Bicyclists Strike back at Santa Monica Uploaded by thepeoplesride Last Friday night in Santa Monica, bicyclists-turned-temporary-pedestrians gathered and protested what they believe is harassment from the city towards monthly Critical Mass bicycles rides. At their latest ride on August 1st, 14 police officers were deployed to monitor the ride resulting in at least nine citations (unofficial counts totaled up to 14). In response to that, around 60 bicyclists planned and executed some civil disobedience by......

Type of Motorcycle identified in the Hit & Run On Monday, just before 1:00 p.m., Lauren Charles Black, a 62-year old resident of Los Angeles, was crossing Glendale Blvd at Rockwood Street (map below, looks to be in or near Historic Filipinotown) when he was struck by motorcyclist going northbound on Glendale Boulevard. The suspect left the scene of the accident without stopping to identify himself or render aid to the fallen victim and......

We have no scientific proof that this is the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world, but it definitely could be a contender. Nevertheless, here is an example of why the city is interested in scramble crosswalks, explained earlier when talking about the new one hitting Westwood Village this week.......

This doesn't even look like a crosswalk, but this is is a scramble crosswalk in Tokyo | Photo by Julie Wolfson/LAist Come Thursday, UCLA folk and others will have a new way of crossing the street at Le Conte and Westwood. It's called a scramble crosswalk and is currently in use in Pasadena, Beverly Hills and at Hoover and Jefferson near USC. It's where pedestrians can cross the street from all four corners at......

A Union Station Metrolink train bound from Ventura (route 106) struck and killed a person this morning after shortly before 8:15 a.m. It reportedly happened at Raymer St. and Bellaire Ave. in the North Hollywood area near where the 170 Freeway meets Sherman Way, according to alerts sent out by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Both sides of the track were shut down for an investigation.......

Photo by stop.down via Flickr The LA Times has certainly taken the Mandeville Canyon story and run with it. But that's a good thing, it's a conversation that has been needed for a long time and to see the city's largest media outlet take it head on is a good sign for positive results. Here's some of the latest, which leads today's online California section: With the city of Los Angeles in the early......

Will Los Angeles start feeling more urban and navigable for pedestrians in downtown and Hollywood? Yesterday, the city council approved a 6-month pilot project to allow taxis more freedom of where to pick up and drop off customers. Basically, they just can't block bus stops, but handicap and red zones will be fair game. Blogdowntown reports one taxi driver's sigh of relief. We're just excited to be able to cruise from the Arts District to......

Although we nagged on Councilman Bill Rosendahl this morning, we had a candid chat with his office this morning afterwards. Things were overlooked and last night's meeting was not meant to be a secret, even if it was closed, they said. In an e-mail update on the meeting, among other things, sent out this afternoon (posted in full below), Rosendahl starts off his message with quite a nice vision: "I’d like to update you on......

Two years ago the community joined City Council President Eric Garcetti on the Great Hollywood Walkabout conducted by Deborah Murphy who then made recommendations which included reclassifying Hollywood Boulevard to include a pedestrian priority classification. Then and today, Hollywood Boulevard is still classified and engineered as a Major Highway. This morning, a vehicle involved in killing two pedestrians on the boulevard last night still sat in the middle of the street. The two victims were......

Photo by HBuzacott via Flickr Taking a note from a Los Angeles bicycle law, the city of West Hollywood has made the first steps to allow bicycles to legally ride on sidewalks, reports WeHo News. Currently, West Hollywood's law is consistent with LA County law stating that “a person shall not operate any bicycle… on any sidewalk or parkway except at a permanent or temporary driveway or at specific locations thereon where the commissioner......

You can't block a sidewalk, it's a public right-of-way, and in West Hollywood doing so can get you arrested as TMZ reports:By our count, six camerapeople were busted last night; two outside the salon where Brit was getting her hair done and four outside Villa nightclub where Lindsay was partying. Two TMZ photogs were among those busted. [...] One TMZ photog says he had just stepped off the sidewalk when he was cuffed and thrown......

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......

It all started with Anthony Bourdain's Mexican border episode of his show No Reservations. At one point he picks up a riding crop in a leather shop. He slaps it confidently against the palm of his hand, and says, "Yeah, this is coming home with me." I've always been attracted to his superior punk New York attitude. But the "whack" of that riding crop took it somewhere new. I confessed to my boyfriend, "I'm sorry......

Sarah Silverman @ Largo Metal Skool Tommy Peacock, 3 Against 1 @ Key Club Razorlight, Gran Ronde @ Henry Fonda Chris Daughtry @ Orpheum Softlightes, Sunday Drivers, Arizona, Unbusted @ Spaceland Tickle Me Pink, Dead Sara, The Record Life @ Safari Sam's Pedestrian, Cydney Robinson, Holly Palmer @ The Bordello Black Hole Suns, Scott Wolf, Grogans Girl @ The Good Hurt Mercy Killers, The Black Rose Phantoms, Static Though @ Knitting Factory......

The state says the Mayor should get an automatic $8,283 salary increase retroactive to July 1. The mayor says not so fast: “With the City of Los Angeles facing a tough budget year, I do not believe now is the time for me to accept an automatic and retroactive pay raise. Being Mayor of Los Angeles is reward enough, and I’m committed to working twenty-four-seven to protect essential services.” (via a press release) The......

