BikinginLA

Ambassador to India Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has signed an ordinance lowering the speed limit on 177 miles of streets.

By a whopping 5 mph.

Which isn’t going to make any real difference on LA’s mean streets, where speed limits often reach 45 or 50 mph. Let alone the other 6,323 miles of streets in the city.

But at least it’s a step in the right direction, reducing speeds on streets where they had recently been raised, thanks to a new state law amending the deadly 85th Percentile Law.

What’s really needed is a cut to 20 mph in business and residential areas, as has already been done in other cities around the world to reduce crashes and improve survivability.

Because a drop from 45 mph to 40 just ain’t gonna do that.

Like just about everything else, though, that will take another change in state law. Which isn’t likely to be coming anytime soon.

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In a big win for bike riders and pedestrians — or just people in general — a new report from San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Municipal Transportation Agency recommends that JFK Drive through Golden Gate Park be kept carfree.

The street was shut down during the pandemic to provide a safe place for San Franciscans to walk and ride their bikes, and many residents like it that way.

And San Francisco’s mayor has come out strongly, if belatedly, in favor of it, apparently following when she should be leading.

Meanwhile, San Francisco filmmakers fight back against the false narrative that streets newly pedestrianized during the pandemic are for “elites.”

Just try to name any similar street in Los Angeles that has been pedestrianized in recent years — especially during the pandemic, when there was every opportunity and reason to do it.

Never mind banning private cars entirely from the city center, as Paris and other European cities are doing.

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A tweet from Entitled Cyclist shows a Maserati SUV driver demonstrating the equivalent of an Idaho Stop Law for overly entitled jerks drivers.

For some reason, this isn’t letting me embed tweets tonight, so you’ll have to click through to see this one, and the one below. But it’ll be worth it.

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In an example all too typical of Southern California bikeways, the Whittier Greenway Trail rail-to-trail conversion stops a frustrating half mile short of connecting to the Gabriel River Bike Trail — even though there appears to be abandoned rail right-of-way that could be used to extend the trail.

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Local

Metro is marking Women’s History Month with a self-guided ride through DTLA highlighting important spaces for and by women.

Active SGV Programs Director Wesley Reutimann writes about the return of the 626 Golden Streets open streets event through historic San Gabriel and South Pasadena Mission Districts, and downtown Alhambra on May 1st.

A ten-year old boy was rushed to the hospital with traumatic injuries after a mountain bike fall while riding in Sylmar.

 

State 

California announces $296 million in state beautification grants, and evidently concludes that bike lanes and pedestrian projects are beautiful, too; the list includes dozens of projects in Southern California and the LA area.

Sad news from Idyllwild, where longtime bike shop owner David “Bud” Hunt Jr. passed away last month, surrounded by family; he was 93. Hunt had worked in the shop every day until he was 92.

Bad news from Bakersfield, where a woman was killed when her bike was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver early Monday morning.

 

National

Singletracks recommends mountain bikes for every budget, from a $500 Schwinn to a Santa Cruz for ten grand.

A staffer with PeopleForBikes writes that companies should make it a priority to boost employee bike riding through programs like employer-sponsored bike leasing. Or the $4 he gets from the advocacy group for every ride, up to $100 a month.

The founder of LVSportsBiz relates how he started the Las Vegas sports site after a distracted driver ran him down while he was riding his bike, which effectively ended his career as a Florida sportswriter. And needless to say, the driver wasn’t even ticketed.

Kindhearted Texas cops dug into their own pockets to buy a new bike for a middle school student whose bicycle was totaled when he was struck by a driver on his way to school. But the local Trek dealer wouldn’t take their money, donating a $1,000 bike and helmet instead.

A kindhearted St. Louis cop used his downtime while recovering from serious injuries after getting hit by a driver on the job to help get a girl a new bicycle after hearing she needed one.

Massachusett’s Bob the Bike Man is shifting gears from providing bicycles for people in need to sending supplies for Ukrainian refugees.

They get it. A DC website says it’s time to stop blaming the victims of traffic violence.

Horrible news from Daytona, Florida, where a married couple were stabbed to death while riding their bicycles; they were found dead in a quiet residential neighborhood, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

 

International

A viral meme on Twitter tells people to Fight Putin, Ride A Bike.

Momentum highlights six e-cargo bikes it says are perfect for families.

In a story after my own heart, Road.cc offers 11 reasons why group rides suck and you’re better off riding on your own.

The husband of a fallen English bike rider says bicyclists in Oxford gamble with their lives every day.

Italian bikemaker 3T wants you to wear your support for Ukraine on your frame.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mark your calendar for an eight hour Netflix Tour de France docu-series focusing on the Jumbo-Visma cycling team, which is expected to stream in May of next year.

 

Finally…

Get your GPS directions projected directly in the street in front of your bike — if you have an extra thousand bucks laying around. If your bike gets a flat, just steal another one.

And your next e-roadie could be a Ducati.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.