Just 105 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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No bias here.
WeHo Online’s Steve Martin — no, not the comedian — continues his campaign against the planned safety improvements on Fountain Ave through West Hollywood, insisting there is a “silent majority” rising up in opposition to the plan, despite an informal online survey showing it was supported by two-thirds of respondents.
Then again, he complains that people from outside the city were allowed to respond to it, as if only people who live on Fountain Ave ever use the street.
He also takes issue with a perceive lack of outreach, even though those of us who were paying attention were aware of the plan to remove traffic lanes and street parking to widen sidewalks and add protected bike lanes at least two years ago. As were all those people who took the time to respond to that online survey he disparages.
But they don’t count, evidently.
Then there’s his complaint that Bike LA, formerly the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, will assist with outreach to prepare residents for the changes, calling them “hardly an unbiased party.” And adding that the group will work in conjunction with Streets For All, and “will be able to skewer whatever conversations take place.”
As if merely explaining a project that has already been approved by the city council requires any actual “skewering.”
The city council was scheduled to vote last night to accept a $5 million grant from the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB — and yes, he even gets that name wrong in his sputtering anger — to help pay for the life-saving changes on Fountain.
Let’s hope they had the sense to say yes. And that the approval will finally put an end to this nonsense.
But I wouldn’t count on it.
Graphic for a virtual workshop to discuss plans for Fountain Ave from October, 2022.
Which would no doubt cause apoplexy to the afore-mentioned “silent majority” in West Hollywood. Not to mention in here Los Angeles, where the ability to go “zoom zoom” to your heart’s content is taken as a God-given right, consequences be damned.
Except for all those people who voted for Measure HLA by a similar — wait for it — two-thirds margin, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, that online survey wasn’t so wrong after all.
The steady drumbeat of sad news from Northern California continues, where a 53-year old Ukiah man was killed when he hit something on the trail he was riding and was thrown from his ebike, striking his head; police say he was wearing a helmet, but didn’t have it secured properly.
National
Good question. Velo says that good bike parking is inexpensive, easy to implement and encourages more bicycling, so why is it so hard to find?
September 16, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on City Council unanimously orders report on cleaning protected bike lanes, and killer of Gaudreau brothers had .087 BAC
Just 106 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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I neglected to thank Erik G and Robert L last week for their generous donations to help out with my shoulder issues, and keep this site coming your way now that I’m back to work.
Which doesn’t mean they’ll ever actually do it, of course.
The motion, which was passed unanimously, requires them to report on both the equipment and staffing required to sweep the city’s protected bike lanes every other week. The agencies were also ordered to report on the best practices to maintain protected bike lanes, and what the city does now.
Which clearly ain’t much.
In fact, the city has just two street sweepers designed for protected bike lanes, and only uses them on a quarterly basis — as anyone who rides them regularly can probably tell.
If that sounds cynical, it’s because we’ve been here before. The city has a habit of ordering reports that never come back, and never get acted on if they do.
In fact, we’re still waiting for the city’s “much better” version of Measure HLA, which was supposed to come back to the council long before HLA was overwhelmingly passed by the voters.
So it’s a positive step forward — but only if we stay on top of them and make sure the city follows through on it.
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The driver who killed the hockey playing Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bikes on a rural New Jersey highway was legally drunk after the crash. But not as drunk as he made it sound.
Higgins is being held without bail, charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
He faces up to 20 years if he’s convicted, and would have to serve at least 85% of his sentence.
Yet the original article inexplicably ends with a section on the rising rate of ebike injuries — even though his injuries had nothing to do with the kind of bicycle he was riding.
The co-captain of the WeHo East Neighborhood Watch Association is denying that a letter purporting to come from his organization, which was used to obtain more than $8 million in funding to fix sidewalks and install protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave from the California Air Resources Board, was actually written by the group and represented their wishes.
And still more sad news, this time from Sacramento, where a woman riding a bicycle died in the hospital after she was found lying in the roadway; police don’t know yet if she fell or was the victim of a hit-and-run.
About damn time. Sacramento is considering declaring a road safety state of emergency to free up more resources to confront the rise in pedestrian and bike rider deaths. Meanwhile, here in Los Angeles, we had a record level of pedestrian and bicycling deaths last year, and no one in city government seems to give a damn.
