Are we doomed to have a second-rate bicycle network?

By Jim Smith

The Neighborhood Council’s grudging approval, in concept, of the proposed Main Street bike lanes, Sept. 20, came only after city officials said it was their way or the (car) highway. It would take months, even years, to implement any changes, said Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation (DOT) officials.

One of the problems with the plan that concerned the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) Board was the dangerous side-by-side lanes for cars, buses, trucks and bikes. If people on bikes try to keep their distance from the big vehicles, they run the risk of being “doored,” that is, hit by a driver’s door from a parked car when it suddenly opens.

Alex Thompson, president of Bikeside (who introduced himself as the other Alex Thompson), Board member Amanda Seward and I, spoke in favor of bikes and other vehicles being separated by parked cars. In other words, put the bikes by the curb, then parked cars and finally other vehicles in the center of the road. This arrangement is called buffered bike lanes and is used throughout Europe. It’s also being used more and more in the U.S., including New York City, Portland and Long Beach, among other cities. DOT officials protested that buffered bike lanes were not in their “toolkit.”

Apparently, DOT engineers and managers went to school when bikes were not an important consideration. They are auto-centric. They seem to consider bikes just another type of car, perhaps a two-wheeled car. It is similar to when personal computers were first introduced. Many people considered them just another form of typewriter, and called them Word Processors.

In fact, bikes are on the verge of radically changing the way we live. As bikes become more common than cars, commutes will become shorter, neighborhood stores will reappear, communities will become more sociable.

No one died for mistaking a computer for a typewriter, but bike riders are often seriously injured or killed because of unsafe road conditions. How many more car-bike crashes will it take before DOT stops whining about plan changes and starts implementing safe bike routes by means of buffered bike lanes, bike-only streets, car-only streets, education for auto drivers, more signage and sharrows, wider bike lanes, bike signals at intersections, reduced speed limit streets and other safety features.

Given their past performance, the entire DOT may have to be sent to reeducation camps to learn that bikes are not cars. Remember, these are the people who gave us a crosswalk on Abbot Kinney and Palms where pedestrians cannot tell if the light for cars has changed to green or if it is still red.

They are the people who, in a fit of sadistic humor, threw bikes, cars and buses together in one small lane (may the biggest SUV win!) on Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Now we have a Main Street bike lane where more than 700 bike riders will daily risk their lives. Santa Monica is currently studying changing its Main Street bike lanes to make them safer, a fact not mentioned by DOT at the VNC meeting.

The Main Street bike lane almost connects with the Venice Blvd. bike lane (another hazardous route). Almost, but not quite. If the geniuses at DOT had striped three blocks of Venice Way, from the Circle to the Library, it would have connected. Don’t they have maps downtown?

DOT was so desperate to get its plan approved by the VNC that it resorted to lobbying its Board. It urged people from all over Los Angeles to email or attend and speak in favor of DOT’s plan. One example: “Main Street bike lanes need your support! Please contact the Venice Neighborhood Council, and Council Member Bill Rosendahl’s office and let them know how much you want these lanes.” (http://ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/main-street-bike-lanes-need-your-support).

How odd is it that the mighty DOT would lobby a little neighborhood council? In fact, neighborhood councils are set up to reflect the feelings of their stakeholders, not the position of a city department. No one contacted by the Beachhead wanted to talk about this blatant breach of the rules. Not Bong-Hwan Kim, General Manager of the Dept. of Neighborhood Empowerment, not Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, and not several VNC Board members called by the Beachhead. One VNC Board member said off the record that it is not right, but it is done all the time.

It seems that we in Venice will be unable to have a say on things as simple as bike lanes until we have cityhood or until L.A. is truly occupied by its residents.

Easing The Automobile Out Of Venice

By Jim Smith

Getting around Venice can be a problem if you don’t have a car. Even then, if you park your car on the street, don’t even think about moving it on a sunny weekend, or nearly any time during summer days. First Friday can extend the problem well into the evening if you live in Central Venice, Oakwood or Milwood.

In spite of having a problem that affects thousands of Venetians, no one seems to be working on a solution. The MTA doesn’t care. Bill Rosendahl’s advisory transportation committee is too busy looking at the big picture to address intra-community transportation problems. There is no Venice committee or organization that addresses this issue.

What exactly is the problem? First of all, there are too many cars in Venice. When Abbot Kinney founded our city in 1904-05, there were few cars and not many places to drive one. Most visitors came to Venice on an excellent rail system. Locals mostly walked around the town which hardly extended east of what is now Abbot Kinney Blvd. Or instead of walking, they could hop on the tram that plied Ocean Front Walk. Many streets were canals and the remainder, with a few exceptions, were and are, narrow.

Until more affluent residents moved to Venice beginning in the 1980s, many Venetians either did not have a car, or had one car per family. In the 1970s, the energy crisis had made small Japanese cars popular.

