Compassion and prayers, but PLEASE SHOW UP
November 7, 2016 § 23 Comments
The Palos Verdes Estates City Council meets Tuesday night, 11/8, at 5:30 PM. They have moved their regular meeting time back from 7:30 in order to wrap things up so they can be home to watch the live election results.
With your help that’s not going to happen. Yesterday another cyclist was horrifically injured when struck by a car on PV Drive near (where else?) Trump National Golf Club.
Although it would be gosh-darn fun for the city council to wrap up its business, adjourn, and get home to the couch and the wide screen, we’re going to insist instead that they do their job. In this case, that will mean dealing with those of us who have gone from slow burn to outraged regarding the council’s refusal to install Bikes May Use Full Lane signage, overriding their previous 5-0 approval of the signage, and overriding the recommendations of their traffic engineer, an outside consultant, and their own Traffic Safety Committee.
Please attend this meeting. There will also be a 4:00 PM peaceful protest at Malaga Cove Plaza. Signs have been prepared to hold up for passing motorists, and some people will be riding bikes as well. The collision yesterday, which involved a Torrance resident who has in the past advocated for BMUFL signage, must not be ignored, and the council must be held responsible for its complete failure to protect cyclists.
After the protest, at 5:30 PM we will convene at the city council chambers located at 340 Palos Verdes Drive West, Suite C, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274. At the meeting we will again demand that the city council place the BMUFL signage on its agenda and immediately vote at its next regularly scheduled meeting to install the signs.
The meeting will last until very late and there will be free pizza, snacks, and drinks. If you get off work late, don’t worry, there will be plenty of time to still show up and have your voice heard. Since the council shot down BMUFL signage, there has been a hit-and-run, a case of road rage against an entire peloton, a bicyclist hit by a drunk driver on Crest, a young rider jerked off his bike and punched in the face, and now a horrific injury that occurred on one of the busiest and most popular cycling routes on the Peninsula.
This isn’t the time for platitudes, offerings of compassion, prayer, or positive thoughts, although those things are appreciated. This is the time to put aside whatever you had planned and voice your outrage.
Democracy only happens when people show up.
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I’ve set up a store on Shopify where you can buy South Bay Cycling items, the purchase of which will help pay for food/drinks/snacks at the Nov. 8 PVE City Council protest and pizza party, as well as for advocacy to fight the evil of people like the Unnos, Cynthia Bianchi, Shannon Zaragoza, Frank Ponce, and the Lunada Bay Boys on Mom’s Couch who zealously oppose bicycle signage.
And for $2.99 per month you can subscribe to this blog and support people who support cycling, on and off the bike. Click here and select the “subscribe” link in the upper right-hand corner. Thank you!
Cycling in the South Bay 
They have to listen and do something!!!!!!
Only if we keep showing up.
I’m confused by the comment: which involved a PVE resident who has in the past advocated for BMUFL signage.
The person hit lives in Redondo Beach. Did the driver live in PVE and advocate? Or am I parsing the sentence incorrectly.
Corrected; actually, the person lives in Torrance.
One question I have is why is the city council even meeting on election night? isn’t it fair to say that residents who might be interested in attending, may also need to vote, and though I am pretty sure that PVE residents, because of their white privilege, will NOT have to endure hours while waiting in line to vote, still scheduling a city council meeting on election day seems to be absurd.
PVE, yo.
Respectfully, there is an incorrect judgement call here.
Council Meetings are scheduled months in advance, there is ample time to vote. IMHO, voting and attending are not mutually exclusive, you can choose to vote early, eg, on the commute to work. There is no hidden agenda.
If you are a PVE resident, City Hall is a ballot dropoff location, and the nearby Malaga Cove Library is a polling place. You could literally vote and then walk over for the meeting *if* you really wanted to actively participate, ie speak. The fact of the matter is that like any other city council meeting, more people are interested in viewing passively than attending in person.
http://www.pvestates.org/government/city-clerk/elections
Can we mount the signs on trucks and park them along streets?
As long as the cars are legally parked, I don’t know why not.
Fantastic!
Haven”t met you but I love you. Thank you for doing this important work. Kathie
Thanks for the awesomely kind words.
Good luck tomorrow night Seth. Started reading your blog after Tilly recommended it. Being a roadie since the 80’s things have certainly changed for the worse when sharing the road with cagers. I can’t imagine what you all have to endure in PVE. We visit the LA and San Clemente area a couple of times a year – have a sibling who lives in San Clemente. Beautiful country. I envy you guys being able to ride year around. We’re on borrowed time with winter just around the corner. We’ll keep following your progress here in the Midwest and a lot of us will keep sending good vibes to you and your gangstas!
Thanks, David. We are pretty gangster. It’s a small minority of bad people who want to hurt/main/kill. Now excuse me while I go get my gangster lycra ready so I can intimidate some people with scary signs that say “Bikes May Use Full Lane.” Yo.
No prayers being sent. But money for Cheetos on the way!
Thanks, Darell. Not a prayer guy, myself.
Good luck! As Mao might have said, political power grows out of the barrel of a head tube.
Thanks!!
I won’t pray for you, but I’ll sponsor a few bags of Cheetos!
“Democracy only happens when people show up.”
Be careful what you wish for.
Fair elections decided by those who show up are results I will support no matter what. That’s the definition of democracy, not “only if I win.”
The definition of democracy doesn’t mean you have to support the winners. Sometimes a democratically-decided decision is wrong, ignorant, or flat out illegal.
Right, but you have to support the result. If the winner of the election pursues policies you disagree with, oppose them. But it’s also important to give the winner a chance to prove him or herself. No matter how odious the election outcome, I give the winner a chance.