Archive for Advocacy & Politics

Bike harassment caught on video, a small step to fight hit-and-run and a long list of links and events

January 26, 2013 / / 7 comments

The state legislature is about to consider its first, small step to halt the epidemic of hit-and-runs.

Burbank state Assembly Member Mike Gatto has introduced a bill to increase the statute of limitations for drivers who flee the scene of a collision.

Currently, the limit expires three years from the date of the collision, after which the driver is free to publicly confess his or her crime without fear of prosecution. Gatto’s bill would allow prosecution within three years of the collision, or one year after the suspect is identified by law enforcement, whichever is later.

It’s a step in the right direction, if only a small one.

It won’t do anything to encourage police to pursue more hit-and-runs where the victim isn’t killed or seriously injured, or for prosecutors to file charges in such cases. And it won’t do much to encourage drivers to resist the impulse to run like cowards to avoid responsibility for their actions.

But it’s a start.

Just like the city council’s fledging attempts to look into the epidemic.

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If this had happened in Los Angeles, it would have been the perfect test case for the city’s bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance. Instead, it will be up to Santa Monica authorities to determine if a chargeable crime took place.

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The Times looks at L.A.’s unexpected bike friendliness. Three CicLAvias, no waiting — and no space shuttle. LAPD lists the top four bike theft locations in DTLA. Grand theft auto and burglary from cars by bike on Ventura. Here’s your chance to work for LADOT’s bike team, and tell them where the next bike corrals should go. L.A.’s own Ovarian-Psychos introduces their new documentary film and Kickstarter campaign. Bike riders and pedestrians sign the pledge to keep the peace on the L.A. River bike path. A cyclist is beaten unconscious on a Long Beach Blue Line platform defending his bike from thieves.

Costa Mesa has a $2.5 million surplus; maybe they could work with neighboring Newport Beach to improve bike safety. While Newport Beach has gotten friendlier for cyclists, Anaheim hasn’t. A San Diego cyclist rides home after being stabbed in an apparent gang attack. A San Diego writer looks at what it would take to get more people on their bikes. So if a Santa Maria cyclist is hospitalized with a leg injury following a collision, why does it matter that she wasn’t wearing a helmet? The Path Less Pedaled discovers an undiscovered cycling paradise on the Central Coast. A San Francisco columnist says biking is for grown-ups, and it’s time everyone acted like it. A cyclist asks what the f*** is wrong with Bay Area drivers. Dressing for the drizzle. San Francisco drivers don’t like the city’s separated bike lanes, and apparently, neither do cyclists.

Forget road diets, we need to right size our streets. The country’s three leading bike advocacy groups struggle to work out the terms of their failed engagement. Laws banning dooring don’t mean much if police don’t enforce them. A new electric kids bike trailer is looking for you to give it a boost. Great new police bike training video from Portland. A Spokane thief cuts down a tree to steal a bike. The mayor of OKC says his city should be rebuilt for people; that’s exactly what we’ve been saying about Los Angeles. It’s now against the law to ride sans skidlid in Jackson MS. Turns out New York bike lanes and pedestrians plazas are good for business. Commuting 40 miles by bike in the middle of a New York winter. Bikeyface discovers a superpower we all share. A team of 26 cyclists will ride from Newtown CT to Washington DC to press for common sense gun safety legislation. Denis McDonough gives up bike commuting to become White House chief of staff.

Toronto doctors say bike lanes save lives. Ottawa hikes bike use by 40% over the last six years. Call it a getaway bike share. When you have snow tires on your bike, winter doesn’t have to be the off-season — even in Scotland. An Irish teen funds his invitation to a debutant ball by stealing bike parts. A Kiwi writer offers advice on how to stay safe on your bike; though I might argue with the hi-viz, and my black helmet seems quite visible during the day, thank you. An interesting look at sharing the roads through the eyes of Aussie cyclists and drivers.

Finally, an Ottawa man gets 60 days for shooting a cyclist after mistaking his helmet for a skunk. And if I ever dope, I’m going straight for the wild boar dung boiled in vinegar.

Yum.

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Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Bike Long Beach hosts Bike Saturdays every weekend; ride your bike to participating local shops and business throughout the city to get special offers and discounts.

A new support group is forming for people who have been involved in a bicycle collision. Everyone is welcome to share your experiences, gain insight and understanding into your emotional state and develop new coping strategies. The group will meet Saturdays from 11:30 am to 1 pm at 6310 San Vicente Blvd, Suite 401. Current LACBC members receive a discount. To learn more, contact Aurisha Smolarski at 323/203-1526 or email aurisha.smolarski@gmail.com.

If you read this early, you may still be able to catch the inaugural Monthly Community Ride with the LACBC’s newest affiliate chapter in Downey. The ride meets at 8 am, rolling at 8:30, from the Southwest parking lot of Apollo Park, 12544 Rives Avenue.

Caltech Bike Lab teams with C.I.C.L.E. to offer a series of free defensive cycling classes; the first takes place on Saturday, January 26th from 11 am to 12:30 pm at Caltech Y, 505 S. Wilson Ave in Pasadena. Subsequent classes will take place on Sunday, April 7th and Saturday, June 8th; RSVP to bike@cicle.org with the date you want to attend.

Bicycle Kitchen is holding a fix-a-flat workshop from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm on Sunday, January 27th, 4429 Fountain Ave; RSVP to bkworshops@gmail.com.

