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......

Zoom in, zoom out, click on the icons and click on the lines for more info and times of closures | View Larger Map Last week Wednesday night, February 6, 2007, Veteran Officer Randy Simmons was killed upon entering the home of a gunman who reported to have shot three family members. This was the first casualty in the 41-year history of the LAPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit. Funeral arrangements for Simmons are......

He goes by the name 'frazgo' and he had an encounter with a Monrovia Public Information Officer that left a sour taste in his mouth. In a post on blogging.la, he ventures into that new media gray area that still is fuzzy... is a blogger considered media?I attended the city press conference regarding the gang warfare here. The city Principal Information Officer was giving transcripts of the mayors speech. Several of us asked for a......

Photo by manmadepants via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "Traffic congestion is unfortunately a way of life for most commuters in Los Angeles," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa starts off in his introduction to the 2008 Traffic Relief Initiatives report released on Wednesday. The recent budget crisis you-better-vote-for-measure-S-next-Tuesday theme and undertones are definitely present: "Now more than ever, as the City faces tight budgets and an uncertain economy, we have an obligation to deliver......

So, looking forward to the Golden Globes tomorrow night? If you like lists being read aloud (and, really, who doesn't?) then NBC has a show for you. But, wait, there's more! Since the news conference announcing the winners will take one hour, NBC is filling the other two hours originally scheduled for the Globes with a "Dateline" special, including interviews to be conducted by Matt Lauer with some actors that are up for some......

Anyone who travels north via The 5 during holidays knows once you start hitting the northern part of the Santa Clarita Valley (a few minutes past Magic Mountain), traffic backs up, making it a slow hump over the Grapevine. Caltrans warns of why traffic will be additionally heavy these next thirteen holiday days:The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) advises motorists planning to travel on the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) in north Los Angeles County......

Last December, I embarked on a mission to find a solution to a problem in my immediate neighborhood. Trying to cross Moorpark St. on foot (or left turns in a car) during rush hour is a nightmare. There is just too much constant flow and you really have to have a brave moment to cross at the unmarked crosswalk because as we all know, there is about .001% of drivers in the city who......

A water main break has closed the northbound and southbound lanes of Sepulveda at Century and is estimated to reopen at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning according to a press release just released by Caltrans:Los Angeles – The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announces that a Department of Water and Power (DWP) 36-inch water main break has caused the closure of northbound and southbound Sepulveda Boulevard at Century Boulevard in Los Angeles. Estimated duration of the......

View Larger Map They are on trial, facing possible felony charges if convicted, for unauthorized access to city's computer system in order to make traffic even worse at four busy intersections last year August. Who are they? Meet Gabriel Murillo and Kartik Patel, both in their 30s and both high level Department of Transportation transportation engineers with the Automated Traffic Surveillance Center.Prosecutors said the men changed computer codes preventing transportation managers from reprogramming and reactivating......

View Larger Map NOTE: One approach equals one left turn signal, some intersections have more then one new left turn arrow. One left turn signal can cost up to $80,000. Mayor Villaraigosa is making sure his recent replacement at the Department of Transportation is a good choice. Today, they announced the 30/30 program:LADOT will install and activate 30 left turn arrows in 30 business days at some of the City’s most congested and bottlenecked intersections.......

CityWatch is reporting that Gloria Jeff, fired Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager, wants her job back. "She says the Mayor … who did the firing … did not give her an annual performance evaluation, gave her no explanation for the firing and demanded that she resign within 21 hours." A spokesman for the Mayor, Matt Szabo, countered: “Gloria Jeff received numerous indications from the mayor’s office that her management of the Department......

The LA County Board of Supervisors and the City Council are set to vote today on a "Lights Out Los Angeles" proposal, which would encourage all city employees to "voluntarily turn off all non-essential lights between 8 and 9 p.m. on Oct. 20, replace at least one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb and pledge their participation on www.lightsoffla.org." Mirthala Salinas didn't show up to work today at her new gig......

Guess what, folks? Something huge happened today. Something to have drinks over. Something that is enough reason to run around the streets screaming "joy to the world". You know what that is? GLORIA JEFF GOT FIRED. Okay, that doesn't sound so great -- I know you are scratching your head right now. Who? What? Where? Gloria Jeff was the general manager of the city's Department of Transportation, otherwise known as LADOT. You know, the......

It seems the Bush's appointed Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, has something in common with Mayor Villaraigosa's appointed Department of Transportation head, Gloria Jeff: both are for goods movement, but not always for the people. Luckily, Jeff has not started any major wars with bicyclists like Peters' has, according to an article in Salon, with her current political rhetoric:In an Aug. 15 appearance on PBS's "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," Peters spoke against a proposal to......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

Selected quotes from another Wilshire gridlocked story in the LA Times ("Signal fixes get the green light" by Ron Gong-Lin II):Last month, [Councilman Jack] Weiss asked the city Department of Transportation for its master plan and list of top needs, and found out there were none. "It's municipal malpractice," Weiss said. "We have a strategic plan for other important aspects for our city, but the one most vexing issue, traffic. . . there's no......

