Villaraigosa Reports on the Bike Summit

This just in, Mayor Villaraigosa comments on the Bike Summit on the Huffington Post. This excerpt is encouraging and at least shows that he’s at least looking in the right direction.

It’s clear we haven’t done enough to incorporate bicycles into our transportation planning. But with so much community engagement, and so many good ideas, we can and we will do a better job.

For starters, we need to build more bicycle infrastructure, enforce existing laws, and change drivers’ attitudes towards cyclists. Our reputation as the car capital of the world does not excuse our drivers from common courtesy on the road or from obeying the law.

He mentions the CicLAvia event planned for October 10 this year (10/10/10). I’m really looking forward to this. So much of what keeps people from trying to ride in this city is fear based largely on the unknown. By easing folks onto bikes by fun, friendly events like CicLAvia we might be able to convince some that bikes are a lot less scary than they think, and indeed a very viable and convenient way to get around the city. I firmly believe that much of the explosive bike growth in L.A. over the last few years can be attributed to social rides like Midnight Ridazz. Though the larger rides can often be chaotic, they create a sense of community, safety, and support that makes it easier to win over bike converts.

Villaraigosa also states the the city “will be launching a PSA campaign to increase bike safety awareness among drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists” that will focus on two things: Watch and share the road (specifically, giving three feet when passing), and Protect your brain, wear a helmet. Regarding the helmets, he writes, “I know not every cyclist supports this, just like not every motorcyclist supported their helmet law. But the motorcycle helmet law worked – it has saved lives and a bike helmet law will too.”

I have to join the dissenters here regarding helmets. I think helmets are great, but mandating their use discourages ridership and there is strong evidence that cycling becomes safer as ridership increases.

Motorcycle helmet laws are a bad comparison. I have a motorcycle license and am perfectly content wearing a helmet for that activity. I won’t mince words – it’s dangerous. The speeds and forces involved with motorcycles are on a completely different scale than those involved with bicycles. It’s simple physics. Force = Mass x Velocity². Motorcycles can have 20 times as much mass a bicycle, and can reach speeds two, three, four, five times as much as the average cyclist. Moreover, speed increases increase force exponentially. Do the math. A rider on a 500-pound motorcycle travelling 60 mph has 320 times the force as the same rider on a 25-pound bicycle travelling 15 mph, and those are conservative numbers. Many motorcycles weigh a lot more and go a lot faster.  Bikes and motorcycles both have two wheels, but the stakes are very, very different.

More effective than a helmet law at saving lives is educating and enforcing road users. Drivers need to be responsible for their actions and understand the rights of others. Cyclists need to be taught both their legal responsibilities, and how to assert themselves on the road – how to pick an optimal lane position, to not ride in the opposite direction of traffic, to proceed cautiously on sidewalks if they so choose to ride there, to signal, to know how to make a left turn safely, to be aware of one’s surroundings. Basically, how to ride a bike. We can do this through PSAs, or outreach programs, bike shop or co-op organized classes. We can even do this in schools. Educate children on how to ride responsibly, encourage them to ride their bikes to school, and not only are we fighting childhood obesity but we are also fostering a new generation of better road users – drivers and cyclists alike.

Tags: advocacy, ciclavia, helmets, los angeles, villaraigosa