Bike SGV celebrates their first anniversary with the first Bike Train of the new year on Sunday the 27th starting at 9 am. The ride meets near the docks on the southernmost section of Legg Lake for a ride along the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Civic Engagement Committee meets at 6:45 pm on the last Tuesday of each month. This month’s meeting will take place at the Pitfire Pizza on Second and Main in Downtown L.A. on Tuesday, January 29th, focusing on the upcoming March elections. Email bikinginla at hotmail dot com to be added to the discussion list.

You won’t want to miss the official opening of Pasadena’s new bicycle boulevard along a three-quarter mile stretch of Marengo Avenue at 3 pm on Thursday, January 31st, at the corner of Marengo and Orange Grove Blvd.

Friday, February 1st marks Move LA’s 5th Annual Transportation Conversation from 8 am to 3:30 pm in the old ticketing area at Union Station, 800 N. Alameda Street in Downtown L.A.

Flying Pigeon will host their monthly Brewery Ride at 3 pm on Saturday, February 2nd, starting at 3404 N. Figueroa St and rolling to a local microbrewery or watering hole.

The next LACBC Sunday Funday ride rolls on Sunday, February 3rd with the aptly named Pigskins and Pedals: A Sunday Funday Tour of L.A.’s Historic Football sites. Meet at the world famous peristyle entrance to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 3939 S. Figueroa Street, at 9:30 am, rolling at 10 am for a tour of the city’s pervious — and possibly forthcoming — Super Bowl sites. The ride is free for LACBC members and a guest; discount memberships are available at the start of the ride.

The UCLA Bike Coalition and the LA County Bicycle Coalition invite you to join in the West Area Community Ride – Ride Westwood! On Saturday, February 9th at 10 am for a fun community ride to showcase existing and future bike facilities in the Westwood area. Did I mention a light breakfast and lunch will be provided?

On Sunday, February 10th, the LACBC invites you to join in on the Ride Figueroa to explore and promote planned bike lanes on Figueroa and Colorado in North East L.A. The ride meets at 10:30 am, rolling at 11 am, at Greayer’s Oak Part at Figueroa and Marmion Way; followed by a candidate forum for Council District 1 to replace bike-friendly Councilmember Ed Reyes at 1 pm at Herrick Memorial Chapel Lower Herrick Room at Occidental College.

Flying Pigeon isn’t the only group hosting brewery rides these days, as Brewcyclers provides a beer doubleheader with a ride to Brew-Ligion Brewhouse and Aftershock Brewing Co on Sunday, February 17th. The 30 mile loop kicks off at Brew-Ligion, 39809 Avenida Acacias in Murrieta at 8:30 am, rolling at 9 am.

If you’re as tired of cyclists and pedestrians being left to bleed in the streets as I am, mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 19th when the LAPD reports back to the Police Commission on hit-and-run stats requested by the city council; the meetings usually take place at 9:30 am at the new, officially unnamed police headquarters across from City Hall at 1st and Main.

Stand up for bike lanes on the Westside as L.A. Planning and LADOT host the West Area Bike Lanes Public Hearing on Tuesday, February 19th from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at the Medina Parking Enforcement Office, 11214 W. Exposition Blvd at Sepulveda Blvd.

LACBC will host the city’s first Bike Prom from 8 pm to midnight on Saturday, February 23rd, at the American Legion Hall Post 206, 227 N. Ave 55 in Los Angeles. Similar events have been very popular in other cities, so this could be the bike social event of the year — get your tickets early.

Also on Saturday the 23rd, the annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker Bike Ride will offer a 20-mile route along the LA River for families and casual riders, and a more challenging 30-mile on city streets for more advanced riders. The LACBC will provide a free bike valet.

Registration is open for the 2013 UCLA Complete Streets Conference on Thursday, February 28th at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 120 South Los Angeles Street Downtown.

This should be a major party, as the infamous semi-official Wolfpack Hustle Marathon Crash Race takes place on St. Paddy’s Day, Sunday, March 17th, starting at 3:30 am at Tang’s Donuts, 4341 West Sunset Boulevard. Be sure to wear green — or better yet, ride a kelly green bike festooned with shamrocks and leprechauns.

Make your plans for the Malibu 7-Canyon Ride on Saturday, March 23rd with rides of 100 miles, 100 kilometers and 50 miles. The fully supported ride will begin at Zuma Beach, and pass through Latigo, Encinal, Decker, Mulholland, Little Sycamore, Yerba Buena and Deer Creek Canyons, with over 9,000 feet of climbing on the century ride.

The next CicLAvia rolls out on Sunday, April 21st from 10 am to 3 pm, following a new route from Downtown to Venice Beach — or as Yo! Venice! puts it, from Dogtown to Downtown — along Venice Blvd. Future events will follow Wilshire Blvd from Downtown to Fairfax on Sunday, June 23rd, before returning to an extended Downtown route on Sunday, October 6th.

Registration has opened for this year’s LA River Ride, to be held Sunday, June 9th, starting and ending in Griffith Park. If you haven’t done the River Ride, I highly recommend it; if you have, then what are you waiting for?

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Cam Video, Bike Events, Car vs Bike, Hit-and-Run / Tags: , , , , , , ,

LAPD doors a cyclist, CD11 candidates talk bikes and raft load of soggy bike links for a rainy few days

January 24, 2013 / / 3 comments

An LAPD cop nearly doors L.A. cyclist Weshigh — and seems incapable of saying “sorry,” let alone comprehending CVC 22517:

22517.  No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

………

The LACBC teamed with Streetsblog, LA Walks and Bikerowave to host it’s first ever political forum, a Tuesday night debate among the four leading candidates to replace bike-friendly Councilmember Bill Rosendahl in CD 11.

A special thanks to Will Wright, Government and Public Affairs Director for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for moderating the event.

