More corruption at LA City Hall, more Metro money for induced demand, and SaMo suffers premature evaluation

June 14, 2023 / / Comments Off on More corruption at LA City Hall, more Metro money for induced demand, and SaMo suffers premature evaluation

Is anyone really surprised to find still more corruption on the Los Angeles city council?

The LA Times is reporting that CD9 Councilmember Curren Price, a ten year veteran of the council, was charged with ten counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest yesterday.

Price, a 10-year veteran of the City Council, is accused of having a financial interest in development projects that he voted on, and receiving tens of thousands of dollars in medical benefits from the city for his now wife while he was still married to another woman, according to a statement issued by the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

He was charged with five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to a criminal complaint made public Tuesday.

The Times says Price, who resigned his position in the state legislature to run for the council seat, should do the right thing and resign.

Yeah, that’ll happen.

City Council President Paul Krekorian says he’ll move to suspend Price, just the latest in a long line of councilmembers to face criminal charges or resign under a cloud.

Maybe we’d have better luck getting safer streets if we slipped bag of cash to a few councilmembers under the table.

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Metro’s board will vote today on a proposal to seek grant funds and shift yet more money to a $100 million plus project to widen the 405 Freeway between Artesia Boulevard and the 105 Freeway.

Demonstrating that they have learned absolutely nothing from the failed $1 billion project to widen the highway through the Sepulveda Pass, which actually resulted in more congestion and longer rush hour commute times.

Metro, meet induced demand.

Meanwhile, Streets For All wants you to tell Metro’s Planning and Programming Committee at this morning’s meeting not to flush another $26 million down the toilet on freeway projects.

They accuse Metro of greenwashing highway expansion by putting “multimodal” in the name of highway projects including a “widening project right in front of a middle school in Whittier, and laying the groundwork for the i-605 Hot Spots program which may destroy homes.”

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Streetsblog’s Damien Newton reports that Santa Monica councilmembers RE asking for a premature report on the still-unfinished 17th Street protected bike lane and pedestrian improvements, which could shade results showing the eventual usage and effectiveness of the project.

Streets For All urges you to contact the council to object to the slightly disguised effort to rollback progress in the city.

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Boy George is one of us.

So was the original voice of Jiminy Cricket. Although playing his uke while riding with no hands might be more impressive if there wasn’t a rack holding the bike in place.

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

A proposal to rip out a bike lane in Kingston, Ontario is rattling local bicyclists, who fear a change in the ostensibly bike-friendly city.

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Local 

The Metro Bike bikeshare system will be free all weekend, along with all Metro buses, trains and Metro Micro, to celebrate the opening of the Regional Connector line in DTLA.

 

State

In case you missed it, a bike-riding mom was apparently collateral damage when an out-of-control driver ricocheted across the roadway in a Lake Forest crash on Sunday.

Four Santa Barbara women have set off on a 930-mile ride from California to Colorado to raise funds to encourage more young girls to ride a bike.

A Fresno County man faces a murder charge for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a Clovis bike rider last month; he was driving at nearly three times the legal alcohol limit at the time of the crash, and had signed a Watson advisement after a previous DUI conviction, informing him he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving drunk again.

You’ve got to be kidding. Business owners in Burlingame are stressing over plans to install a bike lane, fearing the loss of a whole 12 parking spaces — yes, twelve — will somehow negatively affect their business. Never mind that studies show bike lanes usually improve sales at local businesses.

A child was hospitalized with leg injuries after they were right hooked by a commercial truck driver while riding a bike in a Concord crosswalk.

 

National

Streetsblog discusses more effective ways to conduct driver education beyond “pedestrian-shaming PSAs, flimsy driver’s ed courses and lame signs on the side of the road.”

Alpecin Cycling advises how to boost your balance on your bike.

BikeRumor discusses the year’s best bike helmets, and how to get the best bike upgrade bang for the least amount of money.

A health website considers four weird things bicycling does to your body, like causing saddle sores and numbness “down there.”

An Alaska bicyclist complains about a proposed Anchorage vulnerable road user law, calling it “an exercise in virtue signaling” that wouldn’t do anything to protect bike riders.

No bias here. An Oregon driver got 19 years behind bars for intentionally running down a bike-riding man after getting into a physical fight with the victim, copping a plea to a reduced charge of manslaughter. Yet the local TV station somehow insists on describing him merely as a hit-and-run driver, as if the violent attack was just an “oopsie’ he drove away from.

