| | Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Newsletter November 8, 2012 |
You're Invited to Tour de Taste: Holiday Edition
LACBC's Tour de Taste returns to Culver City this Fall, and we are excited for some bicycling, eating, ice skating, and Culver City exploration this holiday season! Take a guided bike tour of Ballona Creek in the morning, then enjoy local cuisine and ice skating afterwards.
So far we have food from Culver Hotel, Kay 'n Dave's, LaRocco's Pizzeria. and Chipotle on the menu. Plus, a discount on Culver City Ice Skating Rink will be available to TdT participants. And the menu and participating businesses are still growing.
Tour de Taste: Holiday Edition When: Sunday, December 2; Registration Opens at 9:00 AM Where: Culver City Town Plaza at the Historic Culver Hotel - 9400 Culver Blvd., Culver City (corner of Washington Blvd. and Culver Blvd.)
Tickets are $20 for LACBC members, $30 for nonmembers, and $55 for the combo of admission ($30) and an LACBC membership ($25 - $10 off the normal price).
Enjoy eating and bicycling, all while supporting LACBC, the organization that works for you to build a better, more bike-able LA County!
Learn more and purchase tickets at la-bike.org/tourdetaste. |
Action Alert: Ride Lankershim
Ride Lankershim is an LACBC Valley Bike Ambassador campaign to advocate for proposed bike lanes on Lankershim and Cahuenga as part of the 2010 Bicycle Master Plan. The addition of bike lanes on Lankershim will accent the people-oriented district this community has become and will ultimately make the area a more vibrant and livable community. Having bike lanes on Cahuenga will also address a gap in connectivity between the Valley and Hollywood communities. Join us in taking action! Spread the word to your friends who live in the area. Here's what you can do to help: 1. Join us on a ride and invite your friends! Ride Lankershim! When: December 8; 10:00 AM Where: Meet at Metropolis Bikes - 4660 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
Join us for a roughly 3.5 mile ride along Lankershim (proposed bike lanes), Colfax (existing bike lanes) and the Chandler Bikeway (bike path). We are also doing outreach to promote the proposed bike lanes on Lankershim and Cahuenga. See Ride Lankershim page and Facebook event for more details. 2. Sign our Petition Express your support for bike lanes on Lankershim and Cahuenga. Add your voice here and let us know why bike lanes here are important for you. 3. Join our mailing list
If you are interested in signing onto our Lankershim & Cahuenga newsletter, let us know here . In the next few weeks we'll be canvassing pedestrians and businesses on Lankershim. Join our team - contact Alek at alek@la-bike.org. For more information about our Ride Lankershim campaign or are interested in volunteering, feel free to contact Alek Bartrosouf at alek@la-bike.org or (213) 629-2142. You can learn more about the campaign at la-bike.org/ridelankershim. |
| Attend Sentencing Next Tuesday of Driver who Hit and Killed Alan Deane and Demand Justice 
We're told by Alan Deane's family that the driver who hit and killed Alan in September 2011 is to be sentenced on Tuesday, November 13th . The Deputy Prosecutor's office initially filed a vehicular manslaughter charge, but has since arranged a plea bargain with the driver which is expected to include a lesser charge of Reckless Driving. The penalties are expected to be community service and some sort of fine. The hearing to be held on November 13th is to confirm or modify the sentence. We encourage anyone who can to attend the sentencing hearing to show support for Alan's family and to demonstrate with your presence that we care and want to see justice done. The sentencing hearing will be at the following location and time: When: Tuesday, November 13; 1:30 PM Where: Los Angeles Superior Court - 300 East Walnut, Dept. N, Pasadena Judge Steven Monette presiding. Read more on the LACBC blog. |
| Operation Firefly Takes Off with First Light Distribution 
Thanks to the great work of eight "Team Firefly" volunteers and several LACBC staff members, the first light distribution of Operation Firefly was conducted on Wednesday November 7 on 7th Street at MacArthur Park. Team Firefly gave out roughly fifty sets of front and rear lights in less than two hours. Team Firefly gathered at sunset and lights were given only to bicyclists who were riding without them. Volunteers installed the lights on recipients' bikes, showed them how to remove the lights to prevent theft, and handed out spoke cards in English and Spanish with information and safety tips for night time riding. Each light recipient was also asked survey questions to help us understand more about people riding without lights and to document Operation Firefly's accomplishments. We'll be sharing this information in the future. More photos of the street distribution are on our Facebook page. LACBC will be organizing more street distributions in the coming weeks and months. It all depends on our supply of lights. Stay tuned! You can support Operation Firefly by making a donation or purchasing a set of lights. For every set of lights we sell, we can give away another set. Go here for details. If you'd like to volunteer for Team Firefly, please contact the LACBC volunteer coordinator, Martin Lopez-Iu at martin@la-bike.org. |
| An Update on the Expo Bikeway 
In August, LACBC issued an action alert warning that the Expo Bikeway was at serious risk. Since then, LACBC and the Expo Bicycle Advisory Committee have made considerable progress in improving the design at key crossing points to make for a safer and more continuous bikeway. There are outstanding issues at Pico/Gateway, Centinela, Westwood, and Northvale, but momentum is moving in the right direction. Your strong response to the action alert focused attention to these conflict areas: - At Pico/Gateway, a curb extension will slow vehicles turning from Pico onto Exposition and shorten the crossing distance for path users.
