I was hoping to post one more time before I have surgery on my left wrist and elbow. But they failed tonight, leaving me with virtually no way to use my hand, let alone stop the pain.
So I will be out for a few days until I recover enough to get back to work. When they did the other arm last year, I was out for about ten days; however that was a more extensive surgery, which also included work on four fingers.
I’ll be back as soon as I can, hopefully sometime next week; if not, the week after. Meanwhile, check back next week when we’ll have at least one guest post while I’m out.
Be well, stay safe and enjoy the ride. I’ll see you again soon.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. Get hit by a lawbreaking driver, and get a bill from the insurance company.
This last July I got hit by a car while biking to pick up lunch by a driver who ran a stop sign on a bike route. Last week @ICBC sent me a $$3700 bill for repairs to the guys hood and windshield. pic.twitter.com/2MToIrGM5z
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Charlotte NC couple complain they were attacked by a gang of teenage bike riders after the driver “just kind of beeped the horn,” and were further traumatized when the cops said there was no point in pressing charges because it happens all the time.
A hearing impaired Singapore woman says a bike rider slapped and verbally abused her when she failed to give way when he rang his bike bell. Contrary to popular opinion in some quarters, a bike bell or “on your left” are both polite warnings, not commands meaning “get the eff out of my way.”
More on Carlsbad’s crackdown on ebikes in the beachfront city, after collisions involving ebikes jumped from 39 in 2020 to 63 last year. Which likely corresponds with the jump in ebike usage over the last year. And just wait until someone tells them about cars.
A Staten Island teen will spend the next four years behind bars after stealing a car, crashing into a bike rider, and leading police on a wild chase; the man on the bike suffered a broken nose and several other injuries, but wasn’t seriously hurt.
It also includes a lane reduction to improve safety in downtown Eagle Rock, with a single traffic lane in both directions, along with bus and bike lanes.
The next steps include working with CD12 Councilmember and mayoral candidate Kevin de León to make adjustments to the plan, such as enabling al fresco dining and keeping cut-through traffic from disrupting residential neighborhoods.
And getting de León to sign off on the plan, after he’s done significant waffling on the project since taking office.
………
Nice surprise from my friend Jonathan Weiss, who forwards photos from a recent ride to check out the new Taylor Yard Bridge.
And stumbled across an apparent corgi meetup.
Better yet, my wife instantly recognized the blue merle corgi staring off into the distance as one she knows from meetups with her corgi Instagram group.
Face it. It’s a corgi world, and we just live in it.
The Archinect News site says LA’s new bike and pedestrian-friendly 6th Street Viaduct is about to change common perspectives on public urban space. Although you’ll have to earn the bike crossing with a steep climb to get there.
Tragic story from Wales, where a factory worker was killed riding his bike home from work when he grabbed hold of a coworker’s car to talk as the other man drove alongside his bike, then was thrown from his bike after his handlebars hit the side of the car.
Belgium’s Alpecin-Fenix team blamed their failure at the one-day Gent-Wevelgem race on other teams not doing their part to chase down the lead group. Seriously, if your strategy relies on other teams to help you win, you’ve already lost.
Finally…
Build your own ebike with whatever scraps you happen to have lying around. You may never win an Olympic cycling medal, but now you can buy one.
March 28, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Young siblings victims of traffic violence in Sylmar crash, LA traffic violence spikes, and modest bike gains in Beverly Hills
Sadly, traffic violence continues to climb on Los Angeles streets.
And just three years from the date he promised to end LA traffic deaths once and for all.
Maybe someone should have warned him that it would require actually taking bold action and making the tough decisions to tame traffic and reduce motor vehicle use.
Oh wait, we did.
………
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Mark Elliot of Better Bike Beverly Hills, who almost single-handedly led a shockingly successful fight to transform the former Biking Black Hole into something far friendlier to people on two wheels. Although there’s still a long way to go. .
Despite the evident disinterest among our City Council majority (3-2) for multimodal mobility, the city has nevertheless notched a couple of modest wins for safer streets in Beverly Hills.
New leadership at the Transportation Division marks a new era. Mobility planning in Beverly Hills effectively cleared two kidney stones with the retirements of Aaron Kunz and Susan Healey Keene last year. Subsequently the mobility function was moved to Public Works from Community Development. Each change represented a big step forward. Daren Grilley and Jessie Holzer now are in charge of the transportation division and each understands the importance of safe streets. They walk the walk too, so to speak, as they both ride.
New commissioners have revitalized the Traffic & Parking Commission. For too long this commission sat idly by as crash injuries increased year-after-year. Commissioners for too long didn’t even ask why traffic enforcement in Beverly Hills took a ten-year holiday. But starting a few years ago, new appointments to the commission changed the dynamic. Now we have a safety-minded commission and a new chair: Sharon Ignarro. She really walks the walk. But hold on, we are hardly out of the woods yet: one of our councilmembers seems intent on defanging this commission. We beat-back that effort last month.
Elliot also calls on the biking and walking communities to support bike-friendly Mayor Robert Wunderlich and Councilmember John Mirisch in their campaigns for re-election to the Beverly Hills City Council.
One of our most frequent contributors, Megan Lynch will be a panelist discussing bicycling and accessibility at next month’s CalBike Summit.
I'll be a panelist April 8 10:30 am – 12pm w/ Tiffani Young, @maddyruvolo & @AnnaZivarts. Offering online made it accessible even to us speakers! We'll each be talking about our experiences with accessibility in cycling. #UCAccessNow (Illo of desk w/ laptop open to Summit site) https://t.co/QXbc5hluOb
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Before you try to intimidate a woman riding a bicycle by revving your engine and honking your horn during a close pass, maybe make sure she’s not a plainclothes cop, first.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Carlsbad imposes a draconian crackdown on ebikes and e-scooters, banning them from “public sidewalks, drainage ditches, culverts, channels, athletic courts or gyms,” as well as requiring riders to walk their bikes within 50 feet of a pedestrian on any trail less than five-feet wide; the city blames bike riders for 70% of all bike collisions, which defies logic.
Proving it can be done, Seattle is taking steps to remake a major state highway that cuts through the city, with a $50 million plan to revive the corridor dying from cut-through traffic, and make the seven lane roadway welcoming to people on riding bikes and on foot. Maybe Malibu can take note before LA’s killer highway claims another innocent victim.
Nice way to bury the lede. A Hudson Valley newspaper reports a 69-year old man was charged with wearing earbuds while riding a bike, and failing to signal his turn. Neither of which would have likely come to the attention of the police if he hadn’t been hit by a driver, first.
The New York press is quick to paint bike riders as outrageous scofflaws endangering pedestrians, but it’s just as likely the rider will suffer serious injuries in any collision with someone on foot. The latest case in point is a Harlem ebike rider who was gravely injured when he struck someone crossing the street and flew over his handlebars.
No bias here. Wackadoodle rightwing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told a crowd that ”Pete Buttigieg can take his electric vehicles and his bicycle, and he and his husband can stay out of our girls bathrooms. Yup.” Not that they were planning to take their electric cars and bicycles into one.
Canadian Cycling Magazine celebrates the Oscars with their picks for the best and worst bicycling movies. Although nothing matches the action of an open-handed Will Smith slap delivered to the face of a stunned Chris Rock.
London is facing a bikelash from Conservative councilmembers, who have taken steps to remove popup bike lanes and pedestrianized areas before they had a chance to change transportation behavior; the city’s transportation agency has responded by cutting funding to their districts.
We’re less than one week away from the world’s biggest little bike race, as men’s and women’s teams were announced for Indiana University’s famed Little 500, made famous in Breaking Away.
News broke last night that a man suffered major injuries when he somehow swerved into a car while riding in San Jacinto Saturday evening.
It seemed unlikely then.
It seems more unlikely now, after learning the victim has died.
According to My News LA, 74-year old Hemet resident Pedro Garcia was fatally injured he as he was riding in the right lane on southbound Lake Park Drive, below Soboba Road, in San Jacinto around 6:30 pm Saturday.
Riverside County Sheriff’s investigators allege Garcia somehow swerved left for no apparent reason and crashed into the side of a passing car, falling into the roadway.
He was taken to Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he died at 11:13 pm.
The driver remained at the scene and called for help.
It’s possible that Garcia may have moved to his left without looking, or hearing the car coming up beside him.
However, it seems more likely that the driver may have been passing too close, or swerved to his right and sideswiped Garcia’s bike.
