Achieving LA’s Vision Zero goals will take some out of the box thinking.
And LADOT’s recent hiring of a sound artist-in-residence certainly fits that description.
According to Gizmodo,
In his role as LADOT’s artist-in-residence, Alan Nakagawa will specifically focus on LA’s Vision Zero plan, an international movement to reduce traffic deaths to zero. An avid cyclist, Nakagawa has long been immersed in transportation culture as a studio artist who has worked with the public art department in LA’s transit agency, Metro, for over 25 years. His goal is to focus on the neighborhoods affected most by traffic deaths, and use a very targeted approach for every neighborhood that takes cultural nuances into consideration.
Whether it will result in fewer deaths on our streets is debatable.
But at least the department is thinking about something besides Level of Service and how to move more cars faster through our streets.
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.
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Today’s common theme is road raging drivers and apparently random attacks on bike riders around the world.
A Washington driver is under arrest for using her car to herd a cyclist back onto the roadway as he tried to get away from her, then intentionally rear-ending his bike. Naturally, when arrested, she was only concerned about the damage to her car.
A Denver cyclist believes the hit-and-run SUV driver who ran him down from behind did it on purpose.
An Indianapolis bicyclist has no idea why a driver shot him in the chest after stopping to ask him a couple questions; police wonder if it’s related to the shooting of another cyclist the same morning.
A German cyclist was gunned down in an apparently random attack; a passing motorist was shot at as well.
And it goes both ways, as London Critical Mass riders are caught on video attacking a van driver who bumped a cyclist after being blocked in at a red light.
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Tour of California champ Megan Guarnier wins Sunday’s Philadelphia International Cycling Classic to increase her lead in the Women’s WorldTour; Eduard Prades takes the men’s title.
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Local
Streetsblog discusses Santa Monica’s first open streets event, where a good time was reportedly had by all.
A former writer for the LA Times has died of cancer; not only did David Lamb cover the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars — including naming the infamous Hamburger Hill — he also wrote a book about his tobacco-fueled midlife bike tour across the US.
Cycling in the South Bay remembers another popular local cyclist who lost his life to cancer over the weekend. I fucking hate cancer; I’ve lost too many good people to that damn disease.
KTLA-5 did a ride-along to promote the LACBC’s River Ride on Monday, while CiclaValley offers tips for this Sunday’s ride. Tip #1: You can still get a discount if you register online.
West Hollywood will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Fairfax Ave bike lanes this Thursday.
State
A Miami cyclist discusses how a ride down the California coast in last year’s AIDS/LifeCycle Ride changed his life; this year’s edition is taking place this week.
Camarillo is joining the list of cities cracking down on traffic violations that endanger cyclists and pedestrians this month. So watch how you ride in the city, because they’ll be watching you.
Santa Barbara could get its first bike boulevard on the city’s westside, but not on the preferred street if one woman has her way. After all, who would want better safety and livability, as well as increased property values?
A fast-growing Sacramento maker of space-efficient bike racks has changed its name to better reflect what they do. Or maybe they just want to sound more like a private military security contractor.
National
Wired digs deep into physics to determine if $3,400 Zipp wheels are worth the money. And concludes it’s complicated.
A new bike OS allows your lights, gearing, bike computers and other electronic gear to work together and share a single control mechanism and battery. And presumably, control your hidden motor-doping engine, as well.
A Portland city council candidate proposes adding adaptive bicycles for people with disabilities to the city’s coming bikeshare system. Meanwhile, Portland’s largest bike advocacy group expands its focus to include transit and pedestrian issues, while forming a 501(c)4 wing to allow it to recruit and endorse political candidates.
Bikeshare company Zagster’s success leads to a bigger Boston headquarters.
Caught on video: A creative DC bike thief climbs on the back of his SUV to wrestle a locked bike off a sign post.
Atlanta invests a whopping $1 billion in bike and pedestrian projects over the next 25 years.
International
Winnipeg becomes the latest Canadian city to consider a mandatory bike helmet law.
Paris fights the city’s notorious pollution by banning cars built before 1997, while Norway considers banning gas-powered cars by 2025. Although the electric ones hurt just as much when they hit you. Or so I’m told.
A new truck cab design from Mercedes-Benz lowers the driver’s position and provides see-through doors to greatly reduce blind spots and improve visibility of people riding bikes and on foot.
Finally…
The next time you find yourself along side a Porsche at a red light, challenge ‘em to a race. If you want to change your life for the better, steal a former Congressman’s bike.
And if you’re going to throw your bike, at least do it with a little panache.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q2olx8-_KI
