This is who we share the roads with.
Two young boys were killed when they were struck by a driver in Westlake Village while crossing the street in a crosswalk.
KCBS-2 reports the victims were brothers, who were just eleven and nine years old.
The hit-and-run driver had apparently been drinking, and may have engaged in street racing at the time of the crash.
According to KCBS-2, she was identified as a 57-year old socialite and humanitarian, who should have known better.
Rebecca Grossman, 57, was arrested on two counts of vehicular manslaughter and is being held on $2 million bail. She did not stay on the scene, and her white Mercedes with front-end damage was towed away about a half-mile from where the boys were struck.
Grossman is the founder and chair of the Grossman Burn Foundation, and has also been recognized for her humanitarian work across the world.
Now two little boys will never grow up.
And if there’s any justice, it will be a long time before she sees the light of day again.
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Bike the Vote LA urges you to vote yes on Measure J, and offers their endorsements on council races in Santa Monica and South Pasadena.
Meanwhile, California Streetsblog offers their endorsements on this year’s extensive list of ballot propositions, as well as local issues in LA County and the Bay Area.
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Chris Buonomo reports a new Burbank bicycle/pedestrian bridge is finally open, complete with nifty curved fencing to keep anyone from throwing things over the side. Or jumping.
https://twitter.com/cbuonomo2/status/1311531265556803585
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More people are needed to sign up for California’s proposed bike-themed license plates; it will take 7,500 orders before the state will begin production.
We've gotta get a lot more California cyclists to sign up for the #calbikeplate: https://t.co/RYM5AqZTEK@peopleforbikes @CalBike @TruckeeDirt @TahoeBikePlan @sfbike @bikinginla @sdbikecoalition @BikePartySac pic.twitter.com/Q5zqTrXNCT
— Jon Falker ⛷️ (@jfalk) September 30, 2020
Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
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This is why you need to register your bike.
BIKE RECOVERY: "Calgary Police Service returned my bike after looking it up on Bike Index – thank you!!!!" #bikeyyc pic.twitter.com/NkqZyhaqgN
— Bike Index (@BikeIndex) September 30, 2020
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This is definitely not the bike rider’s fault.
If you think the cyclist is to blame for this, please hand your driving licence back IMMEDIATELY
(via @SthLondonPress) pic.twitter.com/PPvvLQkcvo
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 30, 2020
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GCN offers advice on riding roadies in wet weather.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.
No bias here. The Daily Mail says proposed media guidelines for UK newspapers would ban the use of terms like Lycra Louts to describe bike riders, as well as the term “accident.” The Guardian’s Laura Laker responds that the Daily Mail’s story is “so riddled with errors, it’s hard to know where to start.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Pennsylvania police are looking for a pair of bike-riding jerks who defaced a memorial to a fallen officer.
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Local
No bias here, either. A new study shows 61% of low-level traffic tickets issued by the LAPD went to Black people, despite making up just seven percent of LA’s population.
The new replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge is scheduled to open to motor vehicle traffic next week, but the bridge’s walk and bike path could be delayed for another two years to allow time to build a connector bridge.
State
A major ruling from a California appeals court, which overturned one of the biggest limitations on damage awards for injured bike riders, ruling that encountering a giant pothole is not an inherent risk of long-distance bicycling. That could open the way for all kinds of damage awards for bike riders — especially if the people responsible for the roadway already knew about the problem. Thanks to Phillip Young and Richard Duquette for the heads-up.
Sad news from Davis, where a 77-year old woman was killed riding her bike on a private road.
National
Ebike prices continue to fall. You can now buy an entry level Pedego bike for less than $1,500.
Portland bicyclists will ride sans culottes — or anything else — to protest the rush to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
More on the Idaho Stop Law’s new home in Washington State.
A Missouri bike advocate calls for more defensive driving. And defensive walking and bicycling, too.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adaptive bike from a ten-year old Illinois boy with epilepsy. And one right next to it for the jerk who stole a handcycle from a disabled Ohio man.
Sad news from Michigan, where BMX legend Ronald McDonald — no, not that one — passed away from pancreatic cancer last week, just five weeks after he was diagnosed.
City Limits examines how to make New York’s open streets permanent and equitable, improving the quality of life while setting a world-class example.
No surprise here, as a New Jersey town rolls out new sharrows to underwhelming acclaim.
Kindhearted community members pitch in to buy a new three-wheeled ebike for a Virginia man after his bike was destroyed in a collision.
Miami Beach gets its first parking protected bike lane.
International
He gets it. A Vancouver-area writer says children need to be taken into account on any discussion of bike lanes, saying it’s even more important to separate inexperienced riders from traffic.
A new study shows new Toronto bike lanes have the potential to drastically prevent injuries and fatalities.
A Montreal website discovers that not all business owners oppose a new bike lane, and some actually get that it could be good for them.
An English letter writer says new plastic bollards on a protected bike lane look more like a slalom course. Which is probably exactly what I’d use them for.
The annual Eurobike trade show will take place in person this year, but with less than a third of the exhibitors and attendance limited to more people than actually attended last year.
South Korea eases restrictions on e-scooters, despite fears it could lead to more injuries.
A bike-riding Aussie family says not owning a car is worth it, even if it’s not easy.
Competitive Cycling
VeloNews runs down the teams that will be competing in this year’s Giro d’Italia, which kicks off this weekend.
This year’s long-delayed Amstel Gold race has been officially canceled due to coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands.
Trek-Segafredo cyclist Quinn Simmons may have committed career suicide with online comments suggesting his support fo President Trump, with the white rider using a black hand emoji to wave goodbye; the bike team was none too pleased, calling the comments “divisive, incendiary, and detrimental.”
Finally…
Maybe someone should tell them there are clothes that are actually made for riding bikes. These days, Daisy would probably prefer an electric bicycle built for two.
And forget U-locks, just put a little fake bird poop on your bike to deter thieves.
No, really.
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A special thanks to Matthew R for his very generous ongoing support for this site.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
