>> It's Bike to Work Day! Pedal to work and get free bus rides, plus snacks and other goodies at the many pit stops around the city.
>> Downtown art exhibit space Pharmaka's gone green with LED lights, eco-friendly furniture and an energy-efficient air circulation system (via blogdowntown). The greening process will be shown in a new green lifestyle show on the Discovery Channel starring Adrian Grenier called Alter Eco, which appears to have copied the name of a fair trade company I like.
>> *Finally, polar bears were given recognition under the Endangered Species Act by the Bush administration yesterday, one day before the deadline set by a judge. (An earlier version of this item stated that the bears were placed on the Endangered Species list. In fact, the recent ruling gives the animal "threatened" status under the Endangered Species Act.)
>> Are you drinking genetically modified wine? ML01, a genetically modified yeast, is in some North American wines -- and won't be listed on a label despite the fact no one has throughly tested its safety. "Letting lab-produced ingredients slip into the bottle unchecked is antithetical to an ethos based in appreciation of artisan traditions, deep connections between producers and the land, and personal relationships between distributors and consumers. Until North American health organizations start regulating the labeling of GM foodstuffs, it’s all the more essential to be intimately acquainted with what you sip."
>> First-time tips for newbie cyclers who plan to two-wheel on Bike to Work Day tomorrow! Damien Newton of Streetsblog LA has links and tips for you to plan your ride while taking advantage of the many freebies that are going to be given out at pit stops tomorrow.
>> Are you a cyclist who occasionally drives? Then dump AAA and sign up for Better World, because the latter lets you add on a "bicycle membership" for just $17. In addition to bicycle road assistance, the deal includes a membership to the League of American Bicyclists, a subscription to Bicycling magazine, and other goodies. Car-free? Then get a bike-only membership for $39.95. (via Tiny Choices)
>> Cycling convo with council member. Mack Reed of LA Metblogs has an impromptu chat about bike trails with council member Tom LaBonge when the two are stopped at a red light.
>> Bicycles make a city healthier. Writes J. Matthew Roney for Earth Policy Institute: "Promoting the bike as a clean and efficient alternative to the personal automobile is a practical way for cities to reduce traffic congestion and smog. To simultaneously confront those problems as well as climate change and an emerging obesity epidemic, government leaders and advocacy groups are working to bring cycling back to prominence in the urban transport mix." (via The Cleanest Line)
Image of "Biking to Work" courtesy of Chelsea Green Publishing
Last September, parking spaces all over L.A. turned into temporary parks -- for a few hours. Park(ing) Day Los Angeles brought activists and artists and other open-space-loving people together to take back the city spaces usually reserved for immobilized vehicles. Some environmentalists even towed all the materials for the temporary park -- benches and trees and other fun stuff -- via bike! (You knew I'd get a bike tie-in somewhere; it's still Bike to Work Week!):
And the second Parking Day L.A.'s coming this September -- September 19, to be exact. Put it in your calendar now! Planning's already under way, with the goal "to broaden the scope of Park(ing) Day L.A. and create a successful program of events, which will help celebrate the opportunities for creating public space in Los Angeles."
Want to be one of the happy park people? Then all you have to do is go to the next Park(ing) Day LA meeting, happening Friday, May 16 at 1pm at AIA Los Angeles, 3780 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles. RSVP to will@aialosangeles.org.
If you can't make this meeting, don't despair. The Park(ing) Day L.A. group plans to meet the 3rd Friday of each month. Can't make any meetings? Don't fret. Says Will Wright, one of the organizers: "Of course, if you are interested in simply creating a park on Park(ing) Day - then you don't necessarily need to attend all of the steering committee meetings. Yet, your early participation is encouraged and welcome."
Help shape the Park(ing) Day of your dreams! You have four months to design and figure out how to create your ideal urban park at a parking spot close to you.
Natalie Cadranel (below, cycling) is the program director at a local environmental health nonprofit, Healthy Child Healthy World, as well as a volunteer at the Bikerowave.
This may be Bike to Work week, but I doubt most motorists are cruising the mean streets of L.A. with any more caution. Shifting the car culture mentality to include space for cyclists will be extremely difficult, but it is possible.
After spending most of my adult years in more bike-friendly cities like Davis, Calif., when I moved back to L.A. a few years ago I had forgotten about the cyclists vs. motorists war being waged in Los Angeles. I don't think I know one person who hasn't been clipped, cussed at or driven off the road while biking down here. It's no wonder people are disinclined to hop on a bike for their daily commute considering the lack of bike lanes, thoughtlessness of drivers, and an abundance of poorly-paved streets.
Fortunately, change is in the air. As gas and food prices continue to rise and the health-conscious Angelenos start looking for cheaper ways to get their exercise on and avoid getting in the car, buying a bike may be a very convenient option.
A lot of people are unwilling to adapt their schedule and mind to cycling vs. driving to their destinations, but those who do realize it's a worthwhile and rewarding change. Not only are you no longer sitting in traffic -- isolated in your car from the rest of the world, burning gallons of the most contentious natural resource of our time -- but you are greatly benefiting your health, sharpening your 5 senses, reducing traffic, and feeling the great effects of that endorphin release.
The more bikes on the road, the fewer cars, and the fewer cars on the road, the safer cyclists are from being hit. On top of that, those driving will most likely get to their destinations faster due to decreased auto traffic.
The numbers of L.A. cyclists have increased in the past few years, but we will have to dramatically strengthen our numbers on the streets and at city council meetings to start seeing real changes any time soon. After all, the more bikes out there, the more likely cyclists will engender change in our favor.
>> For the second time this year, Westside "Criminal Mass" bicyclists took to the 10 and 405 highways last Friday to protest things -- pollution, according to NBC, which aired some of the footage. (via LAist)
>> Will the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee get restructured and organized? Yes, if a motion (PDF) coming before the City Council Planning & Land Use (PLUM) Committee today gets passed. Cyclists have been criticizing the BAC for 64.9% attendance record and lack of action: "During ’07, the BAC took action 10 times. 6 of those actions were to approve minutes and 4 times the Committee voted to send a letter although there is no evidence that any letters were ever sent."
>> Best place to get a used bike: Coco's Variety in Silver Lake, according to Sean Bonner of LA Metblogs. "You can pick up a solid bike in fantastic condition often for less than a brand new piece of crap at Target will cost you, and it’ll last a lot longer too."
>> Every day's bike to work day for Karen at Losanjealous since her Honda "went to compact heaven in January.": "Getting around L.A. could be a lot less of a hassle for bikers, and the key is to get more of us out there. So stop making excuses and hop on the bike, maybe use the next five days as an experiment."
>> Higher gas prices mean the freeway's less like a parking lot now. Gas consumption's down -- and been going down for the last two years. "Meanwhile, ridership on mass transit has continued on an upswing. Metrolink commuter trains are averaging about 46,000 passengers each weekday, up from 44,000 a year ago."
>> The skinny on avoiding BPA, an endocrine disruptor that's been making the news a lot lately: Use only plastic containers that are labeled No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, or No. 5, or specifically marked "BPA-free." Avoid alll other plastics.
>> Why SUVs suck. Frago of la.metblogs rents a ‘07 Dodge Durango, get disenchanted. "At 11.34MPG I put a nice down payment on an oil dictators summer home in the Alps."
>> Did you know coyotes find tortoises tasty? Endangered California desert tortoises were helicoptered from the Army's nearby National Training Center at Ft. Irwin to new habitat in the Mojave desert in a $8.7-million relocation effort. Unfortunately, coyotes are eating the relocated tortoises!
Question: I was reading your blog and noticed that you've been hanging out in the 818 (the Valley). I recently just got rid of my car (long story, but it was a lemon) and have been somewhat car-less for the last couple of weeks and enjoying it. I freelance, so I commute only about twice a week and for those occasions I carpool with my husband (he still has his car, hence the "somewhat" car-less).
Anyway, I was curious how you traveled to the Valley from Santa Monica. I ask only because I'm trying to gather other recommended modes of transportation from fellow car-less folks. Did you cab it or do that hourly car rental thing (forgot the name)? I live in the Valley and I love to hear the best way you've found to travel between the Valley and Santa Monica. Cheers, Liza
Answer: First of all, congrats on the de-car'd lifestyle! Second, it's car-free, not car-less :)
Third, to say I've been "hanging out in the Valley" is not quite accurate, especially as I have many readers who get angry because I allegedly don't give the Valley enough attention or because I make fun of it (my ribbing's just jovial teasing, people).
In any case, I only go to the Valley a few times a year! It's simply that I happened to make two trips last month. Once in a blue moon, I have to rent a car for the weekend -- and when I do, I make a trip to a relatively faraway L.A. spot and hit all the places there I've been meaning to visit. That's why I have a buncha recent posts highlighting places in the Valley -- all of those were from one trip.
The second trip was to a party at my friend's who'd just moved to the Valley. I did that by bus, and it wasn't a happy trip due to the buses not showing up or being late.
This also answers your main question: No, it is not easy getting from Santa Monica to the Valley sans car, IMHO. However, I did notice that the Valley itself has gotten somewhat nicer, with lively shopping and arts districts, colorful sidewalks, etc. The main concept of de-car-ing isn't so much about taking public transit to far-off places, but being able to avoid having to travel far at all because you have everything you want and need near you. For ex., lots of people in less-than-lively places in the Valley (and the O.C.) drive into Santa Monica and spots in L.A. because they have no good shopping/restaurants/bars near them -- at least not more than 1 or 2 (which one can get tired of relatively quickly).
What I'm saying is, if you really need to get to Santa Monica or environs relatively often, not having a car may not work so well right now, unless you have a masochistic streak. (Though I'd say any driver who fights traffic to cross that distance on a regular basis also must have a high threshold for pain.) A cab ride between the Valley and Santa Monica's gonna be quite pricey -- and Flexcar, the car-sharing service you were referring to -- has pulled all the cars out of its L.A. locations except at USC and UCLA.
