The next Bike Plan Implementation Team (BPIT) meeting will take place July 10th, 2012 from 1:00PM to 4:00PM. The meeting will be held at the California Bear Credit Union Meeting Room – 100 S. Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90012. The meeting room is directly accessible from Broad Plaza – you will not need to enter the Caltrans building. You can download the agenda here.
After introductions, July’s BPIT meeting will begin with an update from City Planning on the final first year EIR package (spreadsheet link, first tab) and accompanying scoping meetings in which constituents can suggest factors to study as the City puts together an Environmental Impact Review for the various bike lane projects included. We will also discuss qualitative and quantitative benefits of those projects, and then look at the draft list for the City’s next priority package (spreadsheet link, second tab). Note, while it is a draft list that will be presented, and the list can and will likely change, the City is also pursuing Highway Safety Improvement Program funds for these projects, which should score very well with the cost-benefit calculator developed by CalTrans and SafeTREC to help determine which projects should receive funding. Below, find a quick map of these projects:
We’ll then give an update on TIGER and State Safe Routes to School funding requests, followed by a discussion on bikeway installation, covering topics such as best practice for bike lane installation and Bike Friendly Street prioritization. Finally, LAPD will give a report with a Task Force update and discuss enforcement policy before the meeting wraps up.
We look forward to seeing you there!
I look at the implementaion of the bike plan kind of like the American Revolutionary War. Where the cyclists are the rag-tag soldiers going up against the greatest army in the world. To make progress you don’t want to provoke huge battles which you are bound to lose badly and weaken your ability to fight another battle.
A monumental battle I can see immediately for the next draft list of the priority package is Roscoe Blvd as it approaches the 405 freeway. The cars are backed up for blocks getting on or off of the freeway at peak hours. While it may be possible to stealthly sneak in some bike lanes, there is bound to be a huge uproar as the mighty army of car commuters sees what has transpired. This happened when a pilot test of bus only lanes were installed on Wilshire Blvd close to the 405. You would gain some territory if they are put in, but the strategic importance of this is rather minor and not worth the likely horrendous battles.
My suggestion would be to install bike lanes on Parthenia St, the next major street paralleling Roscoe Blvd to the north, which would get cyclists past the freeway and there would be no huge conflicts with having to deal with freeway on and off ramps. Unfortunately, there is no alternative to the south of Roscoe Blvd until you go to Vanowen St due to the Van Nuys airport blocking throughput. Wayfinding signage can help to direct cyclists to where they need to go.
I have a similar suggestion for avoiding a conflict at the choke point for Sherman Way at the 405 freeway. Simply move the bike lane installations to Vanowen St which doesn’t have a freeway access point.
[…] See original article: Agenda For 7/10/2012 BPIT Meeting; DRAFT Priority 2 Map […]
Why did CD 1 request that Sunset (from Douglas to Fig) be removed?
Roscoe is a street near and dear to me. I used to ride it during rush hour every morning because there were no other good east-west routes between Devonshire and the Orange Line Bike Path. I have since moved, but this is a MUCH NEEDED route. I would always see people on that route, and I bet it has only gotten more riders since I used to commute down it. I cannot be at the meeting (timing is awful for us 9-5ers, especially the carfree ones), but would like to give my 100% support for a Roscoe bike lane. This is very important.
To provide a low-stress bike route that most adult bike riders would want to ride on, there must be progressively greater protective measures provided as the number of lanes, speed and volume of traffic increases.
Bike lanes tend to disappear more frequently on streets with higher amounts of traffic volume. There will probably not be any bike lanes as the freeway on or off ramps are approached and this is where establishing priority for bicycles is greatly needed. Nor would there be bike lanes crossing the path of the on or off ramps. If there are right turn only lanes, then the bike lane will disappear at least 100 feet before they are reached and then the bike lanes will be moved in-between two moving lanes at the intersection stop. If there are two right turn only lanes, then the bike lane disappears competely, which clearly establishes that motorized vehicles have priority. Parts of the street that have driveway entrances will probably not get bike lanes. Bus stops would have the bike lanes disappear. Approaches to intersections would likely have the bike lane vanish and in the intersection there would be no bike lane.
Funny how the sidewalks do not tend to disappear as a busy intersection approaches. There are also usually crosswalks and walk signals that establish clear priority for pedestrians. Why don’t we have the pedestrians walk between two six inch wide stripes that are placed four to five feet apart in the roadway and as the intersection approaches have this designated area disappear.
Right turn only lanes for cars frequently have the lane markings continue through the intersection, yet for cyclists the bike lane disappears before the intersection and usually not striped through the intersection to establish priority for the vulnerable people on bicycles.
If bike lane treatment becomes progressively weaker on busier streets, then put bike lanes on quieter streets where there would be more bike lanes per mile because there are less potential conflict points with motorized vehicles that would require taking away the bike lane.
[…] 7 Headquarters, 100 South Main Street, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 pm. Get more details at the LADOT Bike Blog. Email Share […]
[…] quarter’s meeting will focus on the Draft Priority 2 bike plans. Get all the details at the LADOT Bike Blog or the basics at our calendar […]
I just love the “war” analogy..great way in make friends and influence people. What you are really after is incrementalism. The “tiny” bicycle minority vs. the car majority. The “tiny” minority screams the loudest, has the political power and gets what it wants. I’m staying in my car and you won’t get me out of it. Car = freedom. Leave me and my car hell alone.
[…] of the city’s bike and pedestrian communities on how to calm traffic. LADOT Bike Blog offers the agenda for tomorrow’s BPIT meeting. L.A. area schools will share in a $48.5 million Caltrans grant to the Safe Routes to Schools […]
There seems to be some error in the map – I see a red line that stretches diagonally from Sunset and Virgil to Hollywood and La Brea. Perhaps this is suppose to go from Sunset and Virgil to Sunset and La Brea? Or perhaps it is suppose to stretch along Hollywood for the entire way, and just got indicated oddly because Hollywood bends at Vermont to intersect Sunset when it reaches Virgil?