MIT Autonomous Bike Project

 Check this out.

Because 50% of US trips are 5-miles or less, a bike-share fleet would reduce the need for very expensive parking structures and reduce the reliance on Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV). 

-LS

Best US Cities to Bike Rankings

 

People for Bikes in Boulder CO rated and ranked US cities as best places to bike, Laguna ranks "32" of 100 points. Boulder ranks "66" in the TOP TEN while Dana Point and Newport show no ranking yet. For details on the Laguna ranking see People for Bikes City Rankings. 

-LS

KILL the BIKE-SHARE SENATE BILL

Given the increasing safety risk of eBikes to pedestrians and to riders themselves, Laguna Beach has NO bicycle infrastructure and no Bike Share provisions to make bike riding more safe.  

Meanwhile a bill from the California State Seante Insurance Committee has drafted an obscure bill with a devastating impact on bike and scooter share systems in California. Please tell your senator to vote NO on AB 371, the Kill Bike-Share Bill. Email link below. 

Bike sharing systems have already reduced car traffic by millions of miles and provided an essential last-mile link for public transit. The insurance requirement in AB 371 will end this valuable transportation option, put more cars on the road, and make our streets less safe. 

 The Kill Bike-Share Bill is bad for our communities and bad for California. Tell your senator to vote NO on AB 371 — it just takes a minute. https://www.calbike.org/take_action/save-bike-share/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=32e4dbb2-0da1-44f2-b124-141098fb58d4&sl_tc=Email

-LS

Did Vision 2030 Influence Laguna's General Plan?

LAGUNA BEACH VISION 2030 STRATEGIC PLAN

The Laguna Beach Vision 2030 Strategic Plan  begins:

 What will Laguna Beach be like thirty-years from now?  Will we congratulate ourselves on what we have achieved or lament on what we have lost?    

In 1999 the Laguna Beach City Council responded to this concern and appointed a steering committee to carry-out a strategic vision and planning process for Laguna Beach, the Vision 2030 Plan was the result. In all, 2000 residents, students, consultants and community organizations participated in collecting a database of concerns, identifying the shared vision, recording core values, and planning for implementation.   The final plan was published in December 2001. 

The Plan is organized into seven themes identifying strategic goals and implementation actions for each theme. These goals and actions contain keyword phrases that reappear throughout the Plan, for the present study fifty-six goals and eighty-eight actions were identified and counted.

GOALS [56]

accommodate bicycles | accommodate pedestrians | accountable standards accountability | aesthetic character | art colony | beach community | community  dialogue | community participation | cultural facilities | design study | disaster  protection | encourage bicycle | enhance communication | enhance contact | enhance  diversity | enhance honor | enhance spirit | environmental law | environmental  education | environmental sustainability | governance models | historical character | identify pollution | information technology | innovative parking | integrate arts | integrate projects | laguna vitality | light development | long term thinking | low impact | parking strategy | pedestrian solutions |  pedestrian-friendly | preserve ocean  | preserve | open space | promote arts promote identity | protect ocean | protect open space | protection | recognize arts | regional growth | resident friendly | resident  serving | residents priority | small town | strategic planning | traffic circulation | transit  system | unique character | urban design | vibrant downtown | village charm | vision laguna enterprise

ACTIONS [88]

add parking | adequate parking | aesthetic experience | aesthetic improvements |  affordable housing | alternative governance | artist live-work | arts center | bicycle  plan | bike lane | bike path | bicycle pedestrian management plan | BPMP |  business ombudsman | citizen safety | commercial design character |  commercial use | community education  | community events | community  newsletter | conduct analysis | consistent application | consistent enforcement |  community arts center | coordinating committee | cultural arts plan | downtown  area | economic | eforums | election process | entry points | environmental  sustainability | environmental committee | erosion control | european plaza |  existing spaces | expand arts venues | facilitate speakers | handbook | historic  resources | intellectual exchange | kiosks | laguna foundation | lifeguard  protection | livable communities analysis | live-work facilities | market research  study | meeting places | mixed use | mixed-use | ocean laguna | office economic |  open space | outside social spaces | oversight committee | parking and traffic  analysis | parking analysis | pedestrian path | pedestrian plan | pedestrian use |  pedestrian way | pedestrian zone | people oriented | peripheral parking | project  teams | promenade | promote vision | public education | public input | remote  parking | resident intellectuals | resource directory | retain beauty canyon | retain  character canyon | scenic improvements | sewage system | task force | town hall |  traffic analysis | trail linkages | transform coast highway | transform PCH | transit  ridership | traffic analysis | vision process | visioning process | website 

LAGUNA BEACH GENERAL PLAN

A General Plan provides guiding principles for a city's leadership and residents to achieve  the vision of its future, the GP is a long-range plan for city urban development. A  city has the freedom to decide what the plan includes however there are requirements under California state law the plan must meet, failure to do so could result in suspension of future urban development. 

The Laguna Beach General Plan regulates public policy to define and protect community resources, the plan is found on the city website here. The Plan consists of nine elements: Housing Element, Human Needs Element, Land Use Element, Circulation Element, and Open Space Element are among them. The Plan's latest revisions span  1976 to 2021, the Housing Element was last updated in 2021. Residents and the steering committee prepared goals and actions in the Vision 2030 Plan to address the concern for Laguna's future, whether or not those goals and city actions actually enter the city General Plan  policy document creates the same concern.

 The charts below show this linkage between the Vision 2030 Plan and the General Plan Elements as of June 2022. One chart for GOALS and one for ACTIONS was created for each of five Elements. The charts show the frequency the keywords in the Vision 2030 Plan actually appear in the five General Plan Elements. The charts show whether the goals and actions intended are planned for action and implementation in the General Plan. Keywords that do not appear in the charts were missing from the General Plan altogether.

GOALS in General Plan

 ACTIONS in General Plan

CONCLUSION:   For LAND USE and HOUSING Elements the influence from the Vision 2030 exercise is marginal, while for HUMAN NEEDS, OPEN SPACE AND CIRCULATION there is no influence at all. From this study there is little evidence the goals and actions from Vision 2030 entered the city General Plan. Would a rewrite of the Vision 2030 Plan influence a new General Plan?  Probably not. How effective is Laguna's General Plan for implementing those GOALS and ACTIONS? Yogi Berra said it best:   "IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU WILL END UP SOMEWHERE ELSE."

-LS

It's VOTING DAY! Road Safety Ballot Measures

Over the last decade pedestrian and bike accidents and fatalities are on the rise. Here are two initiatives you can take to improve roadway safety.

From America Walks (Annandale VA) is a one-click comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHSTA for improving vehicle design to protect other roadway users here.

People for Bikes (Boulder CO) are promoting legislation in 7 states, 6 measures in Califonia to build multi-use paths, bike-lanes, and rail/bike conversions. The measures A, D, F, M and more are explained by People for Bikes here. Be sure to vote for measures on your ballot.

-LS

Car-Free Paradise or Parking Pit

Some world class cities made the choice: Oslo, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich Brussels. Some cities reserve a small part of downtown as car-free, a paradise for pedestrians cyclists and trolley users. Here's how World Economic Forum presents Ljubljana in Slovenia: Ljubljana goes Car-Free

Laguna Beach has a choice: car-free paradise or parking pit. 

-LS