LA Pedals Into The Future

If Los Angeles, the city in lust with the car, can pedal into the future, maybe, just maybe, there is hope for this petroleum addicted world. It appears the LA City Council is on the verge of pedaling back to the future with a new bicycle transportation master plan that would create 1,680 miles of interconnected bike lanes, streets and corridors - amazing what happens when a city's mayor almost gets killed riding his bike.

In 2008, two cyclists were seriously injured on a narrow Brentwood road when a driver slammed on his car's brakes in front of them. The driver, physician Christopher Thompson, was convicted of numerous charges, including assault with a deadly weapon.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the district where the crash occurred, said it made him rethink the way the city puts cars on a pedestal.

"There has been a real awakening in the city," he said. "We're starting to think of our streets differently. They're not just conduits for making cars move fast."

Think about that last quote - wow! In the 1890's that's one of the only ways we thought about our streets. If we could only get the wheels of progress to turn the speed of bicycle wheels - the L.A. city council looks set to shift gears and approve the future.