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Mayor Villaraigosa has just announced that he will hold a Bike Summit on Monday, August 16, 2010 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the Metro Board Room. See details below, the full news release is attached.
If we can send a strong message to the Mayor that he needs to direct all City departments to fully accommodate and integrate bicycles in every aspect of their operations and on every foot of the City's streets, as well as to fully implement the current 1996 Bicycle Plan and then the new one forthcoming, this may be a worthwhile session.
Since the Board Room seats several hundred persons, I encourage you to share this information with as many other interested persons as possible.
This event will be agendized for the August 9 City BAC meeting.
----------------
MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES AUGUST 16 BIKE SUMMIT
Town Hall meeting is an opportunity for dialogue on enforcement,
infrastructure, and related issues.
LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa today announced that he
will convene a Bike Summit from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. on August 16, 2010 in
the Board Room of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, One Gateway
Plaza, Los Angeles 90012. The Bike Summit will provide an opportunity
for cyclists to talk directly with the Mayor and representatives of key
departments and agencies about improving conditions for cycling in Los
Angeles.
“Let’s get together and talk about what we need to do to make the
streets safer for cyclists,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “Whether you
depend on your bike for commuting or just take it out for fun, I invite
you to come to the Bike Summit to talk about your experiences and learn
about what we’re doing in Los Angeles to make streets safer for
everyone.”
Topics for discussion at the Summit include: the City’s draft
Bicycle Plan which would build over 1600 miles of bikeways including 200
miles in the next five years; LAPD enforcement of laws governing safe
driving and cycling; Metro’s effort to integrate cycling in the
region’s rail and bus network; and other infrastructure and
enforcement related topics.
Mayor Villaraigosa first announced his plans for the Bike Summit in
July.
Let him know what we need. Let him know how things could be better. Let him know what our vision of the future is. We may not have such a progressive Mayor in the future.
I can tell his focus is starting to move towards bikes. Let's encourage him. This is a good chance. Why is this so hard to understand? Isn't this why we go to the fucking city hall meetings? Now it's a BIKE SUMMIT. We will have a chance to tel THE MAYOR what we think as cyclists.
c'MMMONNNNNNNNNNNN!
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by trickmilla
08.4.10 - 1:05 pm
When the opportunities arise to speak with the powers that be - To work with them or convince them directly to make a change - People who are influential in our community like Knittens and such take a negative stand offish attitude.
Isn't this what we want? Why am I not getting a response back as to why we should not try to convince the mayor of our wishes?
My perception is that Tony V is notorious for self interest politics. I don't see what he can gain from cyclists from a political standpoint so maybe this time he is doing what is right. There will always be naysayers and skeptics, but keep on promoting solidarity and the community spirit borfo.
I for one think this is a good start and hope it brings light to the politicians in charge the plight of the daily cyclist.
Foldie responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
08.4.10 - 1:40 pm
is triple fail the new double rainbow? Although his concerns over the workday schedule of the event may be valid, most of the Bikey city hall crap happens during work hours. Also coming from a guy who held a press conference in which most of us couldn't make during the workweek.
AT triple rainbow!
Foldie responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
08.4.10 - 1:50 pm
The press conference was at 6:15, and the choice of time was not actually mine. However, in defense of the time and the person who chose it, it's one thing to knock off work an hour early, another entirely to miss the first half of the day.
I'm not thinking about whether I will or will not be attending. I'm thinking about how I will get it moved to an appropriate time.
When the draft proposed bike plan came out they gave us 42 days to comment - I immediately called bullshit along with other advocates. I didn't weigh in on whether the plan was good or not, I insisted on fair process. And what happened? Together with that failure, and some very good work done by Joe Linton on discrepancies in the plan, the City was forced to extend the process and redo the plan.
I'm insisting on good process. This mayor got hit by a taxi and immediately called it an ACCIDENT and forgave the driver. Then he flipped it and decided to do a bike meeting. He started talking about bikeways in the bike plan despite the fact that he was hit in a bike lane! You can't say it's infrastructure when you get hit when using infrastructure. He didn't act on the suggestions he has had in hand. He deferred action. Less talk more walk, and if you're gonna talk, do it the right way.
Borfo - he made that comment on Copenhagen in December.
So he says he needs to work on it and then gives his very tepid support to Ciclavia and that's it. Not exactly convincing. Why would you be convinced now that he's serious after he failed the previous time?
First of all - the Mayor's office is huge . . . so we gotta, myself included, steer away from referring to everything that comes out of his office as his initiative. Second, if it's such a gift, how come his staff didn't coordinate with the community?
Aspiring to be Copenhagen is tired. This is ELLLL AAAYYY, we have our own personality. I can't believe a man best known for wearing a bunny suit on bike rides in encouraging such a boring vision of progress. This is a 12 million strong metropolitan area that is a leader in world culture. We can do better than imitate. Plus, if I'm going to model LA after another bikey city, it's going to be Bogota!
I really feel like this is going to be the change that moves LADOT. It took a taxi cab almost hitting him to get the mayor's attention, to make him realize that we NEED safer bike infrastructure.
I for one would like to see SAFER SHARROWS that are up to standards and UNDER BUDGET!
---
I agree with some of what AT is saying. It would be great to have a real, vibrant citizen democracy, but you need to compromise with reality sometimes.
You can be an infrastructure queen all you want, but here's the facts:
1) The Mayor was hit in the Venice Blvd Bike Lane.
2) The Mayor was hit in the Venice Blvd Bike Lane while under the protection of his LAPD security detail.
Woo - infrastructure is super effective on it's own! Even the mayor can get hit while using it! Your infrastructure centric point of view makes a lot of sense!
Infrastructure alone won't get it done. Copenhagen does 35% of trips by bicycle. At one time they did 70% of trips by bike . . . post war, pre infrastructure. That's respect, cultural acceptance, not infrastructure. Even people who go to Copenhagen will tell you that a big difference is that motorists look for cyclists and defer to them . . . and Copenhagen's bike boxes actually had problems with people getting hit.
It does tell you something. The mayor gets hit in a bike lane and then he talks about building more of them. That's not a rational response to what happened to him. He could have talked about motorist or taxi cab driver education, or funding bike specific enforcement, but when the infrastructure fails it's function, "build infrastructure" is not a rational response. It's a political response. Cyclists think they're being clever by using the mayor's accident to draw attention to cycling issues, but it is the mayor who is being clever.
well, you know, the Mayor has had many meetings during his time in office and we saw where that potential went.
you have to be skeptical about a press release that invites everyone.
Any person with the desire to get real work done, does not invite everyone to a 2 hour meeting. A person who invites everyone for 2 hours is looking for a photo op... in my mind.
We know he loves the attention, so it doesn't look too good on first glance. But sure, maybe it's better than nothing... but a little better than nothing doesn't really help either.
md2 responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
08.4.10 - 2:55 pm
At one time they did 70% of trips by bike . . . post war, pre infrastructure
so all we need to do is fuck up our economy to the point where no one can afford to drive!
alex, i ride in the venice bike lane frequently. the surface conditions are great if you're doing tricks on a mountainbike, and the whole lane is too narrow. busses frequently block the entire bike lane and an open door can spell death for a faster rider.
what we need is for LADOT to DO THEIR JOB RIGHT! we need real bike infrastructure, not just a lane where-ever LADOT deems there is "leftover space."
we need separated bikeways for inexperienced cyclists to learn to ride--and they need to be useful.
we need sharrows that actually do what they're supposed to do.
and we need to give every neighborhood in LA at least a basic share of this needed bike infrastructure.
Any person with the desire to get real work done, does not invite everyone to a 2 hour meeting. A person who invites everyone for 2 hours is looking for a photo op... in my mind.
Ok, here's my idea for a photo-op. Blood-in at the bike summit!
We also need more incentives for people to ride. Tax refund, discounts at the bike co-ops, coupons, tickets to events, money, recognition.. etc.
We need more bike co-ops city wide and better funded to support the cycling needs of people to grow the number of cyclists out there.
And sharrows, and bike blvds. Bike lanes are not inherently evil. bike Boxes are good. Painted green lanes or separation by cones or curbs. Anything towards infrastucture improvement and augmentation is what we want.
You are rubbing against the direction we want to move in. Focusing your name to be tied to some concept for recognition is not going to help that to happen.
i'm so dead now.
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by tortuga_veloce
08.4.10 - 3:05 pm
Dude - the Venice bike lane is pretty dope in most places. Plus, do you know exactly where the Mayor was hit?
I'm not spinning Borfo - it is you who said this is about infrastructure. Will you now acknowledge that the mayor's collision amounts to a failure of infrastructure and is best addressed by non-physical means? Explain to me why people disregarding lane markings can be solved by adding more lane markings?
tortuga - how are you going to do a separated bike lane on blvds like Venice where there is a driveway every 50ft?
bike blvds, tax incentives, coupons, and bike co-ops (I'm pretty familiar with how these work), and sharrows again do nothing to address TAXI CAB DRIVERS WHO VIOLATE CYCLISTS IN THE BIKE LANE.
Borfo - not one of your proposals addresses the specifics of what happened to the mayor . . . so it all comes back to you being heavy on solutions that don't address the incident that inspired the mayor's bike conference.
It's not OUR vision Borfo. Part of what I want for LA is an environment where cyclists can take the lane and be respected. Where they can use a bike lane and not get clobbered by a taxi driver. Building a bunch of infrastructure without any educational or enforcement component won't get LA to that point.
That's part of MY vision, and I hope it would be part of yours.
It's the SAME FUCKING THING. Jesus H Christ on a bicycle you are so dense.
If people are inspired to get out and ride in numbers and there is proper infrastructure to back it up, it will change the way motorists behave and respect cyclists. You are so bent on one train of thought that it hinders any potential we have for progress whatsoever.
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.4.10 - 3:20 pm
the venice bike lane sucks. i have to hop my bike twice on a single block going west towards the bikerowave. before i was told by another cyclist, i had no idea that cyclists were allowed to ride in the lane. i thought they were required to ride in the gutter, and i never thought about them.
and if i hadn't met Ridazz, i still wouldnt know, because i've never seen a "may use full lane" sign in LA. the dangerous "sharrows" you can see on hoover, 4th and fountain reinforce this perception.
what we need are REAL sharrows, wider bike lanes, better surface conditions and separated bike lanes. separate lanes can be accomplished with paint and signage alone. simply have the lane of parked cars moved over 6 feet or so from the curb, and stripe two separated lanes.
i used to think it was all about enforcement. then i realized that if you created a a infrastructure and signage that YELLS at motorists "HEY, LOOK OUT FOR BIKES!" then you don't need to put a police officer on every corner writing tickets. because THAT DOESN'T WORK.
1) The Mayor wasn't HIT. The cab driver startled the Mayor by merging into traffic unexpectedly. The Mayor applied his brakes and flipped over the bars. This the usual outcome for when someone who hasn't ridden a bike in a decade or so panics and slams on the brakes. For the vast majority of cyclist it sounds like his crash would have been easily avoidable.
2) If the Mayor was actually HIT why didn't anybody else crash in his group? Had he been hit he no doubt would have made a much bigger deal out of the incident and the cab driver surely would have been cited in some capacity. Being injured due to operator error is typically the sort of thing most people would try to downplay.
Alex, for someone who seems like such a stickler to detail, your poor choice of words are a major fail.
chunk responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.4.10 - 3:24 pm
If you can't decide between vanilla and chocolate, GET BOTH! as long as we both demand TWO SCOOPS and do not accept a half-scoop of each, or a scoop of one and not the other...
as long as we are UNIFIED in DEMANDING one scoop of vanilla and a whole SECOND SCOOP of chocolate, we will prevail in EATING ICE CREAM!
Infrastructure includes signs that say CYCLISTS ALLOWED FULL USE OF LANE.
Your concept of education is great. GET MORE SPECIFIC! (in elementary school? High School? Part of DMV training?) And then propose this concept (Which Copenhagen already uses) and encourage it's implementation!
Both infrastructure and Education can be focused on at the same meeting. But not when you are busy complaining that the Mayor used the wrong name and whine whine whine... Give me a biscuit.
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.4.10 - 3:32 pm
Maybe this isn't all about Mayor V having a hooray-for-crashes moment?
Maybe another reason the mayor's office is interested in talking about bikes is all the love floating over from 100 1st Street after LACM.
Maybe another reason the mayor's office is interested in talking about bikes is a genuine desire to combat the many negative side effects of having a city so dominated by cars.
Having just noticed this thread and slogged through what I could of the bunny/knittens debate, I'll say I'm glad there's going to be a "bike summit." I hope that one of the results of this meeting is more meetings in the future. This shouldn't be a controversial thing. Everybody is a bicycle advocate, some just don't know it yet.
Evaluation (what we're talking about w/ respect to the quality/effectiveness of the Venice Bone)
Encouragement (what Borfo needs if he's going to fill up all that empty infrastructure he plans to build)
Enforcement (Mahdavi flavored)
EQUITY or EQUALITY (red white and blue)
and above all
Freedom (to pursue cycling free of fear, to ride to work, to be unencumbered by unreasonable obstacles, to participate in government and summits for the people and by the people)
Like I suggested to Borfo on twitter - if you're going to speculate on the intentions of the extremely powerful politicos, best to be informed. Read LA Observed, CityWatch LA and the like.
I'm not going to address all the arguing above, but I would like to say this sounds likea great opportunity if it wasn't at 9 AM ON A MONDAY! Who the fuck can attend that?
ewww those flavor seem gross.... where do you buy your ice cream?
It would be kind of cool if people showed up to the meeting and when the Mayor gets to the mic and says "hello angelinos, so first off, how does my hair look? seriously, seriously, it dries like this... anyhow, what does Los Angeles need to make it a bike friendly city?"
Tortuga stands up: "some Vanilla and some Chocolate!"
(hands clap)
md2 responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.4.10 - 4:42 pm
If properly evaluated and abundantly safe, they will come. Just look at all the people that drive to the various bike paths all over town. They want to ride from their house. They would ride from their house, but they're scared! On top of that, 59% OF LA'S STREETS ARE GRADED C, D, or F!
I agree with you, Alex that we need all of these things, and we should ALL emphasize these things. The biggest hurdle is getting the city to have the BALLS to reserve space on the roads for bikes, to put up signs that say "CYCLISTS MAY USE FULL LANE." I still believe in creating education programs, but if we don't have constant reminders on the streets, it will be a lesson soon forgotten.
If properly evaluated and abundantly safe, they will come. Just look at all the people that drive to the various bike paths all over town. They want to ride from their house. They would ride from their house, but they're scared! On top of that, 59% OF LA'S STREETS ARE GRADED C, D, or F!
