Eddie Solis leaves the Metro Red Line, which serves as one part of his hour-long commute from his day job in Hollywood to his home in Boyle Heights. Much of the inspiration for his band It's Casual comes from his observations as a car-free bus and subway rider, and a skateboarder. Photo courtesy of Eddie Solis

A few weeks ago, the hardcore band It’s Casual posted “The Red Line” music video on Youtube and quickly caught the attention of local and national blogs for it’s simple yet creative critique of Los Angeles freeways. A resident of Boyle Heights, guitarist and vocalist Eddie Solis sat down with Streetsblog to talk about how his car-free lifestyle inspires his music and how he encounters the smell of Boyle Heights tortilla factories on his morning walks.

You do a lot of music that’s very transit oriented; can you explain why you went that route?

Sometimes I think there’s a lot of content out there that’s too, I want to say, too fiction. Kind of make believe. And I notice all my favorite music that hits home to me in my heart and that I kind of step back and see these bands still going… are bands that write timeless music with timeless contact that basically come from the truth of actual events and someone’s perspective. So I said I really want to find an avenue and report on it. And I go, wait, you know what, my daily commute. I see LA different because I take the bus and subway everywhere. And the freeways are just sitting there, and people are in their cars just frustrated about it, but I’m just like sightseeing everyday. So I took that concept and said, “You know what, I’m basically going to report on what I see and interpret it.”

Watch here without subtitles.

After sponsoring Streetfilms of the first two CicLAvias, the open streets festival in Los Angeles based on Bogota’s Ciclovia, Streetsblog LA faced a dilemma: How can we continue to cover this event that draws over a hundred thousand Angelenos to the streets?  The answer: Make a Streetfilm that was accessible to Southern California’s large Spanish-speaking population.

¡Viva CicLAvia! consists of two parts. First, narrator Mara Corina Arellano Colin explains the history and concept of Los Angeles’s amazing open streets party, including footage and photos from similar festivals in Bogota, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Brussels and Miami. While the narration is a great explanation of the benefits and culture of CicLAvia, the soul of Social Impact Consulting’s efforts are the interviews with participants.

The next five minutes is a parade of Spanish speakers professing their love of CicLAvia.  Whether it’s the team from South Central’s Mendez Bike Shop, the traffic officer spreading his arms while explaining Viva CicLAvia, or Hollywood’s City Councilman Eric Garcetti; the broad smiles in the Southern California sun give a message in any language.  Giving people more chances to play in the sun is good for Los Angeles.

This Streetfilm marked another first for Streetfilms, a directly reader supported video.  L.A. Streetsblog asked its readers if they wanted a Spanish language film on CicLAvia, and when they said yes, the readers were challenged through a Kick Starter campaign to fund the film.  Needless to say, the readers came through.

The song and video vent anger at conditions on Los Angeles’ freeways and depict the benefits of finding other ways to travel. Lead singer Eddie Solis screams his rage while shots of congested traffic and a physically divided city assault the senses. Finally, Solis shouts “THE RED LINE” over and over again while rocking out in a subway car.

The best part is that Solis is legitimately car free, or “unlicensed” as the band’s myspace page says. In addition to a “hard plastic seat,” Solis also travels around on his trusty skateboard.

Damien Newton: Los Angeles is changing the way it does parking in its downtown. They’re calling it the ExpressPark system. Let’s start with the basics — what is the program and what are your thoughts?

Donald Shoup: For the first time they’re stating how they’re going to set parking prices. Instead of basing it on council decisions or emotions or people’s feelings, they stated a principal. Parking at a meter will be at the lowest price they can charge and still have one or two open spaces on every block.

If they get that price right, then those spaces will be well used because almost all the spaces will be full. Yet there will be spaces readily available because one or two spaces will be open.

Can it get any better than that as a goal for the parking system?

The key is, can you set the right price without looking at the results even though the results are what’s going to count when setting the price.

DN: This marks a shift in policy for the city that seemed to base parking decisions based on what brings in the most revenue.

DS: It hadn’t been about that even, until quite recently.

