Smilianska guilty in death of US National Team’s Magnus White, and hit-and-run driver posted online looking for killer

April 7, 2025 / / No comments
Day 97 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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About damn time. 

For the first time in four full weeks, my wife and I both finally tested negative for Covid over the weekend. 

But I still missed yesterday’s Hollywood Meets Koreatown CicLAvia, as my diabetic body just doesn’t bounce back that fast anymore, and even just walking part of the route seemed like more than I could manage. 

So feel free to let me know how it went. 

And in other health news, I’m now on yet another medication that affects my balance, making my goal of finally getting back on my bike seem even more unlikely. 

Maybe I can find an ebike with a built-in gyroscope to keep me upright. 

Photo from USA Cycling website. 

………

Guilty.

A Boulder, Colorado jury convicted 24-year old Ukrainian immigrant Yeva Smilianska for the 2023 death of US National Team cyclist Magnus White.

Smilianska admitted running the rising 17-year old cyclist down from behind, drifting off the roadway to plow into him at highway speed, after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel.

However, White’s father complained that she didn’t show any remorse or take responsibility until she got on the witness stand, 615 days after the fatal crash.

Prosecutors showed evidence that Smilianska had partied with a co-worker the night before, despite both denying they had been drinking. They also posted a text Smilianska reportedly sent a friend admitting she was drunk at the time of the crash.

The jury convicted Smilianska of reckless vehicular homicide, which in Colorado carries a penalty of two to six years behind bars, after just seven hours of deliberation.

She will be sentence in June.

………

This is who we share the roads — and social media — with.

After a Tennessee man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike, a 25-year old woman posted on Facebook to say how much the victim would be missed, and begging anyone who knew anything about the crash to come forward, adding that she couldn’t imagine leaving someone on the road to die alone.

You can probably guess what comes next.

Just hours after sharing her last post, she was arrested for the fatal hit-and-run, admitting she was drinking before the crash and drove to another county to get her car fixed in an effort to coverup the crime.

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

Houston bicyclists held a funeral for a protected bike lane, after the mayor had it ripped out because it inconvenienced drivers a little bit; a local letter writer says that’s the last straw, and they’re leaving the city because the mayor is making it less safe — although you’ll have to get past the paper’s paywall to read it.

No bias here. Residents of Grantchester, England have taken their fight against a new greenway all the way to London’s Royal Courts of Justice, arguing that the bike lane would ruin one of the UK’s most picturesque villages. Because as we all know, cars don’t ruin anything and only make villages more picturesque, right?

No bias here, either. A sign warns bicyclists using a Dublin bike lane to slow down for school children, posting that the village isn’t a racetrack. Yet no similar sign warns the people in the big, dangerous machines, who are more likely to treat the road like a racetrack, and can cause far more harm when they do.

Not even four-time Tour de France champs are immune from road-raging drivers, as Chris Froome angrily posted the license plate of a French driver he claims tried to intentionally drive into him as he tried to filter past on a training ride.

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

A Hong Kong veterinarian won widespread paise on the Chinese Weibo social media site after springing to action to perform CPR — including mouth-to-snout resuscitation — saving the life of a stray cat after it was struck by a bike rider.

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Local 

West Hollywood will consider a proposal to paint bike lanes green throughout the city at tonight’s city council meeting.

Burbank is looking for solutions to the rising tide of ebike “incidents.” Once again conflating ped-assist electric bicycles with electric motorcycles and dirt bikes that can travel nearly four times as fast. 

Long Beach will close Willow Street and Santa Fe Ave in West Long Beach to cars on Saturday, May 10th for the next edition of the city’s Beach Streets open streets event.

Speaking of Long Beach, the city will allow e-scooters on the beach bike path, starting next month.

 

State

Your next hoppy pale ale could be developed in collaboration with the San Diego Velodrome.

A Redwood City woman is on the verge of becoming the first person known to have ridden every mile of bikeable roadway and trail in San Mateo County, completing a five-year project to ride all 2,800 miles.

