Good Stuff

Been away for while.  Sometimes the cyclical (no pun intended) nature of my life can be maddening. Any way, Brian Clark is cool, check it out!

Bravo Redondo Beach!

This is from Ken Alpern of “Friends of the Green Line”

To All:

Although the state and federal governments continue to starve transportation funding (particularly for urban transportation initiatives) and fail to provide leadership in planning for the next century, at least it’s comforting to see local cities take charge whenever and wherever they can.

Although a long-overdue Green Line and/or Metrolink service does not yet access the South Bay’s transit hub via the dormant and publicly-owned Harbor Subdivision Right of Way (ROW), the Redondo Beach City Council, led by such responsible and visionary leaders as Councilmember Steve Diels, will upgrade this transit hub to prepare for that day when consensus and funding allows high-capacity rail to connect with local buses at the Galleria Mall.

Metro will upgrade its Metro Long Range Transportation Plan this year, as well as embark upon a Major Investment Study to evaluate Metrolink, Metrolink-compatible DMU service and other options for utilization of the Harbor Subdivision ROW between Union Station and the ports via the LAX and the Galleria Mall/South Bay transit hub.

Eye Opener

Good article in todays L.A. Times on a major problem. Death By Automobile. Although it doesn’t come to the conclusion that cutting auto use might be the answer, it does bring up some horrific numbers.

It also bring up the point that horsepower is way outa control these days. If there’s thing I think would make our cities more conducive to biking and walking, it would be to bring down the speed limits.

The Bus

Lately I’ve been walking and riding the bus a lot. I always enjoy talking to the people I meet on the bus. In the last couple of weeks two of my favorite acquaintances have been; a fellow surfer, who grew up surfing on Lake Michigan (I’ve read about surfing on Lake Michigan, but never met anyone who’d done it before). The second was a young lady from Russia who was surprised by how limited our mass transit was.

I had, what I felt to be genuine and interesting conversations with both of these folks……. Sometimes I don’t think we realize how much has been lost. Meetings and conversations like this don’t happen when we’re driving in our cars.

It all happened on a short 6 mile commute to Lomita. The cost was a dollar. (round trip!)

A More “Livable” Los Angeles

The folks at LivablePlaces.org have a lot of well thought out (and might I add: time proven : ) ideas on how to make Los Angeles a better place. Check ‘em out.

Green Line Galleria Connection

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Green Line connection at the South Bay Galleria? There’s even talk of it extending all the way up Hawthorne to P.C.H.

Seems sensible to me : )

Cycling as a way of life in Italy. Read more

Think about it

Which would you rather have?

BikeWalkSouthBay

BikeWalkSouthBay is looking for others who share a vision of a more bike/walk friendly South Bay.

The idea for a local group came about a year ago when they took out a portion of the Torrance Blvd. bike lane at the southeast corner of Hawthorne and Torrance Blvd. (part of my daily commute at the time.) This was done to extend the right hand turn lane on the opposite side of Torrance Blvd.

Not only did this make riding a bike a little more harrowing here , it also took away the buffer for the sidewalk. I Frequently walk to Borders with my kids along this route and you are now literally 2 feet away from cars going 40 mph (or more!) It’s not comfortable! I called city hall with my concern but no reply. Thats when the thought emerged for a group of like minded folks that would have a voice. The vision is always morphing but the core thought remains: our streets and public areas should be safe and comfortable for everyone not just cars.

Be that as it may, I think the best thing to do now, to further the cause, is to form a group encouraging ourselves and others to go carlite, to walk and bike around this beautiful place, to use the bus, to think about leaving the car at home more often. The rewards are huge; health, happiness, new friends, more money in the pocket, the list goes on and on.

Remember; the more people out on the streets biking and walking, the more acceptable it is to be out on the streets biking and walking. And the more people out on the streets biking and walking, the safer it is to be out on the streets biking and walking.

I would like to set up a group meeting in the near future. Let’s form a community!
email me …. datdat@verizon.net…… and I’ll keep you posted

Dave

Let the kids walk to school

Where did “being a kid” and being “free to explore the world” go?

If kids get in the car every morning to go to school, how much harder is it going to be to break future generations of the auto habit?

read more here

and here…

SafeRoutesToSchool.org