Tag Archive for Manchester Blvd

Mid-City bike swap meet next weekend, new Westchester bollard-protected bike lane, and Culver City Slow Streets

October 16, 2020 / / Comments Off on Mid-City bike swap meet next weekend, new Westchester bollard-protected bike lane, and Culver City Slow Streets

Clear your calendar for a Mid-City bike swap next Saturday, sponsored by the neighborhood  community council.

The Mid City West Community Council is sponsoring a Neighborhood Bike Swap on Saturday Oct. 24th from 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Sportie LA parking lot at 7765 Melrose Ave. (across from Fairfax High School).

As more people are taking to bicycles for local transportation and exercise the MCWCC is sponsoring a Bike Swap as an opportunity to get rid of an old bike or get a new (used) one. The Swap is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade a bike, Kids bikes are especially in demand.

We will have a professional, certified mechanic on hand to help with minor adjustments and repairs as well as a League Certified Bicycle instructor to offer safety tips and hand out safety material.

Thanks to Taylor Nichols for the heads-up.

Photo by Valeria Boltneva from Pexels.

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As we mentioned last week, you’ll now find a new protected bike lane on Manchester Ave in Westchester.

If you can call plastic bollards protection from multi-ton vehicles, that is.

But still.

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Let’s all welcome Culver City to the Slow Streets club.

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This is who we share the road with.

Petaluma police took the rare step of impounding a driver’s car for doing doughnuts at a sideshow, based strictly on video evidence. So much for the rule that officers have to see a violation themselves before taking action.

An Indiana driver is proud to share his homicidal intentions. Although it would be more helpful if it was in front, so you could see it before they run you over. Thanks to Melissa McCurley for the link.

A Melbourne, Australian man is out on bail after four police officers were killed when they were hit by a truck, after pulling him over for speeding and possible drug use; the heartless jerk recorded at least one of the officers dying, then just got back in his car and drove away.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A curb-hugging Kentucky bike rider pens an open letter to the angry driver who blared on the horn while nearly running him off the road.

Then there’s this.

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Local

It turns out the sister of former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati is a top Hollywood makeup artist.

Put your damn mask on when you ride in Burbank, or face a fine up to $500 for repeated violations.

Streets for All endorses Michelle Hammond for South Pasadena City Council.

The rich get richer. Santa Monica approved a plan to expand the city’s protected bike lane network. And unlike the megalopolis nextdoor, they actually build out their bike plans. Thanks to Sindy for the tip. 

They get it. An op-ed in Santa Monica’s Argonaut says the urban future is carless, with bikes and e-scooters paving the way to navigate post-Covid cities.

 

State

You have until next Thursday to offer your input on the proposed California Transportation Plan. Hint: Tell ’em to stop wasting money on expanding freeways to create more induced demand.

Last week’s 270-mile Golden State Tour from Paso Robles to Manhattan Beach raised $140,000 to help people with paralysis.

Newport Beach quadruples the fine for violating the speed limit on the city’s boardwalk; you’ll now face a $200 fine for riding faster than 8 mph.

This should be interesting. BikeSD is hosting a ride tomorrow to explore the history of Black, indigenous and people of color in the city.

A San Luis Obispo weekly says the annual Tour of Paso bike race, which was delayed by the coronavirus crisis, will finally roll on Saturday, November 1st. Except the 1st is actually a Sunday, and it’s a charity ride, not a race. 

 

National

No surprise here, as a new insurance study finds most e-scooter injuries happen on sidewalks, not in the street.

If you have an older Peloton, your pedals could be about to let you down.

A Las Vegas paper says bicycling provides an intimate look at the region’s scenic Red Rock Canyon.

Great idea. A new Colorado program is providing free ebikes for low-income essential workers to study the effect it has on traffic.

A Colorado woman may have been the first Black woman to ride the 5,000-mile TransAmerica Trail. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.

Houston finally gets around to banning parking in bike lanes.

