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In this season of miracles, a former pro and his son could use one of their own

December 23, 2010 / / Comments Off on In this season of miracles, a former pro and his son could use one of their own

Maybe you remember a couple months back, when racing legend Andy Hampsten came to town.

While the official reason for his visit may have been to promote the new Campagnolo Revolution 11 at the Agoura Hills Bicycle Johns, there was another reason for his visit.

A more important reason.

He was here to support former 7-11 teammate and ’84 Olympic bronze medalist Roy Knickman. Or more precisely, Roy’s 14-year old son Andreas.

It was something I’d mentioned in passing, a ride that was scheduled to take place the following day to benefit Andreas in his two-year fight against a rare form of bone cancer. Sponsored by Newberry Park resident and fellow firefighter Mike Nosco, the ride attracted cyclists from around the world, and raised over $30,000 to help defray Andreas’ medical costs. And Nosco hopes to raise thousands more through an online auction on his website.

We should all have friends like that.

The Thousand Oaks Acorn has a moving story about Andreas and his family, as well as Nosco’s extraordinary efforts to help. It’s definitely worth taking a few minutes to read, if only for a reminder of what really matters in this season of frenzied shopping and overindulgence.

And that there’s always something we can do to help. And always those who need it.

Even if it’s just offering a silent prayer.

Thanks to DC for the heads-up. If you want to wish Andreas and his family well, visit their site and sign the guestbook, or make a donation here.

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In a follow-up to yesterday’s post, the family of a Los Altos Hills cyclist killed in a collision with a truck — whose driver had two previous fatal collisions — files a wrongful death suit against the driver and his employer; thanks to Al Williams for the link.

And the drunk hit-and-run driver who killed Angel’s pitcher Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson gets a well-deserved 51 years to life in prison. Now if we could just see a sentence like that for killing people who aren’t famous.

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The New York Times offers a surprisingly rational debate on the Great Bike Lane Controversy with views from five separate writers; thanks to Stanley Goldich and George Wolfberg for the heads-up:

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Debi Mazar helps give away 90 bicycles in South L.A.; now that’s my kind of actress. The City of Los Angeles introduces a new smartphone app to help drivers find open parking spaces; needless to say, it didn’t take long for cyclists to point out the obvious dangers of distracted driving. LACBC doesn’t always make a lot of noise, but they’ve accomplished a lot this year. Just Another Cyclist says Santa would be better off riding a bike; wait, you mean he doesn’t? Cyclelicious celebrates the diversity of the cycling community. Registration is now open for the L’Etape du California, your chance to ride the 7th stage of the Amgen Tour of California from Claremont to Mt. Baldy. Biking from San Francisco to Orange County to support music programs for children with autism.

A semi cute video promoting helmet use. Bicycling editor at large Bill Strickland says it all started when he bought a bike. Advice on locking your bike; key point being do it every time. A Denver cyclist uses his Garmin to prove the driver who hit him was lying; too bad that wouldn’t work with the schmuck who claimed new car smell sleep apnea made him flee the scene after running down a cyclist — and worse, he claims to be one of us. My hometown prepares to host the Echelon Gran Fondo and calls it the biggest bike event in Colorado in 2011; somehow, I think the new Quiznos Pro Challenge will be just a tad more important. A look at helmet use in Michigan doesn’t show much difference in collision outcomes. How is it that Pittsburgh gets a bike center designed by Santa Monica Planning Commissioner Hank Koning before Santa Monica does? link courtesy of George Wolfberg. Grist talks with NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, the woman L.A. cyclists lust after (bureaucratically speaking). A Philadelphia cyclist wishes he’d just get a ticket, because cyclists will never obey the law until the police enforce it; I hate to say it, but he’s got a point. An odd quirk in Pennsylvania law prevents bike lanes outside major cities.

Camouflage — good for bunnies, not so good for road markers. More good advice on riding in ice and snow, some of which works for rain, as well. A parade of Santas on Boris Bikes. These days, it seems like everyone is riding a bike — yes, even Him. A secret UK Santa drops off bikes for children every Christmas. Tour Italy on traffic-free roads and catch the finale of the Giro. Default Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro, who claimed the title when Floyd Landis was disqualified, makes his debut on the soccer pitch. An Aussie state safety committee considers proposals to keep riders safer, including advanced green lights for bikes and airbags on the front of cars — even if the reporter a clearly biased. Lotto pro Matt Lloyd left to ride his bike to the bank in his native Australia, and woke up in the back of an ambulance, with no evidence of a collision and no idea how he got there.

