Westside BikeSIDE!

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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I will be attending an important meeting of the Santa Monica City Council today, Tuesday, at 6:45 pm.  If you are concerned about bicycle planning in Santa Monica please show up and speak in support of cycling.  If you’re unable to make it this Tuesday, there is another similar meeting next Tuesday.

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Why do I have to travel around this great city of ours in fear? Why do I not deserve equal treatment and protection under the same laws that govern non-cyclists? Why is public transportation such a joke in Los Angeles?

Why does a Beverly Hills police officer think it’s a good idea to turn off his lights at night, point his SUV at us, and speed up towards our group in order to teach one of the three of us a lesson about not having a headlight (License plate #1098193, short blond hair, medium build)? Why does the Santa Monica Police Department harass cyclists without even knowing the California Vehicle Code? Why do you robotic, peon police officers harass us when we ARE the F’in future? Why can’t you see this as clearly as I? Why don’t more people watch Star Trek or PBS or read Jules Verne? When did you ever read a (good) sci fi book that still had gas-powered vehicles?

Why do I always beat the Metro Rapid and Big Blue Buses on my way to work? Why does that Blue Line driver talk smack to me every Saturday morning when I bring my bike on board? Why is the Culver City bus from LAX so god damn slow? Why would I want to stop at TWO MALLS on my way home from the airport? Why does the Blue Bus stop at every other street? Why does the Metro Rail not have a designated place for bikes?

Why in the heck are the people that are supposed to protect and serve me, whose pay is partly covered by my taxes, turn against me? Why do I, a zero emmissions motherfucker deserve such shitty treatment? Why do we think “advocacy” is going to work in this polluted city that hasn’t learned it’s lesson in two decades? Why do we get so happy when we hear the word “bikes” in a future-will-be-all-bike-friendly 20 year plan?

Why does one relatively safe bike lane that ends at Bundy and the occasional bike valet make Santa Monica Bike-Friendly?

Aaaargh. See you on the streets I guess.

I wrote a piece for Emerald City yesterday about volunteering for a local bike advocacy organization. I boiled it down to five orgs and one event: CICLE, the Bike Oven, the Bicycle Kitchen, Bikerowave, LACBC, and the Bicycle Film Festival. BTW, if you want to get involved in bike activism there are a T O N of other options, and I’ll summarize some of them in next weeks post. One option, for example, is to guest post for Westside BikeSIDE. I’ll be having more and more guest posts here, so if you have something about bikes you’d like to share, email me at alexcthompson@gmail.com and we’ll talk. Everyone has wonderful stories to share, and I am a billion percent supportive of that.

When it comes to volunteering many people think you should walk to the nearest non-profit and declare “use me!” I disagree. I devoted a one thousand words to volunteering because I don’t think it’s a simple act. It’s tough to figure out the best place to put your effort:

Volunteering is simple, right? You just go to the organization you choose to volunteer for, say “Here I am,” and they give you a stack of envelopes to lick. I disagree. Volunteering is a complex and often creative act.

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The second Freeway Traffic Jam Ride took place last Friday, and the Crimanimalz used the wiki as the reference for people interested in the history of the ride. The ride hit the front page of Digg, LAist, Boink Boink, Wired, local TV stations etc etc . . . and consequently the Freeway Traffic Jam article got about 5000 unique hits. It’s pretty clear the wiki can be useful as a central resource on a topic when organizers make use of it.

The other, more quiet story, is that the wiki continues to flesh out. I’d love to see cyclists get in the habit of recording events as they take place. Do you know who the Sodomites are? You may be surprised at the answer . . .

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