This is why so many people hate lawyers.
The attorney for a San Diego driver who fled the scene after driving though a bike lane, jumping the curb and hitting two young girls, leaving one brain dead, says she’s just a “really good person who obviously had a very bad night.”
Right.
The victims’ family had a worse one.
He goes on to give reasons that he says affected her ability to control her car, which may or may not be valid.
But the bottom line is, if you can’t operate a motor vehicle safely, for whatever reason, don’t get behind the damn wheel.
And nothing excuses running off like a coward, leaving a couple of little girls bleeding in the street.
Ever. Period.
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A couple quick events, complete with massive graphics.
The next meeting to discuss access plans for Griffith Park, which could include frequent, yet inadequate, shuttle service on previously closed Mt. Hollywood Drive is scheduled for next Wednesday night.
And CICLE is hosting a Bikes and Beats Community Bike Ride this Saturday.
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A 31-year old transient is suspected in the stabbing death of cyclist Sidney Siemensma on an Irvine bike path last month; the suspect, an acquaintance of the victim, was already in custody on kiddie porn charges.
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Bikeshare continues to expand across North America, with new programs coming to Evanston IL, Richmond VA and Vancouver, British Columbia, and another under consideration in Tacoma WA.
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The website is up for live streaming of American cyclist Evelyn Stevens’ attempt to break the women’s hour record, starting at 10:30 am this Saturday.
My money is on her to smash it.
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Local
Streetsblog looks at that crazy, unmarked detour around the LA River Bike Path, which has been closed to make way for the El Niño flood control barriers installed by the Army Corps of Engineers. And suggests it’s an opportunity to stripe bike lanes on a more direct route, if anyone at LADOT or the mayor’s office happens to be listening.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in finding the people who fatally shot a father of four last year as he rode his bike on a Compton sidewalk.
Richard Risemberg says horses have gone into war for millennia, but somehow can’t see a bicycle on the Mariposa bridge without suffering a heart attack.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune says Temple City missed an opportunity to remake Las Tunas Drive and revitalize the city’s downtown, ensuring the city’s main drag will “remain a big drag, a four-lane plus turn-lane place to drive while going somewhere more interesting.” Not to mention keeping it dangerous for anyone not encased in a ton of steel and glass.
State
Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with Calbike’s Jeanie Ward-Waller about a proposal to rebate up to half the purchase price of a commuter bicycle.
A Camp Pendleton spokesperson discusses the new rules for riding on the base, but says the Boob Ride will go on.
Bike thefts have spiked in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood, with reports of thieves breaking into apartment complex garages.
A man on a bicycle allegedly stabbed two people following an altercation at a Victorville gas station.
Palm Springs is adding bike lanes to five streets and improved signage and street markings to 17 others in the next few months, after painting green lanes on another five streets since last September.
Santa Barbara approves a new bike plan, although in yet another battle over bike lanes versus parking, the city just gives provisional approval to a bike lane on one commercial street after the city attorney raises questions about whether it requires an additional environmental review. I could have sworn we recently passed a law precisely to exempt bike plans from that.
A Fresno bike shop is considering closing after bike thieves broke in for the second time in just 10 days.
National
A new Boulder CO off-road cycling tour company promises to take you on mountain biking trails you’ve never heard of. Grammatically, that should be “of which you’ve never heard.” But screw that.
You’ve got to be kidding. A North Dakota driver gets a whopping six months — half of that to be served at home — and a lousy $1,000 fine for killing a cyclist because he was busy taking a selfie as he drove. Nice to see they take distracted driving seriously up there. And yes, that’s dripping with sarcasm. And contempt.
A Cincinnati councilman wants nearly a half mile of protected bike lanes ripped out so people can continue to park illegally; a local paper says the focus should be on scofflaw motorists instead.
Most snow belt cities ignore bikeways in the winter time, but Chattanooga TN has a cute little de-icing buggy for their protected lanes.
A Philadelphia bicycle company is working with local advocates this weekend to build 100 bikes to donate to community groups that were promised during last year’s papal visit.
A New York writer makes the case for enforcing red light laws against reckless bicyclists who blast through red lights, while maybe looking the other way when riders roll through more placid intersections.
A New Jersey website profiles the executive director of the state’s Bike and Walk Coalition.
International
Londonist says the future looks bright for London cyclists, but much depends on who wins the city’s upcoming mayoral election.
A British cyclist will attempt to ride up France’s famed Mont Ventoux by three separate routes, on a Brompton. So the question becomes, will he ride like the wind or fold like the bike?
Copenhagen is replacing all traffic lights in the downtown area with bike-friendly lights designed to recognize and favor bicycles.
I want to be like her when I grow up. A South African grandmother is still riding strong at age 87.
Bike ownership is no obstacle to joining the Singapore national cycling team.
Finally…
It does seem somewhat incredible two teams are withdrawing from the Movement for Credible Cycling because their test results aren’t. Here’s your chance to be a Cat 3 lab rat.
And if you really want to scare the hell out of drivers, this should do the trick.