The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, aka RAGBRAI, has cancelled plans to attempt a world record for the longest parade of bicyclists during the ride’s Ames to Des Moines stage, saying rule changes from Guinness have made it impossible too do. Meanwhile, the paper has sent a cease and desist order to a former ride official who posted an alternate route for the stage, fearing RAGBRAI could compromise safety by having too many riders on the route.

A bike rider was apparently collateral damage in a Houston police chase when she was run down by a driver who may have been distracted by the car chase zooming by on surface streets at speeds up to 100 mph.

New York has established a nearly $18 an hour minimum wage for food delivery workers, most of whom use bikes and ebikes for their work. Yet Tech Crunch says no one seems to be happy about it.

 

International

A pair of university researchers explain how bike helmets and safety vests make bike riders look less human to other road users. Then again, even riding naked doesn’t seem to get a better result. 

This is who we share the road with. A pair of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan cops chasing a suspected bike thief somehow managed to crash their patrol cars together, as well as hitting a parked car, allowing the suspect to slip away.

An angry London pub owner demands an explanation after his outdoor seating was replaced with bike racks with no advance warning.

Two Welsh cops were served with gross misconduct notices for closely following, if not chasing, two boys riding an ebike just before they both were killed falling off the bike — which means the cops are under investigation, but it apparently has the legal impact of a slap with a wet noodle.

A Scottish newspaper recommends the “splendid isolation” of riding your bike through the secluded Borders region.

He gets it. Britain’s top road safety cop urges the media to stop wasting time talking about putting license plates on bicycles, and focus on the real causes of traffic deaths. Which ain’t bikes.

The subject of mandatory bike helmets once again raises its ugly head, as an Irish children’s hospital consultant called for helmets to be required for all bike riders, children and adults. Never mind that helmet laws have been shown to reduce bicycling rates, at a time when the climate crisis demands putting more people on bikes. 

The Financial Times talks with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is rapidly remaking the city with much less emphasis on motor vehicles. We could have that here in Los Angeles, if our elected leaders actually had the vision and political courage they profess. 

A Streetsblog op-ed examines how Copenhagen constantly measures the true costs of driving and crafts policies to reduce them.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling reports that if you want to watch the nine stage Giro Donne — aka the women’s Giro d’Italia — which starts on June 30th, you’ll need a subscription to GCN+. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

The Guardian profiles endurance cyclist Leah Goldstein, as she sets out to win a second consecutive RAAM — aka Race Across America — after dropping her male competitors like freshman English in last year’s race.

Belgian veteran pro Thomas De Gendt has pulled himself out of the Tour de France, but invites you to join him on his own 12-day tour from Flanders to the Costa Blanca, with the mountains of Andorra thrown in along the way.

A Milwaukee website offers tips on how to ride your bike to, but not in, all 11 stages of the Tour of America’s Dairyland.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your local bike lane only works part-time. Probably not the best idea to try to steal a bicycle from the police parking lot.

And try not to ride your ebike when you’re falling down drunk.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Update: Bike-riding mom killed Sunday in apparent collateral damage crash in Lake Forest

June 14, 2023 / / 7 comments

This news from this past weekend just keeps getting worse.

Longtime Orange County bike advocate Bill Sellin has forwarded news that a woman was killed while riding her bike in Lake Forest Sunday morning, apparently the victim of an out-of-control driver.

While the initial reports appeared on Nextdoor, which is not always the most reliable source, the Orange County Sheriff’s department confirms a crash occurred just before 8 am on El Toro Road at Normandale Drive.

Sellin confirmed with Lake Forest officials that the victim of the crash was killed.

Meanwhile, a woman identifying herself as the victim’s daughter reports that the crash occurred when a driver apparently lost control, jumping a curb and hitting a light pole on one side of the street, then ricocheting across the street to hit the victim before crashing into another light pole on the opposite side of the street.

All of which implies the driver may have been traveling at an extreme rate of speed, even given the irrational 55 mph speed limit on the roadway.

Photos from the scene taken from Nextdoor show the mangled bike resting on the sidewalk in front of the smashed pickup; Sellin reports the location of the victim’s body was marked in front of her bike.

There’s no word on the victim’s name or age, though we can surmise her last name from her daughter’s post.

A person identifying themselves as her neighbor reports the victim was a mother of three.