Detroit struck back by mounting station wagon bodies on large trucks and calling them SUVs. Gasoline became plentiful again and was sold at the lowest prices ever (adjusted for inflation). The growing popularity of Venice as a tourist attraction meant thousands of big vehicles were competing for Venice’s anemic supply of parking places. In recent times, the supply has shrunk even more as the City of Los Angeles has put up restrictive parking signs and red curbs without regard to the needs of local residents.

Growing numbers of Venetians have abandoned their cars for short trips and recreation by bicycle. However, Venice has lagged far behind many biking cities in protecting bike riders and in providing them with equal rights with other vehicles (cars and trucks). The only buffered or separate bike path in Venice is on the beach. Biking down Lincoln Blvd. can be considered a suicide attempt. The ill-considered painting of sharrows on Abbot Kinney Blvd. makes riding a bike there more dangerous because it gives riders a false sense of security. Some cities in Europe have closed some streets to autos and other streets to bikes.

In Venice biking, skating and walking are three popular alternatives to driving. Some streets, particularly near the beach, should be considered for skating lanes.

Nobody walks in L.A., but lots of people walk in Venice, and always have. You might think that there would be lots of accommodations for walkers. There are a few. Ocean Front Walk is the best. No cars and no bikes allowed. Police cars and bikes constantly violate this rule (anyone want to make a citizen’s arrest?). They should not be allowed in vehicles unless it is a genuine emergency. They can walk, can’t they?

On the other hand, there is no crosswalk leading to our circle in front of the Post Office. In order to enjoy this park, one has to evade several lanes of cut through traffic coming from one of five streets. A paranoid Venetian might think the L.A. Dept. of Transportation was trying to kill us off. Further evidence for this belief can be found in the dangerous crosswalk connecting Rialto Ave. and Palms Blvd. at Abbot Kinney. The Beachhead has previously reported on the inability for pedestrians to see whether motorists have a green or red light.

If Venice was a city of its own, it would probably have a flourishing shuttle service and perhaps a street car. A shuttle in Venice could provide two functions. It could pick up visitors to the beach who could park in unused lots on Lincoln Blvd. or in the Marina. During the week and during the winter, the shuttle could pick up some of the thousands of seniors who live near the beach where there are few businesses that cater to people’s daily needs and take them to Ralphs, RiteAid, Ross and other stores along Lincoln Blvd. The shuttle could charge a relatively high single use fee and a relatively low monthly pass fee. This is the fee schedule that is used in Venice, Italy, and enables the city to derive a good income from tourists using its Vaporetto (water bus), while providing a needed and low cost service to residents.

Would there be enough ridership to make a Venice shuttle viable? Yes, if visitors were able to park more cheaply in distant lots, and if the shuttle was attractive.

If Venice was a city of its own, it could build a streetcar down Pacific Avenue from the Santa Monica border to the end of the peninsula, giving sunbathers their choice of 2.6 miles of beaches. The street car could be linked with shuttles that would depart from Rose, Venice and/or Washington and Pacific to circle around Venice on Lincoln and Abbot Kinney Blvd. Ultimately, cars would not be needed to get around our community. Meanwhile, both street cars and shuttles would share traffic lanes with cars.

If shuttles and street cars don’t get you where you want to go, there are always rickshaws. Electric or pedal powered three-wheel vehicles are used in many cities around the world and have made their appearance in parts of Southern California from time to time. It remains for one of Venice’s budding entrepreneurs to navigate the L.A.’s bureaucracy and buy about 20 of the easily obtainable vehicles. Don’t wait too long. Someone might beat you to it.

There is nothing in the suggestions above that is not being done already by progressive-minded cities of all sizes. The main drawback in Venice is that we have no city government of our own. We are dependent on the city of Los Angeles, which has shown a marked reluctance over the years to make any improvements in Venice unless it comes from bond-issue funds or is desired by one of the moguls that runs Los Angeles.

 

Getting Around Venice

By Jim Smith

Most of use spend the majority of our time outside our houses on the streets and in the buildings of Venice. The exceptions are those who use Venice as a bedroom community from which they depart each day on a long commute to a faraway job.

Unfortunately,  transportation gurus and actual planning is concerned almost exclusively with moving people long distances via freeways, rail and rapid buses. Planning for getting around Venice is almost nonexistent.

Cars aside, the most likely ways of moving around Venice are bikes, shuttles, walking, and skating. That is, if we accept the premise that driving a car only a few blocks, and trying to park it, is counterproductive. Driving a car also adds to pollution and costs more and more as gasoline prices rise. Electric cars reduce some of these problems but they still must be parked somewhere. A previous Beachhead article (Nov. 2002) showed that nearly any place in Venice can be biked to in 10 minutes or less.

Bikes

The Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation has finally gotten around to painting bike sharrows on a Venice street. Abbot Kinney Blvd. now has the image of a bicycle here and there on the surface of the street. Is it a joke? What do they mean? There is no explanation to motorists about how they should alter their driving. Many drivers run right over them.

