A few weeks ago, Joe Linton from CicLAvia and Josef (me) from the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop met with a group of students at Nightingale Middle School and discussed the benefits of bicycling, how to fix flats, and ways to make streets safer. Some students were interested in getting more involved in pushing the city to implement bike lanes approved in the city’s recently approved 2010 bicycle plan. The bike plan, in its Five Year Implementation Strategy, includes two one-way bike lanes on streets that go directly to the school:

Cypress Avenue – from Pepper Avenue to Arroyo Seco Avenue (0.48 miles – immediately alongside NMS)

Avenue 28 – from Pepper Avenue to Figueroa Street (0.48 miles – one block from NMS)

Nightingale student Jackson Huang wrote this letter to councilmember Ed Reyes to encourage him to get the approved lanes striped:

Dear Honorable Councilmember Ed Reyes, I am here to talk about getting new bike lanes in front of my school. My school is Nightingale Middle School. I remember you came to my school 3 weeks ago. The LA City bike Plan of 2010 states that bicycle lanes of Ave 28 and Cypress Ave will be added. The reason why we need bike lanes is because there are kids in this area that are overweight or obese. Kids can get exercise while riding their bikes home and lessening the risk of obesity. Please do as much as you can in your power to support these bike lanes. Sincerely,

Jackson Huang

c/o D3 Lab of Nightingale

3311 N Figueroa St

Los Angeles CA 90065

Awesome! We were excited to see a local kid getting involved in the work of making our streets safer and better for bicycling. We look forward to the new lanes on Cypress Avenue and Avenue 28 – which connect with Figueroa Street, which will someday also be safer for bicycling and walking through the #Fig4All campaign.

Help Jackson’s letter have more impact – write your own letter in support of prompt implementation of approved bike lanes on Cypress Avenue, Avenue 28 and Figueroa Street: