Before we get started, the LA City Council will consider the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposition at Wednesday’s 10 am council meeting.
This is an all hands on deck announcement. We’ll have more on this tomorrow, but clear your schedule if at all possible to be there and make every voice heard in support of this vital measure.
Now buckle in, because we have a lot of ground to cover today.
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Today’s photo shows a happy corgi enjoying a pedicab ride at yesterday’s CicLAvia, more proof that a good time was had by all.
Even the four-footed attendees.
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Friday finally saw justice served for the killer of Fredrick “Woon” Frazier, as Mariah Kandise Banks was sentenced to four years behind bars for hi hit-and-run death.
She has so far shown no sign of of remorse, and has reportedly been living the high life in the four years since is death, regardless of the impact it had on those left behind.
Woon’s friend Edin Barrientos forwarded the impact statement he wrote on behalf of the Chief Lunes bike crew.
Words To The Judge
I’m here on the behalf of the victim
Frederick Frazier and all the other cyclists /pedestrians killed by reckless drivers. I want to make it clear that the driver who took away Fredericks life back in 2018 was NO accident.
These speeding and reckless drivers who are out on the roads always use their cars as a means to intimidate and run us off the streets.
Every week we here news stories of people getting killed by violent drivers in our city.
It is a big injustice to the victims families and communities like South LA that harsher punishments aren’t being served to these mindless drivers. They don’t see us as equals on the roads and I feel that the Justice System sympathizes with drivers who kill the innocent.
Frederick left behind a loving mother and a baby boy behind who need his emotional and financial support.
Words for The Driver
You took away a father figure, you took away a loving son and a beloved cyclist in a welcoming community.
You deserve to be in jail for 10 years at least.
You tried running away with murder.
You’ve been free for 4 years, having the time of your life while knowingly having blood in your hands.
You’re a monster and monsters don’t deserve any freedom.
- D.A fought for maximum sentence and was able to get the medium term
- Charges: Vehicular Man Slaughter & Hit and Run
- 4 years in State Prison
- Moriah Banks was handcuffed and taken away by Sherrifs
Meanwhile, our anonymous courtroom corresponded had this to say.
This morning is Mariah Kandise Banks’ sentencing and the victim impact statement hearing. I don’t want to be there. I spoke with Woon’s mama in June and she was on the fence about speaking in court. What good can it do, she wondered. Nothing will ever bring her son back to her. She forgives Banks. I don’t, because I’ve attended her appearances and haven’t seen an iota of remorse. None. She’s just sorry she got caught.
Please pray for Woon’s family today.
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Our anonymous correspondent goes on to offer updates on multiple cases working their way through the courts.
On June 27th, a woman walking her three dogs was struck by a hit and run driver just two blocks from the site of AJ Brumback’s slaughter. (His little ghost bike and the large memorial are still there on Google Street View). This collision site is also two blocks southwest of Anita Sue Cherry’s last known address, on the corner of Seneca Dr. and Shawnee Rd.
The victim was hospitalized; the dogs are okay.
This echoes the Ali Zohair Fakhreddine case (going to trial next month), in which repeat drunk driver Fakhreddine killed a Newport Beach woman and her dog, then fled. I “watched” his arrest play out across two counties via the continuously updating CHP Live Incident page. Although Fakhreddine led police on a chase in his bloodied car, he was apprehended.
Next Thursday, Alexis Marvin Garcialopez, who killed 80-year-old Ernest Adams, will be arraigned for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Former bank robber Richard David Lavalle, who killed 12-year-old Noel Bascon as he biked in a crosswalk with his dad, has noir dire set for September 30th.
In regards to the recent hit and run death of the cyclist in La Habra, suspect Mario Poppop (the media gave the name as Popsuc, but jail & court records say Poppop) was released on the 15th. He’s charged with a single count of being an accessory after the fact. Since his son, the accused killer, is a juvenile, I’m unable to determine his status.
Still no court date for Amanda Martin, suspected in the hit and run death of Liem Bui near Mile Square Park last January. (Incidentally, only a week after her arrest, there was another major injury collision involving a cyclist near Mile Square.)
Unlicensed drunk driver Johnathan Martinez Aguilar, who fled after he ran down two female bicyclists (one a doctor) on PCH in Newport Beach in 2019, was sentenced on August 9th to 1 year in jail, 5 years of probation, restitution, and a First Offender Alcohol program.
