BikinginLA

So much for that.

The state legislature passed a last-minute bill designed to keep Forest Lawn Drive deadly on a permanent basis. The bill, introduced just three days before the end of the legislative session, came after heavy lobbying by Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai cemeteries, in an apparent attempt to keep drumming up business on their front doorsteps.

I’ll let Streetsblog explain it.

The second trailer was to, in the official Assembly summary of the legislation, “Prohibits reducing vehicle lanes on a road serving two cemeteries in a city exceeding two million people unless specified public hearing, voting, and finding and declaration requirements are met.” This description fits one street in the entire state: Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles. This trailer is a political hot potato, as the fate of the Forest Lawn Drive safety project has become a major issue in the mayor’s race. Streetsblog Los Angeles explains:

Many Streetsblog readers are familiar with recent disputes over the city’s planned Forest Lawn Drive safety improvements. Briefly, in 2023, the city Transportation Department (LADOT) and City Councilmember Nithya Raman announced plans to reconfigure Forest Lawn Drive, making it safer for both drivers and bicyclists. Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries strongly opposed the project. The project was delayed, but was nonetheless ready to be installed this summer, until it was paused by Mayor Karen Bass.

If the governor signs it — and there is no reason to believe he won’t at this point — it would be virtually impossible to build the fully vetted, funded and shovel-ready project as long as Bass remains mayor, and difficult if she’s defeated this November.

It has also convinced me to vote for the opponent of my current Assembly Member, Rick Chavez Zbur, who signed a letter opposing the project and supported the backdoor legislation. I plan to reach out to his opponent, Democrat Colin Hernandez, this week to get his stand on the issue.

Other legislators who signed the letter include 52nd District Assemblymember Jessica Caloza, 44th District Assemblymember Nick Schultz, 54th District Assemblymember Mark González, and 26th District Senator Maria Elena Durazo.

If any of those represent you, I would at least ask them why they oppose safe streets. And consider voting for someone who doesn’t.

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One of the bills passed by the legislature creates a 10 mph speed limit for anyone using an “alternative mode of transportation” on any sidewalk in the state. If the governor signs it, AB 2346 would apply to bicycles, ebikes, scooters, skateboards or anything else that doesn’t travel on two feet.

The bill would also allow local governments to establish a speed limit for bicycle paths and multiuse trails, encouraging limits of 15 or 20 mph, or 10 mph in areas with heavy pedestrian use or limited visibility.

And it would require ebike sellers and distributors to provide written disclosures that include an ebike’s classification under California law and maximum speed and wattage, as well as the state ebike laws and age and helmet requirements. It would also require integrated front and rear lights for any ebikes, along with a speedometer for all Class 2 ebikes.

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The New York Times says the Trump administration really does seem to believe that “D.E.I. bike lanes” really are a thing, fighting to roll back funding for bike projects across the US, even though 3/4 of Americans, and 2/3 of Republicans, support bike lanes in their area.

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Streets For All is hosting debates for city council candidates in West Hollywood and Santa Monica.

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

No bias here. A Wichita, Kansas op-ed argues that the city is spending “more than any city ever should” to “facilitate a hobby enjoyed by a relative handful of people,” by building an artistically designed bike and pedestrian bridge ” that will serve “(maybe) hundreds of people in a city of 400,000.” Just wait until someone tells him what it costs to build a bridge for cars. 

They get it. More than 1,500 people turned out for London’s Critical Mass ride on Friday, which doubled as a protest over a recent intentional hit-and-run that resulted in a murder charge for the driver, with riders calling for a lifetime ban for drivers who use their cars as a weapon.

No bias here, either. A member of the Irish Parliament complains about “massive” bike lanes taking over the streets, in a city where less than 2/3 of a mile of bike lanes have been built in the last decade.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

I think I need an English to English dictionary. After a British teenager refused to move her bike on a train for someone with a fancy racing bike, an online commenter responded “Nta, doesn’t matter how ‘swish’ the other dude’s bike is, it doesn’t give him the right to touch yours.” Google says “NTA” means “not the asshole,” while “swish” translates to “stylish, fashionable, smart or high-class.”

