On November 16, 2011, there will be a public hearing of the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission for members of the public to testify or submit written comments about the final version of the County Bicycle Master Plan.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 9:00 am
Hall of Records, Room 150
320 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Review the final plan here.

Alexis Lantz of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition asks those of us in the Antelope Valley to review the plan and send our comments to her in the week BEFORE November 16th, so she can compile them into a letter she will send to the County Planning Commission and the County Supervisors. Email your comments to Alexis at la-bike dot org.

I’m planning to take the Metrolink down to the meeting, so if you have any last minute comments you’d like me to convey to the Planning Commission, please email me at michelechavez at yahoo dot com.

Dear Readers:

I owe you all a big apology for allowing my lazy nature to take over for the past 2 weeks and taking a long siesta from writing. I’ll try to make it up to you today with several posts.

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On Tuesday evening, Rich Maine of the Caffe Racers, Dave Burrell of the AV High Desert Cyclists, and I went to the Final Community Workshop for Lancaster’s Master Plan of Bikeways and Trails which was held at Lancaster City Hall.

The final draft of the plan has been completed. In the next few weeks, City Staff will upload all 600+ pages of the plan to the City of Lancaster website for citizen review.

Ryan Snyder presents the Lancaster Master Plan of Bikeways and Trails.

Ryan Snyder of Ryan Snyder Associates went over the highlights of the plan and presented a brief video that displayed the vision Lancaster’s leadership has for biking, running, walking, and equestrian activities within the city.

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Trindel and Richard Maine on the 4th St Bridge at CicLAvia

Sarge, Richard and Trindel Maine, and I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning and caught the 6:39 am Metrolink train to CicLAvia.

This time, just as many or more cyclists were there as the last time, but there were also lots of other non-cycling activities going on, like “street chess,” dodge ball, walking tours, and OccupyLosAngeles.

"Lucy" with her sign at LA City Hall

The OccupyLosAngeles people were on the south lawn of City Hall. The atmosphere was peaceful and organized. As I walked my bike through on the sidewalk, I heard lively discussions and saw some folks cooking breakfast for others.

As I was leaving, I met “Lucy” with her sign in support of teachers and asked if I could take her photo. She told me that in 1973 she cycled across Africa and the Middle East.

Trindel Maine and I ride in CicLAvia

We rode almost the complete CicLAvia route, but somehow we missed the Chinatown spur. The liveliest part of the route was on the South LA spur, which had block after block of brightly decorated vendor booths selling all kinds of products and delicious-smelling food.

Metrolink Bicycle Car on the Antelope Valley Line for CicLAvia

Eventually, we had to head back to the AV on the train. Metrolink provided us with a Bicycle Car, which was the icing on the cake of a wonderful day.

SB 910 Veto Message

Governor Brown has vetoed SB 910, the 3-foot passing law.

CicLAvia

UPDATE: Metrolink will have “bike cars” on all trains for CicLAvia.

It’s that time again. Yes, another CicLAvia is coming up this Sunday in Los Angeles. What’s CicLAvia, you ask? Well, it’s a 5-hour festival on wheels through the streets of Los Angeles — without cars. You heard right. No cars.

The route of the earlier 2 CicLAvia’s was about 7-1/2 miles long from Boyle Heights to Hollywood (or vice versa, depending on where you started), and this time they are adding some “spurs” north into Chinatown and south to add more mileage and allow more people to take part. They are also encouraging other forms of activity besides cycling, so that it’s not just for those on bikes, but for everyone.

Counts varied, but by all estimations, hundreds of thousands took part in the 2 earlier CicLAvias. Seeing that many bikes and bikes of every imaginable type and kind taking the street is a sight to behold.

Those of us who live in the Antelope Valley can get to CicLAvia easily by taking the Metrolink to Union Station using a $10 weekend pass. Part of the new route is just across the street from Union Station near Olvera Street.

The official CicLAvia website and the CicLAvia Facebook page have more info and directions. Check out the many videos of previous CicLAvias to get an idea of what it feels like. And then make a plan to go. You won’t regret it.