A City Council ad-hoc committee meets with promoters, but gets no specific offer that will benefit the city.
By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times
Prospects for Malibu becoming a host city for the 2007 Amgen Bike Tour, a Tour de France-like bicycle race down the California coast, at this point appear dim at best.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich first introduced the proposed bike tour to the council at its June 26 meeting. Ulich said she felt it might hold some opportunity for recognition and benefit to Malibu, and thus deserved consideration by the council. A presentation by representatives of the event promoter, AEG Cycling LLC, outlined the general operation of the race, and duties and requirements they expected of a host city, some of which prompted initial skepticism by council members.
Among the requirements they viewed negatively were the need to provide meals, office space and other facilities for nearly 300 people involved in the operation of the race, plus hotel space, parking and miscellaneous services for an untold number of spectators. Other factors, such as closing off a lane of Pacific Coast Highway for at least a portion of the race route, added to the perceived problems.
As for providing hotel space, City Manager Jim Thorsen said, “I can tell you that’s something we would not be doing. A lot of those issues … are things the council would not agree to. That was expressed to the bike tour people and they need to address those issues and then come back if they so desire. At this point we have not heard back from them and I’m not sure this will ever come to fruition.”
Conley Ulich and Councilmember Sharon Barovsky were appointed to an ad-hoc committee to meet with the tour promoters and gather more details for further consideration of the issue. They met with six representatives of the tour group on Friday.
“We explained to them what was unique about Malibu, that it is somewhat different from any other city,” Barovsky said after the meeting. “We told them we don’t have the staff, we don’t have the money [to do what they requested].
“Somehow I don’t think my constituents would jump up and down and applaud my actions if I said we’re going to spend money and staff time and close down PCH and we don’t get anything,” she added. “We told them they’d have to come back with a much better offer than they’re making, to get my vote anyway.”
Conley Ulich said the tour promoters did not actually make any specific offer, but they did say that the actual race would not cost the city a dime, that they would man everything required to support the race.
“However, at this point, they have not come back with any concrete proposal,” Conley Ulich said.
An avid biker and triathlon competitor, Conley Ulich said in addition to being a sporting attraction, having the tour in Malibu could bring to the public’s attention several vital problems concerning Pacific Coast Highway and bicycles.
“When I put it on [the City Council agenda] as my council item, it was just to consider it, not that I necessarily support it,” Conley Ulich said. “I do support the dialog about it, though. For me it’s about bringing the community together and making people aware of the bicycle issues here in Malibu. That will be a good thing for the city.
“There’s a lot of animosity in the city…about how people hate the bicyclists being on the road. I think more acceptance of bicyclists is needed, and if people see it as a sport, with elite athletes, maybe they’ll even admire it, maybe be inspired enough to get out and bicycle themselves.”
Conley Ulich said Pacific Coast Highway is dangerous for biking. She said she would like to see funds raised to install a separate bicycle lane along the highway that could also be used for access by emergency vehicles when needed.
“Look what they’ve done in Colorado and Europe with separate bike paths, even in cities, that are safe,” she said. “If everyone from L.A. has to get out of town quickly someday, people are going to be on PCH and we may need another lane to get out.
“Also, fossil fuels may not be around in 40 to 60 years; eventually people have to start thinking about alternative means of transportation, including bicycles. Not that they will bicycle to the market one day, but you never know. And the more dialog you get going on it, for me that’s important.”
As to whether the race promoters will call for another meeting with Conley Ulich and Barovsky, Kelly Green of Medalist Sports, the tour’s marketing organization, said, “We’re keeping the dialog open but really don’t have any further comment at this point. We haven’t finalized the entire route at all. We’re planning to make an announcement very soon on the subject of the host cities but nothing is official until then. We’re keeping everything open.”