Finally, it has nothing to do with bikes — just the future of our country, as the Sierra Club is urging the Senate to revise their rules to put the interests of Americans ahead of corporations.

And mark your calendar for the LACBC’s 2nd Annual  Mid-Winter Merriment at the Library Alehouse next Wednesday, December 28th.

I’ll see you there.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

A NorCal cyclist dies, and CHP blames the victim

December 21, 2010 / / 6 comments

Unbelievably — or all too believably — the CHP has concluded that the death of a Los Altos Hills cyclist last month was her own fault.

This despite the fact that the driver of the truck that killed her has been involved in two previous fatal collisions. And officially exonerated in all three.

Maybe he’s just unlucky.

Or maybe those he shares the road with are.

According to the official version, the driver, Gabriel Manzur Vera, was travelling in the right lane and signaling his move into a right turn lane when Lauren Ward attempted to pass on her bike to his left. The report says Ward attempted to make an unsafe turn — where she was turning or why is unexplained — and fell to her right, where she was run over by Vera’s massive 26-wheel truck.

The report does note the lack of witnesses, as well as the possibility that there may or may not have been another vehicle involved in some unexplained way.

In other words, they really have no idea what the hell happened. But the CHP is still jumping through hoops to blame the victim, rather than a driver whose record would suggest that he’s either one of the unluckiest truckers on the road, or doesn’t belong on it.

To be fair, it is possible that the official report could be correct.

Ward may have swerved to avoid a pothole or glass, and lost control of her bike. She may have been buzzed by a passing car and fallen as a result.

But just as likely is the possibility that the actions of a careless, inattentive or overly aggressive driver caused her death in some way. Maybe he bumped her as he swung to the left to make his turn, or came close enough that she made a panic turn in an attempt to avoid him.

Maybe she wasn’t even passing the truck. It’s entirely possible that the driver was upset at being stuck behind a bike and made an unsafe move to pass her on the right, possibly bumping her with his mirror as he went by.

We’ll probably never know.

What we do know is that the CHP has already demonstrated a clear bias against cyclists, concluding that cyclists are at fault in 60% of all bike-involved collisions — despite numerous studies from other areas showing just the opposite. Or are California cyclists just that much more dangerous than riders in the rest of the world?

As Bob Mionske notes, police bias against cyclists is not unusual — whether out of animosity, a lack of understanding how bicycles operate in collisions or just poor training.

But as this case clearly illustrates, if you’re involved in a collision on a state highway, chances are, the investigating officers are likely to conclude that you’re at fault.

And cyclists will never be safe on California roads until that changes.

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Yesterday I heard from an attorney who’s representing a cyclist injured when she ran into sand on the Marvin Braude bike path in Venice in October 2009. He’s looking for anyone who might have suffered a similar accident and filed a claim as a result. If that happened to you or someone you know, email me at bikinginla at hotmail dot com and I’ll forward it to him.

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Bob Mionske digs into his archives to examine the question of whether cyclists can ride in a crosswalk; California’s state legislature recently tried to clarify that matter, only to create more conflict due to poor wording.

The law now says cyclists are allowed to ride “along” any crosswalk — but does that mean we can ride on it or next to it? After all, when you walk along a path you’re walking on it, but when you walk along a river, you don’t walk in it.

Last I heard, the LAPD was looking for clarification from the Attorney General’s office before deciding how to enforce the law.

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Writing for Grist, Elly Blue jumps into the great helmet debate, concluding that the argument over whether or not to wear a helmet is the wrong question. Meanwhile, Traffic’s Tom Vanderbilt provides a forum for Dr. Ian Walker — famed for a study showing motorists drive closer to riders wearing helmets — who says:

This leads me straight onto the big issue: I do not know whether or not bicycle helmets save lives. And, critically, nor does anybody else.

Interestingly, Walker concludes exactly as Blue does, that the emphasis should be on making our streets safer, rather than insisting on body armor for riders. And Bicycling’s Fit Chick relates a story of her husband’s injury to argue why you should wear a helmet all the time.

The funny thing with helmets is, you don’t need one until the one time you do. Personally, I always wear a helmet for the same reason I always carry a patch kit in addition to a spare tube; chances are I’ll never need it, but I’d rather have one than wish afterwards that I did.

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Bike Revolution works with Kryptonite to bring their free international bike registration program to the U.S.; I’ll put my Pulse ID tags (note — the registration is free, the tags aren’t) on as soon as I figure out where I packed them.

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Ten reasons to attend the LACBC fundraiser at the Library Alehouse on Tuesday, the 28th. Flying Pigeon explains how to track stand. Hats off to the Burbank city employees who donated their time to help repair bikes to give to needy families. A private bike rental company asks for free space on the Hermosa Beach pier, after gaining a similar concession from Manhattan Beach. Rain cuts the turnout at last weekend’s Hunger Ride in Orange County to benefit the Second Harvest canned food drive; there’s still time to make a donation to a very worthy cause. Speaking of worthy causes, friends are attempting to raise $10,000 to pay an air ambulance flight to take a critically injured cyclist back home to Denver; you can donate here.

Send an e-carol and Schwinn will donate bikes and helmets to children across the U.S. In case you missed it before, Bicycling has a great story about a 501 pound man who saved his own life by taking up the bike — even if it did require a custom-made bike to support his weight. Urban cycling needs to attract more women and people of color in order to grow. Tour de Fat raised over $3.3 million for non-profit organizations. Portland holds a vigil for a cyclist killed by a drunk driver last Wednesday. A key Portland bridge is closing for two years, so the state DOT makes special accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists. A biking flautist names her new band Bike Lane. In an incredibly biased story, the New York Post blames 2-wheel heels for a 16% increase in vehicle/bike collisions; yeah, it couldn’t possible have to do with more cyclists on the streets or drivers unwilling or unable to share the road with them.

A look at pro cycling’s all-time ugliest jerseys; trust me, I’ve seen worse. Two-thirds of all UK bike thefts occur at home. A left cross (our right) collision from a rider’s perspective. It looks like Britain’s acclaimed Bikeability bike safety training program may survive, despite budget cutbacks. After a cyclist hits the side of a red-light running car, the road raging driver and his passengers attack the rider, as well as a bus carrying a witness. A former Argentine national champion takes his own life following a kidnapping. Good advice on how to ride in winter weather; a lot of these tips will work on L.A.’s soggy streets.

Finally, after a friend of her sons was killed as they were riding together, a mother urges motorists to drive safely.

Congratulations to recent guest writer Zeke and his wife for their 28th anniversary.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

LACBC Family Holiday ride, advice for wet weather, and don’t blame Vail for the idiots who work there

December 18, 2010 / / Comments Off on LACBC Family Holiday ride, advice for wet weather, and don’t blame Vail for the idiots who work there

The LACBC is sponsoring its free 2nd Annual Family Holiday Bike Ride Sunday starting at 4 pm in the Larchmont Village area, including a possible visit from Santa Claus; word is the ride will go on rain (likely) or shine (not so much). And if you need gift ideas for the rider on your list, they have a few suggestions.

Courtesy of DC comes word that Team In Training is hosting a cycling training program geared towards a century ride next spring in Lake Tahoe, with a preview this Sunday at 3 pm in Newbury Park.

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Speaking of rain, if you’re going to ride in this weather, remember that puddles can hide potholes, so slow down and try to go around them if possible. And drivers will have a harder time seeing you with fogged-up rain-streaked windshields, so look out for them — because chances are, they won’t be looking for you.

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The Vail newspaper says the judge failed to judge in the case of a high-income driver who claimed he ran down a cyclist and fled the scene because he was overcome by the new car smell. Meanwhile, Vail takes the blame for it, even though the collision occurred in a nearby town and the DA who let him off the hook doesn’t even live there.

