Happy New Year!

Santiago Peak New Year's Eve

Got studs?

BMW DriveNOW RideShare

Want to boost your image?

 In Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Dusseldorf  San Francisco and coming to Oakland BMW offers an electric car-share program. DriveNow brings all-electric BMW's to California streets. Locate and select the Mini or sedan model of your choice by smart phone. Unlock get-in and drive to your destination, pay-by-the-mile.

In a hurry? Register for DriveNow here.

Merry Christmas

A Good Driver-Training Tool

These road-safety trailer signs appear 3 places on Laguna Canyon Road.
UPDATE: As of Monday 22 December 2014 these signs were removed.

"Give 'em 3-feet"

    Thanks!

Our Road System in Black & White

Southern California

The Fathom Print Shop offers these high contrast maps showing how much ground is covered by asphalt and concrete roads. No explanation given how the islands were highlighted. Compare Southern California to Alaska below.

For maps of most 50 states and the complete California map see the Fathom Print Shop.  -LS

State of Alaska

Paris May Go Car-Free

Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris Freance announced ambitious plans to ban cars from the city center, the Seine and the  Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Wonder what is planned in Laguna's sister city Meton, France?  How about Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach?



 Did you know:

• Paris is home to the largest bike-share system outside of China with 18,000 shared bicycles. 
• Since the introduction of Velib in 2007 the number of Parisians riding bicycle increased from 40% in 2011 to 60% today.
• Paris plans to double the number of bike-lanes by 2020 for $147 million bike development program.

Story: Grist

A Chronology of Road Realignment for LCR

Laguna Canyon Road is once again under city review for a road re-alignment. A potpourri of design features such as 4 vehicular lanes, HOV lanes, bike-lanes, utility undergrounds and three vehicular roundabouts are offered. There's something here for everybody. But what is the objective, moving cars or moving people?  How realistic are the current proposals in view of mitigation between City Council, Caltrans and the Coastal Commission? What follows is a chronology of re-alignment endeavours for Laguna Canyon Road since 1988.

22 August 2014, Putting Brakes on Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Independent. The Laguna Canyon Task Force convenes to review four roadway improvement designs proposed by the retained consulting firm RBF Consulting of Irvine. The design elements include undergrounding electrical utilities, bikepaths and car roundabouts. The project proposed is expected to cost $25 million and require 11 years to complete. 

10 August 2014, Canyon Congestion on the Agenda, Coastline Pilot. The city council, voted unanamously to form a task force that will conduct public meetings to identify ways to ease congestion, decrease police and fire response times , create safe pedestrian and bicycle paths and underground utility poles.

21 August 2013, Widening Project Slated for Laguna Canyon Road, Orange County Register. The County Board of Supervisors awarded a $486,739 contract to Hillcrest Contracting to begin intersection improvements at Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads. The contract is the first of a four-phase project that also will add bike lanes on Laguna Canyon between El Toro and the 73 toll road to connect with existing traffic lanes.

21 August 2013, Irvine Backs LCR Widening, Orange County Register. The Irvine City Council unanimously approved a pair of agreements with the Irvine Community Development Company and Caltrans to add a third lane in each direction on Laguna Canyon Road between the 405 freeway and the future Lake Forest Drive intersection. The plan includes a new signal at Laguna Canyon and the future Lake Forest Drive. 

10 September 2012, Keeping the Country in Country Road, Laguna Independent. The city council set aside $100,000 to improve pedestrian and bicyclist access along Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road but careful not to diminish the country appeal of the existing gateway with curbs and gutters. 

1 May 2012, Caltrans 133 Expansion Scope, Forest Avenue to 73, 405 to 241 exchange. Caltrans interchange expansion plans (completed).

17 January 2011, Beseiged by Rain Fall, Laguna Independent. Maes said each time the canyon road is resurfaced, it adds a few more inches to its run-off height.  “The road is now above our house,” she said. Lack of proper drainage as well as the raised road and new construction inland with inadequate filtration  increases flood potential, she added. The flooding, she said, isn’t just coming from runoff in the canyon; it’s from Laguna Woods and Aliso Viejo as well.

1 January 2010, Irvine Company To Construct 4,450 New Homes In Outer Laguna Canyon, Greenbelt News. The Irvine Company and the City of Irvine are moving forward with plans to construct 4,450 dwelling units on the outer edge of Laguna Canyon. Laguna Canyon Road is currently being widened to 6 lanes to accommodate the new traffic.

21 August 2008, Protections Sought, Coastline Pilot. City officials studying whether to seek designation of Laguna Canyon Road as a state scenic highway. Council votes unanimously to support state senic highway designation.

26 July 2007, City Debates Traffic Causes, Coastline Pilot. The city debates frequent traffic jam on Laguna Canyon Road at El Toro Road due to a private school and design by Caltrans.

