Long Beach Post: Streetsblog Los Angeles Examines Bike-Friendly Long Beach

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Streetsblog Los Angeles Examines Bike-Friendly Long Beach

by Greggory Moore | No Destination | 08.23.11 |

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Bicyclists in downtown Long Beach take their first official spin in the city's new protected bike paths on April 23, 2011, the day they were officially opened to the public. Photo by Richard Risemberg.

12:39pm
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| Perhaps you've seen evidence of Long Beach making moves to live up to its City Hall boast that this is "the most bicycle friendly city in America."

But you've never seen it examined like this.

Last week was Long Beach week on Streetsblog Los Angeles, which calls itself a "daily news source connecting people to information about sustainable transportation and livable communities," has just completed a four-part series on how the city has used the $310,000 PLACE¹ Grant it received in 2008 from the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

"This was the first time that anyone in L.A. County has tried to make the connection between public health and healthy lifestyle and transportation policy," says Streetsblog L.A.'s Damien Newton of the PLACE Grant Program.

Long Beach was one of five communities receiving the three-year grants, and Newton received a fellowship from USC�s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism to review the progress made by each.

"We wanted to see whether ultimately what they did with [the PLACE Grants] makes sense," says Newton, "if [life in those communities] is actually going to be healthier as a result."

So how did Long Beach do? You really should check out Streetsblog L.A.'s in-depth coverage and eloquent presentation. But the short answer is like the old Virginia Slims slogan: "You've come a long way, baby."

Newton credits Charlie Gandy, who received much of the PLACE Grant money to serve as Long Beach's "mobility coordinator," for a lot of the progress. "He brought over a lot of state, federal, and county money on top of the $310,000 to do a lot of these pilot projects," says Newton. "And Long Beach really has developed an infrastructure that's unique in Southern California."

The four parts of Newton's Long Beach series include an opening overview, a piece surveying the impact Long Beach's new focus on "Livable Streets" has had on business; a piece examining �Active Living and Complete Streets� planning documents that make up part of the PLACE Grant; and a piece looking at the existing and funded infrastructure put in place over the last three years, as well as a discussion of Long Beach�s recent past and future.

What is the biggest negative Newton sees in Long Beach's progress? "When you look at the really innovative things that are going on, you see them in areas that are more business-oriented," he says. "And some people question whether bicycle infrastructure in Long Beach is really about supporting those who 'need it least.' �� At least right now there's that perception in some quarters."

But that may be slated to change. "If you look at the projects that are funded over the next couple of years, you see them spread out much more throughout the city," he says.

However, does Newton agree with City Hall's claim that Long Beach is already #1 for bikes in the USA? "Personally, I don't feel that Long Beach is there yet," he says. "I think if we look at the cities that are traditionally at the top of the list, Portland and Minneapolis, they're certainly ahead of where Long Beach is. At the same time, Long Beach is closing the gap. � The strides that Long Beach has made in three years � Long Beach is definitely on the map."

Go to Streetsblog Los Angeles (see above links) to get a good sense of why.

¹Policies for Livable, Active Communities and Environments

Comments

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30 Comments so far.

Mike Ruehle
What's with all of the false self proclamations? According to Bicycling.com, Long Beach didn't even make the top 20 most bike friendly cities in the US.

http://www.bicycling.com/news/advocacy/23-long-beach-ca

MSNBC doesn't even mention Long Beach when discussing other cities in California as being the most bike friendly in North America.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25267048/ns/travel-active_travel/t/north-americas-most-bike-friendly-cities/

Environmental graffiti magazine mentions UC Davis as one of the most bike friendly cities in the US but says nothing about Long Beach.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/green-living/the-five-most-bike-friendly-us-cities/1025

UC Davis is even ranked #5 most bike friendly in the world by Virgin Vacations.

http://www.virgin-vacations.com/11-most-bike-friendly-cities.aspx

And also by CNN.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-06/travel/bike.friendly.cities.matador_1_bike-friendly-city-bike-week-bicycle-friendly-town?_s=PM:TRAVEL

Yahoo Travel declares San Diego as one of the most bike friendly cities in the US but says nothing about Long Beach.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-29200984

Who besides Mayor Bob Foster and City Manager Pat West believe Long Beach is the "most bike friendly city in the US?"

According to the sources I've listed, Long Beach isn't even close to being the most bike friendly city in California.

Next up....."Long Beach is the Aquatic Capital of the world."