From left: Wright, Bonin, Hess, Bostick and Sutton

From left: Wright, Bonin, Hess, Bostick and Sutton

You can view post debate interviews with the four participating candidates — Mike Bonin, Tina Hess, Fred Sutton and Odysseus Bostick — prepared by Strteetsblog’s Damien Newton.

Although it’s pretty clear who’s got the simian vote.

The next LACBC-sponsored debate will take place in Council District 1 for the candidates to replace Councilmember Ed Reyes after the Ride Figueroa on February 10th.

If you want to get involved in bike politics in L.A. County, come to the LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee meeting at 6:45 pm next Tuesday, January 29th at the Pitfire Pizza on Second and Main Downtown.

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It just keeps on coming, as a 44-year old cyclist is seriously injured in a head-on collision in Capistrano Beach; he reportedly drifted onto the wrong side of PCH around 3 pm Wednesday.

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In light of l’affaire Lance, the Times dug up this story from 1989 reporting that America’s only remaining Tour de France winner was pressured to dope by his former Dutch team. And speaking of Lance, it looks like no one really buys it; although he may — or may not — have kept one local promise.

Meanwhile, former UCI chief Hein Verbruggen confirms rumors that doping cyclists were tipped off by pro cycling’s governing body; the World Anti-Doping Agency says not so fast. Reports that pro cycling is now clean may have been just a tad premature, even if some claim it’s just an accident, while South Africa plans to retest the country’s 50 top riders.

It looks like the FBI is investigating Floyd Landis for possibly defrauding those who contributed to his defense fund. And two readers file suit against Lance because they didn’t realize his books were fiction.

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Revitalizing Boulevards in Northeast L.A. Aaron Paley looks back at the birth of CicLAvia; which is hiring a new marketing manager and director of development. The Source looks at last weekend’s Tweed Ride; so does Flying Pigeon. Spreading the gospel of bikes at the King Day Parade. LADOT wants your bike photos. Here’s one we can all relate to, as Boyonabike gets harassed for riding legally. Temple City’s Rosemead Blvd gets a major makeover, even if some — or maybe just one — of the people who live on it don’t want bike lanes. CLR Effect sees the ghosts of unloved bikes. Long Beach’s Danny Gamboa brings ghost bikes to life. A cyclist is kneed to the ground by a tow truck driver after riding in the slow lane of the 405 in today’s rain.

Sign the petition — or rather, petitions — to maintain bike funding in the California budget. Coronado approves bike corrals, which are also going in across the bay in the North Park neighborhood where I used to live. Thousand Oaks will remake an intersection to improve safety for cyclists. Talk about instant karma, as a Santa Cruz driver hits a cyclist and flees before crashing into a divider and flipping his truck; the rider was hospitalized with serious injuries. A cyclist has filed suit after he was hit by a patrol car driven by an East Palo Alto police officer. Ninety days in jail for intentionally trying to run over a San Mateo bike rider; how much time do you think he would have gotten if he’d used a gun instead? A crime so nice they did it twice, as a couple is arrested for the second time for selling hot BMC bikes. It’s safer than ever to bike commute by the bay. Bike collisions spike in Chico; naturally, police blame the bike riders.

Here’s your chance to spend the summer on the road working for People for Bikes. Register now for a free webinar on strategies to move towards zero traffic deaths; I might sign up for that one myself. Despite the accusations they hurl at cyclists, drivers only pay for 51% of road costs; you and I pick up the rest. A reminder to make sure your bike lawyer really is a bike lawyer. Turns out the bikelash is a fiction of the media, at least in Seattle, where the overwhelming majority of residents support bikes despite what the local press says; the Atlantic Cities says it’s time to declare peace in the fictional war on cars. Boulder CO sets a record for their winter Bike to Work Day. Plans are in the works for bikeways to connect communities in northern Colorado; I rode everywhere on that map when I lived out that way. Ohio police seem to make up the law as they go along, declining to charge a driver who struck a cyclist because — wait for it — he wasn’t wearing a reflective vest; thanks to Rick Risemberg and Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland for the heads-up. So maybe riding a bike to the presidential inauguration wasn’t the best idea; thanks to Michael Eisenberg for the link. And in yet another city where I used to live, one  year after a cyclist was killed and another seriously injured, bike safety is still a concern in Baton Rouge LA; actually, it’s still a concern everywhere.

After a colleague is arrested for protesting the removal of a bike lane, Toronto physicians call for more bike lanes, more quickly. One writer says cyclists present the wrong image when they show up for mass protests in cycling attire, while another says if we focus on making the roads safe it won’t matter what we wear. The UK Parliament debates the future of bicycling, but questions remain whether the country’s leaders have the will to get it done; I can’t imagine Congress caring enough to even discuss the subject. As long as bike theft is ignored, Great Britain will never be a cycling nation; the same could be said on this side of the pond. How to rebuild your bike after someone backs into it. Chinese artist Ai WeiWei creates a tower of bicycles in Italy. Beijing pledges to get tough on blocked bike lanes; something every city should do — including this one.

Finally, most of us want to be seen when we ride; now there’s a bike for those who don’t, as well as a beer carrying bike designed for DUI drivers. This is what happens when a cyclist runs a red light in Shanghai; odd that no one mentions that the car that hit him ran the light, too. And Flying Pigeon demonstrates how to bunny hop a bakfiets. 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, General, Law Enforcement / Tags: , , , , ,

Your big, bold list of King/Inauguration Day bike links

January 21, 2013 / / Comments Off on Your big, bold list of King/Inauguration Day bike links

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” — Dr. Martin Luther King

Something to remember as we confront the irrational anger in today’s America.