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The Wall Street Journal has a detailed report about the money men behind America’s success in international cycling over the past few decades, who helped build what was arguably the best team in the history of pro cycling — and how their efforts ended in acrimony and scandal; link courtesy of George Wolfberg.

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Final candidate list for the March City Council election — Stephen Box in, Glenn Bailey out. LACBC celebrates progress for a new bike-friendly Westwood development. A San Diego area theatre professor died of an apparent heart attack while riding his bike Saturday morning. Santa Rosa replaces traffic circles with stop signs on a planned bike boulevard, on the questionable theory that drivers will actually observe them. San Francisco cyclists and drivers both need an attitude change to usher in what should be a golden age of bicycling in the city. Cyclelicious shares his biking Christmas ornaments. A three-term member of the League of American Bicyclists’ Board of Directors resigns, saying LAB no longer serves the needs of its members. Maybe the solution to encouraging more urban bicyclists is building cycling superhighways. Riding a bike can unify your life. Taking a page from soccer, cyclists can now give drivers a yellow card. A Denver firm buys a membership in the city’s bike share program for all its employees. UK cab drivers say take the money budgeted for cycling and spend it on fixing potholes, instead. A cyclist is afraid to ride again after getting hit for the second time in two years. An Aussie rider says if you can’t sing while you cycle, you’re riding too fast. Singapore drivers complain that maintaining a 1.5 meter – approx. 5 feet passing distance would mean actually slowing down while passing; yeah, life is hell sometimes.

Finally, A Canadian journalist says complaints about cyclists stress the limits of sanity, while a Montreal writer tells a bike-hating sportscaster to stop picking on cyclists, you kook.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Cyclist killed in La Quinta, bike plan passes Planning, Vail hit-and-run driver walks, and goodbye Aurisha.

December 17, 2010 / / 2 comments

A cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run in LaQuinta, near Palm Desert, on Tuesday afternoon.

Fifty-six year old Joseph Patrick Szymanski was killed while riding on Avenue 54 in La Quinta about 3 pm Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters pronounced him dead at the scene; his body was found lying in the bike lane, though authorities note that they don’t know where he was when he was hit.

Tracey Salter of Merriam, Kansas woman was arrested an hour later about three miles away on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

The article notes that a police spokesman didn’t know if Szymanski was wearing a helmet. But unless he died of a head injury, whether or not he was wearing a helmet is irrelevant. And even if he did, there’s no reason to believe it would have helped unless he was struck at slow speed.

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After years of contentious debate, the draft bike plan passed the city Planning Commission with near-unanimous support from the cycling community. The only serious disagreement came from equestrians opposed to allowing bikes on off-road trails, updating a conflict that goes back to the earliest days of cycling.

According to the LACBC, the plan will now go to Mayor Villaraigosa’s office for review before heading to the City Council in February for final approval.

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Time to add Vail to your biking boycott list, after the schmuck driver who ran down a cycling transplant surgeon and left him lying critically injured on the side of the road — claiming it was a result of that new car smell — walks with a year’s probation and a suspended jail term.

That’s after the local DA declined to press felony charges because it could affect the driver’s high income career; by that standard, every rich sociopath and over-privileged jerk who commits a crime should get off the hook.

And from the looks of it, it’s possible that one just did.

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Damien Newton talks to the Beverly Hills cop who seemed to suggest a correlation between cyclists and criminal activity; turns out he’s one of us. And didn’t mean it that way.

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In non-wheeled human powered transportation news, Bikeside reports on the impatient hit and run driver who critically injured a Santa Monica pedestrian. And while we’re on the subject, Dj Wheels notes that Moran Bitan, the 18-year old driver who killed a 16-year old Notre Damn High School cross country runner Conor Lynch, faces a pretrial hearing on the 27th at the Van Nuys courthouse.

And still no charges against Stephanie Segal in the alleged drunken hit-and-run death of cyclist James Laing in Agoura Hills this past October.

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Nice KCET interview with L.A Bicycle Coordinator Michelle Mowery about riding the L.A. River; thanks to Bicycle Fixation and Flying Pigeon for the heads-up. Speaking of Flying Pigeon, they’re getting four new Velorbis bikes just in time for Christmas. Or maybe you’d prefer a very cool and unique looking chainless STRiDA folding bike. Another street falls victim to the stupidest and most dangerous law in California.