You may remember a few years ago they doubled the price of parking everywhere in the city with a minimum price of a dollar an hour. Since most meters were at a quarter an hour, that meant quadrupling the price at most meters. That was the first time meter prices had been changed in eighteen years.

There’s been a lot of neglect of parking meters. Inertia seemed to be the main factor in determining parking prices.

They’re changing that by saying, “Here’s the rule. If half the spaces on a block are empty, we’re going to lower prices. If all the spaces are full we’re going to raise prices.” Since the price change two years ago, I’ve seen entire blocks where there isn’t one car parked. The price is too high.

I think a lot of prices would go down if they extend express park to the whole city. They’re starting in downtown, but I suspect that some prices will go down.

DN: One of the tenets of “The High Cost of Free Parking” is that money collected from meters should be returned to the communities where it was collected. L.A.’s plan returns all metered funds to the general fund. Is that a mistake by the city? Does it give you any misgivings about the plan altogether?

DS: That’s what they’re planning in L.A., they’re not planning on funneling any of the money back to the neighborhood?

That’s a mistake. When you funnel back to the neighborhood you get local buy-in and you get wonderful results.

Pasadena returns all of the metered money back into the neighborhood for decades and they turned the local neighborhood that used to be a commercial skid row into one of the most popular shopping destinations in Southern California. The meters brought in an extra million dollars a year in public services in just that little shopping district. They replaced all the sidewalks, streetlights and street furniture. They cleaned up the allays. They put electric wires underground. This was all paid for by meters.

But that’s a political issue. I think that getting the price right is also very important.

]]> http://la.streetsblog.org/2011/08/24/interview-with-donald-shoup-los-angeles-making-strides-with-expresspark/feed/ 0 http://la.streetsblog.org/2011/01/18/the-invisible-cyclists-immigrants-and-the-bike-community/ http://la.streetsblog.org/2011/01/18/the-invisible-cyclists-immigrants-and-the-bike-community/#comments Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:12:03 +0000 Damien Newton http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=249956 [...]]]>

GOOD Magazine recently examined the role that the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s City of Lights program has taken in giving voice to the overlooked and under-represented bicyclists. A program that started by handing out lights to immigrant cyclists and has become a national model for bicycle advocacy by focusing its efforts on safety to those underserved by government.

The above film, by Spot.us reporter and producer Alex Schmidt, is intended as a companion piece to the article in GOOD. The video does a great job explaining what City of Lights is really fighting for. They’re not dedicating their lives to improving conditions and resources for immigrant cyclists because they think cycling is great and fun. They’re doing it because making it attractive and safe to bicycle gives a new freedom to a population that is by and large car-free by necessity.

Taken in concert, the story and article do a great job outlining the twin challenges faced by City of Lights. How does one get the city to address the needs of “invisible cyclists,” and how do you reach out to a long-ignored community?

In the video, Daniel Rivera says he finds cycling in L.A. too dangerous, so instead he borrows a car or bus fare to get around town. Asked if there were conditions that would make him consider biking, Rivera answers:

Of course. If there were bike lanes like there are in Santa Monica, then I would. Otherwise it’s too dangerous.

For the article, LABC organizer Allison Mannos was asked why so many bikes near the City of Lights Day Labor Center are chained to fences instead of the new bike racks. Her answer illustrates the second problem perfectly. Just putting in new amenities is not enough, when a community isn’t looking for them.

Immigrants, she says, are not accustomed to amenities that cater to them as cyclists. “They’re not used to someone giving them a light and saying, ‘What you’re doing is awesome, keep riding,” she says. “So it just takes a lot more education.”

Clearly, there’s a lot of work left to be done. You can read more about City of Lights on the blog Ciudad de Luces.

For Angelenos, Sunday was a day that we’ll never forget. Our first Open Streets party was an unparalleled success.  So much so that even the critics of the concept grudgingly came on board when it was obvious that they missed the boat on supporting and experiencing a groundbreaking day.

The Los Angeles Times estimates that 100,000 people took to the streets to celebrate CicLAvia.  Of course, that number doesn’t count all of the residents that sat on their porches or balconies and enjoyed the car-free festival environment that permeated the air.

