Draft Proposed LA Bike Plan released

Many received an email today announcing that the draft proposed LA Bike Plan will be available for download at the end of the day today.  I’m stoked to see it.  I had a couple opportunities to see it during the drafting and I’m pleased that it’s a 180 degree reversal from the first proposal, thanks to the efforts of City Planning staff.  However, a reverse in direction, when you’re halfway down the path to failure, doesn’t change that you’re halfway down the path to failure; from the previews I saw, there’s work to be done.  The next step, and I hope we can all take it together, is to take the repositioned plan, and push the envelope, positioning LA to take its place among the great cycling metropolises.   To take that step together it’s important to emphasize that this is a working document, and as such it’s both a draft, and a proposal.  In doing so, we leave open the route to vision.

It’s a draft plan because the citizens of LA have a right and a duty to take part in an open and transparent revision process.  While the email below emphasizes that the drafting process has been inclusive, with one exception the public has not seen any updates to the draft proposed bike plan since December – seven months.  We have been assured by City Planning officials that the draft will undergo more revisions.  Good.  The public hasn’t had sufficient opportunity to take part in the drafting process thus far, so it will be nice to get a chance to get our hands dirty.

Second, it’s a proposal plan because the citizens of LA have no obligation to consent to replace the current plan with the draft proposed plan.  I’m not saying we should or should not adopt the draft proposed plan (I haven’t read it yet), but it is important to recognize that we have the power to refuse.  If the draft proposed plan is not a substantial improvement over the current plan it would be logical to refuse.  If the drafters of the plan revise in bad faith, a protest refusal is reasonable.  If the draft proposed plan is great, if it is revised in good faith, then I will be exhilarated to support its approval.

So in the spirit of good process, here is the original email, with a few words I added in bold:

To all Interested Parties:

The City of Los Angeles is pleased to release the draft proposed 2010 Los Angeles Bicycle Plan. The 2010 draft proposed Bicycle Plan is a comprehensive update of the current Bicycle Plan first adopted in 1996 and re-adopted by the City Council in 2002 and 2007. The 2010 draft proposed Bicycle Plan (2010 Plan), a component of the Transportation Element, (an element of the City*s General Plan), is part of the City*s commitment to transform Los Angeles from an auto-centric City to a City with a multi-modal transportation system. The 2010 draft proposed Plan designates 1,633 miles of bikeway facilities and proposes two new bicycle networks (Citywide and Neighborhood). Additionally, the 2010 draft proposed Bicycle Plan includes a Technical Design Handbook that will assist both City staff and residents in selecting and designing facilities for future bikeways that are safe and consistent with current standards and guidelines.

The 2010 draft proposed Los Angeles Bicycle Plan is a result of extensive fieldwork, numbers public workshops (only nine), and suggestions from thousands of public comments received from September 2009 draft proposed Bicycle Plan.  The draft proposed Bicycle Plan is a joint effort between the Department of City Planning an Department of Transportation.

The complete document and maps will be available on the project website [www.labikeplan.org] by end of the day June 18th with printed copies available for public review at the City*s Central Library and eight regional libraries and the Department of City Planning*s Downtown and Van Nuys Public Counters by June 30th, 2010.

A series of workshops/public hearing will be held between September 7-18, 2010 to take public testimony and comment.

Please see the attached flyer for additional facts on the 2010 Bicycle Plan and information regarding the public hearing process.

Jordann Turner
Los Angeles Department of City Planning
2010 Bicycle Plan-Project Manager
200 N. Spring Street, Rm 721
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213.978.1379 | Fax: 213.978.4656