>> Metro day passes are just $5 now! Enjoy the cheaper rides while they last –

>> Plastic bags are officially banned in Long Beach starting today — at least in the big stores. And paper bags will cost you 10 cents each — so remember to BYOB! In case you’ve forgotten, a plastic bag ban also went into effect for the unincorporated areas of L.A. County last month. Here’s how we’re doing on plastic bag bans in L.A County cities. Earlier: Got extra reusable bags? Drop them off at Santa Monica’s Share A Bag spots.

And soon you can expect:

>> Birth control sans copays. Insurers now have to cover birth control with no copays — which I think is big green news. Fewer unplanned pregnancies means fewer baby Americans means fewer resources needed. Earlier: Single and happy? Five single bloggers that make solo living fun.

>> Less trees and better views at Yosemite. Of course, hacking down trees for sightseeing purposes is a plan that’s proving controversial.

>> Less Chromium 6 — a.k.a. the Erin Brokovich chemical — in California tap water. California set the nation’s first public health goal for this carcinogen at 0.02 ppb — an unenforceable limit, but one that’s hoped to, you know, become enforceable. LA Times reports: “Environmentalists praised the new state goal, saying they hoped it would pressure state and federal officials to set enforceable standards for the metal and other drinking water contaminants.”

Photo by Fire Monkey Fish

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In case you haven’t heard yet: L.A. cyclists raced against a JetBlue plane from Burbank to  Long Beach over the weekend — and the two-wheelers won by over an hour. Even more interestingly, public transit taker (and also a cycling advocate) Gary Kavanagh beat the plane too. So did a tweeting woman on rollerblades!

Clearly, fighting traffic to the airport, making it through security, and relying on a cab driver to know the way is not as efficient as traveling across town in more eco-friendly ways. Slate has the unofficial finish times, calculated by @bcgp:

Bike: 1:34
Metro/Walk: 1:44
Rollerblades: 2:40
Plane/Lost Cabdriver: 2:54

For those new to the story, Slate’s Tom Vanderbilt provides a nice comprehensive article on what went down — and waxes lyrical about the possibilities of cycling and public transit in the city:

In the face of this fanciful idea (a traffic-busting flight!) it became possible to demonstrate that cycling, often taken as a non-serious or marginal or even annoying (to some drivers) form of transportation in the United States, could seem eminently reasonable: not only the cheapest form of transportation, not merely the one with the smallest carbon footprint, not only the one most beneficial to the health of its user, but the fastest….

But the race today wasn’t only about the cyclists. Gary Kavanagh*, who had reacted enthusiastically to my initial daydreaming about a “Tour de Carmageddon,” was the day’s dark horse, revealing the secret efficacy—and perhaps, for some remote Twitter spectators, the existence—of Los Angeles’ oft-derided subway system. (When I thought of a cyclist racing a jet, I admittedly wasn’t even aware one could take mass transit between BUR and LGB).

Many Angelenos who weren’t even aware of this race talked about how the freeway closure actually made for quite the pleasant weekend. KPCC’s Molly Peterson picked up on this tweet from L.A. County’s public transit agency Metro:

That’s one big idea — and GOOD asked for more this morning by kicking off a new project: “Imagine Your Los Angeles Street Beyond Cars.” Submit your best car-free vision by Sunday, July 31 for a chance to get it seen at the A+D Museum on Thursday, August 11 during the Moving Beyond Cars party. One winner will get GOOD goodies and other prizes. RSVP for the party now to find out who the winner is then.

Earlier:  Without a Car in the World: See 100 Car-free Angelenos

Photo by Michael Dorausch

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Bike by the corner of Larchmont and Melrose, and you’ll see the beginnings of a new restaurant. That would be the newest Cafe Gratitude location to be, which began construction earlier this week! The famous eco-friendly Bay Area chain’s finally coming down to Los Angeles — and plans to open its doors Feb 1., 2011.

“L.A., watch out — A wave of gratitude is about to wash up upon you,” says Matthew Engelhart, who along with his wife Terces, founded Cafe Gratitude. Matthew and Terces say L.A. restaurant will be much like their NoCal counterparts, with the same culture and same menu.

Both Cafe Gratitude’s food and culture has a big fan base, who love the cutely-named dishes and uber-friendly staff. Order “I Am Fabulous” off the menu and you’ll get a delicious dish of vegan seasonal lasagna — along with an enthusiastic and heartfelt “you ARE fabulous! from the employee who hands you the dish. At least that’s about what happened when I got to try Cafe Gratitude’s food while at Green Fest in San Francisco a couple years ago! I forget what I ordered, but I remember finding it delicious –

Though often referred to as a raw-food restaurant, Cafe Gratitude now offers about as much cooked items as it does raw. (more…)

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Earlier this month, Park(ing) Day brought attention to the need for green space in the city with its pop-up mini parks. Those temporary parking spots-turned-parks are now gone, but if those mini paradises made you wonder exactly how park-rich and park-poor your city really is, a new report called City Park Facts 2010 lets you find out at a glance. (via Switchboard)

Put together by The Trust for Public Land, City Park Facts 2010 provides a wealth of data on urban green spaces. Wondering which large city offers the most park space as a percentage of the city area? That would be New York, where 19.5 percent of the land belongs to parks. On the other hand, because the Big Apple’s so population dense, the city only devotes 4.5 acres per 1000 residents. When it comes to how much parkland each city resident gets, Oakland gets top marks for high population cities, devoting 12.9 green acres per 1000 residents.

Los Angeles, so you know, could be doing a lot better. The City of Angels devotes 7.9 percent of its city area to park space — far lower than the 10.2 percent average for high density cities — and 6.2 acres of parkland per 1000 residents — again, lower than the 6.9 percent average for high density cities.

Comparatively, our southern neighbor Long Beach is more park rich, devoting 10.1 percent of its city area to park space and 7.1 acres per 1000 residents. Maybe it’s time for us to get involved with the Park 101?

Photo by Ricardo Diaz

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I have good news: Your neighborhood will be getting a new park this Friday! Thanks to Park(ing) Day, you’ll see more community-friendly hang-out spots to relax in, socialize in, and party in!

Sadly, those new parks are only temporary pop-up paradises. Park(ing) Day encourages everyone to take over a parking spot, turning it into a mini-park for the day. This year, that day is Fri., Sep. 17 — and community groups, local businesses, and individuals have big plans to transform their town.

In my Santa Monica neighborhood, a bike-friendly group called Santa Monica Spoke is planning to create a bike-friendly park in front of Swinger’s Diner on Broadway. Cyclists can take advantage of the free bike valet, enjoy freebies, and enter a raffle to win free bike tuneups. My pink Townie’s been making weird clicking sounds, so I’m hoping to be one of the raffle winners!

Farther east, eco design collective de LaB will be creating a fancier pocket park in front of LOCAL restaurant in Silver Lake. Stop by anytime between 10 am and 4 pm to see a public performance space designed by architect Christian Chaudhari, where local musicians will be performing all day.

Visit Park(ing) Day LA’s website to find out what’s happening near you — and remember to take a mid-day break from work on Friday!

Earlier:
>> Take a break for Park[ing] Day 2008
>> Post Park(ing) Day 2009 edition — A new 24/7 park in Koreatown!

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