According to an article posted today by the Long Beach Gazettes, the victim, who was not publicly named, was riding westbound with a friend in the center median on Market when she was struck by a speeding car.
Emergency personnel found her lying unconscious in the eastbound lane; she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The driver was illegally passing another car when he or she struck the victim’s bike from behind before fleeing the scene.
Police later found the vehicle, a 2013 Kia Optima, abandoned 5300 block of Atlantic Avenue. The car, which had a smashed windshield and major front end damage, had been reported stolen in a carjacking the day before.
There’s no word on why the couple were riding in the painted center lane instead of in the traffic lane, where they presumably would have been protected by the car that was being passed.
Police are looking for four people who were reportedly in the the stolen car at the time of the crash. Anyone with information is urged to call Long Beach collision investigations detective Brian Watt at 562/570-5520; tips can also be reported online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
This is the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and 20th in Los Angeles County. And it’s at least the tenth fatal bike crash in Long Beach since 2010.
Update: The victim has been identified only as a white woman in her 40s, pending notification of next of kin.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
Twenty-three-year old Cruz Tzoc was driving at an estimated 60 mph on Burlington Ave in LA’s Rampart District on April 23rd when he struck a parked car and spun around, sliding into Brewer as he rode on Temple Street, before slamming into a tree.
Tzoc was arrested at the scene with an alcohol level over two times the legal limit. A police sergeant had spotted Tzoc’s speeding car prior to the crash, but was unable to stop him before it was too late.
But his decision to get behind the wheel after drinking ended the life of a budding screenwriter, and sentenced Brewer’s loved ones to a lifetime without him.
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Formerly bike-unfriendly Palos Verdes Estates continues its surprising turnaround, as the city’s Traffic Safety Committee voted to replace the hated signs reading “Bike Laws Strictly Enforced” with “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” and signs promoting the three-foot passing law.
Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson describes the meeting in his own inimitable style.
Meanwhile, a Tustin councilmember explains four reasons why bicycles may use the full lane. But forgets the primary reason — bike riders are allowed to take the lane anytime the lane itself is too narrow to be safely shared with a motor vehicle.
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Today’s common theme is bikeshare, in LA and elsewhere.
Palo Alto plans to replace its failing bikeshare system with a new smart bike program. But it will still likely fail if they don’t install more than five docking stations.
And Portland informs bike owners that those handy little docks at convenient locations around town are not bike racks.
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Drivers often argue that cyclists don’t pay for the roads, but if road users were charged for the damage they actually cause, we could pay our share with pocket change.
Belgian race leader Greg Van Avermaet holds a nearly six minute lead in the race, but will probably fall back in the standings when they reach the mountain stages. British riders dominated the first week of the Tour, while Mark Cavendish says Africa will produce a TdF contender in ten years.
Specialized says you don’t know Jacques about the Tour de France. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.
As expected, the parents of a 12-year old Oceanside boy killed while riding his bicycle to school last October have filed suit against the driver, as well as two businesses alleged to have contributed to the crash; a lawsuit is expected against the city, as well.
Sixty-six cyclists from the University of Texas rode across the Golden Gate Bridge on their way to Anchorage AK to raise funds for the fight against cancer.
That former Illinois congressman who tweeted what sounded like a threat to the president and the Black Lives Matter movement after the Dallas shootings is one of us; he successfully campaigned for his only term in office by riding his bicycle.
In a widely watched case, a Michigan driver faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to fleeing the scene after plowing into a cyclist on an organized group ride.
A bike-riding writer for the Columbus Dispatch offers a well-reasoned analysis of the SUV driver in last week’s Doo Dah Parade who, in effect, threatened to kill cyclists unless they obey the law; he says what concerns him most is the public’s lack of concern.
Bicycling under the influence is legal in Massachusetts, though not always the best idea. I know some may argue, but I’d still much rather see a drunk on a bike than behind the wheel. Although the best choice is neither.
A Canadian Steely Dan fan nearly missed their Detroit show after paying the toll, then illegally riding through a tunnel across the border; US custom agents were amused, but searched and detained him for two hours anyway.
A mentally ill driver who fatally stabbed a popular British bike advocate following a minor traffic collision has been sentenced to ten years to life in a medium security mental hospital.
Caught on video: A jerk cyclist clips a London bike rider with a far too-close pass, nearly sending him under the wheels of a large truck. Pass another rider at the same distance you’d expect from a motor vehicle, or at arms-length at the very least; if that’s not possible, slow down and announce your presence before passing. Or you could just wait until it is safe.