Nicole Lorraine Linton, who killed six on South La Brea, isn’t the only killer driver with substantial mental illness. Ronald Earl Kenebrew, Jr. and Moises Iscaya, both remanded, remain under continued mental health evaluation.
My Favorite Lawyer™ Christien Petersen, the All-American Freedumb Fighter, will be arraigned on his assorted weapons and kidnapping charges on the 26th, and then the Court turns its attention to his drunk driving matter.
Anyway I have more updates than time to write.
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Evidently, the permanent ban on cars on Griffith Park Drive is just the beginning.
According to LAist, the closure of nearly a mile of the street in Griffith Park to stop commuters from using it as a dangerous cut-through route is just the first phase of the coming safety improvements.
The next phase will involve installing speed humps and speed feedback signs to slow speeding drivers.
That will be followed by creating a road buffet on Crystal Springs Drive, removing a car lane in each direction for new dedicated bike and pedestrian lanes, as well as buffer space for drivers.
This is the street where Andrew Jelmert was killed by an alleged speeding, DUI driver. Whether that would have been enough to keep him alive is questionable, but it’s a good start.
In addition, plans call for bike lanes to Zoo Drive, which is where Finish The Ride and SAFE founder Damian Kevitt was riding when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, and dragged a quarter mile underneath his van onto the 5 Freeway.
As you can see, the street closure is already creating smiles.
I rode Trash Truck this morning. I felt like there was more people biking and walking then I'm used to seeing on a Saturday. @EntitledCycling @bikinginla @nithyavraman pic.twitter.com/hhgpZwcW8D
— Zachary Rynew (@Ciclavalley) August 20, 2022
isn't it nice not having to listen for cars while riding that stretch? it's about time! i stopped a bunch of times to take photos in the middle of the road and never got honked at! 😬 pic.twitter.com/3Vy5PP3Fpx
— joni (@abikeist) August 21, 2022
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This is who we share the road with.
The son of a 67-year old Azusa man has filed suit over the death of his father, who was killed by an Azusa motorcycle cop who somehow ran him down when he was just crossing the street; it’s unclear whether he was walking or riding a bicycle.
A 17-year old was murdered when he was run down by one or more hit-and-run drivers following a dispute at a warehouse parking lot party in South LA, apparently intentionally; the driver ran him down, then jumped into another vehicle and ran over him again. A crowdfunding campaign has raised nearly $5,000 of the $14,000 goal.
A Vancouver woman in her late 60s mistakenly hit the accelerator as she was pulling out of a shared driveway, and plowed into a wedding party, killing two people and injuring ten others, two critically. But police say it was just an “oopsie.”
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By all accounts, yesterday’s return of the Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia was a big hit, with a huge morning turnout.
The Los Angeles Daily News offers a nice photo essay, if you can get past their paywall.
At Hollywood and Vine. Best way to see LA is on your bike at @CicLAvia 💓 pic.twitter.com/cScLXm3aBA
— Sumalee Montano (@sumaleedotcom) August 21, 2022
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This is a very detailed and insightful submission to Redondo Beach officials, and worth a read for anyone who rides the South Bay.
Read my letter to RBCC and Public Works about why we shouldn't reroute bikes from flatter, busier roads to lower-traffic but hillier side streets. 1 gentle hill becomes 2 steep climbs. 4 stop lights (favored direction) become 12 stop signs https://t.co/k8QutaJbzC
— Dr Grace Peng (@gspeng) August 19, 2022
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Bike Silicon Valley is looking for a new Program Coordinator/Manager who can speak Spanish.
Can you develop and implement programs that will get people to ride? Apply to be Program Coordinator/Manager. While we're hiring for multiple program roles, it's top priority for us to bring on people who can teach in other languages, namely Spanish.
Info:https://t.co/H4w741mgp9— Silicon Valley Bike Coalition (@bikesv) August 19, 2022
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Congratulations to Chicago, on finding a crappy new way to door bike riders.
Congrats to the city of Chicago for successfully installing a door zone on the Lakefront Trail pic.twitter.com/FvCZSbJgNU
— Segway Batman (@Segway_Batman) August 18, 2022
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If this doesn’t give you nightmares, you’re officially immune.