So what I'm wondering is if you live in a part of the Valley where you have easy access to important amenities. If so, definitely stay car-free and just borrow your hub's car once in a while when you need it.
Part of the de-car-ing effort might simply be an adjustment in your habits, i.e., finding more fave restaurants in the Valley instead of sticking to the tried-and-true ones you may have in the Westside. It may take a lil more effort at first, but over time, you are likely to derive more satisfaction from discovering nice neighborhood spots that become your new favorites that you can walk or bike to.
Lastly -- If you bike and can do the bike-plus-bus thing, you may very well be able to travel between the Westside and the Valley with relative ease. Zach Behrens, editor of LAist, lives in the Valley and manages to get all over L.A. sans car. He does, however, still own a car...
>> Plan to bike to Dodger Stadium? The sole bike rack's in Lot P -- though not even the parking attendants seem to know of its existence. Damien Newton offers photographic guidance -- and a lot of constructive criticism for the stadium -- in Streetsblog LA.
>> Organic farming mitigates climate change, says Timothy LaSalle of the Rodale Institute, a leading organic-farming research and advocacy organization. "Synthetic fertilizer and oil-based pesticides release carbon dioxide into the air. But the organic approach, which is truly regenerative agriculture, sequesters carbon: It takes carbon out of the air and puts it back in the soil."
>> The U.S. EPA needs to regulate carbon monoxide, rules a judge. The EPA was told it needs to regulate carbon dioxide too -- but the agency appears set on shirking that responsibility until the end of the Bush administration.
If you live or work in downtown L.A., you've probably heard of Bringing Back Broadway, an initiative to revitalize the historic Broadway district. The backbone of Bringing Back Broadway is a plan to revive the L.A. streetcar -- a plan that's under study by the city, with the help of consultants from IBI Group.
When: Thursday, May 22, 8 am - 4 pm, followed by a reception. (draft PDF schedule here) Where: Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Cost: $25 for L.A. residents and business and property owners; $75 for everyone else. The price includes a continental breakfast, lunch and reception; those paying $75 also get a free copy of the "Street Smart" book.
What do streetcars do for business? For Mike Powell of Portland bookstore Powell's Books, who spoke at the Portland workshop, getting a streetcar on his block meant just one week of disrupted business due to construction -- followed by a 300% rise in property values. So sign up for the workshop to learn how streetcars can stimulate the local economy and create walkable, vibrant, de-car'd neighborhoods around the U.S. -- because we may be seeing new ones in downtown L.A., as well as in Pasadena, Culver City, Beverly Hills and other SoCal cities.
According to the organizers, this workshop will allow everyone, whatever their interest, to talk with national streetcar experts about topics ranging from environmental benefits to urban density. Speakers include L.A. City Council members Jose Huizar and Jan Perry, who'll make a case for the streetcar as a catalyst for turning Broadway into "one of L.A.’s most important neighborhoods." Michael Dilijani of the L.A. Theatre will talk about "the vision of downtown property owners for the reinvention of Broadway, L.A.’s historic streetcar corridor." In addition, Powell and other speakers will discuss Portland's and Seattle's experiences with streetcars.
Pasadena isn't the only city celebrating Bike to Work week next week. Events are happening nationwide, Metro's getting in on the bike riding fun with a weeklong schedule of activities (PDF), including lots and lots of giveaways, free bus rides and a guest appearance by -- Shrek.
Shrek will be working the giveaway table at the kick-off event for Metro's Bike to Work Week, happening 9 am on Monday, May 12, at the Universal City Metro Red Line Station. Take your bike on a train ride to see the event, and you'll get freebies ranging from bike water bottles to sunscreen samples to Clif bars. L.A. City Councilmember Tom Labonge, Glendale Mayor John Drayman, and Metro CEO Roger Snoble will all be there.
Can't commit to riding a whole week? Then at least commit to riding Thursday, May 15 -- the official Bike to Work day. Between 7 am and 10 am, bikers can take breaks at "pit stops" all over the city that will be giving out snacks and other freebies.
You don't even have to bike your whole commute. Many transit agencies are offering free bus and rail rides to bikers; all you need is to board with your bike or helmet on Bike to Work Day.
If you do plan to bike it on May 15, make your pledge-to-bike here to be put in a drawing for a folding bike from REI! Other prizes include gift cards for REI and other companies, passes to the Laugh Factory, and bike messenger bags. Oddly, pledges are accepted until May 16, a day AFTER Bike to Work day -- so you could technically "pledge" post-ride.
And to see just how much you'll be saving -- both gas money-wise and carbon-footprint-wise -- check out the new Bike to Work calculator on the Metro website. To the right's the calculations for a person who decides to bike instead of driving a Santa Monica to downtown L.A. commute (I grant you'd have to be a pretty hardcore biker to do this, but anyway....). The boxes aren't labeled very well, but after a call to Metro, I found out that the numbers under "Gasoline savings" mean this: You'd save $15.41 of your money and 3.75 gallons of gas if you switched to biking, assuming that your car gets 20 mpg and gas costs $4.11 a gallon.