Like some kind of cargo cult, the LADOT has taken a symbol to designate a bike lane and smacked it right in the middle of auto traffic. And smack is what is likely to happen to cyclists who think they have some measure of safety because of the sharrow. The sharrows are just the latest example of LADOT’s incompetence (or are they jokesters?) when it comes to tinkering with AKB. A few years ago, they re-stripped the street to include a center lane whose purpose seems to be to allow parking for UPS trucks when their drivers are making deliveries. Next came the bizarre cross walk connecting Rialto and Palms. Bizarre because it includes flashing lights for motorists which are invisible to those attempting to cross Abbot Kinney. Is the light on? Is it off? Let’s gamble our lives that it’s on. Here we go…crash.

While LADOT’s ineptness might be funny, it is no laughing matter to those who have been hit by cars, either trying to cross the street on foot or biking down it. The sharrows will just make matters worse. They don’t provide room for a car and a bike side by side.

What Abbot Kinney Blvd. needs is less cut through traffic and buffered bike lanes. The street is now classified as a secondary highway. But CalTrans, the state agency, has indicated that it would be willing to drop that designation and return AKB to the status of a street, where traffic calming measures could be used. Unfortunately, there is at present no city of Venice to ask CalTrans to make it so. And there is no way to impose a congestion tax on non-resident drivers for using our small streets as thoroughfares. Venice, after all, is in the coastal zone. It is a destination for those seeking recreation and relaxation. It is not a short cut for those going to and from their jobs in other cities.

A buffered bike lane is defined as a part of the street devoted to bikes and separated from car traffic. The safest way to do this is to put the bike lane next to the curb and move the auto parking into the street. On Abbot Kinney, this would involve eliminating the UPS lane and having one lane for auto traffic in each direction.      Bikes would flock to the street and cars could still go their merry way.

Again, the lack of a Venice city administration makes planning and doing something that makes sense for Venice a difficult undertaking.

L.A.’s Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, suffered a broken elbow in a bike accident in July. He was riding on the bike lane when a taxi pulled out from the curb right into him. Had the bike lane been next to the curb, he, and many others in similar situations, would have avoided injury.

Buffered bike lanes could also be used on some of our bigger streets like Grand, Main, Venice, Washington and perhaps Rose. If they are 50 feet or wider, they could have buffered bike lanes.

Lincoln Blvd. needs radical surgery. I would suggest a trench be dug from the Santa Monica city limits to Maxella for through traffic. It would be similar to the tunnel on Sepulveda that goes under LAX, but it would be much cheaper as a trench. The top of the trench would be open in the middle, letting air and light into the speeding thoroughfare below. Except for this gap, the top would be paved as a street for local traffic. It would have room for one lane of auto traffic, a buffered bike lane and wide sidewalks. Pedestrians would be able to cross Lincoln without first taking out a life insurance policy. Tear down that wall of traffic! Reunite east and west Venice!

Shuttles

Venice needs shuttles for both tourists and for residents. Tourists could ride a shuttle from parking lots a mile or more away. Residents, particularly seniors and disabled, could ride to markets and other Venice shopping areas. Fares could be adjusted as they are on the Vaporetto (water bus) in Venice, Italy, where tourists pay 6.50 Euros for a ride while residents pay only 1.10 Euro.

Of course, seniors (honored citizens as they are called in Portland, Oregon) should ride free. The shuttles should be all electric and perhaps include London-style double-decker buses to entice tourists to ride them. They could be a source of revenue for the future city of Venice.

Buses

Venice is fortunate to have routes of the Santa Monica Blue Bus as well as the MTA and the Culver City Bus. Yet, as far as I can tell service has not improved or changed in the 40 years that I’ve been riding them. Of course, the fares have gone up. The only significant improvements have been in “rapid” buses. The Blue Bus Rapid 3 is a fast, cheap and convenient way to get to LAX. I can’t imagine why anyone would drive there any more. The new MTA Rapid 33 on Venice Blvd. is useful for going down to L.A. City Hall to complain about something or to go to Union Station to catch the Metrolink or Amtrak;however, when I took it to Union Station from the Venice Post Office it took more than an hour. We have still not caught up with the old Red Car speeds of 100 years ago. In any case, Venice shuttles should link with bus stops to make them more convenient to ride.

Walking, Skating

When testifying on the Venice Community Plan back in the 1990s, I suggested that a Venice “walking, biking and skating zone” be created. I believe that should still be a goal of Venetians. Automobiles were not part of Abbot Kinney’s original plan for Venice. It was to be a town of adequate mass transit, including multiple trolley lines. There was even a miniature railroad that snaked through Venice. Walking was the main thing, however. From the beginning Ocean Front Walk and Windward Blvd. were closed to vehicles. The canals provided leisurely transportation via gondolas.