Employees of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System buy a new bike and helmet for every first grade student at a local elementary school. CalTrans pushes for a bike lane to nowhere in Bakersfield. Berkley is the most dangerous California city of its size for cyclists, pedestrians and conservatives. Evidently, you can have a good ride in Sacramento, even without Lycra. Ross Del Duca continues his thoughts — started here — on divisions, divides and cultures that divide cyclists, or not. California releases the new standards for complete streets. The SF Gate discusses why and how to register your bike; in addition to the National Bike Registry and Stolen Bike Registry mentioned in the article, I like the free international bike registration program from Bike Revolution.

Something tells me this app intended for motorists will prove very popular with cyclists. A women’s bike team can be run for just 5% of what it costs to run a men’s pro team. Bike before breakfast to maximize weight loss and other health benefits. If you think you’re tough, try racing 150 miles through the Alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter. The New York Times points out that there are laws against bad bike behavior. Philadelphia drivers love the city’s new parking contraflow bike lanes. Just in time for Christmas, get an official crown of thorns helmet so you, too, can suffer like Jesus while you ride.

Finally, if you’re going to ride your bike on the sidewalk in Santa Monica, leave your meth and crack pipe at home (scroll down to Monday). And a new study discovers the cause of San Francisco’s traffic problems: cars.

Go figure, huh?

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Photo stolen from LACBC Facebook page

 

On a personal note, best wishes to LACBC’s Aurisha Smolarski, who’s moving on to pursue other career goals. In the 2-1/2 years she’s been working with the bike coalition, I’ve watched Aurisha grow to become one of the city’s most effective advocates for cycling, and a friend. She has arguably done as much as anyone to improve the state of bicycling in Los Angeles, often working quietly behind the scenes to fight for the rights of cyclists and set the stage for our budding biking renaissance.

She will be very missed.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

Breaking news: Planning Commission approves L.A. bike plan

December 16, 2010 / / Comments Off on Breaking news: Planning Commission approves L.A. bike plan

The Los Angeles Planning Commission just approved the draft bike plan, moving it forward to the City Council for consideration.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Villaraigosa endorses the new bike plan; snowball in Hell stocks skyrocket

December 16, 2010 / / 3 comments

I’m not saying hell has frozen over, but I swear I saw the devil shopping for overcoats at Macy’s yesterday. Because L.A.’s mayor has officially, sort of, tweeted his endorsement of the draft bike plan.

I support bike lanes, improvements – do you? Planning Commission hearing on Bike Plan Thurs in Van Nuys. Info at http://bit.ly/ax9Je

Looks like I have to support it now, too. But even scarier is when Mayor Villaraigosa and Alex Thompson appear to agree on the subject. Or any subject, for that matter.

Maybe the devil should be looking for gloves and a nice heavy muffler, too.

In case, like me, you can’t make the Planning Commission meeting Thursday, LACBC will be live tweeting from Van Nuys City Hall, and LADOT Bike Blog will be live blogging, both of which are so much more enjoyable than the dead kind (and congrats on surviving finals, Chris).

And Villaraigosa fulfills his promise of pushing for a three-foot passing law on the state level, made after his Road to Damascus — or in this case, Venice — conversion to bike advocate.

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As a follow-up to Wednesday’s story about the Santa Monica Bike Action Plan, here’s your chance to voice your opinion without the inconvenience of actually having to set foot in the city; second link courtesy of Stanley E. Goldich.

Not everyone seems to be impressed, though.

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And as long as we’re on the subject of cities on the verge of bike friendliness — or at least, bike friendlierness — comes a trio of stories from one SoCal city that actually is, most of the time.

Long Beach officially unveils the new Vista Bike Boulevard, once again beating L.A. to every conceivable cycling innovation. An interview with Long Beach Mobility Coordinator and recovering politician Charlie Gandy. And the city considers eliminating its licensing requirement after it was recently used to bludgeon the city’s first official Critical Mass.

