Archive for Morning Links

Morning Links: Savvy cycling in OC, keeping bike theft petty, and riding with the Ovarian Psychos

November 9, 2015 / / One comment

One quick scheduling note before we get started, as the Orange County Bicycling Coalition is holding another bike safety class later this week.

Orange County Bicycle Coalition

Cycling Savvy: Safe and Legal Cycling Class

Location: Jax Bicycle Center in Irvine

Thursday, November 12 6-9PM

Saturday, November 14 8-3PM

$75 for 3-part course

http://ocbike.org/education-ts101/

https://register.cyclingsavvy.org/groups/socal

……..

Local

The LA Times looks at how the effects of Prop 47 are helping to keep petty criminals on the streets, including a meth head bike thief. Although they get one thing wrong; it was the state legislature that increased the threshold for felony theft to $950, prior to the passage of Prop 47. Thanks to Gil Solomon for the heads-up.

Better Bike offers a ice a nice reflection on the LACBC’s recent volunteer bike and pedestrian counts in the LA in three very different area, with very different results.

Los Angeles broke ground Saturday on a new two-acre park at the confluence of the LA River and Aliso Creek in Reseda, including a three-quarter mile bikeway which will eventually connect to the LA River bike path.

A reporter for the LA Times gets a new perspective on the city by riding with the Ovarian Psychos.

La Cañada Flintridge votes to create a greenbelt along Foothill Blvd, with a bike lane on one side and a bike path on the other.

A Santa Clarita woman made her getaway by bike after overpowering a person at a market to steal a bag of groceries. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

 

State

Who says a bunch of kids can’t accomplish anything? The state has approved a $2.37 million grant for a sidewalk and protected bike lane submitted by a group of Santa Ana teenagers.

Security cameras caught a man riding his bicycle through a playground full of kids at an Escondido elementary school with a stolen rifle slung across his back, and two more guns in his bag.

A 90-year old San Diego driver hit a pedestrian, 12 parked cars and a bicycle before continuing on to crash into a fire hydrant.

An Oxnard cyclist was seriously injured in a collision Sunday night.

 

National

The Texas driver who killed four people when he plowed through a crowded street at last year’s SXSW music festival has been sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty of capital murder.

Bystanders team up to save the life of an Illinois cyclist after he has a heart attack. It may not seem like it sometimes, but there are a lot of good people in this world.

Bikeshare continues to spread across the US; Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University is the latest college to open their own system.

 

International

A new foldie is specially made to fit in crowded apartments.

A British Columbia mayor is more open to improving bike safety after experiencing a dangerous riding route himself. Getting elected officials out on bikes is often the key to winning them over; maybe Paul Koretz and Gil Cedillo would finally see the light if we could get them to ride Westwood and North Figueroa with us.

Caught on video: Take a heart-pounding ride down the slopes of Whistler BC.

The Guardian tries out that glow-in-the-dark spray-on paint from Volvo, and decides it’s not such a bright idea.

A pair of British transportation consultants say “bleedin’ obvious” solutions aren’t necessarily the best way to improve road safety.

One British borough has seen a 250% increase in bicycling over the past eleven years.

London’s Design Museum will celebrate the evolution and symbolic power of bicycles.

Cycling Weekly looks at the central climb on Italy’s il Lombardia bike race, the last of the five one-day Monuments each season, where a museum at the top honors the Madonna del Ghisallo as the patron saint of bike riders. Call me superstitious, but I never get on a bike without my medal in her honor.

Turkish women call for improving the country’s streets for women riders.

Zambia’s sports minister says cycling should be embraced for physical fitness, as well as sport.

Yet another tack attack Down Under, as at least 40 Aussie cyclists had their tires punctured by tacks while on a ride to protest whoever has been spreading them on a secluded road for the last year.

Kiwi men are three times more likely to ride to work than women, and the gap continues to grow despite a nearly $300 million investment in bicycling infrastructure.

A new Filipino romantic coming-of-age film aims to inspire viewers to reduce fossil fuel emissions by taking up bicycling.

 

Finally…

Apparently, the solution to conflict between bicyclists and motorists isn’t safer streets, it’s mindful conflict resolution mediation. Scientists somehow conclude that walking to a transit station is healthier than just walking, or bicycling for that matter.

And a Canadian study that says the way to reduce bicycling injuries is to ride like a woman; somehow, I don’t think that will help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbXRyIP_G0A

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: Free Breeze bikeshare pass, unfair bike traffic ticket, and anti-bike lane — and anti-bike — madness

November 7, 2015 / / 6 comments

As we’ve discussed before, Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare system officially kicks off with a grand opening ceremony this Thursday.

What we haven’t mentioned is that it’s free that day; just register online for a free one-day trial membership.

Breeze Email-ad-Final

………

Saw this post on Facebook from endurance cyclist, vegan nutritionist and organizer of Sunday’s Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer, Matt Ruscigno,

So I’m splitting lanes in heavy traffic on Melrose Blvd and I time a red light so I enter the intersection as soon as it turns green while maintaining my speed.

[police sirens]

LAPD: I’m pulling you over because you ran that red light.

Me: No I didn’t, I timed it perfectly.

LAPD: YOU RAN IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.

Me: I may have rolled into the crosswalk but I had it timed. I watched. 
[takes ID, writes me a ticket]

LAPD: And you have to ride as far to the right as possible.

Me: I was passing, I’m allowed to do that.

LAPD: YOU MUST RIDE AS FAR TO THE RIGHT AS POSSIBLE.

Me: I was going around the cars in the right lane, safely.

LAPD: Don’t talk to me about safety- you shouldn’t have been doing that.

Me: Oh so I’m getting a ticket because you didn’t like I was splitting lanes and timed the light?

LAPD: I’M NOT ARGUING WITH YOU. YOU DON’T KNOW THE LAW.

Me: Actually, I do. And I was riding safely.

LAPD: You’re lucky I’m not giving you two tickets!

Me: I can pass right?

LAPD: Yes.

Me: [Ride away, splitting lanes, with a $400 ticket in my pocket]

Sad that some cops still don’t get it.

………

Today’s common theme is attacks on bike lanes and the people who ride them.

More anti-bike insanity from Coronado, as a writer says bike advocates need to learn from animal advocates. Except she thinks bicyclists a sense of entitlement rather than a legal right to the road, she doesn’t get that police don’t always get bike law right (see above), and she doesn’t have a clue how traffic safety works.

A British Columbia writer says bike lanes are a waste of money and bikes belong on the sidewalk. Oh, and bicyclists don’t pay for roads, taxes or insurance, either.

Apparently desperate for click bait, a UK paper offers one story saying cyclists are a menace and should be banned from the roads, and another saying motorists should ask for more bikes on the road instead of complaining about them. Meanwhile, a writer for Cycling Weekly deconstructs the former, calling it the most ridiculous anti-cycling column yet. Thanks to Mike Kim for the link.

The vitriol isn’t limited to road bikes, either. In a piece that reads like it belongs in The Onion, a Berkeley Ph.D. suggests we’re corrupting the youth of America through high school off-road racing, saying introducing children to mountain biking is criminal. Speaking of criminal, his hatred of mountain biking goes back to at least 1997; he was arrested in 2010, tried and convicted of assaulting a pair of riders with a hacksaw and slicing one on the chest. And his previous posts to a mountain bike forum were replaced with a Seussian Ode to a Usenet Kook (scroll to the bottom for the final entry). Thanks to Mark Ganzer and Patrick Traughber for the heads-up.

