Comments on: Long Beach Shifts Cycling in to High Gear

By: Matt Sersion

Matt Sersion — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:29:40 +0000

This is so exciting! Thank you for your vision and hard work trying to make Long Beach bike friendly. This could be what Long Beach has been looking for to progress. Let me know if I can help in any way.

By: Louis Kreusel

Louis Kreusel — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:11:59 +0000

Fantastic video Clarence! What I'm really encouraged about is that things like this add up. Make the streets more bike-friendly and they instantly get more pedestrian-friendly as well. Then, businesses start to care about how their storefronts look and make them more inviting to people walking or biking and not just sideways glances from drivers and the whole place is transformed.

By: Tyler (LA)

Tyler (LA) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 05:40:17 +0000

What a hippie-fest.
Bikes don't make you happy. Its a subculture. Biking will never be cool. Biking is over rated especially by "Greenies".
While Long Beach has many improvements and love them, riding a bike won't make urban ills go away.

I live in Long Beach and love to ride a bike.

By: JoeLinton

JoeLinton — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:26:54 +0000

@Glenn "Maybe we should pick a small town on the East Coast for us to all move to and have them compete for Most Bike Friendly City." This seems to imply that Long Beach might be called a "small town" - clearly it's not as big as L.A. where I live... but it's plenty big - it's a half-million residents - the 36th largest city in the US. They're doing a great job for bikes. It's a great place to ride, and getting better all the time.

By: miss sarah

miss sarah — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:35:22 +0000

With the good weather there's really no reason being more bicycle friendly should be a problem! At least nobody needs to get convinced that it's fun to ride on ice and snow:)

By: chrism

chrism — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:46:19 +0000

AndyB from Jersey,

On one way streets I prefer to ride on the left and I want the bike lane on the left.

This is because parked cars are the number one problem for me when I ride. They open doors without looking, and they also pull out then look. Buses can be an issue as well. On the left side, I am in the passenger door zone, on the right I am in the drivers door zone, and since most cars are just one driver, i think the left is safer.

If by retrograde you mean it encourages bike salmon, I've never thought of that, interesting, however I see salmon on two way streets as well. I think it may just be coincidental, since most bike lanes I ride in are on one way streets. I think a lot of people think a bike lane is a safe place for them to ride and they just do so without regard to the direction of traffic.

By: Jeffrey Miller

Jeffrey Miller — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:04:07 +0000

I spent 24 hrs in Long Beach a week before this video went on the website and spent the whole time with Charlie seeing all the great things happening. My first ride on the Green Sharrow Lanes was instant love. Good folks at the Pedal Movement (see http://www.PedalMovement.org), Bike Station, downtown businesses, city hall, etc. The chorus is growing and soon they will be dancing in the streets. Great job StreetFilms (as usual) and to all the good folks in Long Beach, keep up the GREAT WORK!

By: Maureen

Maureen — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:47:39 +0000

At least 3 times a year I am in Los Angeles. Attention Long Beach businesses: My family and I will be coming to your town as bicycle tourists!

By: RC

RC — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:21:53 +0000

wow great job, long beach has come a long way! I'm looking very forward to biking there.

By: Allyson

Allyson — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 05:12:48 +0000

Good Job Gandy -Thanks for making the city look so great. Change is good and it is coming to our city.

The Renaissance is here.

By: Chula Samyuth

Chula Samyuth — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:40:08 +0000

Had a chance to meet Charles and friends in the Cambodian Parade 2010, and I gotta say this man is a awesome advocate of bikes, and bikers in the city of Long Beach. Just wanted to let you know from the guys of LBF'N, we support you 110 percent. Hit me up Charles...
Chula

By: Aaron Bialick

Aaron Bialick — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:14:49 +0000

Wow, Long Beach - what a surprise! Now I'll think of that green striped lane every time I'm riding over sharrows. That really is amazing.

Anders - I like your humor.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:08:40 +0000

Hey all, thanks for the wonderful feedback. To those who don't think Long Beach is doing enough or in the right places - excellent - keep pushing that, keep volunteering, keep speaking up. I have been watching the revolution happen in many cities the last ten years, and the rapidity of change that is happening just keeps getting faster.

Here in NYC the pace has been incredible and just keeps continuing. Most of the first visible and remarkable changes happened in central Manhattan - some even argued that 8th & 9th Avenues for separated cycle tracks were not the right spaces. But what happens is you try out the projects where you think they will be successful - now here in NYC people WANT these things in their neighborhoods too and folks in those neighborhoods in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn are asking for them and they are coming.

You need the groundswell to come from the community since your city officials can't do all the work. So I would say once these projects get in the ground - and they will prove successful - they get your neighbors up in arms, sign petitions, stage protests and say WE WANT THESE TOO! And the city will have to listen.

By: BicyclesOnly

BicyclesOnly — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 11:52:05 +0000

I love how they are trying to emulate the cycle tracks on "8th and 9th Streets" in NYC! They have become the stuff of legend nationwide!

By: roadblock

roadblock — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:59:08 +0000

I'm ready to make the switch. Long Beach!

By: A Cyclist

A Cyclist — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:03:04 +0000

Yoshiyahu- Yes, I am a resident of Long Beach and have been for nearly 40 years. I am involved in a number of programs and speak to others who feel the same way. As I am all for a positive change in Long Beach, very little seems to happen in places where it should. It is a given that racks should be needed on nearly every other corner where there are bus stops and shops on streets like Anaheim, PCH, Long Beach Blvd and Alamitos. There are very few because they are not in desirable areas.
Charlie, if you are reading this, please help out the areas where people really do need bike lanes and racks and areas to park bikes so they feel safe riding in the streets and not on the sidewalks.

By: Yoshiyahu

Yoshiyahu — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:10:34 +0000

A Cyclist -- you sound like a Long Beach resident. As such, you are perfectly capable of making things Talk to the businesses in your neighborhood about bike racks. Talk to Charlie Gandy and give him suggestions of places needing bike racks. Plenty of places you can volunteer and get involved.

By: Chris Morfas

Chris Morfas — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:20:31 +0000

Wonderful! This is what happens when supportive political leadership green-lights a talented organizer-implementer to get the job done.

By: A Cyclist

A Cyclist — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:22:00 +0000

It is all fine and dandy that Long Beach is becoming more bike friendly but it is not doing enough for those who really ride. Most of what is considered cyclist friendly is coastal however, there are a lot of cyclist in North Long Beach and in South Central Long Beach. Those people are invisible until there is an accident or fatality. Another thing that would make this city cyclist friendly would be ample bike parking places. Along Anaheim and PCH are very few places to lock and go. Someone needs to get with the program. Quickly!

By: ZA

ZA — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:03:05 +0000

Nicely done Longbeach! (and watch out Rotterdam)

Who's global seaport giant will rank best for livable streets? That's a competition everyone should join.