Archive for General

Culver City to bike and bus riders: drop dead — CC council votes to rip out MOVE Culver City Complete Streets project

April 26, 2023 / / 2 comments

Today’s Morning Links have been cancelled in favor of an unbridled rant regarding the sheer recalcitrant idiocy demonstrated by the Culver City Council Tuesday night. 

Or make that early Wednesday morning, since treachery usually occurs in the early morning hours, long after most people with any common sense have gone to bed.

Which leaves out three-fifths of Culver City’s elected leadership.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programming.

………

It really shouldn’t surprise anyone.

As expected, the newly conservative Culver City Council voted to gut the MOVE Culver City project.

The highly successful Complete Streets project received overwhelming public support going late into the night at Tuesday’s council session.

Yet they still voted 3 to 2 to remove the protected bike lanes in favor of a shared bus and bike lane, in order to add another traffic lane so more drivers can go zoom, zoom to their hearts content.

At least that’s the theory.

In reality, it’s likely to result in more congestion, as the added lane will just encourage more drivers to clog the city’s downtown area, with the added noise, smog and safety risks they’ll bring with them.

It will also mean reduced bike traffic, as fewer riders will be willing to use the newly shared bus and bike lanes, with the risk of an inattentive or impatient bus driver running up their ass.

Then again, that appears to be purely intentional.

And it means slower bus traffic, as buses will now have to follow behind people on bicycles, making it a less attractive transportation option and resulting reduced ridership.

Never mind this logical disconnect.

Call it a lose/lose/lose.

Because the city is giving a big FU to anyone not safely ensconced in a couple tons of dangerous, polluting glass and steel.

And you can add another lose to that, since the move to rip out the project will inevitably result in a CEQA violation unless the city manages to conduct an environmental impact study that somehow miraculously shows little or no environmental damage from the project’s removal.

Sure, that will happen.

In reality, the city will likely try to rip out the bike lanes without conducting the required study, resulting in a CEQA lawsuit, followed by a likely court judgement requiring them to put them back.

Making the entire effort a performative exercise designed to placate the angry conservative voters who elected the new reactionary councilmembers.

While everyone else who lives, works or moves through the city just gets shafted.

Pitiful.

Needless to say, the condemnation following the vote was fast and furious.

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Update: Man riding bicycle killed by hit-and-run driver in Pomona; 6th SoCal bicyclist killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

March 22, 2023 / / One comment

Once again, someone riding a bicycle was murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

This time in Pomona.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was trying to cross East End Avenue at Mission Blvd when he was run down by a passing motorist shortly after 5:30 this morning.

The victim, identified only as a man who appeared to be in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver fled the scene, apparently without stopping.

There’s no word on whether the victim had lights on his bike in the early morning darkness. Then again, there’s no word on whether the driver was using his.

The fact that the victim was riding his bike in this weather suggests he had no other option, possibly just trying to get to work in the rain.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pomona Police Department at 909/802-7741 or 909/620-2048.

This is at least the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Six of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Sadly, the overwhelming majority of hit-and-run drivers get away with it. But in the unlikely event they do catch the driver, California’s lenient hit-and-run laws mean they will likely face just four years behind bars, at most.

Even then, prosecutors usually bargain down from that low level in order to get a guilty plea.

Which means most drivers just get a slap on the wrist for making the conscious decision to flee the scene, and leave an innocent victim to die alone in the street.

If they get caught. Which is a big if.

Update: The victim has been identified as 71-year old Pomona resident J. Guadalupe Perez-Nunez. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for J. Guadalupe Perez-Nunez and his loved ones.

Thanks to Johnson Attorneys Group for the heads-up. 

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Today’s post called on account of illness

March 14, 2023 / / Comments Off on Today’s post called on account of illness

My apologies.

My wife was kind enough to share the illness she picked up at work with me over the weekend. I was hoping I’d be able to rally for today’s post, but writing about yesterday’s bicycling death in Palm Springs was all I can manage tonight.

I should be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.

Category: General /

Move along, nothing to see here — corgi edition

March 3, 2023 / / 2 comments

My apologies.

My work on today’s post was interrupted when our corgi became ill last night, and I ended up sitting up and holding her almost all night.

So no new post today, but we’ll be back on Monday to catch up on anything we missed.

Stay safe out there. And show your loved ones a little extra this weekend, whether they have two feet or four.