………

Local

The Amgen Tour of California will make a stop in South Pasadena on its way north.

CiclaValley discusses not riding Oat Mountain, the highest peak in the Santa Susana Mountains north of the San Fernando Valley, but his teammate Cameron Bond did.

Build traffic skills with a family friendly ride to Trader Joes followed by a picnic in Silver Lake Meadow on Sunday.

Find out where recently elected CD4 City Councilmember David Ryu stands on transportation issues when he discusses the LA Mobility Plan with LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds at the Autry Museum this Monday. Be sure to ask him why one of his first acts on the council was an attempt to exempt some streets in his district, including the long-promised 4th Street bike boulevard, from the plan.

This Thursday, Metro Chief Planning Officer Martha Welborne will discuss Metro’s regional planning vision at the the Transit Coalition Dinner Meeting, by registration only.

Santa Monica will host a free, full-day family bike festival on Sunday the 17th.

 

State

Seriously? Monterey’s annual Sea Otter classic will now offer e-bike races.

SFist says there’s a plague of bike thefts at San Francisco State University and college officials don’t seem to care.

Here’s a dream job for any bike advocate who doesn’t mind moving to the Bay Area. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is looking for a full-time Campaigns Director to “manage and direct the 44-year-old organization’s organizing, policy and political campaigns.” Then again, you probably can’t afford to live there, and you might have to become a Giants fan, which could be a deal breaker.

This is why people continue to die on our streets. A suspected drunk driver is arrested after a high-speed chase in Santa Rosa, despite having already lost his license after five previous DUI convictions and 12 license suspensions. Taking away the license doesn’t keep some of the most dangerous drivers off the roads; we’ve got to find another way to keep them from driving.

Despite appearances, that Redding cyclist who suffered major injuries when he was hit by an 88-year old driver wasn’t a transient; he was collecting recyclables to donate to his church. And friends say he wasn’t one to just turn in front of a car.

 

National

A new online bike marketplace promises that you won’t encourage bike theft by buying a stolen bike.

A new website maps out every one of the 373,377 traffic fatalities in the US from 2004 to 2013

Toyota is investing $1 billion in artificial intelligence in the US. Which is probably a good thing, since there seems to be so little of the real thing on our streets.

Seattle residents vote to tax themselves to build a 50-mile protected bike lane network, along with a 60-mile network of neighborhood greenways.

Disappointing, but not surprising, as popular Colorado-based pro cyclist Tom Danielson’s B sample comes back positive for an anabolic steroid.

A Wyoming cyclist won’t face charges for killing a decorated former military dog; he claimed he shot the dog with the handgun he keeps strapped to his bike after it attacked him.

Once again, a car has been used as a weapon, as a Houston man accuses another man of intentionally running him down as he rode his bike following a dispute, then jumping him and attempting to drown him.

A Cleveland cyclist was shot in the chest after being asked for a cigarette at 3 am.

A New York cyclist captures photos of law breaking drivers, while admitting that he doesn’t always follow the law himself; meanwhile, a barely recognizable Katy Perry takes a spin around the city on her Trek.

Good read from the New Yorker, which blames the seemingly never-ending conflict between bicyclists, drivers, and pedestrians on old-fashioned egocentricity.

 

International

Bloomberg looks at the next generation of bespoke bike builders.

A cyclist from Colorado has been found safe after being missing from a three day stage race across Costa Rica.

Canadian authorities are looking for a driver who drove over a cyclist’s leg, asked if he was okay, then just drove away.

A British road safety advocate calls for a left-handed equivalent to the Idaho stop law.

It’s three years in jail for the Brit mom of six who deliberately ran down an autistic bike rider following a dispute. With her kids in the car, no less.

A writer considers the lessons learned from a family bike tour in France, where he was accepted by more experienced riders with open handlebars. His term, not mine.

An Indian professor says bike riders are normalizing bicycling as a way of life, and recreational cycling in Mumbai should not be seen through the lens of class conflict.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: Nothing like reading a newspaper while driving. Nothing brings peace between cyclists and pedestrians like miso fries.

And meet the Cuban equivalent of LA’s Stupidtall bike.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Bikeshare, Law Enforcement, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Swift justice in Highland Park DUI hit-and-run case, and protected bike lanes spread across US

November 6, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Swift justice in Highland Park DUI hit-and-run case, and protected bike lanes spread across US

That was fast.

Less than five months after 33-year old Jose Luna was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding in a Highland Park crosswalk, the man responsible has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

Alexis Virto was reportedly driving at least 60 mph on North Figueroa Blvd and never braked before he slammed into Luna, severing his leg and carrying him the length of two football fields on the hood of his car as he fled the scene.

He was found bed with his girlfriend a few hours later, still drunk, with glass from the shattered windshield still in his hair.

Virto accepted a plea deal last month, entering a plea of no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in exchange for prosecutors dropping a host of other charges.

Even if he served his full sentence — which is highly unlikely — the 21-year old driver would be just 30 years old when he gets out.

But he’ll have the rest of his life to live with what he did after getting drunk and getting behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, North Figueroa remains one of the city’s deadliest streets, over a year after CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo arbitrarily killed a planned road diet while somehow citing safety as the reason to halt the safety project.

………

Today’s theme seems to be protected bike lanes.

………

Local

UCLA cites 13 improvements that helped the campus jump up to silver-level Bicycle Friendly University status, placing it in the top third of bike-friendly colleges nationwide; however, UC Santa Barbara ranks a notch higher with gold status. Needless to say, USC is nowhere to be found on the list.

The LACBC offers highlights from last week’s successful Firefly Ball.

Pasadena’s Open Road bike shop is a one man operation with no employees to help run the 10,000 square foot store; owner Steve Lubanski’s business model focuses on selling accessories rather than bicycles.

BikeSGV is looking for a full-time Active Transportation Data Coordinator to collect, analyze and report information on bicycling and walking in the San Gabriel Valley.

The Santa Monica Bike Center is selling some of their used bikes, including this nifty kid-friendly ride that transforms into stroller. If only it came in a Corgi-compatible model, and I had an extra grand tucked under the mattress.

El Segundo police are looking for the thief who cut a cable lock to steal an $1,800 bicycle. Anyone who thinks $1,800 is a high-end bike hasn’t priced them lately.

 

State

The Orange County Transportation Authority warns that a quarter of Orange County bicycling fatalities occur between 6 pm and 10 pm. Which means that three-quarters don’t.

Irvine-based Pedego introduces their first e-powered mountain bike. Whether it can legally be ridden off-road is highly questionable, though.

Laguna Beach cyclists will take a free tour of local backyard chicken coops with the third annual Tour de Coop.

Lake Forest considers a plan to put bike lanes on Saddleback Ranch Road after residents rose up in protest of earlier plans.

Santa Ana will host it’s second annual ciclovía this Sunday, with a belated Day of the Dead theme.

Thousand Oaks’ first ciclovía drew just 2,000 people, most of whom went home as the day grew on.