I agree with you, Alex that we need all of these things, and we should ALL emphasize these things. The biggest hurdle is getting the city to have the BALLS to reserve space on the roads for bikes, to put up signs that say "CYCLISTS MAY USE FULL LANE." I still believe in creating education programs, but if we don't have constant reminders on the streets, it will be a lesson soon forgotten.
I, too, am bummed that the bike summit wasn't scheduled at a more convenient time for us 9-5'ers, and I can't attend for that reason. In any event, it's no use to waste precious time on meta-complaints about the summit's hasty organization.
I'm stoked that the mayor's finally speaking up about bikes and reaching out.
Baby steps people.
Let's get through this meeting, and then make sure future events are planned with more consideration of local advocates.
What issues are most important to you? What should be addressed during at the summit? Maybe if we can aggregate our thoughts, those who can attend can speak up on our behalf.
Here's the LACBC's blog/letter to Mayor V with their calls for action:
Mine: (In addition to the issues addressed by LACBC, Box et al) I'd like to see more enforcement of texting drivers, "careless" drivers, and no turn signal....drivers. Most of my close calls with autos downtown are due to these simple infractions, and they're not often addressed.
Lets remember who and what the mayor is first and foremost
A POLITICIAN!
The mayor is responding to an active special interest group who has over and over again grabbed the attention of City Hall Politicians and now we gained the attention of el queso Grande himself. ( Politics in America is mainly ran on fiscal donations for elections.) As far as I know and see, we did this all without a penny of financial contributions. . . Why do people give campaign contributions? To get access. Of course they want to have law and policy set in favor of their specific agenda, but you can't get that unless you have the ear of those politicians. Now guess what we have? For Free! Two hours of access to the Mayor with his top generals. We didn't even have to ask, he invited us.
Remember not everybody knows everything about everything, (of course this doesn't apply to your UCLA grad PhD). Politician likes to get the input of those that know all the ins and outs of a specific issue, (especially those who had grab their attention with money) but in our case otherwise. Do you really think that those in congress really know and have the time to figure out everything on every little issue? That would be impossible. They rely on the input of special interest groups to educate them. This might be a stunt on the mayors part, if it is let use this to our advantage. He has elected to watch a two hour infomercial on bicycling in Los Angeles and how the City Government should shape it. Guess what? We get to make it!
Remember this is TWO HOURS of face time with the Mayor. This is a generous gift! (or did we earn this)?
This scene from Family Guys reminds me Borfo and AT on this thread. Alex you make a cute smart blonde and borfo remember what is said in this video, "you don't have to be smart(sic) you are adorable just like those calendars that have monkeys with clothes"
Howabout putting together an early am ride to the Mayor's Summit--with the Mayor. We reach out to his staff, find a mutually agreeable start point (he probably wouldn't want all of us gathering at his residence beforehand), and ride over to MTA. (What's bike parking like there?)
Think of the photo ops, Mayor Villaraigosa! *We'll tell the taxi drivers well in advance so they leave us (and the Mayor) alone.
I am not sure how long it takes to heal from a broken elbow, but I suspect Tony V will be riding in the city issued suburban on Monday. Maybe a liaison from his staff can join the ride. In any event I hope this turns out to be a good stepping stone and a productive summit.
Foldie responding to a comment by dudeonabike
08.5.10 - 10:19 am
Foldie nailed it--the Mayor's tweet in response to mine raised the elbow issue. See below:
dudeonabike: @Villaraigosa, would you like to bike over to your Aug 16th Bike Summit together? We can meet wherever is convenient for you. It'll be fun.
villaraigosa: @dudeonabike glad you're coming! I'd love to ride there but my arm probably won't be 100% by then.
Maybe he can ride on the back of someone's tandem? Or in the front of one of Flying Pigeon's cargo bikes?
It's at 9am on a Monday because that's when the mayor can do it. He's the mayor. Very few groups in this city are able to call the shots on when the mayor should show up. Dude has a busy schedule.
If the city's "best bike advocates" can get over that this was arranged with out them and with input from the other "plain old bike advocates" and just join in and work for bikes in a unified voice then change would come a little quicker.... United we stand divided we fall sort of thing.
I was at a meeting yesterday with a rep from the mayors office and "the plain old bike advocates" and it seemed like the mayor is very serious about understanding all the issues. Really.
I hope the bike summit can be focused and not just a littany of rants from an unorganized mob of bike people.
I think a bike ride from the mayors house in the morning to metro would be awesome.
He's the mayor. He doesn't have all day. We are a tiny constituency compared to drivers and mass transit riders. Yet we are vocal and present and like crybaby said we actually got the attention of the city with no budget. Giving us 2 hours is basically saying " hey bike people, gather yourselves and tell me what you need"
Stephen Box told me that bike advocates are seen as the most unorganized lobby group save for the renters association. In other words all the infighting is making us look weak.
If we all really organized, we would have a rep from every group prepare comments, taking care not to repeat ourselves and put a list of ask points together. We could get comments done in less than an hour.
Also the bike summit is 2 hours, but groups like the LACBC work with the mayors office quite a bit. Yesterdays meeting was more than 2 hours with mayor staff interupting many times to clarify and ask questions. I really felt like this person was interested in the real issues.
Do I hear that the Mayor's office is following the lead of the LAPD and starting some type of Bike Task Force? Or was the meeting a one-time deal? Hopefully the former--a 2 hr publicized meeting is not meant to address all issues across the board.
Wholeheartedly agree with Roadblock on the need of the community to get organized...and strategic. There should be a bike summit strategic planning meeting before the Mayor's Bike Summit. I can host it at my office downtown.
Aside from the assemblage of good speakers, Would it be good to encourage a large turn out of support to ride there to show that we are serious about change? I'll be sure to contribute. I'm more than just a guy in a bunny-suit, gaise...
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by dudeonabike
08.5.10 - 11:46 am
To further address this.... Who exactly are " the leading bike advocates" what's the criteria? Is it the BAC? Have you seen the panel? Other than Glenn Bailey and Joe Linton I would be sincerely frightened to see most of that panel on a bike in the street, most of them look like they would get sucked into a wind gust and turn to powder they are so old... Love that they are fighting the fight but I want to see women on the panel and I want to not see elderly men nodding off. Is it Bikeside? They certainly make noise and male great points and provide a lot of service to the community. But they are new and so far don't haveuch in the portfolio to be recognized by the mayor. Is it CICLE? Quietly and methodically CICLE has an impressive resume of accomplishments. Is it the LACBC? Despite all the heckles from "top advocates" LACBC has the relationships with the city and mayor. For better or worse they are the agency of record in the city when it comes to bike issues. They have probably the biggest budget of all the groups and their budget is pathetic, pennies to the dollar compared to transit advocates and salt stains to gold compared to motoring advocates....
The answer is that it's all of us. If every group had it's own summit and committed to working together.... The oil and gas lobbies are organized waaaay better than the bike lobby and they actually have trillions of dollars at stake to compete over. The bike lobby competes against itself for what I don't know.
Not that I know of. trickmill and I are working on an unholy MR/LACBC/LADOT/LADOT bike safety poster campaign with the Mayor's office. The discussion was part of a broader meeting between LACBC and the Mayor's office. and as I understand it LACBC meets with the mayors office semi regularly on issues including LA's first (legal) sharrows and so forth...