Category: General /

Today’s post called on account of pain

February 22, 2023 / / 2 comments

My apologies.

I’m continuing to have problems with my diabetes as I get used to being on insulin before my doctor adjusts the dosage.

Tonight that meant a blood sugar spike that knocked me out most of the night, accompanied by a neuropathy flareup that’s kept me in pain when I’m not passed out.

Fun times.

So I’m throwing in the towel, and giving up on today’s post. I’ll do my best to be back bright and early Thursday to catch up on what we missed.

Category: General / Tags:

Move along, nothing to see here — exploding head edition

January 26, 2023 / / Comments Off on Move along, nothing to see here — exploding head edition

My apologies.

My head feels like it’s going to explode, if it hasn’t already.

So we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed, assuming I still have a head to work with.

Category: General /

Move along, nothing to see here

January 18, 2023 / / Comments Off on Move along, nothing to see here

My apologies.

My diabetes got the better of me tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.

Diabetes sucks.

Category: General /

Thank you for another great year — and see you in 2023!

December 25, 2022 / / Comments Off on Thank you for another great year — and see you in 2023!

Category: General /

High desert man busted for 2nd DUI in 3 months, this is who we share the road with, and lots more ‘Tis the Season

December 19, 2022 / / Comments Off on High desert man busted for 2nd DUI in 3 months, this is who we share the road with, and lots more ‘Tis the Season

It’s the final week of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Just six more days to support this site, and help keep all the best and brightest bike news coming your way every day!

Sadly, though, not one single person donated to the fund drive yesterday; just the second time that’s happened this year. 

So let’s all thank Douglas M, Devin D and Steven F for their generous donations on Friday and Saturday to bring you the latest bike news and advocacy every morning. 

So don’t wait. Donate today via PayPal or Zelle! 

Every contribution, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated. And very needed. 

Today’s photo: A very sad fund drive spokesdog and chief fundraiser vows to keep staring until you give in and make a donation today. 

………

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

A Victorville man was busted for DUI while he was already out on bail for another DUI arrest in October.

This is how the Victorville Daily Press described the arrest.

While speaking with Woodward, the deputy said the suspect was “uncooperative,” and several liquor bottles were seen inside the suspect’s vehicle. The deputy determined that Woodward was driving under the influence of alcohol…

Woodward was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol over .08%, reckless driving, and obstructing a peace officer. He was cited and released on Thursday.

Because of the reckless driving charge, Woodward’s vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

Go back and read that again.

The driver’s vehicle was impounded after his arrest — not because he was driving drunk, but because he was driving recklessly.

After his first drunk driving arrest, they apparently just handed his license back to him, and sent him home to do it again.

And chances are, this was just the first time he got caught again.

So if you’ve ever wondered why people keep dying on our streets, you can start with lawmakers who think it’s too dangerous to let reckless drivers keep their cars, but perfectly okay for drunks to keep driving.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

………

This is who we share the road with.

………

‘Tis the season.

A Madera, California Ford Dealership gave away 300 bikes, tricycle and mountain bikes assembled by volunteers earlier this month.

The Butte County, California sheriff’s department is giving away 50 donated or refurbished bikes to local children.

An Albuquerque bike shop teamed with nonprofit group More Butts on Bikes  to give away a free balance bike every day this month.

The Texas A&M women’s basketball team held their first ever bike build, assembling 53 bikes for kids in need before their latest game.

An Oklahoma City TV station gave away over 200 bikes to kids, thanks to help from donors and Walmart.

An Ohio nonprofit gave away four truckloads of bikes to kids up to 17 years old; they’ve distributed over 20,000 bikes in the past 17 years.

Over 200 people turned out, many dressed as Santa or other holiday characters, for a 5.5-mile Ohio bike ride to benefit the victim of a dog attack earlier this year.

Continuing our Ohio trifecta, a local church donated 550 new bikes and 600 toys to families in need for the holidays.

A pair of Louisville, Kentucky women worked though the nonprofits they founded to donate bikes to kids who didn’t have one.

A Pennsylvania Toys for Tots program thanked the local community for coming through for them after thieves stole 25 bicycles that were schedule to go to local kids in need; Dick’s Sporting Goods alone donated 25 bicycles to the program.

Former Washington Commanders pro football receiver Charlie Brown gave away more than 100 bicycles to kids in need through his charitable foundation.

