Editorial:

Pasadena is poised to add nearly 20 more miles of dedicated bike paths. Los Angeles is mulling over a proposal for nearly 700 miles’ worth. Long Beach has plans to install 100 miles of bike infrastructure. And Burbank recently approved an updated master plan that includes more than 15 additional miles of bikeway.

All around us, it’s evident that cities have been taking the accommodations for bicyclists seriously, and because of it, they’ve been getting millions in state funding grants to help pay for the projects.

Then there’s Glendale, with its paltry three miles of dedicated bike paths. Painting up a few stretches of “sharrows,” or markings that indicate shared right-of-ways for vehicles and bicyclists, is no way to bring the third-largest city in Los Angeles County up to speed.

Glendale first adopted its bike master plan in 1995, and since then, there has been no significant update, and no progress on increasing the amount of dedicated bikeway. Conversely, the city has missed out on the funding stream set up to help cover the costs of installing more bike amenities.

It might be easy to blame the lack of bicycle ridership on the abysmal traffic vs. pedestrian safety record here, but then, with a relative void of bike infrastructure, how can we know? With Glendale virtually surrounded by local governments forging ahead with their own accommodations for the rider set, it only stands to reason that our less-than-stellar pedestrian-cyclist reputation will only become more pronounced.

That is, unless we do a 180 and rev the planning pedal. But with a 15-year gap to close, and with our neighbors pulling even farther ahead, it will be a tall order to fill. Just because Glendale doesn’t have bikers streaming into City Hall to complain doesn’t mean the obvious void should be sidelined, as it has been for years.

Unfortunately, even at full throttle, it could take a year to mobilize and complete a community-driven study with recommendations that will require a long-term political commitment.

But with all the effort, time and money spent on securing more parkland, it shouldn’t have to be a stretch of the imagination.