Santa Monica Oppressin' Ridazz
Thread started by
ubrayj02 at 10.25.07 - 12:50 pm
http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/bike-dislike/17548/
My favorite quote:
Police Chief Tim Jackman, a former Long Beach deputy chief who took over Santa Monica’s top post last December, insists that if “people decide not to abide by the rules, regardless of how noble the cause, the system breaks down.”
He notes that Critical Mass riders are clearly breaking the law — you can’t ride more than two abreast and must obey all traffic signals — and could potentially injure pedestrians, motorists and other bicyclists, whom he says have filed complaints.
I called the chief and politely let him know that the SM Municipal Code and the CA Vehicle Code place no prohibition on riding in groups of two or more, and allow cyclists to make full use of a car lane.
I would suggest giving the chief a call.
Call: (310) 458-8491
Ask for the office of Chief Jackman, and leave him a nice message about the above. Perhaps ask him to think of a way to work with the cyclin community, instead of treating it as a threat to public safety. Critical Mass is, in my experience, NOT a threat to public safety.
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Whoa!!!
LA Weekly used one of my pictures without asking.
marino10.25.07 - 1:24 pm
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I think that the bike scene in L.A. is not to be trifled with.
We've got cameras and intelligent people coming out of our ears.
If you have some skills, folks, please contact the CHief of the PD, or the Mayor in Santa Monica and politely let them know what is up.
They would do everyone a big favor if they would change the ways their cops are reacting to Critical Mass. I am going to try and make it out for the next SMCM just to be a part of something I think is very positive.
ubrayj0210.25.07 - 1:43 pm
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It sucks that a lot of diplomacy and brown-nosing is required to get the cops on our side, when It only takes a couple of bone-heads to flame the cops against us.
Know your rights to the road. Don't be stupid if a cop is around.
Joe Borfo10.25.07 - 2:29 pm
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Borfo wrote:
It sucks that a lot of diplomacy and brown-nosing is required to get the cops on our side, when It only takes a couple of bone-heads to flame the cops against us.
This assumes that cops aren't already against us, which some of them very clearly are.
PC10.25.07 - 2:33 pm
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I just wish, Chief Butts, was still the Chief of Santa Monica Police.
It was so much more fun when Butts, was the chief.
sexy10.25.07 - 3:01 pm
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ok yes this may be considered stupid, like my comment above.
It is a plan of action, if you wanted to be vindictive to Santa Monica.
The 3rd street promenade is a huge cash cow for Santa Monica, where all the traffic is. Say the CM obey all of the traffic laws, the ride gets broken up, everybody stays with the boundaries of, 2nd on the west,
4th on the East, Wilshire on the North, Broadway on the East.
Everybody just rides in that area, in whatever direction they chose,
up, down turn on any of the streets in between Santa Monica and Arizona. Everybody stays on those street. Talk about a critical mass.
How much car traffic do you think will get in and out of the area.
Here is my route plan
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1413457
sexy10.25.07 - 3:16 pm
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which is basically what the sfcm did for the first critical manners... after they did it, sfpd told em to go back to the way they were doing things before, they tied the sity into lockdown for about 6 hrs
FuzzBeast10.25.07 - 3:18 pm
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When I say obey the laws, I mean stop for all lights, no corking.
The ride get broken up into different groups which dominates all of those street for the next two hours, or however long the rides go.
sexy10.25.07 - 3:22 pm
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i know - briliant. how annoying woudl that be...oh man...
trekkie10.25.07 - 3:24 pm
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Kids, it would be a be a blast to do. If I can get there and everybody wants to do it. I will be there. You know you haven't seen me in the last month, since I can't get out of the house.
I hate to be the one who says, do something but not participate. If you know me, you know that it is hard to keep me away from bike event.
It's just my life right now doesn't allow me out of the house often.
sexy10.25.07 - 3:25 pm
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look how much fun Chief Jackman is having riding an invisible bike!!!
(who has pcpaint skillzzZ?)
neverclever10.25.07 - 3:27 pm
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He's doing a one-footed through-the-frame skid on an invisible track bike. Photoshop! Photoshop!
PC10.25.07 - 3:30 pm
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sexy,
Your idea is not a bad one.
You could make it kind of like a flash mob style thing.
Everyone is instructed to follow the rules of the road - but simply to circulate in a given area until a designated time.
At a designated time, we'll gather, hoist our bikes in the air (photo op), and then continue on our way.
Send the photo and a press release to the local paper, and ask for a more understanding police enforcement regime - i.e. no bullshit quoting of non-existant law, no more pointless tickets, and real enforcement of the laws that exist to protect pedestrians and cyclists.
ubrayj0210.25.07 - 3:52 pm
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gather in front of City Hall, or do we gather on Broadway in front of the Santa Mnnica Place Entrance, at 3rd street? Or better yet, an intersection. The Photographers be ready, we circle the interesection and then after one minute, stop and raise the bikes.
sexy10.25.07 - 3:57 pm
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1337 route sexy. I really really really really really despise SMCM but would make the trip for this plan.
jchungerford10.25.07 - 4:03 pm
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But, Brayj, what's the point of scrupulously obeying traffic laws for two or more hours if the only thing people see from the photo-op is people standing in the middle of the street hoisting their bikes like at any other Critical Mass?
