Great news! We’re now up to 17 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition in the first-ever May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive.
So who wants to be the next to sign up now or renew your membership and get it up to 20 today? It’s worth it just for the great LACBC gear you’ll get — let alone the difference you’ll help make on our streets and in our communities.
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Mike Wilkinson, who frequently forwards news tips — and graciously serves as my unpaid proofreader — came upon the immediate aftermath of what thankfully appears to have been a relatively minor bike collision on Monday.
Yesterday while out for my lunch time “blast” I came upon the scene of a collision just a minute after it happened. The photo shows what I saw as I arrived. Look carefully, and you may see that the car’s rear view mirror is broken, and there is a dent above the front wheel.
I’m not going to write about the details of what I saw and heard. I will say that the things I saw and heard reminded me of the importance of gathering information immediately after any kind of collision, even if the collision seems to be minor. The following items seem important to me:
- Get a picture of the other party’s driver’s license.
- Take a picture of the other party’s insurance ID.
- Take pictures of all vehicles involved, including the licenses plates.
- Get contact information from any potential witness.
- Don’t say anything about who may be at fault for the crash.
I’m sure that more experienced minds have more comprehensive lists. Remember also that the state of California DMV requires notification for any crash that results in injury, no matter how minor, or damage exceeding $750.
Finally, be careful!
I’ve offered my thoughts on what to do if you’re in a collision here and here, based on my personal experience. And BikinginLA sponsor Jim Pocrass provided expert advice from a bike lawyer’s perspective.
Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly said a crash must be reported to the DMV if there was property damage over $500, rather than $750, and failed to note that injuries must be reported, no matter how minor.
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Metro’s still unnamed bikeshare system is finally becoming a reality; thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-04BsfnNgk&feature=share
Meanwhile, West Hollywood decides to name its new bikeshare WeHoPedals. Although the rejected WeHoGo name was a lot better. Or maybe even Zuzu’s Pedals.
And Global Green celebrates Bike Month with Santa Monica’s much better named Breeze bikeshare, and the coming of the Expo Line this Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uECbR4FWv-Q&feature=youtu.be
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Let’s catch up on Bike Months news here in the LA area and around the US.
Commuting on Bike to Work Day is about to get a little easier as a new BikeHub opens in Covina on Thursday.
At least 20 Santa Clarita businesses will compete against one another to see which can get the most employees to ride to work.
An OpEd in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says every month is Bike Month, and education is the key to encouraging more, and safer, bicycling.
A Minneapolis bike commuter offers practical advice on how to do it yourself.
And a Louisiana radio personality explains why he bikes to work. Anyone who names his dog named after a zydeco legend has my undying respect.
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This time it’s a four-legged cop, and a cop’s dog, behaving badly.
An Orange County sheriff’s deputy shot a CHP officer’s pit bull after the dog bit his 12-year old son as the family was getting ready for a bike ride.
And a Mississippi police dog chewed his way out from under a fence, and bit a boy riding his bike.
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First year pro Giulio Ciccone won the 10th stage of the Giro, while Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels moves into the leader’s jersey. The race now moves into the brutal climbs of the Dolomites, as a writer remembers falling in love with his first Giro.
Twenty-three-year old French rider Julian Alaphillipe won Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California on the slopes of the famed Gibraltar climb above Santa Barbara, dropping American Peter Stetina with an uphill sprint to take the leader’s jersey.
CiclaValley offers some great pictures from Monday’s Stage 2, while a Santa Barbara website posts photos of Tuesday’s Gibraltar finish.
Sacramento is looking forward to the added exposure of hosting the finish of both the men’s and women’s races in the ToC.
Cycling Tips has a preview of the four stage women’s tour, which starts Thursday in South Lake Tahoe. But good luck if you actually want to watch it if you can’t be there in person.
And you’d ride faster if there was a guy in a chicken suit chasing you, too.
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Local
MyFigueroa offers an update on the long-delayed project which will result in what would have been DTLA’s first protected bike lane, if Los Angeles Street hadn’t jumped to the head of the line.
The Daily News looks at tonight’s Ride of Silence in the San Fernando Valley.
The LA Weekly provides a slide show from Sunday’s CicLAvia. Not bad for a publication that wrongly predicted the first one would create a traffic nightmare.
State
Westminster’s mayor pro tem recounts the journey to convert a rundown two-mile strip of Hoover Street into a landscaped recreation corridor for biking and walking.
The head of CABO teaches a 14-hour bike safety class tailored to San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood.
The San Francisco cyclist hit by a police car last week says the city must do more to protect bike riders, and do it faster.
A Sacramento ER doc wants you to ride your bike, but put on a helmet when you do; he also says to follow the rules of the road and ride defensively. And a physician with the Cleveland Clinic says make sure it fits correctly.
National
Redfin ranks the nation’s most bikeable downtowns. But forget finding LA or any other SoCal city on the list.