Walking doesn’t require much infrastructure and skating can be done on buffered bike lanes (except on the beach). However, sidewalks on many streets are too narrow and should be widened. Horror of horrors, that would encroach on the world of automobiles. Exactly.

Today, many people believe they cannot function without their cars. While a car is good to have if you want to take a trip out of Venice, it’s not needed for 90 percent of trips within Venice. Let’s all take a vow today that we will not fire up a car to take a trip within Venice except when absolutely necessary. I believe that Venice would become even more of a paradise if everyone would do this.

Interview with Thomas Paine Haag Duggan

By Greta Cobar

Carol Fondiller used to baby-sit Thomas Duggan, formerly known as Thomas Haag, Anna’s son. Yes, Anna Haag, who with John Haag operated the Venice West Cafe at 7 Dudley from 1962-66. John, Anna and Carol were also on the collective of the first Beachhead in 1968. One person who knew all of them from the beginning was Thomas.

Thomas, tell me about Carol. I had just talked to her on the phone about a month ago. I told her that I had just opened a bike shop, and she was proud. She said that she remembers how much fun she had with her little red Schwinn. I really wanted to interview her on camera, to just let the camera roll while we talked. I regret not getting around to that.

I have lots of fun memories of Carol. She was part of the group that my mom always hanged with. It was her, my father Bob Duggan, Jay the Bubbleman, Tomito, Lil’ Joe and Gloria Scott. I remember Carol baby-sitting me. I remember that I could always go to her house, any day, any time. I was around 5 years old, I remember them sitting around smoking pot. They always gave me the roach, and I would eat it. When they were through with the joint, they always said: “save the roach for Thomas.”

My mom and Carol used to hang out on the boardwalk all the time. As a matter of fact, my mom was one of the first, if not the first, vendor on the boardwalk. She made beautiful jewelry.

Tell me about your childhood. I grew up as Thomas Haag, but when I was 17 I had my son Jasen, and it was at that time that my mom told me that Bob Duggan was my father. I figure John must have cheated on her or something, and they were still married, but separated, and she got pregnant. I then changed my name to Thomas Duggan. But both John and Bob were a big part of my childhood, they both took me camping and stuff. One time John ran out of money during a camping trip, and we had to go through some really weird shit. Anyways, I have a sister, Duanna, who is 3 years younger than me. She lives in Colorado with her child. She is the one child that Anna and John Haag had together.

How was growing up in Venice? I remember going to Westminster Elementary School, and all doors had to be locked when Venice High students got out. They would come to get us. But I stayed out of trouble by staying out of certain places at certain times. I even graduated from Venice High.

My mom used to take us to Umbria, Italy, where she was from, every summer. We would leave a few days after school was over and did not come back till a few days before school started again. It was cool because I got to experience another culture, but I always felt like I was missing out on what was going on in Venice during that time. It was funny how different my life here was compared to my cousins’ in Italy. Over there they would get in trouble for not having their shirts tucked in, while over here I was really big into biking, skating, baseball, but also drugs and alcohol. I did so many drugs that I was through with all of that by 16. Same thing with alcohol, by 20 I had had enough. One time, I was 11, and our plane for Italy was supposed to leave at like 3 pm or something, but by noon I was so drunk that my mom got really pissed. God, she was so pissed! It was probably because I couldn’t help her carry anything. We used to have duffle bags full of stuff to take to Italy for presents.

But one common ground that I found with my Italian cousins was soccer. That’s what we played. And I also got to know another culture. My grandfather would send me to the store to buy him alcohol. And I learned to speak fluent Italian. While in Italy, I spoke Italian to my mother. But over here we always spoke English.

And what have you done since? I left Venice for 13 years, from 1987 to 2000, to live with my dad Bob Duggan in Aspen, Colorado. I graduated from the security school that my father has going on there, worked for him, taught shooting. Really did not like the weather, just too much snow.

Just this past April, Thomas opened a bike shop in the heart of Venice, just three blocks north of the post office on Main St. and San Juan. It’s a cool little place, and you should all check it out. He sells all kinds of old Schwinns that I almost drooled over, but also Backward Circle Bikes, those colorful skinny bikes that people ballet on at a stop light. What’s up with these bikes, Thomas? Well, I sell more of these than anybody else. My friend who started the company told me today “you’re in the lead.” When they bring these bikes in from Taiwan, they have to have a break on them and a chain guard, for security purposes. But then people take the chain guard and the break off, and they stop them by skidding the back wheel with a foot. I recently learned how to do that, but I still like beach cruisers best.

We rode bikes together to Carol’s memorial. He rode a wheelie most of the way.

I felt honored to be part of Carol’s memorial and to be able to continue her legacy with the Beachhead.