Ha!
Mike Ruehle....shhhhhhhh! We don't take kindly to facts around here. It's all about illusions, false police detain harassment stories, self promotion using 501C3.....that sort of thing.

great start!
@Mike ~ No surprise that you would be so negative, but let me point out that the article states Long Beach has made improvements... and that's exactly what they have done... it does not claim that the efforts to increase and improve mobility in the city are finished! It's a start... and a great start at that! Need proof? Try logging off your computer and go for a bike ride!
That being said I agree with the article that more needs to be done to improve walking/biking/etc., in the parts of town that our City Manager and Mayor rarely visit and not just add bike improvements to the downtown, Bixby and Belmont Shore neighborhoods! I also wish more was being done to implement bike safety education (as the photo clearly indicates with most riders not wearing helmets it's definitely needed)!

Bill Orton
I share my car (purchased at LB's Hooman Toyota) with my daughter, and ride to work about 3 days a week. The 8 mile route includes only about half-a-mile of the downtown separated bike lanes. I only WISH there were greater connectivity across the city as there is in the pilot project areas, but that is the purpose of pilot projects. That said, we have a very long way to go within the bike culture itself to use the infrastructure properly when it does get erected. I am usually the only bikerider who stops at red lights. The streets do not belong solely to cars, and providing intermodal infrastructure therefore is about sharing the asset, but with the access comes responsibility.

Clarissa
I agree with Mike Ruehle (shock) and think a part of achieving this vision Long Beach has that is being overlooked is educating cyclists on traffic safety and laws that apply to them. One of my pet peeves: cyclists that don't stop at stop signs.

Eric
There's not even any mention of the string of collisions that have happened in LB resulting in the deaths of bicyclists.

Long Beach is definitely not the most bike friendly city in the US. I have a bike-riding enthusiast who wears a helmet, has lights and everything, and has been cut off twice resulting in him eating shit, breaking bones, or his face.

Our city needs to step it up with better enforcement of traffic laws in regards to bicyclists.

LBNative
In concept, I think having a bike friendly community is great. Unfortunately, there are those bicyclists who have developed a sense of entitlement and think that they can have it both ways. They want to be considered a pedestrian and not a moving vehicle and vice versa when convenient. Signal lights, stop signs and crosswalks do not apply to them as nothing should interrupt their stride. Guess what, this is the city and not a ride in the country. Motorists should be able anticipate that the “rules of the road” also apply to cyclists. The “near miss” accidents are numerous and the cyclists are always quick to blame motorists for absolutely everything, while not taking any responsibility for their actions (or lack of).

Separating the bicyclists from motorists is a great idea, but that green stripe down Second Street, not so much. It’s just not practical. The street is already to congested with cars, pedestrians, strollers, dogs and skate boarders. One more moving element added to this mix was not needed and should have been discouraged. Second Street is an accident waiting to happen. Nothing is more frustrating than 2 or 3 laughing juveniles cyclists deliberately holding back traffic as they ride parallel to one another. Appian Way would have been a better choice for all, a much wider street and less traffic.

John
I love Long Beach, but personally I think all these bike lanes were a big waste of money. People still ride anywhere they want, including going down a one-way street the wrong direction, and NOT even in the bike lane. They are all over the sidewalks, and the downtown and 3rd street bike lanes have created grid-lock so bad that I don't even drive on them anymore, and they are streets for cars, first and foremost, right?

LBNative Lover
This "bike-friendly" crap only serves the few and gets IN THE WAY of the many. They picked THE worst street in Long Beach to paint green. It was a horrifically stupid idea.

LBNative said the other stuff so purtty, I wanna give them a big kiss.

Kenny
@LBNative Do all drivers follow the rules? Do some drivers have a sense of entitlement? Are some drivers jerks and dangerous to themselves and others? I think the same applies to bicyclists.

At the end of the day we're dealing with individuals. Not everyone follows the rules, but because some don't that shouldn't spoil things for the rest of us that do. All the bike related initiatives the city has built have been great to encourage more people to get out and get some exercise. My two cents.