There has been nothing in the news yet, and no official confirmation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Lake Forest, or the Coroner’s office; unfortunately, the OC Coroner no longer posts death notices online.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Update: The victim’s daughter has identified her as Sara Wheaton; sadly, she turned 49 the day she died. 

According to the daughter, Wheaton’s body was thrown 20 feet from her bike by the force of the impact. And neighbors who heard the crash don’t recall the sound of braking. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sara Wheaton and all her family and loved ones. 

Thanks to Bill Sellin for doing all the legwork and tracking down the information for this story. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Beloved Trader Joe’s staffer on life support after Reseda bike crash, and following in Pee Wee’s tire tracks

June 13, 2023 / / 2 comments

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

According to KTLA-5, a 65-year old Trader Joe’s worker is on life support after he was run down by a motorist Thursday morning.

George Pareta was riding his bike on his way to work at the Reseda Trader Joe’s when the driver made a sudden turn in front of him, sending him flying through the air.

There’s no word on whether it was a right hook or left cross crash, however.

Pareta was rushed to a local hospital once paramedics were able to revive him, after his heart had been stopped for nearly half an hour following the crash.

Compounding the tragedy, Pareto’s son came upon the crash scene as he rode his bike along the same route to visit his father at work, recognizing his dad’s bike even though he had already been taken away.

His family is now faced with a heartrending choice “…between keeping him the way he is in an unresponsive state or taking him off life support,” while still hoping for a miracle.

A crowdfunding campaign for the beloved father, avid cyclist and spin instructor has already raised over $40,000 of the $50,000 goal to help pay his medical expenses.

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Urbanize reports on long-delayed plans to convert Westwood’s Broxton Street to a pedestrian plaza next month.

Although maybe not quite as long as they suggest, which, judging by the second date, would have been over 1,700 years before Westwood Village was even imagined.

Planning for the Broxton Street plaza dates to 2015, when the Westwood Village Improvement Association began circulating a petition seeking support for the project – which then called for the plaza to be built one block to the north between Weyburn and Le Conte Avenue. While the project was approved in 208 by the L.A. city Council, pandemic-induced staffing shortages and other setbacks within LADOT delayed implementation until now.

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Gravel Bike California’s Zachary Rynew finds himself riding in the famed tire tracks of Pee Wee Herman, if not with the same panache.

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

The former head of New York advocacy group Transportation Alternatives writes that new signs on New Jersey’s riverfront roadway requiring bicyclists to ride single file feel like a desecration — although it’s better than the total ban on bikes that existed before he negotiated a right to ride the roadway, albeit to the right only.

A Toronto website corrects the myths regarding the city’s bike lanes in the face of calls to rip up existing protected bike lanes, as well as anti-bike arguments that create a bikelash putting bicyclists in further jeopardy from angry motorists.

Missing the point entirely, an English mayoral candidate calls for banning the annual World Naked Bike Ride, calling for a return to common decency and self-respect. The point of riding naked is calling attention to driver inattention, as in “can you see me now?”

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

A 36-year old Indianapolis woman will spend a year behind bars, and another year on probation, for riding her bike across town with her two unrestrained babies in a milk crate attached to the bike with just a bungee cord.

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Local 

Metro, BikeLA — formerly the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — and Metro Bike operator Bicycle Transit Systems have received a grant to conduct bikeshare training classes, complete with safety education and a firsthand demonstration on how to use bikeshare, along with a meal from a local business, a bike helmet, a 30-Day Metro Bike Share pass, and a group ride.

 

State

The Santa Barbara bike shop owner who gave a new kid’s Specialized bike as a birthday gift for four-year old British Prince Archie says she picked it for the bike’s gender neutral design, so he can pass it down to his sister.

 

National

A Streetsblog op-ed calls for dropping the term micromobility, arguing that SUVs, pickups and passenger cars should not be the benchmark for measuring other forms of transit, large or small.

Gear Junkie reports on the best women’s mountain bikewear from three passion-driven brands you’ve never heard of, while Outside site Velo discusses the best unreleased and new-to-this-country ebikes they saw at the e(Revolution) 2023 ebike trade show.

Tragic news from Colorado, where a missing 16-year old boy who disappeared after setting out on his mountain bike over a month ago has been found dead in a secluded canyon.

This is who we share the road with. Longtime Broadway and Hollywood actor Treat Williams was killed in Connecticut yesterday when a driver left-crossed his motorcycle.