PC10.25.07 - 4:04 pm
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I don't think the photo op is as important as the feeling of "lose of commerce" will be.
sexy10.25.07 - 4:10 pm
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That's what I'm saying, Sexypie. Fuck a photo op; just do the thing.
PC10.25.07 - 4:13 pm
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Y'all
First off - Ubray - your are the fuckin man for calling up Jackman. Awesome.
Hopefully this article will bring SMPD back to the table. Last go round we offered to accept escort in the style of SF CM but they turned us down flat. Only if we pay for it and get a parade permit. No haps.
Sexy's idea has been proposed in one way or another on several occasions. No one has been willing to back it so far = it seems like your average CM rider just doesn't want to agree to something like that. The problem is that SMCM riders just weren't on the same page. Gradually as we've encountered consistent resistance from SMPD more riders have been more willing to talk about something like this.
I think Sexy is right in that if you pull a "shut down downtown while staying within the laws" stunt then you need some kind of way to connect the incident to the conflict and get your point across to the general public. PC - I tend to agree that a lot of cops just don't like us to begin with - you and I have recent common experience with this.
Here's what I've been thinking about - while you tie up traffic you hand out a flier that says something like this:
"You're experiencing a delay today because of Santa Monica Critical Mass. Normally we would not delay traffic so much, but because of SMPD's treatment of our ride, today we are riding in full complicance with all traffic laws in order to avoid citation. As you can see, by riding in small groups in full compliance with the law we disrupt traffic far more than if we ride as one large group.
If you would like to experience less delay as a result of CM please call these numbers and encourage XYZ to support allowing SM CM riding as one large group."
You pass these out, generate a huge volume of phone calls at SMPD and city offices . . . and you begin to win over the public.
What do y'all think?
Alex Thompson10.25.07 - 4:31 pm
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You know what - I think that the flyer should NOT mention that "we are tying up traffic" - because WE ARE TRAFFIC.
The flyers should say that we are riding this way to encourage the City of Santa Monica to respect the rights that cyclists have to the road, & etc.
The photo op would be a way to send a visual message to the local press and the local politicians - we are here to help make Santa Monica better for bicycling. Our rights are being ignored - that is why we ride in a Critical Mass.
Work with us to make Santa Monica a better place to ride a bike, and a less car-oriented environment, and the people of Critical Mass will see less of a need to join together in a regular protest.
The photo op also shows a distributed sense of coordination, and it is ... well it is a photo op. That image can say a lot to other people.
Maybe a stop in front of the local PD or City Hall is called for for the picture.
ubrayj0210.25.07 - 4:41 pm
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The photo op would be a way to send a visual message to the local press and the local politicians - we are here to help make Santa Monica better for bicycling.
Then wouldn't it be better to have picture of people, oh, I don't know,
riding their bicycles?
PC10.25.07 - 4:47 pm
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^^^If you mentally insert the word "a" between "have" and "picture," you can pretend that I know how to write.^^^
PC10.25.07 - 4:48 pm
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How about this for the flyer:
"You're experiencing a delay today because of an over-reliance on automobiles in this area. City planning and police department enforcement in Santa Monica have forced bicyclists to the margins of roadway. We think that bicycling is an important means of keeping people healthy, ensure the long term economic growth of Santa Monica, and making our neighborhoods better places to live. Please forgive the minor chaos that all these cars are causing today - we are simply trying to lawfully excersie our rights to use the roads - on roads (and with laws) that are designed to keep us from doing this."
Or something like that.
ubrayj0210.25.07 - 4:51 pm
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh man. post that to "ridazz and their bikes" and we can vote it!!!
neverclever10.25.07 - 4:56 pm
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Fuck the photo op.
Just email this photo to everyone in City government in Santa monica.
The Jackal rides FIXED bitches!
ubrayj0210.25.07 - 4:57 pm
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i smell a scandall!!!
grass roots politics for the win!
e-rock10.25.07 - 4:58 pm
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I R SERIOUS COP
THIS R SERIOUS SKID
PC10.25.07 - 5:00 pm
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if that sort of elitist mantra is passed out on a flyer count me out.
jchungerford10.25.07 - 5:01 pm
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That's a bit long for a mantra, innit? I would forget halfway through and have to start again.
PC10.25.07 - 5:03 pm
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If I can point something out here, while people are still somewhat fired up to make phone calls and send emails and shit:
He notes that Critical Mass riders are clearly breaking the law — you can’t ride more than two abreast and must obey all traffic signals — and could potentially injure pedestrians, motorists and other bicyclists, whom he says have filed complaints.
