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Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

Glendale Adopts Safe and Healthy Streets Plan
On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, the City of Glendale unanimously voted to adopt the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan. Using Department of Public Health PLACE grant funding, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition worked with the City of Glendale to develop the plan over the past three years. The goal of the Plan is to help make Glendale streets a safer place for pedestrians and cyclists and get people out of their cars and onto bikes and sidewalks. The next step is implementation of the Plan to help achieve these goals. Example policies and programs recommended for implementation include creating a bike and pedestrian map, establishing a pedestrian and bicyclist advisory committee, and establishing city-organized rides and walks. All of the policies in the Plan as well as the implementation timeline can be accessed by clicking here.

What is the Vision of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) Initiative?

The Vision of the LACBC Initiative is to make the City of Glendale a safer and friendlier community for bicyclists and pedestrians.

How will the PLACE Initiative Help the City Achieve its Vision?

Policy Change: For the policy-change component of the PLACE Initiative, LACBC and the City of Glendale are developing the Safe and Healthy Streets Plan, a policy document which will both identify implementation steps for the City’s existing pedestrian and bicycle-friendly policies and recommend new policies to make Glendale a safer and friendlier city for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Physical Project: The physical project is a prototype bicycle and pedestrian corridor that will feature several characteristics of bicycle and pedestrian-oriented streets, including traffic-calming and landscaping improvements to increase the safety and desirability of walking and biking. The bicycle and pedestrian corridor is located in the southern, low-income area of Glendale.

Bicyclists ride along the newly installed bike lane in Glendale.

Who are the Initiative's Partners and What are their Roles?

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC): Since 1998, the LACBC, a non-profit organization, has been a strong advocate for bicycling in Los Angeles County. The organization develops campaigns, programs, and resources, partnering with the 88 civic jurisdictions of Los Angeles County, as well as with Caltrans, LADOT, and Metro, to build a more bike able Los Angeles County.

City of Glendale: The City of Glendale is LACBC’s principal partner. City of Glendale departments that participate in the initiative’s core team include:

  • Public Works Traffic & Transportation and Engineering Divisions
  • Departments of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
  • Planning Department
  • Police Department
Community outreach meeting discussing the Initiative's physical project.

Initiative Coordinator: Colin Bogart, an employee of the LACBC, is the Initiative Coordinator. He provides oversight of the initiative’s big picture planning in addition to coordinating daily activities. Partners collaborate with community residents, youth, community-based organizations and government partners to achieve the initiative’s goals.

Who are the Champions of the PLACE Initiative?

Four different sectors of the Glendale community have emerged as champions of this initiative: City Council members, City of Glendale staff, Glendale residents, and community-based organizations. Each champion has greatly contributed to the initiative’s activities and has helped deepen their support for policy change.

City Council:

LACBC and City staff have made presentations to the Glendale City Council about the Safe and Healthy Streets Plan and strategies for creating a more walk- and bike-friendly environment in Glendale. The Initiative Coordinator, along with key City staff, have met individually with each City Councilmember to solicit input about the policy proposal.

As a result, City Council members are becoming ambassadors of change in the Glendale community. At a recent City Council meeting, one councilmember requested that the City install a bicycle rack outside of City Hall, promised to bike to work once the rack was in place, and challenged other council members to do the same. The rack was installed and the councilmember’s challenge is generating publicity for the initiative. Additionally, City Council has mandated that all plans for new developments or street improvements be routed to the Initiative Coordinator for his input on how to include bicycle and pedestrian-friendly features in the street design of proposed projects email solo ad advertising  As a result, City Council members are becoming ambassadors of change in the Glendale community. At a recent City Council meeting, one councilmember requested that the City install a bicycle rack outside of City Hall, promised to bike to work once the rack was in place, and challenged other council members to do the same. The rack was installed and the councilmember’s challenge is generating publicity for the initiative. Additionally, City Council has mandated that all plans for new developments or street improvements be routed to the Initiative Coordinator for his input on how to include bicycle and pedestrian-friendly features in the street design of proposed projects

City of Glendale Staff:

To build support for the initiative among City of Glendale staff, the initiative partners held one-on-one meetings with staff from several City departments including the Police and Fire departments. They have also established a Technical Advisory Group comprised of key departments involved in street and community design. The purpose of this group is to give technical input into the Safe and Healthy Streets plan and the bicycle and pedestrian corridor.