A Thousand Oaks driver didn’t bother to stop after hitting a deer, but a cyclist who witnessed it did; rider Todd Banks comforted the badly injured animal until help came, while other riders and motorists stopped to call for help and direct traffic.

A lightless Redding bike rider suffered significant head and leg injuries when he reportedly rode out in front of an 88-year old driver.

 

National

The Bike League reports those proposed anti-bike amendments to the federal transportation bill went down in flames.

A loophole in Lance’s lifetime ban means he’ll be eligible to compete in triathlons starting next year. When you look at the photo accompanying that story, just remember you can’t spell Speedo without EPO.

A writer for Health Magazine asks if the un-helmeted people who ride New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare bikes have a death wish. Actually, as of last year, no one had been killed riding a bikeshare bike anywhere in the US. But I guess they don’t have Google at the magazine.

Colorado’s governor touts the benefits of bicycling; the bike-friendly state has the lowest obesity rate in the US.

The Grand Rapids newspaper calls the removal of a bike lane in front of a church attended by a city commissioner an abuse of power, and an exercise in how not to run a city.

Feel free to write your own punch line, as a Massachusetts bike rider somehow mistook a Trump for President campaign sign for a bomb.

 

International

If you want to meet actual Cubans instead of tourists, just hop on a bike.

Vancouver unanimously rejects a proposal to license cyclists, which means even the counselor who proposed it ended up voting against it.

Calgary police shoot a hit-and-run suspect who deliberately ran down a cyclist, then circled back and drove at officers when they tried to stop him.

A Canadian researcher says mandatory helmet laws may increase bike helmet use, but they do absolutely nothing to improve safety.

Now that’s more like it. A UK cop is fined and given “management advice” for parking in a bike lane, forcing riders out into rush hour traffic.

Evidently, fleeing the scene after hitting a cyclist isn’t enough to take away a Brit cab driver’s license.

Historical photos show how Amsterdam slowly transformed itself from a car-choked city to a bicyclists’ paradise, suggesting other cities can do it, too. Like Los Angeles, for instance.

Not surprisingly, the director of the Tour de France says the Dutch bill for unpaid expenses from the first two stages of last year’s race is baseless and absurdly high.

Take a bike tour of Croatia to visit island vistas and ancient sites, including the birthplace of Marco Polo.

 

Finally…

Bombing down a trail in a state park is one thing; finding a WWII hand grenade on the trail is another. Your next high-end bike could be made of plastic.

And what’s the point of striping a new bike lane if you’re just going to plop a Yield to Bikes sign in the middle of it?

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: 77-year old victim of bike hit-and-run dies, arrest made in Expo Park road rage murder case

November 5, 2015 / / One comment

Sadly, the 77-year old Echo Park man injured in a collision with a bicyclist has died.

The Eastsider reports Levon Avetisyan was crossing Glendale Blvd on his way to Echo Park Lake on October 15th, when he was hit by a rider described only as a white man in his 40s. He was hospitalized in grave condition with severe head trauma, and passed away on Sunday.

While police have described this case as a hit-and-run, the rider initially did the right thing by remaining at the scene until paramedics arrived. However, he left before police arrived, without leaving his name or contact information.

It’s possible the rider may not have realized he needed to stay, just like he would in any other injury collision.

If you know this person, tell him to contact a lawyer, then come forward by calling LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives at 213-833-3713.

………

In case you missed it earlier, an arrest has finally been made in the alleged road rage death of a bike rider next to Expo Park last month.

Or more precisely, the arrest of the suspect has finally been announced.

Thirty-five year old Ruben Wharton Vanegas was killed after he reportedly got into an argument with the driver of an SUV on October 15th. A witness reported that the driver pushed him off his bike, then threatened to run over him, before doing exactly that.

Word broke today that police had actually arrested 32-year old Andrew Williams just four days after the fatal argument; he was held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Williams was scheduled to be arraigned on charges of murder and felony hit-and-run yesterday, but the hearing was put off until November 20th. He faces 25 years to life if convicted on all charges.

Why there was no public announcement of the arrest until now is unclear.

……….

The breaking news overshadowed Wednesday’s guest post from LA BAC member Jonathan Weiss discussing when it’s legal to ride two or more abreast, and why.

It’s a must read for anyone who rides with friends or in a group. Not to mention law enforcement officers at every level, since the law is often misinterpreted and cyclists too often ticketed for something that is legal under California law.

……….

The College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona is hosting a reception to honor famed alternative transportation advocate Gil Penalosa in DTLA on Tuesday the 17th.

This free after-hours reception/mixer is a great opportunity to meet Guillermo “Gil” Penalosa, the founder and chairman of 8-80 Cities, previously served as the commissioner of parks, sport and recreation in Bogotá, Colombia, leading a team that designed and built more than 200 parks and opened 50-plus miles of car-free city roads for biking, walking, running and skating. His team is responsible for initiating the “new Ciclovia” — a program internationally recognized and emulated — which sees 1 million people walk, run, skate and bicycle along 121 kilometers of Bogotá’s city roads every Sunday.

The event will be held at Diego Cardoso Gallery in downtown Los Angeles.  More details and tickets are available here.

………

Local

LADOT is taking applications for more People Street projects, ranging from parklets to bike corrals.

Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman says there needs to be a larger discussion of the issues affecting mobility in lower-income communities than just how they fit into a bike-specific box.

CiclaValley gets psyched up for Sunday’s Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer hill climb competition.

BikeSGV calls for bike riders to turn out at a community open house next Tuesday in support of a proposed bike park at the site of the former Puente Hills landfill.

 

State

The 26th annual conference of the Bicycle Tour Network kicked off in San Diego on Wednesday, though some attendees had their flights delayed or diverted due to an active shooter near the airport.

Bicyclists present the results of a Lodi bike summit on how to make the city a cycling destination. Maybe John Fogerty wouldn’t mind being stuck in Lodi again then.

The victim of Tuesday’s Palo Alto bicycling collision was the 52-year old chief operating officer of a San Jose instrument company.

SFist complains that San Francisco police are once again blaming the victim in a fatal bike collision, while refusing to release video that could shed light on the crash; police say the victim should have been riding in a non-existent bike lane.

More bad news from the Sacramento area, as a bike rider was killed in a collision on Wednesday.

 

National

Writing for Bicycling Retailer, Rick Vosper looks at the culture of fear that inevitably blames the bike rider, and makes bicycling look more dangerous than it is.

Bike Snob Eben Weiss makes the case for replacing the word accident with the more accurate crash, saying the former is just a cop-out.

Interesting piece from Next City that says business-as-usual fails to engage low-income bike riders.

Former Ford CEO Bill Ford sees a world moving away from the personal car.

Bicycling wants to see photos of your bike-riding dog.

The Honolulu city council considers a proposal requiring any future bike lanes to be approved by the full council, following complaints over the city’s first protected bike lane.

Dallas advocates say the city needs more bike lanes to thrive; it currently has just 41.5 miles of bike lanes, compared to nearly 12,000 miles of lanes for motorized traffic.

Bicycling rates skyrocket after Detroit installs 150 miles of new bike lanes. Soon they’ll object to bike lanes by saying LA is no Detroit.