And on our streets.

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L.A. cyclists finally have some real reasons to get excited as plans are unveiled for the city’s first cycle tracks and raised bike lanes. Meanwhile, the city speeds up key projects by opting out of environmental review; hearings for first year projects will be held next month.

Personally, I’ll be happy when the 7th Street bike lanes don’t stop at Figueroa, throwing me head first into the madness of barely organized traffic every time I ride Downtown.

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Evidently, you can ride slowly in L.A. traffic and still get where you’re going in one piece. Orange 20 Bikes reports on Saturday’s Tweed Ride. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Marathon Crash Race 2013 on March 17th. The Venice Neighborhood Council discusses road diets, bikes lanes and back-in angled parking on Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Operation Firefly brings bike lights to Boyle Heights. The LACBC offers Pigskins & Pedals: A Sunday Funday Tour of LA’s Historic Football Stadiums on Sunday, Feb 3rd, while new LACBC-affiliate chapter Downey Bicycle Coalition kicks off a series of monthly community bike rides next weekend. Cycling in the South Bay promises to stop for stop signs — well, that one, at least. CLR Effect looks at a cloudless Sunday on two wheels, meanwhile, Michael writes movingly about the loss of his father last week; let’s all offer a prayer or some good thoughts for a good man.

Where to ride if you’re visiting Disneyland. A 47-year old San Marcos cyclist is seriously injured in an early morning hit-and-run while riding in a bike lane. Some cities ticket cyclists for riding on the sidewalk; in El Cajon they shoot them repeatedly. The San Luis Obispo paper calls on a “well-meaning” Caltrans to fix the mess they created on Hwy 1.

American Katie Compton wins the world overall cyclocross championship without a single pedal stroke, while a Kiwi rider makes his mark with his moustache. A People for Bikes survey shows the need for better infrastructure. Your next bike lock could be a kickstand, and vice versa. L’affaire Lance — which we’re otherwise ignoring here — elevates America’s only remaining Tour de France winner, while the other former Tour de France winner who swore he didn’t dope but didn’t go on Oprah sues Armstrong’s confederates; Dave Moulton wishes Lance would just go away and take his dope with him. Riding fat tire bikes through the Alaskan winter. In a tragic irony, a postal worker is killed at the same dangerous intersection where a mail truck killed a cyclist in 2011. Can America survive a White House Chief of Staff who bikes while distracted?

London Mayor BoJo appoints a writer for the Daily Telegraph as the city’s first bicycling commissioner; I suppose it’s only Americans who’d be bothered that his name is Gilligan, right li’l buddy? Britain’s Parliament commits to getting the country on their bikes; don’t hold your breath for Congress to pick up the torch. The same UK court that fined a driver £35 for killing a cyclist fines another £110 for hitting a parked car. An Irish cyclist says it’s time to make helmet use mandatory. Scot cyclists prepare to Pedal on Parliament again. Soccer-playing 2006 Tour de France champ Oscar Pereiro says cyclists aren’t the only ones who dope, pointing the finger at his fellow footballers. Speaking of the TdF, the 2014 edition kicks off in the home of the Damned United. Even in Copenhagen, NIMBYs fight bike lanes. American tourists in Taiwan want to share a photo with two Aussie cyclists they met on the road. An Australian cyclist loans his own front wheel to a racer in need. A New Zealand writer says bicycles could save the world.

Finally, if you’re going to ride, ride by the rules — all 91 of them. Soar high above traffic in your own bicycle habitrail. And if this isn’t enough links for your MLKing/Inauguration Day reading, the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain offers a big bunch more.

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Congratulations to April Economides, Kevin Hopps and Trent Strong, the newest members of the LACBC board of directors; if you’re not a member of the LACBC, you’re missing out on the county’s largest and most effective bike advocacy organization.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

An open letter to the L.A. City Council — let’s move forward, not retreat to our auto-centric past

January 9, 2013 / / 4 comments

Dear Council Members,

It was just three years ago that CD11 Councilmember Bill Rosendahl famously stood before his fellow council members and declared that “The culture of the car is going to end now!”

True to his word, the City of Los Angeles has made remarkable progress in the last 24 months, rapidly expanding rail lines, moving forward on the long-promised Subway to the Sea — or Brentwood, anyway — and most improbably, being named a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community.

Although pedestrians seem to be lost in the process, as the city continues to remove crosswalks as it build others.

But now the city is threatening to backslide into the same old car-focused past that has repeatedly driven the many communities that make up our city into decline over the last half-dozen decades.

A new proposed bond measure promises to repair our crumbling streets, yet contains not one word committing to improvements for anything but motor vehicles, returning us to the bad old days of automotive hegemony that CM Rosendahl had promised was in the past.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea, though not everyone agrees; some are quite vocal in their opposition for a number of reason.

Yet no one can deny that our streets are crumbling. Too many L.A. streets now resemble the cobblestones of Europe, as a broken patchwork of pavement causes collisions and needless costs for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.

And fixing them now makes sense, sparing Angelenos the estimated $750 a year in added repair costs, not to mention the untold cost to repair countless broken bikes — and broken bones — suffered by cyclists who hit potholes or swerve dangerously to avoid them.

Historic low interest rates mean the city can borrow the money at favorable rates, and repave the streets now at a fraction of the cost it would cost in decades to come. And since the bond will be funded by a relatively insignificant increase in property taxes, the work can be done without adding to the city’s debt burden.

The problem, as always, is in the details.

Or the lack of them, as far too much as been left out of this measure.

