LACBC
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Newsletter

January 5, 2012 

In this issue
Have a Happy Bikey New Year!
Glendale Draft Bike Plan Released, Plus Walk Bike Glendale Joins Regional Partnership
Register for the 34th Annual Chinatown Firecracker Ride/Run, Support LACBC
Bike Lanes Coming to Main Street This Month
ACTION ITEM: We Need More Funding for Biking & Walking in Southern California
Whose Streets? Your Streets! Share Your Transportation Ideas with LA/2B
A List of Don'ts for Women on Bicycles Circa 1895 & the Awful Effects of Velocipeding
Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities
Have a Happy Bikey New Year!
Spring Street Bike Lane
Thank you to all our members, donors, supporters, and partners for a great 2011! We've compiled a timeline of some of the bike highlights that we saw throughout LA County.

While it's great to look back at last year, we want you to know that we don't plan on slowing down with our progress any time soon. We hope 2012 is filled with the expansion of our regional groups, further implementation of the LA Bike Plan, improvement along the 4th Street Neighborhood Greenway, the City of LA's first Spanish-language bike PSA, increased ridership across the County, and much more.

We wish you a very bikey 2012! And if you're into making new year's resolutions we hope that it involves your bike. (If you're looking for ideas, we've heard of people wanting to ride more, to be more involved with LACBC and bicycle advocacy, and to better maintain their bikes.)

Have a happy bikey 2012!
Glendale Draft Bike Plan Released, Plus Walk Bike Glendale Joins Regional Partnership
 GlendaleGlendale Bike Plan
Glendale Draft Bike Plan Released

A few weeks ago, the City of Glendale released a first draft of its long-awaited Bike Plan. You can now take a look at the plan at BikeGlendale.org.

A community meeting to express input is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the Glendale Police Community Room at 131. N.  Isabel St.

For those who are unable to attend a Wednesday evening meeting, you can also submit your individual feedback via the City of Glendale's Bicycle Master Plan update webpage at www.bikeglendale.org, submit your feedback via e-mail to Fred Zohrehvand at [email protected], or call the City's Public Works Traffic and Transportation Division at  (818) 548-3960.
 
Walk Bike Glendale Joins LACBC Regional Partnership
 
A warm welcome to Walk Bike Glendale, which becomes the 9th local chapter to join LACBC's regional partnership! Astute readers of the LACBC e-newsletter will recall reading about WBG several times before, whether the group was organizing participants in the Montrose Christmas parade or organizing the Glendale Holiday Bike Ride. Many of the WBG-ers first began gathering through Glendale's Safe and Healthy Streets Initiative that Colin Bogart worked on for three years. The group now has its own LACBC local chapter focusing on walking and biking issues in LA County's third largest city.
 
When you sign up for LACBC membership, you can also sign up for your local chapter (like Walk Bike Glendale). Half of your membership fees will then go the regional chapter of your choice!
 
Learn more about Walk Bike Glendale at WalkBikeGlendale.org. Learn more about the regional partnership here.
Register for the 34th Annual Chinatown Firecracker Ride/Run, Support LACBC
Firecracker Ride & Run Firecracker
Ring in the Lunar New Year by riding or running, and celebrate the Year of the Dragon! For the past few years, we've partnered with the excellent Chinatown Firecracker Ride & Run by providing bike valet for the event. And this year, just like last year, for each registrant who indicates that they were referred to the event by LACBC, the Firecracker organizers will donate $7 to LACBC!

34th Annual Chinatown Firecracker Ride & Run
When: Saturday, February 11 & Sunday, February 12
Where: Los Angeles Chinatown

The bike rides on Saturday, February 11th, feature both an easy 20-mile ride and a more challenging (and hillier) 30-mile ride. The runs on Sunday feature a 10K run and a 5K run/walk, plus a 1K kiddie run.

If you register, please remember to indicate that you heard about the ride through LACBC.

Register online through the website or print out a paper form to turn in.*

*Please note that registering through Active.com will not trigger the $7 donation to LACBC.
Bike Lanes Coming to Main Street in This Month

 

Main Street Bike LanesThe City of LA is getting ready to implement bike lanes along Main Street spanning from 9th Street to 16th Street/Venice Blvd. This will extend the new southbound bike lane on Spring Street (north of 9th) and connect to a future northbound bike lane on Main from 9th to Cesar Chavez.

