The City of Los Angeles is in the process of updating its Bicycle Master Plan, a component of the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan.

For the cycling community, this should be a joyous occasion, the opportunity to participate in the creation of a City Planning Department document that codifies the rights of cyclists and drives the development of a multi-modal city.

But critics complain that the BMP Workshop process is obligatory at best and irrelevant at worst.

At issue is the fact that LADOT and Planning have only scheduled four 2-hour meetings as part of the Phase I Community Input process and that they have failed to host meetings in some of the communities with the most significant need.

By way of comparison, Portland, with a population of just over a half-million, created its BMP with 12 public workshops plus 35 presentations to interested groups, all as part of its Phase I public input process. Of course, Portland is committed to “Making Bicycling an Integral Part of Daily Life in Portland” and it shows, in efforts and in results. Portland even hosts monthly Bicycle Master Plan Rides in an effort to engage the community, educate, develop a vision and stimulate discussion.

Long Beach, with a population of just under a half-million, created its BMP with 8 public workshops as part of the Phase I public input process. Of course, Long Beach is committed to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors with “a safe and effective cycling environment” and it shows, in efforts and in results.

Using Portland and Long Beach as a guideline, LA cyclists expect a comprehensive BMP public input process that reaches each of the neighborhoods in the 465 square miles of Los Angeles and that really reaches out to the 3.8 million people who share the 6500 miles of LA public roadway.

But instead, LADOT Bikeways and Planning gave the public three weeks notice, notification so insufficient that the Bicycle Coalition and the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee were both unable to get the BMP on their agendas prior to the workshops. The City’s own partners were caught off-guard in this process. This is hardly a demonstration of a commitment to an open and transparent and inclusive endeavor.

Most importantly, this is a significant violation of the advocate-driven Cyclists’ Bill of Rights, which clearly articulates "Cyclists have the right to be actively engaged as a constituent group in the organization and administration of our communities."

The LA Bikeways staff dismisses the complaints and explains “The City is in the middle of a budget crunch and there just isn’t any money to conduct any further BMP public participation forums.”

And yet…

Last week, LA’s Bureau of Sanitation sent out notices (three and a half months in advance!) of the SIX 6-hr open houses that it is conducting throughout the City, all in an effort to involve the public. 36 hrs! Last year they had over 3000 participants!

By contrast, the City of Los Angeles created the ’96 BMP with four public meetings attended by 100 cyclists.

Perhaps it’s time to let the Bureau of Sanitation take charge. After all, they know the streets, they drive them regularly every week, and they have demonstrated a desire to engage the community and a commitment to the quality of life in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Come to think of it, perhaps the transition is already underway! Rita Robinson, the new GM of the Department of Transportation is the former Director of the Bureau of Sanitation! Hmmmm!

Cyclists have scheduled a “Storm the Bastille” ride on Wednesday evening to address the City’s failure to engage the community in the Community Input Workshops.

“See you on the Streets!”