Actress Keri Russell is one of us, as she and boyfriend/costar Matthew Rhys ride through Brooklyn on his and hers Linus bikes.

A Miami man goes on trial for killing two cyclists while fleeing from the police following a botched car burglary.

 

International

Caught on video: Urban mountain bikers take a downhill run through the former stronghold of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

In a first in North America, Calgary unveiled an entire network of protected bike lanes at once following five years of effort and community engagement; ridership is up 300% on one key corridor.

Ottawa city counselors compromise on a proposal to limit ghost bikes and other roadside memorials, approving a six-month limit rather than the three months recommended by city staff. Although they sort of make up for it with plans for a protected bike lane that takes advantage of barriers protecting the US Embassy.

Cycling Weekly offers up eleven bike maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them. I’m sometimes guilty of number seven, but only until noticing my brakes don’t work the first time I try to stop.

A writer for the UK’s Telegraph says cyclists other than himself are stupid and thoughtless, and giving us all a bad name. Yes, we should all obey the law and ride safely; many, if not most, of us do. But enough with the “I’m okay, you suck” BS.

City Lab looks at the success of the UK’s 20’s Plenty movement; nearly 25% of the country’s population now lives in communities where the speed limit has been lowered to 20 mph.

An Irish cyclist was wearing a helmet and had lights front, back and on his backpack, and a jury still absolves the truck driver who killed him, while calling for reflective wear for cyclists. Evidently, it’s not enough to light yourself up like a Christmas tree anymore.

The Netherlands presents the Tour de France with a bill for over $150,000 after allegedly getting stiffed for hosting the start of this year’s race.

A far reaching Turkish regulation is designed to encourage bicycling rather than public transport, ensuring that bikeways go onto streets with a topography suitable for riding, and connect with public transport.

 

Finally…

Forget foam, soon you can protect your skull with helmet made of custom-fit mushrooms. But don’t despair, there may be other uses for your current helmet.

And why sleep outside when you can go bike touring with your very own 100-pound bike-pulled camper?

Other than having to pull 100 pounds plus all your gear, that is.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases, Morning Links, Road Rage / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Calbike ranks LA area state legislators, and no charges in the Texas death of a San Diego cyclist

November 4, 2015 / / 4 comments

Great chart from Calbike showing the voting records of LA area legislators on bicycle issues in the recent legislative session.

I’m pleased to see my Assembly Member has a 100% rating.

……….

Sad news from Texas, as a San Diego man on a cross-country ride to bring awareness to homeless vets was killed in a collision last week.

Stephen Michael Clift was riding eastbound on I-40 near Groom, Texas, when he was rear-ended by a driver who admitted looking away and never seeing Clift’s bike before he ran him down.

Apparently, that’s a good enough excuse for drivers in the Lone Star State, since police announced he won’t face charges. Evidently Texas drivers have no responsibility to pay attention while operating multi-ton machines, let alone avoid killing innocent people.

The former participant in the Occupy movement had reportedly given up everything he owned to take part in the March Across America for Homeless Veterans bike tour.

………

Local

A video from Metro flies viewers through the plans for an improved Union Station, including a bikeshare station scheduled for next year, and a new Bike Hub due in two years.

CiclaValley details the first part of his journey from LA to San Diego by bike for the recent Calbike Bicycle Summit.

The Santa Monica Spoke offers details on the official launch of the Breeze bikeshare program a week from tomorrow in front of SaMo City Hall.

The Long Beach city council considers improving access to the LA River bike path, including a traffic signal opposed by some residents.

Former Long Beachers The Path Less Pedaled are headed back down to SoCal for a visit.

 

State

A student at Fullerton College explains why she is afraid to ride a bike to campus. Although she’s mistaken about one thing; bicyclists are allowed to ride in the full lane on any street where the right lane is too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle.

San Diego responds to the death of a 15-year old boy by looking into safety improvements on the street, including bike lanes.

The San Diego Union-Tribune offers advice for runners and riders on how to stay safe after dark, including a warning to watch out for wild animals.

Still more news from San Diego, as the suspected bike thief who stabbed a cop trying to stop him pleads not guilty to four counts, including attempted murder of a police officer.

Sad news from Palo Alto, as well, as a bike rider was killed while riding on a popular bike route Tuesday morning.

The mother of a fallen San Francisco cyclist calls for safer streets in the wake of his death; police say he was thrown into the path of a bus after his bike got caught in streetcar tracks.

Napa County gets its first green bike lanes in St. Helena.

A Napa bicyclist suffered serious injuries after she allegedly went through a stop sign and was hit by a car. Once again, reports that she actually blew the stop should be taken with a grain of salt unless it can be confirmed by independent witnesses.

 

National

The Daily Beast looks at what it call the inevitable event when a self-driving car kills someone on a bike.

The next time you need a royalty-free photo of someone riding in a bike lane, People for Bikes has you covered.

Since Washington state legalized marijuana use, the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with THC in their systems has nearly doubled.

Gizmodo explains how a former video game designer helped create Salt Lake City’s first-in-the-nation protected intersection.

An Aspen CO man is arrested for DUI twice in just three hours.

The cyclist killed in the Colorado Springs Halloween Day shooting spree was an Iraq veteran and a father of two. Sadly, it might have been prevented; a woman called police to report a disturbed-looking man walking down the street with an assault rifle prior to the shooting, only to be told they couldn’t do anything because the city has an open carry law.

Now that’s taking traffic crime seriously. A Michigan woman will spend the next 25 to 50 years behind bars for the DUI hit-and-run death of an eight-year old boy while he was riding his bike; she had heroin, cocaine and Xanax in her system at the time of the crash.

The Orlando paper offers a reminder not to buy a big box store bicycle-shaped object for the holidays, and suggests getting a clearance bike from your local bike shop for close to the same price instead.

 

International

Unbelievable. Not one day behind bars for a Vancouver cop convicted of punching a bicyclist in the head — while handcuffing him for running a red light. He also gets to keep his job, although he does have to pay a whopping $100 restitution.

Evidently, Edmonton’s bike corrals have to hibernate for the winter.

The Guardian looks askance at the crowdfunded proposal to build a floating bikeway through the heart of London on the Thames River. The people behind pseudo-visionary projects like this miss the point; one of the joys of bicycling is the ability to immerse yourself in the city and go wherever you want, rather than be totally isolated from it. Although it might be fun to ride on the famed river once or twice.

Scottish police are looking for a cyclist who pushed a 72-year old bike rider off his bike and punched him repeatedly while riding on a bike path. Sad to see the road rage that has become far too common among motorists spreading to the bike world.

PRI looks deeper into why some refugees are riding bikes across the border between Russia and Norway.

Olso, Norway is investing the equivalent of half a billion dollars in bicycle infrastructure.

A Turkish cyclist explains why he’s traveling the world by bicycle; he hopes to finish his journey by 2020.

 

Finally…

If you swerve your truck to crash into your bike-riding friend because he took it the night before and owes you money, you’re probably not really friends. Evidently, an e-bike has to look cool before commuters will use it.

And TV’s Supergirl not only rides a bike, she has one tattooed on her ankle. Like they couldn’t have found a photo of it?

