Lessons from the CicLAvia Experiment

The transition from an automobile saturated transportation system to system adopting Complete Street Policy consists of two parts, a change in street infrastructure and a change in street user behavior.

Street infrastructure is modified to balance our mobility system among pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and motorists. Rather than autos as the only mode of transport, all roadway users have a choice among 4 modes of travel. This way all street users modify their choice of mobility to utilize the balanced system.

 Once motorists recognize each of them  contribute to creating traffic, they become more receptive to a solution and change their behavior. They change their mode of transport. The CicLAvia experiment in Los Angeles teaches that lesson for Angelinos.
 

"CicLAvia's real importance has been to make clear that the divisions that we spend so much time debating — between cyclist and driver, driver and pedestrian, pedestrian and cyclist — are surprisingly malleable." Read how CicLAvia is changing the culture of street users in LA, story Los Angeles Times on-line.

Newport Beach Roars Ahead with Bicycle Newwork

As the city of Newport Beach charges ahead with plans to build a bicycle path network they invite the public to monitor progress through public meetings, workshops and the Newport Beach Bicycle Master Plan Website. At the website you will find:

• Bicycle Oversight Committee reporting
• Bicycle Master Plan Project Schedule
• Master Plan FAQ sheet and documents
• Newport Beach Bicycle Safety page

The next Bicycle Master Plan Oversight Committee meeting will held be Monday, February 3 at 5:00 pm in the Civic Center Community Room located at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, 92660.  The primary topic of the meeting will be the draft Bikeways Network.  -LS

Pacific Coast Bike Route before San Clemente Planning Commission tonight

UPDATE: In a unanimous 7-0 decision the Planning Commission of San Clemente approved this project it it's entirety and recommended the project for City Council approval and adoption. The plan includes a Class I bikepath along Pacific Coast Highway. San Clemente becomes the leader in Orange County adopting Complete Streets Policy and will be the first city to enjoy a solution to traffic congestion through a balanced mobility plan.

The Planning Commission calls this project the "San Clemente Village Entrance".

From a Complete Streets advocate's perspective, 2014 promises to be a significant one for San Clemente's desire to create "a balanced multimodal transportation system for all," as resolved by our visionary City Council in Jan. 2012. Here's what's happening:

In 2010, the City applied for and received an OCTA grant to create a Class 1 protected bike/ped facility along PCH from Camino Capistrano south to Avenida Estacion, the entrance to North Beach. The project is rooted in a Complete Streets approach to transportation. That is, the public right-of-way is proposed to accommodate motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians so that both public safety and roadway efficiency are improved for ALL users.  

That section of roadway is part of the Pacific Coast Bike Route, which links Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Ocean.  The Route is an international resource, as people from around the globe venture to the western U.S. to bicycle enormous distances on California's Scenic Highway 1. With this grant project, the City of San Clemente has the opportunity to begin setting a high standard for a local, national, and international asset. 

The conceptual project is now before San Clemente's Planning Commission this Wednesday night. PLEASE ATTEND. 

HERE'S HOW:

DATE: Wed., Jan. 22
TIME: 7 pm (the item is the 1st one on the agenda, so you don't have to wait around)
LOCATION: 100 Ave. Presidio, 92672 (MAP HERE)

You DON'T need to be a San Clemente resident to have an interest in this project, as bicyclists far and wide travel the PCBR. So, please spread the word.

If you cannot attend, please email your comments to: Planning@san-clemente.org and our Transportation Engineer, Tom Frank: FrankT@san-clemente.org.

Attached to this email you'll find the City Engineer's Staff Report for the project and, to provide some context, the PEDal letter of support for the grant request.

This project is very important, especially here in OC. Please participate in the public hearing process. If all goes according to schedule, construction would begin in early 2015. 

Carpe Diem,

Brenda 

ps--if you'd like to join me at Pizza Port after the meeting, come with an empty tummy :)

--
www.myfeetfirst.org

https://www.facebook.com/myfeetfirst

OCTA BikeShare goes LIVE in Fullerton

OCTA is the transit authority for Orange County, ( that means public transportation including bus, rail and ride-share systems throughout  Orange County ). OCTA is introducing a complementary Bike Share system in Fullerton. The bike share allows anyone with a pass to check-out a bike for unlimited a 30 minute trips for no extra charges. The pass can be purchased at these extraordinary rates:

Annual Regular Pass: $75

Annual Student Pass: $45

7 Day Pass: $12

 

Considering an automobile costs $8,500 per year (AAA) to own, a bike-share for Laguna Beach would be very economical and convenient for those commuters making short trips within Laguna. Every bike-trip would eliminate one car from our streets and potentially one parked car from our car-saturated neighborhoods. See the Fullerton OCTA Bike Share here.

Looks Like LA 'Gets-it'

A Village Entrance in Los Angeles

A transport system saturated with cars can never ease traffic congestion when the mobility plan is solely dependent on automobiles.

The Los Angeles Bicycle Commuter Festival is Sunday 16 Feb 2014

Bicycling Surges Across Country

Janette Sadik-Khan is still transportation commissioner of NY City, bike lanes continue appearing across the city including 11.3 new miles of green lanes in 2013. Bicycle critic Anthony Weiner put his pants back on, two-thirds of New Yorkers call bike lanes a good idea.

 

Candidates to replace Bloomberg as mayor expressed support for bicycling in New York City. These are the policies for Laguna's politicians to strive for and match. People-for-Bikes story here.    -LS

Portland Reports NO bicycle fatalities 2013

In bike-friendly Portland Oregon the city reports nobody was killed in a bike related accident in 2013. This city also avoided any bike-related fatalities in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010. -GRIST

An increase in cycling popularity for 2013 nationwide brought a 54% increase in cycling fatalities for Los Angeles County and a total of  86 cycling fatalities for Southern California.

Laguna I-133 "Bikelane" credit: Injury Law Central

 In Laguna Beach we saw 7 bike-car related accidents by May (Coastline Pilot), and two fatalities (resident Debora Deem 58 and Mitch Waller 53).


"Safer biking means more people (especially women) decide biking’s a good option. More cyclists make for safer streets — and the more people cycle, the more likely it is that city planners think it’s worth putting in bike infrastructure. And one of the great advantages of bike infrastructure is that it makes the roads safer — and not just for bikers. Everyone wins." -Biking in LA.

Dodge Dakota Drunks and More

First DUI of 2014 see Stu's News!

Here we go again, as we enter a new year the DUI industry kicks-into high gear. Stu-News reported today a pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk at Books and Glenneyre in the inner lane and "knocked some 30 feet" while another escaped injury. Will the driving drunk plead "I didn't see 'em"? Will the family post (ka-ching) $100,000 bail for felony DUI with injury? Meanwhile the City has contracted consultants for a Conceptual Improvement Assessment of vehicular traffic on Laguna Canyon Road including adding an HOV lane. Do vehicular improvement assessments complement the DUI industry in Laguna?  What happens if we legalize Pot in California fer-sher!    -LS

300+ Cyclists Enter Laguna New Years Day!

Maybe this year Laguna City Hall will acknowledge cyclists use PCH? 
Photo Credit: John Perez jxpimages.com

Happy New Year 2014!