But perhaps the image that will remain after these festivals become the norm will be L.A.’s suddenly bike-friendly mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, hopping on a bike and pedaling away from Hollenbeck Park at the start of the festival with a smile on his face and a shout of joy coming from his heart.

“Let’s Go!”  he shouted as he took off to celebrate the day. Hopefully Sunday was the turning point for Los Angeles as we all go into our clean transportation future.

(This film was shot by Robin Adams and was funded entirely through Streetsblog LA reader donations.)

On the fourth Sunday of every month, cyclists take to the streets of Los Angeles for the "Black Kids on Bikes" (BKoB) ride. BKoB is part of a series of events called "Freedom Rides," aimed at getting more black Angelenos to enjoy the unique experience of group cycling. BKoB aims to provide a safe, fun venue for kids to ride the streets. Despite the name, the rides are open to cyclists of all races, ages, and skill levels.

The ride is the brainchild of organizer James Spooner, who wears many hats. Some know him as a Bikerowave volunteer, others as a tattoo artist. Still others know him as the groundbreaking film maker responsible for the 2003 cult film "Afro-Punk."

When it comes to making a public commitment to taming lawless driving and making streets safe for biking, police departments in major west coast cities are starting to leave Ray Kelly's NYPD in their wake.

Advocates in Los Angeles recently started regular meetings with LAPD about traffic enforcement, crash responses, and other issues related to cyclist safety. Police chief Charlie Beck pledged at a City Council hearing last month to "change the culture" at LAPD with respect to cycling.

In San Francisco, police chief George Gascon has pledged to improve communication between SFPD and local cyclists. Making good on a commitment he made to Streetsblog San Francisco editor Bryan Goebel last September, Gascon recently joined a group of bicycle advocates for a short ride and agreed to go for a second ride later this year. Clarence Eckerson captured the occasion for posterity. He reports:

The chief's message isn't complicated. "We all need to co-exist," and motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists need to respect each other's rights and safety, he says. He's working toward fostering that goal through education and establishing a liaison to the cycling community.

Yes, what we're seeing in L.A. and San Francisco so far is largely symbolic, but you've got to start somewhere, and advocates in both cities say they're encouraged by the sincerity of these first steps from police.

In New York, the most common police-cyclist interactions seem to be stings that target cyclists for non-offenses, like riding outside the bike lane. While NYPD precinct chiefs say they don't single out cyclists, they also seem to base their enforcement decisions in large part on who complains the loudest at community meetings, not necessarily what poses the greatest danger on the streets. Meanwhile, crashes that injure and kill cyclists seldom result in prosecution, and the department keeps a tight lid on its investigations, shielding important information from public view.

Maybe police would see things differently if they biked down Adams Street to the Brooklyn Bridge, negotiating all the double-parked cars and impatient motorists. So here's a standing invitation to Commissioner Ray Kelly, Chief of Patrol James Hall, and traffic chief James Tuller: Come for a ride, see what it's like to bike the streets of New York.

NYCDOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan is in Los Angeles this weekend for the StreetSummit, a gathering of Southern California bike and pedestrian advocates. In a lead-in to the conference, Sadik-Khan spoke at her alma mater, Occidental College, and Clarence Eckerson and Streetsblog LA's Damien Newton were there.

Speaking to a packed house of advocates, planners, and students, Sadik-Khan described how New York's streets are becoming safer and more sustainable. Damien reports that the changes happening here are raising expectations on the other side of the country:

The real message of the evening was that Angelenos, especially our government leaders and transportation bureaucrats, shouldn't be scared of trying something new. After all, the transportation planning for Los Angeles up to now clearly hasn't worked...

As Sadik-Khan talked about how easy it is to make some of these changes, some in the room got a little queasy. It's easy to paint bus-only lanes? Sorry, that takes decades of studies and environmental reviews. NYCDOT has a goal of fifty miles of new bike lanes ever year? Well, here in L.A. we can bring a Sharrows pilot program on a couple of streets to fruition a mere three years after the city starts studying it.

For more on Sadik-Khan's appearance in Los Angeles, check out Damien's write-up at Streetsblog LA.

