If you read my blog enough you know I support cyclists and just about anything they want as far as rights and places to lock up bikes in public places issues with Storm Troopers and so on. The Militant Padawan tipped me off to a blog where bikers want to create a bicycle district inside of East Hollywood. Now, at first I thought "What a great idea! This would bring more attention to an otherwise attentionless community." After taking a closer look, these guys have no idea what they are talking about. To form a "Bicycle District" would be unprecedented but if and when it ever comes to fruition it needs to be done in an area that serves more bikers, has more bicycle lanes and has more bicycle related shopping.
Two bike shops in less than one square block does not warrant an entire bicycle district, hell it doesnt warrant a bicycle corridor or a bicycle alley. I do agree that the Hel-Mel (Heliotrope and Melrose) corner is a fascinating area located in East Hollywood with awesome places like Scoops Gelato, Pure Luck Restaurant, Fake Art Gallery, Sacred Fools Theater, Mondo Video a Go Go and other small shops that needs to be exposed to the rest of the city. So with that in mind...
Padawan Will Campbell who is well known as a biker, suggested making that bustling street corner a square. Bikers Square. That would help make the bikers happy, probably keep Orange 20 Bikes and The Bicycle Kitchen from ever moving away, and bring more art, culture and fine dining to the surrounding areas. A district however is far too big to make any kind of an affect on the economy or population of that area.
Supporters of this proposed Bicycle District one in particular who by his own admittance has "been putting useless crap on the internet since 1994" seem to not have any clue as to the history, ethnic or economic background, current workings of or community leaders of this great community. Hell they don't even know that they are in East Hollywood.
Advice from a Jedi. Do a little research before you post something that millions of people can read. People like this are the reason we have people living in ignorance... because they report ignorantly.
May the Force be with most of you.
7 comments:
jedi you are not
anonymous: troll you are
anonymous is just full of sith.
Touched a nerve I have.
I PITY THE FOOL!
I'm going to leave essentially the same comment I left on the MetroBlogging post that picked this story up:
I'm the one that originally thought of the Bicycle District and made the sign. I've been sitting back and just watching the good discussion that this idea has spurred.
This was never meant to be an official proposal to city council, it was a somewhat impromptu idea and conversation that I started on an LA cycling message board. People seemed to like the idea and the group contributed to (1) the official name, and (2) the delineation of the area on the map. (The map, btw was a 30 second photoshop job that was never originally intended for public consumption, but it's out there now, and that's fine)
The sign that I made, and the act of putting it up was -- in my mind -- DIY guerrilla artwork...Graffiti (although I don't like all the baggage that comes with that word).
BUT! The resulting discussion I think has been really interesting, and I can't think of many more pieces of graf around town that have sparked such constructive debate.
It was never meant to be non-inclusive, it was just a nod to what IS already happening there on that block. Go to HelMo on any given night, or any weekend and what do you see? A cycling community!
Where do you go when you want to find and hang out with other cyclists in LA? HelMo -- the "heart" of the the Bicycle District. Contrast that with 4SBB which is awesome, but in my mind it's a route, not an epicenter.
And yes, conceptually it would be cool to consider all of LA a Bicycle District -- that's the kind of big thinking that we need to be doing -- but I don't think we're actually there yet, and I wanted this concept to be rooted in something real. You see the sign, you look down the block and see a huge group of cyclists hanging out, and the sign is suddenly more credible.
Sally, I appreciate your comment, my only issue is that of people who disregard the hard work of others by being ignorant of groups that have worked hard to make that corner and the surrounding community what it is today from what it once was 5 years ago. Many people have invested years, sweat, tears, and even some blood (paper cuts) in making this community into East Hollywood. Some people who come in and try to ignore that work and try to single handedly bury what fragile progress that has been made by the people that made this suggestion a possible thought is an insult to and a dagger in the heart of those that have sacrificed more than just the time to hang a sign.
Sorry for the run-on, I just feel very strongly about this.
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