Los Angeles CityBeat's Greg Katz asks Tom LaBonge why cyclists can't ride through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival and Tom almost completes a sentence before simply dodging and deflecting and offering more hollow promises for the future.

Greg asks "You’re a bike advocate, a Griffith Park advocate, and you want to fix gridlock. Why can’t you bike through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival while there are cars there?"

Tom responds "The impact they thought would be, if you had children, and cars going through there – [but] you’re going to see a change next year. We had a very successful bike night on the first night, and multiple very successful nights of walk-only. What we’re going to see in the future are more car-free nights."

Tom revels in his reputation as LA's Cheerleader and demonstrates his vast knowledge of obscure LA history at every opportunity. Unfortunately, Tom's mastery of the minutiae exceeds his knowledge of the law and Tom's oath is to uphold the laws of the land, not to simply preserve the historical record.

California Vehicle Code 21200 specifically defines the rights and duties of bicyclists as being the same as the drivers of vehicles.

California Vehicle Code 21 limits a municipality's authority to enact or enforce any ordinance governing non-freeway use without the express authorization of the California Vehicle Code.

It's the law, Tom. Do the right thing!

See you on the Streets!

Photo of bikes by Stephen Roullier. Photo of Tom LaBonge by Lord Jim via Flickr