Caltrans has once again delayed a decision on removing the protected bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, as they attempt to strike a balance between the needs of motorists and cyclists. Or rather, whether people in cars will get every lane on both levels of the two-lane bridge, or if bike riders can continue to hold on to one measly little lane. 

Hats off to the Sausalito Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, after every member of the committee resigned in protest because the city rejected a half-million grant to build bike lanes on its main thoroughfare.

Marin County has taken the “unprecedented” step of banning kids under 16 from riding throttle-controlled Class 2 ebikes, as well as requiring anyone of any age riding a Class 2 ebike in unincorporated parts of the county to wear a helmet; the local paper says the new rules make sense. Although while my understanding is they can legally do the first part of that under a bill signed by the governor last year, requiring anyone over 18 to wear a bike helmet exceeds their authority under state law.

 

National

A group of Anchorage residents rode their bicycles through the city wearing signs of support for the people Palestine, in a campaign that began with the Gaza Sunbirds, a group paracyclists who launched a community aid campaign in Gaza.

In what may be the ultimate open streets event, Yellowstone roads once again opened to bicycles over the weekend before cars are allowed in.

An Arkansas organization is recycling used bicycle tires for use as industrial fuel in place of coal, saying burning the recycled rubber chips is more environmentally friendly than allowing them to sit in landfills — although it seems like a far cleaner use is mixing them into paving materials, rather than releasing the carbon to the atmosphere.

Tickets are on sale now for an escorted, five-mile mile bike ride to the Indianapolis 500, benefitting an Indianapolis bicycle advocacy group.

One of the two hit-and-run drivers who fled after killing a St. Louis bike rider was arrested when a tracker placed on her SUV by the dealership placed her at the scene; she admitted to drinking and using marijuana the day of the crash. Two other drivers also hit the victim, but remained at the scene.

 

International

Momentum rates Germany’s most “beloved” long-distance bicycling routes, and says look past Amsterdam for nine underrated international biking destinations. None of which are Los Angeles, of course.

A British Columbia family took matters into their own hands, drafting their own map showing the safest routes for kids biking in their neighborhood, as well as highlighting safety concerns.

Women in the UK report being bullied off the road by motorists, with one woman from Northern Ireland stating that people often shout that she shouldn’t be on the road with her bike, while that rarely happens to her male partner.

A new German study says mountain bike tires are polluting the atmosphere, releasing an average of 3.64 grams of rubber per 60 miles of off-road riding — about a third of the rubber wear from motor vehicles over the same distance. But just imagine if they tried to burn them for fuel. 

Bollywood superstar Salmon Khan is one of us, riding his bicycle and hitting the gym despite suffering a rib injury filming his latest movie.

Tern North America GM and former LACBC board member Steve Boyd says the industry can’t survive Trump’s tariffs, which were raised from zero to 46% for ebikes, and 57% for standard bicycles coming from Vietnam, where Tern is assembled; meanwhile, a Boston professor says tariffs could upend imports from Taiwan, much to the chagrin of builders, golfers and, yes, bicyclists.

Must be nice. A Kiwi writer says she commutes to work by boat and bike every day.

A pair of Aussie university researchers consider the challenge of getting people to shift from private vehicles to walking and biking, arguing that safe infrastructure is critical.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar soloed to victory after attacking on the final climb of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, aka Tour of Flanders, on Sunday, winning the one-day classic for the second time; Belgian world champ Lotte Kopecky became the first woman to win the race three times.

Pogačar said he doesn’t follow social media, calling it “the cancer of our society.” So maybe save the online attacks for someone who cares enough to read it. 

Sad news from Belgium, where two of the 15,000 bicyclists participating in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Gran Fondo died of natural causes during the sportive, one day before the pros took to the course.

 

Finally….

We may have to twisted drivers, but sharing a bike lane with a sick sea lion is a new twist. That feeling when you get busted for speeding on your bike — in a triathlon.

And next time you ride your ebike, maybe leave the hidden stash of drugs and the jagged-edged sword at home.

Just saying.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Prosecutor contradicts Magnus White killer’s claim she hadn’t been drinking, and LA approves minimal HLA minimums

April 4, 2025 / / No comments
Day 94 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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She was drinking before the fatal crash.

Or maybe she wasn’t.

Yeva Smilianska testified on the witness stand Thursday that she was busy working, and so wan’t drinking, the night before she admittedly killed 17-year old US National Team cyclist Magnus White outside Boulder, Colorado.

Her former friend and coworker, Nereida “Neddy” Cooper, testified that Smilianska actually had the night off, and was drinking at the bar they both worked at until it closed. Then they went to her home and shared an open bottle of whiskey until they both went to bed around 6:30 am.

Less than six hours later, Smilianska was standing on the side of the road where White lay dying next to his mangled bicycle.

Her lawyer claims Smilianska isn’t responsible for White’s death because she fell asleep behind the wheel before drifting onto the shoulder. Smilianska told the court she was sleepy but sober at the time of the crash, and police at the scene said she didn’t appear to be intoxicated.

She also says she was unemotional at the scene because she “completely turned off” after seeing White lying behind her.

But prosecutors introduced a pair of text messages Smilianska sent hours after the crash, which she said she didn’t remember.

I don’t think so but we have to remember I was drunk as well. To be honest, when you guys were gone I continued to drink and honestly I don’t even remember how I drove myself home. That’s fucked up.

But anyway the drinks you just told me sound like enough to get drunk…

Nah I’m fine. I’m just scared of myself cos I drove SO drunk I don’t even remember it. My whole way home. I was mad and I really fucked up…

Which kinda makes it seem like she was drinking to me, but I’m not on the jury.

………

The Los Angeles Street Standards Committee approved the proposed minimum standards for street projects impacted by Measure HLA, which requires that the city build out the previously approved mobility plan when streets are resurfaced.

Which matters because the minimum is probably all we can count on from the city these days.

Advocates questioned the use of shared bus/bike lanes where separate bus lanes and painted bike lanes are called for, as well as the city’s failure to define crosswalks for Pedestrian Enhanced Districts.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times offers a good recap of the debate over whether Measure HLA applies to the Vermont Transit Corridor, explaining both the scope of the Metro project, and the arguments for why HLA does and doesn’t apply to Metro.

Transit advocates argue that the exclusion from the Vermont Avenue project ignores voters’ mandate to follow the mobility plan, which calls for improved bike lanes on that street; Metro and city officials have countered that the measure applied only to the city of Los Angeles — not to the countywide transit agency.

“We don’t think it’s legal,” said Michael Schneider, who heads Streets for All, the advocacy group behind the ballot measure. “HLA is a city measure, and Metro is a county agency, but Vermont is owned by the City of Los Angeles, and the city is working with Metro. They’re permitting it, they’re providing technical expertise, they’re spending staff time and money. This falls under Measure HLA, which requires a bike lane on Vermont.”

However, Metro has threatened to sue if the county agency is required to comply with the city ordinance, arguing that adding bike lanes to the project would delay it five years and require them to acquire additional properties along the route.

Move LA Executive Director Eli Lipmen summed up the whole debate as succinctly as anyone.

Lipmen said that more people will be hurt if Metro does not allow for new protected bike lanes in its plans and hopes there is still time for conversation

“Vermont needs to happen and needs to happen as soon as possible. We cannot delay this project another second,” Lipmen said.

He’s right.

On both counts.

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A crowdfunding campaign for a Bakersfield mother killed by a pickup driver while riding her bike last month has raised a paltry $700 of the relatively modest $5,000 goal.

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

No bias here. The Sausalito city council turned down a half-million dollar grant to install bike lanes on the most ridden road in Marin County, even though it’s on the city’s High Injury Network and in alignment with city policies, deeming the project “too controversial” thanks to the torches and pitchforks of the “change nothing” crowd.

