Tracks: Paying L.A. to Do It Yourself
I remember Richard Ankrom’s Guerilla Art Public Service over the 5 freeway’s downtown intersection. He handcrafted and mounted, to Caltrans standards, a “5 North” sign, where the 101 north and the 10 west split. Without it, the 5 seemed to suddenly disappear. Caltrans has since put up a replica. I sometimes think in regards to transportation: Why don’t we just do it ourselves? It would be quicker.
The Metro Board voted July 25 to put a half-cent increase on sales taxes on the ballot in November to fund transportation. If gas prices continue upward and the economy doesn’t stop vomiting, it has a good chance at passing. Assemblyman Mike Feuer authored the half-cent measure, officially called AB2321.
I asked Ankrom what he thought of Metro’s proposal to increase the California sales tax for their big projects.
“I’m a bit wary of the half-cent increase,” Ankrom stated. “The government/citizen relationship should be symbiotic.” There is nothing symbiotic about AB2321. Highway and rail apparently are the only two groups mature enough to be in a government-sponsored relationship. The bill has given the cyclists, bus riders, and people of South Central and North L.A. a fake invite to the party.
“This sales tax is, unfortunately, a carbon copy of the one [Prop. C] that forced the Bus Riders Union to sue [MTA] for a violation of Title VI and the 14th Amendment,” said Manuel Criollo, lead organizer of the Bus Riders Union (BRU).
“Mayor Villaraigosa touted the tremendous success [of the Rapid Bus], but this measure doesn’t include funds for new lines, like the Venice bus line. A very crowded bus line,” said Joe Linton of Green Coalition L.A.
In theory, the government is supposed to serve the people. In reality the government has a tendency to spit in our drink.
“I think the public and bureaucracy needs DIY input to wake them up, and when bureaucracy fails, citizens should take up the slack,” stated Ankrom.
There is a lot of slacking going on at Metro.
Cycling and riding public transit in L.A. requires a DIY mentality. The bus does not seem to follow a schedule. You have to just guess what time it is going to show up.
There aren’t many bike lanes. “We need more bike paths. We need bike lanes all over downtown, East L.A., South Central, pretty much whenever you see bike routes it’s going to the beach,” said Manuel Sosa, the owner of El Maestro Bike Shop in downtown L.A. So you just have to kind of guess where you can ride and not get killed.
Many times, DIY stuff (not done half-assed) works out pretty well.
In Atwater Village, after waiting and waiting and waiting for a bicycle lane, a group of people decided to build their own bike lane. It got buffed out a week later. The “This is a DIY bike lane” sign made this one too obvious. But no one got killed.
“Equity is a term that has been thrown around a lot. I’ve always believed it’s been important to look at equity in terms of bringing opportunities, access and ability to all,” said state Sen. Sheila Kuehl.
That would depend on what the definition of “all” is.
Published: 08/06/2008
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
Other Stories by Browne Molyneux
Related Articles
Comments
I was waiting for the MTA 60, it was pretty late (after 12am) I was in Long Beach trying to get to LA and the bike rack was full. I wanted to just die. Bus runs once per hour, but you know who would think three people would be going to LA from Long Beach that late, but with my luck that happened. Oddly the kindly bus driver took mercy on me. It makes me not want to take my bike when I'm trying to do the combo thing.
Don't ask me what I was doing in Long Beach in the middle of the night...lol...
As someone who has been spending a lot of time on the Gold Line with my bicycle, I realize that no one thought about where a bicycle should go on Metro Rail. We seem to make places (DIY), but it's not easy. Two days ago some sheriffs yelled at me about blocking the way - I was in the open space by the door with my bike next to the seats. With the train full & other bikes in the space between the car's two sections and another bike at the doors near the driver's cab, where was I to go???
I met a biker from Austria and he told me in Europe they have hooks(?) for the bikes, so there out of the way. Metro needs to do something. And two bikes per bus is nothing.
And, I'm noticing, especially in the last month or so, more riders on Metro Rail with bicycles. It can only get worse. Hopefully, for me once the PEACE in the NorthEast Community March and Resource Fair is over with after Saturday, August 16, 10a -5p, I won't be on the Gold Line so much. I'll just be pedalling in Pasadena. But who knows what lies ahead for me . . .