More from our guest blogger Eric Richardson of blogdowntown......
Cyclists interested in the city’s Bicycle Master Plan process, should take note in the photos up at Cycleway Coffee, one of a couple new coffee spots to pop up in Lincoln Heights aka the next hipster hood. The shop, which opened last Saturday, takes its name from the Pasadena Cycleway, the short-lived bike way that got a mention here just minutes ago and that once ran through the neighborhood. A brief history of Cycleway: Ground was broken on May 2nd, 1899, in the hills south of Garvanza. The first few miles from Pasadena were quickly constructed, but it didn't quite take off. The October 7th, 1900, edition of the Times quoted company president Horace Dobbins. "Yes, I have concluded that we are a little ahead of time on this cycleway," Dobbins told the paper. "Wheelmen have not evidenced enough interest in it and so we will lie still for a time and use it for automobile service."
By 1901 the project had stalled for good, and Dobbins would later pitch the right-of-way for several railroad projects.
The 1900 failure is probably a lesson that would well be learned by today's city cycling planners. A path that doesn't reach its destination isn't likely to be a success. Los Angeles has proven itself quite good at getting a couple miles up and running, but not so much at connecting one destination to another. Cyclists looking to change that process should keep a close eye on the city's Bicycle Master Plan process, making clear that the city needs to think big in its plans for two-wheeled transportation. Photo by Ed Fuentes of viewfromaloft.
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