CityWatchLA - Route 66: Still Kickin' In East Hollywood

CityWatch, May 20, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 40

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council (EHNC) has embarked on a journey to revitalize Santa Monica Boulevard,
the final stretch of America’s Main Street, embracing the Route 66 legacy as an opportunity to fulfill its City Charter mandate to “promote more citizen participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs.”

David Bell, President of EHNC, kicked off the project by proclaiming “The EHNC is excited to support quality of life improvements in this under served community. By partnering with the business community, state and local governments, charitable organizations, and concerned stakeholders, we are able to leverage our efforts to create maximum impact.”

The East Hollywood Route 66 Task Force is committed to encouraging the local community to participate in the civic engagement process, first by identifying and working with the many civic partners, and then by embarking on community projects that address public safety, public works, public health, public education, and public service opportunities.

From the National Parks Service and its “Historic Route 66 Corridor Program” to LA’s Office of Historic Resources the Route 66 Task Force leverages the rich legacy of the past with the opportunity of the future.

The campaign kicked off with three components, the Economic Alliance, the Livability Initiative, and Civic Engagement.

The Route 66 Economic Alliance connects the local businesses and merchants from Sunset Junction to the 101 and has already raised the funds necessary to hire Chrysalis to conduct street cleaning, maintenance and graffiti removal. In addition, the Metro has partnered with the EA by steam cleaning all 22 blocks of the corridor, all as the result of leveraging a small investment by the neighborhood council into a sustainable effort.

The Route 66 Livability Initiative has embraced the Complete Streets standard and is engaging the community in the process of pursuing federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funding, California State Parks funding for a Route 66 park, a Caltrans Environmental Justice grant, and Historic Preservation funding.

The Civic Engagement component brings it all together with Town Halls and Forums that introduce the residents and business operators to their Federal, State, County and City of LA partners, from Caltrans and Metro to City Council and departments that include Street Services, Transportation, City Planning, and the LAPD.

Route 66 is neither the oldest of the longest stretch of highway in America but it certainly is the most famous. Tourists continue to travel to Chicago where they rent a car and drive across the country, re-invoking the romance of America’s Route 66 and reconnecting with the promise of the land of opportunity.

Built in the 20’s during a time of unparalleled social, economic, political disruption and global conflict, Route 66 opened up the west coast and gave people an opportunity to pursue their dreams in a land that is still famous for its great weather, economic opportunity, the entertainment industry, the tourist attractions, the arts & culture community and the creative energy.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the Route 66 Study Act which formally acknowledged that Route 66 “has become a symbol of the American people’s heritage of travel and their legacy of seeking a better life.”

To the people of East Hollywood, that better life consists of a densely populated and heavily traveled transit corridor that moves lots of traffic at the expense of those who struggle to cross the street and the local merchants who watch the world race by, always on the way to someplace else.

Once memorialized by poets, serenaded by musicians, and celebrated on television and in films, Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, forgotten by most and in danger of losing its unique place in history.

For East Hollywood, it was a simple complaint from a stakeholder about overflowing trashcans that prompted the formation of the Route 66 Task Force, resulting in a campaign that has resonated through the community.

As Route 66 Task Force Chair Armen Makasjian prepared for the latest Route 66 Town Hall he proclaimed “As a second generation business owner on this street, I am thrilled at the attention being directed at this vital stretch of American history.”

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net.)

Cyclists/LAPD Task Force Celebrates Bike Week

Thursday's meeting of the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force marked the 5th meeting of cyclists and LAPD brass, all in an effort to support cyclists on the streets of Los Angeles with LAPD policies and training that are relevant and effective. It's been a long journey but it has paid of and the LAPD has delivered.

Sgt. Krumer screened the LAPD's new online training module for patrol officers that clearly articulates the rights of cyclists and the LAPD's commitment to supporting cyclists on the streets of Los Angeles. It was rewarding to hear the LAPD's narrator say "All streets are a street that a cyclist will ride." The debate over "Ride where it's right" vs. "Ride to the right" is addressed and the training session concludes:

"As police officers, it is our duty to ensure the rights and the safety of all users of the roadway. Cyclists deserve a well trained police force that understands the law and its application. The Department is committed to supporting the cycling community and encourages all of its officers to educate both motorists and cyclists of their mutual obligations to respect each other and SHARE THE ROAD."

Chief Doan then recapped some new LAPD  policies, directives and a Special Order that address several of the issues that the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force has addressed over the last several months.

