Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps

Happy Friday the 13th.

You could be one of those unlikely people trapped in their cars today. Or you can improve your day just by getting out on your bike.

Seems like that makes this a lucky day for all of us.

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Local

Los Feliz Neighborhood Council President Luke Klipp explains why neighborhood councils matter if you care about walkability, bikeability and safer streets.

Culver City considers building protected bike lanes to link the Expo station with the city’s downtown half a mile away, as well as connecting the Helms District with Culver Blvd.

The Downey Bicycle Coalition will hold a Family Bike ride tomorrow.

The Department of DIY is ready to strike in Palos Verdes Estates, as South Bay cyclists buy their own Bikes May Use Full Lane signs, and will hold them up at entrances and exits to the city this weekend.

 

State

San Diego’s CCSD is hosting two women-only cycling training camps this March in Solana Beach, and April in Temecula.

Once again a bike rider is a hero, rescuing another rider from the rushing waters of rain-swelled Los Gatos Creek, even if he couldn’t save the man’s bike.

A determined San Ramon detective tracks down a stolen bicycle that was a woman’s only means of transportation, and returns it to her in less than a week.

Richmond is asking for public input on plans to build a tiny .3 mile bike path that would connect to a planned 500 mile network of bikeways around the San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco is the latest California city to increase enforcement of traffic violations that can put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk. The question is whether they will actually enforce the laws equally, or if it’s just an excuse for yet another crackdown on the people on two wheels.

A 71-year old Anderson Valley cyclist questions whether he should stop riding on the roads and stick to bike trails — not because he’s aging, but because of the carelessness and ineptitude of many drivers.

 

National

In a victory for alternative transportation, new federal transportation rules will measure people instead of cars.

A new study shows that the availability of bikeways encourages people to ride their bikes; it also shows that women prefer low stress routes, suggesting one way to reduce cycling’s gender gap is to build more bicycle boulevards.

Maine cyclists says the state’s three-foot passing law is an effective deterrent, even if enforcement is a challenge; unlike California, riders there can use bike cam video as proof of a violation.

New York traffic fatalities hit a historic low, even as bicycling and pedestrian deaths increase.

Great idea. Charlottesville VA bicyclists will deliver scones by bike on Valentines Day as a fundraiser for a local bike advocacy group.

North Carolina drivers can’t seem to figure out what sharrows mean.

A hit-and-run driver who ran down a Florida bicyclist on New Year’s Day drank for eight hours before the crash and still smelled of alcohol when he was arrested, but hasn’t been charged with DUI.

Federal marshals seize the property of a Florida deputy, including his clothing, golf clubs and fishing poles, to satisfy a fraction of the $22.4 million judgment against him for shooting an unarmed bike rider, who is now permanently paralyzed.

A Florida bike club makes its own video to promote the state’s new three-foot passing law. Although they could have shown someone who wasn’t wrapped in spandex or riding in a paceline.

 

International

A unique new foldie raising funds on Kickstarter claims to fold small enough to fit in a carry-on bag.

A London writer explains plans to ban cars from a busy junction in the heart of the city’s financial district to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians; cyclists already make up half of all traffic at the intersection during peak hours. Needless to say, taxi drivers are against it, though advocates call their protests misguided.

New raised bike lanes in Cambridge, England resulted in a doubling of ridership.

Talk about not getting it. The British Transport Minister who failed to give his contact info after dooring a cyclist now says bike riders are not road users; former Olympian and Tour de France cyclist Chris Boardman says his “comments demonstrate an astonishing lack of knowledge.”

The UK’s Cyclist website offers the good cyclist’s guide to riding in bad weather. Although the advice would seem to apply to bad riders, as well.

Very moving piece from the Guardian, as a physician thanks all those who came to her daughter’s aid after bad fall while riding on a bike path, from the strangers who stopped to help and offered her what little money they had, to the surgeon who saved her and the nurses who cared for her afterwards.

Just days after authorities said all Russian athletes should be banned from international competition for systematic doping, a Russian website attempts a little deflection with accusations that cycling continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

 

Finally…

Today’s lesson: Mess with a cyclist, even a former one, and you could get shot in the scrotum. And if you’re going to pose naked to raise money for a new kit, remember, it’s caps, not hats.

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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to help support this site. Even though the holiday fund drive is over, donations are always welcome and appreciated.

 

 

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