Like a commitment to implementing bikeways contained in the city’s new bike plan as those streets are repaved, dramatically cutting the cost of implementation since those streets would need to be repainted anyway. And potentially cutting the time to build out the bike plan from 30 years to perhaps half of that, or less.

Worse, there is absolutely nothing in this massive bond issue that promises to repair the city’s broken sidewalks, estimated to cost $1 billion to $1.5 billion. Leaving a massive obstacle to creating more livable and walkable communities, while failing to give people an incentive to get out of their cars and off our highly congested streets.

My own wife has been injured twice as a result of tripping over broken sidewalks, suffering first a broken foot, followed by wrenched knee that continues to cause her problems to this day. How many others have been similarly injured, or simply stopped walking in their own neighborhoods because it’s simply not worth the risk?

Clearly, this will not be an easy measure to pass.

It will require a two-thirds majority, something very difficult to achieve as the recent failure of Measure J demonstrated, despite getting over 66.1% of the vote.

Which means you’ll need every vote you can get for passage, including the support of bicyclists and pedestrians. And right now, we have no incentive to support it — let alone vote yes in May.

In fact, as far as I’m concerned, this is dead in the water unless significant changes are made.

The city needs to make a firm commitment to building out the bike plan as streets are repaired, and rebuilding our streets using best practices that benefit all road users — based on the new mobility plan currently being finalized, rather than the outdated version it will replace.

It also needs to include provisions to fix our sidewalks. After all, while most Los Angeles residents are drivers, we’re all pedestrians at one time or another. And this will never be the great city it can and should be until we are free to walk when and where we want, safely and enjoyably.

Let’s also not fall into the old trap of treating infrastructure as separate elements; streets and sidewalks and crosswalks should be rebuilt as a single Complete Street designed to move people, not vehicles, and bring renewed life to all our communities. And they should incorporate Safe Routes to Schools, while providing necessary access for the disabled.

Granted, CD12 Councilmember Mitch Englander has promised that much of this will addressed down the road.

But with all due respect, you’ll excuse us if we don’t settle for promises than can be broken down the line. These matters need to be included in the ballot measure, locked in as part of the bond issue.

This morning’s City Council session will be visited, not by three ghosts, but by a phalanx of impassioned bicycling, pedestrian and safety advocates determined to fix this bond measure before it goes to the ballot in order to win their support, and the support of countless like-minded Angelenos such as myself.

Listen to them.

Then act on the suggestions they make.

The success of this bond measure, the livability of our city and the safety of its residents depends on it.

Sincerely,

Ted Rogers
Bikinginla.com
Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

Nothing to see here — I’m on Streetsblog today

January 8, 2013 / / Comments Off on Nothing to see here — I’m on Streetsblog today

Unless there’s breaking news that has to be addressed, I won’t be posting on here today.

Instead, you can find my latest post on LA Streetsblog, discussing sidewalk riding and bike parking in Santa Monica. Especially at the new Apple Store on the Third Street Promenade, where cyclists are shunted off to park — and possibly get their bikes stolen — behind the store in an alley.

Thanks to Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious and Bike Metro for calling attention to the problem.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , , ,

Call now to fight killer roads in San Diego, and a near repeat of a Huntington Beach bike path collision

January 7, 2013 / / One comment

Just a quick update on a busy day.

Anyone who rides in the San Diego area should take a moment to read today’s BikeSD, in the wake of the death of a publicly unidentified bike rider on Clairemont Mesa Blvd last week.

While no official word has been released regarding the cause of the collision, cyclists have been quick to blame bad road design that forces riders going straight to cross over an exit lane leading to a freeway onramp — just as they did in the death of David Ortiz last year.

In response, riders are prepared to take on, not just a city famed for turning a blind eye to cycling fatalities, but what may be the state’s most bureaucratic and unresponsive agency.

There’s still time to join in and call Caltrans District Director Laurie Berman to demand that she appear at tomorrow’s San Diego City Council meeting to defend the city’s high-speed killer streets, and Caltrans’ apparent refusal to do anything to make them safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Or motorists, for that matter.

And to attend tomorrow’s council meeting yourself to demand both immediate and long-term action to prevent more needless deaths on the city’s streets.

Because far too many people have died on San Diego streets already.

……..

Our anonymous South Bay/Orange County correspondent reports another collision at the exact same site where a car went off PCH in Huntington Beach and nearly killed cyclist Richard Lauwers as he rode on the bike path below.

No cyclist involved

By 10pm, when I rode past, the totaled car had been righted and was facing north, in the exact location of the incident that put Richard Lauwers in the ICU for days.

The tow truck driver was the only one still on the scene, using power tools to try to get the mangled car roll-able.  He said he’d arrived just as the ambulance left Code 3 for UCI.  “The kid fell asleep,” is what HBFD told him, and he added that the car had rolled and then came to rest upside down, half on the path & half on the sand. He also said the cops don’t suspect alcohol or drugs (of course, if the tox results disagree, there’ll be charges.)

I hope all the pretty sparkly bits of glass are swept off the path for the Sunday morning cyclists.

I hope a mom isn’t signing Consent to Harvest papers tonight.

Ride safe out there!

Two serious collisions that sent drivers off the road in exactly the same spot indicates a serious safety problem that has to be addressed on the roadway.

And should serve as a warning to cyclists that they may not be safe riding the bike path there.

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Finally, I stumbled on something I found heartbreaking over the weekend.

Yes, it’s a good thing that bicycling has become so mainstream that it’s now used to sell everything from pharmaceuticals to fashion.

But it’s a sad day when a once proud Pashley is relegated to serving out its remaining days as a flat-tired retail display in a Santa Monica Banana Republic.

Banana Republic Pashley

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Reading between the lines — did California Governor Jerry Brown kill a bike rider with his pen?