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Local 

Streetsblog reports LADOT has installed new Toronto barriers on a portion of the bike lanes on Imperial Highway near LAX, as well as a new rigid plastic barrier on Crystal Springs Drive in Griffith Park, and plans to extend the protected bike lanes on Hollywood Blvd an 1/4 mile east onto Sunset Blvd. And no, I don’t know the difference between a Toronto barrier and a Jersey barrier. But I do know which term Donald Trump would prefer. 

This is who we share the road with. A high-speed crash in Norwalk involving five drivers and 12 parked cars resulted in the death of one driver, and injured two others.

 

State

The San Diego Reader lists the city’s mot treacherous spots for bike riders, including Friars Road, Nimitz Blvd, University Ave, Pershing Drive and Genesee Ave. Although lately, the answer to that seems to be “everywhere.”

Thanks to a $1.25 million grant  from the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, shade structures and native trees will be installed at five rest stops along the Coachella Valley’s 50+ mile CV Link pathway. Despite the illustration accompanying the article, palm trees aren’t native to the California desert, nor are they technically trees, being a member of the grass family. 

Sad news from Visalia, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a hit-and-run  Sunday night.

In another backward step, a state board approved new private fences on private properties along the Sacramento River, complicating plans to complete a continuous 40-mile pathway along the river.

 

National

The National Park Service is proposing a new rule to ease access for bicycles and ebikes in National Parks, eliminating some review requirements and giving park managers more flexibility to allow bikes on roads, parking areas and trails. And yes, that includes here in Yosemite.

Authorities identified the person killed by a driver during the New Belgium Brewery’s annual Tour de Fat in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown as a 33-year old Denver man; the driver of the pickup reportedly drove up onto the sidewalk after hitting another vehicle while backing out of a parking space, killing the man and injuring four other people, as witnesses rushed to aid the victims.

Like virtually everywhere else, illegal ebike usage by minors continues to be an issue in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Something that I included only because it’s so much fun to say Sheboygan. 

A 44-year old man was killed, and other person critically injured, in collisions just hours apart as they tried to ride their bicyclists around construction zones in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday, raising questions about whether enough is being done to protect riders around traffic disruptions.

Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts completed a series of five century rides through his district to honor the victims of a 2021 flood that took 20 lives; he began the project after surviving a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2020.

A 30-year old Massachusetts man was killed when his bicycle “collided” with a pickup truck, in a crash that apparently didn’t involve a driver, and where no humans appear to be in control of either vehicle.

A new 430-mile gravel bikepacking loop snakes through the Endless Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A 63-year old Miami, Florida orthopedic surgeon is paralyzed from the waist down and fighting for his life after he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle on the city’s deadly Rickenbacker Causeway.

 

International

Nearly 1,400 people took part in the 44th annual two-day, 190-mile Seattle-to-Vancouver bike ride.

Ontario, Canada takes a significant step backward, as work begins to rip out hard won and heavily used bike lanes in Toronto over the objections of city leaders, in order to give the space back to cars and offer a virtual “fuck you” to the province’s bicycling community.

A British man has been sentenced to five years and four months behind bars for killing a 17-year old boy who had just beaten leukemia, after crashing into the teenager’s bicycle while popping wheelies at up to 33 mph on an illegal ebike.

Queensland, Australia passed a tough new ebike law, mandating that ebikes to meet EU standards, banning any ebike riders under 16, requiring at least a learners permit to ride one, and limiting speeds to just 7.5 mph around pedestrians.

An Aussie writer suggests there’s a growing divide between bicyclists and cars in the country’s capital of Canberra. Although I believe he means between bicyclists and motorists, since most cars don’t really care one way or the other.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cycling pro Ben Moore is using his social media platform to help people get their bikes back after a major bike shop unexpectedly closed, locking the doors with customer’s bikes back inside.

French cyclist Bastien Tronchon overcame two late attackers to win a messy sprint to the finish in stage 10 of the Vuelta, as Enric Man held onto the red leader’s jersey with a 1:18 lead over Primož Roglič.

A columnist for Cycling News says Tadej Pogačar’s abandonment while leading the Vuelta and pending collarbone surgery will likely end his season, and could complicate next year’s plans.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you’re an 84-year old globe-trotting bike rider from the neck down, and a teenager from the neck up. Or when your hotel offers a bicycling concierge and multi-use trails right outside its door.

And presenting a bike tour for riders who give a Flock.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. And no apologies for the pun. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.