Hansen: Will 3 feet of room for bikes solve Laguna’s mobility woes?

Call it three feet of bicycle symbolism.

Effective Sept. 16, the state now requires car drivers to give bicyclists three feet of room when passing. In Laguna Beach, however, it’s more like three inches.

Given the city’s narrow roads, there is little chance that the police will enforce the law, unless the city is hurting for extra revenue.

On any given day, you will see drivers ignore the rule. The only impact so far has been more road rage, as bicyclists feel empowered to stand their ground.

“How’s it enforceable? I don’t know,” said Les Miklosy, a longtime bike advocate. “I think what it does do if you get it in front of the public long enough, it might enter their consciousness — to give people more room.”

Resident Sandi Cain agrees that the law is problematic. Cain previously attended the city’s transportation workshops but became frustrated at the lack of proposals for resident safety and improved sidewalks.

“There has to be a balance in every law,” she said. “And I fear that state legislators who voted for this may have had good intentions but they perhaps don’t come from places that have restricted access to begin with.”

Miklosy said the new law is the least of the city’s problems. What’s more important is to make fundamental changes in the core circulation plan. More than two years ago, Miklosy chaired the city’s Complete Streets Task Force, but left after disagreeing with the direction and impact of the group.

“As far as I was concerned, the Complete Streets Task Force was a complete façade,” he said. “You really want to find out the city’s commitment on any issue, go look at their budgets. It’s just a joke. We can’t get $5,000 worth of paint for some bike lanes and yet they’ll pull out of thin air $7 million for a lifeguard clubhouse. It’s so absurd.”

Miklosy is never one to mince words, which is partly why his work on the committee rubbed some people the wrong way. But you have to give him this: He was usually right.

As an example, the city has been trying to create a “Enhanced Mobility and Complete Streets Transition Plan” that will go before the City Council early next year. Miklosy said it won’t matter.

“The plan itself is not a legally binding document, so I don’t know what they’re doing goofing around with that plan,” he said. “It’s a long, long name, and it sounds important. Well, it has no bearing on what the city can do. What needs working is the circulation element piece of the general plan. That’s the real document.”

But that’s off limits, according to Miklosy.

“The city will admit that that thing’s on the back burner and has been for the last 40 years,” he said. “They won’t touch it because it means city commitment and spending real money.”

Pointing to successes in other cities, Miklosy once again said, “follow the money.”

“This isn’t rocket science,” he said. “Other cities are doing this kind of stuff. San Clemente just threw a big party because they were rated No. 1 in California for adopting a bicycle and pedestrian plan. Those are the real commitments. That plan is part of the general plan in their community. We don’t have one. Instead, we’re going to host a workshop and throw a party and feed us all cookies. This is how this place operates. It’s just bewildering.”

Cain, meanwhile, just wants the basics, like sidewalks and safety. She said the workshops seem to have a pre-determined agenda, and it’s nothing like the real world she faces in Laguna.

“I always feel like those issues don’t focus on the regular residents,” she said. “I have felt that many of the city things that come up are directed perhaps disproportionately to business owners and visitors.

“In many ways, I would challenge the city to show me where any of the sidewalks between say Ruby Street and Ruby’s diner are ADA compliant. I do think that sidewalks are more of a necessity than dedicated bike lanes.”

Both Cain and Miklosy are longtime Laguna residents. Both have served on committees and tried to improve the system from within. Yet both are frustrated. They are still active and trying to make a difference, but it’s not easy.

“I was brought up that if you’re unhappy with an issue, or you’re unhappy with what you’re seeing, that you at least owe it to yourself and the bigger community that you speak up and say so,” Cain said.

“I think this stuff is important,” Miklosy said. “The city is just placating us. They are just entertaining us, so they can look busy and fuss around with documents that have no bearing on anything.”

So what would Miklosy do if given the chance? What should be on the agenda of the new City Council this fall?

“No. 1, you drop the speed limits,” he said. “We can all afford to drop the speed limits five or 10 miles per hour, and eventually you will get where you’re going and it won’t make a bit of difference in your day.

“Next, create pedestrian zones. We need some way to introduce people to this new paradigm, and the way you do that is with Sunday parkways.”

He suggested shutting down Forest Avenue or Glenneyre Street and have block parties.

“It works,” he added. “That’s why they do it in the Netherlands and Germany and France and Bogota, Colombia. Why doesn’t the city start to embrace the community and figure out how we can make this place better?”

One byproduct of having a pedestrian-only road is there would not be the need for a three-foot buffer between cars and bikes.

No more road rage. No more deaths.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at [email protected].