Thread started by Agent Orange at 06.2.08 - 1:35 pm

Calling All Bicyclists: The LADWP Festival of Lights in Griffith Park may just be about the lamest and corniest thing in town -- made even moreso by the fact that cyclists are alloted one token night to participate and are categorically banned from that public thoroughfare every other night of the light show's run from late November to the end of the year.

Here's your chance to let the LADWP know how you feel about it:

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is hosting a community meeting to discuss the 2008 Holiday Light Festival. The meeting will be held as follows:

DATE: Monday, June 9, 2008
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Griffith Park Ranger Station


The LADWP will be discussing the festival, as well as strategies for expanding the “walking only” nights (but nothing about any increased "bike only" nights and other enhancements to the festival.

Regardless of how you feel about the festival here's an opportunity to give its organizer a piece of your mind about unlawfully prohibiting bikes on the streets!

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Organize a ride to this, I work right over there I would go right after



tallcans4tallbikes
06.2.08 - 9:09 pm

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+1

Will there be a public speaking period allotted too?



User1
06.2.08 - 9:13 pm

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I went searching for a flyer for the meeting on the web, couldn't find one... I would definitely like to go to this meeting, though I don't know if I can yet.

But while surfing, I DID find an interesting page listing the sponsors of last year's festivals of lights: http://www.dwplightfestival.com/2007/html/sponsors.htm

Most of the sponsors are other city agencies or quasi-public agencies, like the LA Zoo, but there are also some private companies/corporations sponsoring the festival.

Mimi's Cafe:
Jeanne Turner
Director of Community & Public Relations
Mimis Cafe
714-544-4826

MWH North America (a consulting firm)

626 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 850
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213/316-7000
Fax: 213/316-7048

And Starbucks:
http://www.starbucks.com/customer/contact.asp

Why am I pasting all of this contact information in here? Because, we may want to contact the sponsors about this. We might want to go into the meeting with copies of letters we've sent to last year's sponsors requesting that they withhold sponsorship $$$ until the "Bike Night" policy is repealed, and bikes can go on every night.

Also, I've heard that the nearby neighborhood council is anti-car night too, maybe we could ask them to mail letters as well. Does someone want to put a list of stakeholders who are sick of the traffic up here on this string?





alexkenefick
06.2.08 - 10:39 pm

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Here's something I just submitted on the Starbuck's website customer complaint form:

"Please forward my inquiry to the appropriate department.

Each year in Los Angeles, we have a "Festival of Lights" Christmas light show run by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). I noticed that Starbucks was a sponsor of this festival last year (see http://www.dwplightfestival.com/2007/html/sponsors.htm), and I would like to request that they withhold sponsorship until LADWP makes some environmentally friendly changes to the festival. Ideally, I'd like to have an address and the name of someone responsible for coordinating the Starbucks sponsorship of this festival.

In brief, the problem we are having with the festival is that out of the 40 nights the festival runs, bicycles are allowed on only one night. The festival takes place along a public road, and outside of 5 walking nights and one bicycle night, the only way to see the festival last year was to line up in a car. The festival gets very crowded and lots of cars idle for hours at a time. Meanwhile bicycles and pedestrians are forbidden to travel on the road. This is not consistent with my perception of environmental responsibility, and I don't think it's consistent with the corporate consciousness of Starbucks either.

I'd like to request that Starbucks withhold sponsorship unless the LADWP makes all nights accessible to bikes and pedestrians. This is a great opportunity to help LADWP save energy, spare the air, and get people out of their cars.

I stand at the ready to write a letter, if only I knew who to send it to.

Please help, and thank you.

Sincerely,

-----------"



alexkenefick
06.2.08 - 11:07 pm

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I guess this 'talking to the sponsors' idea doesn't have a lot of traction. I'll follow up if I can, but I may not be able to do the whole effort myself. The initial response from starbucks follows:



Hello Alex,



Thank you for contacting us.



I want to assure you that I've passed on your comments to the appropriate people in our company for their attention. Please note that changes implemented in our stores are often driven by customer feedback, so we appreciate the time you've taken to send us your suggestion.



If you have any other questions or concerns, don't hesitate to call our Customer Relations department at (800) 23-LATTE. You can also post additional suggestions and feedback online at www.mystarbucksidea.com.



Sincerely,



Sheena L.

Customer Relations

Starbucks Coffee Company



alexkenefick
06.3.08 - 10:43 am

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On Monday Night we ride to Griffith Park!

The Festival of Lights is an auto-centric travesty of environmental justice. Join us in fighting for a car-free 2008 Festival.

REDquarters, Santa Monica & Vermont Red Line Station - ride @ 6pm to the Griffith Park Ranger Station for the meeting @ 7pm.

"See you on the Streets!"



SoapBoxLA
06.6.08 - 12:38 am

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I'll be leaving Westchester at 5:30 p.m. so most likely I'll miss the meetup at the Vermonica Red Line station. I should be able to get to the ranger auditorium by 7 p.m. though. See you there.



Agent Orange
06.9.08 - 11:07 am

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User1
06.9.08 - 12:46 pm

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one more for good luck!



User1
06.9.08 - 5:02 pm

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The Powerpoint Cycling Team made another appearance on the Civic Enragement tour. This time striking back at the DWP's exclusion of cyclists from the streets.

The request now on the table for the DWP is to simply take the Festival car-free. Until then it's simply a bike-free Car Festival.



SoapBoxLA
06.10.08 - 7:18 am

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Stephen,

Can you email me the peeps that were referred to as the ones that DWP are corresponding with from the DOT?

allanalessio - yahoo dot con



User1
06.10.08 - 4:08 pm

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