LACBC
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Newsletter

August 1, 2013 

In this issue
Join Us for the Lakewood Family Sunday Funday Ride
City of L.A. Bike and Pedestrian Counts Coming this September
Public Safety Committee Recommends LAPD to More Seriously Address Hit-and-Runs
Bike Updates from Around L.A. County: Carson Bike Plan Heads to City Council
LACBC Presents: What Do Elected Officials Want to Hear
LACBC Board and Staff Work to Implement Strategic Plan
We're Hiring a Volunteer Coordinator
Calling All Photographers: We Want Your Photos of Local Bicyclists in Action
The Best Parking for Grand Performances Is at LACBC's Free Bike Valet
Take a FREE Bicycle Safety Class this Summer
What's Ringing Our Bike Bells: Streetstube Summer Series Looks at Bicycle Advocacy in Los Angeles
Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities
Join Us for the Lakewood Family Sunday Funday Ride
SundayFunday

When: Sunday, August 4; Meet at 9:30 AM, Ride at 10:00 AM

Where: Del Valle Park - 5939 Henrilee St. (at Woodruff) Lakewood, CA 90713, by the airplane (view map)

 

Bring out your whole family for this ride around the Lakewood and Long Beach area! If you missed the past two summers' rides, here's your chance to explore Lakewood and Long Beach with a ride once again led by LACBC Board Member Steve Boyd. We'll ride along the San Gabriel Bike Path and head south to PCH and back. Children on bikes and in trailers are welcome! There will be turnaround point at the 6-mile mark, while others can do an 18-mile ride.

 

RSVP: RSVP via the Facebook event or email Carol Feucht, Membership & Communications Director, at [email protected].

 

About Sunday Fundays: Sunday Funday Rides are free and open to LACBC members plus one guest. Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for membership online or become a member at the ride at a discounted price.

City of L.A. Bike and Pedestrian Counts Coming this September

In 2009, we counted 14,000 bicyclists and 62,000 pedestrians. In 2011, we counted over 15,000 bicyclists and 75,000 pedestrians. How many people on bikes and foot will be count this year? Every two years we get all our clipboards out, remind ourselves how to use tally marks, and invite all of our everyone to participate in a massive data collection endeavor: the L.A. Bike and Ped Counts!

Save the date! The dates for the City of L.A. Bike & Ped Counts will be:
  • Tuesday, September 10 (morning & afternoon shifts)
  • Saturday, September 14 (late morning/early afternoon shift)
Next week, we'll have a list of bike count locations and you'll be able to sign up to volunteer for a shift or two or three. Get your data collection on, and help make sure that bikes and pedestrians count by counting them.
Public Safety Committee Recommends LAPD to More Seriously Address Hit-and-Runs
Photo: Sweet Ride USA
 

Last Friday, LACBC and several concerned bicyclists gathered at L.A. City Hall for the Public Safety Committee Meeting. Upon hearing our concerns, the Public Safety Committee recommended increased penalties for hit-and-run crimes, keeping track of and utilizing hit-and-run data more effectively, and changing the language in referring to hit-and-runs, which are not accidents.

 
We'll keep you posted as these recommendations head to City Council. You can read more about the meeting at the L.A. Weekly and L.A. Times.
Bike Updates from Around L.A. County: Carson Bike Plan Heads to City Council

Carson: As Carson's Master Plan of Bikeways heads to City Council next Tuesday, we're asking Carson residents and stakeholders to tell the City Council to maintain the original draft bike plan's integrity. Since the draft plan was released, bike lanes on Avalon, Watson Center Road, and Wilmington, as well as cycle-tracks on Albertoni and University, have been removed from the plan. Please attend Tuesday's City Council meeting or write a letter of support for the original draft of the
plan.
Carson

Take Action: Tell Carson City Council to preserve the Master Plan of Bikeways' original intent of having a cycle-track on Albertoni and University, and preserving the proposed bike lanes on Avalon, Watson Center Road, and Wilmington.

 

Attend the meeting!

When: Tuesday, August 6; 6 p.m.

Where: 701 E Carson Street, Carson, California 90745

Spread the word via the Facebook event.

  

Call/email the City Council: If you cannot make the meeting on August 6 at 6 p.m., please call Mayor Dear at 310-952-1700 ext 1000 and email the rest of council at:

 
Marina del Rey: Do you live/play/work in Marina Del Rey? The County of L.A. wants to hear from you!  Contribute ideas on how to make Marina Del Rey more bike-friendly at http://www.envisionmdr.com.

LACBC Presents: What Do Elected Officials Want to Hear? (And Are Bike Advocates Saying It?)

Electeds 

When: Thursday, August 22; 7 p.m.
Where: LACBC Headquarters, Edison Room (1st floor) - 634 S. Spring St., Los Angeles 90014
Admission: FREE for LACBC Members / $10 general admission
Refreshments courtesy of Angel City Brewery

RSVP to the Facebook event.

 

Save the date! One of the key aspects of bike advocacy is working and communicating with elected officials and their staff. Are we saying the right things? What works and what doesn't? Join the LACBC and the Planning Committee for the third installment in the LACBC Speaker Series on August 22nd. Our speakers include:

  • Paul Backstrom - Transportation Policy Director, Office of City of L.A. Councilmember Mike Bonin
  • Laura Friedman - Councilmember, City of Glendale
  • Marlen Garcia - Councilmember, City of Baldwin Park
LACBC Board and Staff Work to Implement Strategic Plan

This weekend, the LACBC board and staff gathered for our annual retreat to focus on our strategic plan and our first goal: identity and branding. As we came together we recognized how fortunate we are to have members, volunteers, and supporters in the LACBC family that are so passionate about making L.A. County a healthier, safer, and more fun place to bike. Thank you!
LACBC Is Hiring a Volunteer Coordinator

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hiring a part-time Volunteer Coordinator this fall. S/he will oversee all volunteer needs of the organization and be responsible for recruiting, training, organizing, supervising and thanking volunteers. S/he will be involved in every aspect of LACBC because volunteers are needed in almost every project, program, campaign and event.

