I wasn’t expecting any bike news in Mayor Garcetti’s State of the City address.
So I confess, I wasn’t paying that close attention as I worked on other things. Fortunately, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton confirmed what I thought I heard on Thursday.
And that is that six LA streets have been identified as the city’s first to be unveiled under the mayor’s Great Street’s initiative:
- Crenshaw Blvd
- Figueroa Street
- Gaffey Street (San Pedro)
- Reseda Blvd
- Van Nuys Blvd
- Westwood Blvd
Hats off to the mayor for selecting streets that represent a broad cross-section of the city. Only Westwood could be described as passing through an upscale neighborhood, while Crenshaw and Figueroa are every bit as iconic as Wilshire Blvd, home of last Sunday’s CicLAvia.
The goal is to make these streets accessible to everyone — including bicyclists, pedestrians and the handicapped — with green streets, plants, art and people-focused plazas.
It will be interesting to see how far Garcetti’s initiative gets in the face of Westwood’s infamous NIMBYism, and local Council Member Paul Koretz opposition to bike lanes on the street.
……….
The Kickstarter for the Allo combination speaker and handlebar cell phone mount has been fully funded, so you’ll soon be able to listen to music, use navigation, make phone calls or use any app you want while you ride. And now you can pre-order your Allo for $35 until the campaign ends on Sunday.
Personally, I’d rather keep my hands on the handlebars and my attention on the road in front of me.
But that’s just me.
……….
LocalMetro honors six-month bike commuter Nick Rosenblum as part of their monthly Why You Ride series.
How to report broken LA bike racks or other street repair problems.
USC’s Neon Tommy talks with Maria Sipin, one of the city’s leading — and one of my favorite — bike and transit advocates.
MIT Media Lab has combined LAPD records and Google Map data to create a detailed map of LA bike crashes. Not surprisingly, the worst streets are Olympic, Venice and Sunset Boulevards.
State
I shoehorned this one in at the last minute last night, but it deserves more attention. Historically risk — and modern times — averse Caltrans has adopted the forward-thinking NACTO Guide, which could be a real game changer for California streets and cyclists. Streetsblog explains why it matters.
Bike Newport Beach calls for more, and more visible, bike cops to improve safety. And they suggest taking your helmet off when you’re not actually on your bike.
San Diego County goes all eminent domain on property owners’ asses to build seven miles of bikeways, but regional leaders still think freeways first.
A memorial ride will be held Saturday for fallen San Diego cyclist David Voight, killed by a suspected drunk driver in a stolen car last month.
San Diego bike thieves target high-end bikes.
Stockton police are looking for a woman wearing a purple coat and head wrap, riding a purple bike, who whipped another woman in a dog dispute; no word on what her rival, or the dog, was wearing.
Ciclovia comes to Yosemite, as 17-mile Yosemite Road opens to bikes only this weekend.
National
A new Minneapolis study shows bike lanes don’t adversely affect vehicular traffic if you put them in the right places.
Wisconsin gets a new vulnerable user law; a similar bill is under consideration in California.
International
Maybe they need to bring back the mythical war on the car in Toronto. See below for just the bikes to do it with.
Brit advocacy group protests the incredibly light sentence given a youthful careless driver who took the life of a cyclist out for the maiden ride on his new bike.
The Guardian asks if shaming bike riders is a good thing when the cams are turned back on us.
A 125-year old Yorkshire cycling club discovers materials documenting members returning to bicycling after coming home from the war. In 1919.
David Hembrow says shared spaces don’t protect the vulnerable, but prioritize the powerful.
Former Amgen Tour of California and defending Vuelta winner Chris Horner suffered serious injuries when he was apparently hit by a car while training near Italy’s Lake Como.
Finally…
A new Japanese bike is designed to unfold into a wheelchair, allowing riders to turn into rescuers in emergency situations. Or it could come in handy the next time I attempt to ride Wilshire on a non-CicLAvia.
And Rex Reese forwards word that the peaceful, unassuming bicycle has had its place as a weapon of war in sometimes silly, sometimes frightening ways. Which could also come in handy the next time I try to ride Wilshire. Although that photo of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corp posing in Yellowstone in 1896 is seriously cool.
