Biking in LA has its challenges and perils, the lack of bicycle lanes among them.  But that is changing.  Last weekend, 2.2 miles of bike lanes opened in downtown Los Angeles along 7th Street.  Eventually that lane will extend all the way to East LA’s Boyle Heights.

The street had already been claimed by bicyclists who work downtown, but the new lanes will make bicycling for some commuters a tad safer.  Slowly and surely Los Angeles will become even more bike-friendly:  CicLAvia, LA’s open street event, will have its third Sunday of streets free of cars on Sunday, October 9th (last April’s event pictured above left, click to expand).  And LA was also the first city in the country to allow bicyclists harassed by automobile drivers to file civil charges against them.

Keep Sunday, October 9th open.  Biking in LA on streets free of cars will be sublime.  At least now bicycling in downtown Los Angeles will be somewhat safer.

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com. Based in California, he is a business writer and consultant. His work is has also appeared on Triple Pundit , The Guardian's Sustainable Business site and has appeared on Inhabitat and Earth911. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. He's pictured here in Qatar, one of the Middle East countries in which he takes a keen interest because of its transformation into a post-oil economy. Other areas of interest include sustainable development in The Balkans, Brazil and Korea. He was a new media journalism fellow at the International Reporting Project, for which he covered child survival in India during February 2013. Contact him at leon@greengopost.com. You can also reach out via Twitter (@LeonKaye) and Instagram (GreenGoPost). As of October 2013, he now lives and works in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.