Fashion Island Memorial Ride

Over 1200 cyclists remembered Sarah Leaf and Kit Campion M.D.

Photos: Frank Peters

Walk and Bike for Cyclists Recently Killed

UPDATE! It was 1200 riders says Biking in LA.

UPDATE!  700 registered riders rode in fond memory of Sarah Leaf and Katherine Campion M.D..   Organized by the city of Newport Beach and the NBPD their cooperation is deeply appreciated (thank you Sgt. Spencer ) and enthusiasm (thank you Mayor Gardner) for bike safety is noted.

 Join us for the memorial ride tomorrow Sunday 28 October 2012 at 8:00am starting at the corner of Santa Rosa and Newport Center Drive, Fashion Island in Newport Beach. More details and register here.

Removed Cycle Tracks are Prefered Safest

Bicycle safety is often argued from two perspectives. One says cycling is safest when completely removed from motorized street traffic while another view insists cyclists should occupy the same lane as motorists. Now a new comprehensive study published in the American Journal of Public Health shows separated cycle tracks serve best as cycling infrastructure. This chart (click to enlarge) shows the compilation from 2100 locations, 2335 injuries on 14 different routes that Cycle tracks are indeed preferred and safest. Published in the Atlantic Cities.

Preparations for Sharrows in Newport

Sharrows, or shared lane markers, will be installed along East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, between MacArthur and Poppy avenues, before the end of the month. This week the city has been working to let residents know they are coming. Sharrows are used where mandatory on-street parking for automobiles prohibit the installation of safe bike-lanes for cyclists. For the story see the NB Patch.

OCTA Metrolink anywhere $10

Wanna see LA for the weekend cheap? Take your bike on the train. To meet the growing demand from cyclists for additional bicycle storage space on trains, Metrolink introduced special Bike Cars. They're cars specially designed to hold up to 18 bicycles on the lower level. Electric bikes are OK. Take the Orange County like to LA on weekends for ten bucks! See the interactive System Map here.   See OCTA Metrolink train numbers and schedules here. 

Think Outside the Box

What if cross-walks played music? Photo courtesy Belles Bikes!

San Clemente Adopts Complete Streets into General Plan

Dedicated train-cars for bicycles, bike lanes, pedestrian benches, and connecting infrastructure. Some cities are making the sustainable shift to a multi-modal transport system and recognize the value in this shift. San Clemente leads the way, on Wednesday night the San Clemente Planning Commission adopted and approved a framework for their Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The Plan will become an integral part of the San Clemente city General Plan.

Some highlights of the comprehensive Eighty-Eight point framework:

• The City shall adopt recreational off-road facilities to the on-road transportation network.
• We shall incorporate bicycle accommodations into all land use plans and capital improvement projects.
• The city will encourage public pedestrian improvement projects such as public art, fountains, street trees, lighting and directional signs. 
• (The city shall) include skateboarding as a legitimate form of transportation as a policy, and include program to evaluate and revise ordinances as necessary to accommodate safe skateboard use.
• Support the creation of comprehensive safety awareness programs for pedestrians, skateboarders, cyclists and drivers.
• Expand the Safe Routes to School program and encourage all schools to get involved.
• Develop a (city sponsored) city-wide bicycle map
• City to sponsor bike-to-work week and month
• The city shall measure non-motorized trips and vehicle trip reductions, especially at local schools, so as to monitor mode share goal progress.
• The City shall prioritize smart-growth principles, public transit connections, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction by ensuring safe, convenient, contiguous, non-motorized access to destinations such as employment centers, schools, parks, the beach, businesses, natural amenities and residential areas.
• We shall establish mode-shift/share goals. 

