Last summer, at CicLAvia: Meet the Hollywoods, the new 2.1 mile stretch of protected bike lanes on Hollywood Boulevard got their close-up.

But once the cameras departed and the streets reopened to car traffic, the dirty work of keeping the Hollywood Boulevard bike lanes truly began.

The City of Los Angeles added 22.5 lane-miles of new or improved bike facilities in Fiscal Year 2023-2024, according to Joe Linton’s annual analysis at Streetsblog L.A, the lowest number in five years. With such a paltry number of bike lane miles added this year, you’d hope it would be at least manageable to keep LA’s protected bike lanes clean. 

After years of delays, setbacks, and a general lack of transparency, the California Air Resources Board will launch its e-bike incentive program next week.

The first e-bike incentive application window opens on December 18th at 6 p.m. PST.

The California E-Bike Incentive Project “provides up to $2,000 of point-of-sale incentives to support the purchase of a new electric bicycle”

On a beautiful sunny Sunday in downtown Los Angeles, a coalition of organizers, advocates, and neighbors convened to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Volunteers arrived early to create a memorial garden, complete with a colorful chalk mural that read “Save Lives.” The garden comprised 746 plants — one for each person who was killed by a car in Los Angeles County last year.

Around 20 family members gathered on Nov. 16, the day before World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, at MoDa Studios in Venice for SAFE’s first-ever “Sip and Sculpt” — an opportunity for families who’ve been affected by traffic violence to connect over tea, baked goods, and artistic expression.

Art therapy has been shown to be a useful tool for those who’ve suffered traumatic events, like losing loved ones to traffic violence, because it is a nonverbal, creative way to externalize experiences that can be hard to process.

Late on the evening of Oct. 27, 42-year-old Oscar Guardado was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike in the West Adams neighborhood of LA, according to the GoFundMe page set up by his daughter, Angeles.

Oscar was the 20th bicyclist killed by a driver in Los Angeles so far this year, though, as Biking in LA points out, there remains little information about the incident.

LA Metro has officially opened the new Aviation/Century Station, which has connected the C and K lines and reconfigured both trains’ routes. 

The new station marks a major milestone in Metro’s transit expansion, according to the agency. The station, which is located at 5601 W. Century Blvd., not only connects Metro’s C and K lines but also “serves as a crucial link on the way to the upcoming LAX/Metro Transit Center.” 

Aviation/Century is the eighth station on the K Line and is the new endpoint for the C Line, which now runs between Norwalk and Aviation/Century.

Nearly 900 walkers, runners, cyclists, supporters and, of course, dogs gathered Sunday for the seventh annual Finish the Ride and Finish the Run Santa Clarita, starting and finishing at West Creek Park in Santa Clarita.

The Halloween theme and the creative costumes belied a serious shared message from everyone in attendance: we must make the streets of Southern California — and the country, and the world — safe for everyone.

Next month, communities across the world will honor those who’ve lost their lives or been affected by traffic violence on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Sadly, the list of road traffic victims in LA will be longer this year than last — already the deadliest traffic year on record.

Read on to dig into the numbers and find out what we can do to force Mayor Bass to prioritize ending traffic violence.

The 9th annual Streets, Art, SAFE film competition and the inaugural poster competition is in full swing! These competitions empower student artists to learn about the crisis of traffic violence - the leading cause of death for US teens - and create original art to inspire California to do better. We’ve got some exciting new additions to this year’s initiative, so read on to learn more! 

When we last checked on the state of safe streets up in Sacramento, nine different bills that SAFE had been working on (supporting or opposing) this legislative session were awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature.

We now have answers on all nine, and we’re happy to announce some wins and disappointed to report some losses.

Earlier this month, safe streets advocates received a rare piece of good news: the National Highway Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for the first time, will require automakers to test their cars’ safety for pedestrians, not simply drivers and passengers. 

The proposal is not radical: it would require automakers to conduct “hood-to-head” safety tests to ensure cars are being designed to limit pedestrian deaths in the US, which have risen by more than 50% in the past nine years to levels not seen since 1981.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed a new rule to reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries — the first time the U.S.’s road safety agency has directly addressed America’s epidemic of pedestrian death. 

The proposed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard would ensure passenger vehicles are designed to “mitigate the risk of serious to fatal injury in child and adult pedestrian crashes” by “establishing test procedures simulating a head-to-hood impact and performance requirements to minimize the risk of head injury.”

