Big Government Grows Spokes And Handlebars
Santa Monica has palm trees, sunshine and bike lanes all over the place. Do we really need government to pay to encourage people to bike?

Ridiculous puff piece in the LA Times by a guy named Matt Stevens who, like so many, credulously accepts the need for government to reach into every area of our lives with its big, greasy, taxpayer-funded hand.

I mean, really -- just check out the headline:

Santa Monica Bike Center pushes pedaling for commuters: City program aims to get commuters out of their cars by letting them test-ride a bike for two weeks, for free, to see if they like the experience.

From the piece:

By the time Barry Balmat showed up at the Santa Monica Bike Center, he had already compiled a laundry list of reasons why biking to work might not work.

The Santa Monica resident lived just two miles from his office, but the thought of pedaling just feet from passing cars without a shell of protection was "a little anxiety inducing," he said. Then there was the question of how exactly to make left turn. And he wasn't sure whether he'd need to shower.

But the bike center's offer of a free, well-equipped bike for two weeks was simply too good to pass up. And like so many of the program's guinea pigs, Balmat said his worries faded after only a few days on the streets.

"I got to the point where I didn't really worry at all," Balmat said. Now he's looking to buy a commuter bike of his own.

That's the idea behind the Santa Monica Bike Center's bike-commuter program. With the nation's largest bike-parking facility in one of the country's most traffic-clogged areas, Santa Monica officials hope that five loaner bicycles bought for just $3,500 can accelerate a national trend.

Of course, they had to buy $700 bikes.

And of course, there's a "good" excuse for buying them:

Bike advocates say the push began when riders formed Santa Monica Spoke in 2009, becoming the first local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. A year later, the city adopted a planning document that called for increased emphasis on bicycling to address traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, among other goals.

But, again, they've built bike lanes everywhere. Must they really use the big hand of government to open the wallet filled with our dollars and put people on bikes?

Check this out:

Although only about a dozen riders have checked out bikes, the Santa Monica program has attracted a variety of clients. Some, like Balmat, commuted to work and loved getting the exercise. Others used the bikes to ride to the library and the grocery store. One experienced rider used the commuter bike for a more comfortable ride at CicLAvia.

Most of the bike borrowers said they are now contemplating buying their own. Brad Edwards, general manager of Helen's Cycles, which operates a store in Santa Monica, said he's seen a surge in the sale of commuter bikes, both because of the center's program and because of a general movement toward cycling in the city over the last three years.

Here's some crappy advocacy reporting from Matt Stevens. Only about a dozen riders have checked out bikes, but Brad Edwards says he's seen a surge in the sale of commuter bikes because of the program? It sounds like he was asked a leading question and gave a tactful answer rather than a true one.

Oh, and for the record, I have a bike. I biked all over New York (often in high heels with rubber soles), but that was a different time -- a before-cell-phones time.

What happens when people who ride bikes in these bike lanes get picked off by some texting asshole and end up quadriplegic? Will the program buy them a special expensive wheelchair they can use to cruise the bike lanes?