This post’s by Damien Newton of Streetsblog LA, who catches you up on the latest local de-car-ing news:

Pedestrians: The big news in transportation politics was the growing movement behind State Assemblymember Paul Krekorian’s efforts to give cities greater leeway in setting and modifying speed limits.  Current state law requires that speeds be set at the 85th percentile if the city wants to use radar to enforce the limit.  After nearly two dozen limit increases in the Valley enraged local activists, Krekorian stepped to the plate and has been supported by pedestrian and cycling advocates, the City Council and the Mayor.

Car Culture: Nate Silver, who gained national attention last year at FiveThirtyEight.com, has written a piece for Esquire suggesting that American car culture is on the skids. Falling gas prices aside, driving has been on the decline since late 2007.

Bicycles: In an odd twist, the City of Santa Monica was recognized by the League of American Cyclists for being one of the most bike-friendly city in America as announced in the LA Now blog at the Times’ official website .  What’s the twist?  The next day the Times ran a column in the print edition taking Santa Monica to task for not enforcing the Bike Only designation for the beach bike trail.

For all the L.A. de-car-ing news that’s fit to blog, visit Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA.

Photo by by Bekah Stargazing

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