Los Angeles Bicycle Plan Seeks Community Input

The Department of City Planning is scheduled to host a meeting this coming Wednesday to solicit community feedback about the implementation of the first year of the 2010 Bicycle Plan, which is aimed at building at least 200 miles of bikeways every five years.

A joint project between the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the Department of Transportation, the 2010 Bicycle Plan designates a total of 1,680 miles of bicycle lanes, paths and bicycle friendly streets. Community support is not just mandatory for the plan, it’s vital because of the plan’s potential impact on such issues as traffic congestion and parking.

A Bicycle Plan Implementation Team consisting of city staff, representatives of other agencies and the bicycling community invites suggestions from the public about how to proceed with the project’s environmental impact study.

The so-called “scoping meeting” will be held July 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens, located at 570 W. Avenue 26, 90065. (See the attached PDF document for further details.)

The meeting will focus on two proposed project areas in Northeast Los Angeles:

• North Figueroa Street between San Fernando Road and Colorado Boulevard.

• Colorado Boulevard between the Glendale city limits and Avenue 64.

The Bicycle Plan’s environmental impact study has the support of Take Back the Boulevard, Eagle Rock’s homegrown initiative to make Colorado Boulevard more friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians.

“Bike lanes can not only make it safer for bicyclists, but also make it safer for pedestrians to cross Colorado and reduce speeding,” the TBTB steering committee said in a prepared statement e-mailed to Patch.

For more information about Wednesday’s meeting—or to submit an item for public comment—contact David Somers, a bicycle planner in the city planning department at David.Somers@lacity.org.