Mayor's Bike Summit

This morning Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held his first (and hopefully not last) bike summit.  The Mayor's recent bike accident seems to have sparked his sudden concern for bicyclists in L.A. and served as the impetus for putting together the bike summit.  Although several advocates criticized the timing of the meeting--Monday morning is not a great time for most people--the summit seemed to be a step in the right direction. 

Bicyclists packed the Metro board room for the two hour meeting, which was lead by the Mayor and a panel including LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson,...
MTA CEO Art Leahy, City Planning General Manager Michael LoGrande, and LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese.  One of the first orders of business was former Mayor Richard Riordan's presentation of training wheels to Mayor Villaraigosa and his encouragement to get back on his bike and make L.A. the bikeable city it could be.

The Mayor and panelists took questions and comments on a range of bicycle issues, including the City's Draft Bike Plan, poor or non-existent bicycle facilities, aggressive and careless drivers, the police department's enforcement of safe driving, the PD's need to continue to improve its relationship with bicyclists, and the MTA's intentions to better integrate bicycling into its bus and rail network. 

The Mayor and other panelists also highlighted the draft Bike Plan, which sets a goal of 1,600 miles of bikeways, with 200 miles built in the next five years.  Several comments from the audience challenged the Mayor to keep his word on this iteration of the Bike Plan, since much of the 1996 plan has remained on a shelf gathering dust.  The Mayor discussed making progress reports of projects available online to provide greater transparency and to keep the departments involved accountable.

Other comments focused on the need for outreach and education for motorists and bicyclists.  The Mayor will be putting together public service announcements and said he hoped to encourage other agencies and organizations to also promote bicycle awareness and safety.

Councilmember and Transportation Committee chair Bill Rosendahl spoke in support of a law that would require drivers to allow three feet on the road when passing cyclists.  His proposal, which is the law in many other states, garnered loud applause and the Mayor said he would lobby in support of a three-foot passing law.  Councilmember Rosendahl also spoke about better enforcement of vehicle laws and creating a private cause of action for cyclists involved in collisions.

While most of the comments and many of the Mayor's (brief) responses drew applause, I got the sense that many people in the audience, myself included, won't really believe it until we see it.  Besides calls for more and better bike infrastructure, many of the comments boil down to the need for more awareness and education--something the Mayor says he'll work to promote.

The Mayor's only proposal that prompted boos from the audience was his intention to lobby for an across-the-board state helmet law.  Citing his own accident, he argued that it should be a part of safer cycling in Los Angeles.  For my part and what I sense is the prevailing opinion--although a couple of people stated their support of his proposal--I think a helmet law hurts making bicycling more prevalent and more viable as transportation.  And as Roadblock noted, Copenhagen, which the Mayor visited recently and cited as a part of his inspiration to make LA better for cycling, has much lower rates of accidents and very low helmet use.

The Summit was successful overall, although a number of audience members and the Mayor and panelists spoke of the red tape that has stifled bike projects.  In order for this Summit to be the start of moving LA towards being a bicycle-friendly city among the ranks of Long Beach, Portland, Seattle, and New York, the consensus is that this must be the first of many summits and progress reports.  To promote the cultural shift the Mayor spoke of, he needs to lead by example. 

The Mayor also opened the Summit by saying that he is not a cyclist.  This was a mistake.  In order for LA to join the ranks of bicycle-friendly cities, he needs to identify himself as one.  As someone pointed out at the Summit, Mr. Mayor, if you ride a bike, then you are a cyclist.  LA doesn't need a fearless road warrior or spandex-clad weekend racer for Mayor, because those people will continue to ride whether or not LA becomes more bike friendly.  LA needs a Mayor who advocates for bicycling and for making it safe for everyone who isn't comfortable riding in LA's streets today.  LA needs a Mayor who can safely ride his bike with training wheels (courtesy of former mayor Riordan) and promote a cultural change that makes LA a place where kids grow up able do the same.  Stay tuned to see if the Mayor's broken elbow has transformed him into the advocate LA needs for that to become reality.    


I'd also like to thank everyone involved with the bike corral at the Summit.  Usually when I go to Union Station I end up locking my bike to a railing thanks to the dearth of bike racks (not exactly promoting multi-modal transportation).