In the News: Sept. 8, 2015
A new plan to add bike lanes to one of the most congested cities in the world –Los Angeles–is meeting new opposition from guess who? Drivers of course.
A rendering of what Los Angeles could look like if the overhaul of the city’s infrastructure is successful.
The Mobility Plan which was approved by the Los Angeles City Council this past August, says it hopes to lay out a new network of complete streets in the city that will provide “safe and efficient transportation for pedestrians, bicyclists transit riders, car and truck drivers and more.”
The reason, to improve safety while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Under the plan streets will be made more narrow, and bike lanes added. In a city where 36,000 or more people are killed in motor vehicle collisions every year, where the pedestrian fatality rates are double the national average, 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, 47 percent of all vehicle trips are less than 3 miles, and 25 percent of Angelino children are obese, you would think this plan would have people clapping.
But no, there are those who are thoroughly opposed to the new planning measures, reports the NY Times. “Nearly 80 percent of Los Angeles commuters get to work by car, with most of the rest on buses and only 1 percent on bikes,” writes Ian Lovett for the NY Times. “The reality is that Southern California is built around the automobile,” said Gil Cedillo, one of two Council members to vote against the plan. “We’re going to make more traffic and create even greater congestion. I don’t know how anybody [who] votes for that.”