This is the cost of traffic violence. An Illinois bike rider who was run down by a semi-truck driver was a doctor at a local hospital; he died at a hospital in the chain he helped manage.

Bike thefts are booming in New York, too. And locks don’t seem to make any difference.

More proof bike lanes pay. A new study shows Baltimore’s proposed 35-mile protected bike lane network would jumpstart the local economy, resulting in $113 million in new business activity each year, while boosting property values $314 million and reducing miles driven by 8.6 million per year.

 

International

Strava has taken a step to protect user privacy by making the fly-by feature opt-in, rather than the default setting; the option allows users to see the full route of people they pass, possibly resulting in safety and security risks.

A new study from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy rates the world’s most walkable cities. Bogota, Colombia came out on top; American cities, not so much.

London’s Independent picks eight bicycling tops to get you through the fall, while MSN ranks the best bike jackets.

Horrible story from the UK, where a woman froze to death after falling off her bike while riding through a cemetery last winter; tragically, a passerby called police after finding her, but they only spent nine minutes looking for her, without ever getting out of their car.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 74-year old Scottish man living in Colorado raised the equivalent of over $51,000 for Scotland’s National Trust by riding 3,000 miles across the US.

European bike advocacy groups protest a proposed European Union review that could put the legal status of the booming ebike market at risk.

Indian bike riders protest when a driver was fined for mounting a bike rack on the back of his car; apparently, the law bans anything extending past the rear of a vehicle.

An Aussie university lecturer says people are more likely to ride their bikes if they can carry more stuff on them.

 

Competitive Cycling

At least one team has called for cancelling this year’s Giro d’Italia, two weeks into the three-week stage race.

The latest Giro Covid-19 toll includes 17 motorcycle cops guarding a parallel ebike race running ahead of the pro race each day. So they can manage to run a second race, the same day, on the same route for ebikes, but they can’t manage to stage a parallel women’s race?

Everything is up in the air for next April’s scheduled Redlands Classic due to Covid-19.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be inflatable. When a goose is your bicycle wingman.

And apropos to the season, maybe your next ride should be to a haunted forrest.

Or even through one, if you’re brave enough.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Bike-riding boy injured in Hawthorne hit-and-run, car ID’d in Palos Verdes bike crash, and driver busted in NY assault

October 7, 2020 / / Comments Off on Bike-riding boy injured in Hawthorne hit-and-run, car ID’d in Palos Verdes bike crash, and driver busted in NY assault

This has got to stop.

Hawthorne police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who ran down a 14-year old boy as he rode his bike in a marked crosswalk Friday morning on Rosecrans Ave at Doty Ave.

He was crossing with the light when the driver blew through the intersection at high speed.

And kept going without any apparent thought to the kid he or she left behind bleeding in the street.

The victim is hospitalized with serious head injuries.

Unfortunately, Hawthorne doesn’t share LA’s standing hit-and-run reward system.

But if you know anything, call the Hawthorne Police Department anyway at 310/349-2700.

The sad thing is, though, we already know how to slow traffic and improve crosswalks and intersections to prevent crashes like this. And there are things we could do right now to stop drivers before they flee.

If only our elected leaders had the political courage to actually do something.

But they don’t, and we don’t, because it might inconvenience impatient drivers just a little.

Thanks to Sindy for the heads-up.

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If you’re the driver who hit a bike rider in Palos Verdes yesterday, she’s got your number.

No, literally.

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About damn time.

Police in New York have finally arrested an 18-year old driver who was seen on video arguing with bicyclists taking part in a racial justice ride, before flooring his SUV and intentionally slamming into them.

He was charged with a single count assault and released on a desk appearance ticket.

Just one more example of police and prosecutors failing to take traffic crime seriously.

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Ted Faber forwards news of a newly protected bike lane on Manchester Blvd in LA’s Westchester neighborhood.

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Lime wants to help you scoot to the polls next month.

