Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Messenger Game

Confession: in my free time, I pretend I'm a bike messenger.  I love biking to the post office, like I'm on some important assignment from a client, locking up real fast, and dropping off some mail or a package.  I love the challenge of trying to fit oddly shaped boxes into a messenger bag.  I don't have any kind of fancy bag, I just use a rectangular cross-body bag that sits comfortably on my back.  Why I don't use a backpack when I'm pretending to be a messenger, I don't know.  Maybe it's for the speed. Like, it just takes too long to take a backpack on and off, messengers gotta be quick.  Whip that bag from the back to the front, make the delivery, and get on to the next stop.

Northridge, CA
I love a post office with great bicycle parking.  I used to enjoy waiting in line for 20-35 minutes at the Glendale, CA Main Post Office because the interior is absolutely gorgeous.

Glendale, CA
Photo from Oltmans Construction Co
http://www.oltmans.com/projects/glendale-main-post-office-renovation-and-restoration
The exterior of the Glendale, CA Main Post office is great, too.  Conveniently located (Broadway is a Class 3 Bicycle Route) on a major East-West corridor, the building is clearly a civic and architectural landmark.

Glendale, CA
Photo from Oltmans Construction Co
http://www.oltmans.com/projects/glendale-main-post-office-renovation-and-restoration
For East-West travel in Glendale, my favorite street is Wilson.  It goes by all the stuff I like: KFC, the YMCA, Big 5 Sporting Goods... and if you get the timing of the lights just right, you can have a Green Wave (which is another fun game I play while I'm pretending to be a bike messenger).  I took a group of women on a Walk Bike Glendale women's ride, we rode across Wilson Ave, and the ladies were impressed how cars used the center turning lane as a passing lane and gave us a very wide passing margin.  I hope it inspired them to ride through the city more confidently.

Wilson Ave at Louise St in Glendale, CA
Another street I like for East-West travel through South Glendale is Maple St.  Especially I enjoy going under the skybridge at CalStar Motors.  I don't know why, maybe it's just a novelty.  I think some of the best bike rides involve tunnels, bridges, and unexpected landmarks.  

Maple St at Brand Blvd in Glendale, CA
Even though the post office is on the northeast corner of Louise and Broadway, I wouldn't recommend taking Louise Street as your North-South corridor, I biked it this past weekend and it's been torn up for a long time.  Louise is very narrow around the YMCA and Glendale Central Library and STILL under construction!  Also, Louise accommodates street parking and car doors are a strong possibility.

Broadway SHARROWS in Glendale, CA
Following the route of Glendale's CicLAvia on June 11, 2017, I would recommend Central Ave as your safest North-South corridor.  Although Central Ave is labeled as a MAJOR ARTERIAL, it is the fastest way.  The street is wide enough for all road users and there are signs posted with the message "Bicycles May Use Full Lane."  Although Glendale's bicycle infrastructure tends to rely on sharrows and road signs (Class 3) instead of bike lanes (Class 2) or cycletracks (Class 1), nothing will change if the city doesn't see cyclists out there.  It's kind of like the same thing with Metrolink... bikecar101 learned that you don't get more space for bikes on trains unless the board sees pictures of lots of bikes on trains.

Bike parking on the East side of the Glendale, CA Post Office
Glendale has done a great job IMHO at providing bicycle parking for the destinations I bike to.  At the Glendale CicLAvia, some residents expressed that they wanted more bicycle parking along Central Ave for example.  I usually park along Brand, since there's lots of bike racks there, and then walk over to Central.  But that was some feedback for the City that we collected through talking to people at the event (public outreach).

Bike parking on the West side of the Glendale, CA Post Office
I would say that the "bike messenger game" is the best way to take care of some errands.  It motivates me to be in a hurry, carry my own lock, practice locking up and unlocking quickly, and be visible in the community on a bicycle on major traffic corridors.  What motivates you?

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Vision Zero

Last month, I attended a ceremony where a ghost bike was placed for a man killed while bicycling home from his job.  That man was killed by a hit-and-run automobile driver.

I do my best to avoid calling cars "death machines" as I bike around town, but some days are tougher than others.  When someone actually dies at the hands of a motorist, in the area where I've just moved to, it shakes me up.

I am calling this an act of terrorism defined as: unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


Militant motorists want to keep the streets purely for vehicles, with unrestricted flow, at high speed. There are groups of residents who exert political pressure on city council to maintain this agenda.

The man killed in Winnetka is said to have been the victim of a purposeful crime.  A truck swerved in order to hit the man on his bicycle.  Has the criminal been found?  Yes.  But what will be the consequences?  What value will be placed on the human life that was ended?

Victims of terrorism tend to want to do something.  Feelings such as shock, outrage, sadness, rage, depression, and anger are normal.  At the placement of the ghost bike, we were directed to pray for the 2nd man who was in critical condition at a local hospital.  This did give me something (peaceful) to do.  Has the second man recovered?  What were the extent of his injuries?  Will the motorist be financially liable for the hospital bills of this man?

Of cyclists, I am of the populist vehicular variety. At a recent community meeting where a "road diet" was presented, a resident of my city suggested that if I were cycling in the street, he may just "tap" me with his truck to let me know that he's there.  He asked me what I'd do.  I told him that I would turn over GoPro footage of the incident to the police.  He asked if I've ever done that before.  I said, "not yet."

I feel like some motorists are engaging in intentional intimidation in an effort to reduce the number of people who will ride their bicycles on city streets in a vehicular manner.


While I agree with John Forester, that creating off-street bike paths reduces the visibility of cyclists and therefore does nothing to bridge the bikes vs. cars debate, if you want to see more miles of bike paths, consider signing this petition to support a feasibility study for the Verdugo Wash.  If you prefer to sign in person, come visit me at CicLAvia ~ Glendale Meets Atwater.  I'll be at the Walk Bike Glendale / LACBC / Bikecar101 booth at the Central Hub from 1-3pm.

I don't think the idea of Vision Zero is to actually reduce the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed by automobiles to zero, but to invest in infrastructure improvements that would continue to make the streets safer for the most "vulnerable road users."  I actually don't like that term, but it's true.  When I don't have 2000 lbs of steel and airbags surrounding me, I am literally more vulnerable!  Maybe I don't like the term because I have to believe I will survive out there in order to continue the vehicular cycling behavior I enjoy.  I don't like to think about how vulnerable I am out there.

One thing I got out of the ghost bike placement is that we acknowledged that "that could have been me."  Or any number of other people I know and love that engage in vehicular cycling.


My personal reaction to my fear (generated from the man killed while cycling on Winnetka) was to put on more blinky lights than usual and bike to the ceremony.  My husband thought I was being crazy, but if you let your fear prevent you from vehicular cycling then the terrorists win.

https://www.wired.com/2014/11/9-things-drivers-need-stop-saying-bikes-vs-cars-debate/

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/real-talk-bikes-cant-reduce-congestion-without-bike-lanes