San Diego TV station almost gets why no one’s using bike lane, and man turns himself in for San Marcos hit-and-run

September 25, 2024 / / Comments Off on San Diego TV station almost gets why no one’s using bike lane, and man turns himself in for San Marcos hit-and-run
Just 96 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Let me get this straight.

San Diego’s CBS-8 revisited the city’s new “protected” bike lanes on busy Convoy Street to see how they’re fairing, several weeks after they were opened.

What they found were white car-tickler plastic posts that were already broken and bent, commercial trucks parked in the bike lanes, and shopping carts and other debris blocking them.

Then they wondered why they only saw five people using them in the two midday, mid-week hours they happened to be watching.

Of course, they also heard the usual complaints from drivers who couldn’t figure out the new streetscape, or where they could possibly park if they can’t store their cars on the street directly in front of their destination.

Never mind that the bike lanes were built in anticipation of new apartment buildings currently under construction, which will add hundreds of housing units and the people who will live in them, and who will have to get around somehow.

Preferably not by driving.

Hence the bike lanes.

But it’s true that few people will bother to use them if they’re not safe, or safely rideable. Which is pretty much what the station saw.

Now maybe they can come back at rush hour or on the weekend, after they’re cleaned up and the trucks are gone.

Then they could do a far better story about why flimsy plastic bollards don’t protect anyone.

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A 23-year old San Marcos man was arrested after turning himself into sheriff’s deputies for last week’s hit-and-run that left a teenage boy with serious injuries.

Never mind that deputies had already found his massive 2021 GMC Sierra pickup, which matched the debris found following the crash — and showed signs he had attempted to conceal the damage.

Not to mention that the nearly one-week delay in turning himself in gave him plenty of time to sober up after hitting the boy’s ebike.

If he’d been under the influence at the time of the crash, of course.

The driver, Alan Edmundo Reyes, is being held on $80,000 bond on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving resulting in injury.

He’s likely looking at a maximum of 30 months behind bars for the two counts, though that will probably be bargained down to a slap on the wrist if he accepts a plea.

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Unlike the foot-dragging we’ve seen from the City of Los Angeles, LA County passed a new Measure HLA-type law to speed up building the county bike plan as streets get resurfaced.

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If you think you’re being squeezed out on the streets, you’re probably right.

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Just in case you still wonder why traffic deaths for people outside of motor vehicles keep going up.

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“Chim, chimney, chim, chimney, chim, chim, cher-ee…”

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1838643621609804108

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It’s now 280 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Conservative member of the British Parliament proposes re-introducing legislation to let bicyclists know they’re not above the law, and let the “small minority” of dangerous bike riders know there are responsibilities they can be prosecuted for. At least he recognizes that it’s just a few people who need to be held accountable.

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Local  

The candidates for West Hollywood City Council sound off about e-scooters and protected bike lanes, particularly the proposal for a lane reduction and removing parking on Fountain to install them. And not everyone is in favor.

Santa Monica’s MANGo bikeway is now officially open.

 

State

A California Streetsblog board member pledges to go a week without driving, and tell us all about it. Just wait until she learns some people do that every day. 

We’re still waiting for Gavin Newsom to sign SB 961, which would require all passenger vehicles to give an audible warning if the drivers go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Or not.

Calbike is celebrating its 30th birthday, and inviting you to become a dues paying member.

A 28-year old Chula Vista woman has made a miraculous recovery from a near fatal blood clot, suffered days after she got stitches when she crashed her ebike.

San Francisco unveils a plan for a new curbside bike lane on Valencia Street, replacing the current contentious centerline bike lane, although the new parking protected bike lane has to swerve around existing parklets.

The Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition says the city’s new Biking and Rolling Plan must apply to the entire city, and not carve out Chinatown for exemptions.

 

National

A Tucson, Arizona TV station says the return of the annual El Tour De Tucson means big business for local bike shops. Then again, bike events usually mean big business for just about everyone. 

An Aspen, Colorado writer takes obvious pride in not falling for the ebike “hype,” saying there’s nothing cool about them and comparing ebikes to…wait for it…pickleball.

A Colorado woman wonders about a strange “very short” mile-long bike lane. Even if that’s a lot longer than a lot of the bike lanes here in Los Angeles, and just as disconnected.

Police in Oklahoma City busted two men for a twenty grand bike heist, and are looking for another man who’s still on the lam.

The New York Times talks with the city’s Blue Angels who found a way to game the bikeshare system to score thousands of dollars a month.

 

International

It turns out that Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Jackman, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Reggie Miller, Rush drummer Neil Peart, Zac Efron, J-Lo and Arnold are all one of us, too.

The co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes and co-host of the All Bodies on Bikes podcast shares her non-racing bike heroes, including a Paralympian physical therapist and the founder of Black Girl Joy Ride.

Momentum examines Canada’s top new cities for urban bicycling, starting with the top urban cycling city on the prairie.

The CBC fact checks Ontario Premier Doug Ford recent comments opposing bike lanes, including the common myth that they slow emergency vehicles. Yes, he’s the brother of notorious crack-smoking, bike-hating former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

London is seizing ebikes illegally modified to exceed speed limitations, with most belonging to delivery riders who use them for their work.

Unsurprisingly, Sheffield, England’s new Dutch-style bikeways and roundabouts are drawing mixed reviews, largely depending on whether the reviewer bikes or drives.

A new study from Lyon, France shows that allowing bike riders to travel through red lights could improve traffic efficiency.

A Manilla bicycling brigade is fighting to cut the Philippine city’s endless traffic and pollution.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo looks forward to this weekend’s men’s road world championships, framing it as Tadej Pogačar versus the world, while Cyclist looks at the favorites for the women’s road worlds.

Velo also recaps last weekend’s men’s and women’s time trial worlds.

Thrice Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar admits he used to shit his pants after every race, the result of too many energy gels and drinks.

 

Finally…

You can’t sail a modern America’s Cup boat anymore without us. Now you, too, can bike in the glowing footsteps of Oppenheimer and Teller.

And it’s not every day you see a pedaling cow.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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