Los Angeles opens a new 2.2 mile path for bicycles

Los Angeles bike lane

Recently, the city of Los Angeles opened a new 2.2-mile bicycle path along 7th Street from Catalina Avenue in Koreatown to Figueroa Street downtown.

An entire lane for cars was eliminated to make lane for cyclists even though there is a lot of traffic in the city. By doing so, the city officials confirmed that, they, as a city, look at bicycles, as not only a recreational vehicle but as a legitimate form of public transportation. Cycling enthusiasts also cheered city’s action as a step toward intended goal of introducing more paths and making the city bike friendly.

It is estimated that some 27,000 residents of Los Angeles ride a bicycle daily. This number pales in comparison to places like Copenhagen, Denmark, in Europe where about 35% of the residents use bicycles as a mean of transportation.

Los Angles Department of Transportation's (LADOT) Bikeway Engineering Group is responsible for the design and oversight of new bike path and bike lane projects throughout the City of Los Angeles. Their bike plan calls for more than 200 miles of new routes every five years. According to LADOT officials the state vehicle code makes it illegal for drivers to use lanes designated for cyclists.

The LADOT Bike Program needs your bike photos for their website, blog and bicycle related reports. Public is invited to submit photos of people using L.A’s bicycling facilities. Facilities include bike lanes, bike paths, sharrows, and bike racks (in-use). Your photos will go a long way towards enriching the content provided by social media and other outreach tools. Make sure that your photos are licensed for public use and that in the description section you provide the location and facility of your photo

Sources

http://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/

http://www.bicyclela.org/Engineering.htm

http://www.bicyclela.org/maps_main.htm#lamaps

safety, etiquette & the law

The LADOT Bike Program needs your bike photos 

Diabetes and Hispanic Heritage Month

Diabetes, a serious problem

Everybody is prone to suffer from diabetes. Diabetes affects the Hispanic/Latino community especially hard. According to American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes affects nearly 1 in 2 Hispanics/Latinos. More than 11% of Hispanics in the U.S. have been diagnosed with diabetes—and many more don't know they have it. This is an urgent health problem in the community.

Today begins Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) and the ADA is working to increase diabetes awareness among Hispanics.

The American Diabetes Association is teaming up with Nordstrom this month to Stop Diabetes® in its tracks. From now through October 15, Nordstrom will donate $5, up to $75,000, for every Diabetes Risk Test taken. These funds will support Ferias de Salud Por Tu Familia, part of the Association’s diabetes prevention and education programs. 

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Sources

www.diabetes.org

Stop Diabetes

Detener la Diabetes

The History of Diabetes awareness and the World Diabetes Day

Denmark’s healthy problem - many bicycle riders

Copenhagen, Denmark is experiencing a healthy problem. It has too many people riding bicycles.

Copenhagen is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly city in the world. About 36% of the population commutes by cycling. The city offers a variety of conditions to facilitate this habit and aims to increase cycling population to 50% by 2015. This all sounds like a healthy and environment friendly trend. 

Bicycle parking

However, according to an article in Guardian, Copenhagen is running into a problem of its own and they even have cycling rush hour because of too many bike riders. Apparently, cycling in Copenhagen in the rush hour is not for sissies because it requires concentration  In rush hour, there are enormous numbers of cyclists fighting for space on Copenhagen's bike paths, which become cramped and packed.

The city is struggling to deal with its growing number of cyclists. It is already near-impossible to find cycling parking places near main stations and the cycling lanes, three to four meters wide, are buried beneath the scrum of cyclists going around the city.

Cycling advocates are working with the government to make cycling better and safer in Copenhagen. The suggestions include increasing the width and number of cycle paths and introducing multi-storey bike parking facilities. It is a challenging task but worth doing when you consider the beneficial impact of cycling and physical exercise on health and the environment

This is something for American couch potatoes to think about.