CritEastwood

Cross-Posted from A&S because the outcome appears to be impacting anyone who rides a bicycle in Long Beach, residents and especially visitors.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Long-Beach-CA

Apparently LBPD thinks that anyone riding a bicycle in their city limits must have it registered before doing so. According to the CVC and their own muni code, this is incorrect.

StephenT 

I rode the the Tour of Long Beach and the Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour this year and in both cases there was no information in the registration packets stating that bikes must be registered in the city of Long Beach. Seems LBPD needs an education in the code. But then again it may be an excuse to hassle the Critical Mass cycling events in the city.

rallison

I've lived in Long Beach for almost 4 years and have never been hassled while on my bike. I'm guessing this was probably because it was a Critical Mass ride. That said, I ride a road bike and wear lycra; it is always possible that the PD treats other cyclists differently.

What I can say is that the city does seem to keep cycling in mind with respect to any infrastructure improvements. Examples:

• Eastbound 2nd St through Naples Island: 3 lanes to 2 lanes, addition of a proper bike lane out of the door zone.
• Westbound 2nd St through Naples Island: Narrowing of center of street islands to provide a bike lane (still a bit small, but at least a dedicated bike lane).
• Sharrows on 2nd St through Belmont Shore.
• Vista St bike boulevard (no stop signs and roundabouts vs stop signs at larger intersections).
• Removal of third traffic lane on SE PCH from Los Alamitos Traffic Circle to just beyond Ximeno Ave to provide for a proper bike lane.
• Installation of lots of bike racks around the city.

All things considered, LB is not a bad place for cycling. Sadly, the only hill we have is Signal Hill (although that is a nice, but way too short, climb).

Rumpled

Actually, you don't even have Signal Hill since it's a different city

Jed19

Picky! Picky! Picky!

travelmama

I ride all of the time throughout this city and never once have the police stopped me. When I was a child it was mandatory to have a bike registered but only a handful did that. No one says anything about doing so now. I think this city is working on becoming a very bike friendly city but a lot more needs to be done. As for the Critical Mess of a Mess, it reads to me that a bunch of stupid college kids thought they could get away with crossing and blocking traffic illegally when the cops stopped them. With brownouts continue to go on here, I am surprised the cops were out busting the riders. If they want to really get into with people, they can find a lot worst ongoing in other parts of town.

rallison

Ok, fine. Technically, you are correct. Point given.

On the other hand, Signal Hill is an enclave of Long Beach, so it is basically Long Beach.

Ok, I'll stop feeding the troll.

As for infrastructure improvements in LB, I forgot this one:

• Removal of 3rd traffic lane on much of eastbound Shoreline Drive to both increase parking and add a non-door-zone bike lane.

Also, I would agree with travelmama. Long Beach, as of right now, is still lacking in some areas - specifically, north-south bike routes and, in general, more inland bike routes. The progress, so far, in just the last year or so has been very promising and I hope it continues.

CritEastwood

The fact that they (LBPD) are profiling and don't know or are selectively adhering to the CVC and their muni code is the problem here. What if they started profiling every kitted-out seriouso roadie and citing them for no registration?

bitingduck

They'd manage to cite a lawyer who doesn't live in Long Beach or a city that requires registration and get an injunction against further enforcement dropped on them. Under California state law, cities/counties can only require their own residents to register their bikes-- they can't require residents of other cities to register. I live in unincorporated LA County and can ride in long beach without having to register my bike, since LA county doesn't require registration.

Cleave

Hello,

The title of this thread and the sentiments of Mr. Eastwood in this thread remind me of the general impatience of the American public when it comes to change and improvement. You can't fix everything overnight.

I will note that in the referenced A&S thread, Crit posted, "There appears to have been a ton of FAIL on both sides in this case." I tend to agree with that statement, though there seems to be more issues with the LBPD than with the riders.

As rallison notes, LB has made a bunch of improvements in infrastructure and in giving cyclists a voice with the city. At the same time, there are still difficulties with LBPD. It's getting better but it won't become what we want, as cyclists, overnight.

