Just a few snippets to remind you that Los Angeles really needs your help if it’s going to catch up to the rest of the country and rationalize its transportation system. We desperately need to make it healthier, safer, and more supportive of community…as the following cities have been doing.
In Pasadena, that stuffy old-money city to the northwest, protected bike lanes are going in on Union Street.
Toronto, in Canada’s Midwest, has hired a data analysis firm to suss out the Bloor Street pilot projecttby looking at what actually happens on the ground, rather than doing a Koretz-style cave to NIMBY’s and refusing even a study….
Across the continent, New York dares to be honest with itself and accept that bike lanes and road diets not only boost safety; they lift up businesses and even smooth motor traffic flow enough that transit times for drivers decrease along with deadly speeding!
East of the Rockies, Denver opens a two-way protected bike lane smack in the middle of downtown for a good long trial run.
LA, not so much. Brave talk, lots of grip-and-grin photo ops, but the roads are still clogged with cars, and few options are made available to let people leave te cage behind.
What can you do ?
- Go to the meetings announced here and on every other bicycling blog in LA. Let politicians and neighbors know that you support transportation diversity, local community, and local businesses.
- Take over your own neighborhood council! Elections are usually every two years, and the NCs are a channel you can use to send ideas to your local council member, and to talk with your neighbors about how complete streets would benefit them.
- Support progressive politicians such as Joe Bray-Ali, owner of Flying Pigeon LA, who is running to replace Gil Cedillo, the man who keeps NELA’s streets running deep with blood.
If you just sit back and moan, you’re helping the NIMBYs win. The future is yours…if you’ll make it.