Photo: Newsday

Beck has a lot of work to do. His department has a rich history of shabby cyclist treatment, and there is skepticism that Beck's promises will bring about the culture shift many feel will be necessary before LAPD's relationship with bike riders truly improves.

At least Beck is willing to come to the table. As in Los Angeles, cyclists in New York are routinely ignored and harassed by police, yet there is no sign that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has any qualms with the status quo. Kelly's subordinates freely espouse the department's "move traffic first" mantra, and just don't seem to get it when confronted with questions concerning pedestrian and cyclist safety. Though cyclist fatalities dropped in 2009, pedestrian deaths are up. Too bad New York's top cop puts no stock in data that exposes the rampant, preventable traffic crime that leads to countless deaths and injuries.

It's not too late for Kelly to apply the same rigor to street safety that has brought other crime rates to historic lows. In addition to measuring the rate of traffic crime, he could get behind efforts like "Hayley and Diego's Law." If nothing else, Kelly could engender a lot of goodwill by breaking NYPD's silence when it comes to fatality investigations. Releasing that information would increase public knowledge of why traffic deaths happen, help save lives, and send the signal that he takes bike-ped safety seriously.

So, outside my house is a street with two hour parking. Today a Jaguar with dealer plates was parked there all day. When I checked, it was because there was an FD placard on the car.

No news there, right? Except our tipster was Streetsblog LA's Damien Newton, and the placard in question was emblazoned with the logo of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.

Placards without borders. Gotta love it.

Dr. Christopher Thompson is taken away in cuffs Monday. Photo: Los Angeles Times

Following a highly-publicized, intensely-followed trial, Christopher Thompson, the physician accused of using his car to seriously injure two cyclists in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, is behind bars.

Thompson was convicted yesterday of six felony counts: two counts each, according to VeloNews, of assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury, and reckless driving causing specified injury and mayhem.

On July 4, 2008, Thompson passed cyclists Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr as the pair rode through the emergency room surgeon's upscale neighborhood. Angry after a verbal exchange with the men, Thompson slammed on the brakes of his red Infiniti as Peterson and Stoehr rode behind. Stoehr ended up in front of the car, wounded with a separated shoulder. Peterson hit the rear window, suffering severe facial injuries. Thompson told police on the scene that he was tired of cyclists in his neighborhood and wanted to "teach them a lesson."

At trial, Thompson denied making that statement, claiming that he had been attempting to get photographs of the cyclists, who he said had frightened him. But the jury didn't buy it, possibly because of Thompson's history of hostility toward people on bikes. He was also convicted Monday of misdemeanor reckless driving, a charge stemming from a prior encounter with two other cyclists.

Prosecutor Mary Stone urged that Thompson be remanded to jail, saying: "In terms of public safety, there isn’t a cyclist in Los Angeles who would be comfortable if he were out on the streets." Judge Scott Millington apparently agreed, ordering Thompson held without bail. Sentencing is set for December 3. Thompson faces up to 10 years in prison.

Thompson could very well get off with a light sentence. But to have prosecutors, a judge and jury members agree on the heinous nature of this crime, and to deem its non-driving victims worthy of justice, can scarcely be interpreted as anything other than a positive development -- one that will hopefully be noticed by law enforcement officials nationwide.

Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA has followed this case since Thompson's arrest last year. You can catch up on the coverage here.

If you don't care for DOT's new bike safety ads, here's something you'll really hate.

Damien Newtown out at Streetsblog LA pointed us to this flippant, counterproductive LADOT spot earlier today. While our own DOT implores street users to look out for each other, the agency's LA counterpart plays up the supremacy of the motorist by likening cyclists to insects. Writes Damien:

[F]or anyone that thinks that it's unfair to pull an LADOT advertisement from a couple of years ago to compare to the hard-hitting stuff being put out in NYC, components of the "Laws of Physics" advertisement campaign are still being circulated today. At Bike to Work Day, I received a yellow bracelet bearing the slogan "Ride right and stop at the light," a slogan which still confuses me. Are they telling me to ride correctly, or urging me to ride in the gutter? Is the bracelet an example of bad grammar or bad advice?

