City Should Encourage Critical Mass

November 8, 2007,

Dear Editor,

Thanks for your article yesterday (“Police Crack Down on Critical Mass”) I was disappointed to learn that the Santa Monica Police Department has taken an adverse rather than a supportive stance toward this group of bicycle riders. I was particularly surprised to learn that so many citations were issued for cyclists riding without a light.

Bicycle riding is a relatively safe form of transportation and it is significantly safer for the community at large. It is not very often that someone is killed by being hit by a moving bicycle. And bicycle travel doesn’t cause harmful air pollution that poses a much more significant threat to the health of our communities.

I’ve ridden my bicycle extensively in the city of Santa Monica. I’ve ridden at day and I’ve ridden at night. Many times I’ve had a light on my bike and many times I have not.

There have been hundreds of times that I have ridden my bicycle in Santa Monica without a light and right past police officers in clear view of them. I have never been stopped or received a citation by any police officer for not having a light on my bicycle.

I cannot say the same has been true for bicycle riders of color that I know and it apparently isn’t true of the good spirited group of cyclists who participate in Critical Mass. Ironically, riding in a large group is one time when cyclists are especially visible and lights make less of a difference.

I also have a fire-engine red tandem bicycle and I’ve ridden that bicycle numerous times at night to and from the movies with a date. Everyone notices when two people pass on a tandem bike, even the police, and even without a light while riding an eye-catching bicycle I’ve never been stopped or gotten a ticket.

I’ve also never been stopped or ticketed on my bicycle by any other police agency anywhere in the world and I’ve ridden my bicycle all over Los Angeles County and toured by bicycle for 15 months traveling over 12,000 miles across 13 countries on a solo bicycle adventure from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

But then, I’ve never ridden in the Santa Monica Critical Mass bicycle ride.

So when Santa Monica Police spokesman Lt. Alex Padilla refers to the ticketing of cyclists during Critical Mass by saying, “It’s no different than what we have been doing in the past, but it’s getting more attention, so when you do anything, it’s magnified,” I have trouble believing him.

My hunch is that there is someone in City government or top brass at the police department that has given a clear directive to the police on the street to discourage critical mass rides from happening.

Critical Mass, as I understand the rides from what I’ve read, are both a celebration of cycling and a designed to send the message that we need to plan better for cyclists in our car-centered culture.

Laws that limit bicycle travel to a maximum of two cyclists side by side when we have 14-lane freeways seem unfair. I thank those that challenge the way we plan car-favored transportation systems and forgive the sometimes awkward ways these various citizens advocate for clean air and more efficient transportation for everyone.

In Paris, France, every Sunday the city shuts down a number of the city streets to motorized traffic to allow pedestrians, cyclists and skaters to travel freely without breathing the air from the tailpipe of the car in front of them. Parisians call it “Paris Breathes” and it is a celebrated part of a healthy community, exercise, recreation and environmental responsibility.

Instead of discouraging riders at Critical Mass rides, Santa Monica would do well to encourage cycling groups, including Critical Mass. After all, for every cyclist you see, there is one less car polluting our air and congesting our streets.

Sincerely,

Ryan Flegal