Lime, the global leader in micromobility, today announced it will provide free e-scooter rides on Election Day, November 3, in an effort to reduce transportation barriers to voting, such as cost, lack of car ownership or COVID-19-related fears over public transit in cities throughout the country. Riders will be able to use the promotional code LIMETOPOLLS2020 to receive two free rides up to 30 minutes on Election Day.

“This is the most important election of our lives,” said Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime. “Healthcare, climate change and the future of so many cities we serve are on the ballot in 2020. At Lime, we’re focused on doing all we can to register voters, ease access to polls, and encourage our riders to vote.”

Offering free rides to the polls is just once part of Lime’s Roll Call initiative to increase participation in this election. The company has partnered with When We All Vote to promote voter registration to riders via email and within the Lime app. They have also joined Power the Polls to encourage riders to become Poll Workers and ElectionDay.org to provide employees with time to cast their vote on or before November 3.

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GCN explains how to remove and fit bike wheels, calling it an essential skill.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real. 

A road raging Portland driver took offense to a bike rider’s request to drive a little better because they both have a right to the road, firing two shots at the person on the bike. And apparently missed, fortunately.

Police in the UK are looking for a BMW driver accused of deliberately mowing down a man on a bike for no apparent reason; fortunately, the victim was not seriously injured.

An 18-year old British driver walked with community service despite spitting at a pedestrian, throwing soda at a female jogger then tossing the bottle at 15-year old boy, knocking him off his bike, and hurling an egg at a passerby during a six-month “spate of violence” after passing his driver’s test. But other than that, he was a prince, right?

No bias here. After a vigilante Scottish driver punched a bike rider for attempting to filter past a long line of stalled cars, the only one held accountable was the guy on two wheels — for swearing at the driver who hit him.

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Local

Have a direct impact on our streets and your community by volunteering to fill an existing vacancy on your local Neighborhood Council.

Streetsblog looks at how Metro is retooling Westside Metro Bike bikeshare to get rid of the current smart bike system.

Streets for All is hosting a virtual happy hour with StreetsLA General Manager Adel Hagekhalil next Wednesday.

Speaking of Streets for All, they’re asking for your support for a protected bike lane on San Vicente Blvd between Fairfax and La Brea; answer this survey to voice your views.

Great Instagram post about Manny Silva, LA’s godfather of lowrider bikes.

Unbelievable that in 2020, we’re still planning to tear down people’s homes in Downey in order to widen freeways, as if induced demand didn’t exist.

 

State

Huntington Beach has followed Long Beach’s lead in attempting to ban bike chop shops by prohibiting the repair and sales of bikes and bike parts on city property (scroll down). Good intention, but that means you’d be breaking the law if you stop in a park or sidewalk to fix a flat or dropped chain.

A San Luis Obispo woman could face charges for the Tuesday morning hit-and-run that left a Los Osos bike rider with major injuries.

San Jose has passed a new plan calling for 550 miles of bikeways within the next five years, with just 140 miles remaining to be built. Unlike Los Angeles, where the 2035 bike plan has already been tossed aside with 15 years still to go.

More on Contra Costa County’s new $150 ebike rebate program, which should be expanded statewide. Meanwhile, Rice University’s Kinder Institute gets it, calling for ebike rebates to help people replace car trips with bikes.

Walnut Creek’s Rivendell Bicycle Works is taking their own step to provide reparations to address racial inequity, with a 45% discount for Black customers.

Over 3,600 people took part in the Bay Area’s Bike to Wherever Days, despite the pandemic and ongoing fires.

 

National

Sad news, as the publisher for Bike Magazine, which we frequently link to here, takes what could be a permanent pause in publication unless circumstances for print publications improve dramatically; the shutdown also includes sister titles Powder, Snowboarder, and Surfer magazines.

Your next bike shipping container could be made of cardboard.

Fifteen more for your bike bucket list, as Fodor’s Travel lists America’s most scenic bike trails. None of which are in Southern California, of course.