* Cyclists have long complained that the law requires them to ride in bike lanes (except in specific circumstances) yet the city turns a blind eye when motorists, production companies, armored trucks, or trash cans block the lanes, creating an obstacle course for cyclists.

 The LAPD met with LADOT's Chief Jimmy Price of Parking Enforcement and has issued an Operations Notice clarifying the need to cite for "impeding/blocking bike lanes."

* Cyclists are often given conflicting information about the appropriateness of riding in the crosswalk, typically after an incident involving a collision with a motorist. The irony here is that the Orange Line takes cyclists from the protected Bike Path through intersections by using the crosswalk, yet cyclists get cited in some cases and a dead cyclist was blamed for her death because "she was riding the wrong way in a crosswalk."


The LAPD has clarified that crosswalks are extensions of the sidewalk and if sidewalk cycling is allowed, crosswalk cycling is allowed.

* Cyclists in Los Angeles sometimes encounter law enforcement officers from different agencies, all on the same streets. From the LAPD to the County Sheriffs to the Highway Patrol, it can sometimes be tough to figure out who to call and who's in charge. Recently, a cyclist was hit by a Metro bus, he then called LAPD but the LASD showed up and allegedly prevented the cyclist from obtaining the bus operators information. (LASD works for the Metro)

The LAPD has clarified and issued a Communications Division dispatch policy that the LAPD has authority over incidents involving the Metro on the streets of Los Angeles.

*Cyclists who are injured when forced from the road or when taking evasive action are the victims of a No-Contact Traffic Incident and the motorists who caused the incidents are responsible, even though there was no contact. The term "hit and run" applies to those who fail to "hit" but flee the scene. Two recent incidents highlighted the need to clarify the need to address this situation and the LAPD has issued a Special Order that clarifies the LAPD's responsibility and commitment to "No-Contact Traffic Reports with Injuries."

When the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force first met, it was at times a bit adversarial, with cyclists pushing and the LAPD defending, but this journey has paid off. As of this Bike Week meeting, the LAPD speaks the language of Bike Activists. This was the best Bike to Work Day event in town.

CityWatchLA - Chief Charlie Beck Talks, LAPD Patrol Balks

CityWatch, May 7, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 36

Three months ago LAPD Chief Charlie Beck declared that it was his intention to develop a working relationship with the cycling community, offering up his commitment that he would support cyclists and their right to ride the streets of Los Angeles safely and free of fear. Cyclists celebrated. On the streets, where the proverbial rubber meets the road … or in this case, where the cyclist hits the road … the LAPD Chief's oath has not yet made it to the rank and file who actually patrol the streets and who are responsible for delivering on Beck's promise. Cyclists protested.

Most recently, a cyclist on Sunset Boulevard was riding in a bike lane when a motorist pulled out of a parking lot and into the bike lane, causing the cyclist to take evasive action, resulting in the cyclist on the ground and in need of medical attention. The motorist continued on her journey. A witness pursued the motorist, the LAPD arrived, no report was taken, no charges were filed, no ticket was issued, and the cyclist was left responsible for his injuries. Wilco Tango Foxtrot!

Cyclists protested, the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force intervened, LAPD Operations responded and the LAPD reevaluated the situation. Determination: the LAPD Officers should have taken a report, it was a traffic incident with injury.

A motorist can cause a traffic incident without having to make contact. "Hit and Run" is a misnomer. The violation is actually "fleeing the scene" and doesn't refer to actual contact.

This was quite the learning experience for everybody, especially the motorist who didn't understand why she couldn't drive off and leave a cyclist lying in the street if she didn't actually hit him.

Apparently it wasn't much of a learning experience for the LAPD because it wasn't long before another cyclist riding down the street encountered a car that moved from curbside parking to the left, blocking the street in order to execute a U-turn, causing the cyclist to take evasive action, again resulting in the cyclist on the ground and in need of medical attention. Again the motorist continued on his journey.

A witness flagged down a passing LAPD patrol car but, again, the LAPD refused to take a report, after all "No contact, no foul!"

Cyclists protested, the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force intervened, LAPD Operations has indicated that they will respond.

All of which demonstrates that Chief Charlie Beck can issue proclamations and claims and intentions all day long but they mean nothing if they don't translate into patrol policies and officer actions that the cyclists can trust. It is after all the LAPD officers on the streets who have to deliver on the Chief's promises.

(Stephen Box is a cycling and transportation advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

LAPD Chief Bonding with LA’s Cyclists

Photo courtesy by Eric Richardson
CityWatch, Jan 19, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 5

LAPD's Charlie Beck, barely into his third month as Chief, is off to a great start in his promise to forge a strong working relationship with the cycling community. Shortly after his nomination he was working the neighborhood council circuit, introducing himself to community leaders and promising to make "good policing and civil rights" the foundation of his LAPD legacy. It was at the Citywide Alliance of NCs that he was presented with the Cyclists' Bill of Rights and a challenge to put his leadership team to work making Los Angeles a great place for cyclists to ride.

Since then, Commander David Doan and his team have formed the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force which met in a marathon session to initiate a comprehensive survey of the cycling conditions from all perspectives, not just from the patrol car.

Representatives from the Bike Writers Collective, illuminateLA, Sustainable Streets, Bikeside, the Bike Working Group, the Voice, and the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee were all present and offered up insight from different perspectives, all united in a desire to see the LAPD embrace cycling as a transportation solution, not simply as interruption in the smooth flow of motor vehicle traffic.

Cmdr. Doan convened the meeting saying "The LAPD is committed to making our roadways safer for all commuters with an emphasis on our most vulnerable commuters, cyclists. We are committed to working with the cycling community to improve police cyclist interactions and to find ways to make our streets safer for everyone."

As the City of Los Angeles wallows in the midst of a budget crisis of unprecedented proportions, one might wonder why the LAPD would put valuable resources on such a niche constituent group but this is exactly the model for community policing that is essential, not just as a public safety solution but as an example of how community leaders can partner with city leadership to make the most of our valuable resources.

A strong working relationship with the cycling community allows the LAPD to draw on the insight and experience of cyclists who experience the gritty details of the streets of LA up close and personal. Something the LAPD won't experience from a patrol car that is racing from one high priority call to the next.

As for the cycling community, the issues that were presented included:

1) Education - It is imperative that we work together to educate the LAPD officers who patrol the streets and the City Family as a whole on the rights of cyclists on streets of Los Angeles. Last year a DWP contractor ran over and killed a cyclist in the crosswalk of a quiet residential street in the Valley.

Last year a LADOT contractor ran over and killed a pedestrian in the crosswalk of 5th and Flower. There's no doubt that our streets are congested and contested, but it is imperative that we move past debates over rights and into a campaign to make our streets safer.

2) Cyclists Count - It is important that the LAPD has good accident data so that the allocation of resources can be most effective yet cyclists are uncounted as a user group, uncounted in accident surveys and uncounted in crime reports.

In spite of the forms that are used on the streets, the databases that collect the information don't capture the cyclist as a unique travel mode. The result is that simple questions of public safety, conflict hot spots, areas that need additional enforcement and simple reviews of performance are unanswerable because, at present, cyclists don't count.

3) Crime Scenes - When a motorist "asserts" himself against a cyclist, it is not a simple traffic violation or traffic collision, it is a crime. Crimes against cyclists need to be treated as real crimes, not as simple infractions that are simply part of everyday traffic in Los Angeles. A hit-and-run motorist that leaves a cyclist behind needs to be pursued and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The recent Mandeville Canyon road rage incident that resulted in several felony convictions for Dr. Christopher Thompson wasn't the first reported incident for the Dr., it was the third, and it wasn't investigated as a crime until it got political. That must change!

4) Civil Rights - Cyclists riding alone and late at night sometimes find themselves in handcuffs while the LAPD checks their information. LAPD officers report that this "immobilization" is simply for the safety of the officers but critics call it "bias based policing" or "profiling" and that riding a bike should not be a cue for handcuffs.

The cyclists who stand the greater chance of ending up in cuffs are the "workforce" cyclists who ride for economic reasons, may not have lights and who may ride on the sidewalks late at night. The opportunity here would be to have the LAPD pass out blinkies and a copy of the Cyclists' Rules of the Road rather than to assume that late-night cyclists are "capering."

5) Bike Safety - Cycling advocates hold that in spite of all the well-intentioned advice for cyclists, real public safety on the streets of Los Angeles starts with a focus on Motor Vehicle Safety.

Motorists will cause approximately 40,000 deaths this year in the United States. It's no secret that our streets are filled with high-performance vehicles operated by low-performance motorists. The distractions are many and GPS units, cell phones, entertainment equipment, in-car dining, behind-the-wheel grooming, road rage, speeding and simple contempt for others on the road all contribute to an unsafe environment. The place to start is with the operator that is able to do the most damage, the motorist.