………

Come back later this morning, when we’ll have a great guest post from LA BAC member Jonathan Weiss explaining your rights to ride two or more abreast in California, reposted from the Velo Club La Grange newsletter.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Yet another attack on federal bike funding, workshops on providing park access in LA County

November 3, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Yet another attack on federal bike funding, workshops on providing park access in LA County

People for Bikes wants you to weigh in to stop yet another attack on US bicycle funding by a pair of GOP Congressmen.

In a world that made sense, conservatives would support bicycling as a far more cost-efficient alternative to driving, requiring significantly less public subsidy while reducing reliance on foreign oil.

But let’s face it, American politics stopped making sense a long time ago.

And just out of curiosity, what the hell does Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s bicycle lapel pin have to do with a proposal to raise the national gasoline tax?

………

A coalition of LA advocacy groups, including the LACBC, are sponsoring a series of Stakeholder Workshops to take action on improving access to parks in LA County, starting tonight in El Monte.

Parks-reduced

………

Local

Long Beach celebrates its second Critical Mass five years after the current LA County Sheriff, then the chief of the LBPD, ordered what was probably an illegal crackdown and confiscation of rider’s bikes. Not only were the citations unfounded and the riders denied their freedom of assembly, but there was no apparent legal justification for impounding their bicycles.

This Sunday marks the 10th edition of Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer, one of the most challenging amateur hill climbing races in the US.

The LACBC is hosting the first 15-mile, family friendly Great Valley Bicycle Roundup on Saturday, November 14th.

Climate Action Santa Monica hosts What a Way to Go — Bike, Bus, Expo! on Sunday the 22nd; it’s a free event, but registration is requested due to limited seating.

Streetsblog LA has several other bike events in their This Week in Livable Streets.

 

State

A man on a bike was critically injured when he was hit by a car in Santa Ana Monday night; there seemed to be a lot of victim-blaming going on, as police said the victim was not in a bike lane, while the driver claimed he “came out of nowhere.” Then again, it’s hard to ride in a bike lane when there isn’t one. And “he came out of nowhere” is usually just another way of saying “I wasn’t paying attention,” since cyclists seldom suddenly materialize on the street.

It takes a real jerk to steal a three-wheeled bike from a disabled San Diego man; the bike was his only form of transportation since suffering a brain injury in a DUI crash 30 years ago.

BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger takes a deep dive into what the organization can do to have an impact on income inequality.

A 16-year old East Salinas boy was killed in a shooting while riding his bike Sunday night.

Cupertino drivers are responding to road construction by attempting to drive in the bike lane, often without looking for bikes first.

Bay Area bicyclists are still waiting for a long-promised bike path to Treasure Island on the Bay Bridge, let alone all the way to San Francisco. This is what happens when they build bridges and roadways without considering anyone other than motorists; it’s difficult, if not impossible, to shoehorn in accommodations for people traveling by foot or bike at a later date.

Petaluma police attempt to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety by reigning in those darn people on bike and foot instead of the ones in the big, dangerous machines.

 

National

Fox News recaps some of the latest developments in the bike world, including fat tired bikes and MIPS helmets. Although someone should tell them Phat Bikes is a brand, not a description, and fat tires can hardly be called “tech.”

Bicycling offers good advice on how to check yourself for injuries after a collision or fall.

Business Insider says the coolest thing in road cycling is multimodal recreational riding, which is riding further than you normally would, then taking the train back.

Wyoming considers establishing a task force to study bike safety improvements and new bikeways in response to an increase in fatalities last year.

Like much of the rest of the country, Baton Rouge LA is experiencing a bikelash as bikes make inroads onto formerly auto-centric streets.

A Pennsylvania driver says he’s really sorry he killed a cyclist, and it was just an accident when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road and ran up onto the sidewalk, dragging the victim 88 feet under his SUV. Sure, that could happen to anyone, right?

A 16-year old Philadelphia bike rider was fatally shot after he and his companion had an altercation with a car full of men in a possible road rage incident; the assailants fired 17 times, which a police captain described as “a lot of shots to fire at two kids on a bike.” You think?

The accused drunk driver who killed a Maryland couple riding their tandem bike over the weekend tried to convince police she just happened to stop when she saw two people lying on the side of the road. Probably because she’d just smashed into them.

 

International

The Department of DIY strikes in Toronto, where cyclists turn a buffered bike lane into a pumpkin-protected lane.

Britain’s Cycling Weekly explores what roadies can learn from mountain bikers.

London’s Evening Standard looks at the new women’s bikewear line Victor and Leap. Is it really feminist to make bike clothes to meet the needs of women, or just finally recognizing that women’s needs aren’t the same as men, and they ride bikes too?

Paris plans a major makeover for the famed Champs-Elysées to make it more human-friendly, including better walkways and “proper” bike lanes on either side. And just in time for Public Bikes’ latest edition.

A South African cyclist understandably loses his love for his favorite mountain ride after he’s beaten and robbed of his $3,000 bike.

 

Finally…

Where else would you put a bike chop shop except in a secret room behind a swinging bookshelf hidden in abandoned house? A turnabout is fair play, as Brooklyn cyclists ticket police cars parked in a bike lane.

And caught on video: An inept Washington State thief spends 17 minutes trying, and failing, to steal a bike before being chased off by police.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: A reminder to lock your bike the right way, more kind people, and citing Cedillo as a bike expert

November 2, 2015 / / 8 comments

There are some sights virtually guaranteed to make any bike rider sad.

Like a lonely wheel still safely secured to a rack, when a thief has made off with the bicycle it was attached to.

SAMSUNG

SAMSUNG

Which is a good reminder to always run your U-lock through the frame and back wheel, then around the rack.

If the lock is long enough, you can remove your front wheel and secure it to the back one and frame, or run a cable lock through the wheels, in addition to a U-Lock or heavy duty chain through the frame.

Always make sure the rack, or whatever object you’re locking it to, is securely fastened to the ground and solid enough to withstand bolt cutters or a saw blade. But even though parking meters fit that description, it’s illegal to lock a bike to one in Los Angeles, unless it has one of the newly approved bike rack attachments.

Whenever possible, lock your bike in a well-traveled public place where it can be seen by people passing by; thieves usually prefer secluded spots where they can work undetected.

And don’t forget to register your bike before anything bad happens to increase your chances of getting it back.

………

Still more kindhearted people.

After a Seattle special needs woman had her customized $10,000 bike stolen, the man who bought it for just $250 gave it back to her when he saw her story in the paper.

And when the bike a Delaware man used to ride with his daughter and Downs Syndrome son was stolen, a stranger gave him a new one.

………

Local

Richard Risemberg says encountering a wild coyote while riding is nothing compared to dealing with the Greater American Road Hog.

Think he’ll get the point? Highland Park residents set up a Día de los Muertos altar outside the office of CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo to remember the three people who have died on the street since he arbitrarily canceled a planned road diet.

 

State

A pair of writers for the Orange County Register say we should forget expensive transit systems and focus our transportation systems on buses and expanding road capacity. Although they lose whatever credibility they might have had when they cite Gil Cedillo’s absurd critique that LA’s “elitist” bike plan would hurt his underprivileged constituents, even though most cyclists are working-class immigrants, especially in districts like his.

