…the day that the Los Angeles City Council will approve preparation of a City Ordinance to the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) that would make any threat, harassment or assault on a bicyclist a civil violation, including a fine of up to $1000.
As a weekend, recreational cyclist, I often found that no matter if I rode on urban, suburban or semi-rural roads, I would invariably confront motorists who sometimes treated my presence as an obstacle as if I were a mere tree branch that they could just brush by. Courtesy, let alone simple safety seemed to be out the window – just as I was. And as a frequent visitor to the marble-clad hallways of City Hall, I have had my share of lobby conversations with council members and city departmental executives on numerous important City issues and this was one I wanted to follow more closely.
On December 1, 2009, City of Los Angeles 11th District Councilman, Bill Rosendahl, citing the City’s commitment to improve the greater utilization of bicycles by citizens for local transportation, initiated a motion that the City Attorney and Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) develop a City ordinance to prohibit the harassment of bicyclists in the City of Los Angeles. This motion was spurred on by the reported increase of clashes between cyclists and automobiles, as well asthe automobile drivers/passengers inflicting both verbal and physical abuse at bicyclists in and around City roadways. Sometimes resulting in major injuries.!!!
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