LBMike
Cough, cough, gag.... The author says, "We wanted to see whether ultimately what they did with the PLACE Grants ($300K from LA County Health), makes sense. If life in those communities is actually going to be healthier as a result." Cough, cough... want to have some real fun.... click on the Mates III map below, zoom in on Long Beach, move your cursor over the bike lane areas, see where the air is the most unhealthy. Yeah baby let's bike on over to the LBC and pick up some asthma! http://www2.aqmd.gov/webappl/matesiii/

Full of Contempt
Are you kidding me? The bike lanes are a mess. While I like the striping on 1st 2nd and 3rd east of Alamitos, those lanes end abruptly on the west right at Alamitos. Only 3rd st continues on to downtown, but it starts on the left side of the street (whereas east of Alamitos the lane is on the right). Cyclist have to figure out how to cross 3rd with regular traffic and cars merging from Alamitos. Once on 3rd, west of Alamitos, the bike lane weaves in and out of the left hand turn lanes for crosstreets. Confusing for both cyclists and motorists. From downtown, the lane on Broadway ends abruptly right before Alamitos with no markings or indications on how to connect with 1st, 2nd or 3rd street east lanes. The east side of these lanes end abruptly at Bixby Park, so...? These "improvements" are a complete waste of money, weaving in and out of left hand turn lanes, especially near Long Beach Blvd is dicey at best, I DO NOT feel these lanes have made my rides any safer or more enjoyable. Foster and the rest of our dysfunctional city government wasted the money. My suggestion? Put bike lanes on 6th and 7th, those streets need to be slowed down and they are in neighborhoods where more people use bikes as transportation. 7th street would also connect with the river path that connects with the beach bike path. You're welcome.

LMK
The bike lanes are a start, but what would make it really interesting and viable is providing access to the actual bikes. I was in DC a few weeks ago, and there are bike stations every few blocks where you can pay a few dollars, unlock a bike and ride it for a day or to the next station. It makes using a bike a viable way to move around town. It was fantastic. Are there any plans to do this in LB?

longtimelongshore
The sad part about this whole bicycle thing is there are no jobs in the city of Long Beach to drive your bike to work to. Since the largest employers in Long Beach are the LB Unifed School District, the City of Long Beach and Cal State Long Beach and most of their employees live outside the city requiring a commute by car to their jobs, who do the bike paths serve?

air we breathe!
@LBMike ~ isn't the fact that we have such poor air quality just another reason why people should consider getting out of their cars and walking/biking more? You're right, we have an air quality problem and it's not going to get any better unless people are willing to make some changes to their lifestyles! I have to wonder if any of the people complaining on here even bothered to get involved with the planning process (they hosted community meetings) or have offered up any thoughtful suggestions to the folks in charge of making these decisions. Yes, the green lane on 2nd street is a bad idea (and a bad street for it) but that doesn't mean all the new bike stuff in the city is bad!

DTLB
Mike Ruehle - how about posting an article/list that's post 2008?

Pigeon
In Long Beach, since it's all about the money, how about taking some of it to indemnify the rest of us when the cyclists break the law and are injured. I am sick of them ignoring stop lights, riding on sidewalks w/o helmets, etc., when I am driving or walking. They don't deserve space on city streets until they can follow the laws. Thanks for making my drives and walks more dangerous you city morons!

Maitriquest
What Mike doesn't seem to understand is that those communities he points to for getting great press for being "bike friendly" have a long history at it. They're known entities. Long Beach is very new to this. We are not known to the broad national lifestyle media as being bike friendly - yet.

Two years ago LB debuted at #23 in Bicycle friendliness, the first time it had been on the list. Will we move up to silver for 2012? We have very specific criteria per the League of American Bicyclists that we need to reach and many of us, private citizens, advocates and city officials alike, are working on that.

Yes, we have far to go. Yes, much infrastructure was put into play before good broad communication about sharing the street safely came into play. Yes, absolutely we need more safety education - yes, bicyclists are believing they are still pedestrians and are not realizing that on sidewalks pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way. Yes, motorist still try to run bicyclists off the road not understanding that per the law bicyclists have the legal right to share the street. The safety education is on its way shortly.

But what about stepping back (a many here are recommending) and taking a broad strategic view. LB has made impressive strides. We are working to become a more livable city for all - and that means better transit, walking and bicycle infrastructure + communication so that both residents and tourists can enjoy what a beautiful city we have. Yes, it can be frustrating that government isn't as nimble as we'd like but let's not get so focused on criticism we can't see the positives and the opportunities.

Mike Ruehle
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), Long Beach ranks as the worst city in California for fatalities or injuries to children under the age of 15 years old.

http://www.ots.ca.gov/media_and_research/Rankings/default.asp

So, who is Long Beach bicycle friends with?

Mike Ruehle
No, Mike fails to understand why a city proclaims its self to be "The MOST Bicycle Friendly City in America" when it clearly is NOT. Wishing it doesn't make it so.