Fight Crime: Read the Beachhead – Stolen Bicycle Recovered After Last Month’s Article

By CJ Gronner

The hills are alive … with the sound of bike bells! Everybody! You are not going to BELIEVE this! So … pretty much everyone knows I had my bike stolen last month and that it was very sad for me. Really. I’d never had a bike stolen, not even as a kid, so I didn’t know how bad it felt, especially for someone who is constantly on hers. I would like to apologize now to anyone who ever told me their bike had been stolen that maybe I didn’t give deep enough sympathy to. It sucks.

So then I got mad, and thought, I’m telling everyone about this and I’m getting that bike back. I don’t know if I really thought I would, but I was sure going to try. I wrote an article about my loss and the state of crime affairs in Venice (see below) and the Free Venice Beachhead put it on the front page of that beloved local paper.

Walking down the streets, people would yell, “Sorry about your bike!” or “I’ve got my boys looking out for your bike, if she’s in Venice, you’ll get her back.” A friend in Minnesota even wrote me to say he’d looked on LA’s Craig’s List to see if anything matching her description came up (Thanks, dear John Evans!). It was nice to know that people even still cared about such things, to be honest. But Delores was still gone.

Well … Blogtown is now THRILLED to report that we have our first neighborhood victory, and that our faith in humanity is RESTORED!!! OK … so last Saturday I came home and checked my email quick for an address to a party I was attending. At the top of my inbox was a message from Jim Smith with a subject line saying “DELORES ALERT!” WHAT?! I got chills before I even clicked it open. Inside, it said, “A reader called to say he thinks he knows where your bike is. Call Peter at #310…….”. I let out a scream with a pitch that drew dogs, and dialed Peter immediately.

A guy answered and I explained who I was and that I’d written the article in the Beachhead and understood he might have info on my stolen bike. He said that about a month ago, a guy came riding up to him and asked if he wanted to buy the bike he was riding for $40 (um … Delores would hate to know how cheaply she’d been sold for, so let’s keep that to ourselves). Peter asked if it was stolen, as he had a feeling it was, but the guy said of COURSE not. Peter and his girlfriend, Nancy, had both recently had THEIR bikes stolen, and were in need, so he bought ol’ Delores for the 40 bones. He said the guy was Caucasian, mid to late 30′s, salt and peppery hair that was kinda curly, decently/cleanly dressed, and a little jittery, “like he parties a lot”. I don’t think I know the guy, but look out for him and LOCK your bikes, or better yet, bring them inside. Peter thought he might steal a bike in the Marina, ride it to Venice, sell it to someone there, steal a Venice one and ride it to the Marina, try to sell it to someone he’d just stolen one from, and repeat. Supply and Demand. Quite a racket. Thief.

Then the plot thickened. Peter said he had Delores for a few weeks (“She rides great”. I know.), and then this OTHER guy came up and said, “Hey, that’s my bike. It got stolen a few weeks ago.” LIAR!! But Peter didn’t know that, so he said he’d bought her from some guy for $40, and sorry about that. The guy said he’d give him $20 to get her back. When Peter hedged about that, the guy shrugged and had the nerve to say, “Karma”! So they each were out $20, but the bike was back where she belonged. Or so Peter and Nancy thought.

Cut to: Last weekend, Peter and Nancy are enjoying breakfast aboard the boat they live on in the Marina, reading the friendly neighborhood paper, The Beachhead. The title Jim put on “Help! My Bike Has Been Kidnapped!” caught their attention and they read the article. Peter said to Nancy, “I think that was this girl’s bike”. He noted the stickers, etc … and was practically sure, so he TOOK THE TIME to track down a number for The Beachhead, where someone passed him on to Jim, who emailed me, who called Peter and jumped around and screamed like a Jonas Brothers fan-girl. I described every detail to him, and he’d been waiting for me to tell him about the seat, which is pretty distinctive, with inlaid black flame etching on it, and when I said that, he said, “It’s your bike”. There was just one problem … he hadn’t seen the guy who took her in a few days. We talked a bit more, he laughed at my total and absolute glee, took my number and said he’d call as soon as he saw the guy again. We hung up and I called my Mom, who said I sounded exactly like I did when I was excited about something at the age of 5. That whole night I told the story of the almost-return of sweet Delores.

Then three days went by. I left messages for Peter, un-returned. I started to get a sinking feeling, like, “Oh, NO. PLEASE don’t let this be a person who was messing with me, because that would be really, really dark.” I did not want to believe that would even be possible. Finally, I couldn’t take the not knowing anymore, so had my dear friend Nathan call up so it would be a different number calling. Peter answered and explained to Nath that he hadn’t seen the guy since we’d spoken and was feeling kind of nervous about it, and having gotten me all excited, but would call the minute he saw him again. I started to feel nervous too, like so close, but no Delores cigar-ette (both her namesakes were red-headed smokers, by the by. No nonsense broads).