This was done by an AI bot. I asked my tech friend, Jake, to put Pennywise on a bike and this came out. pic.twitter.com/J5oAI3Tozq
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 20, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Washington man vows to continue riding, after a road rage attack while training for an Ironman triathlon left him confined to a wheelchair.
This is the harm a single determined NIMBY can do, as one neighborhood lawyer appoints himself to halt a fully approved and funded Chicago greenway.
No bias here. A British lawyer welcomes a proposal to require numbers license plates, speed limits and liability insurance for bike riders, saying “bikes cause harm.” Just wait until someone tells him about cars.
No bias here, either. A British paper blares a headline calling bike riders “Red light rats!” after counting 26 bicyclists rolling through a red light in front of Buckingham palace in just one hour — but fails to mention that the road was closed to cars, and police urged riders to keep going through the intersection, regardless of red lights.
A jury in the UK found two men guilty of murder for intentionally running down a rival drug dealer as he was riding a bicycle, and leaving him to die in the street.
A Spanish driver was arrested following ten hours on the run, after he intentionally drove into a group of eight people riding bicycles, killing two and seriously injuring three other riders.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Bike riders tragically found themselves on both sides of the gun in Los Angeles this weekend; a woman was fatally shot near Seventh Street and Central Avenue early Sunday morning, after arguing with a man who fled by bicycle following the shooting. Meanwhile, a man riding a bicycle was the victim in a Friday shooting in Echo Park, when another man walked up and shot him as he rode by.
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Local
Streetsblog has more details on the “damning” report showing Metro’s highway building program more than offsets the climate benefits of all their bike, pedestrian and transit programs combined.
Streets For All urges you to complete a survey on LA’s Al Fresco Dining Program, which is currently under review; the program allows restaurants to convert parking spaces to outdoor dining areas, bringing more life to the city’s streetscape.
Streetsblog’s Damien Newton interviews CD11 candidates Traci Park and Erin Darling to get their views on transportation issues as they vie to replace outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin.
Outside considers the case of 12-year-old Molly Steinsapir, whose family is suing Rad Power Bikes after the girl was killed while riding on the back of a friend’s ebike.
Automotive website MotorBiscuit concludes that the LA-based Cero One is worth the $3,800 price tag if you can afford it, calling it the SUV of ebikes.
Active SGV co-founder Wesley Reutimann writes about the new GoSGV program, calling it the nation’s first ebike subscription program.
State
Maybe you can’t walk on water, but you can pedal across it. An Orange County man is attempting to break a world record by pedaling from Newport Beach to Catalina.
A nine-year old boy was seriously injured when he was struck by a driver in San Diego’s Mountain View neighborhood, suffering multiple fractures, a concussion and facial lacerations.
Kindhearted Fontana cops bought a new bike and birthday supplies for a seven-year old boy, after a thief stole his mom’s purse with the money she had saved for a birthday gift and party.
She gets it. A Santa Barbara op-ed says bikeways nurture cities.
A 45-year old woman was airlifted from the Santa Ynez Valley after suffering a head injury in a bike crash.
Apparently having learned absolutely nothing from the 2013 San Luis Obispo fiasco, Santa Rosa County is planning to refinish 50 miles of roadways with chip seal, making them virtually unridable for months afterwards
Prosecutors charged a 73-year-old Orinda man with felony hit and run for a July crash that left a 41-year old Oakland bike rider with a fractured pelvis.
National
Curbed’s Alissa Walker examines why it’s so hard to take a drivers license away from people who clearly shouldn’t have one. Thanks to Ted Faber for the link.
They get it. A Streetsblog op-ed makes the case that slow transportation should be a human right.
A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics sounds the alarm over decreased helmet use by children, as 52% of kids under 18 injured while skateboarding, snowboarding and bicycling weren’t wearing helmets.
Trek is recalling every existing 2021 and 2022 Emonda SLR and 2022 Speed Concept SLR bike over fears the carbon frame could break while riding.
A 60-year old man is in the midst of his 13th bicycle tour across the US to raise awareness of brain injuries; he’s been riding for 15 years and 37,500 miles, and is on his third bicycle and fifth bike trailer.
Redbook recommends nine bike friendly cities you can visit right now, without leaving the US.