Roadblock responding to a comment by dudeonabike
08.5.10 - 11:58 am
From an outsider's POV, I hope all of these orgs can pull their interests and resources together and represent the will of the greater bike community.
"The bike lobby competes against itself for what I don't know." I suspect it's to be the leading advocacy org, and that competition is ultimately not healthy for the advancement of the bike community.
Thanks @dudeonabike for offering your office. If I can help in any way, I'd be glad to. It's a smart idea to get organized and find consensus among varying perspectives, prior to the summit.
ohaijoe responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.5.10 - 12:04 pm
Ive seen the BAC panel, but their age wasn't a big deal to me, but rather their comments that seemed to be way behind the current / advanced bike courses today.
But really, if it is all us, then we're just back where we started. The truth is, it's not all of us. Bike advocacy is your battle in a way that is not another person's battle. Everyone should have their battle, but those that are putting in the work and clearly have a grasp on the issues should by default have the authoritative voice during a 2 hour bike summit.
Sure you can get the stand out inspired speaker or the tear filled anecdote, but there are some speeches that can be guaranteed and there are some people that can guarantee to give those speeches.
I think it would be great to see any infighting stop, but bike advocacy is getting so much momentum in such a relatively short time... it's almost like a perfect storm of events that are propelling bike related issues.
What are your suggestions for getting organized and strategic?
md2 responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.5.10 - 12:08 pm
That looks like a good list to me. When can we all meet? Or maybe rather than actually meet, why don't we create a google group where we can iron out our talking points? If we do it online, then there won't be a problem with meeting places and times. Of course if we do it in person we can all have a chuckle.
Roadblock responding to a comment by dudeonabike
08.5.10 - 12:37 pm
The BAC panel is way too pale and male. A little age diversity would help too. It's definitely not an ideal reflection of the other cyclists I see when I'm out on my bike.
MR: "issues with parkinglot cuddle puddle facilities"
Hahah I kid.
yeah, every group... every group Pick your strongest talking points...
Here's some things I would think would be important.
• LAPD relationship with cyclists
• Hit and run enforcement and police response
• bike facilities and infrastructure- design
• implementation of bike facilities and infrastructure - schedule
• safe routes to school
• measure R fund allocation tieing in measure R to biking - if you have to drive to mass transit then our system failed.
• compelling the LADOT to create complete streets and count people moved not vehicles moved.
yup. If we got our sexiest Ridazz to come out and speak I'm sure the mayor would pay more attention.... and if we got celebrities to come out.... whooo boy.
Roadblock responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
08.5.10 - 3:59 pm
hey everyone the community can have a minimum of 150 people to show up that would be a sight to be seen. solidarity people this isn't the past things are getting done be there. don't take my word for it unless you plan to be moving really really soon and never coming back then make your way there. power in numbers. if you can't go tell people who you think can.
So is this a "party summit" or a regular summit?
I'm sure the majority of ridazz will show if there's beer and weed.
That's all these rides seem to be consisted of.
*High Five* Scooter!
What a fresh breath of cynicisim!
Thank you!
I'm tired of all these people being so fucking optimistic and working working to change the culture because it "feels right". pfft .... comon' scooter lets blow this taco stand.
We'll sit in our underwear and watch the live feed on public access and make Beevis and Butthead comments.
"Heh Heh ... the mayor said Sharrow ... heh heh ... I'd like to sharrow his girlfriend ... heh heh"
"Uh yea dude ... that would be sick . heh heh ... dude ... this show suxx lets see if wrestling is on heh heh"
trickmilla responding to a comment by ScooterHayes
08.10.10 - 7:19 am
For all the talk and giddiness over the mayor's Bike Summit, how many of the people in this thread showed for last night's real summit of bike leadership at the Bicycle Advisory Committee? The committee turned a corner last night, and I noticed some people were missing - RB for example - and missed out on an education regarding the mayor's level of interest. You'll have to get the story from someone else . . . I'm too bored with this thread, and how out of step with reality it is, to write it up.
AT, can you explain how you think they turned a corner? For better or worse?
I was please with the thoughts of the committee--they stayed tough on LADOT and the problems with the bike plan, that one member actually wanted to "condemn" the pilot sharrows, and that they felt it important to show up in big numbers to meet with the Mayor. I thought a lot of good ideas were being discussed last night.
I understand why you're upset with the date/time of the "summit" and the lack of advance notice, (and I hope that you are able to do something to push it back), but in the meantime, if we want to make an impression on the Mayor, we have to mobilize. Otherwise he holds this summit, we don't show up, and he gets let off the hook. This community is nothing if not mobile, and (even though many have to work) many of us can get out of work or school or re-arrange our schedule to make this important meeting. I think, and I'd hope you'd agree, that if that room at Metro was overflowing with cyclists and pro-cycling advocates (and if, as you and Stephen say, we address the Mayor and not each other--we've all heard each other's speeches, the Mayor hasn't) we would be showing the Mayor that we are not a constituency that he can continue to push aside.
I thought it had been posted on the MR calendar ------->
Guess not? Anyways, I'm sure there's no problem with posting the next meeting. Just FYI in the meantime, the meetings are usually every even numbered month (February, April, June, August, October, December) on the 1st Tuesday at 7pm at the Hollywood Community Building on Fountain and Wilcox.
Funny how yesterday was not the first Tuesday of the month and 7pm is not convenient for me. I prefer my summits on Mondays between 9am and 11am. Where can I complain to get the BAC changed?
Foldie responding to a comment by danceralamode
08.10.10 - 11:07 am
Yesterday's meeting was a rescheduled meeting because this month's normal meeting was during National Night Out and the building was double-booked for the events.
Tweet me your email and I can forward you the emails from the BAC if you would like them.
I'm writing up some thought for Bikeside and so you can read it there. In short, the energy and tenor of the committee has turned around, and I think now the committee is taking a more aggressive approach which is better suited to the political environment.
Foldie aka Steven Frein aka @thedudeabides aka anonymous commenter "TheDharmaPath" - if that is your real name
Get your own website, your own organization, and do something other then naysay all day and then we can see how well you keep up your calendar. Fact is if you had been to the BAC in the past you'd be getting the emails, and if you had involved yourself in the process you would have known. You didn't, you haven't, you don't do anything & you only criticize. People at the BAC know well that I'm not pure negative, as do people who volunteer at Bikerowave or participate in Bikeside events, or go on bike rides I take part in. The fact that you don't know simply illustrates again that you're an armchair quarterback at best.
I agree. Comparing last night's meeting to December's meeting, they were definitely more aggressive and had, dare I say, some backbone? =) Looking forward to reading your write-up.
I wanted to go but Unfortunately I had to work, make a living.
Very Glad to see Ayla get appointed it's a step in the right direction. They got about 9 or 10 More ancient white men to drop before it could start looking like a representation of the LA cycling community....
Roadblock responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:01 pm
Oh - you had to work to make a living? How unfortunate that you dismissed the needs of working people when it came to the Mayor scheduling the Bike Summit:
It's at 9am on a Monday because that's when the mayor can do it. He's the mayor. Very few groups in this city are able to call the shots on when the mayor should show up. Dude has a busy schedule. - RB
Wow - I have seriously no sympathy for your work excuse now RB. You don't protect the rights of others to attend the Bike Summit, so your excuse is nothing but hypocrisy to me now.