Grieving mother Amy Cohen has gone on a hunger strike, along with three other supporters, over the refusal of the New York State Assembly Speaker to bring Sammy’s Law to a floor vote; the common sense bill named for her son would allow New York City to set its own speed limits, rather than having them set by the state. She’ll discuss the bill with Bike Talk, in a new episode that drops tomorrow. 

The star of a one-man Off-Broadway play about former President Dwight Eisenhower is one of us; John Rubinstein rides a bikeshare bike roughly 40 blocks to the theater every night, as he waits for his own bike to arrive from Los Angeles.

NPR rides with Atlanta’s oddly plural Ampersand Bikes Club, discussing how bicycles can provide strength, joy, and a way to create a protected space for Asian bike riders, even if protecting that space isn’t always easy.

A new Roanoke, Virginia traffic safety campaign urges drivers to change lanes to pass someone on a bicycle.

An LA website — no, the other LA — says riding a bike seems even smarter, now that you can buy a bicycle for the cost of a few tanks of gas.

 

International

Momentum Magazine writes that it should never be too late to start riding a bike.

Bike Radar offers a guide to the best titanium gravel bikes you can buy this year.

Life is cheap in Ontario, where the driver who killed a Hamilton bike rider walked without a single day behind bars, after he was sentenced to a lousy $12,500 fine and two years probation. And he can keep driving “for work purposes,” freeing him to kill again.

Apparently, Toronto’s anti-bike lane mayoral candidate is also opposed to paying for stock photos, after someone spotted the telltale signs of AI created images on his website, like streets and parks that don’t actually exist, and a women with three arms; the election is in two weeks. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

A new UK study shows that bikeshare really does convert non-bicyclists into more regular riders, as 60% of bikeshare users began riding after at least a year of non-riding, while 66% reported riding more often than they did before joining a bikeshare program. Read it on AOL if Bicycling blocks you.

The clock is running out on Britain’s proposed “death by dangerous cycling” law, which will struggle to get passed before the county’s next parliamentary election.

The Spectator makes up for yesterday’s criticism of Italy’s proposal to require bike helmets, licensing and registration, and liability for bike riders with an op-ed calling the country’s crackdown on bicyclists long overdue.

An Indian college student completed a 1,250-mile bike ride that touched on three international borders, to call for saying no to drugs.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling looks at the stars of Netflix new colon-heavy show Tour de France: Unchained: Season 1, while noting that Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Geraint Thomas will be skipping the tour this year; Wout van Aert calls the show disturbing, saying it’s focused on commotion. Once again, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

A writer for Defector says he got his ass kicked participating in last week’s 200-mile Unbound Gravel, calling it America’s dirtiest bike race.

New Zealand cyclist George Bennet may struggle to continue in this week’s Tour of Switzerland after finishing at the back of the peloton following a crash in stage two.

The second place finisher in the North Carolina Belgian Waffle Ride calls for a separate category for trans athletes after the women’s race was won by a trans woman, while defending the right of everyone to compete, regardless of how they identify. Meanwhile, Fox News reports tennis legend Martina Navratilova was not a fan of the result.

 

Finally…

Why settle for off the rack when you can configure your own ebike design? Your next flat bike pedals could be made of foam.

And a fat-tired ebike foldie for people into weird

looking bikes.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

42-year old Lake Elsinore man killed while riding bike in Canyon Lake collision Saturday night

June 12, 2023 / / Comments Off on 42-year old Lake Elsinore man killed while riding bike in Canyon Lake collision Saturday night

Evidently, this past weekend wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

News broke earlier Monday that a man was killed riding a bike in Riverside County’s Canyon Lake Saturday night.

According to NBC Palm Springs, the victim was riding at Railroad Canyon Road and Canyon Lake Drive when he was struck by a motorist around 9:50 pm.

The victim was later identified as 42-year old Lake Elsinore resident Kennan Ruiz.

A street view shows a painted bike lane in both directions on Railroad Canyon, but nothing on Canyon Lake Drive.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time. There’s no word on how or why the crash happened, or whether the driver was held accountable in any way.

Anyone with information is urged to call Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Petersen at 951/245-3000.

This follows news that a Reseda father is on life support after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike to work Thursday morning.

This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kennan Ruiz and all his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Juneteenth celebration at CicLAvia, settlement reached in Kizzee shooting, and 16-to-life for killer DUI bike path driver

June 12, 2023 / / Comments Off on Juneteenth celebration at CicLAvia, settlement reached in Kizzee shooting, and 16-to-life for killer DUI bike path driver

Let’s start with a reminder about Sunday’s South LA CicLAvia.