Those really, really psyched about the savings can download a Bike to Work day screensaver. Caveat: screensavers don't save energy; put your computer to sleep or shut down instead!
L.A. girl Kathryn Pope has a goal for 2008: To get rid of her car entirely by June! Follow her de-car-ing adventures.
Busing It. As I was making the decision to go car-free, I read "How to Live Well Without Owning a Car," by Chris Balish (great book). Balish suggests having several backup options for transport when switching to a car-free lifestyle, to be sure that commutes go smoothly, even when the unexpected happens. So, while my Motorboard is fun and makes me cooler than ever, I need other options for rainy days and long distances. My first backup is public transit.
I took my first bus ride because I was angry with my car, not because of my environmental goodness. After failed smog tests, maintenance tickets, and a chunk of metal that started to drag on the pavement as I drove, I was fed up. At the time, public transit seemed like a radical idea -- sheer craziness, in a city where cars are fashion statements. As I stuck my head under the car to inspect the errant chunk of whatever it was under there, I felt just crazy enough to try it. What if it turned out that I didn’t need this pile of metal to get me around at all? What would life be like?
The idea seemed like a great adventure. So I found the Big Blue Bus line 14, grabbed my quarters, and gave it a shot. It turns out that I arrived early for my appointment that day (no need to hunt for parking on Wilshire), and I arrived calmer than usual -- relaxed, actually. I’ve been a public transit convert ever since. I have to say that the bus is a sweet ride, compared with my no-frills car. Not only do I get to read, e-mail, and otherwise keep myself busy while I’m driven around by a professional driver -- I get to do it with climate control. I’ve also run into students and former students on the bus, made friends with strangers, and learned about the history of L.A. from an 88-year-old expert.
So what do you need to know, if you’re a bus novice eager to give it a try? A few ideas:
Use a TAP card and/or Little Blue Card. Fare cards save so much hassle in searching for the right change –- and, as I learned on my first ride, the driver won’t give change if you hand her a bill. The TAP card is still in its infancy, but if you buy one at certain locations in Culver City, you can put any dollar amount you want on your card and use it gift-card style on Culver City and Metro buses. The Big Blue Bus has a card of its own, the Little Blue Card, which you can buy online at the Big Blue Bus website.
Bring entertainment. Buses have to navigate traffic too, and they’re sometimes late or slow. Bring something fun or productive to pass the time, and you won’t find yourself tapping your foot impatiently and checking your watch.
Grab schedules to take with you. Public transit in L.A. is complicated when compared with other cities. It helps to know exactly which lines you’re taking and when the buses are scheduled to come. This will be even easier when we get Google transit in L.A. this summer. Until then, use metro.net’s trip planner and 1-800-COMMUTE.
Start with one short ride. For your first bus adventure, try taking a short ride on the bus that runs closest to your house, rather than starting with a commute to work or another important event. Even if you're not ready to think about de-car-ing just yet, a ride or two on the bus every so often can reduce your emissions, curb your gas-buying, and (although it may sound strange) give you a sense of community and warm fuzzies about the amazing people who live in L.A.
>> "Accidentally" take more car lanes out of service. Eric Richardson of blogdowntown notes that traffic gets around fine on 6th St., despite the fact that a lane has been taken up by a transformer for several weeks. "If the city's content to let the lane sit blocked for weeks at a time, one has to question whether it's really so necessary for traffic after all."
>> Ditch the bottled water habit already. Colin Beavin, No Impact Man, talks about Elizabeth Royte's "Bottlemania," a soon to be published book about our drinking water. Writes Royte: "I come away from my investigations with at least one certainty: not all tap water is perfect. But it is the devil we know, the devil we have standing to negotiate with and improve. Bottled water companies don't answer to the public, they answer to shareholders." Earlier: Bottle up.
>> Make an ambitious urban bicycle plan a reality. New York city plans to "make it possible for riders to traverse Manhattan via dedicated bike lanes and circumnavigate the island along the waterfront. Sheltered bicycle parking and thousands of new public bike racks are already in place." L.A.'s a little behind.
>> Try NOT eating corn -- corn-based additives, that is. In Whole Life Times, Katherine Pryor keeps a journal of her three days off corn, a diet "which pretty much excludes all the mysterious multisyllabic ingredients on the back of most processed foods. It also excludes all those “acids”: ascorbic, citric, lactic, malic or otherwise."
>> Grow and buy basil from the block. "More and more New Yorkers ... are raising fruits and vegetables, and not just to feed their families but to sell to people on their block." If urban farmers can make a go of it in that crowded city, we can surely do it here in L.A. (h/t to reader Mercy)
(L.A. Cyclista Alex Thompson will go to Bike Week Pasadena and you should too.)
Bike Week Pasadena is May 12 through the 17th. Between me and you, this is the event series to go to. The final event, the Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo, was awesome last year. I helped staff a booth, but in truth, I was useless because I was strolling around checking everything out. There were amazing freak bikes, antique bikes that looked freaky, a custom frame builder displaying a bike with wooden rims, and a variety of activist organizations.
