Let’s start with an email I received yesterday.
Joel Falter offers an entirely reasonable suggestion on how to fight back against overly aggressive muscle cars on our streets.
I have been thinking about today’s post regarding the tragic accident in Las Vegas. I suspect reaching out to folks at Fiat-Chrysler and suggesting they stop building muscle cars capable of stupid-fast speeds will get as far as telling them, Ford, and GM to stop building larger pick-up trucks that wreak great harm on pedestrians and people on bikes.
Maybe we should try and get the City of Los Angeles to stop permitting the filming of these commercials on LA streets, bridges, and tunnels. After all, they are leaders in the City’s commitment to vision-zero.
Yeah-Right.
It’s not a bad idea.
As Joel points out, we’re not likely to get carmakers to change a successful marketing strategy appeals to a certain motor-addled segment of society.
But we might be able to do something about it right here at home, if we can convince councilmembers that human lives and fighting climate change matter more than making money from ad makers.
Okay, you can stop laughing now.
We’ve fought this battle before, when Hollywood filmmakers threw a temper tantrum over Downtown’s new green bike lanes, convincing the mayor and councilmembers to rip them out rather than just covering them up during filming or removing them in post production.
But you never know. They might actually listen to us this time.
Especially if they think they can score some points for standing up to Detroit.
Photo by mike noga from Pexels.
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Apparently, it only takes one person on a bicycle to hold up a right wing Canadian truckers anti-vax protest.
Somehow, I can’t look at that without being reminded of the man holding up a convoy of tanks in Tiananmen Square.
But here’s what the bike rider in question had to say about it.
And note that he uses his unexpected notoriety to encourage donations to local bike nonprofits.
Thanks to our anonymous correspondent for the heads-up.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Maybe when someone describes themselves as anti-cyclist, it’s not worth asking their opinion on British Highway Code changes intended to improve safety for people on two wheels, as well as everyone else.
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Local
Metro is looking for volunteers to serve on the I-710 South Corridor Community Leadership Committee, to consider propose changes to the freeway corridor after the EPA rejected earlier plans to widen the highway. This is your chance to keep them from flushing another billion dollars down the toilet on harmful climate change and induced demand inducing highway projects, which could be better spent on transit and alternative transportation projects.
State
San Jose officials finally get around to identifying a 60-year old man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike nearly a month ago.
A new bike and pedestrian bridge over Menlo Park’s Bayfront Expressway officially opened Saturday, allowing riders to access a new park and the headquarters of self-referentially named Meta.
Sad news from Marin County, where a 58-year old man was killed by a driver while riding his bike near Fairfax Saturday morning.
National
A new Seattle study shows red light cameras cut collisions by 23%. Unfortunately, they were all removed in Los Angeles to appease drivers who would rather risk a crash than get a ticket in the mail for breaking the law.
A Denver writer describes how he found a community through bicycle advocacy, which is an experience many of us can attest to.
A pair of Colorado bike shops are collecting bicycles to give to victims of the recent pre-New Years fire, including one in my hometown.
The scientists at the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory remember the historic 1896 ride of the Buffalo Soldiers Bicycle Brigade to Yellowstone.
A pair of Dallas gelato and donut shops say the loss of parking in front of their store for a curb-protected bike lane is destroying their businesses. Although it’s hard to blame the bike lane for the gelato shop’s problems, since it hasn’t reopened since closing down for the pandemic.
The Mayo Clinic is now officially a bicycle friendly business. So feel free to ride your bike to the ER the next time a driver runs you down.
San Francisco Streetsblog editor Roger Rudick turns up in an unexpected place, urging Pittsburgh officials to build a collapsed bridge back better.
International
Ebike prices continue to come down. Case in point, the petit Propella Mini, which sells for a buck less than a grand; Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter gives it a thumbs-up for getting around the city.
Toronto now has a newly minted bicycle mayor. Which is a reminder that Los Angeles doesn’t.
A London writer tries riding an ebike around town for a week, and says now he doesn’t know how he can live without it.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker questions whether the conservative London Times has declared war on bicyclists by calling for licensing and insuring bike riders, just ten years after making waves with a groundbreaking campaign for bicycle safety.
Competitive Cycling
Welcome to our world. Italy’s Matteo Trentin argues that training on public roadways is getting too dangerous, saying the streets are more of a jungle than a proper training environment. It’s not so safe for the rest of us, either.
Finally…
Now you, too, can join a virtual blockchain-based bike club. That feeling when your 2,500-mile bike ride to Istanbul includes a brief stint in a Romanian prison.
And if you’re going to push a shopping cart into Walmart and ride a new bike out without bothering to pay for it, maybe leave your drug stuff at home.
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Happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating today!
恭喜发财
新年好
행복한 새해되세요”
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới
สวัสดีปีใหม่!
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
