Stupidest Bike Lane in America?

Eric Fredericks • Friday March 28, 2008

I’m not sure if I can argue with this West Los Angeles Bike Lane.

P.S. – For those of you subscribing to this site by e-mail, I’ve been embedding several videos in articles lately. These do not show up in e-mails, so you need to click on the headlines to view them.

 

Category: Bicycling •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

Day 23: Central Library - Los Angeles, CA

Eric Fredericks • Tuesday July 24, 2007

Today’s journey is 2,776 miles —from the largest city (New York) to the second largest city, Los Angeles, California. Again, Los Angeles is not one of the cities normally associated with walkability, and I think that’s unfair.

This photo is of the Los Angeles Central Library in Downtown. As demonstrated in this photo, it’s quite a beautiful building (this looks much better as the full screen version). Some colleagues asked me if I would take a photo of this building shortly before heading in for dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s. I think it turned out well. I was actually on crutches at the time I shot this photo, but thankfully there were several escalators to help me get up the steep hills downtown. I’m actually standing next to the US Bank Tower, the tallest building west of the Mississippi and famously blown up by aliens in Independence Day.

There are many fantastic things happening in Downtown LA, and I will share them with you… on another day in a longer article. Until then, you’ll just have to trust me that LA has one of the best public transit systems in the country AND has many great things to walk to. Just be prepared to walk farther than you would in most cities.

This article is a part of the Exploring the Walkability of America in 30 Days photo series.

 

Category: Great Places •• Region: Los Angeles •• comments

Day 6: Memorial Park - Pasadena, CA

Eric Fredericks • Saturday July 7, 2007

I know that photographically, there is a lot to criticize in this photo. However, I just can’t help but love Memorial Park’s mature trees, the beautiful clock tower, the pedestrians, and the mountains in the background.

The Downtown and Old Pasadena neighborhoods are quite interesting stops along the Gold Line. There are a couple of TODs built around Pasadena Gold Line stations as well (and by looking at this link, I realized I missed a lot myself). Make sure that the next time you’re in L.A. to make a visit here. Believe it or not, much of Pasadena’s revitalization happened because the city started charging more for parking.

I highly recommend eating at the All India Cafe on Fair Oaks Avenue.

This is the last California photo in the series for a few days. When I was ranking the photos, I didn’t pay too much attention to geographic breakdown and later realized I had a large California block. I think there are several reasons why I have selected more California photos, and it’s not just because California is so beautiful—I have a new camera and my photography skills have likely improved since moving here two years ago.

This article is a part of the Exploring the Walkability of America in 30 Days photo series.

 

Category: Walkability •• Region: Los Angeles •• comments

Back from Los Angeles, With New Partners!

Eric Fredericks • Tuesday February 13, 2007

I’ve returned from Los Angeles and the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. There was quite a collection of speakers there and I saw some data presented in a very interesting way.

One particular presentation by David Crossley of the Gulf Coast Institute regarding Garden Cities and the City of Houston stands out in my mind . It’s pretty complicated to explain without a good visual, but I’d invite you to check out Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities concept. I think it invokes many of the concepts of New Urbanism and Traditional Neighborhood Development and maximizes open and agricultural space. Plus, the densities are quite high. In the Houston example, dozens of Garden Cities could fit into the boundaries of the City of Houston, with the exact same population – yet with about 200 times more open space (perhaps a bit exaggerated, but impressive). Regional transit would be so easy in this model. I was previously aware of this concept from my days in planning school, but I’d never seen the concept presented in this fashion before.

Another fantastic presentation I attended was led by Dan Burden, Michael Ronkin, and Dan Gallagher on road diets. I volunteered to compile a list of road diets around North America. I will add a section to the site for this list and make a more formal announcement seeking help at a later date. Some have already volunteered to help me.

Speaking of partners, I made some great partnerships down in L.A. We should have some exciting news to announce in the upcoming months. I don’t want to jump the gun on it, but I’m very excited.

Overall, the conference was great. Mostly because of the speakers. The format made for very exhausting days and left little time to socialize and explore the city. The best speakers seemed to be reserved until the end when most conference attendees were worn down. Still, I’d love to attend future ones just because there are so many great sessions to pick from.

 

Category: Smart Growth •• Region: Los Angeles •• comments [3]

82-Year-Old That Received $114 Ticket for Slow Crossing Gets Famous

Eric Fredericks • Monday April 17, 2006

This is just outrageous if you haven’t already seen it – an 82-year-old gets $114 ticket for slow crossing. This has actually inspired an editorial to the Sacramento Bee, coverage around the globe, and some dialogue within Caltrans. Now, the 82-year-old woman, Mayvis Coyle, is becoming famous.

Hopefully Los Angeles will take the public outrage to heart and start bucking the trend of their 60 year fetish with the automobile. To be fair, there are a lot of great bike/ped advocates in the L.A. region and I am sure this will not be brushed aside lightly. How can it, with so much media attention? Score a strange victory for the pedestrians! Thanks to Maureen for bringing this to my attention.

 

Category: Pedestrians •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

Bike Tour Part of LA's Sixth Annual Nacimiento Tour

Eric Fredericks • Saturday January 7, 2006

Announcement from the Latino Urban Forum:

The 6th Annual Nacimiento Tour
Sunday, January 8, 2006

The free tour will start at 12 noon and wind its way through homes and public displays of East Los Angeles’ rich folk art of nativity scenes. The tour is either self-guided by car or you can join the bike tour. The 15-mile bike tour, which covers the communities of Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, and Boyle Heights, will begin and end at the pocket park on the corner of First Street and Chicago in Boyle Heights.

Helmets are required.

Tour: The homes will be available for viewing from 12 noon to 3 pm. The bike tour registration begins at 11:30 am. Ride starts at 12:00 pm. Take the self guided tour any time between noon and 3:00 p.m.

Place: Bike tour start and end location: pocket park at First Street and Chicago, Boyle Heights.
Trip: 15 mile bike ride, moderate to easy with rolling hills.

Self guided car tour – check out this year’s map at
www.theraretimes.com.

Bike RSVP: Email: lmvela (at) earthlink.net by January 7, 2005.
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition 213-629-2142

Check/download the great flyer at www.labikecoalition.org

Sponsors include the Latino Urban Forum, The Rare Times, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and of course, the residents.

Rain or threat of Rain Cancels!!!!

Editor’s Note: The Latino Urban Forum is an amazing organization based out of Los Angeles. The organization is chaired by a great guy as well, James Rojas, who I admit was an inspiration for me to create this site. I would strongly advise you to become a member of their forum, especially if you live in the Los Angeles area.

 

Category: Bicycling •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

Gated Communities: Essentially Like Zoos?

Eric Fredericks • Thursday September 15, 2005

Heavy Trash is a Los Angeles project that “exposes” gated communities using a very interesting approach: they put up viewing platforms so that people can look over the walls of a gated community. It kind of reminds you of looking at animals in a zoo. I think that this project makes a strong point, but it is sad to think of humans as locked in cages. The site also offers answers to the question “what’s wrong with gated communities?” (Photo source: http://heavytrash.blogspot.com/)

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

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