Alliance > Media center > People Powered Blog

Entries tagged: Immigrant

Last summer, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition launched its City of Lights program to assist and empower the area’s many immigrant cyclists. The new initiative quickly led to the creation and distribution of more than 600 Spanish guides that cover the fundamentals of safe cycling.

Bridging the language gap is just the first step, though. The far bigger leap is addressing the lack of bicycling infrastructure in Central LA. But early in the campaign, City of Lights volunteers recognized a serious problem — with a relatively cheap and simple solution.

“Despite the affordability of cycling to work, some day laborers have told us about an unwillingness to bike to the day laborer center because of the threat of bicycle theft,” the City of Lights blog noted back in December. “The fences and poles that laborers use to lock up their bicycles often do not provide adequate visibility or assurance to potential cyclists.”

It wasn’t just the day laborer center that lacked safe parking options, either. When the City of Lights crew conducted a survey in late 2009 they discovered that the Pico-Union and Westlake neighborhoods — two of the city’s most densely inhabited areas with more than 140,000 residents within a five-mile radius — had a mere 53 bike racks. The scoping led to a list of 40 proposed bike parking locations submitted to the LA Department of Transportation, and a new Bike Parking Community Resource Guide for advocates and business owners.

Last week, LACBC celebrated a key victory in its parking campaign. Video cameras rolled and volunteers cheered as LADOT pounded four new bike racks into the pavement outside the CARECEN day labor center.

“This is a really important site, because it was the birthplace of City of Lights,” says Allison Mannos, the LACBC’s urban programs coordinator. “It also sets a precedent for low-income cyclists and working people who don’t own cars that their needs for safer neighborhoods, worksites, and streets are just as important. Having bike parking encourages such long-running ‘accidental environmentalism’ that working class people, such as day laborer cyclists, practice everyday.”

With the City of Lights program gaining steam, city officials promised CARECEN is just the first site of many to come. “LADOT is proud to partner with LACBC, CARECEN, and Councilmember [Ed] Reyes in providing adequate bicycle parking opportunities to some of the Angelinos who are most in need,” said Rita L. Robinson, LADOT General Manager.

Learn more about the exciting work of the City of Lights program here.

Photo: Allison Mannos, LACBC urban programs coordinator, celebrates with CARECEN’s Jose Veliz.