Forget Not the Humble Bicyclist

Most Angelenos, even those who travel only on four wheels, know that metropolitan L.A. is a pretty miserable place to bicycle--that only the brave will pedal along even a designated city bike route like Venice Boulevard. So, in this city of car junkies, wouldn’t it be feeding a lost cause to spend more of our scarce highway funds on projects that benefit bicycling commuters rather than motorists?

Actually, no.

Later this year, Congress will review the premier piece of legislation that determines transportation funding. Some parties are now urging that the 1% of federal gas tax revenue that has been allocated for bicycle projects since 1992 be reallocated to highways and bridges.

In this region particularly, it’s hard to get a true sense of just how important bicycle commuting might be one day as a transportation option. There is no question that roads and bridges are in bad repair in California and the rest of the country, as the trucking and auto industries maintain. And it’s true that few people here commute to work on bicycles at present. But the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the bill up for renewal this year, has already funded projects that could swell those ranks.

For example, a separate bike trail, now in the design stage, will run alongside Exposition Boulevard from Vermont Avenue to La Brea Avenue. That line someday could extend farther west and east, maybe even linking Santa Monica with downtown. And there are other key projects in the works. Moreover, the 400 miles of bikeways built or designated within the county over the past 15 years have become, by default, a major recreational asset in this park-poor region.

Abandon budgetary support of those who bicycle? No way.