22 July 2008

yo Los Angeles

yo Los Angeles,
I love you. I never thought I would, but these last five years have been fantastic. Especially the bike riding. I remember when LA Critical Mass was the only ride and it started at 5th and Flower and was mostly messengers. Then came More Than Transportation 1, 2, 3 and 4. By 2005 we had Bike Summer. Then Midnight Ridazz blew up and we have more groups and rides then I can keep track of. Each passing day I am enthralled by the number of people on bikes. The people are here, but where is our city? What are you doing?

Metro Board tonight passed the half cent sales tax proposal for November, but a huge chunk of the money is for highway widening. And they refused to allocate any specific amount (1% was requested) for cyclists and pedestrians.

I don't want LA to be Portland. That's why I live here. But can I have a little Portland in my LA? How about some Copenhagen? I'd even settle for some Oslo.

Here are some articles I've read this week that kept me motivated. Enjoy.

Crimanimalz are taking over

LA Times: Two death-defying transit stunts: biking on freeways and walking across the street

New bike lanes spotted around LA

Councilman Labonge, Europe and Bikes

We're here. We ride. Get used to it.

Highway Funding: The last bastion of socialism in America

1 comment:

Unknown said...

As another vegan cyclist, I too have been feeling good about LA this summer, mostly, and I definitely have been seeing more bikes out than ever before. I would love it if gas got to $8/gal. and all the SUVs were finally extinct.

I know it's not and shouldn't be a battle, but I feel like we're winning. At least I try to remember this whenever I get yelled at (or worse) by an ignorant ass in a car.

Keep on keepin' on... Cheers!