Like several New York readers, Damien wonders if the "Look" ads might unintentionally scare would-be cyclists off the roads. But relatively speaking, at least, NYC DOT's message holds up pretty well.

I have to admit: The thought of filming a control room designed to move vehicles more efficiently didn't excite me at first. But once I met Senior Transportation Engineer Bill Shao and the friendly staff at Los Angeles' Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC), I was full of curiosity.

Developed to help direct traffic during the 1984 Olympics, ATSAC has grown to monitor and control over 3,000 of L.A.'s 4,100 signalized intersections, some of them incredibly complex. ATSAC is one of the only such systems in the country that is publicly owned, and the technology is so advanced that even on its busiest days the control room only requires a few people to run it.

I'm told there are regular group tours of the facility. Next time you visit LA I recommend checking it out.

Who would have thought that one of the best Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the U.S. would be in its most sprawling city?

In October 2005, the Los Angeles County Metro Authority (or Metro) debuted a new 14-mile BRT system in the San Fernando Valley using a former rail right-of-way. Unlike many "rapid" bus transit systems in the U.S., the Orange Line is true BRT: it features a dedicated roadway that cars may not enter, has a pre-board payment system so buses load quickly and efficiently, and uses handsome, articulated buses to transport passengers fast -- sometimes at speeds approaching 55 mph! The roadway is landscaped so ornately you could almost call it a bus greenway.

But that's not all. The corridor also boasts a world class bike and pedestrian path which runs adjacent to the BRT route for nearly its entire length, giving users numerous multi-modal options. Each station has bike amenities, including bike lockers and racks, and all the buses feature racks on the front that accommodate up to three bikes.

Perhaps the biggest problem is its soaring success: ridership numbers have some calling for the BRT to be converted to rail, and Metro is exploring ways to move more passengers, including buying longer buses.  Expansion plans are also underway.

Whatever way you slice it, this is truly a hit with Angelenos. A formerly 81 minute trip now takes 44-52 minutes -- over an hour in round-trip savings -- making a bona fide impact in the lives of commuters.

The bike scene in Los Angeles is alive and well -- and growing every day.

Streetfilms rode along with one of two bike tours of local art studios sponsored by the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council. Afterward, we joined a block party in progress, arriving just in time to hear solid words of encouragement and promises of a brighter bicycling future from LA City Council President Eric Garcetti, himself a bike rider. Dancing, art, food, and general chillaxing in the streets continued until 10 p.m.

Sure, LA has a bigger hill to climb than most major U.S. cities, but it could also benefit the most from a livable streets agenda. Once the seeds are planted, there's no going back.

On his recent west coast tour, Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited three bustling Los Angeles bike repair co-ops: Bike Oven, Bikerowave, and their progenitor, Bike Kitchen. Despite its reputation as ground zero for car congestion, the sprawling City of Angels clearly sports a robust bike scene. Writes Clarence:

I don't know if there is an official stat chart on bike co-ops/collectives in the United States, but certainly Los Angeles boasts more in one city than any I am immediately aware of. We found the atmosphere at all three to be highly fun and informative, with the spirit of community to be the true draw. When you need to fix your bike why not make friends at the same time?

Clarence Eckerson's newest Streetfilm captures the bustle of pedestrians and cyclists using diagonal crosswalks near the USC campus. It's entrancing footage, even without the benefit of time-lapsed film. LADOT recently added 10 of these crossings around the metro area, but as Clarence discovered in the course of making the video, the "pedestrian scramble" isn't completely novel to L.A.:

...as it turns out, this new idea is something old. Thanks to some nifty sleuthing, Eric Richardson of blogdowntown uncovered the fact that the downtown L.A. area was once littered with two dozen diagonal crosswalks in the late 1950s. Removed in 1958 because a city engineer's report found they impeded car traffic flow, the lesson is obvious: let's not wait another fifty years to deploy a tool to keep pedestrians safe.

And if you want to watch something that now seems extra silly, we did something fun on Barnes Dances early in the year. You have been warned.

Time to trade in the 22's and hydraulics for a Schwinn?