Dick Van Patton says "Ride On!"

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SoapBoxLA dropped by Beverly Hills to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Beverly Hills Police Department.

Lobbying City and Police officials at an event like this turned out to be like hunting deer at a salt lick!

In addition to receiving a word of cycling encouragement from Dick Van Patton, SoapBoxLA was able to discuss cycling as a solution to the traffic congestion in Beverly Hills.

Stephen Webb, the Mayor, expressed hope that the big-picture infrastructure improvements and the short-term resurfacing improvements to Santa Monica Boulevard would create better conditions for cyclists.

SoapBoxLA congratulated Jimmy Delshad on his recently announced plan to create a car-free section of Rodeo Drive and encouraged him to include cycling in his multi-modal solution to the congestion in Beverly Hills.

Barry Brucker reminisced on the days when kids could ride their bikes to school, drawing a City Commissioner and the incoming Superintendent of Schools into the conversation. He suggesting that a reduction in the number of parents dropping kids off at school would go a long way to reducing traffic congestion, all of which is dependent on the kids being able to safely ride their bikes to school.

Linda Briskman spoke of her participation in the Westside Communities Council of Governments and indicated that she thought a bigger picture approach to education and communication, through the COG, was in order.

The highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of the Rexford Drive “Helicopter Lane.”

Hey, they’re traffic too!