6) Road Rage - Cyclists talk of their journeys on the streets of Los Angeles as if they were campaigns in a war-torn third world country. Motorists who race up from behind, lay on the horn and threaten death turn out to be soccer moms. Bus Operators "asserting" themselves across bike lanes, vehicle passengers who throw things, "right-hooks" and "left-hooks" and "doorings" all add up to a simple journey across town.

Through it all is the common thread, simple road rage. Yet reporting these incidents to the LAPD reveals that we don't have strong investigation or enforcement policies in place. That has to change!

7) Hot Spots - Cyclists are just like anybody else on the road, they expect to make safe and effective progress toward destinations that include homes, places of employment, schools, cultural and social destinations, shops and parks. Cyclists also recognize that route selection is an essential element of safe and effective cycling. There is a real opportunity for the cycling community and the LAPD to work together to identify "hot spots" that could use enhanced LAPD patrols and enforcement, perhaps even LAPD Bike Stings.

8) Bicycle Network - The LA Bike Working Group (BWG) is developing "LA's Best Bike Plan" and a key element is the Backbone Network, a series of streets that stretch from Downtown to the Westside, from Downtown to the Harbor, from East to West across the Valley and from Downtown to the Eastside. In other words, a Backbone Network that connects the city of Los Angeles and really gets cyclists from one side to the other.

The current LADOT inspired bikeways network consists of bits and pieces of bikeway scattered "where it fits" instead of "where it's needed." LA's Best Bike Plan is the Bike Plan with a Backbone and it doesn't require millions of dollars in infrastructure funding to put an enforcement and maintenance focus on the streets that are vital to cyclists who simply want to get across town safely and effectively.

9) Speed Limits - Last year the LADOT peppered the Transportation Commission and the Transportation Committee with speed limit increase proposals throughout the city. While surrounding communities such as Glendale and Burbank supported then-Assemblyman (now Councilman) Krekorian's AB766 "Safe Streets" bill that would allow local communities to have more control over the establishment of speed limits, the LAPD lobbied neighborhood councils, the Commission and the Transportation Committee in support of speed limit increases.

All this was in an effort to maintain speed limit surveys that would allow the LAPD to continue to use radar/laser speed limit violation enforcement. The times are changing and we should work together to change the speed trap law. We should also work together to implement traffic calming techniques such as speed tables, bulb-outs and road diets, all of which slow traffic without requiring the presence of a law enforcement officer.

10) Training - The LAPD has a Traffic Division commitment to providing officers with roll call training on bicycle safety but it is imperative that the training start with an Education Module at the Academy and that it is supported by significant ongoing education that reflects the changes that are taking place on our streets, in the traffic mix, in the legislature and in the courts.

11) Crime Reports - When a motorist has their car stolen, it's investigated by Traffic Investigators. When a cyclist has their bike stolen, should they walk to the nearest Police Station to give a report that is then investigated as a property crime? Can a cyclist give a "stolen bike" report over the telephone? What are the LAPD policies for crime reporting when it comes to cyclists? Road Rage reports, hit-and-run crimes, jurisdictional confusion, CVC interpretation that varies from the CHP to the Sheriffs to the LAPD, all on the same street in Los Angeles.

Good policing depends on good data which results from good crime reporting which is in need of some significant departmental policy and education, internally and externally. Cyclists contend that many crimes go unreported because the "hassle" factor exceeds the "impact" factor.

12) Bike Plan - The City of Los Angeles is in the process of updating the Bike Plan, which is a component of the Transportation Plan which is an element of the city's state-mandated General Plan. The LADOT and City Planning have spent two years and $450,000 on the Draft Bike Plan and yet they somehow forgot to involve the LAPD policy makers who might find the Bike Plan to be a useful tool for funding, for synchronizing with the City Family, for addressing priorities, for working with the other departments who have authority over the streets of LA, and most of all for making sure that the streets of Los Angeles are safe for everybody. Somehow this is simply unacceptable and the LAPD must be involved in the bike Plan update process.

13) Cyclists' Bill of Rights - LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has the Cyclists' Bill of Rights in his hands and it is up to him and his LAPD leadership team to support the cyclists of Los Angeles by establishing Equality as the foundation upon which we will work together to make Los Angeles a great place to ride.

Commander Doan of the LAPD's Operations Department is supported on the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force by Lt. Torsney, Sgt. Graham and Sgt. Krumer. They will be at the next meeting of the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7 pm. The LABAC meets at Parker Center, 150 Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

(Stephen Box is a cycling advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)