 

National

Horrifying story from Colorado Springs CO, as three people are killed in a random shooting; the first victim was a man riding his bike who begged for his life before being shot.

Wichita KS cyclists like the new downtown road diets and bike lanes; not surprisingly, drivers not so much.

After an Illinois woman was injured in a shooting, she drove herself and two other victims to the hospital — and on the way, hit a hit a bike rider who works for the hospital she was driving to.

Sounds like fun. Costumed bike riders take part in the 16th Annual Boston Halloween Bike Ride.

Caught on video: A bike-riding Boston-area doctor is intentionally run down by a road raging driver who had honked and yelled at him to get out of the way.

Tragedy in Maryland, as a couple riding a tandem were run down from behind by an accused drunk driver; their killer is charged with DUI and vehicular homicide.

 

International

Nice thought, as a writer for VeloNews says cycling can be challenging or even painful, but being alive and able to ride a bike is never suffering.

Seriously? After originally facing a charge of attempted murder for intentionally chasing and running down a bike rider, a UK motorist gets a whopping eight months for dangerous driving. That’s like convicting a robber of malicious mischief for shooting a bank guard.

Britain’s largest bike retailer is now offering insurance for cyclists. So why can’t we see something like that here?

Rather than taming dangerous drivers, an Irish police group wants to require bicyclists, walkers, runners and anyone else not safely ensconced in a couple tons of steel and glass to wear hi-viz after dark.

A Welsh driver stopped and got out of his car to make sure he hadn’t killed a cyclist in a collision, then him lying there in the road; fortunately, the victim wasn’t badly injured.

The director of an Israeli road safety group calls traffic deaths the other war that never ends. However, he also calls e-bikes a blight on the land after just one person is killed this year, compared to the seven that die every week from traffic collisions.

An Aussie writer says thanks to a new one-meter passing law, riding to work isn’t as aggravating as expected, while another says stop the hysteria and give sidewalk riders a chance.

Tie me kangaroo down, sport. Yet another Aussie rider was seriously injured in a collision with one.

Inspiring story from Thailand, as an 11-year old boy with no arms is training to join a bike ride in honor of the king next month; he’s riding a customized bike that used to belong to the crown prince.

 

Finally…

The next time you’re bombing downhill, consider that your hydration system could have been part of the military industrial complex. You know you’re a cyclist when you’re buried in full racing kit 60 years after your riding career.

And you have to be a pretty lousy bike thief to be convicted 26 times and banned from owning a bike, being in possession of a bike or advertising a bike or parts for sale.

 

Category: Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: BOLO alert for hit-and-run cyclist, LA unadopts mobility plan, and a Firefly Ball missed connection

October 31, 2015 / / 2 comments

Just stop already.

The LAPD reports that they’re on the lookout for a bike rider who rode away after hitting a 77-year old pedestrian on Glendale Blvd in Echo Park.

The victim was left in the street suffering from a severe head wound; he’s still hospitalized in grave condition two weeks after the collision.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives at 213/833-3713.

Seriously, bike riders have the same obligation to stick around following a wreck as drivers, both legally and morally.

So do it, already.

………

The LA City Council is planning to unadopt the Mobility Plan, less than three months after they passed it.

And supposedly, that’s a good thing.

Confused? You should be.

Apparently the problem stems from three minor changes the council made before adopting the plan, which only served to give greater attention to things that were already in it, according to Steetsblog’s Joe Linton.

However, because they didn’t follow the correct process in amending the plan, they may have given Fix the City, the self-appointed guardians of LA’s auto-centric past, grounds to sue and possibly get the entire plan thrown out in court. Or at least tie it up for years while lawyers fight over every comma and period.

So to head them off, a group of LA’s more progressive councilmembers have put forth a motion to rescind the plan, then re-adopt it sans amendments. Which should remove the basis for the lawsuit suit.

We’ll see.

Meanwhile, you never know what roadblocks anti-bike Councilmember Gil Cedillo and pseudo-environmentalist Paul Koretz will attempt to throw out in order to derail what should be easy passage.

And new Councilmember David Ryu remains a cypher after promising to re-evaluate everything predecessor Tom LaBonge had done, then following in his footsteps by attempting to have certain streets, including the long-promised 4th Street bikeway, removed from the plan.

………

Still more big hearts out there.

A group of Veterans Administration employees pitched in to buy a homeless Kansas vet a new bike, after he returned a lost wallet with $400 inside that had been dropped from a female vet’s wheelchair.

And nice move from Specialized, as they replace the bike Dallas a woman was riding when a driver went through a red light and hit her; however, she’s still not able to ride nearly two months later.

………

A few quick events this weekend.

Thousand Oaks is holding their first Open Streets event today with Spokes in the Oaks from 10 am to 3 pm. Thanks to Pedego 101 for the heads-up.

The Big Orange Classic Orange County Honor Ride rolls today to benefit Ride 2 Recovery.

The LACBC’s monthly Sunday Funday Ride celebrates Fall-Sedena with a 22-mile guided ride through tree-lined Pasadena.

Planning ahead, there’s a family-friendly group ride with the Biking Bunch scheduled for Culver City on November 15th.

And Finish the Ride makes it’s first appearance in the Valley on December 27th to help you burn off those sugar plums and figgy pudding.

………

Local

It looks like that rails-to-trails bikeway that would link the coming Crenshaw Line with the LA River in South LA may actually become a reality, as Metro gets a $15 million grant to begin work on the first phase.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton takes the LAPD and Clear Channel to task for those horrible pseudo-public safety billboards; he quotes the BAC’s Jeff Jacobberger as saying that using an anti-bike and traffic safety member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council as a spokesperson for the campaign is like “using Bill Cosby as the face of a campaign against sexual assault.”

CiclaValley highlights the LACBC’s 2nd Annual Firefly Ball, where a good time was had by all. Speaking of the Firefly Ball, someone left a metaphorical glass slipper behind; let’s hope true love finds a way.

 

State

The Orange County Register’s Honk columnist corrects himself, saying it is legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in some cities.

A San Diego cop was stabbed trying to stop a suspected bike thief; fortunately, he’s expected to make a full recovery. This is why you always want to be careful trying to stop a thief, even a cop can get seriously injured.

San Bernardino County receives $10 million for new bike lanes and walkways.

Milpitas police somehow blame a teenage bike rider for getting hit by a car, even though he was riding in the crosswalk and had pressed for the crossing light.

An Oakland cyclist is in critical condition after being hit by a car on Thursday.

Sad news from Davis, as bike rider was killed in a collision Friday morning; the driver considered swerving around the victim but saw traffic coming, so he aimed for the cyclist instead.

A new bike park is set to open north of Sacramento.

An eight-year old Redding boy wants his stolen bike back; he’s been riding BMX half his life.

 

National

A new study says driverless cars are more likely to get into wrecks, but people behind the wheel are more likely to injure other people than cars that drive themselves.

A reviewer says Elly Blue’s new anthology collection Pedal Zombies is the feminist bicycle science fiction you didn’t know you needed.

Planetizen asks why people hate cyclists; then again, it’s nothing new.

Bicycling offers advice on how to ride with diabetes, and tells how bicycling helped four women beat breast cancer.

