Brian Merchant explores the fascinating history of the California Cycleway, a dedicated bicycling superhighway that was partially constructed beginning in 1897 between Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles.
"In 1897, a wealthy American businessman named Horace Dobbins began construction on a private, for-profit bicycle superhighway that would stretch from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles."
"The notion that anyone could profit off of such a venture—a bicycle toll road—seems insane now. But at the time, bicycling was a full-on fad. As in, something the rich, the hip, and the elite actually wanted to do. There were 30,000 cyclists in the Los Angeles region at the time, which was less populous then; it was home to 500,000 residents. A full 6% of Angelenos were cyclists."
"But alas, the bicycle craze was soon supplanted by the automobile craze, and the elites have never looked back. The cycleway was never completed, and was eventually abandoned. Part of the path cleared for the project was, somewhat ironically, turned into the Arroyo Seco Parkway."
Read the full story: In 1897, a Bicycle Superhighway Was the Future of California Transit
California TOD Law Gives NIMBYs a new Weapon Against Bus Lanes
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority