Dennis RomeroFor years you've complained about your second-class citizenship on the roads of Los Angeles. Lanes are hogged by much larger conveyances. Open car doors send you face first into the pavement. Potential dates won't go out with you because you smell athletic.
Well, your time has finally come, L.A. bicyclists.
You are kings of the road in downtown Los Angeles, where you're getting not only protected bike lanes but the city's first “bicycle-only traffic signals,” states the office of downtown City Councilman Jose Huizar. (See photos, below.)
Pay attention, because red means stop.
Today Huizar will join folks from the Mayor's Office, the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the Public Works Commission for a ribbon cutting on this $775,000 bike-centric transformation of a few downtown-area blocks. The deal includes four bicycle-only traffic signals and the protected bike lane along Los Angeles street from Alameda Street, near Union Station, to First Street, a block from City Hall.
You'll also get new street resurfacing, new striping, new crosswalks and new transit platforms for bus riders.
After the 1:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting, about 30 city officials and supporters will participate in a protected lane “ride-off” on Metro Bike Share bicycles, Huizar's office says.
The project is part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities in the city by 2025.
Things are looking up. Just watch out for those car doors.
Credit: LADOT
Credit: LADOT
Credit: LADOT
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