Reblogged from LADOT Bike Blog:

Mayor Antonio Villraigosa’s Office of Environment, Energy, & Sustainability has produced a video that highlights what local businesses think of CicLAvia – the ever popular event that closes several miles of streets to automobiles and opens them up for bikes and pedestrians, including segments through Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) the last few dates. The video asks, “What happens when bikes take over the streets of Los Angeles?” A few local businesses provide their own unique perspectives. It turns out …

When you think of Utah, what do you imagine. Probably a place filled with a bunch of mormons and strict alcohol limitations. That is probably true to some extent. However, a 30 minute bus ride away, there exists a destination that is what I believe to be the best managed small city in the United States.

Barren slopes of Park City

Famed for it’s central location between three ski resorts, Park City is the place to go if you’re itching to go down slopes lightning fast, with just you and the mountain alone. It is home to Park City Mountain Resort, The Canyons, and Deer Valley Ski Resort. All three of which are conveniently accessible through it’s famous free public transportation.

Bus Map for Park City

Basically, from anywhere in the city, one can get around to everywhere in the city by just riding the bus. Whether you would like to something to eat, go barhopping, and even skiing or snowboarding, all you gotta do is hop on the bus and ride away, all free at no charge, freeing the need of renting a car for the average budget tourist.

Park City receives most of it’s revenue through visitors from all over the world, and because of that the city treats visitors with amazing hospitality. Majority of the locals are accommodating and helpful. It’s not an unlikely occurrence that one will go out of their way to help you out if you are in need.

The locals are used to people visiting their city because there are a number of events that take place each month.

One of the Main Theaters for the Sundance Film Festival

Every year the Sundance Film Festival is held in Park City as well as other cities in Utah. Through years of hosting events like this, Park City has learned to accomodate a huge influx of visitors for a short period of time, and then clean up quickly like nothing happened the next week. I visited Park City a week after the festival, and I couldn’t even notice such a big event took place.

On Top of the Large Hill Ski Jump at Utah Olympic Park

Park City is also home to the Utah Olympic Park. Constructed in preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympics, it is one of the most kept up to date olympic facilities in the whole world. The main reason for this is because Utah actually made a tremendous profit from the olympics, enough to upkeep this facility for 20 years after the event. Olympians from all over the world train at this facility each month. In fact, the Luge World Cup was held here while I was visiting. It is also one of the few olympic centers where a normal average joe can train or take lessons among gold medal bearing olympians.

I believe everyone should make time to visit this wonderful city at least once in their lives. Whether it’s just going to a comedy club on main street, snowboarding in the winter, mountain biking in the summer, or simply just escaping from the dense smog of urban cities, Park City is the place to go.

Here is something a friend of mine had to say about it: “What are they really fixing? They’re just making it look better. We’re in a recession. They should be spending the money on more important things like education.”

Given Governor Jerry Brown’s decision to cut education and the nearly nonexistent difference felt driving on the 10, I can’t help but agree with my friend.

Dan Buettner -a well known speaker on the subjects of life and happiness –  appeared on CNN to talk about his new project to give health makeovers to three California cities – Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Manhattan Beach. The Blue Zones Vitality Projects will follow Huettner’s previous work in Albert Lea, Minnesota. That town saw a significant drop in healthcare cost and sick-days - 50% drop in healthcare cost, 20% drop in employee absenteeism after just one year.

Blue Zones Vitality Program (via wikipedia)

The AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project is divided into several different initiatives.^[4] The categories for the initiatives were habitat, social networking, community, and purpose. Some initiatives proved to be specific to one category while others spanned several categories.^[5]

• Walking Moai Program: Over 500 participants joined approximately 70 “walking moais,” which were groups of 4-10 walkers who agreed to meet once a week and walk to a set destination and back. They collectively walked over 75 million steps and approximately 32,000 miles. In addition, Walking Moai participants did over 2,200 hours of volunteer work.^[6] Both steps and volunteer hours were compiled for each group as part of an overall Walking Moai competition.^[7]

• Walking School Bus: The Walking School Bus Program found parents and volunteers to walk with groups of children to their respective elementary schools. A walking bus is said to encourage children to walk more, help build social networks, and assist in keeping kids safe on their way to school.^[8]

• Vitality Compass: The Vitality Compass is an online tool which is now available nationwide. It asks participants questions about their eating habits, sleeping habits, levels of stress, and amount of daily activity. At the end of the online survey, participants are given an age which is their approximate life expectancy. For the purposes of determining the efficacy of certain aspects of the Vitality Project participants were asked to take the Vitality Compass twice; once at the beginning of the program and again at the end. The average life expectancy for those who took the Vitality Compass at the beginning and at the end of the program increased by three years.^[9]

