PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

Long Beach, California, of all places, seems to be making a big leap forward in becoming a city where bikers would want to live and be eager to visit. They have a major program to improve and change streets to make cycling more welcome and safer. It is, in fact, a 17 million dollar program that is well underiway. Here is a clip from the LA Times in regard to painting lanes to make it clear that bikes can use the whole lane of traffic:

The green strip created a "sharrow" -- a 6-foot-wide space in the middle of the right lane of traffic on both sides of 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. It was intended to be a stark reminder that drivers must share the road with cyclists.

But when the green lane appeared last summer, it startled drivers and cyclists alike in the often traffic-choked retail district, drawing national attention for pitting the two against each other. "City puts bicycles directly in the path of motorists," USA Today wrote in a blog post.

"There was a lot of confusion from cyclists and motorists because there was green paint all over the place," said Dominic Dougherty, manager of the Bikestation, a business that provides bike rentals, parking and repair in downtown Long Beach. "And confusion breeds anger."

Gandy said the green strip "better articulates the existing law," which allows bikes to travel with vehicular traffic.

"We haven't given cyclists any more privileges than before the green stripe, we've just made it more obvious," he said.**

THE LINK:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-outthere26-2010jan26,0,3205517.story

BIKE THEFTS ARE UP, UP IN LOS ANGELES

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