27 October 2006, Road to Safety, Coastline Pilot. A ribbon-cutting brings closure to long-planned Laguna Canyon Road realignment which realigned 3.9 miles of the highway from the toll road to I-4-5, added another lane in each direction (north- and south-bound lanes to be separated by landscaping), on-road bike lanes, an improved the entrance to Nix Nature Center.

25 December 2005,  Laguna Canyon Road Project, Coastline Pilot. The four-mile project will expand the roadway to two lanes in each direction, divided by a median that separates the north- and southbound lanes by landscaping and elevation and moves the road west, away from two natural lakes. A committee was charged with reaching a consensus to reduce objections by Laguna Beach environmentalists. Safety and flooding was a concern that motivated participants. Meetings on the project were conducted privately generating criticism the State Brown Act was violated. "We can't tell how the road will work until it's completed," said Laguna Canyon Conservancy President Carolyn Wood, who served on the consensus committee. "Hopefully, by the time it gets done, it will do what is supposed to and reduce accidents."

26 April 2002, Board OK's Plans to Move Canyon Road Utilities Underground, Coastline Pilot.  The county will pay almost $4 million to bury utility lines when widening begins on Laguna Canyon Road between El Toro and the 73.  The state's Public Utilities Commission (the board) requires utility lines to be buried at the time of road construction for a county improvement project. The board identified the Laguna Canyon project as its No. 1 priority

22 May 1988, Widening Laguna Canyon Road, Los Angeles Times. With over 900 accidents 30 deaths over five years and threat from multimillion-dollar suits beyond the current 30 pending litigations, the state considers removing highway status from Laguna Canyon Road making it a LB city owned street. The state title would be removed from El Toro Road to the village. 

26 February 1988, Coastal Commission again Rejects Caltrans Plan to Widen Canyon, Laguna Coastline. Following nine years of planning proposals the California Coastal Commission puts the kibosh on a Caltrans plan to widen Laguna Canyon Road at Big Bend.

CC Ended '88 Laguna Canyon Road Re-alignment

The City/Caltrans proposal of 1979-1988 to widen Laguna Canyon Road at Big Bend ended this way.

LCR Road-realignment Chronology '79-'88

The city of Laguna Beach has retained another consultant and formed another public task force to explore road re-alignments, roundabouts, and traffic lane options for road improvements to Laguna Canyon Road. Here is a chronology of events when re-alignment was explored in 1979-1988.

January 1988 Los Angeles Times

From 1979 to 1988 the City of Laguna Beach and state regulators attempted to find a balance between increasing car traffic flow, improving road safety and maintaining the ecology at Laguna Canyon Road's Big Bend.  In 1979 the city council voted for a road realignment from 2-lanes to 4-lanes at Big Bend.

Caltrans prepared plans for the project with review by both the California Coastal Commission and Laguna City Council with city staff acting liaison between the state regulators and Council. Each of the contributing regulators  approved or disapproved of project plans over this time period depending on plan content and project objectives.  The table shows the difficulty in the approval process over time. At four agents could not agree to the plan before them at the same time.

Difficulty in consensus process TRUE=approval FALSE=disapproval

The LAT Chronology reveals Caltrans plans were too ambitions for Coastal Commission approvals while city staff valiantly looked for an agreeable compromise. Between '79 and '86 City Council reversed their position on widening Big Bend. From '86 to '88 Council also could not find agreement despite two design plans submitted by Caltrans.  -LS

26 Years of Widening LCR

For the Thanksgiving Holidays: Here's a nostalgic journey from newspaper accounts about widening Laguna Canyon Road beginning with an interview with Larry Hunt at Big Bend, this article from  January 1988 in the Los Angeles Times. (click to enlarge).

At the time Caltrans official Ronald Kosinski argued LCR should be widened to accommodate traffic demands from growing nearby communities and elevated vehicle speed. Kosninski said drivers would be able to take the proposed widened big-bend curve at 60mph.  Cooler heads prevailed, Councilman Robert F. Gentry said "I can't see how size and speed will serve residents of Laguna Beach."

Coming-up: the chronology of the big-bend roadway decision.

Laguna's Roundabout Moves Cars Not People

Here is a comparison between two roundabouts, one accommodates pedestrians and cyclists the other does not.

The city of Laguna Beach is considering a plan to include traffic roundabouts on Laguna Canyon Road at these traffic intersections: El Toro Road, Phillips Road, Anneliese Schools. The video shows an experiment where roundabouts increased car traffic flow by 20% over 4-way stops and increases car traffic safety. Notice the cars in a queue behind stop-signs disappear when the roundabout is used. Also notice the absence of walkers, cyclists in these provisions, the roundabout does not consider other transportation modes it serves mostly cars. The city's plan does not consider other transport modes in their mobility plan, but don't we have enough cars already?