This year’s Tour de Fat, which once again bypassed the City of Angels, has raised over $4 million for local non-profits over its 16-year history.

A Minneapolis website complains about pathletes, those athletic cyclists who rudely blow past other riders on a bike path. That may be my new favorite term.

A Michigan official wants tickets torn up for church goers who parked in a new bike lane, and he wants the lane itself removed. Although based on the photo, it looks like a pretty crappy half-gutter bike lane anyway.

A Cleveland editorial board discusses how bikes and cars can safely share the road, while a Pittsburgh letter writer says the solution isn’t to make our streets safer, but to get all those darn bikes off them.

Tampa FL is the latest city to sign on to Vision Zero, at least for bicyclists and pedestrians. The city is also attempting to ensure its planned bikeshare system isn’t just for the rich.

 

International

The most memorable doping excuses in bicycling history.

Your carbon frame may be obsolete in a few years; get ready for graphene.

Ottawa considers a proposal to remove ghost bikes after just 90 days. A local columnist says tone-deaf city officials don’t get that a ghost bike is an accusing finger pointing at them, while another says three months is too short a time. The brother of a fallen cyclist would like to see a permanent bronze memorial installed to remember those who have lost their lives on bikes.

Plans are in place to remove a traffic lane and double the width of a popular London bikeway to more accurately reflect who is using the road, and how.

Caught on video: A Brit cyclist is punched, not once, not twice, but thrice after attempting to speak with a driver who’d just narrowly missed him.

A British writer says riding abreast is often the safest option.

Volvo’s reflective Life Paint doesn’t exactly get a ringing endorsement.

 

Finally…

Evidently, calling a bike thief a criminal shows a lack of empathy and understanding. Do traffic cameras actually have to work to stop scofflaw drivers?

And why choose between riding your bike and making some pretty cool art when you can do both?

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: LA asks drivers to stay after they hit someone; suspect identified in North Fig hit-and-run

October 29, 2015 / / 2 comments

Sometimes I don’t even know what to say.

I mean, their hearts are in the right place. And it’s nice to see an outdoor advertising company give back to the city, after decades of ignoring every law on the books regarding their business.

Although the largesse of Clear Channel Outdoor in donating billboard space to the city couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the new billboard regulations currently under consideration.

Regardless of their motivation, the city teamed with CCO on Wednesday to unveil a new outdoor ad campaign designed to tackle the epidemic of hit-and-run in the LA area, apparently developed without the input of the many people who have been working to solve this problem.

Or anyone with any experience in advertising, for that matter.

The billboards, which will be posted in English, Spanish and Korean, politely ask drivers to obey the rules of the road and stick around after a collision because it might save a life.

Copied from KPCC website

Copied from KPCC website

Sure, that’s really going to motivate someone who just ran down a pedestrian after downing a few too many.

No moral authority. No threat of consequences. And not a hint at LA’s hit-and-run reward system, which pays up to $50,000 for information leading to the conviction of runaway drivers.

Let alone the state’s new Yellow Alert system, which could mean countless more eyes on the street looking for suspect vehicles.

No offense, but I’ve seen harder-hitting ads asking toddlers to switch diaper brands. And don’t get me started on the art direction, which looks like it was done on a PC in someone’s basement.

Hit-and-run is a serious problem, with serious consequences for the victims.

And we seriously deserve something better than this.

………

AR-151029487Police have finally identified a suspect (scroll down) in the hit-and-run death of Irma “Yolanda” Espinoza-Lugo as she crossed North Figueroa on September 18th.

They’ve asked the public to be on the lookout for William Armando Portales, described as a 49-year old Hispanic male, 5’ 6” tall and weighing 165 pounds.

And yes, there’s a $50,000 reward for anyone who helps bring him to justice.

………

I haven’t gotten involved in the My LA 2050 Challenge Grant Challenge on here, simply because there are so many projects that deserve your support.

It seems like a waste to make them battle it out for public votes, when the goal should be to find funding for as many as possible.

However, one of the more interesting proposals is one to build a bike and pedestrian bridge over Ballona Creek at McConnell Ave, which would help make the bike path a more viable commuter link connecting Culver City with Playa Vista.

Voting ends Tuesday, November 3rd.

………

Local

Not many artists get a chance to work in asphalt. LADOT is looking for an artist to provide creative thinking to help reduce traffic deaths; the position will pay $20,000 over two years. Which is about $20,000 more than most LA artists make.

The LA City Council approved a pilot program allowing people to lock their bikes to parking meters in Westwood Village and on some major streets. Assuming the world doesn’t end, it will hopefully spread throughout the city.

There’s only one thing worse than being stopped by the CHP for riding your bike on the 101 Freeway — having them call your mom to pick you up.

Caltrans will be teaming with SCAG and UCLA to host the 2015 California Transportation Planning Conference at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in DTLA this December; advance registration is a mere $400 unless you can manage to form a non-profit or get adopted by a tribal government before then.

Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare program — without the quotation marks, please — is set to officially open in two weeks.

Whittier has received funding to purchase land along a railroad corridor to extend the city’s Greenway Trail.

 

State

Newport Beach’s Avocado Avenue gets a road diet, with one lane in each direction and bike lanes with a buffer protecting riders from the door zone.

Eighteen San Diego County law enforcement agencies get nearly $5 million from the state to improve bike and pedestrian safety.

CiclaValley discovers riding in San Diego isn’t the Mayberry-like experience he envisioned.

Palo Alto continues to expand their network of bike boulevards. LA has a bike boulevard, sort of.

The Marin County cycling community remembers bike advocate and Safe Routes to Schools founder Deb Hubsmith, who died of leukemia this past August.

 

National

The majority of bicyclists in the US aren’t spandex-clad roadies, children or urban hipsters, according to a new report.

Already recognized as a gold level bicycle-friendly city, Scottsdale AZ looks to get even better, building on a long history with bikes.

A Denver magazine offers etiquette tips for riding the city’s streets, most of which have nothing to do with etiquette.

The University of Toledo offers students a free bikeshare program.

Formerly auto-centric Indianapolis reclaims its soul by transforming into a bikeable, walkable city. Just five years ago, they had one mile of bike lanes; today they have 90 miles of designated bikeways, including an 18-mile rails-to-trails conversion.

A New York physician reports on a study that shows the severity of bicycling injuries appears to go up after bike lanes are installed, contradicting previous studies; however, he stresses that bike lanes are still beneficial.

Seriously? The Philadelphia Enquirer enquires as to why low-income people use the city’s bikeshare program less than wealthier people. Maybe because they can’t afford it and don’t have credit cards?

A Baltimore bike shop joins REI’s #OptOutside movement in deciding to close on Black Friday. Let me know if any LA bike shops join in; I’ll be happy to promote your shop that weekend.

An Alabama writer asks why white people like Birmingham’s new e-bike bikeshare system so much, in a city that is 73% black.

 

International

British Columbia’s state insurance agency insists on blaming the victim in a bicycling fatality, even though the driver has been charged with driving under the influence, negligence and hit-and-run. The company first claimed the cyclist was drunk or high, then settled on claims that his brakes were bad, that he failed to ride far enough right, and didn’t warn the driver before the driver hit him.