Only about an hour or two passed, and my sweet friend Erinn came by to go to lunch with me. As we were getting up to leave, Nathan’s phone rang. It was Peter, saying he saw the guy RIGHT NOW, and to come right away. One look at Erinn, who said, “I’m not missing this, I’ll drive!” So Nathan, Erinn and I piled into her car and sped to the Marina. Peter said to turn down Mindanao, so we took the right and rolled by slow, like gangstas. All of a sudden, I said, “Oh my gosh, I think that’s Delores!” It was like (um, kind of) when you hear of kidnapped kids being returned and they’re not sure it’s them at first, they look different, but you just KNOW. She was parked next to a scary rusty red van, looking naked and vulnerable. We then saw a guy in one of those sun-hats with the drawstring, waving his arms over his head. We pulled in and pulled up to him, and I said out the window, “Are you Peter?” He was, and he said, “She’s right over there”, pointing to the van and who I correctly thought was Delores. I had chills all over again. I jumped out and hugged him and his sweet girlfriend, who were all smiles, and could not have been nicer. They didn’t want any money, they just wanted to see a little justice, and make someone’s day, as they knew how it felt to get a bike stolen themselves. AHHH, the HUMANITY!!! In a good way.

A slightly different story was unfolding on the other side of the van. Nathan is a pretty straight-forward fellow, and he walked directly over there and said to the guy standing there, “Mate, this is my friend’s bike, and I’m taking it now.” The guy was not having it and said he was owed $20 and she wasn’t going anywhere until he got it. Nathan said, “It’s not your bike, it’s hers standing right over there, and there’s an article in the paper to prove it.” Basically, SEE YA.

He walked Delores over to me, and sure enough, it was her. Her basket was gone, her lock was gone, her bell was gone, her stickers had been scraped off, except for partial Heal The Bay, and the Obama one was still there, cool and collected, like the Man himself. Oh, and he’d also added some gross pigeon feathers or something to the front, which were immediately stripped away. After a good scrub, new basket, new bell, and lots of love, I am confident she will recover from her traumatic DOUBLE-theft experience.

I was seriously over-joyed, insisting that we get our photo together, and as they wouldn’t accept any money, Peter Anston and Nancy D’Aquino will soon be the recipients of one of my Key Lime Pies, which we will eat on their boat and talk about the GOOD in people over. Alan, the one who said it was his bike, will not be getting any pie, but by the end of it all, he wanted in on a photo too. Hilarious. When he came over to keep complaining about his $20, Peter said, “So we both paid $20 to do the right thing”, and then turned the tables on ol’ Alan, shrugged, and said, “Karma”. INDEED.

I hugged Peter and Nancy hard, and said, “You have made a lot of peoples’ days with this”. But they did more than that … they helped me to REALLY know that there is still GOOD out there. That lots of people still want to do the right thing. That a sense of COMMUNITY really IS alive and well out here … and that we truly are all in it together. And that feels so, so great.

I gotta go now … there is about to be a One Bike (DELORES!!!) Parade, up and down the Venice Boardwalk, smiling and waving to announce her return. Honestly, if this can happen in Venice, ANYTHING can!! ONE LOVE!

*Deep and heartfelt THANKS to Jim Smith & The Free Venice Beachhead, and the wonderfully darling Peter Anston and Nancy D’Aquino!!! Surface and begrudging thanks to that dude Alan.

Help! My bike has been kidnapped

By CJ Gronner

The nature of Venice is on my mind a great deal lately … through decades and changes, the Bohemian nature and spirit of the place has always managed to survive.  There’s been tough times all along the way for a good chunk of the residents, but the groove factor, and general desire for the well-being of people, place and planet has long trumped everything else.  And I think it’s really, really important that it persevere.

So let’s address a few lame things, and a few good ones for balance.  My longtime friend and companion, my bike, Delores, was stolen last Thursday from the inside of a tall fence at my brother’s place on Horizon.  The two bikes sandwiching mine were left behind, so clearly the jerk thief had good taste, but that’s no excuse to steal from a neighbor.   I get that times are tough.  I’m unemployed at the moment.  I have stress about gathering rent on a freelance writer’s iffy income.  But it would never even occur to me to jack someone’s bike, or anything else of theirs, for that matter. Delores was my main transportation.  Whomever took her – black, cool beach cruiser, straw basket, Obama sticker on the back, Hinano’s Girl on the front.

This is a Bike Amber Alert.  I want her back. You have some rotten karma now, and Delores will most likely buck you off in my honor.  I hope it hurts.  You’ll get yours.  Once I started telling people that mine was stolen, a whole bunch more similar stories came up, bike thefts left and right, but also skateboards, money, even cars.  I’m sure you’ve been kept awake in recent days by the hovering Police choppers too, (do they REALLY need to keep at it for three hours in the middle of the night?) so it seems bigger crime issues are more prevalent these days as well.

