Cyclists

I was taken aback by Phillip Pilgram's letter (“Police should cite errant bicyclists,” May 12) which concludes by stating that bicyclists who break vehicle codes should “finally grow up and act like responsible adults.” Like Pilgram, I don't like seeing bicyclists who break traffic regulations. However, unlike Pilgram, I have been cycling to work and on errands in and around Glendale for decades, totaling about a thousand miles a year. Bicycling reduces pollution, benefits health and also reduces traffic and road surface wear and tear.

GLENDALE — Shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, a bicyclist sped through Glenoaks Boulevard and Grandview Avenue. Minutes later, two women donning workout attire jogged past the same corner. In turn, Pasadena City College student Alberto Luna made sure to mark three hash marks on his clipboard. Luna also noted the direction they were traveling and the fact that the cyclist was wearing a helmet and traveling on the street as opposed to the sidewalk. Luna was one of dozens of volunteers manning street corners throughout Glendale on Saturday morning for the city's second annual bicyclist and pedestrian count.

Sharrows aren't safe for cyclists I'm a bit confused over the thanks to the City Council for the bicycle sharrows on Chevy Chase Drive that seem to be placed in the middle of the street ("Bicyclist appreciates council move," Sept. 7). If Scott Peer is sincere and does in fact commute to work on a bicycle, he must be one of the only ones. I drive that road multiple times daily and can honestly say I've rarely seen a bicycle on that part of Chevy Chase — maybe these sharrows were meant for him. I'm all for pedestrian safety, but the placement of the sharrows doesn't seem to provide any new area for bicycles.

CITY HALL — Commissioners next week are slated to review a draft report aimed at making streets more inviting for bicyclists and safer for pedestrians in one of the last stops before the much-anticipated policy document reaches the City Council. The so-called "Safe and Healthy Streets Plan" is the result of two years of community outreach and development under a $305,000 grant awarded to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition in 2008. Through the grant, coalition liaison Colin Bogart has been a regular fixture in Glendale, meeting with residents and city officials to discuss ways to best improve conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Bicyclists got their own parking structure Monday at the Metrolink station in downtown Burbank -- a secure building with 40 parking stalls, a repair stand and other features that officials say should entice more people to use public transit. A longtime gripe among cyclists in the L.A. region has been the lack of accommodations for their bikes at public transit hubs, but Burbank and state transportation officials on Monday touted the so-called Bike Stop a major leap in convenience.

Making Glendale bike-friendly is a great idea (“Bike-friendly road plan progressing,” Jan. 28). The only problem is that creating bicycle lanes on city streets does not make bicycling safe. Glenoaks has had bike lanes for years, but I would be afraid to use those lanes for the fear of being run down by a driver who is texting. As often as I have driven along Glenoaks, I have very rarely seen bicyclists in those designated lanes. The only safe bike lane would be one that is totally separated from automobiles.

All the cyclists participating in Tour of Hope have been affected by the disease in some way.It was the ride of his life. But more importantly to him, it was the ride for his son's life. La Cañada resident Doron Kochavi, whose son, Ari, is a brain-cancer survivor, bicycled 3,300 miles, from San Diego to Washington D.C., in nine days with 23 other cyclists and seven-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong. All the cyclists in the third Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Ride Across America, designed to raise cancer awareness, have been affected by the disease.

Gretchen Hoffman Local cyclists want to put the wheels in motion to make city streets more bicycle-friendly. City Councilman Gus Gomez has asked that a suggestion by the Glendale Chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition be put on a future City Council agenda. The group has called for a bicycle advisory committee that would update Glendale's Bicycle Master Plan. This would position the city to tap into a county fund that bankrolls projects that improve safety and convenience for bicycle commuters.

SOUTH GLENDALE — As part of an uphill dash to keep pace with a growing number of bicycle-friendly communities across the Southland, avid cyclists and pedestrians Saturday took to the street to improve a key cross-town corridor. About 25 volunteers dedicated their morning to planting 16 trees around Maple Park in Glendale in an effort to transform the Riverdale-Maple corridor into a better, greener pedestrian and bicycle route. About 100 new trees will be planted along Maple Street, Riverdale Drive, Rock Glen and Lincoln Avenue, officials said.

NORTH GLENDALE — Grandview Avenue just got a little safer for cyclists with the recent addition of street markings designating a shared roadway with motorists. The street markings, known as sharrows, indicate where cyclists should travel on the road to avoid being hit by opening car doors and to be seen by motorists, officials said. The symbols were stamped onto Grandview Avenue more than a week ago as part of Glendale’s Bikeway Master Plan, said Colin Bogart, a liaison with the nonprofit Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

The City Council on Tuesday put the brakes on a proposal to give bicyclists dedicated lanes on a 1.6-mile stretch of road in North Glendale. The “road diet” would have shaved off two lanes of four-lane La Crescenta Avenue between Verdugo Road and Montrose Avenue and dedicated the extra space to bicycles for a four-month period beginning in February. The trial period would be used to determine the viability of the bike lane, officials said. But that's been put on hold for now, discouraging some bicyclists.