Instead of listing your resume all the time to win arguments you should follow the advice of Lao Tzu
"The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it ourselves.' "
I am not even a armchair quarterback, I am some dude with an internet connection and the ability to sniff out bullshit and call you on it. You rail other organizations, the Mayor etc and I am just following up.
If you want to be a leader you're doing it wrong.
I am just a keyboard and half a wit.
Foldie responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:17 pm
Yup. The mayor is, believe it or not, more important and powerful than the BAC. And the guy has more power to do things than the BAC... So he gets to set the terms and I will have to oblige if I want to have my voice heard. If you are a bike advocate you'll make the time. Very few groups have the power to tell the mayor when to show up. It's probably not fair, but that's how the power structure is Alex.
The BAC should have adapted and become relevant long ago. Now that there seems to be more aggressive things being done, I just might make the time to show up on a regular basis. Until then you can keep heckling me for missing out. Ha!
Question does the BAC have the power to do anything? Last you described them they have no real power...
Roadblock responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:27 pm
Way to give into the status quo Roadblock. I really appreciate the way you decided "Hey, the mayor is too powerful I won't even complain." Good show. Try putting yourself on the line in a forum more widely read than this one sometime.
If the Bike Summit happens on Monday, I'll be there, but at least I put up a fight. If the mayor is looking for people who will endorse whatever he does I guess he knows where to look.
It is what it is. Sure I don't like having to come to terms with the fact that the mayor wields a lot of power... But complaining about it a "fight" it's just heckling, at the end of the day you are complaining but you are still gonna go.
For years the bike advocacy community has wanted support from the mayor. Now that he has taken time to address us you complain about it. It doesn't seem productive especially because many times you've accomodated the laps task force or transpo meetings that also occur during inconvenient times.... It looks a little silly to heckle the mayor at this point but to each his own.
Roadblock responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:52 pm
From what I can tell, Alex Thompson is far more interested in furthering the cause of his own ego than anything else. I encourage him to take that point seriously, as it is made with the best of intentions.
lackflag responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:53 pm
Wolfpack being on Monday Nights
The FMLY Ride leaders "summit" being scheduled on a Monday night
The LABAC meeting being scheduled on a Monday night
Or the air time of Dancing with the stars.
what I do on monday nights is go to work and spend the rest of my time trying to catch up with the things i missed.
The daytime scheduling of the "Summit" is a non starter for me.
Everybody has to work sometime or another, and personally I don't value the work of 9-5ers more than people who have to work nights.
Not to mention the practical considerations of organizing and paying city workers to be on site during city hours, as opposed to off city hours.
Yes ...we can complain about the process.
Yes we can try to improve it for next time.
But I would rather spend my time focusing on getting the most out of the 2 hours that has been set aside to deal with this issues.
Declaring this whole thing a "failure" before it happens is not only non-productive, its meaningless.
trickmilla responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 12:58 pm
The failure declaration was in reference to process.
The point is that RB can't on the one hand say "I can't be there cause of work" and on the other hand fail to defend the right of the working public, the vast majority of which work 9-5 or something like it, to attend the Mayor's Bike Summit. I'm not giving you or Ubrayj shit for not being there - those are legit excuses and everyone has shit they need to do. I am giving shit to RB, because he rolled over and endorsed the Bike Summit without a second thought about how it excludes the working public, which given his outspoken stance on inclusiveness, is a bunch of bull.
Better put. I think you have a point but your point is overblown.
I'm not condemning or endorsing the summit. It is what it is.
The scheduling of it is not something that I want to expend energy or political capital on.
I know RB willing enough to know that he gives everything a second and third thought.
He processes things then acts when there is no more time to think and debate.
It is hubristic to suggest that somebody "rolled over" or "didn't give a second thought" to something just because they do not agree with your position ... or more accurately, with the forcefulness of your position.
---
We need to be more supportive of each-other, if we are to have maximum impact in changing this culture.
That doesn't mean agreeing on everything.
It means showing some mutual respect for other opinions, especially with people who have shown a clear desire to work hard for positive change and not forcefully criticizing our peers at every opportunity because we do not agree on little things, that are really very very small in comparison to the shared agenda of: safe, fully realized streets, that give equal access and safety to all users.
trickmilla responding to a comment by Alex Thompson
08.10.10 - 1:23 pm
Any word on the possible pre-summit summit (discussed way above) to sort out talking points?
I'm a working stiff, unable to attend, but still think it'd be a smart idea to get all the major orgs together to get organized, and united, prior to the summit.
ohaijoe responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.10.10 - 1:35 pm
Last night it was revealed that the BAC, LACBC, LAPD, and possible other groups are being given lots of 10-15 minutes to give a presentation. LACBC apparently has decided not to present, while the BAC chair has been empowered by the committee to prepare speaking points. Srgt Krumer from LAPD will also be speaking. I do not know if Bikeside LA was invited to speak or if CICLE was invited to speak. Last night both Stephen and Alex were adamant that we (representatives) not be speaking to cyclists but rather to the mayor (since we've all heard this stuff a million times). So the time would be better utilized addressing the mayor and not each other (if I understand their stance on that correctly). I agree with that approach.
The BAC discussed a variety of topics they want to speak on, but they are deferring to the chair to put together the presentation. Given the short turn around time, I'm not sure any of us will have a chance to review it before Monday.
It's hard to know how to prepare as a non-affiliated cyclist/advocate without knowing the agenda or format of this summit. Will there be time for public comment? Will the Mayor stay the whole time? Who will be representing various departments like the LADOT, Public Works, Transportation Committee, etc. Will Bill Rosendahl be attending? Seems like there are a lot of unknowns here. My strategy is to make notes about everything that's important to me as a cyclist, and organize them in such a way that I can address whoever is there, if they are there.
(1) Come dressed in stereotypical "bicyclist" garb. Extra credit for clickey shoes and messenger bags.
(2) Whine about needing more of everything for bikes.
(3) Cheer when the mayor lulls us into complacency with his star power.
Mayor V has been a complete disaster when it comes to bicycles - he has presided over numerous deaths and injuries of our friends. His DOT has sped up cars at the expense of safety, local commerce, quality of life, and bicycle access.
His self-proclaimed "green" reputation is in shreds, and we provide the only legitimate way for him to make good on his promises to make L.A. green.
We owe this guy nothing. He needs us to validate his reputation while he vies for an appointment in Washington D.C. in the Obama administration.
You can listen to Stephen Box or you can listen to Alex Thompson (a great mathematician but a poor political tactician at times), or you can show up with the aften clueless LACBC folks OR you can simply bring the hate. I think that bringing the hate will do more to get this bozo to work on behalf of bicyclists.
There is an email that has been ciculating amongst the hard core city hall bikenerds, with a list of demands spelled out. Stephen Box's latest entry in that email list is a great thing to print up and hand out. We'lll go down the list, yelling each point at him.
We can end with this:
"If we had known that breaking your arm would make you care about bicyclists, we would have done it long ago."
In the end, it's a FUCKING POLITICAL SIDESHOW. Show up, make it about meeting other cyclists and concurring on the broad agenda of removing road space from cars for other uses, measuring bicycle and pedestrian traffic, setting up all sort of education programs for drivers and cyclists, etc.
ubrayj02 responding to a comment by danceralamode
08.10.10 - 2:28 pm
It's a good question - who will be there and what will we be talking about? All things worth disclosing ahead of time if one wants a successful engagement.
