Mayor Villaraigosa hosting a Bike Summit on Monday August 16th

Mayor Villaraigosa, a strong supporter of the city’s plans to host CicLAvia, was bicycling recently and broke his elbow due to an inattentive driver pulling out in front of him. The incident seems have lit a fire under the mayor’s to-this-point-relatively meager attention to bicycle issues.

A week from Monday, the mayor will host a Bike Summit event. It takes place 9am to 11am on Monday August 16th 2010 at the Metro Board Room. That’s on the 3rd floor at One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. It’s basically the east end of Union Station, with easy access via the Metro Red and Gold Lines, a half-zillion buses, Metrolink, and Amtrak.

We ecourage CicLAvia supporters to attend the mayor’s Bike Summit, and to encourage him to make CicLAvia a priority for the city, this year and in the future. If you have one of our custom CicLAvia t-shirts, please wear it! If you don’t have a shirt, make a big donation here and receive one!

Here’s the mayor’s press release:

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES AUGUST 16 BIKE SUMMIT

Town Hall meeting is an opportunity for dialogue on enforcement, infrastructure, and related issues.

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa today announced that he will convene a Bike Summit from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. on August 16, 2010 in the Board Room of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles 90012.  The Bike Summit will provide an opportunity for cyclists to talk directly with the Mayor and representatives of key departments and agencies about improving conditions for cycling in Los Angeles.

“Let’s get together and talk about what we need to do to make the streets safer for cyclists,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “Whether you depend on your bike for commuting or just take it out for fun, I invite you to come to the Bike Summit to talk about your experiences and learn about what we’re doing in Los Angeles to make streets safer for everyone.”

Topics for discussion at the Summit include:  the City’s draft Bicycle Plan which would build over 1600 miles of bikeways including 200 miles in the next five years; LAPD enforcement of laws governing safe driving and cycling; Metro’s effort to integrate cycling in the region’s rail and bus network; and other infrastructure and enforcement related topics.

Mayor Villaraigosa first announced his plans for the Bike Summit in July.

Lastly, because the mayor has stated it will be a topic at the summit, here is CicLAvia’s coverage of the city’s 2010 draft Bike Plan, and of the 2009 draft of the Bike Plan.