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana attorney handed out 430 bikes and helmets to kids in need for the holidays.

Hats off to the owners and employees of a Dublin, Ireland bike shop, who have donated 1,500 bicycles to Ukrainian refugees.

An Aussie couple turned their own living room into a workshop to refurbish eleven bikes for kids in need.

………

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

Italian bicyclists are up in arms after a judge ruled that hate speech directed at them is not a crime, after someone wrote “Hit one cyclist to educate a hundred” in response to a Facebook post. Although that wouldn’t even be a consideration in the US, where the 1st Amendment protects the right to make stupid and hateful comments.

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

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for the bike-riding man who attacked a 63-year old man in New York’s Central Park while shouting antisemitic comments and “Kanye 2024.”

Police in Belfast, Northern Ireland are looking for a pair of killers who rode their bicycles to assassinate two different men just under a year apart; investigators have connected the cases, but are still looking for a motive.

………

………

Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Police in Newport Beach gave in to the cliches, and gave coffee and donuts to the adults to improve community relations, and bike helmets for their kids.

San Jose leads the Silicon Valley in bicycle crashes, injuries and deaths, with 3.5 times as many bike crashes as second place Palo Alto. Then again, it also has almost 15 times the population.

Sad news from Sacramento, where an Ohio man was killed in a collision while riding his bike.

 

National

Bad news from Oregon, where pedestrian and bike deaths have topped last year with a month to go.

The author of the Seattle Bike Blog has a new book coming out titled Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from behind the Handlebars, available for preorder for $29.95.

Heartbreaking news from Denver, where a woman battling leukemia lost her husband the same day she received a stem cell transplant, when a hit-and-run driver ran a red light and smashed into him as he rode his bike; a crowdfunding page has raised over $78,000.

A group of Minnesota bike riders aims to prove that people do ride bikes in the snow.

A band of vigilantes is riding and walking around New York, clandestinely fixing license plates intentionally damaged or obscured by their owners to avoid traffic cams and toll scanners.

Frank Sinatra’s namesake Hoboken street is getting a Complete Streets makeover, complete with raised sidewalks and protected bike lanes, although drivers will have to sacrifice 126 parking spaces.

A Virginia man is under arrest for sexually assaulting a 13-year old girl and stealing her bicycle, after the victim managed to take a photo of his truck as he drove away. See pit, deep enough.

That’s still more like it. A New Orleans man had his sentence reduced for the drunk driving crash that killed two people when he plowed into nine bike riders at a 2019 Mardi Gras parade; Tashonty Toney’s sentence was lowered from 91 years to 65 years behind bars after the appellate court rejected the original sentence.

Hats off to Mississippi history teacher Ed Abdella, who rode his bike for 24 straight hours to raise funds for the school’s band program, covering 343 miles in the process.

Ivanka Trump is one of us, as she took her two sons to a Miami bike park.

A Florida sheriff’s deputy dressed as the Grinch and handed out onions to drivers speeding in a school zone. Although speeding tickets would have been more appropriate, but less fun.

 

International

Three friends from Argentina rode their bikes 6,200 miles through 15 countries in hopes of securing tickets to the World Cup final, won by Argentina in penalty kicks; no word on whether they actually got in.

Canadian Cycling Magazine offers inspiration for when your Christmas Tree has to reflect your passion for bikes.

It’s going to take five months and $400,000 to rip out a popular bike lane through a Vancouver park. Popular with bike riders, anyway; angry drivers, not so much. 

Police in the UK are defending the people installing new bike hangers, after conservative politician complained about the approval process.

A British husband and wife team set a new record for biking around the world on a tandem bike, passing through Berlin’s famed Brandenburg Gate — in a blizzard, no less — just 180 days after setting off from the same spot, presumably in better weather. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the link, who assures us he and his wife will not be challenging the new record.

In yet another example of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the streets, an 81-year old English driver walked without a single day behind bars and got to keep his driver’s license, despite hitting a bike rider during a failed pass attempt — then doing it again moments later.

No surprise here, as bike riders in the Netherlands ride their bikes twice as much as Germans do doing the winter.

Famed Italian bikemaker Ernesto Colnago’s greatest bikes will go on display in a permanent museum.

 

Competitive Cycling

UCI is making sweeping rule changes to World Cup mountain bike racing.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a stand of cottonwoods explodes next to the bike trail you’re riding. A two-mile bike ride could pay for your next hotel stay.

