Image: A scene from the inaugural Disaster Relief Trials in Portland, Oregon (2012). Photo by Will Vanlue.
We’ve known for a long time that bikes are invaluable in emergency response. There have been academic papers published about it since the 90s. They helped during the Hanshin earthquake in 1995, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Fukushima meltdown in 2011, and of course, closer to home too – in the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend Floods in 2023.
Other vehicles tend to have more problems in emergencies – gridlock during evacuations, roads becoming impassable for cars, petrol shortages, etc. all come into play. Indeed academics from the University of California itself published a paper mere months ago on the value of bikes and micromobility for disaster response.
So what has been happening in California as the emergency unfolds?
Ted Rogers of Biking in LA shares this vivid first hand account.
“The narrow streets of our neighborhood were jammed with people trying to get out, cars, trucks and SUVs crammed bumper to bumper, and instantly converted to one-way streets with no room left to go upstream to spawn. … Just too many people in too many cars, with streets filled far beyond capacity. Yet someone on a bicycle could have easily made their escape in just minutes, gliding to safety past endless lines of motor vehicles.”
Our hearts go out to people going through the hell that is LA right now. We admire and applaud those providing bikes to help with the crisis.
We shared this piece in May 2023 on the role of bikes (and the importance of bike infrastructure) in emergency situations. As we watch the news from LA with horror, it’s every bit as relevant now.
Let’s remember the lessons from LA, from Auckland Anniversary, and all the rest. Bikes save lives – it’s as simple as that.