An Irish business executive pleaded guilty to knocking a cyclist off his bike, then beating and strangling him, for the heinous crime of riding on the sidewalk.
As an added bonus to get your weekend started off right, David Wolfberg forwards the latest video from Colombian superstars Shakira and Carlos Vives, for their new song La Bicicleta (Or The Bicycle, for the Spanish-challenged, like me).
Too often, when a bike rider is injured, the story never makes the news.
And even if it does, we may not learn how it turned out for weeks afterwards. If ever.
That’s what happened in this case, as word has just come in that Dr. Keith Nolop, a 63-year old resident of Pacific Palisades, died on May 31st after suffering head injuries while riding his bike in the Palisades on May 6th.
No other information is available at this time. There’s no word on whether there was a vehicle involved, or exactly where the crash occurred.
The neighborhood Palisades Post reports he worked as a medical researcher, helping to develop the sinus treatment Nasonex, as well as a groundbreaking melanoma treatment and other highly-engineered cancer therapies.
That’s in addition to writing over 50 peer-reviewed articles and holding several patents.
This is the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 19th in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth in the City of Los Angeles since the first of the year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Dr. Keith Nolop and all his loved ones.
July 8, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bikeshare finally comes to DTLA, and bike-friendly LA city council candidate Jesse Creed
Just a short update today, as my diabetes seems compelled to knock me on my ass following a busy day.
I’ll try to be back tomorrow with a full report for the weekend.
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It’s true.
Los Angeles finally has a bikeshare system.
LA Downtown News takes an early Metro Bike test ride, and finds the bikes comfortable, but with a shortage of safe places to ride them.
A $75,000 grant, matched by $25,000 from Metro, will help make bike sharing more accessible to underserved communities. Note to LA Weekly: That photo from CicLAvia has nothing to do bikeshare; it’s like using a photo of private cars to illustrate a story about taxis.
The LA Times questions whether Los Angeles will embrace bikeshare, while Mayor Eric Garcetti mimics William Mulholland by saying “Here they are. Use them.”
The Daily News says Los Angeles has big plans for the bikeshare system to expand to nine regions, starting next year with Pasadena, Venice and the Port of LA.
LAist offers a full report from the kickoff event, while noting riders proceeding along Grand Avenue were greeted by multiple signs reading “Bike Lane Closed.”
KTLA-5 offers a video report, including a brief interview with the mayor, in which he says he looks forward to taking one of the bikes out to go for lunch.
KPCC explains how to use the bikeshare system, which is currently only available to pass holders; walk-up users can rent a bike using their TAP card beginning August 1st.
It’s (LA) Time(s) for bikeshare in Los Angeles
A massive fleet of Metro Bikes waiting to be deployed
A crowd of a few hundred people turned out for the event
Metro CEO Phillip Washington addresses the crowd of soon-to-be bike sharers.
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis looks forward to eastward expansion
LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds helps lead the rideoff from Grand Park
Riders like this should be a common sight at LA City Hall and throughout the Downtown area
The loneliest little Metro Bike awaits in front of the Grand Central Market, with the Million Dollar Theater and the Bradbury Building in the background
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If you need a place to ride your new Metro Bike, the LAPD invites you to attend a People and Pets Safety Fair tomorrow at the still-unnamed LAPD Headquarters in DTLA.
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Following the Metro Bike event, I had the pleasure of meeting with Jesse Creed, who’s running against incumbent Councilmember Paul Koretz in LA’s 5th Council District.
Before I even met him, he had my qualified support under the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” doctrine.
But after talking with him, I can remove that “qualified” and say he now has my full support.
I found him to be youthful, energetic, personable and highly engaged, with a clear understanding of the problems facing Los Angeles, and the belief that we can and should do better.
A bike rider himself, his commitment to sustainable transportation goes beyond mere words, including riding his bike for short trips instead of taking the car. And working to represent the entire community to build Complete Streets that benefit everyone, as opposed to arbitrarily blocking them as his opponent has done.
He’s also open to new perspectives. When I recommended a book on how to make government work better, he pulled out his phone and bought it on the spot.
We still face four months of nasty campaigning leading up to this fall’s presidential election, and the inevitable voter fatigue that will follow before LA’s city election finally rolls around in the spring.
But we could do a lot worse than electing Creed to represent the people of the 5th District.
