According to Palm Springs TV station News Channel 3, a bike rider was killed in Rancho Mirage this morning by a speeding driver, who claims he was trying to get away from someone who was attempting to run him off the road.
Sure, let’s go with that.
The victim was struck at the intersection of Ramon Road and Rattler Road around 6:49 am. A photographer for the station who witnessed the crash reported that the victim was rear-ended as he was riding east on Ramon Road, with the force of the impact sending him cartwheeling through the air.
The young driver of the white Honda Accord reportedly overcorrected as he was speeding down the road, swerving to the right and slamming into Campbell’s bike. He was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Another driver reportedly stopped at a gas station a little further down the road, lending credence to reports that a second vehicle was involved.
While road rage is a possibility, street racing is as well, especially since the crash occurred near a high school.
The plan calls for discouraging new surface parking lots, and prohibits new gas stations and drive-throughs. It also bans auto-oriented land use, such as auto repair shops, near transit stations, along with even stricter parking restrictions.
And in a move that would send Los Angeles NIMBYs running to their lawyers, it calls for increased density near traffic, and allows triplex apartments in every neighborhood — even those currently zoned for single family homes.
The goal is to — wait for it — cut the number of local driving trips by 40%, while reducing emissions 80% in the next 30 years.
Compare that to the current Los Angeles policy, which is to hope that self-driving electric cars will somehow magically save us from having to make any tough choices.
And would, if the actions of our “progressive” leaders equalled their pro-environment, anti-climate change words.
Instead, they’ll continue to fiddle while Rome burns in fear of further aggravating already angry drivers, and the dwindling number of homeowners who can actually afford a million-dollar single family starter home.
Never mind making the hard choices the city, and our world, demand.
The city will also eliminate off-street parking requirements within a quarter mile, and loosen restrictions in a half-mile radius around transit stations.
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I’ve seen and heard countless comments from people complaining about getting hit by e-scooters over the last year. In fact, two people in my building have been injured in collisions with scooter riders in the past few months.
I almost joined them last night.
The Corgi and I were walking on the sidewalk in a residential section of Hollywood Blvd when I saw three adult men on scooters coming up from behind. So we moved over to the grass to give them room, and they passed without incident.
But several seconds later, after we moved back onto the sidewalk, something slammed into me from behind with no warning.
I was still trying to figure out what the hell happened when I saw a man hurry to get back on his scooter and rush away, without a single word of apology or even a glance back to see if we were okay.
Fortunately, neither one of us were seriously injured, though my back hurts everywhere as I write this several hours later. And I suspect I’m going to be pretty immobile for the next few days.
And he’s lucky he didn’t hit the Corgi, or Lime would need a proctologist to get their scooter back.
I know there are people think e-scooters should be banned because of incidents like this.
But it wasn’t Lime who a) illegally rode on a residential sidewalk, b) had the throttle wide open trying to catch up to his friends, and c) tried to squeeze past us without a single word of warning.
E-scooters, like bicycles and cars, are just tools.
And while steps can be taken to improve their safety, I don’t know any way of ensuring that jerks like that aren’t allowed to use them.
After all, it hasn’t worked with motor vehicles yet. And probably never will, until we take humans out of the equation.
One quick reminder: You’re required to stop and render aid, and exchange ID, after any crash, whether in a car, on a bike or riding an e-scooter. Anyone who fails to do so can be charged with hit-and-run — besides being a total schmuck.
So I can safely say that after a lifetime of bicycling, the rest of me may be reaching its expiration date, but my heart can still hit run circles around hearts half its age.
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Local
As expected, the LA city council voted to raise speed limits on over 100 miles of surface streets throughout the city so police can legally use speed guns to enforce the new limits, as required by California’s deadly 85th Percentile Law. Seriously, this law has to be changed. Because Vision Zero is nothing but a bunch of pretty platitudes if we keep increasing speeds to ever more dangerous levels.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. In Los Angeles, you can flee the scene after killing a pedestrian with your car — even a successful musician — and walk away with nothing more than probation.
According to a new report from the US Department of Transportation, the problem isn’t that traffic lanes are too small, it’s that fire trucks and other heavy vehicles are too damn big, saying smaller trucks could save lives while doing the job just as well.
A lack of cycle tracks and safe bike parking keeps people in an Indian city from bicycling — and the cleaner air that would come with it. Sort of like just about everywhere else.
The Rampart Village Neighborhood Council will consider a proposal at tonight’s meeting to embrace a revival of the moribund Cyclists Bill of Rights, now dubbed the Mobility Bill of Rights. Which was sort-of adopted by the LA city council ten years ago at the behest of the late Bill Rosendahl, then promptly forgotten.