Particularly if there were no independent witnesses who observed the crash. Which seems likely, given the remote location on a weekend evening.
It’s also extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact position of a bicycling collision, due to the lack of skid marks or other forensic evidence.
Unfortunately, Garcia isn’t around to give his side of the story, which leaves the driver’s statement as the only evidence for deputies to base their investigation on. And drivers have a vested interest in seeing their own actions in the best possible light, regardless of the circumstances.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call Deputy Ray Cortez of the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station at 951/654-2702, or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at 951/776-1099.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Pedro Garcia and his loved ones.
March 25, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hit-and-run driver busted in death of 15-year old Riverside boy, and Metro active transportation virtual meeting next week
Maybe there will be justice for Javier Gonzales after all.
SoCal’s killer highway continues to claim new victims.
I’m told the victim works at the Getty Villa, which leaves no viable option to commute by bike other than PCH, which continues to operate as a cut-through highway when it should be Malibu’s Main Street.
OC bike advocate Mike Wilkinson is parting ways with his lovingly used tandem.
We enjoyed our Cannondale tandem bike so much that we bought a new one. Now the original is for sale. It works great, and we've made some valuable upgrades to the bike.https://t.co/sSR0oFuQwXpic.twitter.com/leyJ0YMOI5
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
In a prime example of too little, if not too late, Las Vegas area cops clamped down on drivers who endanger bike riders, enforcing traffic laws and educating motorists on how to share the road — for a whole four hours. Now they just need to do something the other 8,756 hours in the year.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police busted a man who robbed a Kansas gas station, then made his getaway by bicycle. Maybe he was really just an anti-car freedom fighter raising funds for the rebellion. It could happen.
………
Local
No bias here. The Hancock Park Homeowners Association hosted a candidate forum for the people running to replace Paul Koretz in CD5 — but notably excluded former Mid City West Neighborhood Council chair Scott Epstein, a longtime supporter of a bike-friendly street on 4th Street opposed by the wealthy neighborhood.
Black and brown Colorado bike riders say the state’s proposed Stop As Yield law, aka the stop sign part of the Idaho Stop Law, would keep them safer from both cars and cops, reducing the risk of Biking While Black or Brown stops that target people of color, as well as reducing potentially dangerous interactions with police. Maybe that argument that would finally get a California bill past Newsom’s veto pen.
A Florida man was convicted — again — of killing a teenaged boy over a stolen bicycle when he was just 15 years old. The victim had purchased the boy’s stolen bicycle, not knowing it was hot, then offered to sell it back to him for just $10; he returned with a gun after riding the bike home because he felt disrespected. The original conviction had been overturned because police had questioned him after he requested a lawyer. We’ve said it before — no bike is worth taking or sacrificing a life. Period.
Life is cheap in Jersey, where a 67-year old driver walked with the equivalent of a $6,500 fine for the right-cross crash — the equivalent of a left-cross in the US — that likely left a bike-riding woman with lifelong pain from a broken back, fractured rib and collapsed lung.
March 24, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 26-year old man on bicycle killed by ice cream truck driver in San Marcos crash; victim reportedly under the influence
At least the driver stuck around this time.
Several nearlyidenticalsourcesare reporting a man riding a bike was killed by the driver of an ice cream truck in San Marcos Wednesday night.
According to witnesses, the victim, identified only as a 26-year old man, was riding southwest across the intersection against a red light, when he was struck by the driver turning west onto Mission.
The only way that makes sense is if he was riding south on Pico, and was struck in a left cross when the driver turned with the left arrow, which would mean the driver had a red light.
He died at the scene.
San Diego sheriff’s deputies were quick to blame the victim, suggesting that he may have been under the influence, and said he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
There’s no word on why they suspect he was drunk, however. And as we’ve noted before, whether or not he had a helmet only matters if he died of a head injury, or if the collision might have been survivable with one.
That’s questionable, given that video from the scene shows it was a full-size food truck, rather than a smaller van, that hit him.
Use caution viewing the video, though, since it shows a blurred shot of the covered victim lying in the street next to his bike.
This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
But despite the agency’s professed commitment to Complete Streets, they’re not including bike lanes, even though the roadway will be wide enough to accommodate them at some distant, unspecified date.
Because evidently, they just can’t find a few extra bucks in that $26 million budget for a couple more cans of white paint.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is once again throwing money around prior to an election.