A Denver couple takes ghost bikes a step further, installing a ghost motorized wheelchair in honor of a disabled man killed while trying to cross a busy street.

Colorado Public Radio looks at a man’s 500-mile bike ride to remember the Colorado plane crash that killed nearly the entire Wichita State football team, 50 years after he went down on that plane with his teammates.

MIT compares the benefits of bikeshare and e-scooters, awarding the win to dockless scooters, at least in terms of popularity.

A New York attorney says a five-figure settlement with the city is proof that the shared bike and pedestrian pathway on the Brooklyn Bridge is dangerously overcrowded and must be improved.

Good news from Florida, where a local foundation started to honor a young car crash victim donated $1,300 to buy a new three-wheeled bike for a man with cerebral palsy after his was stolen last week.

 

International

A writer for Electrek examines what he calls a typical Asian-style ebike, while retailing for just $700.

Bicycling offers tips on how to save big on Amazon Prime Day. Although it looks like you’re on your own if you get blocked out by the magazine’s draconian paywall this time.

Canadian DJ Mike the Alien suffered a tragic mountain biking crash last weekend, paralyzing him from the waist down; a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $109,000 for his medical care.

A new insurance report says more bike lanes could help get another 15.7 million Brits on their bikes. Imagine what it could do in LA, where the weather is a hell of a lot better.

Ireland’s transportation minister says bicycling is safer than many people think, calling it statistically safer that it was 20 years ago.

A new app ensures a green wave for Düsseldorf, Germany bike riders, giving them a green light at over 70% of the city’s intersections.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of us. And so is her husband Peter Sarsgaard, as they go for a nearly incognito bike ride in Greece.

Russian bicylists ride nearly 700 miles from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia in 16 days, to help plan a route for an upcoming bike path.

That’s more like it. A New Zealand man got more than eight years behind bars for the drunken, high-speed and coke-fueled hit-and-run that took the life of a bike-riding father — then borrowed a woman’s phone to report his van stolen in a failed attempt to avoid responsibility for his crime.

Australia’s Victoria state has adopted the metric equivalent of three-foot passing law, becoming the final Aussie state to adopt a safe passing distance.

 

Competitive Cycling

A pair of American cyclists have pulled out of this week’s mountain bike world championships after testing positive for Covid-19.

Amazing photo finish in yesterday’s Giro stage, with the winner determined by millimeters.

For once, it wasn’t a race moto that injured a cyclist in yesterday’s Giro — it was a low-flying helicopter that blew debris onto the course, resulting in serious injuries to Italy’s Luca Wackermann, including a possible fractured vertebrae.

American domestic cyclist Sean Gardner smashed the world Everesting record, becoming the first to drop the record below seven hours at 6:59:38.

 

Finally…

Evidently, there is such a thing as a scofflaw bike shop. Not to mention scofflaw ball-chasing cocker spaniels.

And watch out for low flying trees.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

DA candidate Gascón pledges to reopen shooting of Gardena bike theft victim, and new bike lane on Manchester Blvd

September 30, 2020 / / 2 comments

About damn time.

DA candidate George Gascón pledges he’ll reopen four police shootings that were swept under the rug by current DA Jackie Lacey, including the killing of Ricardo Diaz Zeferino by three Gardena cops seven years ago.

Zeferino was the unarmed, Spanish-speaking brother of a bike theft victim who was fatally shot as he tried to tell the trigger-happy cops that the men they had detained weren’t thieves, but had been helping the victim look for his stolen bike.

Lacey inexplicably ruled that the shooting was justified, because Zeferino gestured as he as speaking, and failed to understand the orders shouted to him at gunpoint in English.

At last report, all three officers were still working as Gardena cops, without so much as a slap on the wrist.

Which is more than enough reason to give my vote to Gascón.

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Ted Faber reports there are new bike lanes on Manchester Blvd.

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A writer for Bike Magazine pens a challenging piece on the question of race, saying when you’re black, “just ride” isn’t an option.