Bike lanes build jobs.
A new line of women’s bikewear from Scott promises to eliminate road rash, at least on the parts it covers.
Now that’s more like it. A travel company is offering a trio of bike tours leading to the some of the nation’s leading microbreweries.
Tejano music legend Emilio Navaira was one of us, as he passed away in Texas Monday, despite riding his bike every day to get back into shape.
Sinead O’Connor lashes out at her family following her disappearance on a Chicago ebike ride.
Leave the car at home and join an organized group bike ride to see the Indianapolis 500. Now if they could just get the drivers to ride to work.
A Philly cyclist makes the argument that crashes aren’t accidents and can be avoided, while the Associated Press finally agrees, more or less.
Pennsylvania releases a new interactive mapping tool that combines detailed bike routes, traffic volumes and speed limits, and as well as state parks, forests and trails.
A New York website calls Janette Sadik-Khan the prophet of bike lanes, and lists the best things about biking in the city. Meanwhile, Sadik-Khan’s heirs at NYDOT make plans to put bikeways and improved sidewalks on bridges connecting Manhattan and the Bronx.
A New Orleans bike rider barely survives a robbery attempt, after a gun misfires when a trio of men force him off his bike and rifle through his pockets.
International
Thirteen cities around the world where bicycling is gaining modal share. None of which are named LA. Or anywhere else in North or South America, for that matter.
A Winnipeg woman gets back on a bike for the first time in 18 years, and likes it.
A London bike rider is mugged by moped riding thieves.
Paris ups the ante in its bid to host the 2024 Olympics, including cleaning up the Seine River and building a bike path linking venues for the games. Your move, Los Angeles.
Lawyers for an Australian woman argue she shouldn’t face jail for killing a cyclist while high on meth because she has a 10-month old baby, even though her actions left the victim’s three children without a mother.
What the hell did Aussie officials think would happen when they protected pedestrians from bicyclists, instead of protecting riders from cars?
Finally…
Don’t throw a fit if your bike doesn’t fit in a Fit. Nothing like a bike path where bicycling is banned, unless it’s telling Danny MacAskill he’s no Danny MacAskill in a nearly undecipherable brogue.
And yes, we cyclists are just here to fuck you up.
That article makes my blood BOIL! Here’s why.
Hoover Street had off-street bike path and was a vital north/south alternative to nearby Beach Boulevard and Goldenwest Street. Neither of those streets are at all suitable for bicycling. Unfortunately, and I agree with the mayor on this point, Hoover Street had become an eyesore, and the surface of the bicycle/pedestrian path was in horrible shape. The problem is that the Hoover Street project built a nice, landscaped path for pedestrian and threw bicyclist to the mercy of motorists on a 40 mph street with sharrows. Sharrows may have their place on streets with low speed limits and congested conditions, but Hoover is wide open, with few stop lights or stop signs, and traffic often exceeds 50 mph.
In the past, if we wanted to ride south from our home in Stanton, my wife and I would ride on the Hoover bike path. Then we would ride through a neighborhood and eventually end up on Gothard Street, which has bike lanes and is basically a continuation of Hoover. Now Westminster wants us to ride in a 40 mph sharrow? I don’t think so! I’m confident that the vast majority of bicyclist will now ignore the sharrows and ride on what used to be a bike path and is now a (very nicely landscaped) sidewalk.
All of the above may sound just like poor planning, but what gets my blood boiling is that I contacted the City of Westminster Public Works Department before construction began and was told the plan was the best they could do. I contacted Orange County Bicycle Coalition, but I didn’t get any help from them, either. I feel like my critique was ignored by Westminster and my request for help was ignored by OCBC.
In the article, the mayor mentions his two kids. He also says that “…bikers and pedestrians see a beautifully landscaped recreation corridor where families play together in safety.” I suggest that the mayor consider taking his kids for a bike ride along the new Hoover Street sharrows. I expect he will decline.
Earlier today I sent an email to Westminster’s Mayor Pro Tem. The message was similar to my comments above. The Mayor Pro Tem replied within a couple of hours with good news. Here is partial quote:
“It is important to note that the Hoover Street you are seeing now is just the first step of a two-part project. The City’s goal is to follow the construction of the pedestrian path with the construction of a cycle track specifically for cyclists to utilize on Hoover. This track will be completely separated from car traffic with barriers and landscaping so that we can ensure the safety of those on bikes.”
I spoke to two Westminster Public Works employees a few months ago, and they didn’t say anything about the second part of the Hoover Street project. That’s why I thought the project was such a loss for bicycle riders. Now I have a much better and more hopeful opinion.
This Saturday Westminster and other sponsors is hosting a “Experience Hoover” event. From the announcement: “Bring your bicycle or walk along Hoover to experience proposed safety improvements along the street.” Call the city at 714-895-2860 for more information.