This year's Urban Bike Commuter Expo is Saturday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the One Colorado Courtyard in Pasadena. In my three-and-a-half years participating in underground bike culture in L.A., I've been to five events that knocked my socks off. Two of those were organized by CICLE, and one was last year's Bike Expo. The 40-mile round trip was well worth it. This year, CICLE organizers again have secured the One Colorado shopping district for the expo, so Saturday shoppers will be exposed to a broad array of cycling organizations and vendors.
CICLE still has some room for small cycling vendors, and this year has negotiated to allow limited sales during the event. So if you're an artisan or vendor who produces cycling-related items, be sure to contact CICLE at info@cicle.org.
Here's a fancy old school bike at last year's event:
>> One-way plan goes nowhere. Villaraigosa's plan to turn Pico and Olympic boulevards into one-way streets gets stalled by a judge, who says an environmental impact study must be completed before moving forward with the plan.
>> Greasoliners: Technically outlaws evading taxes. People who run their cars on veggie oil face a complicated myriad of taxes and fees and insurance requirements. "The regulations are so burdensome that even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, trying to set an example for Californians by driving a Hummer that burns cooking oil he buys at Costco, had not complied."
Meanwhile, Donna Barstow's angry the DWP hasn't refilled the reservoir already. Of course, the L.A. DWP has promised to start refilling the reservoir on Wednesday -- but Donna predicts "they will drag out the refilling until it finishes on their all important target date of June 1." She then criticizes the L.A. Times for not covering her "story," while simultaneously critiquing the L.A. DWP for holding a press conference about the refilling -- an event that might, you know, encourage the press to cover the story. Hmmm...
>> Five less toxic major brand nail polishes, reviewed by Sarah Van Schagen at Grist. Part of her conclusion: "The chemical smell from all of these suggests that pursuing your polish habit may not be the best bet for your health."
Concert at Union Station on National Train Day, Saturday
Amtrak has reason to celebrate. Thanks to gas prices -- and perhaps also due to environmentalists seeking to lower their carbon footprints -- Amtrak's ridership for 2008 is already up 12%. So perhaps it's no surprise that Amtrak has declared Saturday, May 10, the first National Train Day -- and is throwing a party at L.A.'s Union Station to commemorate it.
The highlight of the event is a free concert by Drake Bell, but train activities will happen all day. The train-curious can take train tours on Amtrak equipment, check out train driving simulators and train model displays, take in a train photography exhibit, and peruse the many Amtrak and vendor display booths.
Amtrak will even have a train cutout, behind which you can get a free commemorative picture taken. For kids, there'll be face painting, arts and crafts, toy trains and performances by the Fun Train Strolling Minstrels.
When: Saturday, May 10, 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Here's the full schedule of events. Where: At the Old Ticket Concourse, Main Station, and Arcade of Union Station, 800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles Cost: Free!
Why May 10? The date's the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah on May 10, 1869. Amtrak's reportedly spending $2.2 million on its day of celebration -- with major events also happening in New York City, Washington D.C., and Chicago, and other, smaller events taking place all over the U.S., including at the L.A. Zoo and train stations in Anaheim and Irvine.
Ever stained your favorite pair of jeans on your bicycle chain? I've actually never had this problem, but many of my friends have had their pant legs greased or torn up during a bike ride. Today, I put together a bike that'd get rid of this dirty issue altogether -- because the bike is entirely chain-free!
Dynamic Bicycles makes a snazzy line of chain-free bicycles that look good and ride easy (here's an explanation of the chainless technology). The Web-based company only lets you order their bikes online. Mine arrived in a box via UPS a few days ago -- and today, thanks to the good people at the Bikerowave, it got assembled!
Bikerowave is a little DIY bike shop in Santa Monica, which serves as the Westside counterpart of sorts to the Eastside's Bicycle Kitchen. For just $5 an hour, you can drop in to use all the bike tools and equipment in the place, maybe even find salvaged parts at a bargain, and work on your bike with guidance from one of Bikerowave’s volunteers.
So that's where I took the bike-in-a-box. Now, it's an actual bike! There it is in its black-and-white glory, above.
Overall, assembly wasn't hard, especially since Dynamic Bicycles includes in its box pretty much all the tools necessary to put the bike together. However, we did run into a couple unexpected issues. The biggest snafu was an unnecessary ferrule on the brake line (right), which we had to take the line apart to remove.
The second issue was that the back fender and one wheel spoke got slightly bent / dented in the shipping -- though neither issue affected the mechanics of the bike at all. The last issue: The back reflector (left) didn't fit anywhere on the bike.
But we got it together! The Bikerowave people attached a couple lights, and now the bike's ready to hit the road. I and a bunch of people at the 'wave tried riding it around a bit. One person even tried attaching a video camera to the handlebars (right).
So far, the Dynamic Bicycle appears to work just like "regular" bikes, sans the problems that come with the bike chain. In addition, the chain-free bike was quieter and the body looks more spare and clean.