As I type this I’m wearing a t-shirt gift from my friend that says, “BE KIND.”  If we could all just remember that, things would be so much better for everyone.  Even Bike Thieves.  The shirt came from a new neighbor, Propr, on Abbot Kinney Blvd.  Recently one of the owners had to be up on a ladder scrubbing graffiti off of their new awning.  I get that people don’t love having fancy new shops take over the area.  Gentrification can be a real thief of a town’s character, and it sucks when you can’t afford the posher merchandise inside.  I get it.  I STILL can’t go to Pinkberry – which I love – because I feel chains don’t belong in Venice.   But when people are trying to be good neighbors, it’s a wrong message to send to deface their property.

I’ve waited five minutes in the middle of a crosswalk on Venice without one person thinking, “Oh, another human being.  Maybe I should let them cross.”  We seriously just need to, “Remember our humanity, and forget the rest.” as Einstein said.

The people that don’t want RV’s parking by their homes, I also get.  The people who live inside do need to be clean, noise-level appropriate, and respectful – just like any neighbor.  Which is what they are.  That is where the majority of them LIVE.  There needs to be more compassion all around, ESPECIALLY when times are harder.  We need each other more than ever.  In Venice, of all places, this should just be understood.

And it IS.  By the majority of us.  When you see the whole town come out for the Festival Of The Chariots, dancing and catching flowers, you feel confident that good will overcome evil.  When you walk by your neighbor’s house and there is a bag of her fresh produce hanging off the fence with your name on it, you remember that at its heart, Venice is a small-town vibe made up of like individuals, that settled here to soak up the beauty, both of the city and its people.  Not to victimize one another, Man.

When a new restaurant opens up in the neighborhood like Marla’s (2300 Abbot Kinney, south of Venice), where absolutely delicious food can be had at super affordable prices, you realize that businesses can still care about their clientele,  and not just rape them with hotel-style tabs and rude service, like some of the other new scene spots on the Boulevard have done. It’s simply essential in a beloved place like Venice, that we heed the Golden Rule.  Otherwise we become just another city, with crime statistics being more the news than the good works done by our fine citizens every day.

Let’s just remember that we all love this place, no matter what our circumstances are, so let’s stick up for each other, not stick each other up.  Thanks a lot!  Word.

Live Free Or Drive!

By Jennifer Smith and Jim Smith

The recent battle over permit parking has kept a spotlight on Venetians’ continuing dilemma of where to stash their cars. Yet, no solutions have yet been proposed that would address the problem – with or without pay parking – with a long-term solution.

Much of the dialogue has centered on having not enough parking. But what if we look at it from the perspective of too many cars?

Unlike most of Southern California, Venice began as a planned city that did not exalt the role of  the automobile. In the first years of the 20th century, it was unclear whether the car would become king.

At that time, most visitors traveled to and from Venice via the Pacific Electric Railway, also know as the Red Cars. Once in Venice, short distances made walking convenient and prevalent.  In addition, there was a miniature train that traveled around central Venice and there were trams on the Ocean Front Walk that carried passengers all the way to Santa Monica. Cars were a luxury that few could afford. Even as late as the 1960s, fully half of Venice residents had incomes beneath the poverty line. Many Venetians at that time could not afford a car or had at most one old car for an entire family.

As Venice became gentrified, incomes soared as did the number and size of vehicles per household. A full-scale parking problem became part of life at the beach. At the same time, visitors to the beach from other parts of Los Angeles County, and beyond, were more likely to drive than take the bus. The Red Car was destroyed by the 1950s in a proven conspiracy by the auto makers and oil companies. Today, Venetians are often marooned without a car on summer weekends, since they are not able to return to a convenient parking place after their outing.

We believe Venice would be better off with less cars, or none. It could lead California and the nation in withdrawing from the addiction of car dome. However, with any addiction there has to be a cure available. Weaning ourselves from cars is necessary both because there is no place to put any more of them, and because the earth is suffering from global warming, much of which is caused by carbon pollution from millions of vehicles.

There exist some alter-natives at present to automobiles. They include the superb Santa Monica Blue Bus, the MTA, bicycles and walking. But none of these have enticed the majority of drivers to abandon their cars. There are several reasons for this.

First, notwithstanding the parking problem and more and more traffic, cars are convenient. You can hop in your car and usually find free parking at your destination. Secondly, cars are cool. Even Venice had a recent car show. Millions of dollars are spent on advertising to convince you that you’ll be a better, more attractive person in a new car. The auto industry has followed the advertising gimmicks pioneered by the cigarette manufactures.

For years after the Surgeon General’s cancer warning began appearing on cigarette packs, tobacco companies continued to tout the “coolness” of smoking. It was only with the gradual curtailment of advertisements and a growing public opposition to smoking that cigarette use nose-dived.

