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Allan, you live in Long Beach. Do you want to join me tomorrow afternoon if I go out to 2nd Street? Then you can have an informed opinion when you talk shit. What do you say? I'm asking you out on a man date!
PC responding to a comment by Joe Borfo
06.26.09 - 3:55 am
Wow!
I ride 2nd street on a weekly basis but had not idea this was going down.
Belmont Shore 2nd st. is very tight and congested. It's easy for experienced ridas to cycle because we're going the same speed as cars, but all the traffic makes it intemidating for newbes.
This is really great. I'd go with PC, but my weekend is booked already.
Thank you for the offer Pee, but I have a previous engagement that I'm committed to. I'm going on the BikeHaus ride going off tomorrow morning. Maybe Borfo is free? You guys can get all crazy and make some green snow angels? Just tell the locals you're worshiping your gods and it's a joyous occasion. They're very tolerant of other religions and would want to know more about it.
Also I would be curious if there's a green stripe on the other side of the road. Let us know, k?
User1 responding to a comment by PC
06.26.09 - 10:29 am
funny interview. about 30 secs in a disgruntled citizen makes himself heard.
hmmmm I didnt realize that cars have a right to drive in this lane as well? the green stripe sure doesn't say that.... fuck it I like that even better.
thats not all....alot of clearly marked bike lanes have poped op in the last month.
PCH...first and second street east of alimitos. plus alot of new bike racks too
long beach is trying to become "the most bike friendly city in america".
yesssssssss. finally! i went to a LB cyclist meeting a couple months ago and i talked to that guy actually, he's a good dude. he mentioned new bike lane appearances all around LB in the summer. soo good to see active progression!
FUCKING RAD
as an LBC x-pat this warms my heart and blows my mind.
This is amazing and could be a MAJOR model to wave in the face of the "yes we can't" posse at LADOT.
So um. apparently, there's a ceremony on saturday morning to start the new sharrows. I dunno if the Mayor's gonna ride the bike around and stuff.
It's not like i'll make it to the ceremony, but I'll be hustling my ride there this Saturday Afternoon to ride through the lanes now.
I think they're also planning to make a bicycle blvd on Vista Street and a dedicated bike lane from a traffic lane on 3rd street and Broadway around downtown.
The more I'm reading bikelongbeach.org, the more I'll be riding around LBC more often now. Starting Saturday Afternoon.
So...I went out to Long Beach today just like I said I would, to check out those weird green sharrow lane things in Belmont Shore.
Mind you, this was by myself. User 1 snubbed my man date invitation.
Yeah, so, anyway. I picked sort of a bad time to try these things out; I got there at about five o'clock PM and traffic on Second Street was so thick that staying in the green lane would have slowed me down most of the time, and we all would have been going so slow that car drivers wouldn't have cared that I was "in their way." But I did manage to get a few stretches where traffic was flowing at a good pace, and based on that, I am going to give the green sharrow lanes a qualified THUMB'S UP. Based on my experience, the sharrows make it clear to car drivers that cyclists belong in the lane, not in the gutter or the door zone, and the green lanes, while potentially confusing, really draw attention to the sharrows. I got absolutely no shit from motorists for going straight down the middle of the green lane chingalingie.
Side note: after a few hours of record shopping and Americano drinking, I was getting ready to head back to SP when I saw a huge herd of bikes pass westbound on Second toward downtown LB. Correctly guessing that this was Long Beach Critical Mass, I unlocked in a hurry and chased them down to join them. Two observations about LBCM...one, for a ride that has had problems with lack of participation and "leadership," Long Beach Critical Mass is really coming up. And two, they still have as much trouble with the police as ever. It was kind of hilarious to watch the one-time lurking across Alamitos for about a half hour waiting for the ride to leave an AM/PM mini market, or for someone to do something illegal at said mini market, or fuckin' something...because, you know, it's not like there's any serious crime in Long Beach on a Friday night at 10:00 PM.
What PC experienced at rush hour on 2ns St. is typical for most days and most hours.
Traffic is congested, and the many traffic lights slow it down even more.
With all the cars and the tight road, this is a great location to roll out the "Green Lane", to let drivers know bikes have a right to be there and to keep bikes out of the door zone.
Fingerprints Records is worth the trip alone. The shop features a big selection of used CDs and vinyl. They also have frequent in-store performances.
And there are many, many coffee joints to get yer Americano fix.