A fuller review will come once I have the chance to ride it for a little while. For now, I'm glad that Bikerowave will be using both the tools and leftover parts that came with the bike! Bikerowave even has a recycling system set up, so most of the plastic bags and cardboard wrapping will go into the blue bin. The big bike box itself is being saved for reuse.
>> Debating the future of L.A. transportation. Read the five-part debate between USC professor Peter Gordon and the Transit Coalition’s Bart Reed -- with a grain of salt, as both men make false claims on occasion. Reed, for example, claims that the HOT lanes will force carpoolers into adjacent lanes -- despite the fact that carpoolers may be able to use HOT lanes for free. (Concrete decisions haven't been made yet.) Gordon's arguments are often just bizarre, with his own conjecturing being the only "proof" for his assertions: "As more people drive, they will have more range and more options." Seriously? Have you heard of, um, the congestion problem we already have? Being trapped on the 405 -- with no option to take a train that would avoid traffic entirely -- isn't exactly what I call freedom.
>> In Washington, D.C., newlyweds ride the train from the wedding to the reception: "I think Metro's easier than driving during rush hour," said the bride. "I've taken the Metro my entire career in rush hour. And it's always quicker than cabs or cars.... I just thought it would be a fun processional march and a way of getting strangers involved in sharing our joy." (via eecue)
>> Heart sidewalks? Many do, but unfortunately, it's not the item on top of Angelenos' want lists. City Planner Deborah Murphy speaks out on why roads aren't just for cars in a new StreetFilms video. In it, she points out that while L.A. residents say they want sidewalks, they're not pushing politicians to take action en masse -- perhaps because they're too busy being stuck in traffic. The biggest problem, in her opinion, is free parking -- even in our homes. "We give up so much of our private land to cars," she says.
>> Ocean debris, sorted. Ocean Conservancy reported that their volunteers found 6 million pounds of trash on the world's coastlines -- in one day. Wired mag asked for specifics -- and got them in great detail. "Perhaps not surprisingly, there's also a disturbing amount of condoms floating around the world's oceans."
Metro’s plan to convert HOV (high-occupancy vehicle, a.k.a. carpool) lanes to HOT (high-occupancy toll) lanes on portions of Interstates 10 and 210 (variable toll lanes depending on the number of people in the vehicle and time of day) has become controversial. In fact, it's the most controversial transportation project since, well, since legislation was debated in the legislature a couple of weeks ago that would allow L.A. County voters to decide whether or not to place a climate change fee on either gasoline or registration of low-efficiency vehicles.
The most common arguments used against the HOT lane proposal can be broken down into three different categories, all discussed in some detail in my previous Emerald City columns. But for those just joining the congestion pricing debate, here's why these anti-HOT lane arguments don’t hold water. (If you want to read some arguments against congestion pricing, here are two pieces from Pasadena Weekly and the Los Angeles Times.)
The most compelling argument against HOT lanes is that it’s not fair to take away the benefit of a free commute with little to no congestion from people that are trying to do the right thing by joining or starting a carpool. However, we don’t yet know how the pricing structure on the HOT lanes will be structured. Metro hasn’t announced a fee schedule, so defenders of carpoolers could be worrying themselves for nothing.
Once the schedule's nailed down, it very well could be that cars with more than one passenger will be paying a very reduced rate and cars with three or more people driving free. It could also be that cars with two or more passengers will be able to access the HOT lane in non-peak hour periods for free, but have to pay a small fee during peak hours. The truth is, carpoolers probably won’t be seeing much, if any, of a change in the cost of their commute.
The most popular argument against HOT lanes is the claim that congestion pricing is nothing more than class warfare. Writers plead with their readers to think of the impact toll lanes, instead of HOV lanes, will have on the poor. I’m not saying that no poor people use the toll lanes on the 10 and 210 but for the most part, this argument is a red herring.
If people really want to help the poor have a better commute, they’ll call for more funding for better transit service. I don’t think a lot of the working poor are commuting to work in the HOV lanes on the 10, but for those who do, wouldn’t it be better to provide more bus and rail options so that people of lesser means had the option to commute to their job in a more cost-effective way than owning a car and paying for gas and insurance every month?
Also, instead of pompously assuming that we in the typing class know what’s best for “the poor” why don’t we actually ask them what they think? When someone does, the result is that people of all income levels support HOT lanes once they’re already in place.
My favorite argument against congestion pricing is, “they aren’t called FREEways for nothing.” Didya see what they did there, emphasized the word free and all...
There’s two snarky responses to this. First, the roads being considered for HOT lanes aren’t called freeways at all. They’re called Interstates. Second, the origin of the word freeway has nothing to do with whether or not there is a toll on the road. It has to do with access to the road being limited to entrance and exit ramps.
Of course, nobody is really arguing over the definition of the word “freeway.” What they’re trying to do is use the first part of the word to make their point these roads were built with tax dollars and thus drivers (taxpayers) should be allowed to drive on them without paying an additional fee of any sort.