The upcoming CicLAvia, arguably the nation’s largest and most popular open streets event, will run directly down Vermont Ave from Exposition to Century Blvd, before taking a three-block dogleg to the left along Century.

The Father’s Day event will undoubtedly see multiple celebrations of dads along the route, officially or otherwise.

It will also celebrate Monday’s Juneteenth legal holiday, which marks the day enslaved Americans in south Texas finally heard the long-delayed news of their freedom — marking the last of the southern slaves to be freed following the Civil War.

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The father and aunt of Dijon Kizzee, who was fatally shot by a pair of sheriff’s deputies while riding a bike in South LA three years ago, have reached a conditional settlement in their lawsuit against Los Angeles County.

Settlement terms for the $35 million lawsuit were not announced.

Kizzee was shot 15 times as he tried to flee from the deputies over what began as a traffic stop for riding on the wrong side of the street.

Kizzee allegedly struggled with one of the deputies, striking him in the face and dropping a gun he was carrying; he was shot after he picked it up, even though he was running away from the deputies and didn’t point the gun in their direction.

His shooting came amid the protests over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, leading many to argue he was killed for biking while Black.

No one was ever charged in the case.

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The Sacramento driver who killed a 76-year old man while driving drunk on a riverfront bike path has been sentenced to a minimum of 16 years behind bars, with the possibility of life imprisonment.

Michael Dodson was riding his bike on the American River bike path when he was run down by 27-year old Armando Moreno-Rodriguez, who had somehow driven onto the ostensibly carfree pathway.

After crashing into Dodson, Moreno-Rodriguez drove another four miles on the path at speeds up to 35 mph before his car shut down, officials said.

Moreno-Rodriguez was convicted on charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run involving death, and driving with a suspended license.

He had signed a Watson advisement after three previous due convictions, which states that he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.

Which he did.

Moreno-Rodriguez had blood alcohol level of .27, over three times the legal limit.

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Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets sent out a notice that the city’s new 17th Street protected bike lanes could be at risk.

Councilmember Phil Brock is has placed an item on the agenda for this Tuesday’s city council meeting tasking staff with looking into significantly undermining the new 17th St protected bike lane.

Let the City Council know that you support the bike lane by sending them an email.

Thanks to David Drexler for the heads-up.

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The Ballona Creek bike path will be closed from 8 am to 3 pm on Wednesday and Thursday between Duquesne and Jackson Aves in Culver City.

As a result, last Saturday’s volunteer bush clearing effort was cancelled.

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Good question.

Will LA’s largely apathetic bike community ever stage a large-scale protest ride on Wilshire Blvd?

Or anywhere else, for that matter?

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

No bias here. An Arizona letter writer complains about scofflaw bike riders blatantly disregarding traffic laws, arguing they make other bicyclists look bad and should all appear in court. Apparently failing to notice the people in the big, dangerous machines speeding, failing to signal lane changes and turns, and watching their phones instead of the street in front of them.

Horrible news from the Baltimore area, where a man is accused of intentionally running down a bike rider with his pickup, then getting out and physically attacking the victim until police arrived to halt the assault; the victim was lucky to escape without life-threatening injuries.

A Vancouver driver apparently tried to drive over a metal bollard thinking it was a plastic car-tickler bendie-post, while driving on what should have been a carfree bikeway.

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

A letter writer complains that while older bike riders stopped to help as she walked back to her car after suffering a flat while riding with her toddler, bike riders in their 20s just seemed annoyed that they existed.

A road raging bike rider and van driver engaged in a tug-of-war over the rider’s bicycle, after he had reached into the van and grabbed the driver’s keys before throwing them down the roadway.

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Local 

This is who we share the road with. A La Puente homeowner was lucky to escape without major damage after two California Highway Patrol officers chasing a motorcyclist collided and crashed into the home’s front yard.

A Santa Monica resident complains that crime, including bike theft, is the beach city’s biggest wave.

 

State

The LA Daily News notes the passage of AB 645 last month, which would establish a speed cam pilot program in California, with just seven dissenting votes in the state Assembly; the bill must pass out of the Senate Transportation Committee by July 14 to stay alive. 

No surprise here, as Black bike riders and pedestrians in San Diego are four times more likely to be stopped by police than white people, just like they are in Los Angeles and the rest of the state.

