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

Scary

Here’s a couple pictures of the beginning of the Dominguez Channel Bike Path.
I don’t know but even on a sunny day it looks like a scary ride. Why? Not another soul around…. anywhere. Kind of a Bladerunner landscape.
Less than a quarter mile away from here is another scary place, the Artesia Transit Center

Again, not another soul around. Can’t we do better than this, allow some vendors or something? Something that would make these places a little more welcoming? A little more human, a little less scary?

Bike Paths of Los Angeles

Nifty pdf poster of all the bike paths in the L.A. basin

Walk

“Walking is convenient, it needs no special equipment, is self-regulating and inherently safe. Walking is as natural as breathing”.
John Butcher, Founder Walk21, 1999

Find out more about making your community more walkable and download the International Charter for Walking here.

The way it can be

This beautiful little 15 minute video shows the way our cities can be. I like the part where the guy says something like; “we haven’t eliminated the car, but we’ve brought the speeds down and the car is no longer the dominant vehicle”.

We can start psychologically reclaiming our cities today just by getting out there…on foot…on bike…scooter, skateboard, whatever.
The more we’re out there, the more comfortable it gets.
The more we’re out there, the sooner the infrastructure will have to start changing.
We can do it!

Historic Old Torrance

Historic Downtown Torrance has had it’s share of troubles becoming all that it can be.

I don’t know if anyone has proposed it yet, but why not have a completely CAR FREE downtown? Or maybe a car free street, say Sartori.

This may not be as far fetched as it sounds. We’re at a place in time where people are searching for something different. Look at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, I don’t think going CAR FREE has hurt business there. Look at all the very popular farmers markets, business seems to be thriving at these as well. I don’t believe it’s what their selling, you can get the same products or produce anywhere, people like them because they’re scaled for people. People like to stroll and shop and look at other people, it makes us feel alive and connected. Cars are only a distraction and a danger to this sort of living.

Most people around here, myself included, have never had a place like this. We’ve been brought up dependent on automobiles and that way of life is all we know, but as oil prices rise and traffic gets worse I find myself longing for places like Venice, or some other car free place, they just seem more human.

Let’s envision places where toddlers don’t need leashes, where young and old mingle and chat safely, places where we can truly relax. Historic Old Torrance could be one of the first of these places in the South Bay.

If you like or don’t like this idea, hit the comments button at the top of this post and start a discussion.

It’s smart to bike : )

And Fun Too!