Ghost of L.A. Bike Plans Past

The $100 million that went towards this grade separation on Valley Blvd., currently under construction, could have built L.A.'s entire bike infrastructure. I know this because the ghost of an old L.A. Bike Plan told me so. Read on for more details.

The City of Los Angeles is having it's Bicycle Plan updated. The last time the City of L.A. had it's Bicycle Plan updated was in 2002. I was reminded of this fact tonight, as I sat organizing the mounds of digital research and reading I've done over the past three years. The ghost of an Bicycle Plan past re-revealed it's insights to me tonight, and I would like to share what I found so many months ago (but hadn't remembered to tell anyone about until now).

For your future reference, you can look up a lot of old L.A. city council business in the Los Angeles City Clerk's "Council File Index" web-site.

The motion that approved the 2002 Bike Plan, with the juicy tid-bits I am going to share with you, is identified with Council File Number 01-2396.

Juicy quote number one (I want a copy of this report!), from pg. 100 of CF 01-2396:

"Planning for Safe Urban Bicycling: An Analysis of Bicycle Collisions in Los Angeles

In 2000, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation undertook an evaluation of its bicyclist / motor vehicle conflicts between the years of 1994 and 1998. The project evaluated 6,611 traffic collisions involving bicycles and attempted to assess the safety of bicycling in Los Angeles. The study also sought to identify factors influencing bicycle safety which the City could address in future bicycle policy, in planning efforts, as well as in educational and capital projects in order to improve bicycle safety in the future."

It would be a great public benefit to see this analysis of over 6,500 bike vs. car collisions in L.A. in a digital format (I will accept .pdf in my inbox - ubrayj02@yahoo.com). I can only imagine the insight one would be able to gain by taking a look at this raw data. I wonder where this information on collisions came from? Is this data still being collected? Is it comprehensive?

So many questions, so little political will.

Oh my goodness!

That reminds me, there is one more thing from Council File 01-2396 that I wanted to tell you about. Here is the quote and the table it references from pg 102-103 of CF 01-2396:

"As presented in the accompanying table, the aggregate cost of full development of the Citywide Bikeway System is approximately $60.7 million.

To completely build out the Citywide Bikeway System, in a little over a decade, it would take about as much money as the city spends annually on traffic guards at congested intersections (The city spends a little less than $4 million on guards at congested intersections, annually).

The recommendation in the 2002 Bike Plan to have the City of Los Angeles fight for a 40% share of the MTA"S Call For Projects Bikeways funding fell on deaf ears in the years after the plan was approved.

Instead, things like this happened: Mayor Villaraigosa worked his influence on the MTA in 2006 and 2007 to bring $100 million of the MTA's Call For Projects dollars to pay for a Valley Blvd. grade separation in Councilman Huizar's district. It was an election year for the councilman, and the mayor wanted his replacement in Council District 14 to have something to show his constituents on one of the many mailers the mayor's political connections paid for on the councilman's behalf.

We certainly don't lack the money to make cycling into a viable means of moving many thousands of people. In fact, we're rolling in piles of dough each year - billions of dollars of taxes and bonds are allocated to transportation. We're lacking the political mechanisms to make the mayor, and the council, fight for the long-term interests of this city.

When the gas runs out of our oil based economy, and our citizenry fall into recession mode, how will we keep consumer dollars, goods, and people circulating in L.A.? I don't think cars are going to do it anymore. Bikes, public transit, and pedestrian-friendly streets are one way to secure Los Angeles' future against the coming scarcity in energy and other natural resources.

Oh, the ghosts of L.A.'s Bike Plans Past have revealed much tonight. Those responsible for their creation are owed a debt of gratitude. Lo, they are recognized! On the last page of CF 01-2396: