Westside BikeSIDE!

Damien Newton (LA Streetsblog), myself, and 19 other activists hope you will join us in asking the Metro Transit Authority (MTA) for more funds for cycling and pedestrian projects. The MTA is seeking a 1/2 ¢ sales tax increase to generate funds for LA County transportation projects. This generate funds to complete massive projects such as the Subway to the Sea. Surely the MTA Board can find it in their heart to spare some money for the low cost, high payoff projects which benefit cyclists.

We ask you to sign on to the letter below. If you support this effort all you need to do is send an email to metroletter@live.com asking to add your name to the letter below. You can read more about the effort on LA Streetsblog.

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Rosendahl’s office has cancelled the community meeting scheduled for today, Monday, about the Mandeville Canyon Assault, and cyclist/motorist tensions in the area.

I’m sorry that this happened, as I thought it would be a step in the right direction for residents and cyclists to discuss this.

You can find more about Rosendahl’s reasons for the cancellation on LAist.

****Rosendahl’s Office has cancelled this meeting****

On July 4th Stephen Box called me up and told me that two cyclists had just been assaulted by a motorist. The motorist had slammed on his brakes in front of them, intentionally, while they were descending Mandeville Canyon Rd at 30 mph. One cyclist had to have his nose reattached, Stephen told me.

I had trouble believing it, and I certainly didn’t want to. We all experience motorist aggression from time to time, but usually we ride away from it. Well, it’s all true, and LAist covered it extensively. In response, Councilman Bill Rosendahl has called a community meeting for Monday, July 14th, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd.

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July 2nd, 2008 - Above, Paul Bringetto is about to be released from handcuffs by LAPD Officer Corona. After spending over a half an hour in cuffs, and having his belongings thoroughly searched, Paul was let off with a “no front light”, $10 fix-it ticket.

Or so it would seem. In fact the ticket and near arrest were retaliation for Paul stopping to observe the police detain another cyclist. Once we stopped to observe the arrest of cyclist who we did not know, Officer Corona nearly instantly informed Paul that he was taking Paul to jail for interference. It was only after Stephen Box got on the phone with the watch commander, I took 400 photos (Flickr set), and a supervisor arrived on the scene that they decided to “let Paul off” with a ticket.

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Tuesday, at 7:30pm (leave - 8:00pm sharp), we’ll meet at Bikerowave to ride to Santa Monica City Hall.  There, cyclists will speak in support of the cycling policy recommendations in the Land Use and Circulation Element draft (LUCE), and in general support of more aggressive action by the city to improve cycling conditions.  You can find the bicycling section of the LUCE draft on page 79 of this pdf, a summary of the LUCE process on ibikeu Wiki, and deluge of information on the official website.  As well, you can check out my two most recent posts about the effort - a recap of the last meeting, and some loose talking points.

(Sorry for the obligatory bad pun!)

On March 18th the universally loved Marcus McKenzie brought an incredible project idea to the Midnight Ridazz. He, and his partners in SMASH Architecture, had a 40 foot decommissioned city bus that they wanted to customize. They wanted to know if the Midnight Ridazz were interested in using this bus a touring vehicle, and customizing it for that purpose? The answer was a thuderous YAY, and a few whimpering “nays”.

I have good news: they that say “Yay” got together, and they’re making it happen. Specifically, SMASH Architecture is offering free labor and design work to build a custom touring bus for Ridazz road trips. The Yaysayers will take care of administration, planning trips, and raising the funds for materials and operations. This bus will facilitate big road trips of up to 30 riders to places like Portland, San Diego, and Austin, and assure that we absolutely blow locals’ minds on arrival.

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I’ve written a few times now about the LUCE update process in Santa Monica.  LUCE stands for Land Use and Circulation Element, and it is a key planning document for cyclists in Santa Monica. To try to help explain how the LUCE update is relevant for cyclists I worked on this entry on the ibikeu Wiki. You can check that out, add to it if you like, or if you want to get really deep, check out the LUCE website.

I’ll summarize the action from a recent City Council meeting (see the Flickr set), and then discuss next steps in making progress for cyclists in Santa Monica.  The most important next steps will be to go to one of the Council meetings on July 8th or July 15th, and/or email Councilpersons.  Let me, let everyone, know what you think about all of this in the comments below!

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I wrote Monday about an important Santa Monica City Council meeting on Tuesday where the council discussed the Land Use and Circulation Element draft (LUCE). When the LUCE is approved it will act as the guiding force for transportation planning in Santa Monica for decades, so it’s important that cyclists make their voice heard. This coming Tuesday there is another meeting, and again the LUCE process will be on the agenda. If you’re interested in cycling & urban planning in Santa Monica I urge you to attend. LUCE will be discussed as item 8-B, following the budget discussions on 8-A. Those begin at 6:45pm, so you can safely arrive at 7:45pm at City Hall (1685 Main St) and not miss any of the action.

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