No bias here, either. The governor of Idaho signed a pair of bills redefining roads as “for the primary benefit of motor vehicles,” while restricting where standalone bike and pedestrian projects can be built, and prohibiting projects that would narrow roadways.

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Local 

Claremont conditionally approved an ordinance to allow ebikes on the city’s Claremont Hills Wilderness Park trail; it will come back up for a second, final vote on April 22nd.

 

State

San Diego County Crime Stoppers is pulling out all the stops in the hunt for the driver, and the car, who killed an ebike rider in a Clairemont hit-and-run last weekend. Which is exactly how it should be, and exactly what Los Angeles doesn’t do.

She gets it. The head of the Mineta Transportation Institute asks if the convenience of turning right on red is really worth the risk to bike riders and pedestrians.

San Francisco approved plans for a parking-protected bike lane on Oak Street leading to Golden Gate Park, but will divert riders into a park to make room for turning cars.

 

National

People For Bikes considers the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the bike industry — not to mention what you’ll pay for your next bike and parts — with import taxes as high as 46% on Asian nations, where most bicycles are made. Best advice is to buy what you can now, before prices go up and availability goes down.

 

International

Momentum lists the six most bike-friendly North American airports, none of which are LAX. Or any other California airport south of San Francisco.

London’s bicycling and walking commissioner says it would be “extremely unpleasant” to have thousands of bicyclists riding through a newly pedestrianized Oxford Street, but bike riders complain about the “weak and wiggly” alternatives provided for bikes. Although the real news is that London has a bicycling and walking commissioner, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

British custom framebuilder Feather Cycles is the latest bike brand to bike the dust, as the owner says he could make more money as a food delivery rider.

Stars and Stripes recommends resources for long-distance bicycling through Europe, most of which apply to us non-service members, too.

Around 80 university students are riding nearly 800 miles to Strasbourg, France to call for European Union support for a Serbian anti-graft project to halt corruption in the Balkan nation, as it seeks membership in the 27-nation bloc.

 

Competitive Cycling

The teams competing for this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were announced Thursday, including all 15 WorldTour teams, along with seven teams from the ProTour.

Two-time world and Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel is expected to return to racing at Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie at the end of this month, after suffering multiple fractures, dislocated collarbone and bruised lungs when he was doored by a Belgian postal van driver in December.

You know the Lotto cycling team missed the mark when their new team kit is best described as “an explosion in a paint factory.”

Velo will live stream all the races in the USA CRITS series this spring. Which may the only way you’ll see them, since most of the races are in Georgia, and all are in the South other than a single race in Nebraska.

 

Finally….

Seriously, who knows the best bikes better than Brit GQ?  You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you just take a coffee break.

And that feeling when they raised the speed limit, but you could still get ticket for going too fast.

In a bike race.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

PCH Workshop next Wednesday, trial in Magnus White death continues, and pediatric e-micro mobility injuries climb

April 3, 2025 / / No comments
Day 93 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Caltrans forwards word that the upcoming PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study Workshop will take place a little earlier than planned.

Please be advised that the upcoming April 9th meeting at the Malibu City Hall will now start at 5:30 PM instead of 6:00 PM. This extra time is an open house period to provide more opportunities for attendees to review project information displays and ask Caltrans staff questions.

Thank you for your time, and we’re excited to have you at the event!

PCH photo from Caltrans press release.

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More heartbreaking testimony in the death of US National Team junior cyclist Magnus White.

Day three in the reckless driving trial of Yeva Smilianska featured more descriptions of the crash that killed the 17-year old White, as a forensic investigator estimated that White went from 25 mph to 55 in “milliseconds” when Smilianska rear-ended him.

Another bicyclist who was following White on that “perfect” Boulder, Colorado day two years ago reported seeing the recent Ukrainian immigrant’s car strike White’s bicycle so quickly he would have had no chance to react.