Every year on September 22nd, cities across the world celebrate World Car-Free Day, an opportunity for regular motorists to keep their cars in the garage and to get outside on foot or by bike to connect with their neighbors and their communities. 

The event highlights the myriad benefits of leaving the car at home and underscores how much safer and welcoming our streets could be if we reduce our dependence on climate-destroying, air-bespoiling, pedestrian-killing automobiles — especially here in Southern California, with its debilitating addiction to “car culture.”

The 2023-2024 California legislative session has drawn to a close, and we’re excited to provide some updates on the 15 essential transportation bills on which SAFE has focused our efforts — including Senate Bill 961, the bill requiring speed governors in CA cars by 2030, which passed the State Assembly and is on Governor Newsom’s desk. 

In addition to SB 961, SAFE has actively supported, opposed, and co-sponsored several key bills. At the beginning of the 2023-24 legislative session, SAFE kept its eyes on nearly 100 pieces of legislation. As the year rolled on, we narrowed our focus to 15 critical bills that could shape the future of California transportation — for good or for ill.

First off, some thanks. Thank you to everyone who joined SAFE last Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Building in Downtown Los Angeles to share our pressing and vital message for Governor Newsom: it’s time to take a stand against the auto industry and make our streets safer — for everyone — by signing Senate Bills 961 and 1509. 

Thanks also to CBS 2, KTLA 5, KABC 7, KCAL 9, Spectrum 1, and La Opinión, who covered the press conference. I would have loved it if more media had joined us, but this was also the first day of the Line Fire, which understandably drew a lot of attention. I’m grateful to you all. 

The speeches were emotional and hard-hitting.

Glendale City Council has approved major traffic lane configuration and bicycle infrastructure improvements to La Crescenta Ave. as part of the La Crescenta Ave. Rehabilitation Project, which passed by a vote of 3-2 on Aug. 27.

Glendale Mayor Elen Asatryan was joined by council members Ardy Kassakhian and Dan Brotman in voting “yes” on the project located on La Crescenta Avenue between North Verdugo Road and Montrose Avenue. The project “aims to enhance the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of multiple transportation infrastructure options in the La Crescenta project corridor,” according to the city analysis.

We did it! The 3 priority bills that SAFE co-sponsored this year are headed to the Governor’s desk! Now is the time to stand up and show our support for these life-saving bills, so push them through the finish line and signed into law. 

Here is a breakdown of the 3 bills and how you can help ensure they are signed by the Governor.

Huge News! The lifesaving vehicle speed technology bill, SB 961, was officially passed by the California legislature on August 30!

This groundbreaking bill will require speed warning technology in all vehicles (excluding emergency vehicles and motorcycles) made or sold in California starting in 2030. It’s a crucial step to preventing crashes and saving lives.

Now, it’s in Governor Newsom’s hands, and he has until September 30 to sign it. Let’s apply pressure to ensure this vital bill becomes law!

Please take a moment to submit a message on the Governor’s contact page asking him to sign SB 961.

On May 18, SAFE was proud to join community leaders, law enforcement officials and concerned citizens for “Ending Illegal Street Racing and Street Takeovers: A Community Symposium” at Compton Community College. 

The symposium was a collaborative effort to foster dialogue and actionable plans to combat the surge in illegal street racing and street takeovers, calls for which increased by 60% in 2020 and remain high, according to LAPD data, and which disproportionately affect a handful of LA neighborhoods, including Carson, Century, Compton and South Los Angeles.  

Illegal street racing not only endangers participants but also poses significant risks to bystanders, disrupts community peace and strains police resources. That’s why we at SAFE have been working for years to address this issue, collaborating with victims, advocates and electeds to change laws, improve infrastructure, educate, and enforce the law.

We at SAFE are proud of the work that we’ve done to push for sensible, common-sense legislation that will save lives on California’s roads.

Today, we’re writing because we need your help to save just such a piece of legislation: Senate Bill 961, which would require all cars and trucks manufactured or sold in California, starting in 2030, to alert drivers when they’re 10 mph past the speed limit. 

This piece of legislation, authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, would help tackle California’s #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes: speeding. As Americans continue to opt for massive SUVs over sedans, and pedestrian deaths hit marks unseen in 40 years, SB 961 represents an affordable, feasible option to make our streets safer. 

SB 961 was slated for a vote by the full California Assembly last week, but the vote has been pushed back to this Wednesday. This provides us safe-streets advocates with an opportunity to contact the 15 legislators who are still undecided. Without the support of these 15 legislators, SB 961 is unlikely to pass.