Hit with a mind bomb, my first Congress for the New Urbanism

I just got back to the cool breezy air of LA and Santa Monica yesterday after a week in the tropical climate of South Florida for the 20th annual Congress for the New Urbanism in West Palm Beach. The wealth of information I learned from both speakers and the rich dialogue with fellow attendees has left me feeling like a I've come back to California with a whole new brain. A feeling that is quite impressive to me given that I had already read many works by those involved in the New Urbanist movement.


I was also a little surprised at how many people there recognized who I was without introduction and despite this being my first time attending. I guess my blogging and twittering is really starting to get around. Although it was my first time, it also felt good to be able to have a unique perspective and add to the discussion with my own insights. It was not a one way relationship of absorbing information, and that is part of CNU's strength, it's a culture of back and forth that encourages everyone to share what they have to add.

Prior to CNU, and now immediately following, I am in the trenches of overtime hours at work, so my time to share more details are limited. However as soon as I am able to I'll process some of my detailed notes, audio recordings, and photos, and share more highlights here. My update for LA Streetsblog this week, written after day 2 of the 4 day conference, includes my initial impressions from CNU20.

It was an absolutely incredible week, and my thanks to the organizers, the speakers, and everyone who attended and who were so ready and willing to discuss ideas. From the almost legendary architects and urban designers that have written numerous books, to the humble first time attendee, everyone was approachable and willing to chat, and all had valuable and unique insights to add. Getting some one on one time with some authors who have been very influential to my thinking in recent years was alone worth the trip, but that was only a fraction of the value I got out of the experience.

There is nothing else like it that I have ever attended, and I'm sure I'll find my self drawn to CNU again in the future. Forget the left/right political divide, perhaps the best hope for our civilization's future can be found in the broad vision of principles and practices advanced by the New Urbanists.

WalkLAvia

Delicious homemade lemonade with fresh mint that I purchased for a dollar from an adorable little girl who set up a lemonade stand.

I decided to leave the bike at home this CicLAvia, and see the event by foot for a different perspective. I was inspired by the revived pedestrian advocacy of Los Angeles Walks and Tom Vanderbilt's recent series on walking in America. Life is busy for me this week so I have not gone through my full set of photos, but I'll post them up here soon. In the meantime, I did a quick write up for Streetsblog on a little of my experience as a CicLAvia walker.

Motorist Group Boycotts Traffic In Santa Monica Today, Local Traffic Congestion Clears

The SMCDFC (Santa Monica Coalition for a Driver Friendly City) group, known largely for opposing new developments in the city on the basis of traffic concerns, has rallied with other groups in an unprecedented boycott today. The coalition managed to gather almost the entire population of Santa Monicans that have complained about traffic, either at public meetings, or in letters to the editor in local papers, in a traffic boycott. Individuals that signed the SMCDFC pledge, have agreed to not drive anywhere today, except in absolute emergencies (or picking up friends or loved ones from LAX). Though it is expected only a fraction of those who signed the pledge will stick to it.

The SMCDFC steering committee has put out a statement today sharply critical of city policy, and outraged at "...the daily traffic nightmare, and unrelenting wave of apocalyptic destruction that new development is having on our former beachside hamlet community."

Google Traffic Report For April 1st 2012 In Santa Monica

The amazing thing though, is that with so many of the people who complain about traffic not driving, congestion in the city has almost entirely vanished. Every road in the city is flowing without disruption or back ups. Local traffic engineer Samson Mortely, confirmed using new intersection monitoring equipment recently expanded across the city, that today many intersections rated D's by Caltrans LOS (Level of Service) standards, were today operating as A's and B's.

In the parking front, the Trader Joe's parking lot appears as though it will not need an orange vested traffic wrangler at all today. Not since the 1979 oil crisis has the Santa Monica Trader Joes parking lot had entire rear sections of the lot unoccupied. The store manager has called today "a parking lot miracle". And despite the reduced parking demand, she said sales were "largely unaffected". An outcome believed to be the result of people living within a quarter mile radius walking to the store instead of driving 3 blocks, and increased ridership on the #7 bus line.

Talking to a few bike riders around town, there was a palpable celebratory enthusiasm. Many streets normally congested with drivers upset at life while behind the wheel, and who ordinarily might honk or yell at those on bikes, were no where to be found. Talking to some of the drivers still out and about, some were in shock, and wished that everyday could be like this.

Final figures of just how many participated in the boycott is not yet known. However as I rode around to various neighborhoods, it was apparent that while many were in fact still driving, simply removing a modest percentage of the most frustrated drivers is sufficient to alleviate the typical gridlock hotspots. I think the lesson we can take away from all of this, is that if the people who complain about being stuck in traffic, simply take the logical step to boycott traffic all together, their chief complaint ceases to exist.

LA Streetsblog Fundraiser At Library Ale House (Tuesday Mar. 26th)

I've mentioned on twitter a few times, that LA Streetsblog is having another fundraising event at Library Ale House on Main St. in Santa Monica, but realized I hadn't put up here on the blog yet. 10% of the proceeds for all food and drinks for the day and evening go to L.A. Streetsblog and there are special raffle prizes (including a whole bike) that will be up for grabs for those who buy tickets.

I made it to the evening portion of the same event last year and it was a great time catching up with other advocates and plan nerds of various stripes in LA. This year is of special significance for me, because I'm getting paid to write for Streetblog now, covering Santa Monica. This event will be pitching into the fund that is allowing LA Streetsblog to hire additional writers like myself to broaden their coverage.

So if you've appreciated the content I've been writing here and elsewhere over the years, stopping by the Library Ale House tomorrow is one way to support my writing pursuits. Hope to see some of you there, and I'm planning to be there most of the later evening.

And while you're there, you can check out the new permanent bike corrals installed on Main Street. Santa Monica is plowing ahead with it's new bike plan and it's really showing in the past few weeks.

More info on LA Streetsblog
Facebook Event Page

Library Ale House
2911 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (map)