Cyclists: Bike over to Metro’s first Bicycle Roundtable! I hope you have a flexible work schedule that gives you Friday afternoons off for bike activism:

When: Fri., Feb. 19 from 2 pm – 4 pm
Where: In the Windsor Conference Room on the 15th floor of Metro, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles.
RSVP: Required by Fri., Feb. 12 to Jennifer Gill at 213.922.4224 or gillj@metro.net. Mention if you plan to bike there, so Metro can arrange for adequate bike parking space.

This Bicycle Roundtable’s the first of a series, according to Metro, and will feature Doug Failing — Metro’s Executive Director of Highway Programs and Interim Chief Planning Officer who was active in the Caltrans Bicycle Advisory Committee. From Metro’s email announcing the roundtable:

The purpose of the first meeting is to initiate a dialogue and identify issues of importance to cyclists in Los Angeles County. This will lead to a vision for enhancing Metro’s current program. The outcome of the first meeting will determine the frequency, next steps, and agendas of future meetings.

Park your bike in Metro’s parking garage on the P1 level between the fish tank/customer service center and Metro elevators, sign-in for a visitor’s badge at the 3rd Fl. security desk, then proceed up to the 15th Fl. for light refreshments and bike-related discussion.

Metro’s Jennifer Gill said the meeting is open to all, and that details about the Bicycle Roundtable meetings will be added to the Metro website soon.

Not sure what cyclists are discussing these days? Some of the latest bikey topics:

>> Nearly a quarter of bike-car crashes are hit and runs, according to new data. One cyclist victim of that stat’s local bike activist Roadblock, who, despite the dismissive and unhelpful attitude of the LAPD, has managed to track down the  Jag that hit him. Streetsblog L.A. readers then went on to find the alleged hit-and-runner’s public blog, which quickly became privatized.

>> The Alliance for Bicycling and Walking’s Bicycling and Walking in the United States: The 2010 Benchmarking Report finds that “10 percent of trips are by bicycle or foot, yet bicyclists and pedestrians make up over 13% of traffic fatalities and receive just 1.2% of federal transportation dollars.”

>> The L.A. Bike Working Group’s released a map of L.A.’s Bicycle Backbone — not a map of existing bike facilities, but a vision of how the city should be connected for cyclists.

>> There’s good news for cyclists too, from a bike and ped plan in Culver City to an anti-harrassment ordinance in L.A.

Photo by Fire Monkey Fish

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Remember Jaime de la Vega, L.A.’s deputy mayor for transportation — who gained notoriety for his Hummer-driving ways? Back in 2007, L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez named and shamed Jaime for getting to work in his gas-guzzler, then poked fun at him again in 2008:

Not only is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s transportation deputy shelling out a small fortune to fuel his Hummer, but he’s got the added pressure of setting an embarrassingly bad example. Even as people switch to smaller cars and public transportation in droves, he’s sticking with a monster.

Jaime still has the Hummer — but has made a few changes. Writes Steve Lopez in last week’s column:

[Jaime] finally got the message and recently stopped driving the Hummer to work, instead carpooling with his wife in an Acura or using public transit. De la Vega says he made the decision on his own, but I hear that Mayor Villaraigosa finally got tired of the embarrassment and one of his minions gave De la Vega a nudge.

Steve and Jaime also tried racing from the Universal City train station to City Hall, with Steve driving Jaime’s Hummer and Jaime taking the Red line. Jaime won by 10 minutes!

Steve says he’s offered to buy Jaime’s Hummer to “donate it to charity or the National Guard” — but Jaime doesn’t sound like he’s ready to let go of the gas guzzler just yet.

Earlier: Hummer humping and Hummer bummer

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In case you haven’t heard: The Expo Line’s got the go ahead to prepare to roll out to Santa Monica — unless the project gets derailed into court.

Plans for the long-awaited light rail line got a boost yesterday, when the Expo construction authority cleared the second phase of the project, allowing design and construction plans to progress. Streetsblog LA’s Damien Newton has a detailed account and analysis of the meeting.

The first phase of the Expo line, which broke ground in 2006, goes from downtown Los Angeles south to USC then west to Culver City. It’s also $220 million over its original budget and more than a year behind schedule, according to the L.A. Times. The line’s expected to open partially this summer, with the Culver City station hoped to be running by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.

The second phase would connect Culver City to Santa Monica, with construction hopefully beginning at the end of this year and the Santa Monica stations opening — some day in the future.

While many westsiders eagerly seek this car-free alternative to travel, the Expo line’s been besieged with various groups arguing against at-grade crossings in their neighborhoods. An organization called Neighbors for Smart Rail wants the Expo line to go underground at Overland and Sepulveda, for example, citing noise, safety, and other issues. More Expo-friendly groups like Friends 4 Expo, however, have pointed out that the Environmental Impact Report done on the project didn’t show safety concerns at-grade, and argue that an underground tunnel would make construction a lot more expensive, potentially jeopardizing the rail project. According to Steve Hymon at Metro’s blog The Source:

Expo Line officials say that the cost of putting the tracks under Overland and Westwood would be an additional $224 million. Bridging over the two streets — which would likely create aesthetic concerns for neighbors — would cost $66 million. No source of money has yet been found for those upgrades; the line is currently going to be paid for with $925 million from the Measure R sales tax increase voters approved in 2008 and about $600 million in state and local funds.

Streetsblog LA wonders if Neighbors for Smart Rail will sue now that the project’s going forward — but perhaps a motion to study whether or not to elevate the crossing at Sepulveda that passed at the meeting will have appeased the group enough to keep the project out of court. Another motion pushed back the decision on whether to have a parking lot or a park space at Westwood Station. Both those battles will come up at a future Expo meeting.

Image via Metro’s The Source

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1. Find your love for wheels. Two wheels, that is. Singular, a magazine for happily single people, is organizing a Valentine’s Day Beginner’s Mountain Bike Ride in the L.A. area. Bike 5-6 miles through the Sullivan Canyon in Brentwood on Valentine’s Day from 10 am to 1 pm. Plus, Singular magazine can be a great Valentine’s Day gift for all your happily single friends.

2. Make art for the environment’s sake. Clear your Saturday night for Lucent L’Amour, an annual “visionary lovefest” with art exhibits, bands, and other live performances happening this year at the Shrine in Los Angeles. In the midst of all the entertainment will be Lighting in a Paintcan, when 20 live painters will create art pieces with used and recycled paint. A silent auction during the event lets attendees bid on the pieces — with the proceeds going to buy art and music supplies for local underfunded schools. Support eco-art and a future generation of local musicians and artists too, while enjoying the lovely spectacle.

3. Lust after free fair trade yummies. WorldofGood.com’s giving away 15 fair trade gift baskets — worth $98 each — filled with a handmade bear, chocolates, cocoa, and candles. To win, all you have to do is reveal who you’re going to give the gift basket to and why in 75 words or less.

Winners will be judged on a “variety of factors including, but not limited to, originality, humor, sincerity and/or desperation” — so a humorous note about why you sincerely deserve to eat the entire gift basket yourself could work. Enter by Feb. 7 — and even if you don’t win, you’ll get a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase of fair trade goodies from WorldofGood.com.

4. Embrace public transit and celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days early by taking the bus or train to the Move LA Valentine Celebration. The local pro public transit nonprofit is raising funds while celebrating car-free travel in L.A. with music from KCRW’s Tom Schnabel, live music from Latin salsa band Opa Opa, and more. The party begins Thurs., Feb. 11 from 6 pm – 10 pm at The Center at Cathedral Plaza, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles. $50 gets you in.

5. Spread the handmade love. Why buy a single Valentine for one person when you can get bargain package deals on Etsy for all your lovers? At the L.A.-based Marmoset shop, get a pair ($4) — or quartet ($8) — of handmade Valentines crafted with upcycled and reclaimed paper to send to everyone you love — in post-consumer recycled brown kraft envelopes, of course.

