Your Halloween weekend Linkapalooza, with extra scary GOP attacks on bike/ped funding

They just don’t get it.

Once again, Washington Republicans show their skill at thinking small by attempting to cut relative pennies in bike and pedestrian finding, absurdly declaring war on bike lanes in an apparent attempt to return the nation to the good old days of the car-centric past when men were men and drivers felt free to run riders off the road.

People for Bikes responds by saying we shouldn’t have to choose between safe bridges and safe streets, while cutting back on federal bike and pedestrian funding could leave our roads and bridges in worse shape.

On the other hand, I’m more than willing to trade the relatively paltry Transportation Enhancement set-asides for a federal commitment to a Complete Streets approach to every federally funded highway project.

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If you’re going to be attending next weekend’s California Bike Summit, Flying Pigeon has a bike for you, at just $30 for the full weekend.

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L.A. seeks TIGER funds to build out a 50-mile L.A. River bikeway. Buffered green bike lanes could soon be coming to Spring Street in Downtown L.A. Flying Pigeon offers a brilliant and amusing look at how we’ll survive a post-apocalyptic world without bikes; they seem to have given a lot of thought to the forthcoming Zombie apocalypse. Bikeside offers responses from two bike-friendly candidates for L.A.’s 15th council district. LACBC looks at last week’s 2nd annual City of Lights Awards dinner. The planned Village at USC wants your input on cycling at the new development. A Pomona cyclist is critically injured when a driver attempts to pass another car on the right. Hermosa Beach is the latest city to approve the proposed South Bay Bike Plan. Improvements to the El Segundo NRG power plant could mean detours on the beachfront Marvin Braude bike path through next May. Primary Resources offers a look back at L.A.’s 1975 bike plan.

The Amgen Tour of California is invited to bypass the Santa Ynez Valley. Why does Newport Beach force cyclists and pedestrians to contend with right turn lanes that act as virtual freeway onramps? Critical Mass cyclists help Occupy San Diego. What to do if — or more likely, when — a traffic light doesn’t detect you. That’s Grey’s Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey on that bike; he’s been a big supporter of cycling throughout the country. San Francisco cyclists could soon attend traffic school instead of paying traffic fines just like drivers do; I’m told a similar plan is under consideration here in L.A. Do busy separated bike lanes pose a danger to disabled people? Cyclelicious points out a couple of newspaper columnists who’ve discovered the joys of cycling in Toronto and New Orleans.

Mark your calendar for the National Bike Summit next March 20 – 22nd in Washington DC. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration teams with the Ad Council to say “Stop the texts. Stop the wrecks.” One-third of drivers killed in traffic collisions tested positive for drugs. You could go to work as usual next summer, or you could own your own bike rental on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. A Seattle bike cam shows what it’s really like to commute by bike. You can spend a fortune on high-tech rain gear, or just buy an umbrella. The Colorado Highway Patrol finally gets around to investigating the death of a cyclist — four months after his death; how scary is that? A Chicago alderman calls for licensing cyclists, which is exactly the right approach if you want to create barriers to keep people from riding. These days, even Superman rides a bike. New York’s Columbus Ave bike lanes have significantly improved safety and proven popular with cyclists and local residents alike. Evidently, killing a cyclist while speeding with a suspended license is perfectly legal in the Big Apple; then again, so is leaving the scene of a fatal collision. Ten years behind bars for a Mississippi driver who killed a Dutch bike tourist while high on morphine. A Mississippi letter writer calls for banning cyclists on roads with speed limits over 25 mph in order to protect motorists from hurting us; anyone see a problem with that logic?

Bike Biz asks if the bike industry is spending enough time and money on advocacy; short answer, no; long answer, still no. Three simple steps to do bike parking right. A brilliant idea — you learn to build bikes, and your first one goes to someone who needs it. Introducing the world’s first BMW bike dealership; another sign of peak car? Riding through Northumberland on some great and not so great bikeways. John Lennon slept with his bike. Bicycling’s Bill Strickland reminisces about a fallen rider he never met. Much still needs to be done to make the 2012 London Olympics safe for cyclists. UK police are seeking a bike-and-run cyclist who left a pedestrian paralyzed following a collision. Bremen gets a bicycle barometer to go with their shiny new 25% mode share. A breathtaking preview of next year’s Giro. The intersection of bikes and Burning Man; Amsterdamize calls it the video of the year.

Finally, how’s this for scary? An anti-bike terrorist attempts to decapitate Aussie cyclists by stringing wire across a bike path. And even pointing a gun at a cyclist evidently isn’t enough to make the Tucson police give a damn.

One quick parting thought.

Why is it that we all assume when the Zombie apocalypse comes, we’ll be the ones running from the brain suckers and not the other way around?

2 comments

  1. Checked out the old 1970s LA County Bike Plan, liked the part that said “separate bicycle and automobile traffic whenever possible, taking into consideration safety… and physical feasibility

    Interesting stuff like “The bicycle facility which provides minimal conflict between motor vehicles and bicyclists while maintaining adequate access is usually the safest. In actual practice, however, especially in urban areas, this is difficult to achieve. Intersections are a big problem to the cyclist. Operators of turning vehicles usually do not see the cyclist or do not choose to honor his right of way. This is a problem with all types of bicycle facilities including a separate bicycle path which crosses a roadway. Even the provision of costly grade separation have not proven effective in some areas since bicyclists will circumvent them if not convenient. Also, if they are not properly designed they can cause operational problems and accidents for the user.

    Left turns may be legally accomplished by cycling into the center of the road and turning like a vehicle, but this is of questionable safety to the young, inexperienced cyclist. A suggested alternative method for novice is to followthe pedestrian route around the intersection.

    Realistically and economically it will be necessary to provide bicycle facilities on the streets. In these instances a separation between the cyclist and motor vehicle is desirable if it does not compromise the safety of the cyclist or motorist. Where parking is permitted, the vehicle parking and leaving the curb will be in direct conflict with the cyclist. Therefore, every effort should be made to prohibit or restrict parking where bike routes or bike lanes are to be established.

    The state and federal government are conducting research programs which are evaluating various ways of handling bicycle traffic at intersections, signing and striping requirements for bikeways, new highway drainage devices and gratings, improvement to the vehicle itself and accident prevention.

    The local agencies continue to compile and evaluate accident statistics and transportation data in an attempt to pinpoint locations where remedial measures are needed to make bicycling safer and to determine where this mode of transportation may be effectively utilized within this County” Should note that this was not one long excerpt, I just strung these interesting parts together.

    Really makes me wonder why did the 1970s bike plans fail to materialize? They seemed awfully ambitious

    • bikinginla says:

      I think you just answered your own question. An ambitious plan without public and political support isn’t going to happen.

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