The biggest and fastest street race in the world is less than a week away!!!

Last Tuesday I attended the second meeting of the Bike Plan Implementation Team, aka “BPIT,” in the acronymonious way of governmental agencies. This is the group that will determine what actually is put on the ground under the recently-adopted Bicycle Master Plan (and by the way, you should attend if you can).

This meeting was devoted to Seventh Street, the #1 item on the top ten list of BPIT’s Projects To Do As Soon As We Can Get LADOT Inspired.

I do have to note that this list is not immutable, and may be changed as meetings evolve. But for now, Seventh is the first project intended to be, well, implemented.

I was rather surprised to find Seventh in so high a position, myself, as it’s rather a plain-jane street, but it makes sense, as it’s probably the best approach to downtown for cyclists, with relatively few hills and no uncomfortable merges with high-speed car traffic as you get on 6^th or 3^rd. Since I work often in the Garment District, and live in the Miracle Mile, I take Seventh routinely…but, really, it’s not a sexy street.

So much the better! It’s a street that works for cyclists, and BPIT hopes to make it safer and more pleasant.

In fact, they’re planning a road diet for most of the street (Catalina to Figueroa), wherein two traffic lanes will be removed (by re-strpiing), to be replaced by two bike lanes and a two-way center left turn lane. The link above on the words “road diet” explain how this works to the advantage of drivers as well as cyclists.

But there’s one very important element missing, which I did bring up at the last meeting, and will bring up again: expanded bike parking.

I mean, it’s all well and good to encourage folks to ride instead of drive, but what good does it all do if they can’t park their frickin’ bikes when they get to wherever they’re going? what are they going to do then, turn around and go home to get their cars? I mean, this isn’t Tokyo; you can’t exactly elave your steed leaned up against a storefront for an hour while you eat or shop and expect it to be there when you get back. We’re talking MacArthur Park here, after all.

So, help me out, will ya? You know I’ll announce the next meeting on this blog when it’s coming. You know that, thanks to my nagging, they’ll even have webinar access to the meeting so you don’t have physically to show up. So join in next time (and the time after that, and the time after that). Because these meetings are what make things happen in your cycling life!

You can get what you want. But only if you’re there.