But this time, it goes out to everyone but us.
At stake is the governor’s proposal for a $400 per car rebate for drivers, in lieu of freezing the gas tax as a sop to people complaining about rising gas taxes.
The money would go out to everyone with a car registered in California, for up to two vehicles, no matter how wealthy the owner, or how environmentally destructive the vehicle is.
Or if it even uses gas.
Meanwhile, transit riders would get a three month fare reprieve. And a relatively paltry $500 million would go towards active transportation projects in the state.
The gas tax is about 50 cents per gallon. A $400 rebate therefore subsidizes someone's tax payments on 800 gallons of gasoline. That's 19 barrels of gasoline per registered car. Those 19 barrels, or 800 gallons, weigh nearly 5,000 lbs. Imagine burning 5,000 lbs of gasoline. https://t.co/Lq58vtCtZR
– $9 billion in direct payments to car owners – $2 billion in relief for public transit & to pause portion of diesel sales tax and increase to gas/diesel excise tax – $500 million to support active transportation programs (such as walking, biking projects)
In other words, Newsom is doing everything in his power to maintain the automotive hegemony on our streets, regardless of the environmental damage, rather than use the crisis as an opportunity to make a sea change in how people get around in our state.
And not one penny to the people who did the right thing, and made the sometimes difficult, but environmentally sound, decision to give up their cars.
Instead of rebates to car owners who don’t need them — and in many cases, should have purchased a less wasteful and destructive vehicle to begin with — Newsom should make all transit systems within the state free.
Not just for three months, but permanently.
He should also pay people a monthly stipend to walk or bike to work instead of driving — enough to actually get people out of their cars. Then use the remaining funds to build the infrastructure necessary to support it.
Instead, we’re just doubling down on the same problems that got us here in the first place.
And learning absolutely nothing from the last gas crisis, while just setting us up for the next one.
In a miraculous escape, a 9 year old boy ended up without any serious injuries after his cycle was hit by a state transport bus in Kerala's Kannur. WATCH!#Kannurpic.twitter.com/IU6HWcIpry
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A Santa Barbara letter writer and former “frequent bicyclist” complains about the “bike lobby” that has “gained outsized power in the city government,” while conflating off-street bike paths with on-street bike lanes, and complaining that few people who ride the bike paths are riding to work. And that people in cars, who are apparently far more important than bike riders, really, really need their parking spaces. Although someone should ask him why he stopped riding, and if it had anything to do with a lack of safe bikeways.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
An anonymous Portland writer complains about “asshole bicyclists” who ignore No Bikes Allowed On Trails signs to ride on walking trails in environmentally sensitive areas. Aside from making it clear he or she is as much of an a-hole as the people they’re complaining about, the writer has a point. Never ride where you could cause real harm to fragile landscapes.
Police in Ohio are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider who slammed into the side of an SUV after running a stop sign, and took off on foot when the driver called the police.
A Sebastopol winemaker faces up to 12 years and eight months behind bars after pleading guilty to the drunken crash that took the life of a bike-riding man, and cost the leg of a 12-year old boy who just happened to be riding near him; or he could walk with just time served. Ulises Valdez Jr. was nearly twice the legal blood alcohol limit following the collision.
Bicycling offers a clickbait slideshow with their recommendations for the ten best women’s bike helmets for any kind of rider.Because why let someone just scroll to the one that suits them when you can get a few extra clicks? As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A speeding San Antonio, Texas mom lost control and rolled her car, killing an innocent 18-year old bike rider, while injuring herself and her baby. Anyone who drives like that with a baby in the car should have either the car or the baby taken away.
Houston police were quick to blame the victim after a bike rider was killed by a dump truck driver in a pre-dawn crash, accusing him of darting in front of the truck in what appears to be a single witness crash. Which seems somewhat unlikely, since most bike riders try to stay the hell away from massive trucks.
They get it. A Halifax, Nova Scotia newspaper says SUVs are driving us to climate calamity, adding it will never be environmentally sound to use two tons of material to move roughly 200 pounds of human.
Luxembourg — the city, not the country, although the city is in the country — announced plans for seven new bike boulevards, joining three successful bike boulevards opened last year. Although someone should tell them that bikes and cobbles like the ones in the photo aren’t the best combination.