Usually we hear doubting and negative comments about city offices such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) or Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). But the Department of Water & Power (DWP) somehow skids by the public and never become a hot button issue. That is, of course, until the day after the crisis strikes. What? You don't pick up hot dates by dropping some IBEW regs? The closest electrical power will ever come close to being......

The New Downtown Ralphs: "They went — loft-dwelling yuppies, SRO dwellers, office workers and even some homeless people — for a chance to browse the aisles of the long-awaited, 50,000-square-foot Ralphs on 9th Street." Not Putting in Crosswalks Near Schools: "'Our Department of Transportation is one of the slowest, most bureaucratic departments in the city,' said City Councilman Greig Smith. 'I am constantly banging my head against the wall to get them to do......

The 15 Commuter Express lines that provide non-stop and express bus service between residential areas and work centers in the City of Los Angeles have not been updated in 20 years. So it's a good thing that Councilwoman Wendy Greuel introduced a motion on Wednesday, calling for a review of those lines. Let's hope it goes through. "Our commuting patterns have shifted dramatically in the last 20 years," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, Chair of......

Maybe we shouldn't be emphasizing this tip so we can keep our parking spots open in busy areas of the city. But we're feeling generous to those who read LAist on Sundays and we still seem to shock a new person everyday with this parking tip that the LACityNerd taught us so long ago. Yellow Loading Zones are only in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. So take advantage all......

While it may be true that no one walks in LA, people do ride their bikes, and this week is your chance to ride your bike to work while feeling superior to your coworkers. Metro will kickoff its 13th annual celebration of Bike to Work Week with a bike rally and fair featuring Ed Begley, Jr. and a free concert by the Ditty Bops at Los Angeles City Hall, Monday, May 14. Metro also......

Expect delays between 6 a.m. and noon on Saturday: On Saturday morning, April 28, transit patrons utilizing Union Station between 6 a.m. and noon are advised that they may experience service delays of 15 minutes or longer on inbound and outbound rail and bus services due to a scheduled joint security training exercise.Union Station transit operators, including the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Metrolink and Amtrak, will join the Los Angeles County......

After last week's back and forth on fighting parking tickets and whether or not parking at a FAILED meter will warrant a ticket or not, we decided to call the Department of Transportation (DOT). However, DOT has taught us in the past that when you call as "press," they freak out, send you in loops and you might get a call back or you might not. So this time, we just called the city......

It's one of those annoying things you have to love about Los Angeles. Freeway directionals that confuse the hell out of newbies and out-of-towners alike. Your internet map directions say take the 110 South (or maybe West), yet the signs on freeway just say 110 Harbor or 110 Pasadena. Great, now the guy in front if us is slowing down because they are freaking out over which is what. In the Valley, many complain......

Get Involved is a new series of posts of pertinent local meetings where your surroundings might be affected. In that case, speak up! If you cause traffic to lessen traffic, does that make things equal? There's going to be some major construction over in the Westchester/LMU neighborhood over some major lane closures that may extend into the summer. The new project will widen lanes and sidewalks on Lincoln Boulevard in both directions, create four lanes......

"The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) announces that all lanes on the northbound San Diego Freeway (I-405) at Ventura Blvd. have been re-opened after a toppled construction crane closed all northbound lanes earlier today," CalTrans Spokeswoman Jeanne Bonfilio said today in a press release e-mail this afternoon. It continues to state that the 405 southbound carpool lane has re-opened while all other southbound lanes continue to operate as normal. Picture from sigalert.com at 5:30 p.m.......

Michelle Mowery is the Bicycle Program's Sr. Project Coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. As Spring is basically here, we think it's a good time to ride your bicycle around town. It's much better than in the heat. Michelle is extremely busy serving this city with bicycle love. We are happy to get a few moments with her and hope to visit her again for some more bike fun. Here, we learn......

Year after year, holiday after holiday; we stare at I-5 near the Grapevine in astonishment. There are just certain days you just don't travel if you want to be efficient. It doesn't help when there is a lane closed either: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) advises motorists traveling over the upcoming Veteran’s Day Weekend on the northbound Golden State Freeway (I-5) north of Santa Clarita near the “Grapevine,” to please plan ahead and......

Everyone who's ever sat fuming at a big gas-guzzling SUV now has the company of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. California and nine other states are suing the Bush administration over mileage rules for sport utility vehicles and light trucks. The decision is actually made in the Department of Transportation, run by Norman Mineta, but that's in the Executive Branch, so he was appointed by and reports to Bush. In fact, the Transportation people......

LA Observed reports that The Los Angeles Times has lured away Slate's Christopher Hawthorne to become the paper's new architecture critic, filling a vacancy left open when Nicolai Ouroussoff joined the staff of The New York Times several months ago. Is it a coincidence that Hawthorne's recent piece in Slate focuses on new architecture in Los Angeles?...Hmmm, we smell a tryout. At any rate, Hawthorne thoughtfully reviews the new district headquarters for the California......