Cyclists look for recognition
DOWNTOWN Santa Monica resident Barbara Filet waited, waited and waited, watching the cars zoom by, her frustration level rising, stuck at an intersection where the light just wouldn’t turn green.
Deciding she couldn’t wait any longer, Filet jumped off her bike, pushed the pedestrian walk button where Fourth Street and the Civic Center Parking Garage meet, cruising out just as the light turned green.
“I resented having to do that,” Filet said during a recent interview. “I feel really invisible to the city.
“I feel like I’m not respected for (bike) transportation even though I should be thanked and congratulated for getting around in a manner that is good for the environment.”
Her thoughts reflect the sentiments of many cyclists who rely on two wheelers for commuting throughout the city, equally frustrated when the situation arises that they’re the only vehicle stuck at an intersection, the light just refusing to change.
The issue falls on the metal loop embedded into the road, used to magnetically detect a motorist stopped at an intersection, triggering a sensor that causes a traffic light to eventually change. In many cities, the loop can’t detect bicycles, leaving cyclists stranded when they’re the lone vehicle at an intersection.
At least one intersection loop in Santa Monica — the Santa Monica Pier exit at Ocean and Colorado avenues — was recently readjusted to detect bicycles. More changes could be in store as City Hall recently received grant funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to conduct a bike technology demonstration project.
The $279,000 grant, which will cover a three-year period, will allow City Hall to analyze various bicycle protection measures, such as detection loops, and determine which would be appropriate for areas like Santa Monica and the Westside.
Bike protection measures can range from a dedicated push button to trigger a signal change, to a camera that would be mounted to detect cyclists, according to Beth Rolandson, a senior transportation planner with City Hall.
“It works well when coordinated with some type of marking at the intersection itself, which indicate where bicycles should position themselves so the cameras can pick them up,”she said.
Kent Strumpell, a board member with the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, called the cameras the most sophisticated piece of technology on the market, explaining that the cameras are pointed at each of the four quadrants of the intersection, checking to see if there is anything sitting in view.
“Those are great because if a bicycle is anywhere near the area, the cameras know they’re there,” Strumpell said.
Strumpell said that while problematic locations do exist in Santa Monica, the intersections are for the most part cooperative, changing as soon as a cyclist approaches.
Cycling advocates point to safety issues posed by intersections that don’t do a good job of detecting activity smaller than a car, prompting cyclists to run the red light if there is no conflicting traffic.
The California Vehicle Code permits vehicles to run a red light if there is a malfunctioning signal.
“We shouldn’t feel comfortable with that,” Jennifer Klausner, the executive director of the bike coalition, said.
In some intersections, the bike loops are adjusted so that they are strong enough to detect bikes. But readjustments aren’t necessarily fool proof, unable to detect carbon fiber or titanium bikes, Klausner said.
“A lot of bikes now, particularly the ones that cost a lot of money, are not made out of steel and can’t be picked up by a magnet,” Klausner said.
Klausner added that even in intersections that do have readjusted detection loops, the lack of markings on the road make it difficult for bicyclists to determine where they need to stand in order to trip the sensor. She mentioned several cities are moving toward adding the road markings, including San Francisco and Portland, Ore.
The issue of bike detection recently came up during a series of City Council budget discussions when Councilmember Kevin McKeown inquired about what was being done to retrofit intersections in the city.
No funding has been allocated specifically for bike detection projects, according to city staff. But the proposed Land Use and Circulation Element, which is the update of the general plan, does support committing resources to make bicycle improvement projects possible, including detection loops, staff stated in a council information item.
“As motorists, we take for granted that traffic signals will be responsive,” McKeown, an avid cyclist, said. “On my bike, though, I’ve sometimes found myself waiting and waiting for lights that never change, unless I dismount and press the pedestrian crossing button.”
McKeown noted that City Hall has begun installing detection loops at “crucial” intersections like Colorado and Ocean where the beach bike path connects with the rest of the city.
“This isn’t just about convenience; it’s a safety issue, and a part of making Santa Monica a welcoming city to get out of your car and enjoy bicycling,” he said.
There are several intersections in town that cyclists call particularly problematic, including Michigan Avenue at 14th Street and Stewart Street at Olympic Boulevard.
“The Stewart crossing at Olympic is terrible,” Russell Sydney, co-founder of the Sustainable Transport Club, said. The Sustainable Transport Club is an organization that advocates for alternative transportation modes.
Sydney added that there is “zero detection” heading southbound on Stewart Street past Olympic.
“All we really need is a place where we can push the button next to the curb,” he said.
Filet is also hoping for some change. Raised in the Netherlands where the bicycle is a choice mode of transportation, Filet said that the installation of cameras or other measure to improve bike detection would be a welcoming change, a sign that City Hall is taking cyclists seriously.
“I never feel obligated to push the pedestrian button because I don’t think a car driver should get out of their car and push their button either,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 28, 2008. Read the original PDF.