Many cities around the world, including some in the U.S., are putting the focus on bicycles for short trips. And they’re making it happen. Shouldn’t Los Angeles go with the flow?
By Robert Gottlieb
With thousands of people, including L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, gathered in Copenhagen to talk climate change, it’s a good time to take note of that city’s most significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions: bicycles. More than 36% of its residents ride bikes to work, about the same number use transit, and only a third commute by car. Is there a lesson for Los Angeles that the mayor can bring home as the city tries to reach its ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20%?
Clearly Copenhagen has the advantage of being smaller in scale. But that’s not the only reason a transition to bikes has occurred in that city. Similar, though less dramatic, shifts are happening in the U.S., in places such as New York and Portland, Ore., and even Long Beach, which aspires to become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. Shouldn’t L.A. embrace the trend?
To pry Angelenos out of cars and onto bikes, L.A. will need to become far more imaginative and far bolder than it has been. Here are some ideas: (read more)
December 14, 2009, 1:54am
