LONG BEACH STREETS

You want to improve walkability in the CBD? Paint and vision with community members sleeves rolled up - we have worked with members and of the Long Beach Eastholme Civic Association (a couple are part of LBStreets founding members) to work out increased ped/bike visibility on boulevards, doing our own "pilot program" that cost $10 in chalk (versus $100k from capital funds) to observe people and cars in motion around vibrant chalked out curb cut designs and cross walks. This uber European safe street design chic is not revolutionary- we didn't invent this but followed cities and towns across the nation, each mimicking the others as we try to slow down, beautify and reclaim streets for all people in a most economic fashion - with paint, flower pots and community sweat & labor. It's brilliant and it's been working everywhere. 

Below is Fort Lauderdales crosswalks which, according to the article, will see the intersections painted in with FLOWING WATER PATTERNS

 "The idea is to implement new ways to make drivers slow down naturally, which in turn makes the area more friendly for pedestrians. These painted intersections should cause drivers to naturally slow down to appreciate the art."

ACTION ALERT!

We need your help to make our state a safer place to bike!

While New York State currently has a safe passing law, it leaves a lot to be desired. It's ambiguous and isn't easy to enforce. Each person can interpret what "a safe distance" means in their own way.

In order to resolve this issue and make our roads safer, New York State needs to adopt a law that requires a minimum safe passing distance of at least 3 feet. This means that every person who is driving a motor-vehicle must pass people who are biking by giving them at least 3 feet of space.

There's no reason this shouldn't be part of the existing law and we need your help to make it a reality. 

Please take a moment to email your legislators.

The City of Long Beach Police Department Public Safety findings via “LB STAT”:

Goal: Reduce Auto Crash/Accidents by 4% in one calendar year.

4%

The LBPD is claiming an overwhelming VICTORY that they exceeded their goal, reducing crashes by a whopping 8.77%! 

High five to those who like to set the bar really low and do not question the metrics or language 

Issues: continued use of the word “accident”, their limited choice in metrics, not defining auto crashes, and the blocking of data to verify. 

#crashNOTaccident

Setting a goal to reduces auto crashes by 4% is offensive. In 2016, you would be hard pressed to find a city that has set such a low bar. Why only 4%? Why not aim to eliminate ALL traffic crashes? We aren't talking about a dozen crashes- there are slightly less than 1000 reported crashes per year. Setting a low bar to reduce that number by 4% in a full year is embarrassing, insulting and demonstrates Zero Vision. Our lives deserve a better chance than an increased 4% chance we won’t be maimed or killed.

The findings by LB STAT contradict our data, pulled from multiple sources including FARS, DMV, paramedic dispatch records and online outreach for those that slipped through the cracks. We know that reported pedestrian crashes requiring LBFD dispatch [paramedics] nearly TRIPLED in 2015 over 2014. It seems LBSTAT is relying on the limited, highly skewed police records that come from a paper-driven system.  We want to empower LB STAT to have the tools they need to create more accurate data sets.

We have offered the LB STAT person to sit and go over increasing their methods for data extraction beyond subjective police reports, to better track hotspots for crashes so the Police Commissioner has more pressure  to address the most unsafe intersections and streets.

We have attempted to FOIL request LBPD but found the Police Commissioner to be utterly irresponsible and ignorant of smart, data-driven methods- stalling all efforts for transparency, lacking any concern for FOIL law, the multilayered consequences of traffic violence or inherent human rights to access space free of danger. We need this to change immediately. We need to ask more questions, to hold our Police Commissioner accountable and demand he stop sitting on the most advanced software that tracks traffic and crime in real time, technology the City of Long Beach has possessed and updated for years but does not utilize. 

Hello! I have set up a "DONATE" Paypal account  (see upper left corner).

The 3-day National Bike Summit and Vision Zero Cities Symposium is next week. Conference fees ($510, $250) plus transportation / lodging. I'm looking to offset the costs of at least the conference fees, which every year I generally pay out of pocket. Long Beach Streets is 100% self funded- previous trips to Albany, NYC and DC to lobby for more funding or engage with advocates around the country to better our movement - no reimbursement, no sponsorship.

So basically, I'm asking you for the equivalent of buying Long Beach Streets NY a cup of coffee or a beer. Whatever you want. Ideally, I'd love to cover the costs of this months conference fees plus renewal fee for League of American Bicyclist membership = $835 total.

We have been asking for smarter bicycle parking at the Long Beach Municipal Bus & LIRR station, dating back to 2012. We were patient. Then we started documenting in 2014. 

We want:

Smarter designed, intuitive bicycle racks

More bike racks

Better lighting

Working security camera’s

No bird turd 

Removal of stripped bicycles

LBPD to monitor the area, taking bicycle theft and vandalism as serious as if it were a car- because for some of us, it IS our car. 

Thank you Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky!

Thank you for meeting with us in Albany, and signing the support letter circulated by Assembly member Patricia Fahy, supporting $20 million in dedicated state funding from the Department of Transportation’s proposed $22.1 billion capital plan, for each of the plan’s remaining five years for dedicated, state funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. 

The New York State legislature passed a Complete Streets law in 2011. No new funding  has been appropriated for those purposes, and there’re currently no state dollars dedicated for Complete Streets.  Federal dollars that NYSDOT uses to fund the statewide competition for bicycle and pedestrian projects have decreased significantly since passage of the Complete Streets law– the two recent federal transportation bills, MAP-21 and the FAST Act, shrank funding for Complete Streets projects by 30%.

"Infrastructure and road improvements need to be future focused for all multi-modal users, while spurring economic development with 'complete streets' to improve quality of life, protect the environment, and enhance the environment for future generations. With more pedestrians and bicyclists sharing the road with vehicles, we must provide the necessary and adequate support to ensure all users of the road are safe. Dedicated bicycle and pedestrian funding will look to achieve that and I thank Senator Funke for his sponsorship in the Senate, along with the New Yorkers for Active Transportation coalition for their advocacy,” said Assemblymember Patricia A. Fahy (D-Albany). 

Todd Kaminsky, your constituents appreciate your leadership and continued involvement on the issue.

-Allison Blanchette

Let's talk about door zones.

Bicycle Lawyer Daniel Flanzig explains (click picture for link) the door zone:

"The “door zone” is the space of 2-4 feet adjacent to parallel parked or stopped cars. While cycling in the “door zone,” a cyclist can suffer a severe injury or even death if a door is suddenly opened into their path of travel. “Doorings” are all too common in New York and make up a large percentage of our cycling crash practice."

OK.

What to do to safely navigate Long Beach streets as a driver or cyclists?

-Rear view mirror, side view mirror. Use.

-Cyclists, you are not legally obligated to hug the right side of the lane so do not if it’s unsafe. Take the full lane but be predictable when doing so.

-Allow cyclists to take the full lane, appreciating their decision is in everyone’s best interest to avoid getting doored. Go ahead, change lanes or wait 15 seconds.

-Treat taxi's and delivery vehicles like landmines and expect them to stop and doors to swing open at any given time.

-Post office on Park Ave? Another landmine as people jump out quickly to run in.

-The block of Gino's pizza isn't a landmine, it's a goddamn battlefield so ride slow with brakes ready and don't hesitate to bike the middle lane. Drivers, respect the cyclist has a different viewpoint ahead of you and again their decision to take that full lane is in everyone’s best interest, including your own.

More tips? We’ll keep adding them!