It's pretty easy to be car light though. Every artery has at least one bus line. A bike going 12mph is faster than traffic on surface streets in my experience w

It's pretty easy to be car light though. Every artery has at least one bus line. A bike going 12mph is faster than traffic on surface streets in my experience when you account for filtering to the front of the intersections at lights (I take the lane otherwise); I regularly beat cars I see on my commute or errand runs. Plus there are grocery stores and restaurants in every neighborhood. You can probably get all your basics within 2 miles of your place. 300 days of sun means you can do this all year, and if you are in the valley where its pretty hot, you can just buy an ebike and not pedal too hard and wear white. Lack of humidity means you cool off as soon as the bike starts moving or you are in any shadows. Santa Monica is a good model for how the rest of the west side will look after the city finally implements the bike lane plan they created in 2010, and imo that is one of the most bikeable cities in the country.