• Volunteering: Vitality Project organizers encouraged participants to volunteer in their community.^[10]

• Employers: Employers were encouraged to make their work environments more amenable to practices leading to good health. For example, some employers added healthy alternatives to vending machines.^[11]

• Grocery Stores: Vitality Project organizers encouraged grocery stores to feature those foods which are thought to engender better health and increased life expectancy.^[8][12]

• Neighborhood Picnics: To encourage community building and social networking, several neighborhood picnics were held and all people in a given neighborhood were invited to attend.^[13]

• Community Gardens: The City of Albert Lea in cooperation with the Vitality Project made space available for citizens of Albert Lea to plant vegetables and flowers.^[14]

• Purpose Workshops: Workshops addressing the importance of finding one’s sense of purpose were provided to Albert Leans for free.^[15] The workshops were led by Richard Leider, a nationally known executive coach who is also founder and chairman of The Inventure Group^[16]

So what does it take for a city to receive a health makeover? Cities need to have leadership committed to promoting health. The California beach communities that signed up for Huettner’s three year plan all have the support of their local elected officials – mayors, city council members, county departments.

Bike Sign in San Bruno, CA

Health and activity are synonymous. Healthy cities are active cities. Cities can alter their built environment’s to support a more active lifestyle for their residents. These alterations include:

• widening and connecting sidewalks
• creating bicycle lanes
• bringing in farmers markets

Cities must be built for people, rather than for cars. According to Huettner, when cities become more bike/pedestrian oriented, activity levels go up by about 40%. As a result, people can ditch those expensive gym memberships along with their sedentary lifestyles. Potential benefits include decreased stress and obesity resulting in a happier you.

Watch the full video by clicking on the image below.

San Bruno BART Station

Pedestrians benefit when cars are forced to slow down. The San Bruno BART Station elicits the help of STOP signs, speed bumps, concrete islands, barriers, and road markings to help slow down cars.

Pedestrian facilities in parking garage

The mall removed parking spaces to allow for a marked pedestrian path. This path connects the San Bruno BART Station with Target, JC Penny, the Food Court, and Movie Theater.

"Safe Dispersal Area" road markings

“Safe Dispersal Area” road markings tell motorists that they are sharing the road with pedestrians. Visuals such as these let pedestrians know that they belong in this area as well.

Pedestrian walkway that connects mall to street (looking towards street)

This concrete  isthmus between a sea of parking is a welcome relief for pedestrians who walk to the mall. Rather than traversing a large parking lot, walkways such as these enhance pedestrian safety, which makes walking a more viable option.

Pedestrian walkway that connects mall to street (looking towards mall entrance)

It goes to show that with minor modifications, pedestrians can be accommodated in a world where cars have come to dominate.

It’s a situation that many Angelenos have faced: You’re trying to park. It’s your own residential street. Home turf. But there are too many cars, so you end up half-blocking your own driveway. Then you get a ticket.

Does Los Angeles have a parking problem or does it have a car problem?

It seems to me that “too many cars” would imply that we have a car problem. Neighborhoods with limited parking availability should charge a premium price to park. Cities like Alhambra already require residents to have a permit for overnight parking. This ensures that street parking is reserved for residents.

City of Alhambra Example:

TEMPORARY OVERNIGHT PARKING PERMITS - Permits for temporary parking can be purchased ONLINE OR in the lobby of the Police Department through a 24-hour per day self-service machine. The cost per night for a temporary overnight parking permit is $3.

ANNUAL OVERNIGHT PARKING PERMITS - The Finance Department issues Annual Overnight Parking Permits for $60 per year. Each permit issued is per one vehicle and registered owner of said vehicle. Permits may be purchased at City Hall in the Finance Department during normal business hours (Mon.-Thurs., 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)

According to the Times, Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl is planning to bring a motion before the Transportation Committee meeting to investigate the viability of allowing residents to park in front of their own driveways. I feel that this is a quick fix solution to the greater overarching issue that there are too many cars in LA. Rather than accommodating more cars, L.A. should start charging for the right to park on its streets. After all, just because its “your residential neighborhood” doesn’t mean you own the street.

SF Neighborhood Parking

San Franciscans know very well the value of a parking spot. Spots outside the house are prized possessions, but when taken by a neighbor, San Franciscans go a block or two over to find another place to park. I suggest Angelenos do the same.

Read the full article by clicking below.

CityCenter Place via CityCenter Press Room

Some have called the design and density intimidating to casual passerby’s. Others feel that the exterior is “cold”, and “too office park like.” Whatever the case, MGM is going to have to figure out a way to draw more foot traffic into the complex.