December 27, 2012 / / One comment

Sometimes the irony is as tragic as it is overwhelming.

It was just a few years ago that the New Jersey Star-Ledger published an editorial ridiculing efforts to pass a three-foot passing law in the state — one day after printing a story proving the need for it.

The paper said that while they supported “protecting bicycle enthusiasts,” they feared a society in which drivers could get a ticket for passing a cyclist at just 2’11”, and called the proposed law unenforceable.

Pity they don’t read their own newspaper.

Just 24 hours earlier, they’d run a story about a 78-year old man who died after being passed so closely by a school bus that witnesses thought the driver had hit him. Police initially investigated the death as a hit-and-run before concluding that the bus never came in contact with the rider.

It just passed so closely that the rider, an experienced cyclist who averaged 5,000 miles a year on his bike, lost control and fell, fatally, off his bike.

Something a three-foot law might have prevented. Or at the very least, could have provided a basis to charge the bus driver for his death.

Now we have a very similar situation right here in California.

Except instead of an editorial providing an ironic context, we have the veto pen of a misguided governor to blame.

And instead of a 78-year old victim, it was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley who died when he was passed by a dump truck last July.

Israeli professor Shlomo Bentin, a renowned expert in cognitive neuropsychology, was riding his bike next to a line of cars when he was buzzed by the dump truck — once again, so close that witnesses at the scene believed the truck had hit him.

Yet investigators, relying on video, interviews and forensic analysis, concluded that the truck never made contact with the rider.

And even though state law requires drivers to pass at a safe distance without interfering with the safe operation of the bicycle, authorities felt they didn’t have enough evidence to make their case.

Something that probably wouldn’t have been a problem if we had a three-foot passing law in place.

Anyone who has ever been in Bentin’s position knows the sheer terror that comes with having a massive, multi-ton vehicle mere inches from your elbow.

It takes near-superhuman self control not to overreact in that situation, where the slightest mistake could result in a serious, if not fatal, collision with the passing vehicle – or a crash into the parked cars on the right that could throw you under the truck’s wheels or into the path of following cars.*

Or cause you to simply fall on your own, as Bentin and the rider in the New Jersey case appear to have done with tragic results.

And make no mistake. While most falls from a bike are harmless, any fall can be dangerous.

Yet thanks to the veto pen of our misguided governor, California drivers still have no standard in place to tell them what is and isn’t a safe passing distance.

And as this case clearly shows, any pass that doesn’t actually come in contact with the rider is effectively legal under current law.

Even if the rider dies as a result.

Had the governor not vetoed two straight safe passing laws — including one he indicated he would sign after vetoing the first — Shlomo Bentin might be alive today, training the next generation of neuropsychologists.

Or at the very least, the driver could have been held accountable for fatally violating the three-foot rule, rather than walking thanks to the current nebulous and virtually unenforceable standard.

Instead, the governor traded our lives, not for the implausible reasons he gave for his vetoes, but as a political favor to groups he evidently felt were more important than mere bike riders. Or so I’m told by people in a position to know.

Bentin’s body should be laid at Governor Brown’s feet — figuratively, if not literally. Because he’s traded the safety of every bike rider on California streets for political expediency.

And he should be held accountable, morally and politically, for Bentin’s death, and any other cyclists who have been Jerry Browned following his vetoes, or will be.

Our governor has blood on his hands.

And nothing he can do will wash it away.

*If you find yourself in a similar situation, the best course of action is to bail to your right if there’s room — even if that means going over a curb or off the roadway; road rash or a broken arm is a lot better than getting run over. If there’s no room to your right, hold steady and try not to react in any way; it’s not easy, but this is one situation where doing absolutely nothing could save your life.

………

A Canyon Country bicycle advocate was seriously injured in a collision on Saturday.

Kevin Korenthal was riding south on Little Tujunga Road when a 16-year old driver lost control rounding a curve, crossed the center line and hit him head-on. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent 7 hours of surgery for injuries including three broken vertebrae in his neck and back, as well as a broken wrist, tibia, fibula, scapula and femur.

The founder of the Santa Clarita Valley Trail Users, Korenthal lost his lower left leg as a result of another cycling collision 21 years ago; the latest crash left a steel rod in the amputated leg bent at a 45-degree angle.

Thanks to Michele for the heads-up.

………

Finally, the Times offers a great look at L.A.’s jet-beating Wolfpack Hustle.

Surprisingly — or maybe not so much, given the number of cyclists who work for the Times — it offers a fair, balanced and objective look at a leading segment of the city’s formerly underground bike culture.

Although as usual, some of the comments leave something to be desired.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Law Enforcement / Tags: , , , , , ,

Today’s post, in which I make a shameless plea for money

December 12, 2012 / / 8 comments

Not for me.

Even though I could use it as much as the next guy. Especially if the next guy has a bank account that makes Greece look flush.

But actually, I’m asking for you. And every cyclist you share the road with.

Because right here in Southern California, some of the finest bicycling advocacy groups in the country are out there every day, fighting for your rights and the safety of all riders.

And they need — and deserve — your support.

Personally, I’m partial to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. And not just because I’m a board member.

In fact, when I agreed to join the LACBC three years ago, it was because I often found myself working side-by-side with them on various issues. And was impressed with the commitment and dedication they showed in fighting for better bicycling here in the City of Angels, and their willingness to listen to, and support, all members of the bicycling community.

Since becoming a board member, I can honestly say I have never had the pleasure of working with a better group of people, from my fellow board members to the staff and volunteers who run the organization on a daily basis.

