Santa Monica Critical Mass, December 2007
From ibikeu Wiki
The December 7th, 2007 Santa Monica Critical Mass was unusually eventful ride, and a big step forward for the ride in it's conflict with Santa Monica Police Department. Approximately 130 cyclists participated.
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Context
In the days leading up to the ride participants learned that there would "not be a significant police presence" by the Santa Monica Police Department, in part because the Police Dept's Holiday Party was that night. This was good news, since the SMPD cited 32 cyclists at the previous ride. Still, several bike cops and a cruiser were present at the start.
An article ran about the conflict between SMCM and SMPD on page 2 of the California section of the LA Times that Friday. Hyper aware participants were concerned that the adversarial picture painted by the article could aggravate tensions with police.
At the Start
The buzz created a media storm before the ride. KTLA, Fox 11, one radio station, and a video blogger were conducting interviews of riders before announcements began at 7:10. The Fox 11 van followed the ride in the early stages, and filmed the ticketing of one rider. Also, three reporters from the local paper, the Santa Monica Daily Press, participated in the ride to gather information for a story.
Bike organizing legend Bunny Bubbles gave away lights to those in need on a "donation suggested basis". This helped ensure that the group was safe and legal during the ride.
Based on the police information the group consensus was to head East on Colorado to "reclaim" Santa Monica. Riders staged on the Eastbound lane of Colorado at the top of the pier, a new approach which seemed to facilitate getting riders through the light faster.
The first half of the ride in Santa Monica
With the bike cops and cruiser present, newly wary cyclists elected not to cork intersections and wait for reds. The group headed East until 14th St where they turned North. At 14th & Broadway the group moved to cork the intersection and police swooped in to ticket. The group ceased corking, and made it's way North and West to 10th & Wilshire, where they regrouped in a liquor store parking lot.
The group then headed South, and regrouped again on the City Hall lawn.
This map shows one rider's path, since the group was disconnected enough that returning South participants took a variety of routes. The exclamation points show the approximate locations of tickets.
Frivolous ticketing in front of City Hall
When the group was ready to leave City Hall the worst Police/cyclist interaction occurred. One of the two bike cops detained and cited Alex Cantarero for not having a front light, despite the obvious presence of front lights. This was documented by Santa Monica Daily Press editor Michael Tittinger (page 12.
In 2007 Alex Cantarero took his ticket to court, along with seven witnesses. The ticketing officer did not appear, and consequently, the ticket was dismissed.
The full route:
Coverage of the Ride
Because of the numerous tickets in November and the unprecedented attendance of cyclists at Santa Monica City Council, numerous news sources attended the December 2007 ride to cover it. Local TV news stations KTLA and Fox 11 sent news crews to the ride. The LA Times wrote about the ride before hand (and sent a photographer to the inaugural Venice Critical Mass the week beforehand.) The Santa Monica Daily Press embedded three reporters on the ride, and all three covered it in one edition of the paper.
External Links & Resources
- Santa Monica Daily Press coverage of the ride. Three articles, by Michael Tittinger, Kevin Herrera, and Melody Hanatani.
- Flickr set from the December ride by Gary Kavanagh
- Blog posting on Gary Rides Bikes, Gary Kavanagh's blog.
- YouTube recap of the ride, by Jeff Maguire
- A shorter YouTube recap by Jeff Maguire