He also said he gave up bicycling after what he saw that day.

The other notable piece of news came from a police investigator who said the woman Smilianska was with the night before the crash told him neither of the women drank because she wouldn’t allow alcohol in her house, and both got six hours of sleep the morning of the crash.

Yet examination of Smilianska’s phone showed video of her taking a drink out of a tumbler, as her friend asks if that’s whiskey. Smilianska said yes, nodding, and the friend took a drink herself, contradicting her earlier comments to the police.

And yes, once again prosecutors showed photos depicting the crash, this time White’s bloodied bike helmet. So make sure that’s something you really want to see before you click on the link.

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A new report in the medical journal JAMA shows ebike injuries among children and teens jumped from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, while e-scooter injuries climbed from 8,566 in 2017 to 56,847 in 2022 — likely more reflective of the climb in ridership rather than an increase in risk.

That was demonstrated by a crash in Orange Tuesday night, when two teens riding an e-scooter were critically injured when they slammed into the side of a Tesla while riding upstream on the wrong side of the road.

A tragic reminder that it’s not what you ride, but how that matters.

Thanks to Arthur W Bauer for the Orange heads-up.

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Doris Day was one of us.

Actress, singer, and bike lover Doris Day riding her bicycle around Beverly Hills. The license plate reads, "This vehicle is smog free."Happy #BicycleBirthday, Doris!April 3 (1922-2019)

— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) 2025-04-03T04:00:08.526Z

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Norm Bradwell forwards the clearest view yet of the remarkable changes underway in Paris, with the transformation of the iconic and formerly car-clogged Rue de Rivoli.

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

No bias here. ESPN sportscaster Randy Scott posted video of a group of “sad” bicyclists riding single file while politely hugging the shoulder, saying “These monsters must be stopped” because they made him slow down a little bit. Never mind that he’s the one who could be breaking the law by using a handheld cellphone to record the video, or that he crashed his own car into a concrete barrier last year, without the help of anyone on two wheels.

https://twitter.com/RandyScottESPN/status/1906831097108762886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906831097108762886%7Ctwgr%5Eee4ec0c5d73c91ca378853d9db2f087c2eb86de5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-2-april-2025-313321

Click here for the video if Elon is still screwing with embedded X/Twitter posts.

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Local 

Culver City will host the final walking tour this Saturday to help develop the city’s new Complete Streets Design Standards. Actually, all they have to do is go back to the MOVE Culver City Complete Streets project. You know, before they ripped it out. 

So, am I the only one who thinks the Long Beach Grand Prix should include a bike race on the closed circuit course for us two-wheeled racing fans?

 

State

San Diego authorities are offering a $1,000 reward for the driver of a gray Mercedes E-Class sedan who fled the scene after killing an ebike rider in the city’s Clairemont neighborhood last week.

Chula Vista opened a new 39-acre bay front park, compete with two-and-a-half miles of walking and biking trails.

This is who we share the road with. A road-raging Riverside driver knocked a motorcyclist off his bike and dragged him with his car following an argument, in a crash captured on helmet cam.

They get it. The Planning Commission in the Sonoma County town of Windsor says walking and biking should be as easy, pleasant and natural as driving. Although driving may be the norm in the US, but there’s nothing natural about it.

 

National

No surprise here, as a new study of 14 small to mid-sized U.S. cities shows that bicycle-friendly cities are safer for everyone. Yes, even the people in the big, dangerous machines.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation and People For Bikes are launching the eBike eCourse to help improve safety and riding skills for people on ebikes, presumably with or without pedals.

Escape drops their paywall to consider what Rad Power and VanMoof got wrong, and what can be learned from the fall of the two iconic ebike brands.

Momentum suggests taking advantage of Trump’s “Liberation Day” to liberate yourself from driving by riding a bicycle.

Bicycling posts their favorite bikes of the year. But you’ll need a subscription to click on the links.