Oh, and take lots of pictures, post them all over the internet. Twitter like a mutha. Facebook the shit out of everything, tag all sorts of people in the photos you take.
Honestly, this is a great event to do some political theater, come in costume, and show that we can shit on someone for two hours the way he expects to do to us in this silly little thrown together meeting.
Yes, but who knows if we'll even be allowed to speak? Cyclists face serious issues, and as someone was saying last night, there's a lot of blood on the road. I don't want to bring bike hate. I've seen people show up to convenings and meetings like this with LAPD, etc., so they can show their so-called bike hate. All it does is make us look like a fringe group that doesn't deserve the Mayor's attention. (I'm not saying I think we are a fringe group but that's what it makes us look like.) But I want the Mayor to understand the seriousness--the dead seriousness--of what's going on in our streets--cyclists being hit everyday (literally, one yesterday and one today, and I'm sure there will be another tomorrow). The more organized we are with a unified message the harder we can hit him with it.
Alright, you're right about that. No need to become PETA-tard, but I believe that the tenor should be critical. If I were more creative and had more time, I'd call his staff to find out where this meeting is being held and stage some video-taped parody of the event. Maybe we should all show up with our arms in slings as a show of solidarity and mock his new-found love of cycling (while his DOT mocks our right to the road).
ubrayj02 responding to a comment by danceralamode
08.10.10 - 3:02 pm
As always we will need the full range of responses from our "Bike Panthers" to our "government collaborators". As always it will be about striking the right balance. To scare them & help them look good.
They (Tony & co.) are using us. And we are using them.
I think we will do well to neither be naive or skeptical.
Lets criticize the mayor forcefully and effectively.
And being effective, in my opinion, involves looking just as hard at the good as at the bad.
recognizing successes & improvements while pointing out failures and mistakes.
To quote the great Stephen Box (out of context) "I don't accept the either or proposition".
"hey everyone the community can have a minimum of 150 people to show up that would be a sight to be seen. solidarity people this isn't the past things are getting done be there. don't take my word for it unless you plan to be moving really really soon and never coming back then make your way there. power in numbers. if you can't go tell people who you think can." - mechazawa
Plus ONE !
Joe Borfo responding to a comment by mechazawa
08.10.10 - 8:38 pm
Oh and what the Mayor's Venice bike lane accident teach us?
That for beginner cyclists you have to give them the option of total separation from car traffic. That the expo line which is close to Venice blvd should have a dedicated bike lane.
It seems to me simpler than trying to reeducate a population of 10 million+ that comes from 100 different countries.
The Copenhagen film says bike lanes should be safe for 7 year olds to ride unescorted. Once you have masses of people riding on kidproof safe bike lanes, it's inevitable that they'll spill over to "regular" streets and by their numbers they'll educate the drivers. Because by then every family will have drivers and riders and most people will be a be a bit of both.
That's education from the ground up, not from the top down.
I think we need absolutely every ridaa who is working for safer streets.
I think we need ink, paint, parties, protests, laws, ride, education, enforcement, de-programming, debates, arguments and discussions. We need Anarchists, organizers, cops, lawyers, politicos, activists, advocates, boosters, whiners, preachers and punx optimists and skeptics.
We need it all. And I don't begrudge one person or another for focusing on a different approach than mine.
We are all pushing for the same thing ... even if we have different strategies.
If you look at any successful human rights movement in modern history is has always involved a plethora of voices, approaches, and personalities.
Sometimes I agree with fellow advocates and sometimes I disagree, but I always respect people who focus their time, energy, and creativity to help LA realize itself as the bike city that is meant to be.
Years of work is coming to a head right now. If it hadn't been the mayor's broken elbow, it would have been something else. This is our time. I hope we do everything in our power to capture the moment.
I do agree that every freeway and every metro project should include a bike lane.
But separated bikeways will never solve all of our transportation needs.
Again, we need an all of the above approach.
Right now we spend about 90% of bike money on separated bikeways that serve a small fraction of the riding public. And much of that use is recreational.
It may look good to spend 10mil on a fancy bike path
but for that kind of dough we could articulate safe viable roads all over the city and make sure that every single driver in L.A. knows that it is their duty to share space with cyclists.
It may be simpler to build a bike path. but it will be more economical and more effective to educate the public and make the roads we have, safer.
LA is a very dynamic city.
We need to try every possible approach.
But what we can't allow if for our resources to be spent disproportionately on projects that look good, but under serve.
Agreed. Education is important. But it's worth mentioning that there is already education in place for people to understand lines on the ground.
Education can only go so far. You can spend millions educating drivers to look out for cyclists but the only way drivers will get into the habit to look for cyclists is if they encounter cyclists on the streets and the only proven way to get cyclists on the streets is to give them infrastructure. Something no vehicular cyclist has been able to replicate through education alone.
@ "we need everybody" Patrick,
maybe we can debate this at another time but I hope you agree that we need the mayor on our side and that was the point of this thread until AT started heckling it.
Certain self-appointed bike activists like to pin every ill of Los Angeles to Michelle Mowery the "bike czar" but the point is that without the Mayor's support and initiative no city bureaucrat will change the way things are.
Look what happened in NY when mayor Bloomberg decided to support bike transportation. A huge difference in just a couple of years.They banned cars from Times Square for chrissake. That's like changing Broadway in downtown LA to a pedestrian street.
Is Mayor V genuinely interested or is he just pretending ? Nobody not even V himself knows for sure. I think he's inclined to do the right thing IF if it doesn't involve stepping on competing interests' toes. (I know that's a big IF).
The point Borfo was trying to make by starting this thread was that this is a rare opportunity and we should show up to take advantage of it.
But there are certain people who will heckle any ride unless it's THEIR ride. Patrick I know you and Borfo are peace loving flower children and want to hug everybody. I respect that. But I'm a mean bitter SOB and I'll heckle right back at them. LOVE!
marino responding to a comment by trickmilla
08.11.10 - 7:46 am
Mayor V can show us he's serious about safe streets for all by appointing LADOT leadership that does not prioritize moving automobiles over the lives of Angelenos. We can argue over the details of what's more effective and how to best implement it, but "making the streets safer for cyclists" means making the streets safer for everyone--all cyclists, pedestrians, drivers and passengers.
I sincerely hope "the bike community" can get together and coordinate a presentation and designate speakers and actually look organized for this. the worst would be to have a mob of people show up making rambling public comments and repeating themselves and disagreeing on talking points. Like Stephen Box says, the bike community is seen as the most disorganized bunch aside from the renters association.
Let's get it together. This is an important meeting. It's the Mayor. We've been agitating for this guy's attention forever. boo hoo, he didn't consult with "the city's best bike advocates" before calling the meeting. must be a real bummer for them. get over it and lets get organized.
This would also be a great way for those who can't attend the summit to share their voice with the "city's best bike advocates", since they are speaking for us.
If no one else volunteers, I'll offer to host it at the lovely HMS Bounty in Koreatown (plenty of bike parking and large dining area in back)
ohaijoe responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.11.10 - 12:25 pm
Great idea. I'm down to discuss over some beers. Maybe we should make a new thread About this and come up with a statement from the Ridazz community and let the hecklers figure out their own shit...
Roadblock responding to a comment by ohaijoe
08.11.10 - 12:43 pm
New thread sounds good, then maybe we can do a Facebook invite, etc.
It'd be nice to get a person or two from the various bike orgs, and anyone planning on speaking at the summit to come by and share ideas and priorities.
