened concern about carbon emissions, riding a bicycle no longer seems quite so silly. The number of bicyclists has grown by 75% during the last seven years, according to the city's count.
Soon an ambitious city plan will make it possible for riders to traverse Manhattan via dedicated bike lanes and circumnavigate the island along the waterfront. Sheltered bicycle parking and thousands of new public bike racks are already in place.
"It's a new paradigm for biking in New York -- a feet-first approach," said Janette Sadik-Khan, the transportation commissioner who has overseen a $1-million safety campaign that included handing out 10,000 bicycle helmets.
"The bike is not a hobby," said Sadik-Khan, 47, who cycles to work. "It's an important part of the transportation network."
The complete article with photos here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bike7-2008may07,0,3555170.story
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Some needs to send this article to the City Council, because they probably don't read the LA Times.
skd05.7.08 - 9:52 am
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10,000 bicycle helmets!? People are gonna ride, helmets or not; the first step should be 5,000 bikes, 50 racks or 3 bike lanes; helmets are a personal initiative. Talk about well intentioned, but poorly directed funds...SHEET!
Progress is progress though and every Critical Mass in the world can't compare to the biccentric effect that rising gas prices will have on people's alternative transportation glands.
Eric Hair05.7.08 - 6:33 pm
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Why does the LA times feel the need to write a story about NYC? Were they unable to find bicyclists in LA?
That said, my brother in law is a transportation commissioner in Manhattan who is partially responsible for this stuff, so it's kind of cool that it made the paper.
ideasculptor05.7.08 - 8:47 pm
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There's no shortage of bikes in New York City or anywhere else.
PC05.8.08 - 3:39 am
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...in the developed world, that is.
PC05.8.08 - 3:40 am
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LA Times found bicycle commuters in LA too!!!
Here is today's the Business section cover story.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pennywise9-2008may09,0,5598202.story
From the Los Angeles Times
A street-level look at how Southern Californians stretch their dollars in a sputtering economy
Rising fuel prices are a driving force for change - away from autos
Some L.A. residents are relying more on bicycles, trains, buses, scooters and carpooling - or just walking.
By Alana Semuels
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 9, 2008
When food and gasoline prices started climbing, Thomas Franklin started putting one foot in front of the other and -- the horror -- often walked where he needed to go.
"My friends ask me what's wrong with me," said the 29-year-old talent agency scout, who recently sold his Ford Escape and bought a Vespa scooter. Franklin relies on the scooter, public transit and his own two feet to get around town and estimates that he is saving about $70 a week by not driving to work in Los Angeles from his home in Van Nuys.
Franklin isn't typical. Cars are too ingrained in daily routines, and alternatives too scarce and scattered, for most people to give up driving. Only 7% of people in Los Angeles took public transportation to work in 2006, the last year for which figures are available, while 2.8% walked, 1.4% took a cab or motorcycled and 0.6% bicycled, according to the Southern California Assn. of Governments.
But people are cutting back in a million little ways, and even in the Los Angeles area they're cutting back on driving. Interest in cycling is growing, gasoline consumption is down and bus and light-rail ridership is up.
After declining at the end of 2007, L.A. rail and bus ridership started rising in January. From January to March, average weekday boardings were up 16% on the Red Line rail system, 13% on the Blue Line and 17% on the Gold Line, which set a record for highest average weekday boardings in March with 22,231. Bus ridership grew 8% from January to March.
The explanation is in the math. It costs $1.25 to take the train from the North Hollywood Metro station to the stop at Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, while driving a car would cost $6.05, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (The agency uses the AAA formula, which sets the cost of driving at 56.2 cents a mile when gasoline and vehicle wear and tear are taken into account.)
Read the remaining artcle here:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pennywise9-2008may09,0,5598202.story
marino05.9.08 - 8:05 pm
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Oh and Aushira is quoted.
marino05.9.08 - 8:18 pm
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