Another day, another bike rider murdered by a hit-and-run driver.
According to My News LA, El Monte police are searching for a driver who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around after running down a man riding a bicycle.
The victim, identified as 59-year old El Monte resident Ruben Vicario, was struck at Lower Azusa Road and El Monte Ave around 9 pm Tuesday.
He died at the scene.
The suspect vehicle was described as a red or burgundy 2019-2021 Toyota sedan; no description was given for the driver.
There’s no word on how the collision occurred.
Anyone with information is urged to call the El Monte Police Department at 626/580-2100.
This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
Ten of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs, including the last four in a row.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ruben Vicario and his loved ones.
LADOT shows off the freshly painted — and soon to be bollard protected — bike lanes on Riverside Drive.
Check out the new safety improvements done by #OurDOTCrew at Riverside Drive! Recently, we added pavements markings, including bike lanes for protected bike lanes, and updated crosswalks between Los Feliz Blvd and Glendale Blvd. Final markings and bollards will be installed soon! pic.twitter.com/XYwXp5FLVV
If someone loaned you a bike pump during Sunday’s Marathon Crash Ride, LA Bike Dad would like it back, please.
#bikeLA: I loaned my bike pump to a stranded rider on Sunset Blvd near Saddle Ranch during #crashthemarathon. Pls pass the word that if they lost my phone # just dm me to arrange to give it back :). Thx! pic.twitter.com/6sytwpmUjo
Hi @AAAnews might I suggest a slight revision of this advice to drivers. Perhaps I might propose this wording: "Don't ever use your horn to notify or startle riders, especially kids. Instead just focus on slowing down and giving them plenty of space." pic.twitter.com/TUR8Ut2Yff
Time to take those baseball cards out of your spokes. The California Senate Transportation Committee has approved a bill that would allow six cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, to use automated noise monitors to ticket loud cars and motorcycles, similar to red light cams.
San Francisco continues their successful quick-build program, approving plans for a buffered and parking-protected bike lane on Evans Ave, despite a lack of protection in some areas. To which Los Angeles responds, “Wait. How can you build something without years of public meetings to water it down until it doesn’t offend or protect anyone?”
They get it. Davis police blame an inattentive driver for pulling out of a parking lot without looking, cutting off a seven-year old girl riding her bike with her grandmother and siblings, and dragging her under the wheel well; fortunately, she’s expected to recover after surgery to repair a broken leg.
Bicycling wants to tell you how to choose the best bike lights.But only if you subscribe, since this one doesn’t seem to be available on Yahoo.
More on the Fox News meltdown over Joe Biden’s bike ride on the beach, as Eric Trump questions what message it sends the world when the president is riding a beach cruiser in the middle of a weekend day. Maybe that it’s not time to panic, and it’s okay to take a breath before diving back in to save the world.
This is what we need in Los Angeles. Eight Seattle bike riders are suing the city over injuries they received while struggling to ride through an unfinished section of a popular bikeway. If every LA bike rider who was injured on one of the many unbuilt bikeways contained in the mobility plan sued the city over it, we might actually force them to build out the damn thing.
Colorado corrected a well-intentioned mistake by legalizing Stop As Yield, aka the Idaho Stop, throughout the state. A previous version of the law allowed individual jurisdictions to approve it, resulting in a patchwork where a bike rider could legally roll a stop in one city, and get ticketed for it in the next.
This is who we share the bike path with. A Montana driver was busted for his 4th DUI in 12 years when he was stopped for driving on a Kalispell biking and walking path. Just one more example of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road. Probably not the best idea to threaten the cop, either.
Sad news from the DC area, where a beloved bike advocate and bike race organizer was killed when he was run down from behind by a van driver while riding in Maryland; 51-year old Shawn Blumenfeld rose from a bike courier to a respected leader in the bicycling community.
A DC driver kept apologizing after blowing through a stop sign, and hitting a father with his two-year old daughter on the back of his bike; the little girl suffered a small skull fracture, despite her father positioning his bike so he took the brunt of the impact. Maybe instead of apologizing, just don’t run stop signs and try not to crash into people on bicycles.
Scary/funny moment in Spain’s Volta a Catalunya, where Mattias Skjelmose Jensen went over the side of the road. And rose up from the deep drop demanding a new bike before heading off to a top ten finish.