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Flying Pigeon issues a BOLO alert for a stolen Batavus step-through; it’s not like there are many of those around here, so it should be easy to spot. Metro releases bicycle data for 88 cities for web and app designers. Help kickstart CycLAvia into 2011 and expand it into long neglected South L.A. Is it just me, or did this Victorville writer just tell drivers not to merge into a bike lane before making a right turn — as the law requires — dramatically increasing the risk of a right hook? Drivers aren’t the only ones who can tunnel their way from point A to point B. Here’s your chance to ride a stage of the Amgen Tour of California, from Claremont to Mount Baldy, without having to pee in a cup afterwards to prove you’re dope free. If cyclists are a privileged class, why do all the roads seem to be designed with cars in mind?

Tips for begging free gear and sponsors for your next big ride. Meet the Bicycle Accident Victims Fund. A reporter for the Wall Street Journal starts riding around town since NYC belongs to bike people now — especially if we’re going to ride in weather like this — while the paper offers advice on fashionable attire for your bike commute; studded tires might come in handy, too. A successful winter bike to work day in my old hometown — if you can call getting coffee and eggs from New Belgium Brewing instead of beer successful. Courtesy of Carolina cyclist and recent guest writer Zeke comes word of a call for better biker behavior in DC.

An American living in Germany notes a remarkable lack of spandex; I was starting to think I was the only blogger who doesn’t call it Lycra these days. Evidently, London truck drivers are tired of killing cyclists. Eight months in jail for a banned driver who left a cyclist lying unconscious in the road. A study by a Brit doctor shows that a carbon bike won’t get you to work any faster than a traditional steel framed bike. Requiring cyclists to be licensed and insured would be unnecessary, harmful and pointless; agreed. UCI slams back against Floyd “I swear I was lying then but I’m telling the truth now” Landis’ charges of protecting doping bike stars. The dying wish of bike coach Aldo Sassi is for Ivan Basso to win the Tour de France and place the winner’s yellow jersey on his tomb; no pressure or anything, Ivan.

Finally, it wasn’t a lack of compassion or human decency that made a driver leave a cycling transplant surgeon seriously injured in the road, it was that damn new car smell. Then again, if he’d just bungeed himself to his riding partner, that cyclist might not have gotten hit in the first place.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

A report on Monday’s Santa Monica Bike Action Plan open house

December 15, 2010 / / One comment

These past few weeks have featured a lot of meetings and events I’ve had to — or will have to — pass on, from Metro’s discussion of the Wilshire BRT to tomorrow’s reconsideration of the draft bike plan by L.A. Planning Commission.

One of the meetings I most wanted to attend, and most regret missing, was Monday night’s open house to discuss the Santa Monica Bicycle Action Plan. Fortunately, Eric Weinstein, an actively involved rider I’ve frequently met at various bike-related meetings, was there to fill us all in with a guest post on what we missed.

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Bicycle Action Plan meeting Dec 13th 2010

Desired locations for bike parking, bike corrals and bike share stations; photo by Eric Weinstein.

The City of Santa Monica held the Public Input meeting for a bicycle plan Monday night.  Hope you were there, with the 100 (or so) other bike activists.

The meeting was organized by Jeff Tumlin. That was kind of a surprise, since rumor had it that the outside consultant was not a bike person, but Jeff is an extremely well spoken bike planner, and familiar from the LUCE (Land Use and Circulation Elements) process. Many of the City’s departments were represented, including the bike-oriented Planning commissioners and City council members. Santa Monica Spoke was there in its entirety, and several other bike interested parties were there, including school staff and SMPD.

The 1st question in the Q&A dismissed bikes and suggested we all “get along” by sharing the road – which was immediately followed by a Spoke member with a call for a more visionary future. Bad start, snappy reply. The meeting soon moved ahead to the input phase – much better than this sort of debate. The endless debate of cars or parking vs cycling is not part my vision of how to implement better transportation. Bikes are vehicles and deserve safe accommodation on the roads. Period.

