Going to Downtown Los Angeles? Leave Your Car At Home!

A Day Without Traffic: Carmageddon

At last week’s Bike Network Open House, Councilman Jose Huizar presented awards to the people who’d been most instrumental in turning downtown LA into a cyclist’s paradise. (It’s on its way!) As part of the 2010 Bike Plan, many miles of bike lanes have been introduced in the downtown region historically defined by its freeway borders. Aside from the bus service which has always served Los Angeles, most Metro lines pass through downtown LA, and are much more cyclist friendly (and more pleasant) than the busses.

“In the past few decades, we prioritized cars in downtown, and got ride of our great public transit. Now that more people have discovered downtown as a place to do more than work, there’s more demand to make it more walkable.”

-Jose Huizar

Huizar also stated a goal of breaking ground on a streetcar line running up Bunker Hill by 2014. The trolley representative told me that they mainly see tourists and shoppers benefitting from the trolley which will also run down Broadway. There is a bit of a conflict with the road diet Seventh Street is committed to, though. Later this year, the Seventh Street bike lanes will be continued through downtown, halving the lanes for cars, but creating a left turn center lane, which will ease congestion as it has on the rest of Seventh Street.

Alexis Lantz of the LA County Bicycle Coalition was awarded for their work in cycling advocacy. LACBC does a tremendous amount of work to make it easier and safer for Angelenos to break free of their cages.

“We’re trying to make cycling more fun, enjoyable and part of everyone’s daily travel. Between 2000 and 2010, we saw a 50% increase in daily cycling in Los Angeles. Since the Spring Street protected bike lane was installed in 2011, there are 52% more cyclists on Spring Street.”

-Alexis Lantz

Valerie Watson, Downtown LA Neighborhood Council Board Member and Urban Designer, was awarded for her work in neighborhood improvements, particularly in the very residential Old Bank District.

“Back when I first moved here, Ricky the Pirate didn’t even have a place to sit! He just wandered the streets!”

–Valerie Watson
Ricky still wanders mostly, but the DLANC is working to install parklets in some parking spaces to create more pedestrian-friendly streets. More about that and how to sponsor a parklet or donate (in kind donations welcome too!) at dlanc.org. Another important development is LA/2B, featured here previously. Anyone can pipe in about how they’d like to change the transportation infrastructure of Los Angeles. Bike Nation was also present to show off the bike share program they’re bringing to Los Angeles:

Los Angeles is undergoing a massive cultural change as she shifts away from cars. Most of the politicians I’ve met or heard from are huge proponents of improving Los Angeles’ cycling infrastructure. Some even commute via bicycle or public transit. As the city’s population continues to swell, the need for smaller footprint transportation becomes more dire. What was once known as a massive suburban sprawl with no core is becoming a proper megacity with a thriving downtown and truly useful public transit as well as the cycling infrastructure a city with 15″ annual rainfall should have.

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Tags: Cycling, government policy, Infrastructure, Los Angeles, public transit

About the Author

Susanna Schick Susanna is passionate about anything fast and electric. As long as it's only got two wheels. She covers electric motorcycle racing events, test rides electric motorcycles, and interviews industry leaders. Occasionally she deigns to cover automobile events in Los Angeles for us as well. However, she dreams of a day when Los Angeles' streets resemble the two-wheeled paradise she discovered living in Barcelona and will not rest until she's converted the masses to two-wheeled bliss.

vetcl

But do bring your oxygen tank.
- Susanna Schick
  
  Not anymore. As any of us who’ve lived here for decades can attest, the air is MUCH cleaner than it used to be. Thanks, in part, to jerks like me who got a free notepad from the South Coast Air Quality Management District in the early 90’s. I’d write down the plate number of any vehicle with excessive tailpipe emissions, send it in, and they’d send the vehicle owner a friendly letter. Or send a death squad to put their car out of its misery. I never did find out exactly what they did with the information. SCAQMD and CARB (California Air Resources Board) have not been wasting our tax dollars. Between developing the nation’s strictest emissions requirements for cars and the fact that practically all of our busses now running on CNG, the air is indeed quite breathable.
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