6. Have a crayon heart. Want little gifts to go with those cards? An instructables member who goes by Some Art Mama’s put up photo-illustrated, step-by-step instructions for turning old crayons into pretty little hearts. Collect old crayons and a few simple supplies — and a little messy work later, and your homemade, eco-friendly, pretty-as-well-as-useful gifts will be ready.

7. Find love for your glove. Lost a glove? Find your widowed glove a mate by sending it in to Glove Love, a cute little initiative by a green website called Do The Green Thing that pairs up single gloves with sorta-matching partners. Jasmin Chua at Ecouterre calls it a “matchmaking service for lovelorn mitts.” You can also buy a pair of pre-loved, mix-and-matched Glove Love gloves for £5.

The bad news: As you may have guessed from the “£,” Glove Love’s in the U.K. A closer-to-home green glove idea’s to plan a Valentine’s Day clothing swap — that includes lonely accessories like single earrings and gloves, or if you’re bold, shoes — to mix-and-match or upcycle.

8. Get green bling. Have too much room in your jewelry box after upcycling the earrings sans partners? Keep your shopping eco-friendly by opting for recycled and ethically-sourced jewelry. I love my Peace Love Earth recycled sterling silver necklace from Annatarian (right, $60), and have my eye on a recycled Silver Butterfly Pendant from Brilliant Earth ($50). Of course, buying pre-loved jewelry is an even greener option — so don’t forget about my guide to pre-loved fashion shopping in Santa Monica!

9. Give with chocolate. Yes, that “with” is supposed to be there, because why would you give chocolate to others when you can eat the perfectly delicious stuff yourself? Okay — Nicobella’s organic fair trade vegan dark chocolate truffles (my review here) come in a pack of six, so sharing does actually come easy — but purchase a $27 duet pack of these and $2 will be donated to help the victims of Haiti through the Happy Hearts Fund, thus letting give with your chocolate while eating it too.

Get the pack by emailing nichole@nicobellaorganics.com or calling 609.792.5231. Fair trade chocolate, by the way, also gives chocolate producers a fairer share of the profits from the money you spent on the delectable desserts.

10. Write a love poem. The Valentine Peace Project collects poems about peace and love, written by individuals who want to share peace and love. Anyone can write a poem to contribute to the project, whether online or in their neighborhoods.

Photos via marmoset/Etsy, Do the Green Thing, Nicobella, Singular, WorldofGood.com

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>> Don’t forget to go to the Big Blue Bus’ last winter community meeting, happening tonight, Tues., Feb. 2 from 6 pm – 8 pm at the Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> Live, work, or play in Long Beach? Learn about Long Beach’s efforts to improve biking and walking conditions to the Long Beach Metro Blue Line Stations at the Long Beach Bicycle Audit Summary Meeting, happening Wed., Feb. 3 beginning 7:17 pm at Jax Bicycle Shop, 3000 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach.

>> Support the Expo Light Rail by speaking up for it at the next Exposition Construction Authority Board of Directors meeting, when the board’s scheduled to vote on and approve the final plan to bring the rail line to Santa Monica. Community group Friends 4 Expo has details on why you should support the Recommended Preferred Alternative option for the Expo line. The meeting happens on Thurs., Feb. 4 from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room on the 3rd Floor of Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.

>> The next westside L.A. Green Drinks happens will feature Tom Bowman, who’ll speak on “The Big Surprise: Cutting Carbon & Saving Money” this Thurs., Feb. 4 from 7 pm – 10 pm at eco-friendly hair and nail salon Shades, 144 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills. Cost: $5. Earlier: Green Drinks FAQ.

>> Combine running with gardening by signing up for the Seed Bomb (Bar) Crawl. Organized by Los Angeles Guerrilla Gardening, the event invites stealthy gardeners to put on their running shoes for an evening of active green fun. Running begins Fri., Feb. 5, at 6:30pm to proceed along the Metro Red Line while collecting more gardeners at each stop. Check out the website to find out when to meet up at your nearest stop, then RSVP to rolypoly@laguerrillagardening.org.

>> The next Green Business Networking happens, Feb. 9 from 6 pm – 9 pm at The Ambrose Hotel, 1255 20th St., Santa Monica. Meet greet and shmooze over organic food and drinks — and note that the admission price has gone up from $10 to $15. Earlier: About GBN.

Image via Los Angeles Guerrilla Gardening

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Senate bills aren’t exactly considered stimulating reading material, but I think California’s SB 518 is riveting! Why? The “make drivers pay up for parking” bill lays out in vivid detail all the hidden costs of free parking! Check out this tidbit:

On a congested street, eliminating just 10 percent of vehicles can result in free-flowing traffic. The existence of “free” parking is a significant factor that encourages vehicle trips. At employment sites, employer-paid parking increases rates of driving by as much as 22 percent. Conversely, employee-paid parking reduces rates of driving by the same amount.

Written by state senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), SB 518 just passed in the senate earlier this week, as the L.A. Times reports. If it becomes law, cities and counties would get financial incentives to make make parkers pay, both on the street and in government-owned lots, as well as to loosen parking requirements for businesses.

As most green LA girl readers know, free parking isn’t actually free. A whole book — The High Cost of Free Parking — has been dedicated to exploring this topic. In addition to the environmental costs of the driving free parking encourages, we’ve got real economic costs. When short-sighted business owners might argue that getting rid of free parking will hurt their bottom line, providing parking can actually be an onerous financial burden on many businesses. As SB 518 points out:

The high cost of land, construction, and maintenance to provide free parking adds significantly to the cost of economic development, making many housing and commercial developments, especially those on infill or transit-oriented sites, financially infeasible and hindering economic development strategies.

And of course, many of the costs of “free” parking are actually paid for by taxpayers and consumers — regardless of whether or not they drive! From SB 518:

Moreover, when parking is provided free to the user, these costs are hidden elsewhere in the cost of doing business. Free parking at stores is paid for by all customers in higher prices for goods, including those customers who do not drive.

(more…)

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My main purse is a pre-loved Marc Jacobs handbag I got at Santa Monica’s Wasteland. I paid a few hundred for that accessory — the high-end designer stuff’s in the locked glass cases against the walls, if you’re looking for something similar — but most fashion finds at Wasteland are a lot more affordable — and edgier too.

Wasteland’s a well-known pre-loved fashion company for modern and vintage styles with 4 locations in California. According to Wasteland’s website, the Santa Monica store offers a “smooth blend of West Side ease and beach-meets-Highstreet style” — a fairly accurate description.

The well-curated collection ranges from hipster T-shirts to punk-inspired dresses to designer shoes, like the pink size 7 Marc Jacobs pair above, on sale for $30. Not all items at Wasteland are pre-loved, as you can tell by the row of pleather LBDs below, but most of the thrifty finds are.

I actually don’t shop here very often, simply because my sense of style’s — simpler. But if you’re into the Melrose look — Wasteland’s flagship store is indeed on Melrose Ave. — you could probably get lost in this store for hours, mixing and matching your next look together.

Wasteland. 1338 4th St., Santa Monica. 310.395.2620. Also in Los Angeles (7428 Melrose Ave., 323.653.3028), Burbank (325 N. San Fernando, 818.842.4900), and San Francisco.

Update, 1/30/10: Pre-loved fashion shopping in Santa Monica: A Walking guide — 7 stores, 2 miles!

Bottom left photo via wastelandclothing.com; other photos by Siel

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Of all the vintage thrift stores out there, Crossroads Trading Co. seems to be the one that most proudly embraces an environmental mission. The pre-loved fashion company describes itself as a “recycled fashion retailer,” prominently displays and sells reusable bags at its stores, and donates a nickel to a local charity whenever a customer declines a bag!

