News, Links, and Other Views

City of San Diego

• The North County Times points out that San Diego is not one of America’s “smartest” cities.
• Councilman Todd Gloria in an effort to improve infrastructure is promoting sexy streets.
• The city council has set up a committee to address the $800 million infrastructure backlog.

San Diego Region

• San Diego County’s bike count program will have a short introduction and press conference followed by a short bike ride on Dec. 14th, 1pm, in Balboa Park.
• San Diego County is ready to declare it is in compliance with 1997 (?) air quality standards (still not in compliance with current standards or close to future standards).
• Oceanside’s mayor is under attack, his opponents claim he hasn’t advocated for highways strongly enough and would like to remove him from SANDAG.  More details here.
• Jack Shu was on kpbs talking about the recent SANDAG court decision.

Elsewhere

• Nationwide bike deaths rose 8.7 percent last year.
• The Atlanta BeltLine project is moving ahead.
• Cyclists declared the person of the year by the Long Beach Post.
• The shortest bike lane in the world has been found in Britain.
• The Paris Vélib’ got a nice write up in the Financial Times.
• Los Angeles will be launching a bike share program in 2013.
• The LA Weekly reports on an epidemic of hit-and-run incidents in LA and the lack of police response and lack of legal consequences.
• In Pasadena a driver gets probation and community service after killing a cyclist.
• Alhambra cyclists call their city’s bicycle master plan “timid” and a “waste of resources.”  The plan was prepared by Alta Planning and Design, the same firm that prepared San Diego’s bicycle master plan.
• The MIT press has published “City Cycling” an academic look at bicycle advocacy.