Let’s ignore for a second the added benefits to commuters that will be caused by increased transit and let’s ignore that the “cost” of the car culture that is caused in large parts by our freeway system far exceeds any gas tax.
In modern times, our transportation dollars are stretched thin. Funds generated from the existing gas taxes aren’t enough to build and maintain the transportation network, so if drivers aren’t willing to pay more, then the network will collapse. Remember, under congestion pricing, the funds generated will go back into the transportation projects to the corridors from where the funds came. In other words, the corridors that see congestion tolls will also be the ones that see increased transit capacity and better maintained highways. From the initial federal grant Metro has earned, we’ve already seen funds dedicated to buying 60 high-capacity buses and better Metrolink service.
In the end, one of the costs of living in Los Angeles is that there will be congestion on the roads, highways and interstates. There is no magic way to make congestion go away; all governments can do is offer options for people who choose to live and travel here. Congestion pricing, assuming the money goes into funding a better transit system, does just that.
>> L.A. may finally see mandatory water rationing this summer. Dry weather, outmoded water delivery systems, and the shrinking Sierra snowpack are all contributing to our water woes. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement urging the Legislature to pass comprehensive water reforms, warning that many communities face shortages and possible rationing." Earlier: Water fights, Water gets more precious in SoCal.
>> Down with gas guzzlers! "Truck and SUV purchases plummet 17.4% last month, compared with April 2007, while passenger autos -- which cost less to fuel -- post a 5.2% gain."
>> Down with ethanol subsidies! "With high food prices prompting grocery-store apologies to customers and raising fears of starvation in impoverished countries, Congress suddenly faces renewed pressure to cut subsidies to the wealthiest farmers and incentives for ethanol production." Earlier: Biofuel madness.
>> Simplify your beauty routine for your health and the environment's, says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. "Less is better. Look for products with fewer synthetic chemicals, use fewer products overall, try to avoid synthetic fragrance and parabens .... It's true that natural products tend to cost more, and also are not available everywhere.... But it's also true that many of us spend a lot of money on beauty products of all types. If you start to simplify, you may find that you spend less money overall."
>> Meanwhile, the EPA's top Midwest regulator got ousted by the Bush administration, allegedly for being too tough on Dow Chemical over "long-delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich., plant into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. The company dumped the highly toxic and persistent chemical into local rivers for most of the last century." (via Grist)
New to the discussion? You can catch up on the details of the early scoping meetings that took place back in October last year, where the crowd almost unanimously agreed that the Westside needs a subway running down Wilshire all the way to the beach -- and maybe another line down Santa Monica Blvd. as well. Above's the tentative map that was displayed at that meeting.
Since then, some of those alternatives have likely been abandoned, and the map redrawn. This new round of meetings will brief the public on a "refined set of alternatives that will continue for further study and the schedule for future steps." The five meetings will happen:
Mon., May 5, 6-8 p.m., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Terrace Room, 5th Fl., 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.
Tues., May 6, 6-8 p.m., Westside Presbyterian Church, 10822 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.
Thurs., May 8, 6-8 p.m, Santa Monica Public Library, Multipurpose Room, 2nd Fl., 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica
Mon., May 12, 6-8 pm, Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
Each meeting will start with an "open house" -- which in the past has meant people just hanging about looking at displayed maps and agendas -- with the project update presentation starting at 6:30, followed by a Q&A.
All meeting locations are easily accessible via the Metro lines running on Wilshire (20, 720, 920) and Santa Monica (4, 704) Blvds., as well as some Big Blue Bus lines. Ride the bus -- or fight traffic at the wheel -- and dream about how nice it'd be to have a traffic-hassle-free subway that whisks you from downtown L.A. to the beach in just 35 minutes.
>> The House aims to go carbon neutral with a green Capitol program, created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). The initiative has brought everything from organic food to biodegradable flatware to energy-saving motion-detector lights to the House.
>> What a good carbon policy needs: simplicity, political buy-in and efficiency in reductions. Pick two of the above, says Grist's David Roberts, in a 3-parter (one, two, three) analyzing the different policies, none of which contain all three desirable attributes. He concludes he prefers the cap-and-dividend plan as proposed by Peter Barnes, whose reader-friendly booklet on the topic I've discussed previously.
>> Should organic standards for food serve as the organic standards for shampoos and lotions too? That, essentially, is the debate over which Organic Consumers Assn. and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps have sued a whole bunch of personal-care product companies. The OCA and Dr. Bronner's feel only products that meet USDA's organic food regulations should be able to use the word "organic" on their packaging. Other companies argue personal-care products shouldn't be held to the same standards as food.
>> You know about MillionTreesLA -- and the many critiquessurrounding it -- but did you know New York had a similar program? MillionTreesNYC also gives away trees, but the standards appear to be stricter than ours: "individuals and families are limited to adopting one tree per household and required to register their new tree at milliontreesnyc.org."
>> ReShirt Cutting Contest: Revamp your old T-shirt to win a 30-minute style consultation with Barbra Horowitz and a $300 Greenloop Gift Certificate. Unleash your imagination within very strict eco-friendly guidelines. Not only must you reuse a T-shirt you already own, the redesign process must be limited to cutting and tying. No dyeing, silkscreening or sewing.
