Talk about mixed messages

"Do you have a story to share about Santa Monica, California?" asks an ad promoting tourism to Santa Monica. "Perhaps it’s about your first visit or something memorable you experienced. Submit it for a chance to win an electric bike."

Motorized vehicles are prohibited on the municipal bike path, but

let's make one a prize for happy stories about the city. anyway

Here's what the City's code says:

"3.12.550 Bike-path and beach promenade. "(a) It shall be unlawful to ride a bicycle or to coast in any vehicle upon the Beach Promenade; bicycle riding shall be permitted along the beach bike-path, within the City limits and in those areas where the Promenade constitutes a portion of the bikeway and are otherwise permitted by sign. All persons riding bicycles on the bike-path shall comply with all lawful signs and directional markings, including, but not limited to, painted, directional arrows, bike-path route boundaries, and signs designating permissible travel lanes. "(b) It shall be unlawful to operate a pedicab upon the beach bike-path.

"3.12.560 Prohibited vehicles. "In the area where bicycle riding is permitted by Section 3.12.550, no vehicle of any type shall be permitted except unicycles, bicycles, bicycles with training wheels, wheelchairs, and single-person tricycles operated by a person eighteen years of age or older."

The City, despite its recent move against Bird scooters and their ilk, is seriously deficient in its maintenance of the bike path. Segways, Vespas, etc., are routine. Signage is confusing when it isn't wrong, misleading or absent. No effort whatsoever is made to control pedestrians and dogs. And pedicabs routinely troll for customers along the bike path, blocking traffic when people get on and off.

It's a tribute to the City's pr flacks that it has a reputation as pro-bicycle and pro-pedestrian.

Bike Way or the Highway

The only proposal I've seen for the Lincoln Blvd redesign (I hope there are others) has no bike lane, isolated or not.

One mainstay of anti-bike arguments holds that converting general road space into a bike lane is bad for traffic. But location after location proves this isn't true.

A better plan

New York City recently installed bike lanes on Columbus and Eighth avenues that, by reducing the width of car lanes from 12 to 10 feet -- a well-documented safer width anyway -- and adding protected left turns, not only preserved vehicle volume, but actually reduced travel times by 35 and 14 percent, respectively.

Rail: Fail

One measure of American political dysfunction is the not-so-slow collapse of infrastructure during the last four decades, including passenger rail service, an area where the U.S. is dead last versus all its economic rivals.

"In the 1960, the United States had an extensive network of passenger rail trains. All the major cities in the Midwest and South were linked by regular train service. You could get service on smaller routes, like the one from Boise, Idaho, to Portland, Oregon, three times a day. Then a lot of lines got shut down in the late 1960s and 1970s, as this animation shows."

(Maps from the National Association of Railway Passengers and Malcolm Kenton. Animation by Joss Fong)

Source: Watch American passenger rail shrivel up and die in this animated map by Timothy B. Lee (Vox).

Resource: National Association of Railroad Passengers

Civilization does not depend on the automobile

Probably our closest cohort among nations, Germany has a lot to teach us: "Compared to Americans, Germans own fewer cars, drive them shorter distances and less frequently, and walk and cycle and ride transit more often. They have slimmer waistlines to show for their active transport habits and suffer fewer traffic deaths whether in a car or not. They spend less household income on getting around even as they pay much more in driving costs. They use less energy per person on ground transport, resulting in lower carbon emissions."

(Source: The Atlantic)

The rest of the story:
All the Ways Germany Is Less Car-Reliant Than the U.S., in 1 Chart: There are rather a lot of ways, as it turns out. (The Atlantic/CityLab)

Alternative and shared-use bridges

While we await the opportunity to cap the I-10 and reunite Santa Monica's neighborhoods, we can do a lot for the city's walking and biking populations by building three or four pedestrian/bike bridges. The I-10 overpasses at 4th St. and at Lincoln Blvd., also, are in especially desperate need of makeovers to make them safer and more attractive to walkers and cyclists.

(Credit: CityLab.com)

More:
The Bright Future of the Pedestrian Bridge: Top engineer Ted Zoli says the era of shared-use structures has arrived.
Can a Beehive-Inspired Overpass Unite a City?: New Britain, Connecticut, is split by a highway overpass—which is also the city's main street. Will a high-design walkway bridge deep divisions?

Transportation: 1965? When will the US start spending again on infrastructure?

Here's an excellent example of celebrity in service to reform:

Is an infrastructure bank a practical proposal?

This week President Barack Obama announced steps to boost economic growth and job creation, including a national infrastructure bank. The Brookings Institution's William Galston reviews the proposal and the various factors that will contribute to whether it is successful.

The rest of the story: Infrastructure Bank Proposal Would Spur Economic Growth by William A. Galston (The Brookings Institution 2010-09-07).

Press Release: Public Transit Projects Create More Jobs than Highways

(Washington DC 2010-09-02) New data released today by the Transportation Equity Network reveals that investment in public transit can create hundreds of thousands more jobs than highway projects.

More Transit Equals More Jobs examines official project lists from 20 federally authorized Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and concludes that “if [they] shifted 50 percent of their highway funds to transit, they would generate an additional 184,801 jobs over a five-year period without spending any more money.”

“This report reveals just how much more bang we can get for our buck if we invest in transit,” said Dan Smith, a transportation associate for U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). “Transit provides important benefits to communities and, with unemployment so high, this is data that should not be ignored.”

