Los Angeles has failed on Vision Zero.
The program remains a vastly underfunded afterthought, both on LA streets and in the halls of power.
If they bother to think about it at all, that is.
Which is why it took shutting the city down for Covid-19 to make any impact on the rate of fatal traffic collisions. And which are bound to rebound as soon as the lockdown ends.
So what is the obvious next step for the City of Angels?
Cut the Vision Zero budget, of course.
LADOT says we won’t notice the 5% reduction for next year.
Which is probably true, because LA’s Vision Zero efforts haven’t been very noticeable, anyway.
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Once again, today’s common theme is the fight for more space on the streets.
San Francisco follows Oakland’s lead and announces plans to open parts of eleven streets — or maybe twelve streets — so residents have more room to get out and walk. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.
New York’s city council is looking at what other cities are doing to develop their own plan.
The Miami Herald wants to know why local governments are balking at closing streets to make room for social distancing.
London’s Guardian says the need for physical distancing means space in cities and town must be shared in new ways.
And Cycling Industry News says the case is clearly building for government intervention.
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Nothing like developing good safety habits at a young age.
Can you tell what my 7yo’s favorite activity is, by what she fashioned with a rubber band and eggshell?@bikinginla @hoffbeatenpath @seanmeredith @schneider pic.twitter.com/wsDMjK4ufs
— Mike Gatto (@mikegatto) April 22, 2020
Let’s all give a round of applause to Evangelina Gatto, better known as Evie to her friends and family, for her outstanding creative skills and love of bicycling.
Her dad’s kind of a big deal, too.
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We’ve given the Governors Highway Safety Association their share of criticism over the years.
But they get it right this time.
NOTE TO MEDIA: When writing about traffic safety, please use the term "crash," not "accident." It's more accurate. "Accident" suggests something unforeseen & that no one is to blame. Motor vehicle crashes are predictable results of specific actions. #CrashNotAccident #DriveSafe pic.twitter.com/586DJCbPHI
— GHSA (@GHSAHQ) April 21, 2020
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This is what a typical weekend riding bikes in San Diego looked like, pre-coronavirus.
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Apparently, drivers are trying to get a jump on things now, and crash into bicycles before they even leave the shop.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
Someone sabotaged a Sheffield, England downhill mountain bike track, ripping out a number of berms and jumps.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police in Wales are looking for four total jerks who buzzed an elderly woman on their bikes and spat at her, then laughed at her.
There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for the schmuck who rode off on a bike after stealing a dog belonging to a Concord ER nurse fighting COVID-19. If you live in the Bay Area, keep an eye out for this a-hole.
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Local
Sad news today, as Lewis MacAdams, the man who helped start the fight to restore the Los Angeles River, died yesterday of complications from Parkinson’s at age 75.
The deputy director of Climate Resolve writes that we shouldn’t squander the opportunity to reimagine LA streets provided by the coronavirus shutdown.
If you’re a fan of spring wildflowers, this is the time to ride past the Ballona wetlands on the Ballona Creek bike path. But take your hay fever medication first. Trust me.
Walk ‘n Rollers has free bicycles for kids in need during the coronavirus crisis. They can also use some kids bikes to refurbish if you have any extra lying around. Or cash helps, too.
Billions star Malin Åkerman is one of us — and no, that thing over the A isn’t a mark on your screen — as she rode through Los Feliz with her seven-year old son.
Owen Wilson was spotted riding through the streets of Venice with a friend.
Ben Affleck may not be one of us, but his eight-year old son is.
State
Santa Ana’s Bicycle Tree bike co-op is back in business, at least for now. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.
Bike sales are booming in San Diego. Thanks to Robert Leone for the tip.
Speaking of San Diego, the city is reopening all its open space parks and trails, with the exception of Cowles Mountain and the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve Trail.
Ventura is reopening parks and trails, as long as you maintain social distancing.
National
Red Bull recommends 16 of the best downloadable mountain biking apps.
Pink Bike takes a video look at whether buying a used mountain bike is worth it, concluding yes. And no.
PeopleForBikes thinks we could all use a little good news right now.
VeloNews looks at Bill Walton’s virtual group ride Bike For Humanity this Saturday.
Specialized is giving you the opportunity to buy a new bike for an essential worker. Thanks again to Robert Leone.
Tucson bike shops are starting to sell out of bicycles.
El Paso is opening up its trails, as Texas prepares to reopen from the Covid-19 shutdown.
The popular RAGBRAI ride across Iowa was cancelled due to coronavirus.
A Massachusetts woman with a huge heart bought a new bike for a man battling leukemia to honor her son, who died of the disease.
A bike-commuting registered physician’s assistant at New York’s Bellvue Hospital tells the mayor she risks her life every day at work, and shouldn’t have to do it on the streets, as well.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. Witnesses saw a Pennsylvania driver toss a beer after running down a kid on a bike, his car smelled of weed, and he had seven convictions for driving without a license. And hadn’t had one since 2001.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 82-year old Pennsylvania man is riding laps around a parking lot to raise funds for a local food bank.
Kindhearted Florida firefighters drive up with red lights and sirens to give a boy a new bike after his was stolen.
International
The World Health Organization says get on your damn bicycle, already.
Canadian Cycling offers their complete guide to bicycling during Covid-19. Most of which applies wherever you ride.
Road.cc offers tips on how to carry almost anything on your bike, from using your pockets to riding a cargo bike.
Toronto bike couriers say they’re risking their lives to deliver food to wealthy people.
A London bike rider offers more proof you can carry anything on a bike — like a sofa, for instance.
It takes a major schmuck to steal a bike a Manchester, England drag queen was using as physical therapy under the lockdown.
Gordon Ramsey is one of us. And getting on his neighbors nerves, as he flouts the UK’s lockdown by riding his S-Works 22 miles through Cornwall, after apparently driving to get there first.
The UK is being sued over its £28.8 billion plan road expansion plan — the equivalent of over $35 billion — for violating the country’s commitment under the Paris Agreement; the same people halted a planned expansion of London’s Heathrow airport using a similar argument.
The new and improved — and significantly cheaper — ebike from Dutch bikemaker VanMoof looks like a big hit, with positive reviews from The Verge, The Next Web, and Forbes, with prices starting a couple notches below two grand.
A movie reviewer says you’ve been getting the message of the Italian classic Bicycle Thieves all wrong.
Milan is making plans to cut car use when the city reopens from Italy’s coronavirus quarantine. Which is something every other city should be doing, or we’ll be right back in the same unworkable mess.
Madrid’s bikeshare system will reopen today, as the country slowly comes back to life.
Tragic news from Nepal, where a pair of Indian laborers died after they rode off a ravine trying to bicycle back home after they got caught in the Covid-19 lockdown.
Cycling Tips profiles the Bike Scouts, a group of volunteer bike messengers in the Philippines who ride to the rescue when disaster strikes.
Competitive Cycling
The Tour de Suisse is the latest pro stage race to go virtual.
A wrong turn in the Iditarod Trail Invitational left ultra-endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch in a life-or-death situation.
Finally…
Next time you ride a bike to the market, try getting off before you go in. Why waste a good ride, when you can mow your lawn at the same time?
And nothing like promoting your new fundraising face mask by riding on a Covid-19 closed beachfront bike path.
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Thanks to Dennis E for his generous donation to help support this site. I’m truly blown away that someone would dip into their own funds to help out during the current financial crisis.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
But don’t dump it on the damn street when you’re done.