Unlike some organizations, the LACBC doesn’t often trumpet its successes, or broadcast the issues they’re working on with various governmental officials. They tend to be far more interested in getting results than taking the credit.

But chances are, you regularly ride streets they’ve played a hand in improving, from Main Street in Venice, to 1st, Spring and 7th streets Downtown. Not to mention the role they’ve played as the incubator for CicLAvia, City of Lights and Bici Libre.

Staff members from the Coalition were also the only people other than myself who attended every single council and committee meeting in support of the groundbreaking bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance passed in L.A. last year, which has set the standard for similar laws in cities around the country.

And the LACBC is currently working to play a role in next year’s Mayoral and City Council elections, to ensure the voices of cyclists are heard in City Hall — both before and long after you cast your vote.

Unfortunately, that sort of advocacy doesn’t come for free.

Like any other enterprise, the LACBC has to pay for office space, supplies and computer systems, as well as travel and other expenses. Not to mention the salaries of those people out there fighting on your behalf on a daily basis.

And that’s where you come in.

If you’re not a member, take a few minutes right now to join, and add your voice and membership dues with a few thousand like-minded bike riders.

Or take a moment in this season of giving to give to an organization that needs and deserves your support. If only because they’re out there supporting you.

It doesn’t matter what you give.

A $10 donation means as much, and is just as challenging, to some as $1000 is to others. So give a dollar. Give a hundred dollars.

But give something.

Of course, the LACBC is not the only bicycle organization that deserves your support. Put your money where your heart is, and support the organization that means the most to you.

Like the newly revitalized C.I.C.L.E., which has been on fire lately leading rides and workshops for local cyclists. Bikeside LA appears to be inactive these days, yet they remain the area’s only registered nonprofit bicycling political organization. And while LA Streetsblog isn’t an advocacy organization, they do more than anyone else — myself included — to keep us informed about the news and events effecting transportation issues in the Southland.

For those of you south of the Orange Curtain, consider giving to the Orange County Bicycle Coalition, or the Newport Beach Memorial Ride fund.

A little further south, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition could use your help. As could BikeSD, the new organization co-founded by Sam Ollinger, one of the brightest and most dedicated bike advocates California has to offer.

On the state level, I’m a huge fan of the California Bicycle Coalition, which as done a great job of representing the interests of bicyclists in the state capitol. And while I’ve had my disagreements with the California Association of Bicycling Organizations, aka CABO, you might find they’re the ideal group to support your views in Sacramento and cities around the state.

Then there are the groups working on the national level, like the League of American Bicyclists, People for Bikes, the Alliance for Biking and Walking and the Adventure Cycling Association.

It’s up to you to decide where your money will do the most good. But let it.

Now.

Please.

And don’t forget, donations to most, if not all, of these groups are tax deductible. Which is something that will come in handy on April 15th if you make a contribution before the end of the year.

I’m always reluctant to list people or groups for fear I’ll inadvertently leave someone out. So if you’re aware of a bicycle advocacy group worthy of our support, please let me know in the comments below.

………

In a step virtually no one other than they seem to understand, the League of American Bicyclists has selected the PR and Communications Director for the national AAA as the keynote speaker for next year’s National Bike Summit.

While the Bike League has partnered with AAA on a number of programs in recent years, local chapters have actively opposed bike safety measures, particularly in Washington DC and here in California.

Maybe she has something to say about how we can work together to improve safety for everyone. But maybe AAA should stop opposing bike safety on the local level first.

Thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.

………

The LACBC wants your support for bike lanes on Westwood Blvd between Santa Monica and National Blvds. In case, like me, you missed the opening Saturday night, you can still catch the ARTCRANK LAX exhibition through next Monday. Neon Tommy looks at DTLA’s upcoming Bike Nation USA bike share program. The first phase of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk opens at 10:30 am today at Paula and Garden Streets in Glendale. LADOT and CD4 Councilmember Tom LaBonge will rededicate the Alex Baum Bicycle Bridge from 10 am to noon on Thursday. Burbank’s Bike Angels will give away 150 refurbished bikes to local families this month. Cycling Unbound says you can tell the NHTSA is a joke because it has TSA in its name. A driver in tiny Durham CA didn’t mean to kill that cyclist, and he’s really, really sorry he did, then ran away like a coward.

Protected bikeways nearly double nationwide in 2012, and are expected to double again next year. How about a hidden minibar in your handlebars? Chicago business needs protected bike lanes. Boston is working for more, and safer, bike commuting. Bikeyface advises drivers on avoiding doorings and kangaroos. A Massachusetts paper asks why hit-and-run drivers flee. Lovely Bicycle offers advice on how to ride real slow. The Washington Post says it’s time we stopped living with streets that are killing us. Hit-and-run drivers are suspected of beheading several bollards protecting a separated bike lane; on the other hand, those might have been cyclists if the divider hadn’t been there. Jacksonville FL has killed 28 pedestrians and nine bicyclists this year alone; that compares with five bicycling fatalities in Los Angeles this year, with over four-and-a-half times the population.

Just like with cyclists, the only official solution to Toronto pedestrian deaths appears to be brighter clothing. Greater horsepower brings greater responsibility. Over half of all UK cyclists don’t feel safe on the road. A 15-year old Brit phenom returns to racing over a year after breaking his back in a racing fall. The unofficial highway code for cyclists. London cyclists drive to work to show how much they don’t contribute to traffic; something tells me most motorists didn’t even notice. Russia’s Katusha pro team is ticked off about not getting a ticket to ride in next year’s UCI WorldTour. New Zealand’s PureBlack racing team is about to go belly up, again. A local rider says Christchurch should be a cycling city. Australian authorities are looking for a teenage cyclist who was severely beaten by a bus driver in a road rage attack.