Here’s a thought, instead of planning to spend $20 million to create a new Strip front marquee for CityCenter, use that money to create a marquee designed exclusively for pedestrian traffic. Merely adding more greenery and signage is the equivalent of placing a bandaid on a broken bone.  If CityCenter wants to be the epitome of sound urban planning, MGM Resorts International should focus on the pedestrian realm rather than creating another gigantic LED auto-oriented billboard. That means creating a more inviting streetscape along Las Vegas Blvd. Adding outdoor cafes, restaurants, shops, carts, etc will add energy and excitement to an otherwise sterile, uninviting stretch of the strip. Color Changing light shows, live music, ANYTHING! C’mon MGM, you own hotels that have dancing fountains, erupting volcanos, and live pirate battles… but I guess you didn’t build those did you? Anyways, heres the link to the Sun article. Enjoy!

Though I was already on vacation regardless for China’s National Day holiday, which lasted from at least October 1 to October 7, I decided I should relocate myself like all the other Chinese people. National Day holiday, or Guo Qing Jie 国庆节, is one of the two long holidays in China so there’s a massive flow of people moving around during that time. I was really in the mood for sightseeing, but out of all the other Asian countries on my hit up list, I chose Taiwan because I figured it was the cheapest and still worthwhile in terms of sightseeing. Within a few days of arrival, it already boggled my mind why I don’t ever hear about people visiting Taiwan, except for the actual Taiwanese. So, in case you had even an inkling of interest in going there, let me give you my top 5 simple reasons you should go to Taiwan, and 2 big things you should be aware of:

1. The government helps make life for a tourist so easy. So easy!

There’s a Youth Travel Program for anyone 18-30 years old that’s run by the government. With it, you can borrow a cell phone/SIM card; a handbook with tons of hotels, restaurants and attractions where you can get a discount with their Youth Travel Card, all for free. And the listings don’t restrict you like Disneyland blackout dates do; you can actually use the discounts anytime at places you’d want to visit like the National Palace Museum or Taipei 101 viewing deck. The discounts cover all of Taiwan, from the north to south, down to the offshore islands. You can let them know three days ahead of time over the Internet that you want to pick the phone up at the airport, or you can go to the main office and pick up the whole package. All you need to do is leave two forms of identification with them until you return the stuff.

Outside about every single MTR (Metropolitan Transit Railway) is a Visitor’s Center, where you can pick up region-specific maps and guides in English, Chinese, Japanese…some I saw even had them in French and German, etc. The people there are at least bilingual and can help get you to where you want to be. I found them to all be friendly and helpful.

2. Transportation is efficient and cheap.

Taiwan’s MTR is designed very well and is economical. Unlike Beijing’s subway, which costs a flat rate of ¥2.00 ($0.30 USD) per entry, in Taiwan you pay a slightly different amount depending on the distance you’re traveling, but it’s never more than $1.50 USD each time. And unlike in Beijing, there are an assortment of cards you can buy to get a discount, according to how long your stay is, i.e. Easycard. They basically allow you to milk their transportation systems (subway and bus) for all they’re worth within a certain number of days.

My favorite part was actually how orderly people were in the station. People actually follow the rules in Taiwan! They wait for people to get off the train, then get on. If the subway seems too crowded, people will back up and wait for the next one, which comes no longer than 5 minutes later. On the escalator, 98% of people will stand on the right, allowing people on the left to walk by. This all makes for a very pleasant experience taking the subway. If you’ve lived in Beijing for as long as I have, you’d find this just as shocking, I believe.

3. People are overwhelmingly courteous and helpful.

Not only did I find the customer service in Taiwan to be over the top, I felt as a whole, Taiwanese people are very nice. Never once before has anyone said to me, “Bu hao yi si” when giving me the receipt to sign after a credit card transaction. What is there to be “bu hao yi si” about, in this situation?

One night, I noticed that in nearly a creepy kind of way, there was one person standing at the entrance of each store in a shopping area bowing and saying goodbye to passersby. When I told my friend that nobody in America would stand for that, and that I hope they get paid extra for it, he told me that actually, they don’t, but what motivates them to do it is their hope that customers will revisit their store.

Although people might say that it’s only because of the fact that I’m a young girl that I got this kind of treatment from strangers in Taiwan, there were a few moments where I sensed genuine concern for my well-being from complete strangers. When I hiked Taroko National Park by myself and was in a moment of despair, there was a young man who went out of his way to make sure I was safe and not alone and drove me to a part of the park with taxi drivers. On the way to the airport to go to Hong Kong, the taxi driver asked me if I wanted to have some good Taiwanese breakfast. I said yes, running the risk of getting myself trafficked or worse, but in the end he treated me to Taiwanese breakfast, and it was as delicious as he had described it.