British Prince Archie is one of us, after the four-year old son of Prince Harry and Megan Markle was given a $250 kids bike with removable training wheels, courtesy of Santa Barbara’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen bike shop.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a $10,000 bicycle from a rider participating in the AIDS/LifeCycle fundraising ride as they passed through Lompoc.

 

National

Your Strava privacy could be at risk.

An Oregon group donated over 400 refurbished bicycles to more than 300 families in need to help get kids on bikes this summer.

A Scottsdale, Arizona council member assures listeners the city “is not run by morons” as he defends a decision to build a road diet, despite opposition from three of the seven members of the city council.

After thieves stole the new ebike a well-known 70-something social and climate activist used as his only form of transportation, his fellow Longmont, Colorado residents have stepped up to replace it, raising over two grand of the $3,500 goal.

Speaking of Juneteenth, a 60-mile Texas bike ride traveled the route the newly freed people took from Galveston to Houston.

A Cambridge, Massachusetts letter writer complains about the city’s Schrödinger’s bike lanes, which appear to be simultaneously safe and unsafe due to the city’s incomplete data.

A Boston neighborhood group gets out the torches and pitchforks over a plan for a protected bike lane on the city’s Back Bay leading to Fenway Park, bizarrely arguing that improving safety for bike riders will somehow make it more dangerous for everyone. Which is exactly the opposite of what studies have shown. 

 

International

Bike theft in Vancouver has dropped 52% since the city began a free bike registration program with 529 Garage in 2015, declining every year since it was adopted.

A new London play uses bicycles to power the production about the disproportionate effects of the climate crisis for marginalized communities.

Fifteen Birmingham, England advocacy groups signed a letter calling for an “end to road violence” after three people riding bicycles were killed in three weeks, including a 12-year old boy; a vigil was held as drivers ignored a nearby red light.

British bikemaker Planet X will live on, after the company was sold in bankruptcy to Britain’s Winlong Garments Ltd.

Your next gravel bike could be an actual Lamborghini, yours for the low, low price of nine grand.

Italy’s transportation minister is calling for mandatory license plates, liability insurance, bike helmets and turn signals for bicycles and e-scooters, putting the burden to improve safety on the victims, rather than doing anything about the big, dangerous machines that actually pose the risk to everyone on the streets; even the UK’s conservative The Spectator calls it a step too far.

An Indian man tells the local press not to write any sad stories about him, as he uses a rented bike to make food deliveries because he can’t afford to buy a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

The three stage women’s Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées was halted during the final stage, after riders protested the dangers posed by “oncoming traffic, parked cars and trucks blocking roads, hazardous motorbikes, and spectators wandering on the roads.”

 

Finally…

Why settle for magic beans when your bike could run on “intelligent beads” — and with all-wheel drive? We may have to deal with venomous LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to deal with actual rattlesnakes — on city streets, anyway.

And this may be my favorite Banksy-style street art. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike

June 9, 2023 / / Comments Off on Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike

Anyone who has tried to walk or bike Alameda Street south of Union Station in DTLA knows it’s just this side of a traffic choked living hell.

As I found out the hard way recently.

Now Metro is presenting three options to make the street safer and more inviting for humans between 1st and Cesar Chavez, as part of plans for a new esplanade leading to the station.

The options range from closing or moving offramps and widening sidewalks, to converting Arcadia Street to a pedestrian walkway and capping the 101 Freeway to create a new park.

Let’s hope our officials have the courage and foresight to make the choice that will most dramatically remake Downtown Los Angeles.

They can use some of that money they have budgeted to flush down the toilet on freeway widening projects.

Map from Metro Alameda Mobility Project website.

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This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Finish The Ride, which began when Damian Kevitt invited the public to join him in finishing the Griffith Park ride that was interrupted by a hit-and-run driver, who has never been caught.

More than 2,000 “cyclists, runners, walkers, challenged athletes, veterans, first responders, civic and community leaders, and safe streets advocates from across Southern California” are expected to turn out to demand safer streets for everyone.

This year’s event has been divided into two parts, with Finish The Run on Saturday, and Finish The Ride on Sunday.

You’ll also have a chance to meet two highly qualified candidates to replace Adam Schiff in California’s 30th Congressional District, in Laura Friedman and Anthony Portantino.

I’ll let the folks at Finish The Ride take it from here.

