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Why did the Department of City Planning release the Draft 2010 Bicycle Plan without a list or table of all planned bike facilities?
The Bicycle Plan team was not able to complete a list of projects prior to the June 18, 2010 release of the Draft 2010 Bicycle Plan. The Bicycle Plan team is finalizing the draft list, which is derived from the same information that was used to create the Bicycle Plan maps. The list will be publically available in mid-August. When posted, an announcement will be made to the Bicycle Plan interested parties email list.
Can you talk a little about the public participation processes that you have employed in developing this plan?
The Bicycle Plan Update began in February 2008 with 4 citywide workshops/listening sessions to gather initial public comment and feedback regarding to needs of cyclists across the city. Comment cards were disseminated throughout the city, such as in libraries and bicycle shops, to encourage participation, and hundreds were received in return. In addition, many submitted comments through the project’s website and via email.
A draft document was released in summer 2009, with 5 citywide workshops held in October and November. Comments were received until January 2010, and a new document and maps, which incorporated the over 1,000 coments received, was released in June 2010.
In between the formal workshops, numerous presentations and listening sessions were held with members of the public, advocates, neighborhood councils, the Bicycle Advisory Committee and the City Council Transportation Committee.
Comments were received in both Spanish and English, and this feedback was incorporated into the documents. Project-related information is available in Spanish by contacting Victor Vallejo (213-978-1380).
What is the purpose of the 2010 Bicycle Plan?
The 2010 Bicycle Plan serves as the City’s blueprint for meeting the needs of all bicyclists and is intended to increase, improve and enhance bicycling in the City as a safe, healthy, and enjoyable means of transportation and recreation. The 2010 Bicycle Plan designates over 1,600 miles of bikeways and creates a blueprint for the development of the Citywide and Neighborhood Bikeways Networks. The pair of bicycle networks use designated city streets and bicycle paths to provide continuous bicycle access across the entire City.
What are the main differences between the 1996 Bicycle Plan and the 2010 Bicycle Plan?
The 2010 Bicycle Plan is a comprehensive update of the 1996 Bicycle Plan and builds upon the facilities and programs that were identified in the 1996 Plan. The 2010 Bicycle Plan contains 4 key components not included in the 1996 Bicycle Plan:
- the designation of 1,633 miles of bicycle facilities;
- the designation of the Citywide and Neighborhood Bikeway Networks that comprise a total of 1,332 miles of bicycle facilities;
- the introduction of “bicycle-friendly streets” catered towards bicyclists who are more comfortable on streets with less traffic volumes;
- the introduction of an on-going Five-year Implementation Strategy to implement the Citywide and Neighborhood Bikeway Networks.
How will the 2010 Bicycle Plan be implemented?
Implementation of the 2010 Bicycle Plan will be carried out through the Bicycle Plan Implementation Team (BPIT) (Chapter 4, Page 83, Program 3.2.2 A) with input from the Bicycle Advisory Committee. The implementation of physical improvements will be coordinated through the Five-year Implementation Strategy identified as a program within the 2010 Bicycle Plan. The Five-year Implementation Strategy calls for the implementation of 200 miles of bikeways every five years. The 200 miles will be determined through input from the public, Council Offices, and City Departments, focusing on closing the gaps in the Citywide and Neighborhood Bikeway Networks. An introduction of the first five-year implementation process will take place through a web-presentation and question and answer session on July 22, 2010. For a description of the implementation strategy, please see Chapter 5, Page 92 of the Draft Bicycle Plan.
How were the streets for bicycle facilities and the types of facilities chosen?
City staff reviewed every comment and facility suggestions received from the public, and chose the facilities shown on the maps to reflect this input. In addition, the City's consultant, Alta Planning and Design, and LADOT and LADCP staff reviewed each street to determine the facility type. Existing or funded facilities, facilities that closed gaps in the existing bikeway system, and facilities that provided connectivity to regional and neighborhood amenities were chosen to be a part of the Citywide and Neighborhood Bikeway Networks.
When will the environmental document be available?
The environmental document associated with the 2010 Bicycle Plan will be available starting September 2, 2010. The review period for the environmental document will begin September 2 and end October 8, 2010. The environmental document will be made available at the City's Central and Regional Libraries and the Department of City Planning's Downtown and Van Nuys Public Counters. (Updated August 12, 2010)
The documents and maps do not appear on the website. What’s wrong?
When the documents were first posted, they were not visible using the Internet Explorer browser. That problem has since been fixed. For best results, please use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for PCs, and Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari for Macs.
Where is the Bikeways Engineering Map (Map 4)?
The Bikeways Engineering Map (Map 4) illustrates the engineering status of each designated bicycle path, bicycle lane, bicycle route and bicycle friendly street. Because of the amount of work required to accurately portray the engineering status of each facility and the lack of staff capacity, we have been delayed in issuing Map 4.
Map 4, as well as a corrected Map 1 (which are currently missing the non-network bicycle friendly streets), will be posted by Friday, June 25th.
How does the 2010 Bicycle Plan interact with the Department of City Planning’s New Community Plan Program (NCPP)?
The City is divided into 35 community plans that guide the physical development of each of the City’s neighborhoods, and are guided by citywide policies in the General Plan’s overarching Framework Element. The community plans address infrastructure, land use, urban design, jobs, and transportation and mobility issues at a community level. The New Community Plan Program (NCPP) is a systematic approach to update each of the City’s 35 community plans with an increased level of comprehension and specificity. The following seven community plans updates are currently in progress:
Granada Hills, Hollywood, San Pedro, Sylmar, South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, and West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert
The NCPP and the proposed 2010 Bicycle Plan are inextricably tied together. The outreach conducted through the NCCP has been instrumental to informing the proposed 2010 Bicycle Plan. Numerous community meeting and workshops were attended by staff from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of City Planning (DCP) in order to solicit comments, provide information, and answer questions from the public regarding the proposed 2010 Bicycle Plan and its interface with their individual communities.
Additionally, the NCPP provides the opportunity to re-designate city streets within those communities to better accommodate prospective bicycle facilities and to environmentally evaluate the effects of the re-designation.
DOT and DCP staff have worked closely with the NCPP to integrate proposed bicycling facilities with the larger goals and objectives in their respective communities.
Compared to the previous plan (1996), how many miles have been added between the 1996 plan and today?
The 1996 Bicycle Plan designated approximately 673 miles of bikeways and 69 miles of Study Corridors. The proposed 2010 Bicycle Plan designates 1,633 miles an increase of over 900 miles from the 1996 Plan.
Are “sharrows” included in the 2010 Bicycle Plan?
Yes, “sharrows” (shared lane markings) are included within the 2010 Bicycle Plan Technical Design Handbook as a design treatment for Bicycle Routes and Bicycle Friendly Streets. Sharrows can serve a number of purposes, such as increasing motorist awareness that bicycles may occupy the lane, and showing bicyclists the correct direction of travel. Currently, sharrows may be utilized only on streets with on-street parking. However, the use of sharrows may be expanded, in the future, to include streets without on-street parking.
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Submitted questions will be reviewed, and answers posted by 10 AM every Wednesday, from June 23 to September 1, 2010.
Last updated August 12, 2010
