When I posted in a local Facebook group asking for people’s thoughts on the train/traffic signals in La Verne, I expected comments, opinions, maybe a spirited debate or two. What I didn’t expect was a message from a resident named Rich offering to show me—up close and in real time—what he sees while biking through our city.

Rich (who asked that I just use his first name) didn’t want to just talk. He wanted to take me out into the field. He even offered to drive.

Reader engagement like that is a community journalist's dream.

So, of course, I said yes.

We spent almost two hours talking and driving around town, tracing bike lanes, stopping near crossings, and swapping observations. Have you noticed that the train crossing at Wheeler Avenue and Arrow Highway only has a pedestrian crossing on the east side of Wheeler, making it especially tricky to cross Arrow as a pedestrian or cyclist? (More on this soon!)

Rich bikes the Marshall Canyon Trail regularly and has spent some time thinking about how to move through La Verne on a bike—not how plans look on paper, but how bike paths, crossings and signals work (or don’t) when you’re on two wheels.

At one point, we were walking back to his truck near the tracks at Wheeler Avenue when suddenly the entire Damien High School Road & Mountain Biking team came flying around the corner on Palomares Avenue and onto Wheeler. We saw them at the same time and Rich shouted, “Go, go!” I took off running after them down the sidewalk, determined to see firsthand how these young people would navigate the tracks and signals. I caught up to them—heart pounding, camera phone recording, mentally taking notes as I observed and documented.

That moment alone was worth the afternoon.

Afterward, we headed to check out the E Street train crossing. As we drove down E Street, I noticed a group of people in orange vests that said “Metro.” I half-joked to Rich that they were probably checking signal timing. He asked if I wanted to roll down the window and talk to them. I hesitated—no reporter wants to put field staff in an awkward spot—but the curiosity stuck with me.

We decided to check out the bike parking at the new(ish) La Verne Metro Station first. As we were driving back down Arrow Highway, we saw the Metro team again. That did it. I had to find out what they were up to.

We parked in the University of La Verne lot off D Street, and I hopped out. I had to cross the tracks and wait at the crosswalk. I finally crossed back over the tracks and approached the Metro crew.

As it turns out, one of them was from Metro media relations—and someone I’d already conversed with via emailed.

Rich waited patiently in the parking lot while I rapped with the Metro folks.

It was, in every sense, a tremendous local reporting adventure. I got to know someone in my community, learned how he experiences our city, and saw firsthand the issues our community is currently tackling—not abstractly, but viscerally.

Afternoons like this are what fuel my commitment to La Verne Daily News. It reinforced why firsthand observation is essential in local reporting. This work matters. We're providing a public service to our neighbors. It’s why I sometimes joke that I go to City Council meetings, so my readers don’t have to.

If you believe in this kind of community-powered reporting, I invite you to support La Verne Daily News with a paid membership or individual donation. Can you help us reach our goal of raising $2,000 by the end of February, so we can continue reporting, writing and publishing local news?

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