Finally, bike are great for transportation and recreation — and evidently, stalking potential serial killer victims

Category: Advocacy & Politics, General / Tags: , , , , , ,

A simple four — or maybe five — point plan to end hit-and-run in California once and for all

December 7, 2012 / / 15 comments

The news hit like a bombshell Wednesday night.

After years of ignoring the problem, the Los Angeles press discovered the city’s hit-and-run epidemic when the LA Weekly unveiled an extensive examination of what may be the city’s most common crime.

The article, by writer Simone Wilson, cites the shocking news that 48% of all L.A. collisions are hit-and-runs. Or at least, shocking to anyone who hasn’t been fighting to call attention to the problem, and trying desperately to get city officials to actually do something about it.

Although to be fair, in the meetings I’ve attended, LAPD has consistently said that roughly 33% percent of all collisions are hit-and-runs, based on COMPSTAT data. And unfortunately, the Weekly doesn’t explain where they got the higher figure.

But either way, it’s too damn high.

I won’t recap the article here. If you want the short version, you can get it from LA Streetsblog or The Atlantic Cities; if there’s any justice at all, it will soon be picked up by the larger mainstream press.

Or better yet, click the link in the second paragraph and read the full article yourself. And try to retain the contents of your stomach when you do.

The question is what can we do about it.

Most of the efforts by advocates working to do something about the problem have focused on addressing it after the fact.

Like raising the profile of the crime to put it on equal footing with other violent crimes. And increasing the number of officers assigned to investigate hit-and-run collisions — particularly those involving serious injury. Which won’t be easy given that the department is desperately trying to avoid further budget and staffing cutbacks.

Meanwhile, others, such as the recent Life Before License campaign, have focused on ensuring that drivers who aren’t willing to observe the most basic requirement to remain at the scene of a collision will have their driver’s licenses suspended — something that has failed to happen in a shocking number of cases.

Which sends a clear message just how seriously our courts don’t take traffic crimes.

All of these efforts are important, and deserve our support.

On the other hand, I’d rather stop hit-and-runs before they occur by changing state law to remove the incentive to flee. And making the cost for running away so steep that no one in his or her right mind would think it’s worth the risk.

Long-time readers may recall that I’ve advocated a three-point plan to do just that. And recently added a fourth to address the heartless bastards who leave their victims to die on the street.

1. One of the most common reasons people take off following a collision is that they’ve been drinking or are otherwise under the influence of something. Yet current state law actually encourages drivers to flee by making the penalty for hit-and-run less onerous than the penalty for DUI. So we should start by removing that incentive, as Colorado did at the urging of cyclists, by making the penalties for hit-and-run equal to the penalties for DUI.

However, given California’s current prison overcrowding, it’s highly unlikely that anyone convicted under a toughened law would serve their full sentence. So I suggest we take it further.

2. Anyone who leaves the scene of a collision should have their license automatically revoked — not suspended — by the DMV. By committing the crime of hit-and-run, they’ve shown a callous indifference to both the law and the lives and safety of others, and are undeserving of the privilege of driving. By making this an administrative action, it can be taken regardless of whether the driver is ever charged or convicted. The driver would have to go before an administrative judge to request the right to apply for a new license — and should face a higher standard to get it.

3. Hit-and-run is the only crime where the criminal is allowed to keep the weapon he or she used, even after a conviction; after all, bank robbers aren’t given back the gun they used. Any car used to commit a hit-and-run should be impounded as evidence until a decision is made on whether to file charges or until the trial is concluded. If the driver is convicted, the vehicle should be seized by the state and sold, with the proceeds going to the victim. After all, the state can already seize cars used in drug crimes or to solicit prostitutes; isn’t running away after killing or injuring another human being just a little more serious than trolling for a blowjob?

And I guarantee people will think twice about running away if they have to continue making payments on a car they don’t own anymore.

As I mentioned, I’ve recently added a fourth item to this list, after one too many cases in which a hit-and-run driver has left their victim to die on the streets — yet authorities can’t manage to find anything to charge the driver with that’s in any way commensurate to crime.

4. The greatest tragedy in any fatal hit-and-run is that in many cases, the victim might have been saved with prompt emergency care. But instead of calling for help, the drivers run off, leaving their victims to suffer and die alone, when they might otherwise have been saved. So prosecutors should be encouraged — if not required — to file unpremeditated degree murder charges in any case where there’s even the slightest possibility the victim might have survived if they’d gotten help.

It’s a tough approach. And quite frankly, despite discussions with a few state legislators, I’ve yet to find one willing to take up the fight.

They’d rather pretend the problem doesn’t exist. Or that nothing can be done about it, while countless cyclists, pedestrians and motorists continue to bleed.

Or die.

Then there’s one other element that should be considered.

Every police officer with whom I’ve discussed the problem of hit-and-run, without exception, has said there are two primary reason drivers flee. First, because they may be intoxicated, or second, because the drivers may be undocumented, with no license or insurance.

Of course, there’s also a third, somewhat smaller category. Some people are just gutless assholes who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

But until we allow all residents of the state — whether or not they are here legally — to apply for a license and buy the insurance required by law for all drivers, we will continue to give them a reason to run away.

It doesn’t mean we are legitimizing their status; the state does not have the power to do that.

It just means that we recognize the problem.

And it’s long past time we did something about it.

Update: Since this piece was written, California has approved driver’s licenses for people in the country without valid documentation. 

So that’s one down, four to go.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Best of, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Law Enforcement, Legal Cases, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , ,
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