The LUCE Process: Meeting Recap and the Next Steps to Total Bike Victory!

I’ve written a few times now about the LUCE update process in Santa Monica.  LUCE stands for Land Use and Circulation Element, and it is a key planning document for cyclists in Santa Monica. To try to help explain how the LUCE update is relevant for cyclists I worked on this entry on the ibikeu Wiki. You can check that out, add to it if you like, or if you want to get really deep, check out the LUCE website.

I’ll summarize the action from a recent City Council meeting (see the Flickr set), and then discuss next steps in making progress for cyclists in Santa Monica.  The most important next steps will be to go to one of the Council meetings on July 8th or July 15th, and/or email Councilpersons.  Let me, let everyone, know what you think about all of this in the comments below!

The Council Meeting on June 17th

Cyclists didn’t exactly Storm the Bastille on the 17th, but we were unusually persuasive. Six cyclists attended the Santa Monica City Council Meeting on June 17th. All but one stood to speak (someone was shy) in strong support of moving forward now with implementing cycling amenities described in the LUCE.

We’ve seen too often that cities adopt beautiful planning documents but then fail to implement them. For that reason we’ve collectively focused on accelerating the implementation of bike policy in LUCE ahead of the adoption of the plan.  City staff have presented a ambitious set of recommendations for cycling, but it is up to us bike activists to push for implementation.

The Council seems to be warming up to our requests. Every time I’ve previously spoken at SM City Council I’ve finished with “thank you”, hesitated a moment, and then, when it was clear the Council had no questions for me, walked off disappointed. This time Councilman Ken Genser interrupted me toward the end of my speech to ask what a sharrow was. I then hastily finished, and when I said my listless thanks Councilman Robert Holbrook began asking me questions; Holbrook is the most conservative councilperson, and he is backed by the Chamber of Commerce who are often opposed to the striping of new bike lanes. So it was a surprise when he picked my brain for 5 minutes, asking about a variety of topics. He even related how, when his daughters were teenagers, they wouldn’t be caught dead on a bike.  Then he asked if anything had changed to make biking cool for young people.  I screamed “Midnight Ridazz”, began chanting “CRANK MOB”, and the police removed me from chambers (true story, I swear!)

This wasn’t just the Alex Thompson show. Brigitte Kouba, David Feuer, Erika Herman, and Jon Luskin all spoke eloquently to the council. Each of them improves each time they speak, and I think I do as well.  It’s an interesting process watching new activists learn new skills, and to watch the increasing effectiveness of those activists as they do so.  Even if just the five of us stay engaged on this issue we could make headway purely by our increasing persuasiveness.

Another interesting aspect was how effective it was to establish talking points beforehand. Each speaker reiterated the talking points we established and by repetition the council and staff present absorbed our message.   Even if one didn’t agree with our message, there is value in their understanding it.  Imaging one official saying to another “well, the cyclists want fruit loops and potato chips” simply because we hammered on that all night.  That official has just given our desire for fruit loops and potato chips a degree of notability and legitimacy by passing it along as authoritative knowledge to a colleague.

When it was time for the Council to discuss matters amongst themselves it became clear how public comments can influence them. The talking points of bike activists were repeated, rephrased and revised by council members, until the distinction between their views and ours became blurred.  We had the Council talking about bicycles, and talking about the aspects we wanted them to focus on.  One comment I made regarding enforcement was picked up and discussed by several council members, and I found myself regretting what I had said.  I spoke to hastily when I said it, and did not define my view well enough, and consequently the message was distorted a bit too much for my liking. Lesson learned – watch what you say!

I think that the Council is open to rapid implementation of the bike recommendations, but in order to Make It Happen we must continually remind them.  I’m convinced that this November is the time for cyclists to make an impact on the Council elections, so that we are perceived as a serious constituency. More on that in coming months.

Next Steps

There are two kinds of next steps.  The first would be to write the Council in support of specific recommendations in the LUCE.  Roger Swanson has come up with a ranking, in terms of importance, of the cycling recommendations in LUCE.  So one route might be to simply pick the items on that list, and start whittling away at them.  This is essentially a more refined way of picking talking points.  So, perhaps I will begin by writing (or maybe Roger will) about specific issues that you might write councilmembers on.

The other approach is to attend public meetings and speak in support of the policies we most support.  That strategy has so far generated a good deal of postivity.  However, we should expect action at some point.  The next opportunities are the council meetings on July 8th and July 15th.  I’m waiting to hear from staff about which of these meetings is the most important, and when I do I’ll let y’all know and we can organize a big group of cyclists to attend.

Of course there are other options, particularly forms of negative action -heckling in the press, flyering residents etc.  However, at this point, since we seem to be making progress with the Council, and staff is helpful, I think it would be best to stay positive.  Of course, I’m not afraid to go there if we need to, but lets take a run at an amicable engagement first.

What do y’all think?  Is anyone interested in helping out with this?  Be heard, in the comments below!