While biking on Venice blvd on Saturday night, the mayor was forced to slam on his bike brakes after a taxicab suddenly pulled in front of him, causing him to fall and break his elbow. Unfortunately, both for this story and for the prospect of motorists being penalized for crimes against cyclists, the taxicab got away without anyone getting the license plate, in spite of the Mayor’s security detail being present.
Maybe he needs to hire a better security team?
In any case, perhaps this event sheds more light on the issue of bike safety on the mean streets of LA. The Mayor himself, broken elbow and all, wrote on Huffington Post two days later, “Unfortunately most of our City was built with cars in mind. It’s time to recognize that bicycles also belong on L.A.’s streets.” The Mayor goes on to reference the Measure R funds, and talks about plans to build 1,663 miles of bikeways.
Hopefully news of the crash won’t deter would be cyclists from riding more frequently or beginning to ride, especially as a means of commuting. On the other hand, hopefully motorists will proceed with more caution when cyclists are present.
So, for those of you who don’t know what a sharrow is, (okay I’ll admit I didn’t know exactly what one was, but basically had a pretty good idea) they are paintings on the road indicating that cyclists will be riding on that road. They are really there for drivers, so they know they must SHARE the road with cyclists.
Anyhow, there have been sharrows painted on Westholme, and I’ve heard reports of other sharrows being painted around the city. The main premise seems to be that if you ride on the sharrows you will not be “doored”, as the sharrows are required to be painted 11 feet from the curb (LADOT Pilot Program paints them 12 feet from the curb)
Anyway, check out the LADOT Blog post, its quite informative.
Transportation's lobby will be closed all day Friday
UCLA Transportation’s front lobby will be closed on Friday for a systems upgrade. Speaking for the department, I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may present! You may still e-mail us at transportation at ts.ucla.edu. Alternatively, if your query is more general, you may tweet @uclacommute OR post on our FB wall (facebook.com/uclatransportation.)
And our website, www.transportation.ucla.edu, is available to you 24-hours a day.
Measure R was passed in Nov 2008, and increased the Los Angeles County sales tax by 1/2 a cent, from 8.25% to 8.75%. It’s supposed to generate close to 40 billion over the next 30 years that goes to transit and roadway projects.
However, some of that money is earmarked for Bike/Ped projects. Check out the LACBC blog for more details.
Anyone of any westside bike projects in the works?
The Metro Blue Line opened today twenty years ago, back in 1990.
For a blast from the past, check out this Metro Blue Line promotional video… starring none other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, I thought it was a joke too but then I clicked “play” and realized this was real.
I decided I would go with the Metro Red Line. It’s the line with the station near my old South-of-Melrose-Hill neighborhood (Beverly/Vermont) and it’s also the line that provides speedy access through the Cahuenga Pass to my family and friends who live in the Valley.