Anonymous
@air we breathe!
Yes it would be a great help to our enviornment if everyone would use a bike for their main mode of transportation. But, that will never happen! Mass transit, electric rail, solar, geo-thermal. As an old guy I don't have time, when I was a kid we had the Pacific Electric (Red Line, in LB) all over SoCal but the politicians thought it better to support oil and rubber interests. All I'm saying is that until this city can get a grip on the awful air quality impacting us I don't need to see anymore or the councils good feel projects wasting their time.

Jay
I love the bike lanes. The separated ones in downtown are great in my opinion. I'm even happier to see more and more painted bike lines throughout the city and I hope that trend continues.

Not a fan of the "Sharrows". I'll never use those. The last thing I want is to have a line of angry motorists behind me because we're using the same lane.

I don't care what City Hall says, it's they're actions I care about. Of course they're going to exaggerate. They're politicians. No we're not the most super-duper bike city in the world or whatever they're trying to claim. However, we're making real improvements. I feel safer when I ride my bike around town. And as a motorist I don't feel inconvenienced. That's what matters to me.

DidWeVOTE?
I think the bigger issue here is whether or not we even WANT to make strides to be a bike-friendly city!!! I wasn't asked to vote on this as a strategic direction--nor would I have voted for it if I was... If we have, indeed, made "strides" (kinda funny word to use in an article about bikes, no?), do I even care to make them???

I don't want to be a bike-friendly city. I just want to be a friendly city. And it seems to me that most of my city friends are driving a CAR and find these bikes to be a NUISANCE and IN THE WAY--not a STRIDE...

Velo LB
You'll never see Mike R. on a bike because it would take away from his precious sitting-on-the-Internet-and-complaining-about-everything-he-reads time. Seriously man, do you have ONE positive thing to say about anything? Ever? Maybe you SHOULD get out on a bike. It might bring your blood pressure down a little.

And to LBNative, LB Native Lover, John, etc: Well I think your car is in the way of my bike. How 'bout them apples?

@DidWeVote
As a cyclist, I think you and your car are a nuisance. Please stay out of my way when I'm mashing DTLB.

Mom of 3
I would much rather be known as a Business Friendly city! Unfortunately, that will never happen in Long Beach.

D Bike Rider
I think Long Beach has done a great job with bicycle improvements. I commute as often as possible 10 miles to work in LB and the majority of it is completely separated or satisfactory separated bike paths.

US
Bicycle FRIENDLY?! You're kidding, right? A few months ago my nephew got a ticket for no license on his BICYCLE! Last night a friend of mine got a ticket for no headlight... On his BICYCLE! There is NO room on the tiny streets of LB for bikes... Or should I say DIRT roads of LB. There's so many pot-holes on 10th St, it would be a blessing to be driving on a dirt road instead.

To sum up: Let's get the cops to stop shooting people and stop pulling over every bicycle that happens to ride by, and START catching the bad guys.

And let's NOT call it bicycle "friendly" LB until you can fit a bicycle on 7th St, the MAIN artery into the city.

ARREST THOSE CYCLISTS
...By the way, every SINGLE person in that picture is breaking the law... No lights on their bikes, no helmets, no licenses... They have all probably been shot by the LBPD by now.

Pffff, bicycle friendly... My ass.

enlightenment
i'll try to remove some of the ignorance here a bit.

1. 2nd St in belmont has a poorly timed traffic signal every block for a reason. its traffic calming as they want people to slow down and look at the business for places they can spend money. having cyclists "in your way" is progressive towards this goal. a long beach native should know this.

2. now for the law
-you no longer need a bicycle license/registration. the city council has now made that voluntary.
-helmets are required for children (under the age of 18) there is an assumption there that "adults" will have the intelligence and maturity to be responsible for their own safety.

3. stereo typing and generalizing. i break more traffic laws in a day in my car then a month of riding my bike. including, but not limited to, running stop signs and red lights. open your eyes and look around. look around when you go drive today and tell me you dont see people speeding, failing to signal, rolling through stop signs, etc. hypocrisy at its best.

No Destination

Greggory Moore examines Long Beach in light of his belief that the most pragmatic aim of a community and its individuals is not for a terminus but simply to be better, always to be better.

Trapped within in the ironic predicament of wanting to know everything (more or less) while believing it may not be possible really to know anything at all, Greggory Moore is nonetheless dedicated to a life of study, be it of books, people, nature, or that slippery phenomenon we call the self. And from time to time he feels impelled to write a little something. He lives in a historic landmark downtown and holds down a variety of word-related jobs, from HOA minutes-taker to theatre critic for GreaterLongBeach.com. His novel "The Use of Regret" was published in early 2011.

Greggory's Community