Radschnellweg Munchen Deutschland (Bike Freeways)

Radschnellweg Munchen, Germany

Germany is building bicycle freeways (Radschnellweg) exclusively for bicycle commuters. CycLAvia reports the latest one is between 10 German cities, including Duisburg, Bochum, and Hamm, and planned to remove 50,000 cars from existing roads. That would work well for Laguna Beach where Laguna Canyon Road's capacity is expected to carry 56,000 (ADT) per day by 2020. Irvine to Laguna on the Old RT-185 would work so nice!

-LS

Fremont's Tesla to Test Solar Roof

Click CNBC Story

The Fremont plant will begin testing of Tesla's Solar City architectural roof tiles, one leg of the solar economy triad (collection-distribution-storage) for a fleet of electric cars. Will Laguna Beach ignore the possibilities and deny municipal power? 

-LS

LB City Agenda Bill for SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT

In the Agenda Bill for Tuesday July 9 2019 are two agenda items affecting significant development, parking and traffic in Laguna Beach. See Items 7,19. 

ITEM 19: REVIEW PROCESS FOR SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND CONSIDERATION OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

In the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a Laguna Beach Corporation and the City of Laguna Beach are these beauties:

      11. The Parties agree to explore whether a housing development on a vacant parcel at the intersection of Laguna Canyon Road and Canyon Acres is feasible and in the best interest of the City.

      12. The Parties agree to pursue projects and programs that will provide all of the necessary parking for guests, patrons, visitors, and employees, to prevent traffic congestion and detrimental impacts to nearby neighborhoods.

Traffic count measurements, origin-destination studies, compliance with Complete Streets Policy mandates are not specified. Looks like Laguna Beach City is shooting from the hip again.

     Read the full Agenda Bill here.
     Item 19 Staff report here. 

-LS

Can Parking Poison Laguna Beach?

If a UCLA distinguished professor of urban planning says excess parking poisons cities, shouldn't Laguna's planners and residents pay attention?

From Professor Shoup's Podcast in brief:

• P-districts should reinvest parking revenues into local neighborhoods
• Mandated minimum parking is a disease masquerading as cure
• Off-street parking discourages a vibrant urban landscape
• For more housing and less traffic:
• STOP promoting parking everywhere
• START promoting housing to build community

-LS

Take ACTION: Senate Bill 127 for Complete Streets

NATCO Performance Measures

This is an urgent call to action. The Cal Senate votes 8 July 2019.

 The California Legislature found that pedestrians cyclists and other non-motorized roadway users are disproportionately injured or killed in relation to motorized roadway users. SB-127 seeks to enforce provisions to improve non-motorized roadway user safety. Encourage your district assemblyman to vote YES on SB-127. To find your assemblyman simply insert your address and click-to-send your support - takes 30 seconds. 

Calbike vote YES page for support email is here. 

Calbike page explaining Complete Streets Policy here. 

The California Legislature found (abbreviated) that:

a) A household survey finds that walking and bicycling trips have doubled between 2000 and 2012 and constitute nearly 20 percent of all California trips.

(b) People walking and bicycling are killed or seriously injured in California at much higher rates than car drivers or passengers.

(c) An update in 2014 now requires The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to consider complete streets in all phases of design, delivery, construction, and rehabilitation on all projects.

(d) Caltrans adopted Strategic Management Plan 2015-2020, 2015–2020, which includes goals to triple bicycling and double walking by 2020, which cannot be achieved without significant improvements to infrastructure and safety on major roadways and highways.

(e) The SMP also includes goals to include “complete streets” improvements on an increasing number of projects between 2015 and 2020.

The objectives of the Bill are set in requirements (abbreviated) that:

1. This bill would require a process for community input and complete streets implementation to prioritize safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users on all proects, as specified. 
2. The bill would require that projects starting in 2020 2022 meet specified requirements set forth as part of the State Highway Operation and Protection Program.
3. The bill would require the California Transportation Commission, to adopt performance measures that include conditions of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, accessibility and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, and vehicle miles traveled on the state highway system. 
4. The bill would require that the State Highway Operation and Protection Program projects include capital improvements relative to accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. 
5. The bill would require that each project include in its budget the cost of pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
6. The bill would require the department, commencing with the 2022 State Highway Operation and Protection Program, when undertaking any a specified capital improvement project on a state highway ... to include or improve new pedestrian and bicycle facilities. 

