Long Beach, Los Angeles’s neighbor to the south, has started to put some serious effort into making cycling an attractive and safe mode of transportation, and it’s already paying dividends.
Bicycling Magazine’s 2010 rankings for bike-friendly cities ranked Long Beach a respectable 23rd. But the city has more ambitious goals, aiming to ultimately become the “The Most Bicycle Friendly City in America,” a bold claim that adorns the art at City Hall.
With a bike-friendly mayor and big support from the city council,
their plans are ambitious and they’re moving ahead fast. A pair of physically protected cycle tracks, sharrows
with unique green striping, Southern California’s first bicycle
boulevard, and hundreds of additional bike racks are either in the ground already or coming very shortly.
This video doesn’t even touch on their comprehensive education
program for students, police, and transit operators. I guess we’ll have to go back and cover that on another
trip (and then go hit the beach).
