Morning Links: Bikeshare ebikes, Long Beach bike rider seriously injured, and killer Claremont driver still in hospital

Today’s common theme is ebikes for rent.

LA’s Metro Bike officially unveiled new ebikes as part of their bikeshare program at Union Station.

Los Angeles isn’t the only major city experimenting with ped-assist ebikes, as Philly adds ten to their existing bikeshare program.

Paris is rolling out the world’s biggest fleet of ebikes, expanding to 20,000 ebikes available for long-term rental.

Although speaking of ebikes, nothing says your new electric vehicle has to has two wheels. Or any, for that matter.

Photo shamelessly borrowed from Metro Bike website.

………

More bad news.

The Press-Telegram reports that a Long Beach bike rider was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after a crash on westbound Spring Street near the 605 early Wednesday morning.

And yes, the driver stayed this time.

It really shouldn’t be news when a driver remains at the scene. But thanks to LA’s epidemic hit-and-run culture, it is.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

………

According to the Claremont Courier, vehicular murder suspect Sandra Wicksted remains in the hospital for injuries she suffered when she allegedly ran down Leslie Pray as she ride in a Claremont bike lane; she continues to remain in custody on $6.1 million bail.

Meanwhile, CLR Effect’s Michael Wagner offers a beautiful, moving look at the ghost bike ceremony and vigil for Pray.

………

Local

A writer for City Watch says Metro and LA City Planning deserve Dubious Achievement Awards, in part because of a lack of bikeshare and accommodations for bike riders at new Purple Line stations, and the new transit neighborhood plan.

The LACBC wants you to tell them about blocked bike lanes — after you report them to LADOT.

An LA Times reader says impound distracted drivers cellphones. Or better yet, make them drive over their own phones; maybe the treat of that will actually make them put ’em down.

 

State

Grist looks at three climate change winners and three losers in this week’s California election — and includes people who ride bicycles and buses on the plus side.

Escondido is building a Missing Link Bike Path to connect two existing bike paths through the downtown area, with a combination of offroad bike paths and on-street protected cycle tracks.

Sad news from San Jose, where a 51-year old man died after he was hit by a driver on Saturday while allegedly running a red light on his bike.

Writing for the San Francisco Examiner, a bike lawyer explains the possible penalties for drivers who kill.

San Francisco approves plans for a combination parking-protect and curb-protected bike lane on busy Townsend Street leading to a Caltrain station.

Streetsblog SF calls Caltrain’s restricted bike cars easy picking for thieves, who can walk off with the unprotected bikes while their owners sit in other cars.

Twelve Sonoma high schools are attempting to cut their carbon footprints by developing safer routes to schools, allowing students to walk or bike.

 

National

A new report questions whether America’s love of driving has gotten stuck in traffic.

Bicycling says every bicyclist has to take part in an evening group ride. Even though many, if not most, never do.

Bike Portland says the jury is still out on the city’s new bike-friendly speed bumps, with channels cut into them to allow bicyclists to ride through, rather than over, them.

Tired of dealing with leaves piled in bike lanes, a Portland inventor built his own pedal-powered street sweeper.

The University of Oregon has kicked e-scooters off campus this year to give the school time to develop an official scooter policy.

Albuquerque bike riders say drivers are ignoring the 18 mph speed limit on the city’s bicycle boulevard, zooming through at up to 31 mph. I’d be happy if LA drivers just slowed down to 31 mph every now and then.

The Tulsa OK city council calls on the state to change the law to allow bike riders to legally take the lane.

An active transportation advocacy group worked with local residents to develop plans for a road diet and protected bike lanes on a deadly Chicago street.

One of the four Florida bicyclists critically injured by a 91-year old driver has died; he was described as an experienced, elite century rider who once finished third in the online Strava Challenge. Local residents have demanded safety improvements as a result of the crash.

 

International

Police in Derby, England are on the lookout for a bike-born serial groper who has been attacking women in the city center.

Bike riding has the second greatest gender gap among transportation modes in the UK, behind only motorcycles.

A British study concludes that driverless cars may have to be programmed to break the law at times to keep humans from taking advantage of them, while a US paper says they they may be programmed to kill you. So no different than human drivers, in other words.

Figures from Britain’s Department of Transportation show that an average of 10 pedestrians suffer lie-threatening injuries in collisions with people on bicycles each month, an increase of 17%. Which could be due entirely to more people walking and bicycling. And says nothing about who was actually at fault.

The Irish Times considers the best bike tech accessories.

A Maltese bike advocacy group says build safety infrastructure for pedestrians instead of criminalizing jaywalking.

Heartbreaking story, as an Australian bike advocate penned an open letter calling for safer streets just days before he was killed in a crash. In the wake of his death, Queensland police have decided to re-examine his complaints about dangerous passes by drivers.

Scofflaw cyclist and supermodel Elle Macpherson freaks out the Aussie press by going topless for a leisurely beachfront bike ride. Although in this case, that means without a helmet.

 

Competitive Cycling

Canadian pro Rob Brittan recounts his 1,000-mile bikepacking trip across the wilds of Western Canada to prepare for the world championships. Judging by his last place finish at the worlds, maybe his next trip should be a little shorter. Or longer. Or something. 

 

Finally…

When life gives you too many bike wheels, make spherical art. Putting a 102-year old, two-wheeled bullet-scarred WWI vet on public display.

And don’t ride your bike because it’s green; ride because it’s fun and annoys drivers.

 

One comment

  1. Ralph says:

    It has been a while but I have been on those CalTrain cars with bikes. The current 2 types have different problems. The old galley style have room for about 24 – 32 bikes. Stacked 4 deep on each side of the aisle. Riders are supposed to put a destination tag on their bike and hopefully put their bike closer to the wall or in a stack with bikes for their destination. Needless to say on busy days there is a fair amount of churn. Unless you are going all the way your bike may not be in the same location as when you boarded. There is room for 8-12 people to sit on that level with more spaces above where you can look down on the bikes assuming non-cyclists haven’t taken the seating. Slow loading and unloading since you wait for people, and cyclists, to get out the one door. Then you can board.

    The newer stock with the tri-level cars are different. When I was there you had space for 8 bikes on both ends of the lower level with some seating in between. ALso stacked 4 deep on each side of the aisle. Hard to load effectively and decide which door to enter for a potential spot to put your bike. This has two entrances and can be faster loading.

    The ACE train going east had similar cars to the ones above but they put bikes on one side of the aisle between the doors. Leaving seating on the other side. Plus bikes were slotted in so you could exit from one door while others entered by the other one.

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