Most of the items for discussion are laid out in the LUCE, with several areas set up to gather public input, including:

  • A map to mark frequent destinations to aid in planning the bike network
  • A map to mark priorities for “bike street” improvements such as lanes, bikeways and sharrows
  • An aerial photograph to mark where cyclists might get on the forthcoming Expo Line bikeway, to help integrate with the city’s bike network
  • A chart and map to note where the access needed the most improvement in getting to the beach bikeway, along with notes on route and challenges to getting there
  • One I still don’t understand about work sites
  • A place for additional notes on the LUCE bike parking and business section – where else to add bike valets, how to encourage employees to bike to work and customers to bike to shop.
  • A place to note where to put the next bike-improved street for North-South and East-West travel
  • A small section on metrics, with a survey on how optimistic you are that improvements will be made in mode share by 2030 (20% to 50%)
  • And last (my favorite with the most dots) where to put more bike racks, more corrals and bike share stations

These are the elements of the Panning Departments thinking on bike improvements. And from what was put forward, it looks like the next improvements will include at least some of the following: more bikes lanes and sharrows to close the gaps in the bike network, some more (possibly permanent) bike corrals, more bike racks, a bike station at the Santa Monica Place mall downtown, and some better bike-sensing at traffic signals.

All this sounds like great stuff – the more the better. Better cycling roads and much more parking are very important elements to successful bike infrastructure; however, I do feel that there are quite a few areas where other ideas should be put forward.

My take on the most important missing element is the need to educate returning (adult) cyclists for riding again in urban traffic. If we bicycled like we are traffic, we would be traffic, and most of these car/bike conflicts would disappear.

I’m sure that there are many other ideas that are missing. The Santa Monica planning department is very interested in getting more input, so please send them some. Everyone is invited to send in written suggestions or additions to the Bike Action Plan; you can learn more and link to a survey at www.smgov.net/bikesm.

Category: General, Guest Columns, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

Casually reclaiming the streets of Santa Monica

December 14, 2010 / / Comments Off on Casually reclaiming the streets of Santa Monica

There are lots of ways to reclaim the streets.

Monday night, Santa Monica showed one way, hosting a public community meeting to discuss the city’s Bicycle Action Plan and improved access for riders throughout L.A.’s immediate neighbor to the west; Wednesday morning we’ll have a guest post from Eric Weinstein reporting on what happened there.

Meanwhile, biking advocate and UCLA lecturer Dr. Michael Cahn demonstrates another by turning a bayside side street into a casual celebratory spot.

The former LACBC board member, founding member of the Santa Monica Spoke and a leader of the UCLA Bicycle Academy invites you to join him in celebrating his birthday with a sidewalk potluck Wednesday, December 15th — today, in other words, unless you happen to read this in the next 20 minutes — from noon to three pm at 507 Washington Ave in Santa Monica; RSVP velocipedus@gmail.com.

I may just put my boxes down for a bit and drop by myself.

Category: General / Tags: ,

Just the links — SMIDSYs and SWSS, jail for Krupen and a bike plan most everyone mostly likes

December 14, 2010 / / One comment

After five solid days of lifting and moving boxes bigger than I am, I keep looking in the mirror expecting to see the Hulk looking back.

Instead, I just see a skinny ass cyclist — okay, maybe not so skinny these days — who’s black and blue just about everywhere.

The good news is, we’ve got one last day of at least semi-good biking weather (update: or not) before a storm front is supposed to blow in for the rest of the week. So get out there and enjoy it.

And don’t even think about me stuck inside cleaning our old apartment instead of out riding my bike.

And trust me, after 17 years in the same place, there’s a lot to clean.

Meanwhile, when things settle down a little, I’ve been having some interesting thoughts about what happens when the world does not conform to our expectations, and why bikes shouldn’t considered alternative transportation.

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In case you missed it while I’ve been otherwise occupied, the latest draft of the proposed L.A. bike plan dropped last week, and for the first time in a long, complicated and drawn out process, everyone seems okay with it. The next step is a return engagement before the city Planning Commission on Thursday.

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Another story I missed over the weekend, Yelena Krupen, the driver who fled the scene after injuring cyclist Brandon Chau in Beverly Hills last year, has been sentenced to 25 days in jail, along with a $1200 fine and $350 restitution to the victim. It may not seem like much — and chances are, she’ll actually serve a lot less — but any jail time at all is a victory in any hit-and-run case, let alone one that doesn’t result in major trauma to the victim. Cyclist and attorney DjWheels says she’s due to surrender to the Century Regional Detention Center two days after Christmas.