Bike community, coming together...
(I'll bring a taser and serve as ref.)
ohaijoe responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.11.10 - 12:51 pm
I would like to encourage everyone who goes on a ride this week to make sure that the other people on the ride know about the Bike Summit. A lot of people don't pay as much attention to the forums and the politics, but I think they would definitely want to go if they knew about it. I went on Ride Formerly Known as Silverlake tonight and reminded people about it a few times. I think it also helped because if cyclists know that other cyclists will be there, it somehow encourages them to go as well. When I mentioned I was going, a few of the other cyclists seemed to think about seriously going as well.
This morning on KPCC there was a short news item on the bike summit. It mentioned the mayors accident and framed the summit as a meeting on bicycle safety.
lackflag responding to a comment by danceralamode
08.15.10 - 1:21 pm
hmmm, for me it would be a easier since I really do not know where the metro trans authority is exactly located... i searched online and i am sure i will find it but if someone knows and would meet up that would be pretty cool....
Best route from East Hollywood is probably Sunset all the way. It turns into Cesar Chavez once you hit Downtown, and then goes under a bridge as you pass Union Station. The next cross-street is Vignes, and there's a pedestrian path right at the corner that leads to One Gateway Plaza.
I'll be leaving early from the Silver Lake area; sometime between 7:45 & 8 is the plan. We'll see how that goes.
angle responding to a comment by dayone
08.15.10 - 10:58 pm
Dayone enter Union Station from the front (Alameda)walk all the way through to the back of the station and turn left through the doors into parking...I'll be around, if you don't see me look for the bike parking there on P1...no doubt you will see others..!
I was pretty happy about the meeting today. Sure some people will say this was a dog and pony show but it's getting publicity and that's what we need to reach out to the people who haven't yet discovered the bicycle as a solution to their traffic and economic woes.
I think there were some good point made today. Obviously the next step it to monitor and engage Tony V and the crew to make sure they deliver.
Thanks Roadblock for telling it like it is on the Helmet Law comments. We need to focus on infrastructure, education and enforcement. Helmet laws are misplaced.......I say we bomb tony v's twitter with data on that issue.
Foldie responding to a comment by Roadblock
08.16.10 - 3:57 pm
This helmet bullshit needs to be nipped in the bud. I don't need to hear any more anecdotal evidence about how some stupid foam hat "saved someone's life".
The bottom line is that the streets are unsafe (as Roadblock and others have mentioned), and nobody in charge of designing and building them is paying attention to that. High car speed in the inner city, auto access to the core of every community - this is what makes us less safe.
Wear one if it makes you more comfortable, but there is ample evidence that encouraging helmet use makes us all less safe.
As much as I believe in wearing a helmet myself (which is a personal decision) I can come up with numerous reasons why making this a law would be foolish. I'll try to articulate them at some point. Maybe this needs a separate thread?
That would be so dumb. The last thing we need is cops pulling over cyclists who aren't wearing a helmet. This will only hurt the bulk of the "utility cyclists" that can't afford a helmet and (usually) ride on the sidewalk because its unsafe on the street. Safe streets not nanny-state laws.
If you think about it. In the day time we can't pull over someone for riding with no lights, cause duh, it's day time. So if we had this helmet law, we'd be able to pull over quite a few riders. I like the mayor's thinking on this. He's waaaaaay ahead of the game!
Is there a more comprehensive write-up coming for this? You guys are making it sound like their response to all your efforts was to kick the ground at their feet stubbornly and say "well maybe you should just be wearing a helmet. That would make you safer."
And then instead of writing / implementing laws to protect cyclists' rights and safety, they will write another law restricting cyclist behavior? (I always wear a helmet, and I encourage others to; but I don't think it should be the law. This does deserve another thread, maybe. Anyway.)
I hope there was more progress made than the city allowing some posters to go up.
I'll bet dollars to pesos if a helmet law goes through they'll be writing tickets same-day. Still won't prosecute hit-and-runs, though. No, those don't make the city any money. Someone please tell me something constructive happened at the summit, I wanna be in a good mood today.
outerspace responding to a comment by SkeletonKey
08.17.10 - 9:46 am
sorry dude, it only touched on helmets and training wheels. If that ruins your day... well then... sorry.
See the problem is that you have your own criteria for constructive. How about you let us know what "constructive" would mean to you, so we can help keep your mood good.
md2 responding to a comment by outerspace
08.17.10 - 9:54 am
I also learned that the mayor sees streets currently wide enough to accommodate bike lanes as "low hanging fruit" and that he would be receptive to pressure in this area.
lackflag responding to a comment by outerspace
08.17.10 - 10:00 am
Changing the current bicycle helmet law requires the State Legislature and the Governor's signature. The opposition to such a change would be like a Tsunami. The Mayor sometimes likes to say things for political mileage, (makes him look good to parents, etc) but to actually accomplish it, in the three years he has left, is nearly impossible. He should concentrate, and those in the bicycle community should hold his feet to the fire on this issue, on putting down bike lanes NOW!
sgrant responding to a comment by lackflag
08.17.10 - 10:08 am
Changing the current bicycle helmet law requires the State Legislature and the Governor's signature. The opposition to such a change would be like a Tsunami. The Mayor sometimes likes to say things for political mileage, (makes him look good to parents, etc) but to actually accomplish it, in the three years he has left, is nearly impossible. He should concentrate, and those in the bicycle community should hold his feet to the fire on this issue, on putting down bike lanes NOW!
sgrant responding to a comment by lackflag
08.17.10 - 10:08 am
There is mainstream media coverage which is cursory at best. I am sure the usual blogger/bike activists will be writing it up with the usual bent. Twitter was active yesterday. http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23bikesummit
There were many voices yesterday. Bents, mountain bikers, health and transportation experts and even a lady who wanted laws to protect dogs that are tied to bikes. The lacbc and lac were heavily represented and did a good job in getting across the primary issues. One douche brough up the helmet thing and the mayor jumped on that on based on his personal experience.
I am sure someone more intelligent than I can hash out the day but it was a good experience watching it go down.
Foldie responding to a comment by outerspace
08.17.10 - 10:15 am
the main problem is that the Mayor equates the bicycle helmet issues as being on par with the motorcycle helmet issue.
What others should know is that a BAC member encouraged the law, which the Mayor cosigned, seemingly off the cuff. I don't think the Mayor has explored the issue outside of his experience with motorcycles and what his doctor told him.
md2 responding to a comment by sgrant
08.17.10 - 10:19 am
Can you elaborate on the "low hanging fruit" comment? Are those the mayor's own words? Streetsblog mostly wrote about the helmet laws so i didn't get much info there.
It means that certain streets are ready to go.
A street like oxford for instance ... needs little or no infrastructure to become a bikeway,
it just needs people to be directed to it.
Many streets in LA could easily be converted to be much more bike-able with little work and little money.
Thats "low hanging fruit" is the apple you can pick right off the tree and eat, as opposed to having to get a fruit picker ....
or if you are LADOT:
the apple that you have to gather 3 people for, agree on which apple,
go out to the garage,
drag a ladder out to the tree set the ladder up,
climb up the ladder,
then pick the apple,
put the ladder away,
then cut up the apple,
then decide that one apple probably wasn't enough for 4 people
and now need to have another meeting to decide which apple to pick next (and repeat)
trickmilla responding to a comment by SkeletonKey
08.17.10 - 10:50 am
I saw the summit on ABC 7 yesterday. So it got press. It was atleast a minute in a half.
