Damien Newton

A couple of weeks ago, as part of the "Bike Unfriendly Place of the Week" series at Streetsblog Los Angeles, I took a look at the bike planning at the Democratic National Convention. Local press reports were dire, noting that bike racks near the Pepsi Center in Denver would be closed down as part of the Secret Service's security perimeter. However, after thinking it over, I realized I may have had a "can't see the forest for the trees" moment; after all the advocacy group Bikes Belong has arranged for a free bike-share program for each host city during the convention. Instead of focusing on the negative, I could have looked at how the bike-share program will work around the Secret Service's security concerns.

You can just see the planning meeting for what organizers are calling the "greenest" national political convention ever. Special perks for hybrids? Check. Biofuel powered buses? Check. Solar powered green area? Check. Bike racks? Nope. Sorry, the Secret Service says they're too dangerous.

Complete streets advocates received a double dose of good news this week from Washington, D.C. For the first time ever, complete streets legislation is now introduced in both chambers of Congress, after the Safe and Complete Streets Act was introduced in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill received its first Republican cosponsor.

Never let it be said that transportation reform advocates don't have a sense of humor. How else can you explain the decision to take one of Los Angeles' best known pedestrian advocates and interview her while driving around the Hollywoods at rush hour on a Friday night?

Via WestSideBikeSide, last week 10 Los Angeles cyclists (illegally) took to the 405 and the 10 on the premise that riding on those infamously congested freeways at rush hour is no less safe than taking the Pacific Coast Highway.

Democratic front runner Barack Obama just released a campaign "Fact Sheet" entitled, "Strengthening America's Transportation Infrastructure" (download it). While Hillary Clinton has put forward some outstanding and heavily transit-oriented plans of her own, Obama appears to be the first major party presidential candidate to outline a national transportation platform that explicitly seeks to "create policies that incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of sidewalks and roads" (if anyone knows differently, let us know in the comments section). Whatever the case, it's a significant step up from the 2004 campaign featuring George W. Bush's mountain bike fitness regimen and John Kerry, spandex-clad on an $8,000 Serotta.

 This is part two of a two-part series on where candidates for president stand on transportation issues, authored by Streetsblog Los Angeles correspondent Damien Newton. Damien currently runs the blog Street Heat, which is soon to become Streetsblog L.A., our first foray into foreign territory. Damien was New Jersey coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign before relocating to California last year. Yesterday he examined the platforms and records of the Republican presidential candidates; today, the Democrats.

Mitt Romney at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit