City with no cars

[mihai]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7200052.stm

This hydrogen changeover sounds like some bullshit to me.  But the whole green city project shows some initiative on other more civilized peoples' part (aka the Abu Dhabians) to get on some Star Trek shit and evolve from our current combustible engine state.

So if they can have a city with no cars, can we at least get _one_ friggin' bike boulevard in Santa Monica? 

http://www.broadwaybb.com/

[Jaz]

I'd rather have the ability to ride SMCM without fear of cops.

However both the bike BLVD and a safe SMCM seem to be out of the question. Cities trying to be green, sure have a weird way of going about it. "Less bikes + more cars" don't seem to work well, unless they are trying to cut back on the emissions from humans...

[mihai]

I am just thinking long term here.  And by long term I mean 5-10 years.  I would like to live in a place where my kids can't ride _safely_ without my supervision (even though they will probably be monsters by age 10 or so, capable of riding any type of bike, knowing how to weave through traffic, and how to put a dent in a car whenever necessary).  And the only safe place where that can happen is a bike boulevard.  And by bike boulevard I mean absolutely no engine-powered vehicles of any type.  Widen the sidewalks, put in more trees, narrow the road a little bit and put in two bike lanes (one for slow one for fast) each way, and then we have civilization.  All the way from 7th St to Bundy.

I simply do not see how any "sustainability" or "traffic flow improvement" or "no more stinky air" plan can ever succeed in any part of this big ass city without including cycling as a safe means of commuting.  No more cars can be added to the mix, and no matter how much money the fkn car dealerships bring in for Santa Monica, even the city councilmembers, realtors, etc (all the mfuckas with money that run shit around here) will eventually have to realize that the car is dead.

Riding SMCM without the fear of cops is a mere small benefit of cyclists getting respect.  All people have to do is follow the rules on Critical Mass and wait for the cops to fuck up and give out more bullshit citations.  Then you take them to court.  Once Santa Monica gets hit with a nice class action lawsuit, they will leave cyclists alone.  It's a cat and mouse game, and all it takes is some leadership on our part to educate people on what's at stake at the beginning of every CM ride.  Yea, have fun, sure, but we're only going to win this one if we play by the rules.

This is kind of like fighting for a civil right.  You have your MLKs and you have your Malcolm Xs.  One branch goes the killing them with kindness route, the other branch is more militant.  A combination of the two seems to work eventually.  There are plenty of other rides to act wild on, we need at least one clean ride a month to prove our point.  Now, I'm not sure if Crank Mob qualifies as "militant" but you get my drift.

[david_f]

I just stumbled on this event on the c.i.c.l.e. website, under events , looks interesting. 
Is anyone going?  Please fill us in.

http://www.cicle.org

Thinking Outside the Bike Lane:An Exercise in Communal Co-Designing
WHEN   Sunday, January 27, 2008, 12 - 4pm
WHERE   Self-Help Graphics,  Los Angeles


Thinking Outside the Bike Lane:
An Exercise in Communal Co-Designing
If you're a bicyclist living in LA you have probably noticed the poor quality of the city's bike route signage. Lacking in useful information and often invisible, these signs generally fail to command the attention of cyclists or motorists. Here's your chance to do better!
Joseph Prichard is a local graduate student here in Los Angeles, and is seeking volunteers to participate in a project exploring strategies of communal design collaboration.
The goal: to transform an existing Los Angeles bike route through the creation of a new "unofficial" signage system.
This system will reflect the needs and desires of real LA cyclists and will be flexible enough to be modified and expanded over time by members of the cycling community.
To do this, Joseph will be holding a series of three short workshops over the next two months. Participants will help to make crucial decisions about the content and form of this system by taking part in a series of simple exercises and discussions.
Workshop # 1:
Sunday January 27th
Form & Content: What information should the new system communicate? How should it look?
Workshop #2
Sunday February 10th
Static vs Changeable: What elements of the final system should be open to revision and expansion by its users?
Workshop #3
Sunday February 24th
Testing and Evaluation: How does the final system work? What changes and improvements still need to be made?
All three workshops will be held at Self-Help Graphics and take place from noon to four.
After the completion of the workshops, a small group of volunteers will be needed to help print and install the signs. Ideally, volunteers should participate in all three workshops, but if you're interested in attending just one or two, contact Joseph to let him know.
For more information be sure to visit the project's blog at semioticsoftheride.blogspot.com or email semiotics.of.the.ride@gmail.com .
LINK   semioticsoftheride.blogspot.com

[mihai]

I emailed the dude and he said that notes from the discussion will be posted on that blog.  I hope to make it to next Sunday's meeting.  Anyone on the westside interested in riding over as a group?