(Curmudgeonly L.A. cyclist Alex Thompson's rants cause the conflict-adverse discomfort, but he cares a whole lot.)
Between 1996 and 2008, the city of Los Angeles added 5 miles of bike paths or lanes each year. That's an astronomical success!
No, that's a complete failure. The city of Los Angeles encompasses 469 square miles. Adding 5 miles of bike lanes per year corresponds to adding 56 feet per square mile each year. 56 feet. That's the width of a small 7-11 parking lot. Ride your bike for 2 seconds, and that's how much farther you can expect to be able to ride on bike lanes in your neighborhood next year. You can expect a complete network of bikeways in about 100 years. City of L.A., EPIC FAIL.
There isn't just failure on cycling infrastructure. There's failure on all cycling issues. The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, which advises the City Council on cycling issues, can't find a steady meeting location. The committee president, appointed two decades ago by then-Mayor Bradley, still fails to follow basic rules of order or treat the public with courtesy. Councilman Bill Rosendahl is indulging residents of Mar Vista who are convinced bike paths cause crime, rather than insisting on better law enforcement.
Worst of all is the institutionalized bias against cyclists at the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT). LADOT bicycle staff spend most of their time explaining to bike activists, "here's why you can't have what you want." In order to update the L.A. Bike Master Plan, the LADOT and Planning department scheduled four meetings for community input. That's about one meeting per million people. Portland had one meeting per 12,000 residents to update their bicycle master plan. It gets better, if you visit LADOT's Bicycle Services website and follow the link to "planned bikeways" it sends you to this map:
This map is from 1996!!! I was still a virgin. "LADOT, planning to make a difference since 1996."
The only reasonable way to interpret the city's inaction is as a collective "Go **** Yourself" to cyclists. Punk rock til the end, cyclists irreverently flipped this, and interpreted it as "Do It Yourself!" And so a large segment of cyclists have found new and innovative ways to make progress without the cooperation of local government. Indeed, when the Bike Kitchen's budget purportedly surpassed the LACBC's, it was a quiet signal that doing it OURSELVES is the way to go. Does that sound angry? That's an echo of a whisper of the frustration that exists throughout the cycling community.
So we've been doing it for ourselves. Outreach?Midnight Ridazz has developed it's own brand of outreach: F.U.N.! Fun rides through the city -- a nightlife that revolves around biking -- is the unexpected form that cycling outreach takes in L.A. Most Ridazz prefer not to describe their activities as activism, it's just what they do for fun. Whatever it is, it's fun and effective. Thousands have been inspired to bike by these epic displays of F!U!N!
Cyclist education? The bike repair collectives -- the Bike Kitchen, Bike Oven, and Bikerowave -- do more to educate cyclists than any other L.A. org, governmental or not. These entirely volunteer organizations mobilize over a hundred volunteers weekly to teach cyclists how to fix their bicycles on a not-for-profit basis. Informal education on other topics takes place here as well. Step into the Bike Oven and mention a recent problem with a motorist and you'll likely hear several similar stories, and learn a couple new coping strategies. To a certain extent this happens on Midnight Ridazz rides too; I learned a lot of the tricks that keep me safe talking with other riders at group rides. There might even be a motorist education effort on the way, and not from the Metro, but from cyclists.
Bike infrastructure? At Semiotics of the Ride, activists are developing a signage system to turn 4th St. in Hancock Park into a bicycle boulevard. Is the city supportive? As far as I know, they're not. These activists lobbied hard, to no avail, to get cycling improvements on 4th St. This DIY effort is a reaction to unassailable status quo that persists within city departments. So, now we do our own infrastructure.
There are a few people in the city, or other local governments, that get it. The Santa Monica Planning Department has shown not only a progressive attitude toward cycling, but a remarkable willingness to open their planning process to the public. Lynne Goldsmith of Metro is doing good work to connect cyclists and bus operators to try to prevent conflicts. The city of Pasadena & CICLE successfully worked together to produce Bike Week Pasadena last year. They did so well that the 2nd Annual Bike Week Pasadena takes place in two weeks. Surprisingly, one of the best allies of cyclists is the LAPD. LAPD treats social bike riders with an open mind, allowing big group rides to continue if the ride is safe and moves along quickly. As well, anecdotal evidence suggests that officers in the LAPD are far better educated in the rights and needs of cyclists than in other jurisdictions.
There are people in local government who do right by cyclists, they're just the rare exception to a daunting rule. News that the L.A. bike culture is a fully DIY culture should resonate ominously within deaf ears at City Hall. 100% independent of city support, a growing constituency of cyclists can now bring uncompromising political will to bear on city officials.
(Next week I'll summarize some ways you can get involved in bike activism.)
>> Google Store's gone green, with organic T-shirts, hemp organizers, recycled denim pencils, and more. I'm most interested in the recycled plastic mouse in red. (via groovy green)
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