Finish The Ride (www.FinishTheRide.org) was founded in the aftermath of a vicious hit-and-run crime in 2013 that saw cyclist Damian Kevitt lose his leg after being dragged under a car from the streets of Griffith Park onto and down Interstate 5 for nearly a quarter mile. A year later, Kevitt was accompanied by hundreds of cyclists, street safety advocates, and community leaders as part of a campaign to raise awareness of an epidemic of hit-and-run crimes in Los Angeles.

Last year participants in Finish The Ride and Finish The Run demanded that Griffith Park be made safer for the tens of thousands who use it weekly for recreation and exercise. As a result, only a couple of months later, a section of Griffith Park Drive was transformed from a road into a closed pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path, and 4 million dollars of funding was approved for additional safety renovations across the park.

According to a report by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), the City of Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities last year, most of them pedestrians, and tens of thousands more seriously injured. The primary factor in all these collisions was reckless speeding. SAFE has been involved in a massive state-wide campaign to educate about and advocate for the need to reign in reckless speeding to save lives. Part of this campaign has demanded that legislators pass AB 645, a pilot program that would allow the limited use of speed safety cameras in school zones and on the most dangerous roads in 6 cities across the state. Over 1800 have signed a petition to demand that legislators support AB 645. As a result of this campaign, AB 645 just passed the Assembly with overwhelming support (58 to 7).

This year’s Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event brings together people from all walks to continue the call to demand that roads be made safer and reckless speeding be addressed as the public health crisis that it is.

Finish The Ride and Finish The Run is now in its 10th year and will be held over two days – runners and walkers on Saturday and cyclists on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be the usual 5K/10K run/walk and half-marathon run. On Sunday will be the usual 15-mile, 25-mile, 35-mile, and 50 miles rides. New additions to this year’s event are the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council 1K Kids Run and a Puppy Run on Saturday and the Bahati Foundation Metric Century on Sunday.

Saturday, 10 June 2023 – Finish The Run

  • (1200 runners and walkers expected)
  • Time: 7:30 AM Griffith Park Half-Marathon starts
  • 8 AM Finish the Run Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Asm Laura Friedman
  • Councilmember Nithya Raman
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride/Finish The Run and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Cindi Enamorado, sister of Raymond Olivares, who lost his life in February 2023 at the hands of a driver engaged in street racing.

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Sunday, 11 June 2023 – Finish The Ride

  • (800 cyclists expected)
  • Time: 7 AM Olympic Silver Medalist Nelson Nails leads the Bahati Foundation Metric Century and Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride
  • 8 AM Finish the Ride Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Senator Anthony Portantino
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Curtis Townsend Sr., who lost his wife, Trina Newman-Townsend, in a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2022.

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Seen on the street: A WGA writer bikes the strike.

Meanwhile, striking writers took part in a 27-mile “Bike Strike” protest ride from Radford Studio to Amazon, with stops at Warners and Disney, then over the hill Netflix, with a stop for lunch at Swingers.

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David Drexler shares video showing the full length of the new Mark Bixby bike/ped path on the International Gateway Bridge, taken on last month’s opening day.

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Gravel Bike California accepts the challenge of biking the Desert X biennial art installation across the “vast & sandy” Coachella Valley in a single day.

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A UC Davis bike rider is on the hunt for a hit-and-run e-cart driver.

And yes, it’s legally hit-and-run if you just cause someone to fall, even without making contact.

Reddit post

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

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

No bias here. A South Bay writer decries plans to build a bike path on Flagler Alley connecting Redondo Beach and Torrance, which was recently blocked by the latter city. And repeats the myth that the $1.8 million price tag would cost more than building a mile of freeway. Actually, the Federal Highway Administration says it costs $2.8 million for a single lane-mile of freeway on flat, rural terrain, and $62.4 million in urban environments.

Violent assaults from passing cars continue in Oakland, where a bike rider was smacked on the head by a car passenger; that comes just months after at least 14 East Bay bike riders were intentionally doored in February.

Ocean City, New Jersey tabled plans to ban ebikes from the city’s boardwalk, instead creating a committee to study the issue. If they’re anything like Los Angeles, having a committee study something means no one will ever hear about it again. 

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

When you’re carrying a loaded gun and meth on your bike, and already wanted on outstanding warrants, try not to end a police chase on your bike at a Redding cemetery.

A Minnesota man wanted on drug and gun charges tried to make his getaway from police on a stolen bicycle. And failed.

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Local 

The Transportation Committee of the Los Angeles City Council held its first post-pandemic community meeting at the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex in Baldwin Hills to discuss bicycling, bicycle safety and bike equity.