To help deepen support for policy change, various City departments partnered with LACBC to organize the annual Bike to Work Day. At this year’s event, many of the participants were city staff members. The Glendale Public Libraries have supported the initiative by providing space for community meetings related to the Safe and Healthy Streets Plan. In addition, the library has helped bring about the soon-to-be installed library bike racks which will encourage patrons to bike and walk, rather than drive, to the library.

Glendale Community:

A Stakeholder Group comprised of Glendale residents and business owners, organized by the Initiative Coordinator, provides input into the content of the Safe and Healthy Streets Plan and serves as advocates for the plan. In addition, the Initiative Coordinator has conducted numerous presentations to organizations in Glendale including service clubs, school districts, and neighborhood associations.

These community-based champions have provided assistance in developing policy change through a number of channels. They helped secure significant coverage in the local newspaper about the initiative and distributed flyers and promotional postcards throughout the city. They have also posted commentaries in support of biking and walking on local blogs. In addition, one local restaurant donated dinner for an evening meeting of the Stakeholder Group, demonstrating its support for the initiative.

What are Other Ways the Initiative is Building Community Support?

The First Glendale History Walk: : The event attracted over 90 Glendale community members who took a two and a half mile long stroll through Downtown Glendale to visit 14 key historical landmarks. The event was sponsored by LACBC, the City of Glendale Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Glendale Historical Society.

Annual Bike to Work Day: Forty-eight confirmed bicyclists participated in this year’s Annual Bike to Work Day. The number of participants was three times that of last year where only 15 participated. Three new pit-stops were set up at bike shops in the north, south and west side of Glendale.

Participants of the Bike to Work day make a pit stop at the Montrose Bike Shop, one of the community sponsors of the event.

The Glendale History Ride: Over 60 residents, including City Councilmember Laura Friedman, went on a community bike ride while stopping at various Glendale historical sites.

Community Meeting on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor: To enlist the support of Glendale community members, the initiative partners held a community meeting to solicit feedback from residents about the proposed bicycle and pedestrian corridor.

Press Coverage: The City’s local newspaper, Glendale News Press, has covered several stories about the initiative.

How will the Initiative Know if More People Are Walking and Biking in Glendale?

A group shot of the Glendale History Ride participants.

Community Bicyclists and Pedestrian Counts: Determining the number of bicyclists and pedestrians at selected sites throughout Glendale will help build the case for why the City of Glendale should invest funds in more bike/pedestrian projects and also potentially demonstrate an increase in cycling/walking over time as the City makes bike-and pedestrian-friendly improvements. The initiative will conduct the counts annually. The first count included over 80 volunteers counting at 26 different locations city-wide.

What Technical Assistance Has the Initiative Received from the PLACE Program?

Meeting Facilitation Training: Twenty City of Glendale staff from various departments along with staff from LACBC and PLACE participated in this two-day training with a facilitation expert, Jennifer Lilley, to develop the skills needed to facilitate effective community input meetings.

Expert Input on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor: Transportation planning consultants evaluated the proposed bicycle and pedestrian corridor and made recommendations for how to make the existing streetscape more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly.

Webinar Training: Staff from Public Works, Engineering and the Planning Department attended this webinar to learn about this innovative bicycle facility that alerts cars to share the lane with bicyclists.

Facilitation expert, Jennifer Lilley, trains City staff to develop skills needed to conduct effective community meetings.

Who do I Contact for More Information about this Initiative

For more information about this initiative, please visit the Safe and Healthy Street Plan Website or contact Colin Bogart, Initiative Coordinator for the LACBC PLACE Initiative.

 

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