Practice what you preach

Welcome to another exciting edition of “What’s Wrong With This Picture?!”

Your hosts for this show are two of Long Beach’s very own bicycle-mounted Police.

This photo was taken on E. Broadway near Promenade, looking East.

So, how many things can YOU find wrong with this picture?
Click for larger image
Illegal Cycling

As you know, Long Beach is looking for a new Chief of Police.

With the city’s commitment to become the most bicycle-friendly city in the nation – it would be ideal if the new Chief had a sense of what his officers could do to make Long Beach safer and more enjoyable for cyclists, and to set the best example possible to citizens and residents.

With that in mind, what questions would YOU have for the new Chief?

11 Comments

bmckeever, September 18th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Education, advocacy

Bicycle License Fee now $3.00

The Long Beach Cyclists World Headquarters received this email today:

To all Fire Station personnel:

The City Council recently approved numerous fee increases. Effective immediately the new fee for Bicycle Licenses (both original registration and renewals) is $3. Please begin charging the new rate immediately.

Please post this attachment where the public can see it and remove any old signs which refer to the previous $2 fee.

For more information, the following image was sent with the email:

license

No Comments

bmckeever, September 17th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Current News

Licenses, loopholes and legality

When I was 14 and working on my Cycling merit badge, one of the requirements was that the bicycle meet all legal requirements. Being in Boy Scout Troop 212 of Long Beach, that meant getting my bike licensed. I remember the Saturday morning that my father gave me a dollar and sent me down to the local fire station to get my license. I paid my dollar, filled out a form and signed a yellow piece of paper. I was legal. The end.

Since then I can count no-less-than 23 bicycles that I have had licensed. I currently have 4 bicycles, all of which are licensed pursuant LBMC 10.50.020 – within the past 2 years.

Or so I thought.

I’ve made some calls recently trying to get to the bottom of this bicycle license program. Major cities across the country are disbanding their programs, and I have personally witnessed the racial/class profiling that Long Beach’s license program is used for. I can’t get any straight answers as to what the real purpose of the program is supposed to be.


Myth #1 – for cyclists to pay their way.

  • According to the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA), 92% of the funds for local roads–the ones most often used by cyclists–come from property, income, and sales taxes. Bicyclists pay these taxes just like everyone else does.
  • FWHA calculates that 92% of federal highway funds come from user fees. But 8% come the general fund, so even a bicyclist who owns no car contributes to federal highway funds, too.
  • Many services associated with the roadways are paid out of general tax funds. Examples: police, fire and ambulance services, traffic court, subsidized parking. A typical household pays a few hundred dollars per year towards such services. Bicyclists pay for a share of these services just like everyone else does.
  • Bicycles have a very low impact on the roadway. One study found that bicycles impose about 0.2 cents per mile in roadway costs. Bicyclist pay no user fees so the entire 0.2 cents/mile comes from the general tax fund.
    Myth #2 – to stop theft
    When you take your bicycle to a Fire Station on Saturday between 9am-Noon, the firefighter does not check the serial number of the bike against the database. According to April Tomecko at LBFD, the firefighters that do the licensing do not even have access to the database.  

    The form is filled out and at some point sent to headquarters, who then sends it to the Police Department, who are then supposed to enter the information in to a database for State and local agencies to access. Not until the final step would a theft be noticed – and then it is up to a detective to take up the case and track down the bike and individual.

    When I spoke to Dorothy Nulk at the Long Beach Police Department – Child Protective Services (the department within the PD that handles bike licensing administration), I had to talk her through the process of getting a bicycle licensed. She said that she had access to the database and offered to run my name. Sounds fun, lets do it.

    No record found.

    How can that be? I have four bikes that are current, and they don’t pop up. Not only are the bikes missing, but so is any record of my name. Not one bike I have ever licensed has gotten in to the database. I have my yellow copies of the 4-sheet carbon transfer registration slip – I have them laminated – they don’t expire until December 31, 2009 – they don’t exist in the system.

    California Vehicle Code 39005.
    Cities and counties having a bicycle licensing ordinance or resolution shall maintain records of each bicycle registered. Such records shall include, but not be limited to, the license number, the serial number of the bicycle, the make and type, of the bicycle, and the name and address of the licensee.
    Records shall be maintained by the licensing agency during the period of validity of the license or until notification that the bicycle is no longer to be operated.
    Amended Ch. 947, Stats. 1973. Effective January 1, 1974.

    Long Beach does not HAVE TO require bikes to be licensed, but since they do, the State requires them to keep a record of the above mentioned information. In my case, the City is not keeping up its end of the bargain. Can I write the City a ticket?

    Thanks to Dr. Brent Hugh at StLRBF for tax data.

    • 5 Comments

    ddougherty, July 27th 2009 | Tags: , , , , ,
    Posted in advocacy

    LBCyclists in Action

    A little overdue, but a slide show of a training seminar that was hosted by the LBCyclists and CSULBCyclists that was held a few months ago. In coordination with the League of American Bicyclists, Chris Quint, a regional trainer, administered a 3 day seminar to would-be League Certified Instructors.

    The seminar is 3 days of bicycle safety, traffic theory, teaching theory and hands-on road skills – the only nationally recognized training of its kind. Some of our attendees included bicycle advocates from all over the state. The current executive director of the LACBC and some staff were present, as were board members from Cicle.org.

    If you are interested in being a League Certified Instructor yourself, contact us!

    No Comments

    LBCyclists, April 3rd 2009 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Education

    Sidewalk Riding Fine

    …that’s ‘fine’ as in money you have to pay.

    A violation of code 10.48.070 is a misdemeanor and is subject to a $164 fine.

    Jim sent us an email regarding a ticket he received for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in Belmont Shore. He admits his own fault – the signs are posted after all.