A British bike safety group calls for allowing bike riders to make the equivalent of a right turn on a red light.

Not too shabby. An American cyclist becomes an Internet star in the UK mostly by saying “not too shabby” a lot.

Nice obituary for 86-year old Scottish cyclist Ian Steel, who won the 1951 Tour of Britain, as well as becoming the unwelcome winner of the Eastern Bloc’s equivalent to the Tour de France in the middle of the Cold War.

VeloNews talks with Dutch pro Tom Dumoulin after his near miss at winning the Vuelta.

It’s a painfully small world, as the wife of a New Zealand cyclist happens upon the scene just after her husband is hit by a car driven by a man who knows him.

 

Finally…

When you’re riding with cocaine and marijuana on your bike, don’t go through the damn red light. If you’re going to steal a bike, don’t do it in front of a former college linebacker turned sheriff’s deputy.

And a new GPS-enabled bike compass promises to make bicycling fun again. Riding a bike is, was, and always will be fun, with or without electronic gadgets.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Caltrans takes another step forward; CHP wants to improve bike safety, while cycling deaths up

October 28, 2015 / / 4 comments

Let’s start with bike news from a couple of state agencies.

Caltrans moves beyond its auto-centric past by launching a website for the upcoming California Bike and Pedestrian Plan, which promises to guide the department’s efforts for active transportation. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out like that scorpion trying to hitch a ride across a river.

The CHP has received a federal grant to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety; the department plans to use it for education programs for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. They could start by improving bicycle education for their own officers, who frequently misinterpret bike law.

The CHP also reports bicycling fatalities are up 10.6% in the state this year. My records show a 12% decrease in Southern California compared to this time last year, but news from other parts of the state hasn’t been as good — if you can call 65 SoCal deaths good news. Thanks to Melissa Pamer for the heads-up.

………

As Streetsblog notes, this Spanish spot promoting bike commuting doesn’t need subtitles to get its message across.

………

Today’s news includes a couple of painful reminders to always ride carefully around pedestrians.

  • The University of Delaware student paper offers more details on the pedestrian critically injured in a collision with a bike rider on campus.
  • A 62-year old London woman has to have a hip replacement after she’s knocked down by a hit-and-run salmon cyclist.

As most bicyclists can attest, it’s not always the rider’s fault when a collision with a pedestrian occurs; people can be unpredictable and can step into the path of a bike without looking.

But it’s up to you to anticipate that behavior, and ride slowly, safely and defensively around other people, giving them the same space you’d expect from a driver.

………

Local

KPCC reports that Union Station has received a state grant to remake its front entrance to be more bike and pedestrian friendly, including a new plaza and Bike Hub.

Three LA intersections make a list of the most dangerous intersections in the US: Eagle Rock Blvd and W Avenue 41, Olympic Blvd and S Bonnie Brae St, and W Temple St and N Beaudry Ave. Your best bet is to avoid them if possible; if not, use extra caution when riding through.

Advocacy group Multicultural Communities for Mobility is hiring a part-time Program and Policy Coordinator.

Members of Santa Monica Forward call on residents of the city to commit to Vision Zero.

 

State

A petition calls for a flashing crossing walk across a deadly street in Newport Beach.

San Diego becomes the latest city to adopt a Vision Zero; like LA, they’ll attempt to eliminate traffic deaths by focusing on the most dangerous traffic corridors first.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton examines San Diego’s new $200 million bike plan; meanwhile, CiclaValley makes some snap judgments about biking in the city.

New Orleans police have finally identified a suspect in the road rage beating of a La Jolla bicyclist who was visiting the city; friends say the department showed no interest in the case that left the man paralyzed from the shoulders down until they were pressured by California media.

A 12-year old Victorville boy was airlifted with a head injury after he hit a parked car when he was apparently buzzed by a truck. Naturally, the victim was blamed for coming too close to the truck, even though it’s the driver’s responsibility to pass safely.

The Davis newspaper looks at road and track cyclist Jane Eickhoff-Becker and 1930’s six-day race specialist Al Crossley prior to their introductions to the US Bicycling Hall of Fame.

 

National

Streetsblog calls the proposed federal transportation bill a step backwards, even if it does contain a nod to complete streets.

Nice piece about a Seattle handcyclist using his ‘bent to overcome disabilities following a serious riding wreck and major health issues.

Powerful protest from Boulder CO as cyclists object to the removal of bike lanes by placing bikes on the street splattered with red paint to resemble blood; naturally, they were deemed abandoned by officials and given to the police.

The fight is usually over removing parking to make way for bike lanes, but officials in Austin TX are considering plans to remove a bike lane to make room for parking.

Minnesota authorities plan to respond to the death of a cyclist by installing rumble strips along a highway shoulder, even though many riders say they increase the danger without providing a significant benefit; as one man put it, once a vehicle hits the rumble strip at 65 mph, it’s probably too late.

Formerly auto-centric Detroit now has the fastest-growing rate of bicycle commuting in the US. Needless to say, Los Angeles didn’t even make the top 10.

A popular 60-year old Akron, Ohio man was shot while riding his bike 22 years after his son was shot in the same area.

Heartbreaking story from Ohio as a competitive cyclist suffers a life-altering injury when a driver slammed into him while trying to beat a red light; she was fined just $130 for the wreck that put him in a wheelchair.

New York’s unofficial Department of Transformation is crowdfunding efforts to create their own better bikeways.

A Pennsylvania man faces a vehicular homicide charge for killing a cyclist when he fell asleep at the wheel; he said there was nothing he could do after waking up to loud noises and noticing a bicyclist in front of his car. Nice to see authorities taking this seriously and not treating it as just an accident.

Heather Cook, the former Baltimore Episcopal bishop who killed a cyclist in a drunken, distracted hit-and-run, will spend the next seven years in prison after being sentence to 20 years, with 13 suspended. Thanks to F3nugr33k for the link.

The University of Delaware is the latest college to introduce their own bikeshare program.

A New Orleans bike advocate says everyone deserves to be safe on the city’s streets.

 

International

Snowy Calgary plans to make clearing the city’s new cycle tracks a priority this winter.

The four leading candidates to replace Boris Johnson as London mayor have all said they would consider changing the law to allow cyclists to go through red lights.

The widow of a British cyclist told the driver who killed him that he should be ashamed of himself for driving a truck a day after his doctor told him not to drive due to sleep apnea.

A cyclist is fined the equivalent of $300 for doing 38 mph in a 20 mph zone in a London park, even though a park official says the speed limit doesn’t apply to bikes. But still, 38 mph in a park? Seriously

An Irish cycling website says a bike-riding, but cyclist hating, commentator should have proof before blaming the victims.

PRI talks to director Haifaa Al Mansour, who has turned her movie about a young girl who upends Saudi society by riding a bike into a novel for young girls.

 

 

Finally…

After a co-founder of Mozilla Firefox catches a confrontation between two cyclists on video, he writes a song about it, and sings it badly. Evidently, it’s not possible to ride bikes with a large group of other people without calling it a race, even if you’re a wounded vet.

And now you don’t have to choose between sleek furniture and a place to store your bike; a new line of Chilean furniture is made to hold it for you. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.

bike-furniture

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Law Enforcement, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,
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