In fact, we already have. And we’re paying the price for it.
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On a related, and belated, note, I’ve been remiss in my failure to note that Josef Bray-Ali, owner of the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop in Northeast LA, now has a fundraising website set up.
If we can elect Creed and Bray-Ali next spring, we’ll be well on our way to making this the livable city it can and should be.
And if #bikeLA finally gets off its collective ass and gets out to vote, we will.
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Once again, construction closes a section of the LA River Bike Path. And for the next three years, no less.
But at least this time, they’re doing it for our benefit, in order to lengthen the path and improve access at Riverside Drive.
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The LAPD has captured a suspect in the string of bike-riding Hollywood parking lot robberies.
The celebration kicks off at 11 am at Grand Park, offering “snacks, live music and good vibes.” And lots of bikes that need to be moved to other locations.
Richard Risemberg questions some of the dock placements, as well as LA’s lack of a connected bikeway network anywhere outside of DTLA, but says, in the words of famed water maven Bill Mulholland, “There it is. Take it.”
Fortunately, given the lack of infrastructure, bikeshare riders have just half the rate of injury as other bicyclists.
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Nice to see Amoeba Music getting on the bike bandwagon.
That would make a perfect place for a bikeshare dock, if and when Metro Bike ever makes it out to Hollywood.
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You can’t spell Trump without rump.
Donald Trump once threatened to sue the organizers of Aspen’s Tour de Rump for trademark infringement for his short-lived Tour de Trump bike race.
Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from the fifth stage of the Tour de France, while the anticipated battle between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana still looms ahead in the mountain stages.
Look for more doping revelations, as the World Anti-Doping Agency and cycling’s governing body now have over 200 bags of blood saved from the Spanish Operation Puerto case.
Monrovia unanimously approves a new bicycle master plan calling for 3.7 miles of bike paths, 4.2 miles of bike lanes and 18 miles of sharrows; an additional 7.1 miles will be studied for protected bike lanes. Boyonabike calls it an important step, but says much work still remains. Like making sure those sharrows do more than help drivers improve their aim.
A Woodland Hills couple starts their life together with a 55-mile wedding day ride through the Conejo Valley, complete with tux-print cycling jerseys.
This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. San Diego is making safety improvements to a street where a teenage skateboarder was killed by a hit-and-run driver while skating in a bike lane.
An Atascadero letter writer employs selective reading to insist that state law bars riding two abreast, citing CVC 21202 as proof. But like most drivers and law enforcement officers, neglects to consider that it does not apply on non-sharable lanes.
Clean Technica looks at People for Bikes’ plan to create a Big Jump in bicycling rates in ten select cities in just three years, while the aforementioned national advocacy group wants your help to fix a new Federal rule that could block protected bike lanes.
Outside says the proliferation of bike and helmet cams is demonstrating the dangers bicyclists face on the streets, though it may not make a difference in the courtroom.
Consumer Reports describes the anatomy of a bike crash, while somehow feeling the need to point out that your brain will probably slosh around inside your skull once you hit the pavement.
Bike racer Neil Bezdek describes the experience of going carless from a roadie’s perspective. Decent story, right up until the last sentence.
A 72-year old Iowa man is about to start a 4,000 mile bike tour across the US, after riding over 18,000 miles over the last four years.
An Iowa paper calls for a ban on texting while driving, after a distracted driver walks with just tickets and a license suspension for killing a cyclist. Of course, even if it is illegal, that doesn’t mean prosecutors will actually do anything about it.
Caught on video: A New York cyclist records what it’s like to be an UberRush bike messenger for a day.
After years of complaints, the NYPD finally gets serious about cracking down on drivers parking in bike lanes, issuing 1,757 tickets for blocking bike lanes over a five day period, as well as 810 summons for failing to yield to bicyclists and pedestrians.
London’s Telegraph asks if Majorca, Spain is the world’s greatest cycling destination. Actually, the best cycling destination is wherever you’re going. Especially if you’re not going anywhere.
It’s great that the university is taking concrete steps to keep bike riders and their bikes safe on campus.
Just too bad LA Councilmember Paul Koretz is dedicated to keeping things dangerous once they leave it.
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A Marin columnist congratulates the local grand jury as they demonstrate why traffic planning should be left to people who know what the hell they’re talking about.
The grand jury, which is clearly unfamiliar with the concept of induced demand, came back with a report criticizing local officials for failing to solve the region’s traffic problems, calling on them to widen roadways to increase capacity.
And failing, evidently, to recognize that the cause of traffic congestion isn’t the width of the roadway, but the number of vehicles on it.
“Based on community feedback and limited funding, focus on those potential improvements that maximize congestion relief and safety. Outside of this project, consider shifting planned budgets for multi-million dollar pedestrian-bicycle pathways toward projects that benefit a larger population.”
Never mind that those “multi-million dollar” pathways benefit public health while providing people with an alternative to joining the great mass of motor vehicles clogging the roadways.
Let them learn from Southern California’s mistake. Turning streets into highways, and highways into freeways does not solve the problem, and only makes the situation worse while destroying the quality of life in the surrounding community.
So if they can’t handle the traffic, the only real solution is to provide residents with a way out of it.
Writing for the LA Times, Alissa Walker sends a message back in time to describe the utopian, extremely bike and transit-friendly Los Angeles of 2056. We can dream, right?
A man was shot to death while riding along the LA River, on an unpaved section of the bike path in Bellflower, in what police say appears to be a gang-related attack.
At least three witnesses jumped into action to follow a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after slamming into a Santa Rosa salmon cyclist; the victim suffered road rash, while the driver was busted and booked.
An Austin TX bike rider died when the chain came of his bike and jammed into his wheel, throwing him off his bike. Let that be a tragic reminder to always keep your bike in good riding condition.
An Ohio boy with cerebral palsy is given the gift of freedom and mobility by the local Kiwanis club, in the form of a customized tricycle.
Ohio cyclists — and riders around the world — were up in arms over a driver in the Columbus Doo Dah Parade who featured a crushed bike on the hood of his SUV, with a manikin depicting a cyclist sticking out of the roof, and a sign reading “I’ll share the road when you follow the rules.” Because evidently, he’s the only driver in Ohio who never breaks the law. And because threatening to kill people is always good for a laugh.
The Louisville KY city council votes to reduce funding for bikeways in favor of programs to help keep kids off the streets. Which their vote will accomplish in more ways than one.
An upstate New York man faces charges for tackling and holding down a cyclist who almost hit his dog. As a dog owner, I can understand the sentiment. But, no.
Great idea. A DC bike advocacy group uses a grant to hire five trail rangers to patrol area bike paths.
A Norfolk VA writer says the only thing holding the city back from being a great cycling city is a lack of political will. Which is exactly what’s holding LA back, some areas in particular.
If you’re going to pose as a cyclist and attempt to blend into a group ride in order to sneak across the border into Spanish territory, make sure your stolen passport is in order first.
Opponents of a Kiwi bike and pedestrian bridge claim it could be dangerously overcrowded, putting users at risk of a human crush. In other words, don’t build it because it might be too successful. And doesn’t any bridge, anywhere, face exactly the same, extremely minimal risk?
A Malaysian woman takes a solo bike tour through Cambodia and Thailand, negotiating the language barrier with had gestures and staying at “love hotels.”
Definitely worth stopping by the shop to congratulate him once he recovers from the grueling ride. And buy him a beer for me while you’re at it.
Thanks to Pete Kaufman for the heads-up, who calls Barre an “all-around nice guy.”
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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is one of us, clarifying that he “only” rode 485 miles in 36 hours, not 600 as he originally claimed.
Correction: Originally I wrote that Johnson was the vice presidential candidate, not the Libertarian candidate for president. Thanks to Michele for the correction.
And the man who invented motor doping says scanners don’t work if the motor is turned off.
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Local
The Source offers ten things to know about the unimaginatively named new Metro Bike Share, which opens for registered users this Thursday. Evidently, Bikey McBikeface was already taken.
Driver says rude Palos Verdes cyclists inhibiting his God-given right to own the road are the real cause of road rage. Something tells me if bikes weren’t there, he’d find something else to rage about.
San Diego drivers keep knocking down plastic bollards separating a protected bike lane from newly narrowed traffic lanes, putting the pedestrians using it at risk. Pedestrians don’t belong in in bike lanes, but that’s what happens when you don’t build sidewalks. And little plastic poles are incapable of protecting anyone, especially when drivers can’t manage to down or stay in their lanes.
A bike-riding San Luis Obispo cop says the best way to pass cyclists is to slow down and tap on the horn, albeit from a distance. To which I suspect most riders would agree with the former, and profoundly disagree with the latter.