“10. Discussion and possible Action on – the recommendation from the President to take a position on the Bike Writer’s Coalition (BWC) motion that, Rampart Village Neighborhood Council claims & asserts the aspirational document known as “The Mobility Bill of Rights”; RVNC embraces the public space of our community & the City at-large by proclaiming that “Streets are for People!” “
That’s the good.
The ugly is the following motion to remove all Vision Zero traffic calming measures — the few that have actually been installed, anyway — and return Los Angeles to its deadly, exclusively auto-centric recent past.
“11. Discussion and/or Possible Action on – the recommendation from the Executive Committee to take a position on the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) motion that, Rampart Village Neighborhood Council demands that the city enforce the laws & within 30 days of our demand to start the process to remove all Vision Zero traffic calming measures, including but, not limited to the controversial road diets.”
Let’s hope enough people show up to halt this misleading and dangerous motion put forward by the traffic safety deniers behind groups like Keep LA Moving.
Thanks to Stephen Box for the heads-up.
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David Drexler forwards a photo of a menorah bike, captured at Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade on the next to last might of Chanukah.
An education news site looks at the growth of bicycling in Berlin. Although the story appears to be so badly translated that it might be easier to read in the original German.
Now his infant son is just days from being born, eight months after Woon was killed. A tiny miracle bringing hope and joy to a family so desperately in need of it.
Even if he will have to grow up and spend his entire life without a father. And without a father’s emotional or financial support.
“L.A. has fallen short of bike-friendly places like Portland and Philadelphia for years, which is why the City Council voted today in a landslide 11-0 decision to finally create a bright green pathway where you can get doored and safely roll around, clutching your knee and writhing in unbearable agony,” said mayor Eric Garcetti… “Countless accidents occur every day because of our poor cycling infrastructure, reckless motorists, and many other factors within our control, but luckily Central L.A. will soon have miles of road fully dedicated to letting riders regain consciousness from these collisions. Never again will you be side-swiped, rear-ended, or cut off by a distracted Uber driver without having a place to tend to your wounds.”
Maybe a little open ridicule will be enough to get city officials off their metaphorical asses and actually do something non-satirical to improve safety.
We can dream, can’t we?
Thanks to Patrick Pascal for the tip.
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That music you hear isn’t Jingle Bells. It’s the sound of Taps for West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals bikeshare program.
Although oddly, not reconsidering their ill-conceived ban on e-scooters.
Much of the blame falls on WeHo’s lack of bike lanes, as well as a sparsity of docking locations in much of the city. And the lack of ebikes didn’t help users navigate the steep hills leading up to Sunset Blvd.
Unfortunately, the closure will leave a large gap in the planned Westside bikeshare system, which was intended to link Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City, UCLA and West Hollywood in a single, interoperable network.
It’s questionable how long the others will be able to survive without private sponsorship, and as dockless ebikes and scooters dominate the bikeshare landscape.
The executive director of the Cardiff 101 Main Street Association, Walker was riding on North Coast Highway 101 near Phoebe Street when she was run down, resulting in serious brain and spinal injuries, as well as broken bones.
In a tragic irony, she was hit while riding on a section of the Coast Highway where she had advocated for significant safety improvements, including roundabouts and bike lanes, as part of the proposed Leucadia Streetscape project.
I’m told he’ll take the helm of the LACBC in January, after moving over from his current position as ED of River LA.
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Megan Lynch forwards word of a suspicious looking Craigslist post for a high-end recumbent. She identified the bike as a Haluzak Horizon, and says it’s very unusual for someone selling a bike like that to not know, or at least mention, the make and model.
So if you know someone who’s had one stolen, give ‘em a heads-up.
Forbesprofiles Los Angeles-based Kym Perfetto, who’s gone from bike messenger to one of the first SoulCycle instructors to fitness social influencer, riding her bicycle across North and South America, Europe and Japan in the process.
No bias here. A San Luis Obispo letter writer complains about the county’s bicycle obsession and the money spent on bikeways, saying “bicycles should be registered and pay.” Never mind that dangerous drivers are the only reason we need safe bike lanes and paths. Or that bicycles don’t actually have any money.
Nice piece from Bicycling about a woman who cured her depression by taking off on cross-country ride with her ‘bent, a dog and a violin, traveling 4,000 miles, 12 miles at time. Then decided to kep going across Canada. And plans on riding the Pan-American Highway to Argentina next year.
A British bike rider is calling for more bike racks at the entrance to a local mall, after counting 200 empty bike racks hidden in the back. American bicyclists would be happy for any bike racks at most malls.
Britain’s Cyclist magazine employs a wind tunnel in an attempt to answer what’s the best descending position. In my case, it’s whichever one keeps me in one piece until I reach the bottom.
A bike-riding serial butt slapper walks with probation for attacking 21 English women after the judge rules he’s too intellectually impaired to cope with life behind bars. And no, there’s not a damn thing funny about that.