- At Centinela, a realignment of the intersection is being considered to remove a conflict between the bikeway and a maintenance driveway.
- At Westwood, a potential bikeway realignment to the south side of the train tracks would reduce conflicts with pedestrians in the station plaza.
- Finally, a realignment of the bikeway along Northvale might both save money and improve safety for path users.
We are working hard to make sure these proposed design changes are made to the final bikeway design. Stay tuned! |
| Bike Updates from Around the County: Motor Avenue Bike Lane Backlash Fizzles
Palms: You may have heard about potential backlash to the newly striped bike lanes on Motor Avenue in Palms. Well, at last night's Palms Neighborhood Council meeting, bicyclists spoke up to thank the PNC for supporting the bike lanes. Speaking in opposition? No one. A representative from Council District 5 said that he has received mixed feedback from the community by phone and email, but the fact that only bicyclists cared enough to show up to the meeting made a powerful statement. Please add your voice to the chorus in support of the Motor Avenue bike lanes (particularly if you live in CD5) by emailing Councilmember Koretz at paul.koretz@lacity.org.
Santa Clarita: The City of Santa Clarita last week launched the bicycle resource website BikeSantaClarita.com. The site includes links to bicycle events, maps, and safety information.
Temple City: As we mentioned in last week's newsletter, improvements will be coming to Las Tunas Drive in Temple City thanks to $1 million dollars in grant money (read about it in the Pasadena Star-News). The City of Temple City will host an Engagement Party for the Las Tunas Drive Project on Wednesday, November 14, at 7 PM at Live Oak Park at 10144 Bogue Street in Temple City. See the Facebook event for more details. Alhambra: The City of Alhambra will release the draft bike plan for public review at a City Council study session on Monday, November 19, at 5:30 PM at the Alhambra Civic Center Public Library's Ruth Reese Hall. Come out to supply feedback! More info here. |
Vote for Walk 'n Rollers to Win a $5,000 Grant!
You just voted in the election. How else can you bike the vote? Vote for Walk 'n Rollers, a project of LACBC that encourages kids to walk, bike, and scoot to school more frequently! Walk 'n Rollers is in the running to receive a $5,000 grant from Kveller. Cast your vote at kveller.com/vote! You just need to enter an email address, and you can vote once a day through November 30. |
| Thanks for Coming on the Haunted Saturday Funday Ride  Thank you to the brave souls who came on this past Saturday's Haunted Funday Ride! Led by our Executive Director Jen Klausner, we some special haunted Westside destinations like the Georgian Hotel, the Marquez Family Cemetery, Sullivan Ridge Fire Road, and the Murphy Ranch. D You can check out some spooky photos on our Facebook page. Our next Sunday Funday Ride will be Tour de Taste on Sunday, December 2nd. And because we love the holidays, save the date for our family-frienly Caroling Ride through Larchmont for Sunday, December 16, in the late afternoon and early evening. |
| What's Ringing Our Bike Bells: New York City Bikes after Sandy  | | Montage of Moving Modes: NYC is Back in Business! |
Our hearts go out to our friends, family, and colleagues on the East Coast who have been affected by Hurrican Sandy. What we've found since last week, is that East Coasters are resilient. In New York City in particular, New Yorkers were biking in large numbers due to the subway system not operating at full capacity and a gas shortage. Kudos to nonprofit organization Transportation Alternatives, which was busy offering support and advice to people riding bikes, especially those riding for the first time in a long time. Check out this video from Streetfilms on how people were getting around in NYC right after Sandy. And read more about bicycling post-Sandy in the New Yorker, Atlantic Cities, and New York Times.
