Janette Sadik-Khan and LA biking/walking

Now, I am not a biker and I know very little about bike culture and what's been done to try to make LA a more bike-friendly landscape, but after listening to Janette Sadik-Khan last Thursday, I feel like there is a lot to be done. Going into the talk I knew nothing regarding transportation policies or what had been done in New York City, but I left feeling like I was there was so much work to be done here in LA. If she could transform New York City, the busiest place in the world, into a green-promoting safe haven for bikers and pedestrians, then there is no reason that LA cannot do the same. Again, I don't know much about biking conditions or how easy it is to get around Los Angeles via bike, but I'm assuming from the response of the crowd that they are not very good here. I believe that it is possible to make the necessary changes to the landscape, but it is important to go about it the right way. I think one of the most important lessons we can take from her talk is that we can't be hesitant or worried about failure, but rather we should take risks and experiment in order to see what will and won't work. Judging from the turnout for that talk and the apparent success of the LA Street Summit, I think it's obvious that there is demand for change, we just need to get the attention of the policy-makers. There have already been changes made to streets down in Long Beach, as 2nd Street now has colored bike lanes, but I think if we continue to show support for that type of thing, more changes will be made throughout the city. If New York can make such a dramatic change in its landscape, then there is no reason that our city can't do the same. We just need to take a page from Janette Sadik-Khan and continue to show activism, while experimenting with ideas and organizing in large numbers to show policymakers that there is support for more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation.