BikinginLA

He’s back.

The latest piece from the apparently non-existent LA lawyer Richard Lee Abrams describes the city’s mobility plan as being an evil plot to force people out of their cars and onto transportation appropriate for 1895 New York.

He also accuses the city of capitalizing on pedestrian deaths to meet that nefarious goal, rather than just, say, trying to keep anyone else from getting killed.

Never mind that the easy solution he recommends for improving safety on Vista del Mar is exactly what the city tried. And then undid when South Bay commuters were revolting.

………

Induced demand applies to parking garages, too. Yet Studio City’s exclusive Harvard-Westlake school wants to build a 750-space parking garage anyway, instead of encouraging alternative transportation and demanding safe routes to school.

………

Leading Ethiopian cyclist Tsgabu Grmay will be competing for Trek on the WorldTour next year.

The French Cat 3 racer busted for motor doping over the weekend tried to escape after noticing officials were watching him, leading to a brief car chase; he could face fraud charges. Note to cheaters: always try to hide the wire leading from the battery hidden in your water bottle.

Fans saved the cancelled Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, which will be back next year under a new name.

………

Local

Vision Zero LA says a record 177 LA area schools will participate in Wednesday’s National Walk & Bike to School Day.

Jim Shanman posts a photo showing the Ballona Creek Bike Path will be closed between 8 am and 4 pm between Duquesne and Overland in Culver City through the 5th.

Streetsblog offers photos of Sunday’s Coast open streets event in Santa Monica.

The Long Beach Marathon runs this Sunday, including a 20-mile bike ride preceding the race.

 

State

CiclaValley says bicycling from Ventura to Santa Barbara is the perfect ride for all cyclists.

The Morongo Basin is developing its first active transportation plan, thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Southern California Association of Governments.

An Op-Ed in the Mercury News calls for ensuring that active transportation funds from a Santa Clara County transportation sales tax are used for projects that actually work.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition unveils a new Ride With Respect campaign to encourage bicyclists to show more respect for others navigating the roads with us.

Sacramento will show how it intends to improve safety with a pop-up demonstration of its first parking-protected bike lane, along a reduction from three to two lanes to slow traffic. The plan appears to be a mirror image of the Venice Great Streets project that has led to near rebellion by some Westside drivers.

 

National

Bicycling has tips on what to consider before you buy a bicycle-shaped object bike at Walmart. Although you’re usually better off visiting your local bike shop, instead.

Great photo from the Seattle Times shows a BMX rider catching some serious air in mid-flip.

A Colorado Springs CO bike rider was killed in a collision with an unmarked police car; it’s the third bicycling fatality in the city this year, after none the previous two years.

Drivers in Dearborn MI now have to give bike riders a five-foot passing distance.

New York’s DA refuses to prosecute a bike rider who crashed into pedestrian last summer, even though the victim was crossing in the crosswalk with the walk signal. For once a bike rider has been held to the same standard most motorists are after a crash. None.

Four hundred New York cyclists raised over $650,000 to support mental health, domestic violence and supportive housing programs sponsored by the Jewish Board on a ride preceding the high holidays.

Even in New York, where lane reductions and bike lanes have successfully increased safety and livability, new plans are still getting pushback in neighborhoods where residents prefer parking, instead.

DC’s bikeshare system plans a $5 million expansion next year, even as competition from dockless bikeshare systems flood the market.

Florida announces plans for a massive eight-lane bridge in Tampa Bay, complete with a protected bike and pedestrian lane and an option for future rail.

 

International

The new leader of Canada’s third-largest political party is one of us. New Democratic Party leader and Brompton owner Jagmeet Singh calls for the country to develop a National Cycling Strategy. Which is something the US has never even considered.

Great idea. A women’s business site talks to the founder of a British company that’s solved the problem of children outgrowing bicycles by leasing bikes, then exchanging them for a new bike as your child grows.

UK police are looking for a man who crashed his bicycle into three people while illegally riding on the sidewalk, then got up and attacked them, leaving one man unconscious and breaking a woman’s nose.

Paris took open streets to the max on Sunday, banning motor vehicles from most of the city in an effort to fight pollution and encourage cleaner transportation.

European ebike makers have complained to the European Commission, accusing Chinese ebike makers of dumping their bikes below the cost of production.

The arrival of a Chinese dockless bikeshare company could mean the end of a free, city-owned bikeshare system in Adelaide, Australia.

You’ll still be able to ruin your lungs by smoking on a nearly 10-mile Australian inter-city bike path.

Sidney, Australia calls for a crackdown on rogue scofflaw delivery cyclists.

 

Finally…

Your next DIY bike could have front wheel drive — and you sit on the handlebars. And if you’re unemployed, just “get on your bike and find a job” with gorgeous EU women.

Or so says a British MP.