BikinginLA

Metro is preparing to open a new pedestrian bridge linking the Universal City Metro stop to the Universal Studios across the street this April.

Because slowing traffic and fixing the street on busy Lankershim Blvd so it would be safe for pedestrians was apparently out of the question.

So if you take your bike on the subway to visit City Walk or take the studio tour, you’ll need to either cart it over the elevated walkway — if bikes are allowed on it — or risk your life crossing a street that city officials seemingly determined was too dangerous to fix.

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Something is seriously wrong when a bike rider is injured in a left cross hit-and-run after attending a memorial for a fallen 13-year old San Diego bicyclist. Thanks to Bryan Jones for the heads-up.

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Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini responds to complaints about riding without a helmet by donning one to ride on rollers. And doffing everything else.

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Local

The Biking Black Hole is looking for volunteers to test its new bikeshare program starting next Monday; there will be two stations with 50 bikes in Beverly Hills during the pilot phase, part of the promised expansion of Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare program. Although the question remains whether users will be able to find a safe place to ride in the notoriously bike-unfriendly city.

CiclaValley urges you to write to keep Griffith Park’s Mt. Hollywood Drive closed to motor vehicles, citing Burbank’s Mariposa Street bridge debacle as an example of what could happen.

 

State

Irvine is asking bike riders to ring a bell to politely announce their presence. Or you could just say “hello” or “excuse me.”

The San Diego Reader talks to local residents who accepted New Belgium Brewery’s challenge to live carfree for a full year, and finds they like it.

Tres shock! A planned road diet reducing the Coast Highway in Oceanside to two lanes, along with bike lanes on either side, is meeting resistance from some local residents. Not unlike virtually every proposed road diet, and most bike lanes, everywhere.

The CHP blames a Palo Alto cyclist for making an unsafe lane change in a fatal collision; he was riding in a bike lane that forces riders to cross high speed traffic merging right onto an on ramp. From the description, it sounds like the real person responsible the tragedy is whoever designed the bike lanes in the first place. Not to mention whoever approved a 55 mph speed limit on a surface street.

A Dublin driver who hit a 12-year old boy riding his bike swears he didn’t do it on purpose; fortunately, the victim is expected to survive.

 

National

Dallas and Forth Worth plan a 64-mile bike trail connecting the two cities. Yet we can’t even manage to get a continuous bikeway connecting Downtown LA and Santa Monica.

Women bike messengers in Chicago call for an end to cat calls and harassment. Seriously, women should just be allowed to do their jobs, and ride a bike without being subjected to abuse.

Urbana IL police donate abandoned and unclaimed bikes to people who need transportation.

A Brooklyn street gets an upgrade from sharrows to buffered bike lanes after overcoming previous opposition. Meanwhile, the head of a neighborhood group is trying to stir up a scandal, saying two members of a community board should have abstained from the vote that overwhelmingly approved bike lanes on another street, even though it wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference in the outcome.

NY Streetsblog questions why one police precinct openly permits illegal parking in a bike lane.

Outside reports on the sad last days of BMX legend Dave Mirra, who took his own life in North Carolina earlier this month; friends say he was depressed and had lost direction, despite making plans for a comeback.

 

International

Caught on video: A British cyclist narrowly escapes being hit by a large truck in a dangerously close pass.

Former Brit pro cyclist David Millar says he can teach young cyclists about the dangers of doping, following his two-year ban for using EPO. In that case, just imagine what Lance could teach.

Russian two-time road cycling bronze medalist Olga Zabelinskaya is cleared to compete in the Rio Olympics after accepting a postdated 18-month ban for a performance enhancing drug, which expired five months ago.

To cut down on congestion, Mumbai is proposing to ban all new car and motorcycle registrations after a yet-to-be-determined date; the city also plans 100 new cycle tracks, among other roadway improvements.

The five best places to ride you bike on your next business trip or vacation in Abu Dhabi.

Aussie world track champ Annette Edmondson is lucky to escape serious injury after t-boning a car on a blind corner at 31 mph.

A Singapore writer puts his own local spin on the old “we’re not (insert bike-friendly city here) cliché.

 

Finally…

Why roll when you can walk while you ride. Now you can use your butt to fill your tires.

And who needs wheels when you’ve got snow?

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Come back later this today when we’ll have the latest Bikes Have Rights guest post from LA bike lawyer and LACBC board member Jim Pocrass.