Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Bicyclists still can't cross LA on marked bike lanes
L.A. City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee are reconvening this afternoon to take a second look at the original Mobility Plan 2035.
(
Craig Barry via Flickr Creative Commons
)
Despite years of effort to make Los Angeles streets safer for bicycles, biking across the city remains not just difficult, but actually impossible for those who want to stick to designated bike streets.
Even simple trips—like the journey from Echo Park to Downtown—aren't possible using existing cycling infrastructure (Metro's most recent data is from 2012).
See for yourself. This KPCC map shows a cyclist's Los Angeles:
Support for LAist comes from
It's the city's road map, stripped down to just bike infrastructure. It includes both bike lanes and streets where bikes and cars share the road, as long as there are signs indicating it's a bike route (we ignored off-street bike paths).
Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said bike infrastructure is up by 17% across Los Angeles County since 2012. Metro was not immediately able to break down that number for the City of Los Angeles.
L.A.'s efforts to improve biking infrastructure typically draw criticism from all sides: bicyclists complain some projects are actually dangerous to cyclists, businesses and motorists complain about the loss of traffic lanes and parking. The result is a lot of stalled bike projects.
The entertainment industry has even made a cameo, stepping in to remove green bike lanes downtown because the distinct color made it harder to use storytelling magic to transport audiences to other locales while really filming in Los Angeles.
But before you start complaining, Los Angeles is far from alone.
The Washington Post's Wonkblog took a look at bike lanes and paths in Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle and Miami, and found those cities were impossible to cross on just bike infrastructure, too.
Here's how the Post characterized the bike network in D.C.:
Support for LAist comes from
Bike commuting throughout the city is often like this: cobbled together out of a bit of bike lane here, an unprotected shoulder there, a scrap of sharrow and some silent pleas that cars won't run you over. Bike lanes occasionally appear and vanish multiple times on the same street. Sometimes they last just a few hundred feet. It feels as if someone striped the city with dozens of quarter-mile commutes in mind.
This story is part of Transportation Nation, a public radio reporting project that combines the work of multiple newsrooms to provide coverage of how we build, rebuild and get around the nation. To read other Transportation Nation stories, click here. Let us know what you think in the comments below, on KPCC's Facebook page or on Twitter (@KPCC).
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs. -
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
Best of LAist