If you're wondering how you can help, please consider making a donation to Recycle-A-Bicycle, a community bike shop in New York City that has been providing mobile bike repairs as well as bikes to organizations that need them to deliver supplies. Our friends at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Oregon have set up a donation page to aid our friends at Recycle-A-Bicycle. Donate today! |
| Events, Meetings, & Volunteer Opportunities Bike Ride for Safety and Justice When: Saturday, November 10; 3:30 PM Where: Rowley Memorial Park - 13220 Van Ness Avenue, Gardena Teresa and Veronica Chaidez have organized this Bike Ride for Safety and Justice in honor of their stepfather Benjamin Torres, who was recently killed while riding his bike in a hit-and-run collision in Gardena. Join Benjamin's family and the East Side Riders on this ride this Saturday afternoon. See Facebook event. CCBC's 1st Annual "Cruise the Creek" Fun Ride & Membership Drive When: Sunday, November 11; registration opens at 9:30 AM Where: Syd Kronenthal Park - 3459 McManus Avenue, Culver City Join local LACBC local chapter Culver City Bicycle Coalition for an intermediate fun ride and family picnic. Activities include a group ride to Manhattan Beach and back, kids' rides in the park, lunch, a raffle, plus Peddler's Creamery will be on-hand with freshly-churned ice cream. Event is free for CCBC members, $10 for everyone else. Become a member at the event and get in free! More info. Los Angeles Walks Community Meeting When: Thursday, November 15; 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Where: Kaos Network - 4343 Leimart Park Blvd., Los Angeles Join Los Angeles Walks for its 2nd open community meeting. All are welcome and invited to discuss our current campaigns and ways to make walking in Los Angeles, specifically Leimert Park, safer and more enjoyable. More info, and RSVP here. Green Festival Los Angeles When: Saturday, November 17 & Sunday, November 18 Where: Los Angeles Convention Center - 1201 S. Figueroa The Green Festival return to the Los Angeles Convention Center, and our own Eric Alcaraz will be presenting a workshop on bicycle repair in Spanish ("Reparar Su Bicicleta") at the DIY stage at 1 PM on Saturday. Event is free to attend if you ride your bike! More info. Touring LA County with LACBC & Where to Bike: Through the San Gabriel Foothills When: Sunday, November 18; Meet at 8:30 AM, Ride at 9:00 AM Where: Classic Coffee - 148 North Glendora Avenue, Glendora, 91741 (Meet in the public parking lot behind Classic Coffee) Join LACBC and Where to Bike Los Angeles for a 50-mile bicycle tour in the San Gabriel foothills along the northeastern fringe of suburban Los Angeles. Rich in history, variety and natural beauty, the area is home to some of LA County's earliest small cities: Monrovia (incorporated in 1887), Azusa (1898) and Glendora (1911). RSVP to wheretobikela@gmail.com. More info. Glendale Mayor's Bike Ride When: Sunday, November 18; 9 AM Where: Glendale City Hall, Parcher Plaza - 613 E. Broadway, Glendale Join Glendale Mayor Frank Quintero and local LACBC chapter Walk Bike Glendale for the 2nd annual ride with the Mayor! This family friendly ride is open to all ages. It will be a great opportunity to meet the Mayor and ride around town. See Facebook Event. Tour de Taste When: Sunday, December 2; Registration opens at 9 AM Ride Lankershim When: Saturday, December 8; 10 AM Holiday Caroling Ride When: Sunday, December 16; 5 PM Where: Larmont area, exact location TBD Save the date for our annual caroling ride around Larchmont! This family friendly ride will travel 1-2 miles and allow you to admire the festive homes in the Larmont neighborhood. More details to follow! |
| | | | Join LACBC or Renew The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is a member-supported organization that works for you to build a better, more bike-able L.A. County.
Members are the backbone of LACBC! Help keep LACBC strong by becoming an LACBC member (or renewing your membership) and be part of the change! |
Contact Information
Carol Feucht
Membership & Communications Director
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
carol@la-bike.org |
Let's be friends! Connect with LACBC: www.la-bike.org      |
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