Bicycle Parking Ordinance Has Passed!

Expect to see more of this!

The LADOT Bike Program is happy to report that the Los Angeles City Council has passed the long awaited Bicycle Parking Ordinance. This will mean improved bicycle parking standards citywide at commercial, industrial and residential-type locations. The ordinance includes a number of forward-thinking changes  including:

• Formal definitions for different types of bike parking 
• New standards for different types of bike racks including long-term and short-term bicycle parking
• Improved standards for where bike racks are located on a property
• Clearer  requirements for short-term and long-term bike parking.
• New provisions allowing bike parking to be substituted for car parking for up to 20 percent of  the total automobile parking required for non-residential uses or up to 30% of the auto parking required near Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). Residential buildings will be able to swap up to 10% of their car parking, and if located within 1,500 feet of a transit facility, up to 15%. This exchange would occur at a rate of four bike parking spaces, per automobile space.
• New standards requiring properties with  20 or more long-term bicycle parking spaces to also include 100 square feet of bicycle repair and maintenance space for residents and employees.
• A Permitting process for allowing bike corrals to be installed in the public right of way.

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LA River Bike Path Closure

Fit in as much bicycling along the LA River Bike Path as you can soon; the most northern portion will soon be closed for about four months.

The Bike Program was recently notified by Caltrans that a northern portion of the Los Angeles River Bike Path will be closed for approximately four months. This closure is occurring due to the Interstate 5 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane widening project.  The detour will cover the Bike Path from just north of the Autry National Center to where Riverside Dr crosses over Hwy 134. There may also be additional closures in other portions of the bike path as needed for construction.

As the start date for construction has yet to be determined, the bike path closure date has not been set. Official closure dates, as well as updates to construction and other possible closures, will be updated here. The first update will occur one week prior to the initial closure.

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Council Action to Temporarily Close Mason Ave Bike Lane

This Friday, the Los Angeles City Council is likely to vote in favor of Council File 12-1525, which will require LADOT to close the bike lane on N. Mason Ave for a maximum of six months. The closure starts from Sesnon Blvd. in the North, and goes to Corbin Ave in the South (totaling approximately 0.95 miles), and will only affect the eastern lane (north-bound); the western side bike lane (south-bound) will remain open.

The reason behind this closure is due to the newly constructed Porter Ranch Community School, where LAUSD and the developer failed to account for and provide adequate parking facilities for parents and the drop off of students when the new school opened this year. In order to address concerns regarding pedestrian safety and vehicular congestion, the City plans to create interim parking along N. Mason Ave. This provisional parking unfortunately requires that the bike lane be merged with the motorized travel lane until more permanent on-street parking can be designed and installed; at that time, the N. Mason Ave bike lane will re-open, along with a permanent parking lane near the school, within a maximum closure of six (6) months. Signage will posted along the closure to inform cyclists and drivers alike that the lane will be used by all modes of transportation.

LADOT is currently working with Council District 12 to rectify the situation and address any impacts caused by the bike lane closure.

View Larger Map

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What to do During Carmageddon Weekend: Ideas and Discounts

Where will you walk/bike this weekend?

No plans for Carmageddon 2 weekend? Not sure with whom or where to bike? Feel as though you’ll be stuck indoors with nothing to do?

Well, fear no longer; your Bike Program interns are here to put some excitement into your weekend. If you’re feeling like getting some exercise and being social, check out our previous blog posts regarding organized bike rides happening this weekend. With dozens of rides happening all over the city all weekend long, there is bound to be one nearby in which you can participate.

If you want a little more variety then just a bike ride, LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky came out with a list of 53 Ways to survive without the 405, one activity for each of the 53 hours LA’s most used freeway will be closed.  Granted, the list came out during last year’s episode (can you even see “Shrek: the Musical” in theaters anymore?), but if you can manage to complete all of the up-to-date activities on the list, then time well spent!

With nearly 300 businesses citywide offering discounts for the entire weekend, you can’t say there was nothing to do during Carmageddon 2!

If you’re more in the mood to get out and about and explore your neighborhood, check out Metro’s Eat, Shop, and Play Locally Weekend Discount Program to see nearly 300 participating businesses and organizations offering deals, encouraging Angelenos to stay close to home during the Carpocolypse. You can also view their correlated interactive map.

Ranker has also fashioned together a Best of Camageddon Deals page that’s worth a view.

If you plan on taking advantage of any of the aforementioned ideas or discounts, be sure to map out your route and get there via bike! If that’s not an option, why not utilize the public transit system?

How are you planning on spending the weekend? Joining in on an organized bike ride? Riding somewhere new or exciting on your own? Taking advantage of any certain deal? Let us know by leaving your comments below. See you all on the other side (the other side being Monday)!

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AB 2245 Signed by Governor Brown; Bike Lanes Now Fully Exempt from CEQA

Gov. Brown at a recent event in Beverly Hills, photo by Alan Mittelstaedt for Neon Tommy

Early this morning, we received word that Governor Brown has signed AB 2245 into law.  The new law provides for a CEQA exemption for Class II bikeway (bike lane) projects. Under the former guidelines, some bike lane projects in the City of L.A.  would have required an EIR if their traffic impacts were over specified thresholds. While municipalities will still need to assess traffic and safety impacts, and hold public hearings to review them, the exemption allows decision makers to consider such impacts without wasting the time and resources that an EIR process requires. This will allow more effort to be placed on planning and public outreach. We’lll have more on this as we figure out what it will mean for the City of L.A. and the many bike lane projects we have in the works.

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LADOT Pro Walk Pro Bike Posters

Several LADOT Bike Program interns (current and former) presented posters at Pro Walk Pro Bike last week (far left: Cullen McCormick, second left: Ricardo Gutierrez, front center: Eve Sanford)

Thanks to everyone who came by during last week’s Pro Walk Pro Bike event to check out our poster displays. We received a lot of positive feedback and had a lot of great conversations with bike/ped professionals from around the country. Many attendees asked if our posters would be available online so we’ve gone ahead and embedded them here for your viewing pleasure. The posters are shown by day starting with Monday, September 10th and continuing through Thursday, September 13th.

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Carpocalypse 2012: What it means for Cyclists

405 Closure Map, originally posted by the LAPD.

During the last weekend in September, the San Diego Freeway (the 405) will be closed in order to complete the demolition of what remains of the Mulholland Bridge. This construction-filled weekend is the next step in the Sepulveda Pass Improvement Project, as the freeway will be widened to accommodate high occupancy vehicle (carpool) lanes. Already being dubbed “Carmageddon II” due to the similar full closure occurring last July, the 10-mile stretch of the 405 (starting from the 101 junction in the north to the juncture with the 10 in the south) will begin closing on-ramps starting at 7pm on Friday the 28th, with the portion of the freeway completely cleared by midnight. The entire operation is projected to take 53 hours, with ramps and connectors staring to open again at 6am on October 1. Despite last year’s closure being completed 17 hours ahead of schedule, this year’s demolition team must remove two  bridge columns instead (one column was removed last year). 

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