Signs Santa Monica Is Back to Being Very Bike Friendly

Photo by johnwilliamsphd via the LAist Featured Photos pool

Streetsblog points out that the city of Santa Monica has taken a back seat to Long Beach in recent years when it comes to leading the pack for bicycle-friendly progressive efforts. Now, Santa Monicans are seeing the signs, literally, that their city is getting back to business when it comes to making room for cyclists on their streets. New signs indicate that bikes have "a chance to be counted at intersections and get their own greens." They have been seen at intersections along Wilshire Boulevard. Why are those signs important?

From Streetsblog:

Giving cyclists an equal chance to cross the street is one of the signs of a bike friendly city. Not only does it increase safety, it decreases the number of times drivers will witness a fed up cyclist, frustrated at a long wait, choosing to cross against a red light.

Recently, Santa Monica also opened up a new bike center.

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By Lindsay William-Ross in News on December 2, 2011 10:59 AM 0 Comments

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plusmetro

A trick for cyclists and motorcyclists at intersections: If you're waiting on a red light, look for those circular marks on the road. Take your bike or bicycle and stand over the right inner edge of that circle. The sensor underneath it will detect your presence, and change signal for a light change.

Paul

Thanks, I'll have to try this out next week.

Paul

That's really great - I wish this was implemented everywhere.

Motorcycles have the same issues - we'll get stuck at lights because we can't trigger the sensor. Depending on the area, sometimes it's easier to actually put the damn bike in neutral and walk to the crosswalk and press the button to trigger the green (or ask someone nearby walking to press the button for you - which so far people have been nice enough to do). Of course, this only solves going straight - doesn't work on left turn lanes - which you have no choice but to cross in red.