For anyone in this thread or the other A&S thread to "condemn" LB's efforts to become the most bicycle friendly city in the US based on this one incident is as foolhardy as the LBPD's actions with the Critical Mass riders.

CritEastwood

Thanks for reading the whole bit, Cleave. My sentiments are not based on instant gratification, but on a history of LBPD and their penchant for profiling certain types of cyclists. I've been contacted by them a few times while riding (legally w/lights and adhering to traffic laws) at night in just regular clothes. They are not very well versed in the CVC or their own muni code as both pertain to cyclists. It all starts at the top of LBPD and there is an obvious problem. The fact that their PR officer is quoted contrary to both their muni code and the CVC is nothing less than outlandish and unprofessional. Having been a LE Professional for fifteen years, I can smell rotten when it presents itself.

CritEastwood

One can only hope.

CritEastwood

More LBPD FAIL:

https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,5693639.story

$400 for what should have been a $10 citation?

travelmama

You are absolutely correct there. As much as I frequent the Bike Station, there is no information posted about bike registration being mandatory. When I was young, I knew about it and paid a quarter at the local fire station but I thought it was uplifted after some years past.

CritEastwood

The fact that LBPD is profiling a certain type of cyclist is outrageous. If they were profiling homeless cyclists, the ACLU would be voiding bricks. If they were profiling grade school aged kids, the PTA would be screaming about it. If they were profiling OFWGs on $5000 dentist bikes, they know they'd eventually get an attorney would would make them look more foolishly than they already do. Nope, they choose to pick on a group that largely consists of high school and college aged cyclists who don't look "normal" and are less likely to have a powerful lobby (ACLU, PTA, etc.) or attempt to fight an invalid citation or fine. That would include the ridiculous LB "signaling device" law that only pertains to cyclists on the sidewalk, but is being used to cite cyclists riding in the roadway. Shameful is an understatement to describe their behavior.

tFUnK

I think the riders would have a good case for a class-action lawsuit against the city, they just need someone to get the ball rolling.

CritEastwood

You're right, T. Maybe the ACLU could be put to some good use on this.

John R

The Long Beach Police puller over 80 rider's riding in a peleton and wrote them all tickets. This is a money grab by a cash strapped city to rob its citizens. https://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...les&id=7880096

John R

This article gives the details of the Critical Mass ride being puller over by Long Police. As most you have noticed there are rules posted up along the Santa Ana River trail. There's a posted speed limit of 10 mph. Just think if every city that the trail ran through started enforcing the limit. Don't be supprised if this happens. https://www.courant.com/topic/la-me-l...s-topicgallery

CritEastwood

That's utterly laughable. The speed limit and hours posted on the SARTP in OC are merely CYA ordinances.

toolbear

As far as riding goes, Irvine is much better.

They have 45 miles of good Class I trails and over 200 miles of Class II lanes. Long Beach is too old to have much going in bike trails. Irvine was planned, so the trails went in at the top rather than as an afterthought.

Take a look:

<https://www.ci.irvine.ca.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=8767>

I've added one LB trail to the traillink.com collection - The Shoreline... Thought the Hartwell might be another until I rode it. I'll leave that for some other surveyor.

CritEastwood

ROIPD has just as shiny jackboots as LBPD, especially if you don't "look right".

cjbruin

You crack me up.

tFUnK

Irvine is okay, perhaps good for weekend pelotons but not really that great for commuting or casual riding. Lots of bike trails but you can't really make good loop routes without getting on the roads. Lots of bike lanes, too, but the cars drive so fast; cutting across a wide 4 lane parkway to make a left turn can be sketchy. And seems like every N/S street intersects the 405 or the 5, having to deal with freeway on/off ramps- can be hectic during traffic hours. Good road surfaces, though.

tFUnK

Agreed. So easy to stick out in Irvine, whereas in LB at least one can sort of blend in.