Day 259 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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There’s good news on Fountain Ave for a change.
After three-and-a-half hours of public discussion, a deeply divided West Hollywood City Council voted to move forward with a Complete Streets makeover of the deadly corridor — including curb protected bike lanes.
It’s going to take awhile to digest everything, in part because the actual vote got a little confusing when they broke the motion into three parts.
But here’s how things broke down.
First up was a vote to approve staff recommendations 1 & 3, which passed 3-2:
- Consider approval of 30% Plans for Phase 1 of the Project;
- Approve Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement for Services with Fehr & Peers in the amount of $131,040 to provide Construction Administration and design contingency for Phase 1 of the Project;
Second, the council voted unanimously to approve recommendations 2 & 4, amended to include an assessment of removing peak hour parking:
- Provide direction on recommended immediate traffic calming measures that can be made in the next 1-2 months ahead of the delivery of Phase 1 of the Project;
- Authorize Staff to initiate Phase 2 of the Project, including the release of a Request for Proposals for a Phase 2 consultant, and the expansion of the Steering Committee to guide the visioning process;
Finally, they approved recommendation 5 to exempt the project from CEQA by another 3-2 vote:
- Find Phase 1 of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project statutorily and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code sections §21080.25, §15301(c), and §15304(h).
By my count, public comment broke down 25 to 18 in favor of the project, though there were a handful of comments that required a secret decoder ring to figure out whether they were for or against.
And a few even that didn’t work for.
While the final outcome is great news, the close vote means it would only take a change of one vote to halt things in its tracks when the project returns to the council next year to approve a construction contract.
So it’s still fingers crossed for now. But things are looking pretty good.
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On the other hand, things aren’t looking great in the state legislature, as Streetsblog reports only a few traffic safety-related passed both houses before the deadline.
- AB 366 extends the operation of interlock devices indefinitely after a driver is found guilty of a DUI and repeals related reporting requirements
- SB 71 streamlines CEQA review requirements for public transportation and bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects that reduce car dependency
- SB 720 modernizes state regulations allowing municipalities to create and operate red light camera programs
On the other hand, a number of good bills failed to advance.
- AB 891 would have required Caltrans to develop quick-build projects to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
- AB 939 would have placed a bond on next year’s statewide ballot to fund sustainable transportation throughout California
- AB 954 failed to pass despite being significantly watered down, going from a mandate requiring that Caltrans build bike highways, to merely defining them in state planning documents
- SB 445 would have created deadlines for permitting Complete Streets and sustainable transportation projects to prevent local governments from dragging out the process while they barter for concessions
Finally, one failure was good news, as AB 697, which would have allowed the expansion of State Route 37 through protected habitats and wetlands in Sonoma County, suffered a welcome death.
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This is who we share the road with.
A road-raging driver in New York’s Hudson Valley faces multiple charges, after chasing an ambulance that passed him while responding to an emergency call with lights and siren — then brake-checking the ambulance after he caught up to it.
Although all the charges are misdemeanors and traffic citations at this point. But let’s hope it’s enough to keep the 47-year old man from driving again until he’s 87.
Or maybe ever.
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Active SGV is hosting bike rides in Montebello and El Monte this Saturday.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An economist with the libertarian Hoover Institution is convinced new bike lanes on El Camino Real between Menlo Park and Sunnyvale aren’t worth the lost business during construction work and a loss of parking, because he and his wife only saw on bike rider at the exact moments they happened to go by. Never mind that bikes can be harder to see because bike lanes move riders more efficiently than traffic lanes, and that bike lanes usually result in higher retail sales.
A Florida man with a history of road rage assaults got out of his truck to threaten a 19-year old bike rider, who yelled at him about speeding, then told him to “shut the fuck up” when the driver responded by flipping him off. Thanks to Mike for the heads-up.
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Local
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers photos and an open thread from Sunday’s Historic South Central meets Watts CicLAvia.
Pasadena finally approved a sweeping update to the North Lake Ave Specific Plan after a 10-year public process, including wider sidewalks and bike parking, but no bike lanes despite providing access to a Metro train station.
Writing for Cycling West, Peter Abraham says he was excited by Caltrans’ plans to install new bike lanes on deadly PCH through the ‘Bu, until he learned about the 11 to 20-year timeline — and that’s if they can get funding of up to $268 million. So we might as well get more ghost bikes and white tires ready, because we’re likely to need them before they get this damn thing fixed.
State
British adventurer Matt Garman set out from San Diego to ride across the US, with a single bag containing just one set of clothes, a cellphone and a credit card, to raise funds for a children’s charity. And that ain’t gonna protect him from any early winter weather along the way.
Eureka will begin work this weekend to complete a bicycle blvd on the city’s C Street.
National
Olympic speed skater Jordan Stolz is one of us, making a comeback on the rink after suffering a deep gash in his leg when he went over his handlebars and into a ditch when his chain unravelled while riding near his Wisconsin home.
An 80-year old Boston man describes how he was the first bike rider to crash because of new speed bumps installed in a local state park.
She gets it. A Philadelphia lawyer says we need to start treating bicycling fatalities as “the natural outcome of a system that prioritizes cars above people,” and “commit to making sure they can walk, ride, and bus to class without fear.”
Heartless Virginia Beach thieves made off with an adaptive recumbent bike that a 69-year old woman was using to complete her recovery from a massive ischemic stroke that initially left the left side of her body totally paralyzed.
A Virginia group is working for safer streets through an online dashboard that allows bike riders and motorists to report near-miss collisions due to driver or infrastructure issues.
International
A split screen British advertising campaign is putting posters on firetrucks calling for giving bike riders and others more space on the road.
Competitive Cycling
Twenty-three-year old American cyclist Matthew Riccitello signed with the French Decathlon CMA CGM team for the next three years, after finishing fifth at the Vuelta and winning the white jersey for best young rider.
Pro cyclists say that next time it will only get worse, after pro-Palestinian protesters managed to disrupt the recent Vuelta, leading to the shortening of several stages, including the final.
UCI understandably questioned Spain’s ability to host major events going forward, while WorldTour cycling teams considered boycotting the Israel-Premier Tech team in future races; meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from international competition.
The Philadelphia Cycling Classic is making an unexpected comeback next year after a ten-year hiatus, promising a return of world-class — though not necessarily WorldTour — cyclists.
I want to be like her when I grow up. An 82-year old woman nicknamed “Granny McGnarly” is still shredding downhills in mountain bike races.
Finally…
Well, why wouldn’t you build a new space capsule docking prototype from spare mountain bike parts? That feeling when your impromptu DIY cycling podium is made from ice chests.
And just call it Living La Vida Vaca.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
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