Previous studies, including examinations of federal Recovery Act spending, have consistently found that public transportation creates more jobs than highways. Investment in public transit tends to be more labor-intensive than highway projects because the work is generally more complex, involves the purchase and maintenance of vehicles, and requires much less spending on land acquisition.

More Transit Equals More Jobs makes a broad case for larger investments in our public transit systems. More money for transit not only means more jobs but would additionally lead to less traffic congestion, hazardous pollution, and global warming emissions. # # #

U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information visit http://www.uspirg.org.

Design & Environment: Architects Envision Green Transportation Solutions for Los Angeles

by Evelyn Lee (inhabitat 2010-03-02)

The passing of Measure R at the end of 2008 provided Los Angeles County with funds for up to $40 billion in transit-related projects over the next 30 years. The measure also inspired a competition to design new transport solutions, and Paris-based Odile Decq Benoit Cornette Architects have proposed an extensive plan to make the ‘freeway city’ a little greener. The project proposes large stretches of green space, a system of small vehicles with designated transportation lanes and parking stations, and a complete overhaul of the city’s streets, overpasses, culverts, right of ways, power lines, and underutilized rail lines.

The rest of the story: Architects Envision Green Transportation Solutions for Los Angeles by Evelyn Lee (inhabitat 2010-03-02)

Transportation: The Dreams of the California High-Speed Rail Authority

A visual tour of the projected California High Speed Rail system:
"Updated business plan provides us with an opportunity to be even more competitive as we go after federal stimulus dollars." - Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani at January 11 legislative hearing.

Clip File: Bullet Trains for America?

"The Obama administration has revived the dream of building high-speed rail lines to rival those of Japan and Europe, but the tracks are littered with political and financial obstacles." -- Bullet Trains for America? by Mark Reutter (The Wilson Quarterly)

Bike to Work Week 2007 Event Calendar!

Here's a list of some events happening during Bike to Work Week 2007 (see next post).

Monday May 14, 2007

Downtown LA Bike Rally and Concert
City of Los Angeles City Hall, South Lawn
11:30 am to 1:30 pm
Festivities ­ include Ed Begley, Jr. and other speakers, health and bike fair, custom bike show, and a live concert by the Ditty Bops!

Bike Week Pasadena
C.I.C.L.E. and the City of Pasadena along with Patagonia and Metro are hosting more than 15 events all week! Highlights include:
Mayor's Bike to Work Brigade led by Bill Bogaard, bicycling aficionado and Mayor of Pasadena.
Themed bike tours like the Sunset Sonata Ride: cycle to an enchanting overlook on the Arroyo Seco, complete with hors d'oeuvres and a live violin and cello duet.
Free bicycle-related films and documentaries screened outdoors nightly in the One Colorado Courtyard.
An Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo featuring folding and electric bicycles, accessories, cargo bikes and trailers that handle everything from shopping trips to hauling lumber. More info www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=1373

Tuesday May 15, 2007

4th Annual Blessing of the Bicycles
Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 S. Witmer Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90017
8:00 am to 9:30 am
More info www.goodsam.org

El Segundo Bike Challenge
El Segundo and surrounding areas
For more information call Devon Deming at 310 646-7775

Thursday May 17, 2007 — Bike to Work Day

IlluminateLA Bike to Work Day Pitstop and Bike Ride
Hollywood and Western Metro Station
7:00 am ­ 10:00 am.
More info www.illuminatela.com/Calendar/Community.html

Free rides for bicyclists on transit www.metro.net/biketowork/free_rides.htm

Free countywide pit stops www.metro.net/biketowork/pit_stops.htm

Saturday May 19, 2007

4th Annual Bike Tour and Festival at Jesse Owens Park
More info http://www.richesbiz.com/cityweb/cityweb.htm

C.I.C.L.E. Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo
One Colorado Courtyard, Old Town Pasadena
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
More info www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=1373

Transportation: L.A. County Bike to Work Week May 14 - 18

(From the Metro website)

For the 13th straight year a record number of cyclists are expected to give bicycle commuting a try and leave their cars at home. Bike to Work Week is May 14 – 18, 2007.

Be part of the solution and PLEDGE not only to bike to work but pledge for a better you and for a better LA. Bicycling reduces traffic, improves the environment, improves your health and even saves you money on gas.

Pledge online today! Get a free bicycle patch kit (while supplies last) just for pledging. And, be automatically entered to win prizes. Visit our Riders page for more on planning your ride to work.

Free Rides on Thursday, May 17 from participating transit agencies. Just board with your bike or helmet.

Stop by at Metro’s co-sponsored Pit Stops on Thursday, May 17! Metro is teaming up with a number of Los Angeles County organizations, employers and merchants to host local pit stops for all Bike to Work participants. Pit stops are locations for bicyclists to stop, relax, get energized, have snacks, receive give-aways (all for free), and obtain informational materials on bicycling to work. Check back for LA County Pit Stop locations.

Employers take action! Thank your employees for bicycling to work by setting-up food and refreshments for them or by going all out and having a fair. Whatever you decide on, REGISTER with Metro to receive free give-away items to support your event. See our Employers page to register and for more information.

Be part of the solution and use your pedal power on Bike to Work Day Thursday,
May 17!