When conversations about race within the cycling industry come up, white cyclists often say things like, “The trail/bike/biking doesn’t care what color you are … just ride.”

When I’m feeling generous, I can write this off as naiveté. When I’m being brutally honest, I understand this as a dangerous distraction from the real issue.

For many white cyclists, the bike is often separate from their sociopolitical lives; it’s a means of escape, a recreational machine reserved for fitness or fun.

For many BIPOC cyclists, the bike is a tool that is intimately connected to the way we experience the world.

For those of us who are white, it’s impossible to know what it’s like to experience our streets as a person of color, unless we take the time to actually listen.

Pieces like this may not celebrate the world of bicycling that we know and love.

But they are vitally important to make riding a bike, and our world, more inclusive for everyone.

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Here’s your chance to enter Dutch academia, while working on the science of bicycling.

https://twitter.com/moorepants/status/1310513496774397952

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the forward.

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Pink Bike offers tips and tricks on how to set up your new bike.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real. 

Portland bike riders were subjected to an illegal checkpoint by armed men representing the Proud Boys hate group. Yet another example of the dangerous times we’re living in. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

No bias here. After a Texas driver was confronted by a bike rider enraged by his close pass, he responded by suggesting that a) bike riders should be licensed, b) bikes are too slow to be allowed on roads, and c) bike cops should get tickets for not signaling their turns. Apparently d) maybe he should try driving a little more safely next time never crossed his mind. (Scroll down)

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly. 

Police in Idaho are looking for a major scumbag who used his bike to make a teenage girl fall off hers on a bike path, then groped and threatened her until an approaching rider frightened him off.

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Local

Culver City continues to leap past Los Angeles in repurposing the streets, including a new protected bike lane on Washington Blvd. Although it seems to be best protected from pedestrians and diners, with only thin plastic bollards to keep the cars away.

 

State

You’ve got to be kidding. After a Paso Robles bike rider suffered back and leg injuries when he was hit by a car, the local police were quick to blame the victim and stress that he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Which wouldn’t have done a damn thing to prevent his injuries even if he had been.

Bay Area residents are celebrating the governor’s signing of SB 288, which streamlines bike and transit projects by exempting many projects from the environmental reviews that were too often used as a cynical tool to stop them. We should be celebrating that one down here, too.

 

National

Streetsblog says a surprising number of cities don’t even bother to map out the streets on their High Injury Network. At least Los Angeles does that much, although after four years, it could probably stand to be updated.

A writer for Green Biz says now is the time to reimagine public transportation, including recognizing that streets aren’t just for cars.

Bicycling offers a mathematically challenged list of five things you should do after falling off your bike. I count seven myself, but I was an English major. Here’s the Yahoo link if you’re blocked from the Bicycling site.

The body of an Aspen CO man was found near a local bike trail after he’d gone missing over the weekend, when someone spotted his John Deere bike on the path.

When a Forth Worth, Texas high school student’s bicycle was stolen, the school’s football team pitched in to buy him a new one.

After an Illinois man returned from shopping to find his bike had been stolen, support poured in from kindhearted people, raising $400 in the first ten minutes; the crowdfunding campaign is now up to over $1,500.

A Massachusetts Streetsblog op-ed wonders whether the Covid-inspired bike boom will continue, saying we have a real opportunity to create a “safer, more resilient, and more equitable transportation future.”

The Wall Street Journal appears to tell the story of a digital advertising salesman who rode the crest of the bike boom with a used bike business after losing his job. But we may never know, since it’s blocked by the paper’s draconian paywall. And there’s no Yahoo mirror site for the Journal. 

After a Florida fundraising ride to fight childhood cancer was canceled due to the coronavirus, a bighearted Florida cop set out on a 1,000-mile solo journey to call attention to the disease.

 

International

Add a Jamaican bicycle tour to your bike bucket list.

