Comments on: Santa Monica Wins Bike Friendly Award. Local Cyclists Call Bullshit.

By: evan

evan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:10:18 +0000

Once-a-week cyclist and Santa Monica resident here, and I have to say that I’ve never had any problems cycling in the city. I’ll admit that I haven’t cycled it extensively, and I’ve heard the complaints about the police and Critical Mass. The bike lane along Broadway, which I ride most often, is great to have, and the road is much better than Ohio in Los Angeles (which is what Broadway changes to), where there is no bike lane and where the road is in much worse shape.

The city prints maps showing where marked bike lanes are, which streets have significant hills, and what streets don’t have bike lanes, but are bike-friendly. That’s much better than anything Los Angeles has done.

I’m not saying Santa Monica is perfect when it comes to cycling issues, but I do think it’s a lot better than most cities in Southern California, and for that I’m glad.

By: bmayhem

bmayhem — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:26:35 +0000

Why not just put the collective money where the collective mouth is and send in documentation to LAB about how bad it sucks? If not, it would be like complaining about how bad the government is/was and not voting.

By: shmooth

shmooth — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:41:44 +0000

yeah, um, i’m gonna go ahead and go out on a limb here and suggest that the LAB actually knows wtf they’re doing. it’s not like Santa Monica is the first second-rate town with fifth-rate biking infrastructure to get a Bronze award.

these types of awards are often used as the ‘carrot’ to bring city councils and mayor into the fold. the ‘stick’ is often provided by the bike activists.

but i have an idea — someone should just call the LAB and ask what is up. it’s not like it’s the Leage of American Cars or something.

sheesh. get a grip.

By: Streetsblog » Today’s Headlines

Streetsblog » Today’s Headlines — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:44:46 +0000

[...] Locals Still Angry About Santa Monica’s Award from League of American Cyclists (Metblogs) [...]

By: Submitted without comment — they drive among us « BikingInLA

Submitted without comment — they drive among us « BikingInLA — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:57:34 +0000

[...] Mikey Walley joins the chorus of cyclists decrying Santa Monica’s bronze award from the LAB; Metblogs and Curbed LA pick up the story. In the wake of the crash that almost cost Denis Menchov the Giro, [...]

By: Local LA Blogger Cyclists in Uproar Over Award « Mikey Wally

Local LA Blogger Cyclists in Uproar Over Award « Mikey Wally — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:09:34 +0000

[...] and staff will point to the award and remark that our own people disagree with us.” And Sean Bonner at LA Metblogs praises the work of investigative blogging that it takes to expose the bullshit [...]