Anyone want to bet she’ll be back on the streets by New Years?

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The next fundraiser for L.A. Streetsblog takes place this Saturday. LACBC sponsors their 2nd Annual Family Holiday Bike Ride featuring CD4 Council Member Tom LaBonge, aka the guy who’s running against Stephen Box. Examined Spoke looks at strict liability laws that would require drivers to prove their usual SMIDSY and SWSS — Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You and Single Witness Suicide Swerve, aka “honest officer, the bike just swerved out in front of me” — excuses; speaking of which, a 73-year old former pro cyclist is recovering from a SMIDSY of his own. The LAPD’s Bike Task Force releases advice on preventing bike theft; hats off to Jeremy Grant for taking the lead on its creation. Ride the Divide plays Downtown this weekend; the acclaimed film follows an off-road race 2,700 miles along the Continental Divide. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re missing on the monthly Spoke(n) Art ride, Flying Pigeon shows you. Will offers a look at last weekend’s All-City Toy Ride sponsored by Midnight Ridazz. UC Berkeley authorities crack down on cyclists, including a $220 fine for chaining a bike to a railing; the Bay Area’s Guardian politely points out that bikes aren’t cars. Sometimes, you just want to hang out with other cyclists and feel normal for a change. A Rutgers University student from Concorde, CA was killed while riding her bike over the weekend. The biggest thing keeping people from cycling in England is the perceived danger on the roads. If you’re expecting a Christmas card from London’s mayor, look for one with three wise men on the city’s bike share bikes.

Finally, Town Mouse travels from Scotland to the southern half of my old Colorado stomping grounds, and discovers that uniquely American phenomenon of missionaries on bikes.

Category: General /

Random thoughts at the end of a very long weekend

December 12, 2010 / / 2 comments

I’m still in moving hell for the next few days.

After two solid days of it, our old apartment seems like a clown car; no matter how many things we move out of it, there’s still more left to more. And don’t even get me started on the mess in the new place.

So please forgive me if it takes a few days to catch up and get back to normal. I’m just happy to have internet service again after going cold turkey for 36 hours. In the meantime, a few interesting tidbits have crossed my radar in my few free moments.

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A bike-riding right wing lawyer offers solid advice on how to talk about cycling to a conservative.

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The Times says doubts linger about the official explanation in the murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen; frankly, it seems like everyone other than the Beverly Hills Police doubt that a bike riding ex-con acting alone killed her in random robbery attempt. And check out this comment from BHPD spokesman Lt. Tony Lee —

Lee declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said, “I can tell you from personal experience that using a bicycle as a mode of transportation is extremely prevalent with criminals. You can’t copy a license plate; they get in and out of traffic; hide into the shadows of the night, through alleyways; and can dump the bike and can jump into a bus. It occurs all the time.”

Maybe that’s why cops are so quick to cuff cyclists during traffic stops. If you assume — despite all evidence to the contrary — that the use of bikes in criminal activity is “extremely” widespread, it’s not a big jump to assume every cyclist is a potential criminal.

Never mind that far more criminals make their getaway by car — or on foot — than on two wheels.

Not that they’d profile cyclists or anything.

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Then there’s this great comment from Traffic-meister Tom Vanderbilt, in response to this article on the great bike lane debate in the New York Times —

770 pedestrians killed by cars between 2005 and 2009 (50% had the ‘walk’), and people are ‘afraid’ of bikes. WTF.http://nyti.ms/h322Cg

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Gary reminds us about the public workshop for the Santa Monica Bicycle Action Plan; 6:30 pm Monday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Don’t count on seeing me there, though. My wife’s not letting me out of the house until we get all this crap put away.

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And finally, condolences to GT on the loss of a loyal four-footed friend.

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This seems like a good time to remind you that you can follow me on Twitter @bikinginla. And there’s still time to join Ross, Zeke and Damien in writing a guest post for BikingInLA while my attention is diverted elsewhere. So if you’ve got anything bike-related you want to get off your chest, just drop me a line at bikinginla at hotmail dot com.

Category: General / Tags: , ,
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