O for Week 1

I get that change is in the air and I'm supposed to be excited and all, but with the news that Obama isn't looking at changing Bush's executive orders in relation to spying/Keeping Us Safe from Terrorists, but is looking to bailout the car industry; well I'm feeling a little bit like everything old is new again.

Streetsblog has some stories on Obama as urbanist that inspire some hope, but right now I'm not feeling that "Yes We Can" Spirit.

How I'm Voting for Transportation on November 4th

President: Barack Obama

He's not just a bike rider, he also understands the needs of urban areas and is a believer in transit. There's no comparison between Obama and "Drill, Baby, Drill."

Congress: Henry Waxman

Thanks for helping lift the ban on the "Subway to the Sea" tunneling, but that's not enough to get a picture.

Measure R: Yes

OK, here's the deal. I don't like Measure R. There's a ton of problems with the Measure, and that the "pro" Measure R people have decided to promote it as a congestion relieving road tax completely galls me. And, it completely sucks that the Metro Board fumbled on putting money aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Add to that the best argument in favor of this proposal that the Pro folks can put forward is that there will be no new transit projects for 30 years if it fails; well that's the worst kind of fear politics. Either give us what you want or you're fucked. Thanks for the awesome discourse, Your Honor.

We really need this legislation. Our transit system isn't what it could/should be. I know that if this fails they'll come forward with a new funding plan of some sort but here's the thing....the next plan is going to suck more than this one. Over the course of two months, the deal makers on the Metro Board managed to slash the Local Return funds, the only chance of seeing any small part of this sales tax get spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects, so they could build a tunnel to double capacity on the 710. Awesome.

Imagine what they would do if they had years instead of months to vote for the proposal.

My advice? There's a lot of good things funded by Measure R. It's not perfect, heck it's not even great. But it is better than what we got, and if you want to wait for a great proposal it isn't going to happen.

Prop 1A: Yes

A no-brainer. Yes on high speed rail.

Streets Quiz

Last night I biked to a Measure R rally, then continued my ride to Santa Monica to get drinks with the family. I saw a lot of weird things on the road, but only three of the following...anyone want to take a guess which of the following were not witnessed on the road?

1) A Caltrans truck waiting for a green light completely in the crosswalk in the left lane at the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica forcing literally dozens of pedestrians out of the crosswalk.

2) Two buses at the Measure R rally nearly colliding while trying to honk their approval at the sign waivers.

3) Two Metro Rapid buses running the same route between 10 feet and 100 yards away literally passing each other so that one didn't fill up more than the other. At rush hour.

4) A member of Santa Monica's finest merrily texting away at a red light. Missing the signal turning green, he has to hustle but gets caught at the next red light anyway. Never stops holding his phone at eye level.

Happy Birthday Street Heat!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Some Guest Posts Over at Streetsblog

I've gotten some great guest posts over the past couple of weeks, and I wanted to highlight them for folks who read this blog but (for whatever reason) not Streetsblog.

Ingrid Peterson: LA's Sunday Streets: A Simple Switch

Dana Gabbard: More Reasons to Vote for Measure R

Erin Steva: CALPIRG Wants Your Help to Pass High Speed Rail

They're all great. Enjoy.

Pasadena Likes Bikes! LAPD? Not So Much.

First the good news. The City of Pasadena likes bikes. In fact, they like them so much that they actually closed the inner loop around the Rose Bowl to traffic last Thursday so that cyclists and pedestrians could use the road in peace. I was there, and it sort of rocked. One of the people taking advantage of this cool pilot program is seen above. And to the City of Pasadena, I have two words: More, please.

Meanwhile the City of Los Angeles continued it's war on common sense as it continues to enforce an obscure law requiring that bicycles are registered. In response, a group of Midnight Ridazz went down to the Central District to sign their bikes up. Sadly, they didn't trust Josef's cake which had a rough trip.

So, here's the problems with the law:

1. Most cyclists don't know it exists.
2. LAPD is enforcing a $50 fine, even though state law caps the fins at $10.
3. Only two police stations hand out licenses, and one of them only two days a week.
4. Not every station is enforcing the law, leading to charges that the LAPD is targetting poorer riders and Midnight Ridazz.

In short, this seems like one of those nuisance laws that police come up with because they can't do what they really want to. Let's hope someone from up above takes care of this one.

I'm listening the Metro Board meeting on my phone

And I can't help but fantasize that they can hear me on the other end. Like the voice of God is eating cereal and coughing into a microphone. Weird, I know.