Three years from now, all three cities will have hosted the summer Olympics three times. London became the charter member of that “club” in 2012, having been the site of the 1908 and 1948 games. The French capital joined last year on the centennial of its second games (1924) and after being the venue for the games’ second edition in 1900.
L.A. (No American calls it by its full name!) witnessed the 1932 and 1984 games. Beyond this distinction, however, the second-most populous city in the United States would seem to have little in common with The Great Wen or The City of Light. For one thing, both European capitals are older than their countries; indeed, each was founded during the Roman Empire. The City of Angels, by contrast, wasn’t founded until 1781, five years after the United States. It wouldn’t become part of the US for nearly seven more decades and today isn’t even the capital of California, let alone the United States. And it really didn’t gain any real significance until the 1920s, when the nascent aerospace and motion picture industries developed there. Until then, San Francisco was, by far, the largest American city west of St. Louis—which hosted the third summer games in 1904.
Oh, and there’s the climate: Since the Dodgers’ baseball team moved to Los Angeles in 1958, only 17 games have been rained out, all of them in April. (They play 81 home games during a regular season.) Football (what we Americans call “soccer “) matches are rarely, if ever, postponed because of weather, even though the English Premier League and Ligue 1 seasons run through the fall, winter and early spring. Conditions can include fog, cold and just about any kind of precipitation. In other words, the weather typically has more in common with Amsterdam or Copenhagen than with L.A.
That last factor is particularly interesting when you consider that the Dutch and Danish capitals are practically synonymous with cycling, Paris is regaining that status and London seems to be making progress towards that. But southern California, which would seem to have an excellent year-round climate for cycling, is only beginning to develop a cycling infrastructure. Indeed, one can argue that L.A., with its freeways, is the world’s first auto-centric metropolis and has never been described as a “walkable “ city.
That situation is starting to change, spurred—as in Paris and London—by upcoming Olympic Games. While there are bike lanes in L.A., Mimi Holt describes them as “islands.”
Ms. Holt had been a daily cyclist in Seattle but quit after moving to L.A. “In L.A. people drive so fast, it’s so utterly terrifying.” Recently, however, a diagnosis of pre-diabetes motivated her to resume riding after nearly 20 years. She says that if the paths were connected, she would be on them “all the time “ and would get rid of her car if cycling safety everywhere in Los Angeles were an option.
If the plans of Mayor Karen Bass come into fruition, Holt’s wish could come true. Mayor Bass is working with the city’s Olympic Committee to create a “transit first” games. It must be said, however, that goal is a compromise: She sparked controversy when she originally called for a “car free” (in L.A.!) Olympics. And proponents fear that the bike lanes and mass transit improvements won’t be completed in time.
But if enough lanes are built, and enough enhancements are made to bus and train lines, Los Angeles might have something more in common with Paris and London than hosting three Olympic Games: The 2028 games might be as accessible without cars as the 2012 and 2024 Games were. Now, as for the climate and culture…