Like Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads buy and sells clothes that fall somewhere between high-end designer and low-end discount brands. Bebe, Express, and French Connection are among the typical brands you’ll see, with most items priced between $20 – $40 — though you’ll run into the occasional more expensive Cavalli or Burberry piece.

Then there are all the small brands you’ve never heard of that made fun functional clothes — that got ditched by their former owners. At this store I’ve gotten a comfy black hoodie, a warm black jacket, and a pair of low black heels. I wear a lot of black!

I often wish the shoes were better arranged by size, but considering how much foot traffic this busy store gets, I imagine maintaining order isn’t easy.

Higher-priced designer items are usually behind the front checkout counter or hanging on the walls. I always want the stuff that’s hung up high, but have yet to work up the courage to bother someone about getting it down to try on, mainly because I’d feel bad if I ended up not buying the item.

This Crossroads is just a block west of Third Street Promenade, so shop pre-loved here first before heading to the conventional retail stores. And remember to take your own bag. At the Santa Monica store, the bag donation beneficiaries are School on Wheels and a local animal shelter.

Crossroads Trading Co. 1449-B 4th St., Santa Monica. 310.255.0500. Other L.A. area locations in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Studio City, and Silver Lake.

Update, 1/30/10: Pre-loved fashion shopping in Santa Monica: A Walking guide — 7 stores, 2 miles!

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>> L.A. City Council voted to develop a cyclist anti-harassment ordinance. Councilman Bill Rosendahl introduced the ordinance and says he wants to see “an ordinance that has teeth in it” by the end of March. Read Damien Newton’s post at Streetsblog L.A. for more details on the timeline for this ordinance.

>> Comment on the draft pedestrian and bicycle facilities network for the Culver City Bike and Pedestrian Initiative! (via Be a Green Commuter)

The downloadable PDF documents are rather confusing: A “network memo” provides definitions the new and proposed bike and ped”facilities” — ranging from bike lanes to “pedestrian improvement corridors” — while the Bicycle Network Map and Pedestrian Network Map show via colorful maps where these facilities are, or hopefully will be in the future.

Weigh in on the draft at a public workshop on Sat., Jan. 30 from 10 am – 1 pm at or submit your comments online.

>> Biking in Long Beach is about to get a lot more pleasant. L.A. Times reports:

At a time when cities are cutting expenses across the board, Long Beach has raised $17 million in state and federal grants to improve its bike system through traffic improvements, education and bike share programs. In the next six months, the city will be resurfacing 20 miles of streets to include new bike lanes, part of a plan that includes painting and paving more than 100 miles of bike infrastructure.

>> Locked out by bike gates after the rains? Joe Linton at L.A. Creek Freak shares how to get the bike gates open so you can ride free through the clean, post-rain air.

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I was in Washington D.C. this weekend — and missed a bunch of big green events that happened in Los Angeles. Luckily, other green bloggers stayed in town:

>> L.A.’s Go Green Expo showcased some great eco-friendly products. Emily Ho at Re-Nest shares her top 10 great finds.

>> City Labs’ first community service fair brought out “nearly 50 Los Angeles non-profit organizations and featured demos and workshops as well as raffles and prizes for attendees.” Andy Sternberg at LAist’s got lots of photos of CicLAvia, Cocoxochitl, and more.

>> In rainy news: SoCal beaches are awash in post-rain garbage and Venice beach got eroded by the storms. Sean Bonner at Metblogs LA says “The impact of the storms, the shoreline is about 15 feet closer in than it used to be.” He’s got photos to prove it. Despite the heavy rains, Cali’s drought isn’t necessarily over yet.

>> And in non-eco news: Sex, drugs, and even cold hard cash are losing battles. Huntington Beach bans beer pong in bars, L.A. bans smoking in outdoor dining areas, a school district in Riverside County nixes dictionaries that define oral sex, airlines do away with cash transactions.

Photo of last year’s Go Green Expo by Siel

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