BikinginLA

Congratulations to UCLA, which has been upgraded to a Silver Level Bicycle-Friendly University.

It’s great that the university is taking concrete steps to keep bike riders and their bikes safe on campus.

Just too bad LA Councilmember Paul Koretz is dedicated to keeping things dangerous once they leave it.

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A Marin columnist congratulates the local grand jury as they demonstrate why traffic planning should be left to people who know what the hell they’re talking about.

The grand jury, which is clearly unfamiliar with the concept of induced demand, came back with a report criticizing local officials for failing to solve the region’s traffic problems, calling on them to widen roadways to increase capacity.

And failing, evidently, to recognize that the cause of traffic congestion isn’t the width of the roadway, but the number of vehicles on it.

“Based on community feedback and limited funding, focus on those potential improvements that maximize congestion relief and safety. Outside of this project, consider shifting planned budgets for multi-million dollar pedestrian-bicycle pathways toward projects that benefit a larger population.”

Never mind that those “multi-million dollar” pathways benefit public health while providing people with an alternative to joining the great mass of motor vehicles clogging the roadways.

Let them learn from Southern California’s mistake. Turning streets into highways, and highways into freeways does not solve the problem, and only makes the situation worse while destroying the quality of life in the surrounding community.

So if they can’t handle the traffic, the only real solution is to provide residents with a way out of it.

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Business Insider offers a close-up look at Peter Sagan’s bike; he retains the leader’s jersey after four stages.

Dutch rider Tom Doumalin criticizes the long, boring transitional stages in the Tour de France. He should be happy since the race heads back to the mountains today, with a battered Alberto Contador looking vulnerable.

American Evelyn Stevens retains her lead after four stages in the Giro Rosa.

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Local

Writing for the LA Times, Alissa Walker sends a message back in time to describe the utopian, extremely bike and transit-friendly Los Angeles of 2056. We can dream, right?

The LA Weekly looks at the Eastside’s Ovarian Psychos, saying the radical feminist cycling group is taking Boyle Heights back one ride at a time.

Metro is reaching out to low income communities to participate in LA’s new bikeshare system.

A man was shot to death while riding along the LA River, on an unpaved section of the bike path in Bellflower, in what police say appears to be a gang-related attack.

Palos Verdes Estates will discuss replacing the highly biased “Bicycle Laws Strictly Enforced” signs with “Share the Road” signs and signs touting the three-foot passing law at today’s meeting of the city’s Traffic Safety Committee. Nice that they realize traffic laws should be enforced against people who don’t ride bikes, too. But maybe they could go for “Bikes May Use Full Lane” instead of the useless and outdated “Share the Road.”

 

State

A Riverside woman was lucky to survive with moderate injuries after her bike was clipped by a train.

Atascadero is planning to install a roundabout and separated bike lanes to improve safety near a high school, while providing access from downtown to Atascadero Lake.

Visalia is asking for public input on the city’s first-ever active transportation plan.

At least three witnesses jumped into action to follow a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after slamming into a Santa Rosa salmon cyclist; the victim suffered road rash, while the driver was busted and booked.

 

National

Google’s self-driving cars can now recognize cyclists’ hand signals. But how will they respond to the one used the most in LA traffic?

Wired says instead of trying to fool Waze, slow traffic by installing road diets with bike lanes, among other options.

An Austin TX bike rider died when the chain came of his bike and jammed into his wheel, throwing him off his bike. Let that be a tragic reminder to always keep your bike in good riding condition.

An Ohio boy with cerebral palsy is given the gift of freedom and mobility by the local Kiwanis club, in the form of a customized tricycle.

Ohio cyclists — and riders around the world — were up in arms over a driver in the Columbus Doo Dah Parade who featured a crushed bike on the hood of his SUV, with a manikin depicting a cyclist sticking out of the roof, and a sign reading “I’ll share the road when you follow the rules.” Because evidently, he’s the only driver in Ohio who never breaks the law. And because threatening to kill people is always good for a laugh.

The Louisville KY city council votes to reduce funding for bikeways in favor of programs to help keep kids off the streets. Which their vote will accomplish in more ways than one.

An Indiana cycling instructor lists a dozen ways drivers and bike riders can share the road.

An upstate New York man faces charges for tackling and holding down a cyclist who almost hit his dog. As a dog owner, I can understand the sentiment. But, no.

A New York driver intentionally ran down and killed a man on a bike before fleeing the scene. So naturally, the NYPD responds by cracking down on bike riders.

Great idea. A DC bike advocacy group uses a grant to hire five trail rangers to patrol area bike paths.

A Norfolk VA writer says the only thing holding the city back from being a great cycling city is a lack of political will. Which is exactly what’s holding LA back, some areas in particular.

 

International

Ottawa transit officials rejected plans for cycle tracks in a new rail station design, knowingly putting bike riders at risk. Meanwhile, Ottawa police ticket 323 drivers and tow 29 vehicles for parking in bike lanes and bus-only lanes.

The Netherlands isn’t just a haven for bike riders, it’s also paradise for bike thieves.

Denmark’s royal family is one, uh, four of us, as they go for a family bike ride.

If you’re going to pose as a cyclist and attempt to blend into a group ride in order to sneak across the border into Spanish territory, make sure your stolen passport is in order first.

It took American adventurers Rebecca Rusch and Pat Sweeny four days to pedal up Mount Kilimanjaro, and another two to ride back down, while raising funds to provide 131 new bikes for people in need in Africa through World Bicycle Relief.

Opponents of a Kiwi bike and pedestrian bridge claim it could be dangerously overcrowded, putting users at risk of a human crush. In other words, don’t build it because it might be too successful. And doesn’t any bridge, anywhere, face exactly the same, extremely minimal risk?

A Malaysian woman takes a solo bike tour through Cambodia and Thailand, negotiating the language barrier with had gestures and staying at “love hotels.”

 

Finally…

Next time you flee the country to avoid paying damages to a Chinese bicyclist, don’t leave your Chinese wife behind. No, seriously, if you’re riding your bike with burglary tools and stolen checks and credit cards, stay off the damn sidewalk.

And how can we possibly top a story about a cyclist who survived a lightening strike thanks to his headphones and penis?