Full Bill Text here.    UPDATE: SB 127 Result: PASS   (10:3 vote)

-LS 

The LB Traffic Time-BOMB

Laguna's parking demand and traffic congestion grows exponentially, so what does exponential growth of congestion look like?  Let's use rice on a chessboard with 8x8=64 squares to demonstrate exponential growth.

The time elapsed for Laguna's car population to double is called the doubling period. Imagine each grain of rice on the chessboard is a car and each square represents the doubling period in years. The sequence goes 1,2,4,8,16,32 years and so on. For a growth rate at 6-percent the doubling period is 12 years. If the first horse and buggy arrived in 1900 and cars followed, the car population doubled in 1912, 1924, 1936 and so on.  Watch what happens to the population of cars.

Exponential growth means the number of cars using our streets will double and so must the spaces needed to park them, the condition when all the public space for cars is occupied is called saturation.  Urban consultants (RBF, MIG) have told us the demand for parking grows at 4.5-percent per year while Caltrans tells us in 2015 peak traffic volume growth was 13.5%.*

It should be clear Laguna Beach cannot build enough roads or parking to accommodate the exponential growth of cars nor faster than Japan/Germany/Detroit can build them. Lagunatics need to use alternatives to the car and both the city of Laguna Beach and Caltrans should provide the infrastructure.

*Caltrans SR-133 Peak traffic growth factors from base year 2015 are 2023: 13.5% and 2043: 6.25%  

-LS 

Councilman of Amsterdam: Remove 10,000 Parking Spaces

"When you take a boat trip in Amsterdam canals the first thing you see are the fronts of cars. " - Zeeger Ernsting Member of City Council Amsterdam.  Councilman Ernsting promised Amsterdam if elected he would remove 10,000 parking spaces downtown. He Won. As promised the Councilman of Amsterdam is removing parking spaces. To see why watch the video. (Credit Streetfilms)

-LS

Housing Transportation and Budget Gov. Newsom

Highlights from Governor Newsom's budget presentation made today:

• $2 Billion for homeless and housing initiatives
• Creation of housing targets for all California regions 
• Withdraw transportation revenue from regions not building enough
• Proponents say tie transportation funds to housing goals
• Coupling transportation and housing gives local governments incentive
• Middle class squeezed by housing costs
• Unaffordable housing demands increasing density multi-use buildings
• Democratic super majority will determine budget spending

For more summary or full interview see KPCC AirTalk interview here.  

-LS

May is Bike Month in Laguna

OCTA Bike to Work Month

It's the start of visitor season in Laguna Beach. With parking lots 10 and 11 under construction* now would be a good time to consider biking instead of driving. Pledge bike-to-work one day in May and you can win a bike from OCTA. To celebrate Bike Month OCTA is hosting a Bike Rally in Orange. Friday May 17 is National Bike to Work Day, here are tips to plan your bike commute.

Here is the bike-to-work 2019 pledge 

Here is the Bike Rally RSVP.

Here is some Bike Safety Awareness.

Here is more information about the OCTA bike-on-bus, track your bike-miles with STRAVA.

*P-Lot 11 opens May 6, ready for oil stains.

-LS

Laguna Canyon Road SR-133 Realignment for Approval Tonight

The Laguna Canyon Road segment favored for Canyon Acres to El Toro Road.

Click for city Agenda, Item #12

Features of this design

• Four new traffic lights
• Underground utility power
• On-road Class II Class IV bike lanes
• Reversible HOV Lane for cars
• Lane width reduction
• Total Cost Estimated: $122 Million

Missing from disclosure

• Compliance with Caltrans roadway safety Directive-64
• Measure for traffic speed reduction
• Driving criteria for traffic model success (roadway user counts)
• Specification for Complete Streets Policy 
• Transit and rail

-LS