And someone out there definitely knows how to get my attention.

………

Happy Chanukah to everyone celebrating tonight. Or a happy Hanukkah, if you prefer.

Chag Urim Sameach!

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Soto-Martinez calls for new bus and bike lanes in CD13, San Diego op-ed calls bike lanes a rip-off, and drivers behaving badly

December 14, 2022 / / One comment

Less than 12 days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Which means time is running out to show your support for SoCal’s best source for all the latest bike news and advocacy, delivered fresh to your favorite screen every morning!

So let’s all thank Nina M and Todd T for their generous donations to ensure the bike news you need is ready and waiting when you need it. 

Don’t wait. Donate today via PayPal or Zelle.

Or better yet, stop what you’re doing and donate right now to keep all the bike bike news coming your way every day!

………

You can’t say things aren’t changing in Los Angeles these days.

And Hollywood in particular.

In his first council session after replacing the recently ousted Mitch O’Farrell in LA’s 13th Council District, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced a motion calling for LADOT to report back with a list of bus lanes, bike infrastructure and pedestrian safety improvements that can be implemented within the next 18 months, as well as calling for placing shelters at every bus stop in the district.

Quite a change from O’Farrell, who spent eight years slow walking most safety projects, if not outright blocking them.

You can ask Soto-Martinez about his plans for the district at this evening’s Streets For All virtual happy hour; RSVP here.

………

No bias here.

A retired university professor suggests that San Diego’s commitment to building bike infrastructure, with a goal of achieving a 10% bike commuting rate, is just another special interest rip-off.

Is this a joke? Or is it a monumental rip-off perpetrated by a very small but clearly well-organized special interest group of biking enthusiasts?

And then there is a safety issue. To date, there seemingly has not been any effort by the city or the state to either educate or enforce the multiple safety issues that are important for a mutual use of roadways by bicycles and automobiles. Few bikes on the road after dark have reflectors or lights; it is very rare to see a bicyclist signal to turn. And bicyclists blow through red lights and stop signs consistently — usually as they fly down one of the hills.

Just wait until he sees how people drive, in their big, smelly, two-ton death-dealing machines as they text on their phones, roll stop sighs and race to the next red light.

Of course, his proof that it’s a rip-off is that he and his husband don’t see bikes in the exact bike lane they’re watching, at the exact moment they’re watching it.

And never mind that the well-funded advocacy groups he complains about are in fact dramatically underfunded nonprofits who have to beg for money to continue their work every year.

It would be of interest to know which consultant arrived at this 10 percent number — and how. Special interest groups are focused, connected, well-organized and funded. My guess is that they were heavily involved in the planning for the pathways. And while clearly their prerogative, their influence seems to have outweighed the broader public good.

In reality, the broader public good includes getting people out of their cars — electric or otherwise — before we succeed in our so far successful efforts to destroy our planet, unless and until the erstwhile world’s richest man manages to find another one to move us all to.

And, of course, he can’t manage to make his case without the stunning revelation that “San Diego is not Copenhagen, Stockholm or Amsterdam.”

No, it isn’t. San Diego has much better weather for much of the year. And none of those cities were bike-friendly until they made the commitment and difficult transition to become that way.

But there is one thing he gets right.

San Diego is hilly, built around numerous canyons and hillsides. Yet I somehow managed to find relatively flat routes to get wherever I was going when I lived down there decades ago.

I doubt it’s gotten any hillier since.

Then there’s the ability of ebikes to flatten that terrain, and let anyone ride up and down them with minimal effort.

And if you’re to believe the local media and panicked seaside city officials, the entire place is already being overrun by ebike-riding social terrorists.

It’s possible that the city’s efforts to increase bicycling rates may fail, with too many people clinging to their steering wheels like Charleston Heston to his guns.

But it’s far too soon to give up, when the city’s bike network is still in its nascent stage. Let alone when its success is the only way the city can meet its climate goals.

So give it time, and keep building bikeways.

The worst thing that will happen is that the city will continue to get safer and more livable.

And maybe someday, someone in Copenhagen or Amsterdam will insist that they’re not San Diego.

………

This is who we share the road with.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, except for the driver of the suspected stolen truck.

And a Laguna Beach hardware store was forced to close when a woman somehow drove her Tesla through the outer wall. Luckily, no one was injured.