This is who we share the bike path with. A Portland man was forced off a bike path, and narrowly avoided getting hit head-on, by a driver in a massive SUV blithely cruising down the biking and walking path, taking the concept of a multi-use path just a little too far.

Tragic news from St. Louis, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by not one, not two, not even three, but four drivers, only two of whom bothered to stick around afterwards.

A South Carolina woman charged with killing a bike-riding father of three while allegedly driving drunk with an open bottle of vodka in her car has been arrested once again, on charges of “unlawful conduct toward a child, with the risk of abuse or willful abandonment,” as well as possession of meth and coke.

 

International

Road.cc says Trump’s tariffs could be the final blow for the bike industry, which is already in the toilet.

An iconic South London bike shop is throwing in the towel after 43 years due to “rising costs, a brutal economic climate, and a million other small battles.”

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, with the village of Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne along France’s 500-mile Loire à Vélo bicycling route, home to ancient megalithic sites and a 1,000-year old priory.

A new Dutch study contradicts the usual perception in this country by showing that delivery bike riders are safer and more law-abiding than casual bicyclists in the Netherlands.

A 38-year old Indian man is riding over 3,700 miles in 35 days, from Bengaluru to Tamil Nadu and back, despite losing one hand in a machining accident when he was 18.

 

Competitive Cycling

A major upset in Belgium, where American Neilson Powless stunned Wout van Aert and his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates by outsprinting them at the finish to win the men’s Dwars door Vlaanderen on Sunday; Italian champ Elisa Longo Borghini won the women’s race in a solo breakaway.

Sorry, folks. Life Time Grand Prix has banned cyclists from drafting riders outside their own category in any of their races, such as Unbound Gravel.

A writer for Outside says skip the Tour de France, and go to Europe to watch the Tour of Flanders, instead.

 

Finally….

Recharge your next ebike with your phone charger. We may have to worry about feral LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to contend with a loose bull moose.

And nothing like that feeling when you order a new bicycle on Temu, and this is what you get.

@cloud9ceo

Temu gave me the biggest April Fool

♬ original sound – cloud9CEO

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Metro pulls plug on Sepulveda Corridor meetings, and killer of 17-year old US Cycling Team’s Magnus White on trial

April 2, 2025 / / One comment
Day 92 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Cancel that.

Metro has pulled the plug on this week’s meetings to consider rail proposals for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor.

So if you were planning to attend on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, make other plans.

However, the agency insists this project remains a high priority, and the meetings will be rescheduled soon.

Image from Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor website. 

………

A Denver TV station reports on the testimony from day two of trial over the death of 17-year old National Team member Magnus White.

The defense admits she killed him, but argues she isn’t guilty of the reckless driving charge because she was asleep at the wheel at the time of the crash.

Although it seems kinda reckless to drive when she was too tired to stay awake in the first place.

Several of the witnesses report that 25-year old Ukrainian immigrant Yeva Smilianska didn’t seem disturbed following the crash, acting unnaturally calm until she finally saw White laying behind her gasping for breath.

One officer said she didn’t seem to understand what had happened, while another investigator said she told him the “steering wheel stopped listening to me.”

Prosecutors also showed photos of White’s badly mangled bike, which the station included in their story.

But make sure you really want to see it, or read what the witnesses testified to before you click on the link.

Because I felt kind of sick after reading it. And not because of Covid.

………

In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone, new Caltrans data made available by a 2023 law showed the state transportation agency focused on highways, and paint over protection for bicycles, in recent years.

That’s despite the agency’s ostensible commitment to Complete Streets.

According to Calbike,

Caltrans built 554 new highway miles over the period covered by this data, at a time when California needs to reduce, not increase, vehicle miles traveled. At the same time, the agency built just 160 miles of bikeways, more than half of which were Class 3 lanes where bike riders share the lane with motor vehicle traffic.

While the SB 695 data doesn’t provide enough detail to fully understand Complete Streets projects on state routes, this first release of data shows that Caltrans isn’t doing enough to meet California’s goals to increase biking and walking.