The leader of a London borough council is tired of abandoned dockless ebikes littering the streets and teenagers zooming along the sidewalks, and wants to have all Lime bikes crushed. Just wait until he learns about all the cars blocking sidewalks and bike lanes, and drivers zooming down the streets.
A Welsh woman will spend a well-deserved 45 months behind bars for fleeing the scene after running a bike-riding man down from behind, and selling her car days later to cover up the crime; the victim had to have his leg amputated due to his injuries. And yes, that sentence should have been a hell of a lot longer.
Samoa named its first-ever national cycling team, with a goal of competing in the 2027 Pacific Games in Tahiti; the country’s new riders range in age from 17 to 53. Yes, 53.
I am reluctantly throwing in the towel on Friday’s post. I was really hoping to make it through my first week back, but after trying, and failing, to write tonight, I’ve just got nothing left to give.
As usual, we’ll be back on Monday to catch up on what we missed. And hopefully by then my aching shoulder and I will both be rested and ready to work.
September 12, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Annual AIDS/LifeCycle Ride ending next year, Burbank Mobility Debate tonight, and 17 years since bees tried to kill me
Just 110 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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Hard to believe this is the 17th anniversary of the Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter that sent me to the ICU, and onto the path that led me here.
Because it was the months I spent confined to home afterwards, recovering from a massive hematoma caused by an even more massive bike crash, that inspired me to start writing about bicycling and advocating for bike safety.
Maybe someday I’ll tell you the rest of the story from that day, involving one of those deeply spiritual, bright light near-death experiences only other people seem to have.
Then again, you’d probably just think I was fucking nuts.
The annual AIDS/LifeCycle Ride is coming to an end after 30 years.
The iconic seven day, 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles will roll out for the last time next June, arriving in LA for the end of Pride Week.
Over its three decade lifespan, AIDS/LifeCycle has raised over $300 million for the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, starting when HIV/AIDS was still a death sentence for too many people in this country.
But a decline in both ridership and donations since the pandemic has meant it no longer brings in enough to justify continuing.
“Especially after the last few years, that what’s left after we pay those costs, it doesn’t rise to the level of what we believe in our industry is an ethical way to run a fundraiser,” said Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
So if you’ve been thinking about doing it “someday,” next year is your last chance.
Let’s hope it goes out with the biggest and most successful ride yet.
A group of US and Irish firefighters raised nearly $150,000 with a three day, 225-mile bike ride through the Irish countryside to honor the victims of 9/11, visiting 17 fire stations and finishing at a memorial garden built by an Irish nurse who treated the victims from the twin towers.
Erstwhile country singer Kasey Musgraves is one of us, wrecking her knee by crashing a rented ebike while trying to record a video on a trip to Ireland to kick off her latest tour — and that wasn’t even the worst part of her trip.
September 11, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Oceanside hosts Rail Trail meeting, and Streets For All says California ebike vouchers are coming (no, really)
Just 111 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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It’s a light news day, so let’s get right to it.
And yes, my shoulder is grateful for that.
Apropos of nothing, today’s image is an AI corgi on a bicycle.
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Oceanside is hosting a public meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing a vital gap in San Diego County’s Coastal Rail Trail.
The City of Oceanside is planning to improve the multi-use trail connectivity between Buccaneer Park and Vista Way, and add a new trail from Vista Way to Carlsbad Boulevard. Join us online for an update on the trail: Wed., Sept. 18 @ 6PM. More: https://t.co/nTTIF1lYrE#Oceansidepic.twitter.com/ylAyMOHLfQ
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A 60-something English man was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his bike on Monday. Yet the local press just blames the “horsebox” — aka horse trailer on this side of the pond — for striking him, without even mentioning there was probably a driver towing it.
In a story originally blockaded by the San Francisco Chronicle’s draconian paywall, Waymo alleges a bike rider made intentional contact with one of their automated robotaxis, and deliberately fell over afterwards. Or the rider could have put his hand out to avoid getting hit, and fell over as a result. Just saying.
Momentumrides France’s La Régalante, a new 170-mile bike route weaving through the historic Marches de Bretagne from Mont-Saint-Michel to Nantes, saying it offers “a seamless blend of adventure, culture, and natural beauty.”
September 10, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sac school boosts attendance by giving students bikes, and more CA bike bills awaiting the governor’s signature
Just 112 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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That’s more like it.
A Sacramento middle school was able to reduce tardy arrivals and boost attendance by giving bicycles to students with attendance problems, so they can ride to school.
“Attendance is everything,” said Michael Rosales, an attendance technician at Mills Middle School. “The child cannot learn if they aren’t here. The child can’t be social if they aren’t here.”
“Traffic is horrible around here, and sometimes, if we can alleviate that where the child can ride to school, it helps the parents get the other students to their schools on time,” he said.
Now all they need is enough safe infrastructure to protect the kids on their way to class, and make their parents feel comfortable letting them ride there.
Safer Vehicles Save Lives Bill, SB 961 (Wiener): The second half of Senator Wiener’s street safety package, which CalBike sponsored along with the Complete Streets Bill, will require most cars, trucks, and buses sold in California to include passive intelligent speed assist (ISA) by 2030. ISA gives drivers a signal when they exceed the speed limit by 10 miles per hour and can help prevent speed-related collisions, saving lives. It is already required in Europe and uses existing technology that is widely available.
Transportation Accountability Act, AB 2086 (Schiavo): An excellent complement to the Complete Streets Bill, this measure will require Caltrans to account for where California’s transportation dollars go. It will be an essential tool for advocates who want to make sure our spending matches our climate and equity goals.
Banning Bridge Tolls for People Walking and Biking, AB 2669 (Ting): This bill makes permanent a measure that sunsets next year. It allows toll-free crossings for people who walk or bike across toll bridges. It will have the biggest impact in the Bay Area, which has several toll bridges with bicycle and pedestrian lanes.
Bike Lanes in Coastal Areas, SB 689 (Blakespear): This bill limits the ability of the Coastal Commission to block the development of new bikeways on existing roads in coastal areas.
Limits on Class III Bikeways, SB 1216 (Blakespear): Class III bikeways are lanes shared by bike riders and car drivers. While they may be appropriate for neighborhood streets and some other contexts, they are sometimes used in place of more protective infrastructure because the cost is much lower. This bill would limit the use of state funding to create Class III bikeways on high-speed routes. It was originally in conflict with a provision of AB 2290, but since that bill died in the Senate Appropriations Committee, we’re happy to see this measure reach the governor’s desk.
E-Bike Battery Safety Standards, SB 1271 (Min): This bill requires all e-bikes sold in California to use batteries with safety certifications. It will help prevent most, if not all, battery fires, as those are usually caused by substandard batteries.
Unsafe Speed Penalties, SB 1509 (Stern): Continuing the speed theme, this bill would increase penalties for speeding more than 25 mph over the speed limit on roads with speed limits of 55 mph or less.
Not included on the list are some key bills that didn’t make it through the legislature, including bills to create a quick build bike lane pilot program at Caltrans, and once again pass a Stop As Yield bill for the governor to veto.
A Miami cop got fired for driving off when witnesses to a fatal hit-and-run asked him to help the victim, who had been riding an ebike, telling them to find someone else. And he should have been, too.
Yesterday as cyclists on a ghost bike ride prepared to leave the crash site a lone @TorontoPolice officer lost his cool, creating a situation of danger in a roadway. As I tried to assure him we were on our way he threatened to arrest me & thru my bike on the ground 1/3 #bikeTOpic.twitter.com/AMovLvKcf5
— The Biking Lawyer (Dave Shellnutt) (@TheBikingLawyer) September 8, 2024
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Here’s another reason to ride a bike. A Texas couple got married in front of 1,800 people at a Waco bike race because bicycling brought them together. No one can guarantee you’ll find true love, of course. Except you’ll probably love your bicycle.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. A 68-year old man riding near the end of a Fort Worth, Texas group ride was killed when a woman entering from a side street drove through the group, hitting the victim with enough force to kill him instantly — but won’t be charged after she remained at the scene, and was very distraught. Although I imagine the victim’s loved ones were even more distraught.
He gets it. A Mad City driver and bicyclist says yes, there are several factors causing traffic problems in the city, but the bike lanes ain’t one of ’em.
A New York father faces charges for failing to secure his guns after his 11-year old son came out carrying a shotgun, and ordered a 13-year old boy riding a bicycle to get away from their house. But it’s okay, ’cause he never pointed it at the kid or anything.
I’ve been out for over a month after surgery to replace two tendon and fix a number of tears in my right shoulder. I’m now looking at a long recovery, with six months of rehab before I’m back to normal, let alone get back on a bike.
Or whatever passes for normal at my age.
I’ll do my best to keep this site going on a regular basis, but may face some issues going forward depending on how well rehab goes.
Before we move on, though, let’s take a moment to consider that the new tendons holding my shoulder together came from caring people who donated their bodies after death.
We tend to think of organ donation as involving hearts and lungs, livers and kidneys. But corneas, skin, bones and yes, tendons, also stem from that same kindness.
And I couldn’t be more grateful for them.
So if you haven’t signed your organ donor card, what the hell are you waiting for?
Now let’s catch up on some of the bigger stories we missed over the past 34 days, before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
The brothers were run down on a rural road in Oldmans Township on Thursday, August 30th, the night before they were supposed to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding.
Needless to say, the wedding is off for now.
They were run down from behind after the driver, identified as 43-year old Sean Higgins, passed one car on the left, then attempted to pass an SUV on the right when it moved left to go around the Gaudreaus.
Higgins failed a field sobriety test, telling police he had five or six beers before the crash, and that his drinking probably contributed to “his impatience and reckless driving.”
He was arrested at the scene, and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
SB 960 requires Caltrans to follow their own Complete Streets policies
SB 961 is a severely watered-down version of the bill which would have forced automakers to prevent drivers from speeding more than ten miles over the speed limit; the law now just requires an audible warning
SB 1297 extends the states speed cam pilot program to PCH in Malibu
SB 1261 limits the placement of sharrows to streets with speed limits of 30 mph or less
SB 689 eliminates the need for a separate Coastal Commission study in order to convert a traffic lane to a bike or transit lane
SB 1271 requires that only ebikes with UL or EU certification can be sold in the state
In 2021 the City began a high-level study which envisioned the Wash as a nine mile green space from its confluence with the LA River up to Crescenta Valley Park. It includes bike and pedestrian trails with access to business and entertainment venues, and connects several important city centers, services and a multitude of neighborhoods that make up a large core of Glendale.
Walk Bike Glendale urges you to attend or call into the meeting, or email the individual council members in advance.
Once again, the Los Angeles County Sheriff department demonstrated how little their deputies know about bike law, when former LA-based pro Phil Gaimon — star of the Worst Retirement Ever videos on YouTube — had to educate one on why the ticket he was about to get was against the law.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
After a 14-year old boy was seriously injured by a garbage truck driver while riding to school in La Mesa, California, the city’s NBC station demonstrated how to get the story wrong, with a headline suggesting the boy collided with the truck, rather than the other way around. Nope, no bias there.
Police in Dublin, Ireland are investigating an apparent road rage attack by a driver who pushed a bicyclist up against a barrier and repeatedly hit him with his fists as bystanders tried to stop the attack.
Caltrans is still conducting its Pacific Coast Highway Master Plan Feasibility Study to determine just what safety improvements people want — or rather, are willing to tolerate. So if you bike, walk or drive along PCH in Malibu, you owe it to yourself and everyone else to take part.
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines the first six months since Measure HLA passed with overwhelming support, mandating the city to build out the eight-year old mobility plan whenever a street gets resurfaced. So far the news isn’t good, with work on Reseda Blvd moving forward while everything else stalled out — including the city’s workaround on Vermont Ave in South LA to avoid triggering HLA.
A man riding his bike on Highway 1 suffered several injuries — and got a couple traffic tickets — after falling over 100 feet when he ignored “road closed” signs and a warning that he would probably die by attempting to ride across a rock slide that shut down the highway. And he nearly did.
Apple TV+ premiered Ghost Bike, a short film about a mother who meets a stranger in a Greek diner, who may hold the key to solving her son’s untimely death — apparently on a bicycle.
A writer for BuzzFeed offers 22 very tongue-in-cheek reasons why wearing a helmet is “literally one of the absolute worst decisions a person can make.”
A new German report says distracted bicycling is on the rise, blaming it for a significant, but undetermined, increase in crash risk. Never mind that many of the 10 to 17% of bicyclists who use their smartphones while riding are probably just using navigation or bike apps.
September 6, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Woman riding bicycle killed in Camarillo collision, almost no details available — except what she wasn’t wearing
A woman was killed riding her bike in Camarillo Friday afternoon.
But all we know about her right now is what wasn’t on her head.
She was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now. No word on how the crash occurred, or who may have been at fault.
Only that sheriff’s deputies thought it was important to mention that the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, wasn’t wearing a helmet. Which only matters if she died of a head injury, or if the crash might have somehow been survivable with one.
This is at least the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
I want to share this press release from SAFE — aka Streets Are For Everyone — about their press conference tomorrow at the Ronald Reagan Building at 300 South Spring Street in DTLA.
They need to get as many people there as possible to show their support. So if you’ve got the morning free and can handle the 100° heat, plan to be there.
I’ll be home resting my surgically repaired shoulder in hopes of getting back to work on Monday. So we’ll see you back here next week.
Calling on Gov. Newsom to Lead the US in Efforts to Combat Dangerous Speeding
Saturday, 7 September – Victims of traffic violence, activists for safer roads, and road safety organizations from across Southern California will be holding a press conference and Ghost Tire placement in front of the Ronald Reagan Building in Downtown LA, calling on Gov. Newsom to sign Senate Bill 961 (Weiner) and Senate Bill 1509 (Stern).
“Speed is the largest factor behind all traffic fatalities and serious injuries across CA. To put it simply, speed kills,” said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone. “In the City of Los Angeles, those injured or killed are most likely to be pedestrians – kids going to school, parents going to work – devastating families and friends of those hit.” Per a report written by SAFE, Los Angeles City has seen an 81% increase in traffic fatalities and a 108% increase in pedestrian fatalities since 2015. In 2023, 37.8% of all collisions were caused by speeding. (Source: TIMS)
SB 1509 increases accountability for driving at dangerous speeds by assigning two points for repeat offenses of excessive speeding within three years and creating a graduated fine schedule based on the number of violations within a year. For a fact sheet about this bill, click here.
SB 961 is a first-of-its-kind bill that will be a game-changer. This bill will require vehicle manufacturers to install speed warning technology—an audio and visual alertwhen drivers are going more than 10 MPH above the speed limit—in all vehicles made or sold in California (excluding emergency vehicles and motorcycles) starting in model year 2030. This technology is not new; Toyota will already offer it as a standard feature for all new cars, and Europe requires it for all new cars. SB 961 would require it as standard for all manufacturers. For a fact sheet about about this bill, click here. For answers to FAQs, click here.
The automobile industry is opposed to SB 961 and continues to design vehicles that are dramatically faster than previous generations. According to the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report, the average American vehicle from model year 2021 could reach 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. This is about twice as fast as cars purchased in the early 1980s. Electric vehicles are even faster than the average American vehicle, with many reaching 60 MPH in only a few seconds. While advanced safety measures might protect drivers and passengers in these vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists outside of cars are getting hit and killed in greater numbers than in the past. The truth is that the US is the only industrialized nation in the world with a worsening traffic violence statistic by trend.
“If the auto industry is going to make cars and trucks that encourage drivers to go too fast, there needs to be vehicle technology that helps counteract this,” said Damian. “Sixty years ago, when states wanted to require car seat belts, the auto industry fought it. But no one would question seat belts today as a necessary safety measure. Intelligent Speed Assistance in vehicles is no different.”
In 1961, Wisconsin was the first state to mandate seat belts in all vehicles, which eventually led to a federal law requiring them. Seat belts are credited with saving more than 500,000 lives in America.
What: Press Conference and Ghost Tire Placement
When: 9:30 AM, Saturday, 7 September, 2024
Where: Ronald Reagan Building, State of California, 308 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Who: Victims of Traffic Violence, including Cindi Enamorado (lost her brother), Lili Trujillo Puckett (lost her daughter), Lori Argumedo (lost her niece), Darlene Smith (lost her sister), and more.
Representatives from non-profit organizations and advocacy groups, including Streets Are For Everyone, Streets For All, Car-Lite Long Beach, Street Racing Kills, Faith for SAFEr Streets, Bike Long Beach, So Cal Families for Safe Streets, SAFE Families, Move LA, Walk n Rollers, LA Walks, and more.
I was really hoping to be back by now. But my doctor tells me.a that, while my shoulder surgery was successful, they had to do a lot more work than they expected. And I haven’t bounced back the way I had planned.
So please accept my apologies. I’ll try to be back to our regular schedule next week.