State and federal leaders are teaming with bike advocates trying to save an aging bridge over the Potomac to use as a bike bridge when a parallel new bridge opens, despite the insistence of transportation officials that maintaining the bridge is not an option.
International
Winnipeg, Manitoba is painting murals on city streets in an effort to slow speeding drivers.
A Toronto paper discovers that some people are choosing to forgo planes, trains and automobile, and take trips by bicycle instead, often aided by ebikes.
The Guardian talks with Brompton’s “evangelist-in-chief,” who is trying to change the world one foldie at a time.
The news isn’t good for Welsh decathlete Ben Gregory, who is in a coma and on life support after fracturing his neck and skull when he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle last week.
A former UK bouncer has turned himself into a bike-riding vigilante to fight crime, after someone vandalized his car, causing around $1,200 damage.
Doctors with Britain’s National Health Service will now be prescribing bike lessons, bike loans and long walks to improve their patients health.
A teenager appears to have set a new world record by riding his bicycle to 76 British castles in a single week, topping the old record of 67.
The Irish Times considers whether Denmark is Europe’s most bike-friendly country.
Competitive Cycling
British cyclist Dan Bigham set a new hour record of 54.723km, topping the 54.526km set by Bradley Wiggins in 2016 — the equivalent of 33,003 miles.
On Sunday, Austrian cyclist Marco Haller was a Hamburger, outsprinting Wout van Aert and Quinten Hermans to win the one Bemer Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany.
Team leader Richard Carapaz gave his Ineos Grenadiers teammates a scare when the Ecuadoran crashed hard after hitting a cone on a tight corner in Sunday’s stage three of the Vuelta.
The news wasn’t as good for Canada’s Michael Woods, who crashed out of the Vuelta with a concussion.
Swiss mountain bike specialist Mathias Flückiger was suspended pending an investigation after testing positive for the anabolic steroid Zeranol. But the era of doping is over, right? Or are most cyclists just getting away with it?
Finally…
Once again, President Biden took a bike ride along the beach, and did not fall off.
And there are a lot worse things you can do with an old bike.
Artist Warren Gregory, known as The Flower Bike Man, has been brightening up Amsterdam by lavishly decorating old bikes and leaving them around the city for everyone to enjoy. pic.twitter.com/1UIOVoU3qE
— Cool Bike Art (@CoolBikeArt1) August 19, 2022
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
Molly dose very better from Outside’s coverage!
They love Rad clearly he owns one and reads newspaper article but not lawsuit while covering lawsuit!
The condescending attitude is remarkable. Rad is accused of multiple wrongs in detail credibly wrongs that are fixable and that have not been fixed absent such an expensive lawsuit for all.
The lawsuit is linked for free in a tweet Molly’s mom made shortly after it was filed. If coverage chooses not to review it that coverage requires reader to do so. It is in English. Rad knows of people being hurt by there bikes but most do not. They CLEARLY have mob on there side so far. But my mind is open and informed now by info avoided by others. I truly am grateful this lawsuit is well filed and will if it goes to jury teach even journalists of sorts how subjective they now are.
The hub motor deserved better components in wheel axle but rad acted like a mom and pop at best denying customers affordable and how upgrade! They acted like it was analog bike undeserving of upgrade despite how cheap it was and how much safer it becomes.
That made it defective. They don’t deserve any doubt the alligation will be proven having had ample time to respond in court of public opinion. I fear it will be settled quietly and magazines if serving readers should as well.
Well, if cyclists and those walking would ride and walk along the curb of the road instead of riding and walking in the middle of the road then accidents wouldn’t happen. I have cycled and walked in LA for over 25 years and never had an accident. I ride along the curb and walk on the sidewalk. Way too many entitled people in LA now
You should ride however you feel safest. However, both the League of American Bicyclists and Cycling Savvy, along with the California DMV, recommend riding in the middle of the lane anytime the lane is too narrow to safely share with another vehicle, while giving you at least three feet between parked cars on the right, and passing cars on the left, to reduce the risk of dooring and unsafe passing.
I have you beat. I’ve been riding that way for over 40 years, including the last 32 in Los Angeles. And the only crash I’ve ever had was a road raging driver who hit me on purpose. I see far more “entitled” people in cars than I do on foot or riding bikes.