Heavy Trash - "Dark Hair'd Rider" Heavy Trash @ The Echo The Octopus Project, Pedestrian, 8MM @ The Roxy Culver City Symphony Orchestra @ Veterans Auditorium Evanescence @ The Greek Theatre Henry Franklin Quartet @ Senor Fish (The Plan to End Homelessness benefit at 4 p.m.) She Wants Revenge @ The Henry Fonda Theater Nathan Hubbard's Everything After @ Cafe Metropol Very Be Careful @ The Regent Theatre......

Travel + Leisure's November 2007 issue features a fun little ditty called America's Favorite Cities. They've asked people from all over the country to rate 25 well-known cities on everything from culture and nightlife to public transportation and weather. We're not quite sure who these 60,000 respondents think they are, but they don't have anything nice to say about our fair city. Oh, except for the fact that we have nice shops. Los Angeles......

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......

The Pogues @ The Wiltern - Tonight ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, Dethklok @ UCLA - Tonight Redd Kross @ Echoplex - Tomorrow The Polyphonic Spree, Rooney @ Henry Fonda - Tomorrow Yo La Tengo @ The Ivar - Tomorrow Low Versus Diamond @ Viper Room - Tomorrow The Bronx, The Mercy Killers @ Safari Sam's - Tomorrow Rodrigo Y Gabriela @ Henry Fonda, 11/3 Yo La Tengo......

View Larger Map It's safe to say that the 15 or so mile east-west Sherman Way has been a deadly topic in the news lately. On September 16, Daily News reported in an article about deadly Valley streets for pedestrians that "30 people were killed and more than 90 seriously hurt on just two streets - Sherman Way and Vanowen Street." (link not available, the paper doesn't archive their stories online for very long) An......

It's better than winning the lottery. LAist is running three contests right now: a pair of tickets for Bright Eyes with the LA Philharmonic for this Saturday, a pair of VIP passes to LA Weekly's Detour Festival on October 6 and a pair of tickets for next The Crystal Method at The Roxy next tuesday. Speaking of Detour, the line-ups and stages were announced today Hopefully, citizens won't get cheated as much anymore: the......

Rally champion Colin McRae dies with son in helicopter crash. McRae participated in the last two X-Games, rolling his car both times at the Home Depot Center. He last competed here on August 5th, his birthday by the way. Complete with an interactive map, Daily News finds that Pedestrian vs. Automobile accidents are high in the Valley. (Author's note: after being hit by a car in a hit and run when I was legally......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers......

Capt. Curtis of the Beverly Hills Police Department appeared before the BH Traffic Commission to address one issue, the “SUV vs. Cyclist” incident on August 21, 2007 that resulted in a citation for the cyclist and nothing for the motorist. Also in attendance were 8 local cyclists, none having met the cited cyclist before but all committed to supporting his fight for justice and all committed to fighting for equal access to the streets for......

Two weeks ago today, a motorist on Wilshire Boulevard came to an intersection and found herself behind somebody who was preparing to turn left. Under normal conditions this would mean slowing down and waiting but since it was a cyclist, the motorist accelerated and screamed “Get out of the road!” The incident escalated and resulted in the arrival of Beverly Hills Police Officer Prenesti who greeted the cyclist by yelling “You idiot!” It’s clear......

Spice girl, newlywed, and new mama Mel B is being outted by her former lesbian lover who is revealing information about their two year love affair and Mel B's "fragile" state of mind - Daily News Britney Spears got pulled over last night on her way to her favorite party spot, Las Vegas. Britney got out of it, claiming she was being chased by the paparazzi - Dlisted Pete Doherty checks into rehab finally, lets......

The MTA will be testing a new 65-foot-long prototype bus - which can hold up to 131 sitting and standing passengers - on the Orange Line busway for one year starting this week. Nicely done: L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon drafted a measure 2 months ago that would've drastically reduced traffic congestion on one block of one street in Panorama City - namely the one where his house is located. Who's down with Gov.......

It's exasperating enough when you're trying to cross the street and someone trying to make a right turn on red is hugging the corner blocking your way on a walk signal. This picture is of a guy completely blocking the whole pedestrian crosswalk. He was the first car to pull up at the red light during the walk signal. Legally, since he drove past the limit line during a red light, this is considered......

Cheap Trick - "Magical Mystery Tour", Tokyo '92 Cheap Trick, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra @ Hollywood Bowl (some Beatles thing) Great Northern, The Comas, Twilight Sleep @ Spaceland KC & the Sunshine Band @ The Canyon The Adolescents, Channel 3 @ Safari Sam's Tim McGraw, Faith Hill @ The Honda Center CunninLynguists, Tonedeff, PackFM @ The Roxy Guitars & Saxes, Warren Hill, Diane Schuur @ Rainbow Lagoon - Long Beach Jazz Fest Raine Maida,......

There's been some talk of making the Purple Line subway for Wilshire Blvd. actually veer off and go through West Hollywood or even making an additional line, say the Pink Line. As Wad explains on MetroRiderLA:The Purple Line is a 21-hour system committed to solving a 6-hour problem. The bulk of ridership would be coming from rush-hour work trips. But the offices generate very little activity during mid-days and virtually none on weekends... [snip]......