The legend of Route 66 is written in the tales of gas stations, roadside diners, and lots of automobiles and parking meters. Those meters make lots of do-re-me for the city coffers. In West Hollywood Route 66 is commonly known as Santa Monica Blvd. And featured just east of La Cienega is the next generation of charging stations where there is normally an old fashioned parking meter. New charging stations such as this one will produce even more do-re-me for the city coffers.
Fast forward to 2022, a debate about removing the parking lanes on Fountain and to install bike lanes in their place, eliminating two for cars to drive. Those bike lane people are ferocious in their arguments. If you had to drive a bike and cars whipped past you it might cause a sense of anger that you deserve a safe space too. But perhaps bike riders who choose to use the road should also be licensed. Maybe they should pass a written test to travel 40 miles down the road. Perhaps they can pay a license fee to help offset the cost of these installations. As a partially sighted part-time driver I can say that it is difficult to drive past the bikes who often show little respect for the road weaving in lanes. But that is another story.
The City of West Hollywood recently voted to ban the development of new fossil fuel gas stations. The state and federal governments are adopting green energy goals and all look forward to a future of with less carbon emissions. Starting on January 1, 2035, governor Gavin Newsome’s executive order would ban the sale of new vehicles that are powered by an internal combustion engine, which includes gasoline, diesel and hybrid electric vehicles. Ten years goes quick. The next car you get will not need a gas station.
Those gas stations will follow the Silver Spoon and Hamburger Habit. New developments will take the place of the extinct fossil fuel gas stations. More developments, more cars, and more bikes. Every single apartment building will need to invest in new charging stations. And along Route 66, by the old IHOP the future has arrived.
A parking meter/charging station is the future of parking and charging. And when we think of bike lanes on Fountain Ave, we need to incorporate the ability for cars to re-charge those new energy vehicles on the streets while they are parked overnight. But the City Council will probably do what they love to do: waste a lot of money on a short term project and then have to re-do it all over again. So bike lanes without thinking of electric cars? No bueno.
If we are going to re-imagine Fountain Ave., or the Sunset Strip, or bike lanes along Santa Monica Blvd. then we need to look to build the infrastructure now, to be built as a priority in the next ten years, to meet that 2035 goal.
Before jumping the gun on bike lines, share the conversation with the implementation of electric charging stations citywide. Perhaps we can build the city of the future thinking of longer term solutions.
Where exactly are those of us who aren’t blessed with off-street parking supposed to charge the electric vehicles we will be forced to purchase in a few years? Are those of us who park on the street and cannot afford to purchase EVs to be treated like Second Class Residents as more and more curb space is handed over to EV charging only? And when will the Totalitarian Bike Brigade get it through their fanatic skulls that some of us aren’t privileged enough to forego driving because we are forced to work jobs that don’t happen to be within biking… Read more »
Hi 👋,
bicyclist here! What are you talking about? Bicyclists and motorists aren’t the same! Bicycles don’t pollute and or kill pedestrians like reckless drivers do! I’m shocked to have to read this. It’s absurd to say the least. We need bicycle infrastructure everywhere. It will make people feel safe to bike and reduce our reliance on motorized vehicles.
Luckily the author will be dead by time the subway comes through. As if WeHo has enough space to hand every rich man a parking space. Pure madness. Make room for people, not for cars.
truly a blessing
For those of us that do joined up thinking, where are all the water and energy resources coming from for all these hypothetical carless people you want to make room for?
Wow Larry Block really hates cyclists…
Lol. I love seeing how high gas is! Vote democrat. Lol Biden can’t complete a sentence. Lol
Imagine thinking Biden is responsible for the global fuel market.
This subject deserves some critical thinking. Thank you for publishing it.
[…] source […]
EV owners feel good because their cars run on electricity and not gasoline or deisel. But they don’t realize that electricity is coming from coal and natural gas plants.
The City of West Hollywood joined the Clean Power Alliance in 2019 to automatically enroll in 100% renewable energy (with the option to opt-out): https://www.weho.org/city-government/city-departments/planning-and-development-services/clean-power-alliance
The city or that program do not operate any power generation facilities and there aren’t separate transmission lines for clean power vs fossil fuels. The CPA only gives money to fund clean power projects but that doesn’t mean you’re only getting clean power if you sign up for it. You get the same mix of power that everyone else gets and that includes coal and natural gas.
Those hot days last month during the heat wave meant we imported dirty energy from other states and fired up our dirty plants with anything we could.
There is no such thing as clean power. And night time usage is not powered by solar and wind generated power is marginal. If you think you can run a 20 trillion, now 15 trillion because of Brandon, from wind and solar you are sorely mistaken.
This “Green” infrastructure, and parking expensive luxury e-cars right next to a soon-to-be meth/fent addict doss house is *chef’s kiss*
Beautiful juxtaposition of fantasy and reality
With the underground storage of fossil fuels (to wit: gasoline), who begins the cleanup/remediation and when?
Not so easy to develop on top of a stinking pile of toxic chemicals.
I smile at the clean future, though.
“Green energy”, “carbon free” “clean Future” lifestyle is here today – you can see what it looks like over in the East – they’re called Amish, and that’s what it will be – a world made by hand.
Oh, you thought you’re going to maintain a first world lifestyle without fossil fuels? LoL. LMAO.
I don’t care about maintaining a first world lifestyle if the planet is unlivable. Caring people adjust, even when or if it is difficult. Conscious people must.
Why do you find it so amusing?
Schadenfreude, mostly. I get scant pleasure seeing what your activist/progressive types are doing to destroy my community and make my family and friends live in a less safe, more fraught and stressful world.
So you’ll forgive me for finding it funny you’re out here cutting your own nose off despite your face.
Destroy your community?
How?
If China and India continue to pollute what we do in the US will do nothing but virtue signal
Everything we do helps.
A lot of what we do here affects millions of people locally and further out than frontline communities.
If you don’t think it matters, you are not aware enough.
And China is probably doing more than we are in some areas.
Your climate czar said it…you are not aware enough.
““Not when almost 90 percent of all of the planet’s global emissions come from outside of US borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn’t solved,” Kerry conceded.
US is #2.
We are one nation.
There were more electric bikes than electric cars sold last year, so the prudent approach isn’t either/or. As someone who routinely uses both, I would say that on street parking as a charging solution isn’t as important to our long term planning as improving bike infrastructure. By the time the state mandate takes force, charging be should 20-40 minutes for most vehicles – it will make more sense to have DC chargers in places like the existing city garages or other shared space solutions, and we can use our existing parking enforcement to insure people aren’t utilizing a charge space… Read more »
Did everyone notice that the minute we got a bad heatwave (which are becoming more common each summer) Edison and the DWP were screaming DON’T CHARGE YOUR CARS! It seems the power grid can’t handle air conditioners. How is supposed to handle millions of cars? Landlords, especially in small or older buildings are NOT going to pay for charging stations.
You can see the truth right here. They lipservice how you’re going to maintain this life but Green, but then tell you the truth obliquely: its not going to happen (except for the few). You get favella conditions and 3rd world crime, they get a servant class and rarified existence