Sacramento finally gets serious about clarifying where bicyclists can and can’t legally ride on the sidewalk. Although a better alternative is to improve the roadways, since few people will ride on the sidewalk if they feel safe riding in the street.
Montana authorities give up on capturing a grizzly bear that killed a mountain biker, saying the bear reacted naturally to a high speed collision on the trail.
A new 46-mile bike trail will allow bicyclists to follow pioneer routes through Kansas and Missouri.
Despite admitting to texting while driving, an Iowa woman will face nothing more than fines and a six-month license suspension for running down a bike rider. Sounds like the Ventura County DA has been moonlighting in the corn belt.
Britain’s GoPro vigilante cyclist teams up with an anti-bike traffic lawyer to prove each other wrong while highlighting the dangers of London’s busy roads.
Someone sabotaged an Irish bike trail prior to a mountain bike race in an apparently deliberate attempt to injure or kill riders; wire was strung at neck level, while logs and rocks were placed across the trail.
July 2, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Traffic and bicycling fatalities jump, help fix Forest Lawn Drive, and ride-off with Metro Bike
Just a few quick notes before we break for the holiday weekend.
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So much for peak driving, as driving hit record levels, with Americans putting in more miles on the road 2015 than ever before.
Along with it comes a 7.7% jump in traffic fatalities, with bicycling fatalities up 13%, and pedestrian deaths climbing 10%.
But the increase wasn’t just because of the record driving levels. The rate of traffic fatalities also increased to 1.12 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up from 1.08 the year before.
A genuine nationwide commitment to Vision Zero can’t come soon enough.
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If you’ve ever ridden LA’s Forest Lawn Drive, you know what a challenge it can be to navigate the crumbling road surface.
Cyclist Craig White has started a petition calling on Councilmember David Ryu to fix the roadway to make it safe for people on bicycles.
It’s well worth taking a few moments to sign.
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Metro is looking for people to ride in Thursday’s kickoff event for the Grand Opening of the Metro Bike Share at Grand Park in DTLA on Thursday.
Metro Bike Share is launching with up to 65 stations and 1000 bicycles in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) on July 7, 2016!
Join Metro, the City of Los Angeles and the Downtown community in a celebration at Grand Park with music, snacks, and a chance to be the first to test ride the new bikes for free!
To sign up for the ride-off, select your preferred station destination from the ticket options provided. You’ll be assigned a bike and asked to sign a waiver as a part of the registration process. Please note: Sign ups are first come first served, so don’t miss out. Don’t forget to bring your helmet!
If you are interested in leading a ride group, please email us at marketing@bikeshare.metro.net. Ride leaders get a special Metro Bike Share gift for helping out!
Remember this is a ride-off, so make sure to pick a station close to where you want to end up! We recommend arriving to the event by Metro Rail, bus, or by walking. Plan your trip at Metro.net or use the transit setting on your preferred map application.
Fortunately, though, he was, as he tells her about the metal rod in his back after recovering from being hit by a car six months earlier.
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Sad news from Chicago, as a woman was killed riding one of the city’s Divvy bikeshare bikes, in what is believed to be the first bikeshare fatality in the US.
A suspected bike thief was caught on video in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore.
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My formerly sled dog-racing brother, now living in Colorado, forwards news of an Aspen area bike trail being closed due to too much adorableness.
A rider took a photo of three mountain lion kittens on the side of the trail. Which means that mama was undoubtedly nearby somewhere. And not likely to look kindly on anyone getting too close to her brood.
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Have a great 4th of July weekend.
But don’t forget that holiday weekends mean more drunk and stoned drivers on the road. And more people more focused on finding a parking space than looking for bicycles in front of them.
So ride safely and defensively this weekend. I want to see you all back here on Tuesday.
A helicopter was called to rush him to emergency treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries before it arrived, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 19-year old driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police.
The paper describes the intersection as having stop signs on La Rica, but uncontrolled on Baldwin Park. There’s no word on which direction the victim was riding or if he stopped before entering the intersection, or how fast the driver was traveling.
A street view shows a four lane divided roadway that would encourage high speed travel at that hour.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Baldwin Park Police at 626/960-1955.
This is the 46th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 18th in Los Angeles County. That compares with 34 in SoCal Last year, and 14 in the county.
Update: The victim has been identified as 30-year old James Hernandez, who lived just around the corner from where he was killed.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for James Hernandez and his loved ones.
