Los Angeles Lacking Data to Support Bike Infrastructure Investments

Los Angeles has added hundreds of miles of bike routes in recent years, but the local paper of record identifies a lack of data as contributing to ongoing discord from drivers who feel like they're being pinched by bike lanes.

1 minute read

December 24, 2014, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Laura Nelson reports on the ongoing disconnect between drivers and bikers in Los Angeles. Middle ground between the two groups is harder to find, according to the article, because of a "weak spot" in the city's bike infrastructure planning: "Transportation officials have no comprehensive way to analyze if and how the added lanes have increased cycling, either citywide or in areas where improvements have been made."

"To establish a solid data baseline on L.A. cycling, officials need to buy dozens of automatic bike-counters, which cost thousands of dollars each, or coordinate a citywide count — a tedious, costly exercise requiring hundreds of people to monitor intersections for hours, counting every bike that passes."

The article includes information about past bike counts by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and a program scheduled to launch in 2017, partnering the city's Department of Transportation and Police Department.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 in Los Angeles Times

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