3 ms·

los angeles is perfect for bike transport. it's sunny and doesn't get too hot or too cold most of the year (in the LA basin proper, the san fernando and inland

los angeles is perfect for bike transport. it's sunny and doesn't get too hot or too cold most of the year (in the LA basin proper, the san fernando and inland valleys are a different story). the city government is pro bike path and installing more bike lanes every day. biking is faster during the 6 hours of rush hour a day. most amenities are within 2-3 miles (~15 minutes) of where you live. you can take your bike on buses and trains for the daily commute. the biggest challenge is bike security (not getting it stolen). bike racks and locks are a poor solution if unattended. if we could put bike racks right in front of the gate attendant booths that most public parking garages have, it would be a much better deterrent to theft. and for residential buildings, you could have lockers or a locked bike storage room (possibly with security cameras too).

alangibson 9y ago
I think this is the first time I've ever heard someone make an argument for LA as a bikable city. Very interesting indeed.
bogomipz 9y ago
>"los angeles is perfect for bike transport." Except that LA is a sprawl and almost nothing is close together. Maybe if you live at the beach its nice.
- k_sh 9y ago
  True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go. Also, a bicycle can serve as a last-mile connector to the transit system - imagine someone who lives at Wilshire and La Brea but works in West Hollywood, and would like to take the Red Line, but doesn't want to lose an hour to walking.
  - ghostly_s 9y ago
    > True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go. Isn't LA like, the single place on earth where this is least true?
    - sulam 9y ago
      Most Texas cities are arguably worse, but since it's Texas, the expectations are pretty low.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    >"True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go" I have never heard this before? Do you a citation for this? More likely in LA is that people simply "limit their tether to 5 miles."
- clairity 9y ago
  the LA i live in (not at the beach) allows me to walk/bike/bus/train to basically anywhere i want to go, most of which is within 5 miles of where i live. when i need to go farther, i can take a lyft or rent a car. but you gotta get over that perception of sprawl to realize how great LA is for multi-modal transport.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    >"but you gotta get over that perception of sprawl to realize how great LA is for multi-modal transport" multi-modal transport? You mean the bus? The bus in LA is a joke. Nobody wants to take the bus in LA - it takes way to long to get anywhere. The metro is notable in how little area it covesr. I think this map illustrates this well: https://media.timeout.com/images/103334943/image.jpg https://media.timeout.com/images/103334943/image.jpg So what does that leave? Cars. You yourself even mentioned ""Lyft and renting a car." Owning a car, renting a car and calling a car are all car-centric modes of transport. And LA doesn't have a perception of sprawl it is actually sprawl.
Karrot_Kream 9y ago
I biked around LA as a tourist, but the sprawl was so bad, that the majority of the time you spent in transit only to stop off at certain points. Biking in the Berkeley area is like night-and-day, where I don't have to sit on the bike for 10 min. to get to the next plaza. I'd do it again as I enjoy biking much more than driving, but I'm definitely more on the bike-nut side of things.
- clairity 9y ago
  i can see that being a tourist in LA could be a little frustrating, especially on a bike. the major attractions like the getty, venice beach, k-town, hollywood, the tar pits/moma, the disney concert hall, disneyland, the huntington gardens, the forum, the hollywood bowl, beverly hills, LA live, the zoo/science center, watts towers, the sunset strip, malibu, etc. can be annoyingly far apart. but as a resident i almost never do that kind of ping-ponging around town. you can find good food, drinks, and entertainment in each neighborhood so i typically hit up only one area of town on a given evening, depending on which friends i'm with (or visiting). berkeley is nice and chill and bike-friendly, but it's also tiny compared to LA (18 vs 500 sq. miles).

alangibson 9y ago

I think this is the first time I've ever heard someone make an argument for LA as a bikable city. Very interesting indeed.

bogomipz 9y ago

>"los angeles is perfect for bike transport." Except that LA is a sprawl and almost nothing is close together. Maybe if you live at the beach its nice.

k_sh 9y ago
True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go. Also, a bicycle can serve as a last-mile connector to the transit system - imagine someone who lives at Wilshire and La Brea but works in West Hollywood, and would like to take the Red Line, but doesn't want to lose an hour to walking.
- ghostly_s 9y ago
  > True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go. Isn't LA like, the single place on earth where this is least true?
  - sulam 9y ago
    Most Texas cities are arguably worse, but since it's Texas, the expectations are pretty low.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  >"True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go" I have never heard this before? Do you a citation for this? More likely in LA is that people simply "limit their tether to 5 miles."
clairity 9y ago
the LA i live in (not at the beach) allows me to walk/bike/bus/train to basically anywhere i want to go, most of which is within 5 miles of where i live. when i need to go farther, i can take a lyft or rent a car. but you gotta get over that perception of sprawl to realize how great LA is for multi-modal transport.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  >"but you gotta get over that perception of sprawl to realize how great LA is for multi-modal transport" multi-modal transport? You mean the bus? The bus in LA is a joke. Nobody wants to take the bus in LA - it takes way to long to get anywhere. The metro is notable in how little area it covesr. I think this map illustrates this well: https://media.timeout.com/images/103334943/image.jpg https://media.timeout.com/images/103334943/image.jpg So what does that leave? Cars. You yourself even mentioned ""Lyft and renting a car." Owning a car, renting a car and calling a car are all car-centric modes of transport. And LA doesn't have a perception of sprawl it is actually sprawl.

Karrot_Kream 9y ago

I biked around LA as a tourist, but the sprawl was so bad, that the majority of the time you spent in transit only to stop off at certain points. Biking in the Berkeley area is like night-and-day, where I don't have to sit on the bike for 10 min. to get to the next plaza. I'd do it again as I enjoy biking much more than driving, but I'm definitely more on the bike-nut side of things.

clairity 9y ago
i can see that being a tourist in LA could be a little frustrating, especially on a bike. the major attractions like the getty, venice beach, k-town, hollywood, the tar pits/moma, the disney concert hall, disneyland, the huntington gardens, the forum, the hollywood bowl, beverly hills, LA live, the zoo/science center, watts towers, the sunset strip, malibu, etc. can be annoyingly far apart. but as a resident i almost never do that kind of ping-ponging around town. you can find good food, drinks, and entertainment in each neighborhood so i typically hit up only one area of town on a given evening, depending on which friends i'm with (or visiting). berkeley is nice and chill and bike-friendly, but it's also tiny compared to LA (18 vs 500 sq. miles).