I was very interested in your article titled "Bicycle Thieves Target Pier". It may be of interest for you to know, last night a group of cyclists in Santa Monica met to discuss issues effecting bicyclists in Santa Monica. They also voted by majority vote to name themselves Cycle Santa Monica! (with the exclamation point). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cyclesantamonica/.

This group has been meeting for several months as a result of efforts of local resident bicycle advocates and regional bicycle advocacy organizations. One thing discovered at the meeting is that Santa Monica has a Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) that was written in 1994. It is the only Bicycle Master Plan written by the City of Santa Monica.

One of the benefits of having a Bicycle Master Plan is to acquire money from Federal and State government for bicycle projects, such as bike lanes, bike parking, bicycle safety education and many other bike related things. Also, discovered is this plan need to be less than five years old to receive funds for bicycle projects.

Santa Monica's Bicycle Master Plan is out of date to receive funds and it is out of date for use by city staff and elected officials to know what the needs are for bicycling facilities/programs/funding sources.

For example, since the BMP was written, the Big Blue Bus Company has extended their #3 line to connect to Metro Light Rail's Green Line [which didn't exist at the time of writing of the plan (BMP)]. The highly successful "Rapid" line traveling from the beach down the Wilshire corridor was established.  This line, BTW, has bike racks on all their buses. Bike racks on buses in general is also an evolution that has swept through L.A. County. Some funding sources mentioned in the plan appear to be no longer available and new funding sources have sprung up, such as R-TEA (regional Transportation Enhancement Activities>. The list goes on and on.

We currently are meeting once a month as a group to discuss and act on these and other bicycling issues faced by bicyclists and other environmentally friendly vehicle users in Santa Monica (inline skater, scooter, etc)

In conclusion, could we get Mayor Feinstein and a few of his fellow council members to take a bike ride with the people of Santa Monica? Heck, even let Feinstein ride some Rollerblades. And would companies like Rollerblade, Helen's Bikes, and Trinity water like to provide some goodies for participants? Like water and snacks? And could we get SMPD bike patrol as escorts? Could we, should we, Dare we ask to close off the Santa Monica Freeway for an hour or two to go for a community bike ride with our mayor? How many bicyclists can we fit on the Santa Monica Freeway between Ocean and Centinela? They block the freeway from access when the president comes through. Why not a few hundred or thousand bicycles once a year for a couple hours?

And as for bicycle facilities, could we have more places to pump up our bike tires and plug in electric bikes? And what about storing you bag? Bicyclists don't have the luxury of a car trunk. Maybe a give away of the little blinking red LED's for bikes through the Police Dept? (or "at cost" for sale?)

When the Big Blue Bus puts bike racks on thier buses, I predict a revolution of bicyclists. The tidal wave will be bigger than any of our ocean waves we see in Santa Monica. And the BMP's author's presumption of people not taking bikes on local buses is invalid in my opinion in today's transportation environment.

As more transit provider allow for bicycles aboard buses/trains, more people will take their bikes with them on local AND long distance bus/train lines. I think the most significant bikes on buses will be seen with the #3, #10, #7, and #1 lines. I think the problem bus operators and bicyclists will face in the future is not enough room for the demand for the two bike spaces on their racks. How about a no cars in Santa Monica day? or if not, how about for a couple hours one weekend morning? My brain is short-circuiting with these thoughts.