I don’t think those impressive accomplishments are “the single largest reason people keep biking in Santa Monica”. I can’t name a larger reason because I think it’s somewhat impossible to break down the reasons that people ride a bike. The statement just seemed self-serving and implausible when, as you point out, there are plenty of accomplishments that can be identified without making sweeping claims.

I fully agree with you for the need for local input whenever these citations are awarded.

Here’s another way to look at it – territory. LAB is used to being the only game in town. Ten years ago they were rockin it at the federal level just as they are now. But back here, there was very little in the way of a local movement – what we have now dwarfs what existed then. LAB could fairly participate in Santa Monica bike advocacy and not feel that they were stepping on toes.

Now the situation is reversed. We have an active and engaged local movement. We, the locals, know what’s going on politically far better than LAB, and we, as always, know best what the conditions are like. The only place where LAB exceeds us is in understanding how we might compare to other regions. But since they clearly got the wrong idea about bike friendliness in SM, we can’t really be certain of that.

So, now it LAB’s obligation to coordinate, and at some level, defer, to the local movement. After all, it is our asses out there on the street, on the line. I realize that LAB may not have registered the fact that the local movement is active and engaged now, but regardless, this is our project now.

I’m told by LAB insiders that there’s a history of LAB giving these awards in other places and receiving similar criticism, so the SM Bronze award is part of a pattern. So is the backlash. I’d like for them to work with us, rather than “for” us, so we can take steps toward coordinating local and national efforts . . . but who knows.

ok ok ok… so your take is:

THEM = SM = BRONZE = Shut up you pesky bicyclists we have a bronze we are friendly get over it = end of public discussion

You = SM = Proven record of bicycle unfriendly policy = revoke status = impetus for real dialog

Local criticism is now rendered ineffective by the presence of the award.

i think your argument would have real teeth if you could cite examples where your voice as an advocate was muted by bronze trumpets.

This specific intent is to restore our ability to make criticisms of Santa Monica’s degree of bike friendliness and insist that the BFC awards have meaning. My original post on the topic (which I failed to link to – my bad), explains that motivation:

http://www.westsidebikeside.com/santa-monica-is-bike-friendly-how-the-league-of-american-bicyclists-undermines-local-cyclists/

Followup post:

http://www.westsidebikeside.com/take-back-the-bronze-ask-the-league-of-american-bicyclists-to-respect-local-cyclists/

When the award was given the city trumpeted it like it was confirmation that they’d made the city a bike paradise. Local criticism is now rendered ineffective by the presence of the award.

please read this with all respect intended:

what do you hope to achieve by revoking the bronze award… which means little in terms of the impact on daily bicyclists like you and me? bronze or no bronze, conditions are still the same.

is it to serve as a wakeup call to the city of santa monica? cause if so, I get that. is your point, that SM can rest on its laurels with a bronze notch on their belt?

i just want to make the connection.

you’ve obviously done an incredible amount of work for bicycling in los angeles and I get that – I just wonder how this improves “the cause.”

Name a larger reason then. FACT: in Q2 of 2009 Bikerowave did 234 hours of stand time each month, or 7.8 hours each DAY. The alternative for people using this service is to wait one week for their bike to get fixed at the shop charging $40 an hour of labor – $9360 worth of labor saved in Q2 alone, not to mention the educational value. Is there another entity doing that much work exclusively for bikes on a daily basis? Is there another entity doing direct outreach on such a scale in West LA/Santa Monica? Only the Bike Kitchen does a greater quantity of direct outreach.

Bikerowave pitches a 50 volunteer wide shadow of bike evangelism in the West LA area. Add to the volunteers the customers and former volunteers, and you have the largest network of bike activists in West LA/Santa Monica.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bikerowave, but that last statement just boggles the mind.