I wasn't there but it looked positive. 40 miles of bike lanes each year sounds good to be if that is the plan.
Plus they mention Los Angeles' trying become a leader in making cities more bike friendly.
Hope this change is real and not lip service.
It all sounds awesome
what nobody could answer is why we have yet to implement even a fraction of all the great stuff in LACC approved '96 plan, and how we expect to do better when we have less money now than we did then.
trickmilla responding to a comment by ScooterHayes
08.17.10 - 11:35 am
LADOT is not the "enemy".
An enemy is dealt with by subversion, containment, or destruction. Obviously that wont work with LADOT.
LADOT is more like a grumpy intransigent uncle who lives with us and it is time to move and Uncle Dot is will argue and complain and make excuses to thwart every step of the process.
We can't destroy him ... we have to encourage, urge, cajole, trick, coerce, and eventually force him to go along with the program... if he doesn't figure it we'll have to drag him kicking and screaming to our new home (aka LA in the 21st Century).
Of course it would be easier to just give Uncle Dot a sedative, have him carted of too a home and come visit him every other weekend. But I don't think that's gonna happen for us.
I think the summit was positive overall.
The mayor knows that this may very well be something that positively defines his legacy, if he can use is power to get LADOT moving.
There was a lot of politicking but we do well to have the mayor on record about bike issues so we can hold him to account for his promises.
I don't have all of his promises but he did make concrete promises about several things and only evaded some of the questions.
His answers were overwhelmingly positively received, with the exception of his stance on adult helmet legislation.
the enemy is the car driving culture. if people aren't telling their politicians that they want other modes of transpo then the politicians wont direct the LADOT to make better streets.
we need to convince the general public.
Roadblock responding to a comment by trickmilla
08.17.10 - 11:56 am
Since LA already as a separate City Planning department and a Bureau of street services which together plan and pave streets, maybe we could give LADOT a permanent sedative and just have those departments implement the bike plan.
Granted I'm probably grossly over simplifying the workings of city government.
Touching on helmets and training wheels doesn't ruin my day. If that was all they talked about, then that would ruin my day. The first bunch of posts after the summit said it was a "positive" event, but didn't elaborate, and made it sound like the mayor was focused on the helmet law. That made me sad. Was I out of line?
As for motorcycle helmets, they do the same thing as bicycle helmets in many cases: provide the illusion of safety. I could go into gross detail on this because I read up on it (DOT, SNELL, Euro helmet certs) when I got my motorcycle, but maybe it should go in the other thread.
On the last Midnight Ridazz, a lady stuck in opposite direction traffic on Hollywood Blvd. asked if we were in a "Bike Gang" I told her no, ... we are a "Love Club" and handed her a spoke-card and she said "I like Love Clubs".
The one BAC member that endorsed this is Jay Slater. The guy is all about punishing cyclists for our sins: daring to ride in the city, not being appropriately cowed by the beloved Michelle Mowery, not being a stooge and riding with a foam hat at all times to scare others away from cycling.
What's strange about this helmet talk is that the BAC doesn't even seem to be on the same page about the issue. You have Jay stand up and propose two challenges, one of which was booed by most in the room, and the second was basically about the Mayor continuing to meet with cyclist.
The point being, if a BAC member is going to push the agenda for a helmet law, why is he able to do so without consent of his peers? Shouldn't there be some kind of accountability if you go up and speak for / represent the BAC especially regarding law(s)?
Just seems that there should be more accountability if you represent BAC, or any other higher profile group / org.
Maybe Alex or others have more thoughts on this, but a group like BAC should be united on an major issue(s) like law (insofar as they publicly promote them under BAC), lest BAC is just a a handful of individuals with different agendas.
md2 responding to a comment by ubrayj02
08.17.10 - 1:54 pm
the whole point of a committee is that they have different viewpoints but discuss and vote on issues to decide what the majority agrees.
That declaration represents the the view of the committee.
The stated views of a committee member are just that.
If the person is way off base, one can always contact their appointer (cc member or the mayor) and tell them that the appointee is way off base and they should appoint someone else.
Maybe Alex or others have more thoughts on this, but a group like BAC should be united on an major issue(s) like law (insofar as they publicly promote them under BAC), lest BAC is just a a handful of individuals with different agendas.
You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that Bicycle Advisory Committee is some sort of advocacy group, like the LACBD or CICLE. It's not. It's a government advisory body made up of appointees from each council district who meet to draft positions on what sort of advice (hence the name) to give the city on how to handle bicycle issues. Just like any government body, it's made up of individuals with differing opinions (often wildly differing) who must eventually agree on *something* when it comes time to vote, but who can, may, and will express their own individual opinions on issues when asked.
That said, I have no idea whether the BAC has an official line on the question of helmet laws for adults. I'll say this much: if he was speaking for himself, rather than the BAC, in endorsing helmet laws or anything else, he should only have gotten ONE minute to speak just like the rest of us schmucks who were only speaking for ourselves.
PC responding to a comment by md2
08.17.10 - 2:25 pm
I believe strongly that every cyclist should be required to wear a helmet. When I fell off my bike I hit my head first, then I shattered my elbow. If it wasn’t for my helmet, I might not be here today. I know not every cyclist supports this, just like not every motorcyclist supported their helmet law. But the motorcycle helmet law worked – it has saved lives and a bike helmet law will too.
You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that Bicycle Advisory Committee is some sort of advocacy group, like the LACBD or CICLE. It's not. It's a government advisory body made up of appointees from each council district who meet to draft positions on what sort of advice (hence the name) to give the city on how to handle bicycle issues. Just like any government body, it's made up of individuals with differing opinions (often wildly differing) who must eventually agree on *something* when it comes time to vote, but who can, may, and will express their own individual opinions on issues when asked.
You know, I can't speak for CICLE or LACBC, but I know that when Bikeside does a thing, or when Bikerowave does, or when MVCC does, the individuals are still able to have their own opinions & express them, and often not everyone agrees.
* Opening: Thank you Mayor V, welcome to the club
* Substance points:
** Use your influence with state lawmakers to toughen hit-and-run laws
** Get the LADOT out on the streets
** More cops on bikes
** etc, etc. etc -- put in your points here!
** Helmet law -- not exactly welcome with everyone
* Closing: What we expect to be accomplished in one year.
Not to detract from arguing against Mayor V's proposed helmet law, but according to City Controller Greuel-- LADOT wasted at least $855,000 of taxpayer money. (if you missed the CityWatch blurb, here it is)
http://tinyurl.com/24e3ehg
That's a lot of money for bike lanes, resurfacing & education!!!! Given that much of the excuses from the mayor & LADOT are always laid at the feet of the budget crisis, this is pretty hard to swallow.
-->
Ridazz Roulette!
Convincing the Mayor is the ticket, guys.
Dude...
If you can't succeed - put it on the right. 
Yay! I hope the mayor sees my blog; http://nohocyclechic.blogspot.com/
God damn it, Cry Baby!
Word!
Heeheeheheehahahaha! WOOOO haahahahaha!!!!! 
*High Five* Scooter!
What time did that ride start? Did you post it?
I was pretty happy about the meeting today. Sure some people will say this was a dog and pony show but it's getting publicity and that's what we need to reach out to the people who haven't yet discovered the bicycle as a solution to their traffic and economic woes.