Bikes Fit Into the Green Idea City

I was in bicycle-friendly Mill Valley, Calif. last week when the Hermosa Beach Public Works Commission held its forum on bike sharrows.

I submitted my comments in writing prior to the meeting, and watched the entire three-hour video of the meeting on the city's website. It was an impressive display of public participation and community in action.

As a public advocate for safer and more accessible bikeways throughout the South Bay, I've worked hard to help make bike valets at Fiesta Hermosa a success and I'm a strong supporter of the city's progressive implementation of sharrows on Hermosa Avenue.

This week I'll be part of the South Bay Bicycle Coalition's first bike count of cyclists in Hermosa Beach and six other South Bay cities. 

I volunteer with the coalition because bicycles are one of the immediate impact solutions for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at this time when global warming is accelerating. Bicycles also improve the health, air quality, economy and lifestyle of our communities.

Bicycling has been a core part of Hermosa culture for more than 100 years, and getting around town on a bike is something I've loved doing since 1993. 

So I was heartened to see the overwhelming support by public speaker after speaker during the sharrows forum at City Hall. Pro sharrow speakers outnumbered those against by a factor of seven to one. I especially appreciated that the vast majority participating were Hermosa residents.

But as happy as I was to witness the strong backing for bikes, I was also surprised and disappointed by some of what I saw and heard at that meeting.

Such as the consistent misrepresentation of bicyclists by those opposed to the sharrows as obnoxious criminals who break all the rules and terrorize the community seemed unfair and unsupportable.

Do these annoying jerks on bikes exist and break the law regularly? 

You bet they do, and they totally steam my hide too. You'll never hear me defending them. I want bicyclists to obey the laws of the road and to be punished when they don't.

But are these bad bikers the majority of cyclists, or do they in any way represent the average Hermosa Beach bicycle rider? 

No way.

But you'll still hear people who are against more sharrows and more bicycle access on our roads throw out ridiculous statements claiming 90 percent of all cyclists belong to the detestable biker group.

More importantly, does the percentage of outlaw bicyclists who speed down the streets in packs, ignoring stop signs and flipping off anyone who complains outnumber the individuals in cars holding cell phones while driving, exceeding the speed limits, failing to signal their turns or rolling through stop signs California style? 

Not by a long shot. 

And these law-breaking drivers who we encounter on every street, day and night, in every place you drive are a far greater threat to our community's health and safety.

Yet, I heard people testifying at this forum about their annoyance with bicycles that sometimes slow down the flow of car traffic on Hermosa streets, as if cars had some stronger ownership rights of the road. 

They don't and the people who think they do are wrong and making up their own rules.

By law, cars and bikes both have the same right to use the public road and both must follow the same laws. That's not up for debate or interpretation. It's time for city leaders to gain an understanding of the rules and to help educate the public about them.

So I'm excited about the commitment by the commission to get serious about bicycle education and public outreach on bike issues – even if I was surprised that they timidly want to put all sharrow progress on hold for an entire year while this happens.

No matter what the obstacles, I'm going to keep pushing for more zero emission bikes on the road and fewer fossil fuel burning motor vehicles because our better future depends on it. 

And I've been to cities like Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and , and have taken the smart steps necessary. So I know what's possible when people in the community work together for the greater good.

Long Beach wants to be "The most bicycle friendly city in California."

What does Hermosa Beach want to be?