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For the past two weeks Councilmember Tom LaBonge has been proudly welcoming visitors to the 12th Annual LADWP Holiday Light Festival at Griffith Park, announcing with a straight face that this year's Festival demonstrates the DWP's commitment to a "Greener LA."
Tom deserves credit for maintaining a straight face as he makes this outrageous claim because this Festival is far from Green! Granted, there is a lighting display at the entry that clearly states "DWP - Going Green" and there was the token preview "Bike Night" along with the five "Pedestrian Only Nights" the week of Thanksgiving but other than that it's business as usual.
Gridlock. Idling automobiles. Exhaust fumes fouling the air. Traffic backed up on the 5 Freeway. Los Feliz Boulevard jammed up. Riverside Drive backed up. Crystal Springs Drive loaded to the curbs with motorists waiting hours to get to the mile long Light Festival so that they can enjoy it from the comfort of their family vehicle.
This event is automobile-centric. Pedestrians are allowed on the east side of Crystal Springs with the traffic between them and the light displays. (It is suggested that peds hold their breath for the duration of their visit to the Park. The fumes from the idling autos are thick!)
Through it all comes the ultimate insult to the color Green, a BAN on cyclists.
That's right! Councilmember Tom LaBonge, the DWP, the LADOT and the Department of Recreation & Park(ing) have once again overruled State Law and declared the Griffith Park Light Festival to be BICYCLE-FREE.
Kim Hughes of the DWP explained that “the LADOT traffic consultants felt that the significant automobile traffic for the Light Festival made it dangerous for cyclists on Crystal Springs Drive so there will be NO bicycles allowed during the Festival except for the Bike Night preview on November 18th.”
As much as one may appreciate the City of Los Angeles' concern for the safety of cyclists (cough, cough!) this is the same battle cyclists fought when the Griffith Observatory reopened and Rec and Park(ing) intended to exclude bicycle access. In the end cyclists prevailed but segregating or excluding cyclists is a reoccurring solution that the LADOT comes up with as they struggle to squeeze more autos into limited space.
While access to the Festival of Lights might not be a significant transportation issue to most, allowing the LADOT to address gridlock by removing cyclists from the mix is a serious issue that must not slide by without a loud and prohibitive response from the cycling community.
The cycling community is joining with the Sierra Club, the local Neighborhood Councils, Homeowners Associations and Community Organizations in urging Tom and the DWP to host a "car-free" Light Festival.
Imagine! A park, tailgate parties at the Merry-Go-Round and the Zoo parking lots. People out of their cars enjoying the Holidays in the largest Urban Wilderness Park in the United States! Perhaps even enjoying the great outdoors and each other! Walking, riding their bikes, talking, singing, meeting old friends, making new friends. Ah, to Dream!
Until then...the visitors sit in automobiles, idling in gridlock, eyeing signs that indicate how long the anticipated wait is as they inch through the "Park" with the windows rolled up to keep the exhaust fumes out. Well, it IS called a Park and they park, literally!
Tonight, cyclists "Storm the Bastille" as they ride to the December meeting of the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, urging their representatives to...ah...REPRESENT!
After all, it's the law. CVC 21200 defines the rights and duties of bicyclists as being the same as drivers of vehicles. Section 21 states "...no local authority shall enact or enforce any ordinance on the matters covered by this code unless expressly authorized herein."
There are no codes providing express authorization of municipalities to regulate cycling on non-freeway roads.
Since the City of Los Angeles has no express authority to regulate cycling on non-freeway roads as required by CVC 21, the prohibition of cyclists on Crystal Springs Drive is in conflict with the CVC and is unenforceable.
Fight for a "Greener LA!" Hop on your bike and "Storm the Bastille!" See you on the Streets!
Photo of Speech by Stephen Roullier
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Thank you for posting this, Stephen. It amplifies the frustrations that erode the respect cyclists such as myself try to have for the relatively bike-friendly Councilman LaBonge.
I'll try to make it to the meeting tonight.