Not everyone will have such luck, perhaps especially if you’re an older male, but you get the idea–people in Taiwan are nice.

4. The food and milk tea are delicious.

The Taiwanese appear to be extremely innovative with food. There are so many interesting things to try; so many combinations you’d never think would make good ones. The most memorable one for me was something I don’t know the name of but was made up of the following: a very thin white pancake, peanut shavings (from a block of peanut and candy), taro ice cream, and cilantro. Cilantro! After my first bite, I was so surprised at how good it was. And it’s a good thing things like that are appropriately deemed “snacks” because they’re usually in portions that leave room for trying other things. I think milk tea/boba milk tea was invented in Taiwan, so naturally, every cup I tried while I was there I pretty much liked. When in San Gabriel, I like getting Green Milk Tea from the Tea Station (same company as Ten Ren) on Valley Blvd. But after trying a cup from Ten Ren in Taiwan, I realized I’d been drinking 60% sugar, 20% milk and 20% tea all the time in the states. I think the difference is in the milk they use, but really, nothing gets more authentic than milk tea from Ten Ren in Taiwan. My favorite drink, by the way, is Oolong Milk Tea, which a lot of tea places sadly don’t have in the San Gabriel Valley.

5. The 7-11′s (yes, the convenience store chain) are awesome.

It might be just me, but I think I could just live in a 7-11 in Taiwan. It has everything: onigiri, tea eggs, readily refrigerated bottled coffee, salads. Okay, I know I just named foods, but those things are all incredibly yummy. Oh, and they have the other regular convenience store stuff, too. But what tops it off is a machine that you can use to buy a phone card, pay your bills, find a job, even call a taxi ($2 discount if you use the machine), etc. It’s kind of strange that the machine is usually free, really.

Obviously, there are tons of things to like about Taiwan that I’ve left out, like the historical monuments and scenery, but that’s any place. Although I had a good journey, there were two things about it that bothered me a lot about it and to this day cannot fathom:

1. The legality of betel nuts, aka bing lang 槟榔.

Google it, but be warned, the images of what people’s teeth look like after prolonged chewing are repulsive. Before going to Taiwan, I’d never heard of such things, but it’s actually characteristic of Taiwan. I’d choose Beijing’s spitting on the ground over Taiwan’s betel nut chewing any day.

Anywhere you see a bright, neon-lit wheel in front of a shop, which is sometimes twice every block, that’s where they have them. They’re known for having “betel nut girls”–scantily clad, skinny, attractive girls who sell them. From reading tour guide books and my own encounters, the typical buyer is a taxi driver or shop owner; anyone whose work requires long hours of concentration or attention. I was on a bus with a few friends going home and we saw a lady chewing on something. We waited for her to smile and when she did, we saw a few black teeth. Another time, I was stranded at a national park and there were three taxi drivers who were trying to figure out who could take me to my desired destination. I was glad the guy who was spitting red stuff on the floor (seeds from the betel nut) and had BLACK AND RED teeth didn’t end up being my driver. I couldn’t even bear to look at him in the face when he tried to give me his business card. Basically, the addicts scare the shit out of me when they smile! Taiwanese people may not be bothered by it, they may shrug it off and say “that’s just how it is”, and it may not even bother other tourists, but if I lived in Taiwan I would actively campaign for it to be illegal, because if I were a child growing up Taiwan, I think I’d have nightmares all the time.

2. Trash cans are scarce.

Trash cans are SO hard to find in Taiwan. Especially when you’re a tourist in Taiwan, it’s a given that you’ll be walking around with skewers, napkins, cones, and cups that you want to get rid of. But if you go to Taiwan, be prepared to carry around your trash with you for an hour or more, or bring a big plastic bag with you and tie it to your belt loop, because it’s not easy to find a trash can, even at a fairly touristy attraction. Coming from America, I didn’t realize this would be such a peeve, because I never had to look so hard and long for a trash can before. I kept turning to places I instinctively thought there would be a trash can in Taiwan, like in the corner of a room, or by the walkway at a historical attraction, but it was 90 percent of the time a failed mission. I know there are some legitimate reasons for this (a friend told me it’s to prevent people from throwing their house trash into public trash cans, trash bags can be costly, etc.), but it was a major inconvenience I didn’t expect for such a metropolitan city.

Aside from those two things to bear in mind, Taiwan is definitely worth at least a visit or two!