    But he is looking for a listing of various bicycle violation fines.
    Any help?

    No Comments

    LBCyclists, February 11th 2009 | Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Education

    Bicycle Bells and The Law

    At least once a week I have somebody telling me that they got a ticket for not having a bell on their bike.

    Why?

    I cannot find any law or municipal code that even mentions bicycle bells.
    (If you know of one, please let us know!)

    Municipal code 10.48.070 (B) Any person riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian, and when overtaking and passing a pedestrian, shall give an audible signal and shall pass to the left of the pedestrian only under conditions permitting such movement in safety.

    An audible signal could be a bell, it could be a shout, it could be flicking your brake levers, it could be a fog horn, it could be wailing on some bagpipes… it could be anything that makes noise really. It does not specify using a bell, or even having a bell.

    Not to mention that these folks getting cited are mostly homeless or low income – but that’s a whole different post.

    Have you had an bicycle related citations you thought were bogus?

    6 Comments

    LBCyclists, December 18th 2008 | Tags: ,
    Posted in Education

    City Launching Bike Plan Soon-ish

    As reported on LBPost.com, the City is planning to someday, eventually, maybe start implementing portions of the Bicycle Master Plan that was drafted seven years ago.

    Check out the story

    And be sure to head over to Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe (October 2008) to check out the great bicycle-themed photo exhibit, “Stoked for Spokes”.

    Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe
    340 E 4th St
    Long Beach, CA 90802
    (562) 435-7113

    No Comments

    LBCyclists, October 23rd 2008 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Past News, advocacy

    Steps towards our becoming a 501(c)3. Goals. Activities.

    Long Beach Cyclists is working to become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Organization.
    Why? To be eligible for grants and public funding so that we can better serve cyclists in our community. Our monthly general meetings are open to the public and we welcome all, but this past meeting the question came up about what is going on behind-the-scenes. Well, this is what we’ve been up to:

    Our Organization By-Laws is a 19 page, 11,685 word document that is being combed through so that there are no hitches in our giddy-up once we get the ball rollin’.
    Once that is finalized, we can start on the paperwork to form our full-fledged 501(c)3 Organization.

    Somewhere between here and there, we need to hash and decide upon policies and goals. We’re all for having fun on bikes, but as an advocacy organization, we need to decide which battles we’re going to fight, and how far we’re going to go on issues that are important to us.

    It’s a long, slow process that usually involves 6 people sitting around a table spending 20 minutes wording one sentence so that it’s satisfactory to all.

    Here’s a preview of what we’ve been up to:

    A. Promote and protect the road rights of bicyclists.
    1. Clean up city laws.
    2. Law enforcement education.
    3. Support state law reforms.

    B. Inclusively advocate for the interests of the full spectrum of bicyclists.
    1. Support all of the different types of lawful cyclists.
    2. City actions and facility designs must not benefit one group of bicyclists over another.

    C. Support bicycling education and awareness.
    1. Promote Bike Ed for adults and children.
    2. All other arenas: civic/decision makers, legal/law enforcement, public transit, educators, advocates, adults cyclists and the media.

    D. Promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation.
    1. Social rides, events, bicycle valet parking.
    2. Organize and conduct fun rides and bicycling events.
    3. Create and expand “end of trip” facilities throughout the city.
    4. Integrate bicycling into public transit.

    E. Promote societal acceptance of bicyclists as equal road users.
    1. Awareness campaigns.
    2. Signage.
    3. Positive portrayal of bicyclists.
    4. Encourage city entities to promote a “bicycle friendly” status through policies and practices.

    1 Comment

    LBCyclists, September 4th 2008 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Current News, Featured, advocacy

    LBCyclists in the Downtown Gazette


    There’s an article in an April 2008 edition of the Downtown Gazette on the Long Beach Cyclists that talks about some of our long-term goals and our upcoming projects. You can read the complete article here.
    Here are some excerpts:

    Long Beach Cyclists formed around 1994 with the intent of offering city staff feedback from actual cyclists as they tried to expand the city’s Bicycle Master Plan. But beyond hosting several community meetings, the city did very little to include cyclists in the policy planning process, explained Chris Quint, longtime member of Long Beach Cyclists. In fact, the city formed a committee to work on the plan that included members from Long Beach Transit, the police department, the school district and other agencies — but no cyclists, he said. 

    …

    The group’s ultimate goal is to become the organized bicycle group that city leaders come to when trying to make bike-friendly changes, he added. 

    “We want to be involved on a real planning level,” said Roca, adding that public meetings tend to be the end of cyclists’ involvement in policy making. “Why are we depending on people who don’t ride bikes to design spaces for bikes?”

    Ultimately, it is our wish as an organization to work closely with the city. We feel that it is only logical and reasonable that bicyclists have a say in decisions that will affect their lives in a very real and direct way.

    As bicyclists we are equal but vulnerable road users. It is time that we are recognized not just as traffic problems to be solved, but valued members of the community, who through our simple actions are improving the city one pedal stroke at a time.

    There is a lot of talk about “greening” Long Beach.

    We’re doing that now.

    We’re doing it every day.

    Come join us.

    No Comments

    LBCyclists, April 29th 2008 | Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in Past News, advocacy

    Video – Rights and Duties of Cyclists

    Ever wondered what it’s like to ride a bike in traffic? It’s not quite the apocalyptic chaos that most people think. As a cyclist, you actually have quite a bit of control of the situation. This video put together by LBC member Dan Guiterrez (all filmed in the streets of Long Beach!) is usually a real eye opener for people that are new to vehicular cycling. Grab some popcorn and be amazed.

    1 Comment

    LBCyclists, April 4th 2008 | Tags: , , , , , ,
    Posted in Education, advocacy
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