………

You only have until the end of this month to offer your input on how to make Redondo Beach Blvd and Ripley Ave safer and more comfortable spaces to bike and walk.

………

After yesterday’s item about the brief flight of a pedal-powered plane, Steven Hallett reminds us about the Gossamer Albatross, the human-powered plane that successfully crossed the English Channel all the way back in 1979.

………

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

New York building owners are banning ebikes and e-scooters over concerns about battery fires, even though the problem is largely limited to refurbished batteries and mismatched chargers.

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

The people have spoken. People commenting here have all said we should stop linking to articles here where bike use is just incidental to some crime, rather than central to the story. So from here on, this section will be reserved for bike riders who fuck up big time. Let’s just make sure it’s not you, k?

Or me, for that matter.

………

………

Local 

A Los Angeles actor and producer makes a pilgrimage to the great bicycling meccas of Europe.

In what should be must-see viewing for local and state officials, the new documentary 21 Miles in Malibu examines LA County’s killer highway, calling it one of the deadliest stretches of roadway in California.

 

State 

Caltrans is holding a webinar on Friday to present a progress report on the the Statewide Bike and Pedestrian Plan, with public comment extended to January 13th. Yes, Friday the 13th.

Streetsblog examines the worthy active transportation projects that didn’t get funded by the California Transportation Commission under a one-time, $1 billion state funding boost, demonstrating just how much demand there is for better bike and walking infrastructure.

‘Tis the season. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office held their annual Christmas Bike Giveaway for the 33rd straight year, donating 300 bicycles refurbished by county jail inmates to kids in need.

San Francisco Streetsblog checks the progress on the new curb-protected bike lanes on Oakland’s iconic Telegraph Ave.

 

National

A writer for Planetizen argues active transportation and micromobility can do far more to provide cost-effective cuts in emissions than most current emission reduction plans. Meanwhile, Government Technology suggests micromobility has rebounded from its pandemic-induced downturn.

A Streetsblog podcast talks with historian and author Peter Norton about the history of roadside memorials to the victims of traffic violence.

Bike Portland reports the city is working with the FHA to build several advisory lanes, where bike riders get a lane on both sides, and drivers share a single center lane.

Kindhearted Texas cops worked with a nonprofit group to give a boy with special needs a new bike after his was stolen. Don’t get me started on what kind of schmuck would steal a bike from a special needs kid, though.

More on the Michigan bike shop owner killed in a Florida collision while delivering bikes to children affected by Hurricane Ian; 57-year old Steven Pringle was a grandfather and Army vet who founded a nonprofit providing “bicycle therapy” to veterans by repairing bikes to give to children in need.

The bike lanes on New York’s Roosevelt Island Bridge got a new weather-resistant surface, replacing the metal grate that was prone to causing tire punctures.

New York building owners are banning ebike and e-scooters over fears of battery fires.

 

International

CityLab sees a big opportunity in tiny electric minicars.

Quebec rules that a bike rider who was grazed, but not hit, by a passing motorist is entitled to compensation for her injuries. Although someone should tell them that getting “grazed” is getting hit. And so is getting sucked in or blown off the road by a passing vehicle. 

A London micromobiity company is placing a cognitive function test within their app, which will require ebike and e-scooter users to prove they’re not intoxicated before they’re allowed to rent one. So why can’t we do the same thing for motorists?

Portugal is the first country to reduce the value-added tax, or VAT, on bicycles in an effort to encourage increased ridership.

A Norwegian student praises the kindness of people in India’s Uttar Pradesh province, after thieves stole his phone, credit card, ID and other documents while on an around the world bike tour.

Bizarre story from Australia, where a young woman pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 7-foot tall man who was last scene riding his bike, after arguing that she only thought her boyfriend and another man were going to “kick the shit out of him,” not kill him.

 

Competitive Cycling

Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López was unceremoniously fired from his Astana-Qazaqstan cycling team, after the team found “probable” connections to a Spanish doctor being investigated for suspected drug trafficking and money laundering. But the era of doping is over, right? Or did they just get better at hiding it?

A Burbank website profiles a 16-year old mountain biker who competes in competitions throughout the US.

 

Finally…

Your bike could soon tell you when it needs new shoes. Why reinvent the wheel when you can just build a better kickstand?

And that feeling when bikes get squeezed out by pickleball.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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