It is illegal to block a bikeway in California, and it is illegal to block the right-of-way in general, but this doesn’t stop lazy Angelenos from blocking streets on trash day with trash cans to allow them to keep their precious car parking spaces.
The photo above was taken at the intersection of Avenue 50 and North Figueroa Street in Highland Park – right in front of the former home of Occidental College, which has since been converted into a tenement of sorts.
Was a call placed with the Public Works Department’s Bureau of Street Service’s Inspection and Enforcement Division? Uhh … not yet. There is only so much time one can spend on the phone with a sleeping kid in the bakfiets (800-996-2489) and it was past normal office hours (kindly commit your crimes during the hours of 8am to 4pm, thank you, come again).
Anyone else got a real stinker of bikeway blocking violation?
6 Comments
Josef- calm down.
All you have to do is get them to line those babies up 3 feet further into the street like they do on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, and there will be plenty of room and a nice protected corridor for the sleeping kid in the bakfiets. That is until the confused bus driver plows into them and sends them scattering like a bunch of 100 pound bowling pins. –It’s a Strike!
Oh well, aint life Grand? –Coop
I know that spot. It’s an apartment building and every trash day they parade 40 trash cans there. As far as I know the Sanitation Dept is not even supposed to service apartment buildings (anything with 5 units or more). Apartment buildings are supposed to contract for their own private bin service. If we could get that enforced everybody would thank us. Not just cyclists. These trash cans inhibit parking, take up sidewalk space all week long and look ugly all week long. They literally trash the place.
This has been been an ongoing problem on Venice Blvd., west of the 405. On Monday, I found about a dozen of them at 11928 Venice Blvd. Thanks to this blog, I knew what to do. I took detailed photographs, and called it it. I got a return call the next day, and I have emailed the photos to Investigator Garcia. That was on Tuesday. Maybe it’s time to follow up….
What they should do is have a no parking sign on trash day just like they have on street cleaning day.
I must Comment Further; I cannot get your photograph out of my mind.
Josef—
You should be proud of your Angelinos. They are anything but lazy. Just look at that straight line of trash containers. The precision placement of those containers is absolutely stunning. My old Army Drill Sergeant would be so impressed, that he would give everybody a 3-day Pass. You would never find that level community pride in the Inland Empire where I live or where I ride in Orange County. Where I live the trash containers would be scattered from the alley to toppled-over in the middle of the street with hoards of scavengers diving in head first to collect your precious bottles, cans, and personal identification information.
I also notice in the photo, the absence of old car parts, abandoned appliances, and the dead crows that are so famous on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana. Grand Ave. also has a lot of rocks in the gutter and with skill and perfect timing, you can hit those rocks with your tires and get them to shoot out and ricochet off that passing BMW. Fat, smooth City Tires are the best for this kind of work. Do Not do this with your skinny racing tires — they can put you down hard in front of that following bus.
Actually Grand Ave. is pretty nice (boring) right now. Tuesday before last, it got a good pass with the Once-a-Year Street Sweeper, but after a week and a half, I notice the debris starting to build back up. For those hard core gutter riders planning a challenging and exciting run down Grand, I recommend waiting at least 6 weeks. By then the obstacles and trash should be back to normal levels. December is the best. The sun is down by rush hour, and the challenge is at the highest level.
I look forward to seeing you out there
Coop
I had to stop laughing just to type this. Jim, you are absolutely right. I am going to salute my neighbors the next time I ride by the Great Wall of Cans.