As you’ve probably heard, the City of West Hollywood will be working on an update to its bike & pedestrian plan for most of this year. And on Saturday, they kicked off the public meeting component with a delightful workshop, where we gathered into groups around maps of the city and drew a wish list of bike/ped improvements.

Mayor Abbe Land was in attendance, and welcomed everyone to the workshop. “I’ve been a strong proponent of increasing biking here,” she said, pointing to the emphasis in active transportation in planning documents like the Climate Action Plan, Bike Task Force Report, and General Plan. And, she said, “it’s not like we just talk about it — we actually DO things. And we can do a lot more.” (Check out a gallery of photos from the event here.)

Consultants for the city have been collecting data since April: conducting bike counts, analyzing collision data, and identifying problem-areas. Now, they’re ready to hear from the public.

And they got an earful: by the end of the meeting, participants had heavily marked up the maps with requests for everything from traffic calming to bike racks to street furniture.

Some primary concerns that emerged:
– Safety
– Connections to nearby communities
– Education

So, what’s next? The city will hold more events, including group walks and rides, in the coming weeks. In the mean time, you can take a survey about your experiences biking in WeHo, and another about walking in WeHo.

The LACBC’s Alek Bartrosouf alerts us that we’ve reached a critical point in the campaign to install a bike lane on Lankershim Blvd. Even though this isn’t part of WeHo, we all benefit when new lanes appear in surrounding towns!

Please take a minute to email elected officials and let them know how important it is to have a complete, safe street that everyone can use.

Folks to email:

• tom.labonge@lacity.org
• sheila.irani@lacity.org
• renee.weitzer@lacity.org
• tommy.newman@lacity.org 
• councilmember.krekorian@lacity.org
• damian.carroll@lacity.org
• maral.habeshian@lacity.org
• karo.torossian@lacity.org
• bcc: alek@la-bike.org

Alek adds, “While I don’t recommend using form letters, here is one if you cannot draft your own.”

Dear Councilman Krekorian and Councilman LaBonge,

 

As a resident of (insert neighborhood here), I am writing in support of the proposed bike lanes on Lankershim.  The addition of bike lanes will only help increase safety and mobility options for people to visit prime destinations in the area and commute to work.  If we can make bike riding a safe, welcoming option, then we can relieve congestion, clean the air, and improve all of our health.

 

While I understand that these proposed bike lanes remove one travel lane, the benefits of bicycle lanes outweigh this cost.  Bike lanes will reduce motorists speeding through our community during rush hour.  Bike lanes will also help people feel comfortable riding on the street instead of the sidewalk, which is safer for them and safer for pedestrians.  Bike lanes are good for my community, and give me and my neighbors an option to bypass traffic rather than sitting in it.

 

In the end, Lankershim bike lanes will make our community feel safer and have more travel options to help people get around on foot or on two wheels.  With adequate infrastructure on our streets, I’d be more willing to ride to work, recreate, and run errands.  Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Name

Address

If you would like more talking points on benefits of bike lanes and want to modify this letter, please feel free to look at the summary we have generated here.  We also have reasons why the proposed Vineland bike lanes in place of Lankershim are not a good idea.  Feel free to touch on these points (or others) in your letter.

As if cars weren’t deadly enough, a new study shows 4.2% of drivers sleep while behind the wheel. Really.

Yet another reason to have physically separated bike lanes for cyclists. You never know when some snoozing driver might drift right into you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56glR0WLuI

Knowledgable West Hollywooders already know that the city is hard at work on a redesign on the avenues south of the Pacific Design Center. New streetscapes, sidewalks, lighting, and street furniture are in the works.

A few weeks ago, the city hosted an open house to show off some potential plans and gather feedback from residents. Here’s some news coverage — along with appearances by numerous locals, officials, and cycling aficionados!

We’ve updated our bike-info resource with some stats on the heavy death toll attributable to cars.

Among the grim statistics: car crashes are the leading cause of death among children between 1 and 4. Check out our resource for more stats on just how harmful cars are.

LA Weekly recently called LA’s hit-and-run problem an “epidemic” — the comparison of car crashes to a deadly disease is quite apt.

Exciting news: the city of West Hollywood is putting out an RFP to update the bike & ped mobility plan. Tthe RFP specifically says that they’ll be working with the WeHo Bike Coalition and the community to update the plan for an expected completion date of late 2013. Details are here:

Big big thanks to the city of West Hollywood for bringing bike lanes to San Vicente! We had a grand opening this weekend, and now there’s a dedicated lane from Santa Monica all the way down to Beverly. Yay! Here’s some photos from the event:

We are totally thrilled to see new bike racks appearing in West Hollywood! Yay! But remember, park your bike lengthwise along the rack, not sticking out into traffic. That way people can get by without bumping into your bike.

In other words, don’t do this, spotted last night on Santa Monica Blvd:

Good news: Beverly Hills is taking some steps forward on bike routes and racks! But they need support to make it happen. Your presence is urgently needed at one of two upcoming meetings to advocate for streets that are safe and comfortable for cyclists of all ages and skill levels.

Here’s the details:

• When: April 11, April 25, and May 9 from 7pm to 9pm
• Where: April meetings at Public Words Bldg, 345 Foothill Road; May meeting at City Hall Room 280-A, 455 North Rexford Drive

And of course, cruise over to the Beverly Hills “Bicycle Ad Hoc Committee” Web page for official news and updates.

See you there!

Bill Nye the Science Guy predicts that bikes will figure big in the cities of the future. What do you think of his idea for wind louvres, so that no matter which way you’re going you always have a tailwind?