Considering that The LADWP Holiday Light Festival is quite possibly The Lamest Event in LA EVER, I'd be more than happy to contribute to it's eventual death. There is no reason that it can't be a pedestrian friendly event, as there is ample parking at the zoo parking lot. I read in the LA Times, some spokesperson said that the lights can be appreciated better from the car. Have they seen this charade of holiday glitz? Besides, that way, Los Feliz Blvd. won't suck even harder than it already does anyway, if everyone is being funneled toward the middle of the park.
This thing is not worth the traffic hassle, the gas wasting, or the time. You'll have more fun sitting in my hallway as I flick my bathroom light switch. At least my bathroom lights are interesting.
We walked through the display on the last Sunday of the Walking Only dates. It was wonderful. Who would have thought? LA People walking and talking, meeting and greeting and having a good time. Our friends brought their small Corgi, complete with lighted leash and harness and she was the hit of the night with kids and parents alike stopping to gaze and pet her. Cool!
Ban the cars immediately, for so many reasons. Allow pedicab vendors, open air electric shuttles, horse carriages, bicycles, walking, wagons, whatever and let's put a stake in the gas-burning, traffic bulging, smog producing part of the festival.
Douglas
I commute by bike, or I should say, I used to commute by bike through the park from Burbank to Hollywood. Now I'm forced to take the Cahuenga Pass (scary), or make a huge detour through Glendale on San Fernando to Los Feliz. The bike ban during the light show under the pretense of "safety" is insulting. With that logic, maybe they should go ahead and ban bicycles on all public roads, since there is heavy motor traffic pretty much anywhere you go in this city.
The DWP Holiday Light Festival is really a scam.
First of all, the lights displays are decidedly low tech and unimaginative. The traffic jams it creates are ridiculous. And to think we pay those overtime hoarding DWP guys to stand around and string lights, instead of keeping the grid healthy.
Wasn't it just a few weeks ago, the DWP was urging us to turn OFF unnecessary lights in order to conserve energy.
At least, rename the thing: LADWP Hypocrisy Light Festival.
DB
Metroped,
In the frustrating interim I'd humbly point you to the L.A. River Bikeway instead of detouring up the Cahuenga Pass. It's far safer and not anywhere near as out of the way as San Fernando Road. Just a suggestion.
Hey Will,
I do L.A. River sometimes during the day, but not a big fan at night. Also not a big fan of the adjacent freeway. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
OK THEN,
just WATCH the entire 'festival'
filmed by myself on the first car nite,
I suffered for you (NOT)
enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WrLOLxvdaQ
It was fun going to see the festival on my bike during the bike night. I could go quickly through the sections I wanted too, and slowly or stop on the sections I wanted to look closer at, but after going to see it, I also knew I would never do it in a car.
Keeping the bikes out for traffic reasons is ridiculous. From what I've read of it on car nights, bicycles would be faster than the cars anyways, and there's a bike lane along there, not to mention that it is probably illegal anyways...
It was fun going to see the festival on my bike during the bike night. I could go quickly through the sections I wanted too, and slowly or stop on the sections I wanted to look closer at, but after going to see it, I also knew I would never do it in a car.
Keeping the bikes out for traffic reasons is ridiculous. From what I've read of it on car nights, bicycles would be faster than the cars anyways, and there's a bike lane along there, not to mention that it is probably illegal anyways...
It was fun going to see the festival on my bike during the bike night. I could go quickly through the sections I wanted too, and slowly or stop on the sections I wanted to look closer at, but after going to see it, I also knew I would never do it in a car.
Keeping the bikes out for traffic reasons is ridiculous. From what I've read of it on car nights, bicycles would be faster than the cars anyways, and there's a bike lane along there, not to mention that it is probably illegal anyways...
It was fun going to see the festival on my bike during the bike night. I could go quickly through the sections I wanted too, and slowly or stop on the sections I wanted to look closer at, but after going to see it, I also knew I would never do it in a car.
Keeping the bikes out for traffic reasons is ridiculous. From what I've read of it on car nights, bicycles would be faster than the cars anyways, and there's a bike lane along there, not to mention that it is probably illegal anyways...
Sorry for the duplication above, I kept getting error messages from the server, that made it look like it wasn't being posted.