Earlier in my life, ending a vacation and returning home included returning to work. Then it seemed as the vacations were never long enough. As much as I did enjoy my work, I never preferred it to traveling. Now, as a retiree, I look forward to coming home at the end of a trip. There is something special about sleeping in one’s own bed, with our cat Sophie at the foot of the bed. The day we returned, still severely jet-lagged, after a brief nap we found the energy to visit our favorite neighborhood haunt for a cocktail and dinner. It was the perfect return to Eagle Rock. Immediately we ran into some friends from our neighborhood with whom we enjoyed our dinner. Soon, other friends came in and we reconnected with them. Unfortunately we were falling asleep by the end of dinner and were not able to find the energy for a quick trip to Trader Joe’s where I almost always bump into other Eagle Rockers I know. I love living in this place, a great community where I feel so connected, not just by friendships, but in so many other ways. I hope you feel the same way.

Based on my involvement with Take Back the Boulevard for almost three years, it was natural that I could not ignore the fact that bicyclists were present virtually everywhere. Soon we will have new bike lanes on Colorado Boulevard. The efforts over the last two years to redefine Colorado Boulevard will go down as a milestone event when the community passionately expressed their support or opposition for the changes. Some felt that replacing one traffic lane with a bike lane was radical, impinging on the ability of drivers to traverse our community at top speed. Based on what I saw in our travels, the changes for the Boulevard are not as radical as some have feared. In virtually every city we visited (New York, London, Bruges, Warnemunde (Germany), Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Copenhagen) bikes and bike lanes were a significant transportation alternative. Curiously, the only city were bikes and bike lanes were absent was St. Petersburg, a city perfectly suited for bicycles. Elsewhere, bike usage was broad based, not limited to the young or any economic status. There are more bikes than citizens in Copenhagen. People often have second bikes that, for convenience, are left at places like a train station. Interestingly, St. Petersburg had the broadest boulevards with the least traffic and lots of room left for bikers. It’s also very flat, making it perfect for cycling. But, there is so much that is unusual about St. Petersburg. Most important, if the traffic flows well with bike lanes in Times Square, New York, then I suspect travel on Colorado Boulevard will be fine.

Wrapping up my travel comments is a quote by Lin Yutang. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

Copenhagen - Bikes Downtown	London - Loaner Bikes

Cross at your Peril: Eagle Rock & Merton is a crosswalk that desperately needs an improved pedestrian crossing signal.

For both pedestrians and drivers, the much used crosswalk at this intersection, running between Ruby’s Bakery (Yummy strawberry cakes) and Cold Stone Creamery on the west side of Eagle Rock Boulevard, is a challenge just waiting for a pedestrian to be injured or worse. For drivers, pedestrians often don’t become visible until the last minute because their presence is blocked by a car in the other lane. The pedestrian experience is harrowing as well. A couple of months ago I used this crosswalk very carefully. I only proceeded until the car in the lane closest to the curb had stopped for me to cross. Trying to get across the second lane was scary. Several cars could not see me in the first lane and just whizzed by. Finally when a driver in the second lane saw me he slammed on his brakes, almost getting hit in the rear. Traversing the other two lanes on the east side of the street was equally dramatic. The vibrant retail presences on both sides of the street, the frequent usage of this crosswalk by shoppers as well as students of the nearby schools, and the difficulty of motorists being aware of pedestrians trying to cross, all support the fact that this intersection deserves an upgraded pedestrian crossing caution signal.

TERA board member, John Goldfarb, met with the Council Office to explore what process we should follow to ultimately make this a safer pedestrian crossing. Did you know that the standard signalized crossing installation costs in the range of $70,000? The good news is that the city has begun an 18 month pilot of a new technology for signaled crossings that reduces the cost to $20,000 a site, a considerable savings. However, there is some concern that the DOT (Department of Transportation) may not have the ability to remotely monitor the devices, ensuring that they are functioning properly. Fortunately, as part of their support of Take Back the Boulevard, the Council Office was able to secure one of the three pilot devices for the intersection of Hermosa and Colorado. Boulevard. We look forward to that being installed in the near future.

Obviously, if the pilot is successful, and DOT adopts the new, less expensive solution, I would assume the challenge of getting a signalized crossing will not be as great. In the mean time we will work with the council office to encourage the DOT to complete the requisite surveys justifying a standard installation at this intersection. Given the high cost and suspected strong demand for these crosswalk improvements, assuming it is found to be justified, the timeline for installation may not be as soon as we would like.

Membership Renewal: Membership renewals have been sent to all TERA members. Please continue your support by renewing your membership for another year.

Membership for Non Members: Of the almost 2,000 email addresses that receive this eLetter, approximately 500 to 800 individuals actually open the email. This “open rate” is significantly above standards for a nonprofit. Yet, the majority of responses to the eLetter are sent by people who support what TERA does but are not members. If you like what we do, please take the next step. Move beyond appreciative emails by becoming a TERA member at www.tera90041.org. Memberships begin at a very affordable $15 for senior and associate membership. Please join today!