For contrast here's a balanced roundabout in Amsterdam designed for all four modes.

-LS

Van Gogh Cycle-Track Art

Here is a training tool for pedestrians crossing a cycle track at night. Poorly illuminated Laguna roadways would benefit from irridesent paving are Sunvalley Road, Monterey, Virginia, Catalina, Sawdust, Village Entrance, Forest Alley, Canyon Acres, Temple Terrace. Energized by the sun during daytime requires no additional artificial lighting.

Inspired by small ideas the perfect bike-rack is conceived in assorted sizes.

See more Inspiring ideas from Europe at This is Colossal.

Pop-Up Downtown Public Workshop

• Trial Pedestrian Zone      
• Downtown Improvements
• Community Feedback      
• Visualize building heights
• Parking Improvements      

The workshop will be very innovative and allow the City to obtain valuable community feedback while the community enjoys some food, music and conversation about the vision of the Downtown.

Get the Downtown Specific Plan Update here.
Get the complete Workshop flyer here.

REGISTER for Tour-de-Coop SUNDAY

The tour is this Sunday Nov. 2

 

Cluck for details here

Cluck for registration here

Newport Beach ADOPTS Bicycle Master Plan

From the City of Newport Beach:

BREAKING NEWS! 

At the October 28, 2014 Newport Beach City Council meeting, the Council unanimously adopted the 2014 City of Newport Beach Bicycle Master Plan and authorized City Staff to move forward with the Implementation Stage of the over 130 facility recommendations and over 30 program recommendations.  The City Council and Project Team are grateful to the Bicycle Master Plan Oversight Committee and community members for their role in the creation of this landmark document.

The Final Bicycle Master Plan can be found at:
2014 City of Newport Beach Bicycle Master Plan

Terms:
"Unanimously" = City Council adopted by unanimous vote
"Adopted" = integrated with the General Plan, City of Newport Beach
"Implementation Stage" = allocate funding, spend money, build infrastructure
"Landmark" = never been done before

In 2010 a draft Laguna Beach Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan was prepared by residents and offered to the city of Laguna Beach. See a copy here.

Stu News: Another Ped Hit

Thanks for raising the speed limits CalTRANS!

City of Laguna Beach: Thanks for watching.

The El Morro Elementary "Death Trap"

El Morro back-up 16 October 2014

This back-up occurs daily on Pacific Coast Highwy at El Morro. It has been four months since the fatal accident at Emerald Bay and only three days since the fatal cycling accident caused by an inebriated reckless driver at Crystal Cove (scroll down for links). What has been done by Caltrans or municipalities to prevent more fatalities? They cut -back the freeway daises.

The back-up at El Morro was described by Kurt Knepper 16 October 2014 this way:

"Here is a picture of the El Moro Elementary "Death Trap".. Do to poor policies every morning cars line up illegally in the No Stopping shoulder to enter the school forcing cyclists on to the roadway.. This morning I watched this cyclist almost get hit twice as cars whizzed by at freeway speeds..
Unfortunately, this area is not patrolled by LBPD, because it's outside of City limits.. Sadly someone will need to die or get hurt, before this death trap is stopped!"   

A related story warns of the Emerald Bay back-up, it was posted one month before the cycling fatality in the exact same location.      -LS

Hit-and-Run Killed Cyclist Crystal Cove Sunday

Hit and Run, DUI, with prior felony record is        ~ SUSPECTED~

"The driver has a prior conviction for driving under the influence and was arrested on multiple charges, including felony DUI, hit and run, narcotics possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said."

Some Complete Streets Policy we have. Caltrans doesn't follow their own directive.

UPDATES:

Corona Del Mar Today: here.  Comment: "I think this accident could be prevented and this was the fault of Laguna Beach Police and paramedic."

Newport Beach CdM Patch: here.  23yo strikes cyclist.

Newport Beach CdM Patch: here.  Driver is a narcotics counselor.

OC Register has the story here.

A Roadmap to "The Marginalization of Bicyclists"

This is a historical account of roadway access from the US cyclists perspective, it shows how the motorized vehicle gained dominance of the roadway through popularity and negligent policy decisions.

  The Very Short Summary

The Marginalization of Bicyclists

•  1897: In the beginning, bicycles were vehicles and bicyclists were drivers
•  1930: Bicycles are declared non-vehicles
•  1911 – today: Road lane-lines become common
•  1944: If you can’t keep up, you don’t belong (in the lane)
•  1968: Motorcyclists not bikes entitled to full use of a lane
•  1975: Bicycles redefined as vehicles not entitled to full lane (the Far to Right rule)
•  1975: Exceptions are made to FTR rule for road hazards and left turns
•  Today: Conflicting FTR rule and laned roads exclude bikes

Get a longer historical summary here.

