Alan in Bixby Knolls said:
Wait, an elite closed-course professional racer is going to be making decisions for the novice beach-cruiser general public?
Asking Tony Cruz to plan bicycle infrastructure is like having Mario Andretti design a freeway interchange.
I hope the city reconsiders and commissions somebody with bicycle education background. There are plenty of educated cyclists in Long Beach (see lbcyclists.org) that could do the job better... though they may not have medals from races in Spain or Italy.
Coach Green said:
Imagine that, city staff breaking the law for a photo-op. Last time I checked, riding 4-abreast was illegal. And what was Mr. Cruz doing on that bike? I usually see him about town on a brakeless (illegal) fixed gear bike with headphones (illegal) in and no helmet.
And shame on Mayor Foster for not wearing a helmet. Granted he isn't required to and it's only passively protective, but not wearing one is bad form for a man in his position.
Russ Roca said:
I'd like to applaud taking steps in the right direction. I also hope, however, that they will truly listen to the VOICE of cyclists in Long Beach and use their input. Too often, bicycle decisions in the city are a top-down operation with decisions being made by those that do not actually ride bicycles in the city. The result of which are often poor and dangerously placed bike lanes and other infrastructure. I am part of the ONLY active COMMUNITY based bicycle advocacy group in Long Beach, the Long Beach Cyclists (www.lbcyclists.org). We have organized a highly successful Bike to Work Day this year, a weekly Farmer's Market bicycle ride during the summer and planned the logistics of bicycle parking at University by the Sea. Some of our members are nationally respected bicycle safety educators. We are currently working with the Art Theater and businesses on 4th street to create a Bike-In Movie Night. I mention this list to demonstrate that our group is capable and well qualified. I hope that the city will truly take into consideration the input of its cyclists needs and not merely go through the motions. I've witnessed too often well-intentioned projects that go awry because the primary stakeholders weren't involved in the decision making.
david clement said:
i'm very excited to see our city getting more bike friendly... i ride to the bike station each day and then take the train to work. it can get dicey with all the sleepy drivers in the morning one has to contend with!
ernesto said:
so the mayor is promoting biking, but he's not promoting safety.. in the picture, he's not wearing a helmet.
What about bike safety mr. mayor?
Steven Stein said:
I would just like to mention on this subject that we have a fantastic bike/pedestrian path that runs down the middle of the sand on our beach from the Alamitos parking lot behind the Villa Rivera to 54th street. The other way it goes behind Shoreline Village around the boat docks along this side of the Queen Mary and back. I've very overweight and out of shape and decided to snap back and ride this path every other day. It's a beautiful ride and easy to do. By riding every other day on this path I have seen how important bicycling is to Long Beach.
Marc Litchman said:
Oh sure, right after they buy a fleet of Jeeps for the meter maids.
Andreas said:
it's about F'in time Long Beach. I've been trying to help spread the bike message for a while now. Hopefully they take advice from people that have a lot of experience when it comes to bicycle integration. Biking through alleys is not the right way to go, no offense.
I'm actually in NY for the week on biz and even they have a much more advanced bicycle system then Long Beach, which is sad considering the geography of long beach.
this is good news though...
Cheri Kinley said:
I hope that the city will consult with attorneys that have had experience with bike accident cases so that the city can avoid law suits which might stem from the City of Long Beach promoting something for which our city streets are not equipped. Just this week, a young man's obituary ran in the PT. He was run over by a semi while riding in a crosswalk.
I would love our city to be more bike friendly. I would love to see more bike paths and bike lanes.
Kids and parents need to be taught the correct places and way to ride a bike. The incorrect way is in your picture with four abreast and taking up the whole street.
I have had experience with bike accidents first hand. My husband has litigated wrongful deaths due to bike/truck accidents. I've seen the pictures and heard the circumstances.
Dave in Alamitos Beach said:
This is sort of a comment and a question for Brian U: Since Long Beach is rather deficient on safe bike paths, can all of our alleys be utilized in some way? They're safer from traffic I guess, though not exactly ideal. Still, it's a thought.
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