John Keoshkarian got more than he bargained for Sunday evening while biking down the Verdugo Mountains: a big black bear in his path. Thing is, since the bear was standing on a blind corner, neither of them realized they'd crossed paths until after it happened and Keoshkarian skidded to a stop. When they both turned to look back, the bear then dashed into the brush and got across the Wildwood Canyon area in Burbank before Keoshkarian managed to snap a photo. Keoshkarian, who said he's biked down the fire access road from Mt. La Tuna about four days a week for eight years, described the bear as larger than a trash dumpster.

I've been following the articles on bicycle-related collisions and traffic incidents (“Educate drivers, not bicyclists,” Nov. 23). Every morning, without fail, I see bicyclists blowing through the stop signs at Kenneth and Magnolia. They're brazen. They don't care if there's a car in the intersection or pedestrians in the crosswalk. They're too busy playing “Tour de France” to be courteous and law abiding. If I have the bad manners to honk or yell at them, I get a fast-flung bird.

Bicyclists got their own parking structure Monday at the Metrolink station in downtown Burbank -- a secure building with 40 parking stalls, a repair stand and other features that officials say should entice more people to use public transit. A longtime gripe among cyclists in the L.A. region has been the lack of accommodations for their bikes at public transit hubs, but Burbank and state transportation officials on Monday touted the so-called Bike Stop a major leap in convenience.

Faced with an increase in bicycle-related crashes, Burbank officials say they plan to use a $100,000 state grant to educate the public on the rules of the road. Spending the money on safety classes aimed primarily at cyclists is seen at City Hall as a way to get more bang for the buck, especially as more people give up their car keys in favor of bikes, officials said. “The No. 1 priority for the project is the educational programs; it's not even infrastructure,” said Cory Wilkerson, an assistant transportation planner for the city.

A 13-year-old cyclist suffered minor injuries Monday when he was struck by a fleeing motorist on Jackson Street, police said. The teen was riding west on Wilson Avenue on the sidewalk toward Jackson Street about 6:10 p.m. and stopped at a red light at the intersection, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Once the light turned green, the cyclist proceeded west on the south sidewalk, and the motorist, who was turning right, struck the rear bicycle tire, causing the boy to tumble, Lorenz said.

GLENDALE — A 47-year-old cyclist was arrested Saturday after he allegedly crashed his bicycle into a car stopped at a red light, police said. Robert Rubio of Glendale had a .22 and .23 blood-alcohol level — nearly three times the legal limit of .08 — during field sobriety tests, according to Glendale police reports. Rubio was riding north on Brand Boulevard at Maple Street about 4:04 p.m. when he tried to pass a car idling at a red light, Sgt. Dennis Smith said. Rubio slammed into the back of the car, which sustained a small scratch, Smith said.

I was taken aback by Phillip Pilgram's letter (“Police should cite errant bicyclists,” May 12) which concludes by stating that bicyclists who break vehicle codes should “finally grow up and act like responsible adults.” Like Pilgram, I don't like seeing bicyclists who break traffic regulations. However, unlike Pilgram, I have been cycling to work and on errands in and around Glendale for decades, totaling about a thousand miles a year. Bicycling reduces pollution, benefits health and also reduces traffic and road surface wear and tear.

Thank you to the entire City Council for approving the Glendale Safe and Healthy Streets Plan (“Glendale clears path for pedalers,” April 20). In particular, I would like to single out Mayor Laura Friedman and Councilman Frank Quintero for their leadership and forward thinking. The only sour note of the entire evening was sounded by Councilman Dave Weaver, who reluctantly voted for the plan after a lengthy and negative speech. I encourage the citizens of Glendale to watch Weaver's comments via the archived video of the meeting on the GTV6 website or on my blog, http://tropicostation.blogspot.com.

CITY HALL — Roughly a third of Glendale’s bicyclists don’t use helmets, while more than 20% ride on sidewalks, according to a recent citywide survey of cyclists and pedestrians. The count — during which dozens of volunteers manned 26 street corners during a morning and evening weekday commute and a weekend morning — logged more than 2,000 cyclists and more than 15,000 pedestrians. The findings showed a continued need for public-safety campaigns to curb dangerous behaviors, said Colin Bogart, a liaison with the nonprofit Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition who oversaw the count as part of his work on a Safe and Healthy Streets plan.