 

Please read the full job description for more details and instructions on applying. Questions should be emailed to [email protected]. No phone calls please.

Calling All Photographers: We Want Your Photos of Local Bicyclists in Action

Photo: WeHoBC
We at LACBC are updating some of our materials, and we'd like to use some local photos of folks biking around town. If you have excellent high-resolution photos, please send them to [email protected], and make sure to indicate how you would like to credited for the photo.

We need a great variety of photos: photos of young people, old people, people on road bikes, people on cargo bikes, solo riders, group riders, people using bike lanes or Sharrows, people on streets without bike infrastructure, people in urban areas, people in residential areas, etc.

What we're looking for:
  • high-resolution photos
  • photos of a person or people riding bikes (or at least posing with bikes)
  • photos taken in Los Angeles County
Have questions? Email Carol Feucht at [email protected].
The Best Parking for Grand Performances Is at LACBC's Free Bike Valet
GrandPerformances
We've been having a grand time providing free bike valet for Grand Performances this summer, and we're glad that more people are hearing about it and biking over to California Plaza. Enjoy FREE cultural performances at California Plaza (at 350 S. Grand) and enjoy FREE bike valet for a win-win situation. Find bike valet at the upper entrance on Grand Ave.

Join us for the remaining Grand Performances that will include bike valet:
Read more on the Grand Performances blog.
Take a FREE Bicycle Safety Class this Summer
Photo: Santa Monica Spoke

For the summer of 2013, LACBC and Metro are proud to offer a series of FREE bicycle safety classes. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  
 
LACBC is offering two different classes to choose from. "Street Cycling Skills" is an in-depth 8-hour course that will teach you how to safely ride in all traffic conditions, check your bike for common mechanical problems, and covers a range of bicycle handling skills including emergency maneuvers. "Bicycling on the Road: Need to Know" is a 3-hour class that covers the essentials of safe riding. All classes are lead by certified instructors and include classroom instruction as well as instruction on the bike. All students will receive a free helmet, bike lights, and educational materials. Pre-registration is required for all classes.

Go to our Bicycle Safety Classes page for more details and to register for a class today! Check the website, as well as the "Need to Know" and "Street Cycling Skills" Facebook events, for updates.
 
For more information on classes offered through the OTS Grant awarded to METRO, please visit the following page.
What's Ringing Our Bike Bells: Streetstube Summer Series Looks at Bicycle Advocacy in Los Angeles
Streetstube Summer Series, Episode 4: Bicycle Advocacy in Los Angeles
Streetstube Summer Series, Episode 4: Bicycle Advocacy in Los Angeles

In its fourth installment of the Streetstube Summer Series, L.A. Streetsblog brought some of our local bike advocates together yesterday to discuss. This hangout features our very own Planning and Policy Director Eric Bruins, Dan Dabek of C.I.C.L.E., John Jones of the East Side Riders, Ayla Stern of the Valley Bikery and City of Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, and Jonathan Weiss, also with the BAC. Streetsblog's Damien Newton, Sahra Sulaiman, and Matthew Tinoco also participated, while Sammy made a cameo appearance.

We encourage you to have a listen to learn more about current projects, where we've been, and what we have to look forward to in the future. Not surprisingly, folks are pretty stoked about Ride Lankershim, Ride Figueroa, and Ride Westwood.
Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities
  
 
Grand Performances
with LACBC Bike Valet
When: Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3 (and through Saturday, August 28); 8 p.m.
More info in newsletter.

  

Lakewood Family Sunday Funday Ride
When: Sunday, August 4; Meet at 9:30 a.m., ride at 10:00 a.m.
More info in newsletter.

 

Downey Bicycle Safety Workshop
When: Tuesday, August 6, 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Where: Downey Civic Center
Local chapter Downey Bicycle Coalition is partnering with LACBC's Walk 'n Rollers to provide a FREE bicycle safety workshop for children. As part of the Downey Police Department's first National Night Out event, the DBC has made it possible for children to learn basic bike skills, decorate helmets, and other fun activities. Come out and improve your bike skills while enjoying the rest of what Downey has to offer this National Night Out. More info. For any questions, contact Roger Pardo at  [email protected].
 
Carson Bike Plan Heads to City Council
When: Tuesday, August 6; 6 p.m.
More info in newsletter.

  

Gateway Cities Active Transportation Plan Community Meeting 
When: Monday, August 19; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: 16401 Paramount Boulevard, Paramount, 90723 
Come learn about bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts to connect the cities in southeast LA County (east of the 110 and south of the 60), hosted by LACBC and the Gateway Cities Council of Government. See Facebook event.

 

LACBC Presents: What Do Elected Officials Want to Hear?
When: Thursday, August 22; 7 p.m.
More info in newsletter.

 

L.A. Bike & Ped Count
When: Tuesday, September 10 and Saturday, September 14
Where: throughout the City of Los Angeles
Other Events Around Town

LACBC Local Chapters

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 Director
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

[email protected]

 

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