Apparently, the new WordPress 5.0 has broken my site. After installing the upgrade Thursday night, I’m no longer able to access any of the internal pages — including the ones I’d need to fix this train wreck.
Hopefully we can get this fixed, and be back on Monday.
After noting that the Daily Breeze posted, then removed, a story about that final stage, we speculated that the paper may have jumped the gun on a news embargo by the race.
Day 5 #artadventcalendar I survived a bad bicycle accident a few years ago. I painted this acrylic piece during recovery. I can still hear the sound of my body hitting the hood/windshield. Can you guess the color of the truck that hit me? #myluckyday#Bike#arthealspic.twitter.com/rJrEJioEXE
Bike SGV says Metro is scheduled to vote this morning on an unhealthy, unsustainable package of auto-centric proposals to replace the now-cancelled 710 Freeway extension.
Bike Snob argues for not wearing a bike helmet, saying you don’t have to wear one just because the pros do. On the other hand, you don’t have to not wear one just because he says so.
More proof that drivers are the same everywhere, as Albuquerque NM traffic engineers are working on keeping cars out of a new bike and pedestrian crossing, because motorists keep ignoring the posted No Motor Vehicles signs.
A New York driver was arrested for hit-and-run, even though the cops were probably at fault in the crash for parking in a bike lane, which forced the victim to swerve her bike around their van.
Great idea. Vancouver’s Spikes on Bikes program uses trained volunteers on bicycles to spot homeless people suffering from drug overdoses, and intervene in time to save their lives.
Fourteen bike riders from the UK combined to ride 4,200 miles in just four days, raising the equivalent of nearly $45,000 for cancer research; riders included a former Olympic-level cyclist recovering from a life-threatening brain injury.
December 5, 2018 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Westbound PCH closures for fire repairs, CiclaValley gets right hooked, and more ‘Tis the season
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Don’t plan on riding PCH anytime soon.
Caltrans will be closing sections of the right lane and shoulder on a 20-mile stretch of the westbound PCH in Malibu between Coastline Drive and Decker Canyon Road to repair damage caused by the Woolsey Fire.
The work will take place between 8:30 am and 3:30 pm, Monday through Saturday; no word on when they expect to be finished.
The state will also close one lane in each direction on PCH between Puerco Canyon and Corral Canyon roads to work on a median project.
Avoiding a right hook in the bike lane on Sunset by (shocker) a driver on his cell phone. LP 8Y47108@bikinginla @MitchOFarrell pic.twitter.com/upPoFgVtPY
And in less happy news, a Cape Town, South Africa bike shop was vandalized and looted in the wake of a festival kicking off the holiday season; authorities were able to get four of the stolen bikes back.
The former head of the Chicago and DC departments of transportation says the solution to quickly and easily accommodating e-scooters and other forms of micromobility is restriping streets to create narrow “slow lanes.”
Oregon police use a bait bike to bust four bike thieves. That’s something that the LAPD still doesn’t use, despite the city’s soaring bike theft problem, due to the City Attorney’s office fears of entrapment.
The LA Times recommends a seven-day bike tour through the Arizona desert, beginning and ending in Tucson, for the low, low price of just $2,995. Or you could just, you know, go to Tucson, get on your bike, and start riding.
Now that’s more like it. A DC-area county has approved a new bike plan calling for an additional 750 miles of paths, trails and separated bike lanes, to go with 250 miles already on the ground; as usual, they just need the money to pay for it.
An Irish writer politely notes that some bicyclists are “bending the rules,” perhaps because the explosive growth in bicycling is outpacing bike infrastructure. Or it could be that some people are just jerks, whether on two wheels or four.
The Daily Breeze posted, then removed, a story reporting next year’s Amgen Tour of California would end with a stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena. So maybe you now have advanced word if they took it down because they jumped a news embargo. Or not.
Your support keeps SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
And allows me to devote my time to doing whatever I can to make this world a better place for people on two wheels.
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I’m not a fan of liquidation sales as a rule, which feels like picking at the bones of a failed company.
And even less when it comes to national and online retailers that can undercut local bike shops. Especially when those sales are timed for the holiday season, which most bike shops count on to stay in the black and remain in business.
But most of us can use a little extra savings this time of year. Just make sure anything you buy really is a bargain.
Before I went into advertising — and long before I began work on this site — I spent several years in retail, and got a first-hand look at liquidation firms in action.
And can attest that while you may find some decent bargains, there’s a good chance your LBS may offer you a better deal, especially in the long run.
Let’s hope yours isn’t on the list. And that everyone who works for them will land on their feet.
Hint to bike shops: If you could use a few new employees, this is a great time to start looking.
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What’s wrong with this picture?
Everything, according to Claremont Senior Bike Group member Robs Muir.
The newly rebuilt Golden Hills Road in San Dimas, long a popular route for bicyclists, appears to have been designed without giving people on bikes a single thought.
Brand-new road (Lower Golden Hills) which is very popular with cyclists… No legal bike lanes, no signage to indicate that ‘Bicycles may use full lane’, no sharrows, completely unnecessary Botts’ dots across the entire road (very dangerous for narrow tires), Botts dots lining the center lines, no pedestrian sidewalk on south side of road, and double solid yellow lines which restrict vehicles from crossing over the middle of the road—preventing safe passing distances when overtaking bicycles.
Someone needs to hire a professional, knowledgeable, and responsible traffic engineer and get the developer to cough up the money to design a safe roadway appropriate to the year of 2018. This is pretty awful.
So much for California’s Complete Streets requirement.
But maybe they didn’t use any state funds for this. Or maybe they just didn’t give a damn about anyone who’s not in a car.
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LAPD’s got ebikes, as seen in this clip of bike cops from Sunday’s CicLAvia.
The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a Holiday Joy Ride in Balboa Park on Thursday. Note to CBS8: Seriously? It’s not exactly solid reporting when you get the group’s name wrong not once, not twice, but five times in five paragraphs — especially when it’s in the Facebook post you embedded in the story.
Lime has introduced dockless ebikes in Orlando. That may offer a hint of what could be in the wings for LA once Lime receives official approval to begin operations in the city.
Evidently, Florida is challenging Southern California as the hit-and-run capital of the world, as two bike riders were killed in separate hit-and-run crashes in Central Florida less than four hours apart. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.
Wellington, New Zealand, has embedded 19 bicycle counters in city streets to gather accurate data on bicycling rates, with another three to come. Which compares somewhat favorably to LA’s zero counters. And explains why the city has no idea how many people ride bikes in Los Angeles, or where.
The German cycling federation named Kristina Vogel as its Cyclist of the Year in an emotional return to the track, six months after she was paralyzed from the waist down in a training crash.
The factually incorrect motion, which traffic safety supporters found out about less than 24 hours earlier, was tabled until next month after it met overwhelming opposition.
Here’s the full text of the motion, in case you want to mark your calendar for the next meeting.
Today’s photo comes with a wish for a Happy Chanukah to all those celebrating this week.
Chanukah Sameach!
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The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee will hold their regular bi-monthly meeting tomorrow night in the conference room of the Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave.
The committee is the only official voice for bicyclists in city government. Even if elected officials usually just ignore it and hope it goes away.
Click to enlarge
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Today’s common theme is ebikes.
Or more precisely, the way ebikes and other bikes can benefit people with physical limitations.
And makes a point I’ve been making for some time now.
A 2018 study by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities that surveyed 1,800 e-bike riders found that they bike more often, take longer trips, and make different types of trips than they do on pedal bikes. Plus, not only did more respondents feel safer riding an e-bike than they did riding a pedal bike, the percentage of people who felt safer on an e-bike was even greater when the respondents were women, over 55, or had physical limitations.
“E-bikes are making it possible for more people to ride a bicycle” reads the study, “many of whom are incapable of riding a standard bicycle or don’t feel safe doing so.”people
There are a number of bicyclists, especially roadies, who think ebikes are cheating.
I know, I used to be one of them.
And there many people who think older people and people with handicaps can’t ride bikes.
They’re both wrong.
Because unless you’re racing, bicycling is not a competition. Whether you’re riding for pleasure or transportation, anything that makes it easier to get on a bike is a good thing.
For the person doing the riding, for their community, and for the environment.
And ebikes make it possible for people who otherwise couldn’t ride a bike — because of age, physical condition, the length of their commutes, or any number of other problems — to get out and ride like anyone else. Going further and more confidently than they otherwise could.
Or at all, for that matter.
There’s another quote from the story that sums it up.
E-bikes are not a substitute for safer infrastructure, but they could help move more riders from “Interested but Concerned” to “Enthused and Confident.
A San Diego bike rider suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a driver, who claimed he never saw the victim until he was in front of him. Unfortunately, that’s not too surprising; let’s hope investigators get a warrant for the driver’s phone.
The Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Walmart talks about his passion for mountain biking, saying he’s learned some of his best business lessons from the saddle. Something I can relate to; I often did my best work while riding my bike.
A Virginia landscaper had the truck towed to be repaired and ordered employees to say a worker had hit a deer, instead of the bike rider he’d hit in a work truck and left to die on the side of the road.
Madrid bans cars built before 2000, and diesel vehicles built before 2006, from driving in the city center to battle air pollution. Los Angeles will need to do the same for the entire county if we’re going to meet pollution, let alone climate change, goals.