 

Part of a larger project to connect South LA to Downtown & Northeast LA, this 0.7 mile project will connect to the 1.5 mile green bike lane on Spring, creating a 2.2 mile continuous bike facility linking the following neighborhoods: 

  • Fashion District
  • Historic Core
  • Civic Center
  • El Pueblo
  • Chinatown
Learn more about this project on the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council website.
ACTION ITEM: We Need More Funding for Biking & Walking in Southern California

LACBC is working with partner organizations in LA, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties to advocate for more regional transportation funding allocated to active transportation. In our region made up of six counties, 21% of all trips are made by bicycling and walking. Our regional planning agency - the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is currently planning on allocating only 1.3% of the regional transportation budget to walking & bicycling. Yet not only do we make up almost a quarter of all trips, but people walking & bicycling make up 25% of all traffic injuries & fatalities in Southern California.

We need more funds dedicated to improving the safety of our roadways for people who walk and bike and also to encourage more people to walk and bike for transportation and to connect to our ever expanding public transportation network. Our regional transportation budget is over $450 billion for 25 years - 1.3% is not enough for active transportation. The LA County Department of Public Health estimates that we need roughly $40 Billion or 8.8% in order to build out a connected regional bicycle and pedestrian network that improves our safety and mobility.

Fund biking and walking in Southern California
Fund biking and walking in Southern California

Our partners at VCCool in Ventura County have put together a petition and video to draw attention to this inequity in funding priorities and the many reasons why we need more funding dedicated to biking & walking.

Please sign the petition today and help us demand more funding for biking & walking!
Whose Streets? Your Streets! Share Your Transportation Ideas with LA/2B
LA/2B
The City of LA wants your input on our streets and the policies that influence our mobility. LA City Planning Department is updating the 
Mobility Element of the General Plan and they've created a virtual "town hall" to get your ideas on mobility and transportation. The Bicycle Master Plan is considered a chapter of the Mobility Element, but many of the existing policies that dictate our 'street standards' actually work against bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects. This is an opportunity to help guide the policies that influence the design of our roadways.

We want to see real change and a path for livable streets included with this update.The LA County Department of Public Health recently released the Model Design Manual for Living Streets and in 2009 New York City created a visionary  street design manual for their city, these manuals are the type of guides we need to see encorporated and developed for the City of Los Angeles with the Mobility Element update. 

Some of us already know about the key role the bicycle played in liberating women, but as Maria Popova finds, that ride wasn't always smooth. She unearthed a list of don'ts aimed at women on bikes published in 1895 in New York World newspaper. Some highlights/lowlights include:
  • Don't cultivate a "bicycle face."
  • Don't scream if you meet a cow. If she sees you first, she will run.
  • Don't discuss bloomers with every man you know.
  • Don't cultivate everything that is up to date because yon ride a wheel.
This week, Hark! A Vagrant webcomic artist Kate Beaton also pays tribute in to the women pioneers who rode their bikes and just how cool they looked (even though advertisers tried to convince people otherwise). Check out her take on the awful effects of velocipeding
Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities

  

Glendale Bike Master Plan Workshop
When: Wednesday, January 18
More info in newsletter.

 

City of South Gate Bike Workshop
When: Saturday, January 21; 10 AM
Where: South Gate Senior Center - 4855 Tweedy Boulevard, South Gate90280
The City of South Gate is preparing a Bicycle Transportation Plan! As the first step, a public forum is being held to hear what the community needs are; for programs, for bike paths, for bike facilities and parking and problems currently faced by those who ride in South Gate and how to make the community safer and more bicycle friendly. Everyone is welcome, and childcare will be available. For more information, call (323) 563-5478 or see Facebook Event.
 
LA Chinatown Firecracker Ride & Run
When: Saturday, February 11, & Sunday, February 12
More info in newsletter.
  
Other Events Around Town

Join LACBC or Renew

 

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is a member-supported organization that works for you to build a better, more bike-able L.A. County. 

Members are the backbone of LACBC! Help keep LACBC strong by becoming an 
LACBC member (or renewing your membership) and be part of the change!
Contact Information

Carol Feucht
Membership & Communications Manager
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

[email protected]

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