Oh, well if that’s all. A Welsh driver got 42 months behind bars for fleeing the scene after killing a bike rider, claiming he was tired from partying on coke with a pair of prostitutes.

A new Korean dual beam bike light promises bright illumination without blinding people coming from the opposite direction.

A Japanese man beat a bike theft charge after convincing the judge that he was only borrowing the bike without permission. Repeatedly.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling greats and former dopers Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador have teamed up to introduce a new bike line, starting with a UCI-legal road-racing bike. No word on whether you need to consume clenbuterol-tainted meat or attempt blood doping to ride it. But hey, the era of doping is over, right? Here’s the Yahoo link for the Bicycling banned. 

VeloNews examines the disastrous front end wobble that sent American Chloé Dygert over a guardrail and down an embankment at the road worlds.

Two of the three remaining stages of the BinkBank Tour in the Netherlands have been cancelled due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.

 

Finally…

Take your coffee with you when you ride — and sell it along the way. Probably not the best idea to crash into the mayor with your e-scooter.

And the perfect bike for people with more dollars than sense.

Even if it is for a good cause.

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A special thanks to Margaret W and Dennis E for their generous contributions to help support this site. And thanks to Terry E for his kind words yesterday. That’s what keeps me going these days. 

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Man killed riding bike on Manchester Blvd in Inglewood in possible right hook crash

November 22, 2019 / / One comment

For the third time in less than two years, someone on a bike has been killed on deadly Manchester Blvd.

This time in Inglewood.

According to KFI Radio, the victim was somehow struck by the driver of a stakebed truck turning right onto eastbound Manchester Blvd from northbound Hindry Ave near LAX around 7:30 yesterday morning.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It’s unclear which street the victim, described only as a Hispanic male, was riding on.

Based on the limited description, this could have been a right hook collision if the victim was riding on Hindry, or he may have been hit as he was riding in front of the truck on Manchester or just after the driver’s turn.

It’s also possible the driver ignored the No Right On Red sign on Hindry.

The driver remained at the scene. Police have not yet determined if he or she was under the influence.

Anyone with information is urged to call Inglewood Traffic Investigator Ryan Green at 310/412-5134.

This is at least the 66th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 29th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

His death follows the deaths of an unidentified man on Manchester at South Gramercy Place in February, and Frederick “Woon” Frazier at Manchester and Normandie in April of last year.

Which suggests a serious problem on the entire corridor, whether in Inglewood or Los Angeles, where Manchester is on the city’s High Injury Network.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Man killed riding a bike on Manchester Blvd in South LA hit-and-run

February 24, 2019 / / 4 comments

Once again, another innocent person has been murdered by a heartless hit-and-run driver, once again on Manchester Blvd in South Los Angeles.

And once again, don’t count on our elected leaders actually doing anything about it.

According to KTLA-5, the victim, identified only as a man in his late 20s, was riding eastbound on Manchester Blvd at South Gramercy Place when he was run down from by an unknown driver around 9 pm last night.

The victim, who appeared to be on a knobby-tired bicycle, died at the scene. The impact was hard enough that a witness described finding his shoes on opposite sides of the wide, four lane street.

Unfortunately, there is no description of the suspect or his or her vehicle.

An infuriating report by KCAL-9 says the victim was riding in the street despite the presence of a wide sidewalk, implying that’s where he should have been.

This is the second fatal hit-and-run involving a bicycle rider on Manchester Blvd in less than a year, following the death of Frederick “Woon” Frazer at less that a mile away at Manchester and Normandie last April.

That driver still hasn’t been charged, despite admitting to being behind the wheel, and allegedly repainting and hiding her SUV in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Which makes you wonder just what it takes to get the DA to file charges.

In addition, no action has been taken to improve the deadly street that has now taken the lives of two bike riders in recent months, despite the presence of both Manchester and Normandie on the city’s High Injury Network.

As with any fatal hit-and-run in LA, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

This is at least the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third in the City of Los Angeles.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,
 
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