No surprise here, as LA Times readers are divided on the possibility of congestion pricing, with responses ranging from exuberant support to an “unambiguous ‘F— NO.'”

Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate program on July 1st, with rebates up to $1,000 for city residents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles hasn’t even discussed any program to get motor vehicles off the streets, with ebikes or otherwise.

A Santa Clarita woman explains how her love of bicycling led to a bike tour of Japan with her 13-year old daughter.

 

State

LA County Mobility PAC Streets For All celebrates their wins in the state legislature, where all of the bills they sponsored are still alive at the halfway point. 

Laguna Beach is requiring students to complete an ebike safety course in exchange for a permit to park their bike on campus. Which is a great way to discourage bike commuting, and force people without permits back into cars.

She gets it. A San Jose writer says automated speed cams could save lives.

 

National

Treehugger says it’s time for government officials to stop ignoring ebikes, as a new report on EVs barely acknowledges their existence.

The New Mexico-based, federally funded Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety is using AI in an effort to combat rising traffic fatalities.

Colorado officially announced their new program to provide ebike rebates for residents earning less than 80% to 100% of their county’s median income. Just the latest city, state or province to provide ebike rebates before California’s vastly underfunded, fomerly-first-in-the-nation program gets off the ground — which should finally happen soon.

A suicidal teenager credits the kindness of Oklahoma strangers with saving his life after he set out of Chicago on a bicycle he pulled out of the trash.

Huh? A Columbus, Ohio TV station says many people are priced out of bicycling by the high cost of bikes, even while mentioning a nonprofit shop that sells refurbished bikes for around a hundred bucks. Seriously, cost should never be a barrier to bicycling, when there are countless options for low cost bikes. Or even free ones like the one above.

An Indiana woman learns the hard way that sometimes that bump in the road is a bike rider, not a pothole.

After watching a man walk past their station on his way to work for nearly two years, kindhearted cops in an Ohio city gave him a new bicycles.

Good idea. A new Pittsburgh proposal would provide automatic bikeshare memberships to all city employees.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss returns to bike commuting in the Big Apple after 14 years, and notices just a few changes.

Raleigh, North Carolina will offer residents 150 ebike vouchers ranging from $500 to $1,500 in exchange for sharing data on their usage.

A New Orleans website considers clothing options for the clothing optional World Naked Bike Ride, including the classic Crown Royal bag to carry your, uh, marbles. Personally, I don’t care what you wear, as long as you cover the seat on any borrowed, rented or bikeshare bikes.

 

International

Sad news from Antigua, where a 35-year old man has passed away in a Houston hospital, 13 months after he was run down by a driver, along with three other bicyclists.

A free website tells you whether it’s safe to walk, bike or run in the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. A far simpler rule of thumb is if you can smell smoke, stay home. Your lungs and sinuses will thank you.

No surprise here, as a Vancouver bike rider claims the removal of a popular bike lane in the city’s Stanley Park has resulted in harassment and speeding drivers.

A London writer argues that bike theft has been effectively decriminalized in the city.

Police in Northern Ireland are taking to the road on unmarked bicycles to enforce laws against unsafe passing. The LAPD has repeatedly been urged to do the same thing, but have refused over fears of being accused of entrapment. 

Over half of the people killed in collisions in Finnish cities were walking or riding a bike.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website looks at what bicycling means to people around the world. Including those in the exotic land called USA. 

 

Competitive Cycling

America’s last remaining Tour de France winner is feeling better after turning the corner in his battle with leukemia, which he traces to the shotgun blast that nearly killed him after winning his first Tour.

Bicycling says the Tour de France will require cycling teams to mask up and remain in a team bubble to avoid spreading Covid, unlike the recent Giro. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Speaking of Bicycling, they say you can watch the Tour and the eight-stage Tour de France Femmes with a subscription to Peacock. Read it on AOL of the magazine blocks you. 

Outside says Netflix’ new series Tour de France: Unchained will turn you into a cycling fan. Unless you already are, of course.

A writer for Cycling Weekly rode the 351-mile Unbound XL gravel race, so you won’t have to. And writes about how her gear stood up to the test.

Scottish endurance cyclist Christina Mackenzie has qualified for a spot in the world road cycling championships, nine months after she was seriously injured and left for dead by a hit-and-run driver.

 

Finally…

Why drive to see Queen Bey when you can ride your bike? Your next bike could be made from recycled Nespesso capsules.

And seriously, many drivers are happy to do it for free.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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