-LS

Complete Streets Projects Proposed

This chart shows five different project proposals introduced to Laguna Beach City Council that address mobility improvements in the spirit of Complete Streets (click the chart to enlarge it.) Each project is recorded in the Agenda Bill of a council meeting, the initial Proposal date is shown with a green triangle followed by project milestones. The good news is the "Cypress St" project was completed while "Ped Path TOW" is recorded in the Ten-Year Capital Improvement Plan with funding allocated. The bad news is all the others are merely studies and have no funding, nor are they recorded in the ten-year plan where infrastructure is actually built. Time will tell if funding is made available to budget these projects. Notice how new proposals grow popular around election season but have no money to support them.  -LS

Dress for Better Mobility

These T-shirts just arrived available in S-M-L-XL, Bike Sharrow on the front, back as shown. Only a $15 donation, reserve yours  by writing eMail to Laguna Streets or buy directly from Laguna Cyclery, 240 Thalia St. at Glenneyre. Help promote walking and cycling alternatives to the car. Get involved so everyone will benefit.

Complete Streets Project Summary in Laguna Beach

This chart shows capital improvements planned and executed in Laguna Beach for the last 5 years. The Complete Streets projects actually built total $5000 (2011), an amount too small to render on this computer graphic. Recall that Laguna spends on average $25,000 on fireworks every year. In an election period where political hype exaggerates  Complete Streets, it is important to hold promises made versus projects actually built in perspective. From the city fiscal year budgets 2007-2012. -LS

Bike Lanes Exempt from CEQA Process

The California Environmental Quality (CEQA) is a Califonia statute passed in 1970 to institute a statewide policy of environmental protection. In September Governor Brown signed legislation AB2245 making the the consideration of some bike-lanes projects exempt from the CEQA statute. The trigger for consideration by CEQA is the impact to Level of Service made by installation of bike lanes. The LOS may be determined by the local municipality and specific for each city.

In Laguna Beach the exemption would simplify the review process and lower the administrative cost for the Glenneyre Complete Streets project (LB staff review). The project offers three alternatives for street improvements proposed by consulting firm  Fehr & Peers in a report dated 9/25/12.  UPDATE: Alternative 1 is the least comprehensive least expensive of three alternatives and was chosen by the city for consideration. Alternative 1 HAS NO PROVISIONS FOR CYCLING making CEQA a mute point for the Glenneyre project. Consulting fees for Fehr and Peers were budgeted $5000. -LS

San Clemente Walks/Bikes to School Again

San Clemente participated in the annual International Walk-to-School-Day Wednesday Oct. 3. San Clemente city council members Lori Donchak and Bob Baker escorted the walking students to local campuses. Remember the District policy in Laguna opposes both walking and biking to school. See the slideshow at the San Clemente Patch.

CicLAvia is Sunday in Los Angeles. Imagine this happening on Glenneyre in Laguna Beach. How may visitors could we draw to a Sunday Parkways block party in the off season?  Time-Out LA has a story.

BBC Says Italians Bought More Bikes than Cars

Ahead of a cycling conference being held in Italy this weekend, President Giorgio Napolitano appealed to Italians to "catch up" with other European countries by making their roads more cycle-friendly. See BBC News article.

Bring me your tired, your texting, your intoxicated

Google's robot car drives itself

Distracted driving is no problem for Google's robot car, you simply allow Google Maps to drive it. Traffic congestion is no problem either. In Google's vision of the new mobility system these cars " sense anything near the car and mimic decisions made by a human driver." They drive high-speed bumper-to-bumper unimpeded by traffic lights because they were removed for efficiency. This way says the commentary, we can "double the cars on the road" and  shift driving responsibility from the driver to the auto-mobile. "...the same commute that you were cursing this morning could be a breeze with a network of smart cars on a smart freeway that will almost completely remove drivers from the equation."  If you like traffic now, your gonna love a car-centric future with even more cars in it. Listen to the Pat Morrison show at KPCC.

Attend: Bike Safety Meets TODAY

To New Mobility Advocates:

Here's a friendly reminder the Newport Beach Bicycle Safety committee meets TODAY to discuss the urgency of bicycle safety in that city. Following the deaths of two cyclists in Newport the committee supported by attendees will urge the mayor and city manager to make road improvements to save lives. 

Monday 1 October 2012, 4:30pm, Newport Library, 1000 Avocado, Newport Beach

Les Miklosy
Laguna Streets

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