Hope you pumped your tires because this week is Bike Week LA, where Metro promotes two-wheel commuting and offers free bus and train rides to bikers on Thursday's Bike to Work Day. At the event's kickoff yesterday in downtown, Metro announced they will no longer prevent bikers from bringing their wheels on crowded trains during rush hour, reports Streetsblog. Starting this summer, light-rail trains will have set-aside space in the middle of the trains for bikes, while subways will save their last cars for bikes—Metro has already started pulling out some seats in the back of subway trains to make way for the bikes and will soon add bike-related signage to the trains. And starting today, the transit agency is conducting a census-like survey of bike commuters at train stations; Metro counted bikers using the Orange Line busway and the busway's adjacent bike lane in March.
"Results of this survey will be used to seek solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," according to a Metro release. "Currently, very little data is available on bike utilization on transit from which to properly develop sustainable transportation solutions." Metro also has new bike maps (see image), that break down routes by bikeways separated from streets (blue lines), marked bike lanes on streets (pink), and recommended bike routes that have signage reminding drivers to share the road (green). And lastly in bike news, the city's revised draft bicycle plan should be ready next month.
· Bike Week LA [Official Site]
· Metro Reverses Rush Hour Ban on Bikes [LA Streetsblog]
· Metro to Conduct Surveys, Bike Counts [Metro]
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