Are automobiles as dangerous as tobacco? Cars are one of the biggest direct killers of people. Last year 37,017 people were killed in auto accidents. But cars also kill indirectly through pollution. According to a Common Dreams report, citing a recent European study, auto emissions kill 40,000 people annually in Austria, Switzerland and France. If these three countries are typical, then auto pollution could account for more than three million deaths annually world-wide. Tobacco is estimated to account for five million annual deaths worldwide. However, it is a much smaller cause of pollution and global warming than is the automobile industry.

Also, childhood obesity is linked to transportation options that do not also provide exercise.

How can we, in Venice, begin to back off from our addiction to automobiles?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Make some streets pedestrian  only. This will begin to show other uses  for the huge amount of our city that is  paved. Windward Avenue from Pacific to  Speedway would be an excellent place to  start. Restaurants could add outdoor  tables. A farmers market could be held, as well as numerous festivals during the year.

2. Turn some streets into parking lots. Diagonal parking would fit on  Main  Street from Rose Avenue to the  “Traffic” Circle and on parts of Venice and Washington Blvds.

3. Create local alternatives to cars. Legalize pedaled and electric rickshaws, revive the OFW tram on Speedway (This would also open up the public beach on the peninsula to swimmers and sun bathers). Create a shuttle that circles Venice for the benefit of visitors and residents, alike.

4. Use a bike for convenience and exercise. All of Venice can be reached in 10 minutes or less on a bicycle (See Typical Travel Times Around Venice, Nov. 2002, (http://tinyurl.com/lg5sxj). The only problems are that it can be dangerous (try biking down Lincoln Blvd.) and there is a lack of bike parking. Many streets are wide enough for separate bike and car areas. Abbot Kinney Blvd. is a good example of the anti-bicycle attitude that prevails at the city’s Dept. of Transportation. When traffic lines were repainted a couple of years ago, the result was that a center lane was created that is virtually unused. Instead, the parallel parking could have been moved far enough away from the curb to allow bike lanes that separated them from car traffic.

Venice is the perfect place to ride a bicycle. Flat terrain, excellent weather, mixed use developments, and limited parking all contribute to the sense of using your own power to get from here to there. Infrastructure improvements must keep up with the community’s desire to have transportation options. Infrastructure improvements send a signal that alternative modes are valued and encouraged. The more bicycles there are on the road, the safer bicycling becomes. Venetians need to pressure local governments and transportation planners to make bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure a priority.

5. Stop requiring parking in new construction. This increases the cost of construction and lessens the possibility of affordable housing. Low and very low income residents are less likely to need large amounts of vehicle parking, if any. But requiring expensive parking areas makes buildings much more expensive to erect and is a disincentive to building affordable housing.

Even middle-income housing and most commercial construction should not have a parking requirement.

Not only does it increase the cost of the building, but it also forces landlords to charge higher rents which can only be afforded by chain stores and upscale businesses. Parking requirements and more parking lots are driving (pardon the pun) gentrification. If businesses on Abbot Kinney Blvd., for instance, were not able to offer parking to their customers, it is more likely that over time more and more businesses would cater to the thousands of Venetians who live within walking or biking distance of the boulevard.

Each off-street parking space uses 300-400 square feet of land. Land in Venice is expensive. Using space for parking results in missed opportunities, such as renting or selling the land, which would result in more tax revenue. When looking to park, it’s nice when it seems to be free. But free parking is not really free. Someone is paying for the land – between the owner who is providing parking for residents or employees, to the local government who is missing out on tax revenue, to everyone else who is missing out on the benefits of increased density. Indirect costs of free parking are higher taxes and retail prices, reduced wages, and reduced benefits.

Minimum parking requirements are usually set by local jurisdictions based on the highest predicted demand at single-use suburban sites. So, the minimum amount of parking a mall is required to provide is calculated based on demand on Christmas Eve. The result is obvious – a large supply of vacant, paved land is unused for nearly every other day of the year. Suburbs are built around ample free parking because there are few or no transportation alternatives available. This model of minimum parking requirements is not appropriate in denser urban communities – yet it persists.

Communities are forcing their planners to evolve. The wasted, paved space is no longer acceptable in many municipalities. Newer models of determining parking requirements are based on what other communities have developed, independently of the traditional car-centric model. New standards, for shared parking, bicycle parking, and maximum parking, better fit the goals and uses in the community.

6. Pay people not to drive. The government (federal, state and local) subsidizes auto travel to the tune of billions of dollars. Use some of that money to reward people for giving up their car or buying an electric car. While electric cars still cause pollution in their manufacture, and their non-biodegradable parts such as tires, they are a step in the right direction.

7. Make mass transit free. This is also beyond the reach of we Venetians, but it is a concept that could cause a massive shift away from cars. As it is fares account for only about 15 percent of operating costs.

Some of these suggestions are modest and others are far reaching. All of them are likely to draw opposition from someone. Yet, if we don’t begin to face our addiction to cars and work to eliminate it, we’ll soon choke on our own pollution. On the other hand, we can make Venice a walking and biking community that is a pleasure to live in. The choice is up to us.