For the full narrative see: 

"The Marginalization of Bicyclists", Robert M. Shanteau PhD, Brian DeSousa, Keri Caffrey ,  www.iamtraffic.org

Roadway Use Empathy or Entitlement?

On Bike Street in Rotterdam the sign says "Cars are Guests"

Vehicular harassment Hwy 27 Kentucky (click for Video)

WARNING: Abusive Red-Neck trucker language.

Photo credit to Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland.
Photo credit for "Bike-a-thon for Cherokee Schill", Examiner.com.

The Laguna Beach Tour de Coop!

One month from today!



2 November 2014

Anneliese Schools Willowbrook Campus 9:00am

Click for Details

The eye of the chicken is upon you so

Don't forget!

A Patriot Act

Be a patriot every day.

Laguna Beach Shunned by PCH Bike Tour!

The California Surf N Turf bicycle tour follows PCH Santa Barbara to San Diego

 •SoCal By Bike 2014 Bike Tour • “Surf N Turf” • Oct. 31-Nov. 5

 

 

 Ride promoters know the road dangers through Laguna Beach, best to avoid that city altogether.

How pathetic of Laguna Beach but hey they are consistent!

For tour details contact The California Bicycle Coalition.

 

New Motorist Passing Law

Now it's the Law

California Vehicle Code Text:

CVC 21760 subsections of interest:
(c) A driver of a motor vehicle shall not overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.

(d) If the driver of a motor vehicle is unable to comply with subdivision (c), due to traffic or roadway conditions, the driver shall slow to a speed that is reasonable and prudent, and may pass only when doing so would not endanger the safety of the operator of the bicycle, taking into account the size and speed of the motor vehicle and bicycle, traffic conditions, weather, visibility, and surface and width of the highway.

 

San Clemente Mobility Plan Wins Best in California

The city of San Clemente planned for the transportation plan of 2050. In recognition of vision and execution they won the American Planning Association Award of Merit for the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The city's "walk-the-talk" advocate for balanced mobility planning Brenda Miller won the Advocate of the Year award. The awards recognize the pair are distinguished as the  two best in the entire state of California.   Is Laugna Beach too NIMBY to look south?  -LS

Award Ceremony

WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 16, 6-ish pm (6:15 should be ok, but parking may be tight).

WHERE: San Clemente City Council chambers

AFTER TOAST: "Tall Can Tuesday" Special at Nomads 

Canteen (thanks to the OC Bike Coalition!)

MAP: Meeting Awards Map (with bike route if you want to arrive via Metrolink)

TRAIN TIMES: Metrolink OC line schedule

"E-Bike Sales Surging in Europe" NY Times

Deutsche Post' Iris Marossek delivers to 1500 residents daily

"David Stellini recently bought an e-bike with a cargo carrier in front to carry his two small children around. He works as a spokesman for the European People’s Party, the largest center - right political party in the Parliament, and has been commuting to work by car.

A recent traffic snarl during a visit by President Obama pushed Mr. Stellini, 37, over the top."  "E-Bike Sales Surging in Europe", NY Times, 18 August 2014.

This Week's Featured Op-Ed

LB Independent, August 22, 2014, p29

For more letters like these visit the Laguna Beach Indepedent.

City Council Agenda Items

The Laguna Beach City Council will consider two agenda bill Items 16 and 21 important to alternative transportation solutions for Laguna Beach.

Alignment #6 calls for paving this trail

Item 16."TOP OF THE WORLD PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY ALIGNMENT SELECTION AND DESIGN CONTRACT AMENDMENT"

The Council will consider the Moulton Meadows Trail project renamed the Top of the World Pedestrian Pathway. After completion in July 2015 students of TOW Elementary can choose to walk to school from Arch Beach Heights. For details read Agenda Item #16 on this agenda bill.

The city considered 6 trail alignments, the final alignment does not meet the original design goals identified by the city task force for proximity to private residences, privacy, grade (slope) and public easement.  It does not minimize construction costs.  Here is the  city staff report with a drawing of final alignment #6.

Petition supporting MMT

Item 21. "SPEED LIMITS AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ON CITY AND CALTRANS STREETS" 

This bill directs the city manager to write a letter to Caltrans asking for options to improve pedestrian safety on Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road. It also directs the city manager to investigate options for reducing speed limits near Thurston Intermediate and the High School.

Laguna Beach leads as the most dangerous city for cyclists and pedestrians in 107 cities across Orange County. In view of continuing injuries and fatalities on Laguna's streets these measures are welcome news for a city with this record.  -LS

The Campaign in Review

The Kick-Off

promises promises...

Gone Riding...

Memorial Bike Ride Sunday 20 July 2014

Photo Credit: Shayna Colvin

Memorial Ceremony Sunday 20 July 2014

Photo Credit: Laguna Streets