That's from the LA Weekly article. Notice that the author, Jorge Casuso, uncritically accepts the Chief's assertion that cyclists "can't ride more than two abreast." Maybe it would help if somebody contacted him and pointed out that the Chief was wrong? Sometimes this actually works--I had to hammer the LA Times Readers' Rep for a couple of days back in May, but their reporters finally stopped using the term "agitators" to describe protesters at the May Day rally at MacArthur Park. At least if this guy writes about CM again, he'll know that people are watching his words carefully.
The Weekly online article has a little comment section below it...
PC10.25.07 - 5:19 pm
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that picture needs to be on the flyer.
dave c10.25.07 - 5:20 pm
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I guess I thought of the flier of being a mechanism to redirect motorist frustration at the policies of the SMPD which "force" us to break up. Only writing about bikers being marginalized won't get us back the ability to have a Mass ride which isn't constantly disrupted by police. My goal was to generate support from motorists for the "keep the group together, because the alternative is worse" policy. Does that make sense?
Alex Thompson10.25.07 - 5:35 pm
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Alex, I dig it.
Are we sure that its going to cause major traffic?
Joe Borfo10.25.07 - 5:38 pm
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i don't see how hundreds of bikes following all the traffic laws and stopping at all red lights in and around downtown santa monica (near the promenade) can NOT cause a fucked up traffic jam. that place is already traffic hell w/ just cars on the weekends.
trekkie10.25.07 - 5:54 pm
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That was a Joe Borfo troll, and you feal right into it.
by the way, this will show that bicycle rides are more popular then Jesus Christ, at least in Santa Monica.
sexy10.25.07 - 6:18 pm
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maybe an instruction to include would be once he group gets split, the front part immediately circles the block to the right and does what they can to get back into the cross traffic flow hopefully even while the previous group is still at the light...
mmm traffic.
FuzzBeast10.25.07 - 7:31 pm
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Get me up to speed...
From this gist of this, I can see something went down at the last SMCM. I don't have time to read this whole thread. Would someone hit the basics like; what activity are the cops ticketing/harassing, and what, if any, organized response have riders decided (or not decided) to do? I've got a small group of riders that want to come out for this and I'd like any hint of what we might expect. Thx!
0gravity10.29.07 - 11:38 pm
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ZeroGrav, this thread was started because of the recent LA Weekly article about Santa Monica Critical Mass. Since June of this year, SMPD have been cracking down on the monthly bike ride. They've had officers on motorcycles and in cars (funny enough, never any bike cops) issuing citations to cyclists who: run red lights, don't stay to the right, impede traffic (corking) and they even ticketed my friend for the stereo system on his trailer. There have been a couple meetings between Critical Mass organizers and Police Department officials and they could not come to any agreements. On Sunday, a few Massers got together to discuss how the ride should go down on Friday so we should be hearing something about that soon. You can always check out the forum at
onethirtynine10.29.07 - 11:47 pm
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sorry that should have read http://www.santamonicacriticalmass.org/
In any case, you and your friends should come and ride!
onethirtynine10.29.07 - 11:48 pm
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Just to add to what 139 said . . . here's the citation pattern to the best of my knowledge:
1 - June
10 - July
1? - August (plus numerous warnings)
1 - September
3 - October
Now - I have to be careful what I say . . . but so far mostly corkers have been cited. A worldly & wise rider who did not cork is probably at low risk.
It really isn't that bad from a "is the ride fun" standpoint. We may try to spend more time in SM this go round . . . so it could potentially be worse this month.
Alex Thompson10.30.07 - 12:01 am
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I'm not sure if my citation is on this list or not, I got mine on 6/01/07 for an open container. I'm in the process of going through the court system. I'm fighting mine and will post the results after it is over.
I had the same idea before about flooding the streets with bicyclists, but never really caught on with the people I talked to. I like the idea of flooding the streets, even streets with bike lanes. I think we can take over all the lanes, bike lane, number one lane, and number two lane. As long as the bicyclist that are on the right is going slower than the bikes on the left, we have a legal right to all the lanes. If a bike is ticketed in the fast lane, the defense is that it was passing slower traffic. Ride two a breast in each lane, the bikes can even be staggered. The bikes following must be a minimum of a car's length for every 10 mph if I'm not mistaken. Not sure if there's a maximum cited in the vehicle code, I doubt it. If you happen to be 20 feet away from the bike in front of you, I can't imagine getting a ticket if we were riding 10-15 mph. We obey all traffic laws. And most importantly, we don't cut ahead of a car or bunch up. It is played as if we are driving a car. I really don't think it would take much to fuck the traffic up. A careful study of traffic patterns would be a benefit.
I forgot the other stuff I wanted to say, I guess I'll post later.
User110.30.07 - 2:21 am
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Ridazz Roulette!
cut n paste baby.
Ride On!