Well, duh.

Anyone who’s tried to ride a bike on state roadways could tell you that.

………

It’s happened again.

According to a Sparks, Nevada TV station, a road-raging Reno resident faces an attempted murder charge for using his car as a weapon to deliberately ram a man on a bicycle, leaving the 35-year old victim with life threatening injuries.

Security video shows the driver intentionally target the victim at a high rate of speed, apparently angered by a “minor altercation” that came after he nearly hit the victim a few minutes earlier.

Another reminder that every angry driver is already armed with a deadly weapon, if they decide to use it.

……….

Seriously?

A sheriff’s deputy in Florida’s Broward County isn’t facing an investigation, despite bike cam video showing him using his patrol car as a weapon to knock a teenaged boy off his bicycle before tacking the kid,

The deputy was responding to a report of juveniles “riding bicycles recklessly and engaging in unlawful activity,” neither of which would justify the use of deadly force when the boy wasn’t threatening anyone’s safety.

……….

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

The home of the Idaho Stop could take a big step backward, with two bills on the governor’s desk that would restrict bicycle and pedestrian improvements to a secondary role in highway projects, as well as banning any projects that would result in a narrower roadway.

Welsh bike advocates warn that the country could risk missing the opportunity to get more people on bicycles, as the government shifts its focus to prioritizing walking over biking.

………

Local  

The Los Angeles Street Standards Committee will vote Thursday to approve the minimum standards to implement Measure HLA. Which is probably exactly what the city will implement, the bare minimum. And raise your hand if you didn’t know the city even had a Street Standards Committee.

 

State

Calbike reports they’ve joined the Clean RIDES Network, a seven state coalition working to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

San Diego’s ABC10 reports that 21 people were killed in traffic collisions in the San Diego area last month, adding to the 39 killed in January and February. In other words, they did exactly what every local news outlet should do by reporting the dangers we all face on the streets, regardless of how we get around. 

 

National

The husband of the Oregon woman killed by a DEA agent while she was riding her bike has filed suit against the Oregon State Police and state Department of Justice, alleging lapses in training, supervision and policy led to her death.

Washington State is working on connecting existing trails into a network of bicycle highways; meanwhile, Calbike is supporting a bill to bring the first bicycle highways to California.

Thirteen states have now adopted some form of the Idaho Stop Law, aka Stop As Yield, after New Mexico passed a law allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and red lights as stop signs when it’s safe to do so.

The University of Iowa student newspaper profiles the organizations working to make the local community safer for people on bicycles.

Streetsblog talks with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin about the bi-partisan Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Act to allow full federal funding of active transportation safety projects, arguing that “the carnage is intolerable.” Which seems a little strange considering how long our government has already tolerated it.

 

International

Your next Mercedes AMG F1-inspired ebike could have a speedometer that tops out at 60 mph, even though the bike itself is legally required to top out at 20.

The 24-year old Moroccan man who rode his bike to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup is now riding from the tip of Argentina to Alaska, with plans to stop in Mexico, the US and Canada for next year’s World Cup along the way.

UK disability advocates Wheels For Wellbeing calls for the country to reconsider the recent ban on non-folding ebikes on trains, since they can be used as mobility devices. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

The Dutch ambassador rode his bike more than 100 miles to the heart of Bangladesh tiger country to highlight the need to save the endangered animals.

Velo offers highlights from the Taipei Cycle Show, including a nifty little electric tire pump, arguing that some of the tech there could rival the bike industry’s best.

A pair of Aussie researchers consider the problem of drivers who look, but fail to see people on bicycles, and what can be done to keep us safe.

 

Competitive Cycling

Read all about it, in excruciating detail, as a new medical paper details Egan Bernal’s “remarkable recovery” from the training crash that nearly killed him, or could have left him paralyzed. But didn’t.

 

Finally….

It’s almost plausible that Paris is confining cars to protected lanes and turning traffic lanes over to bikes. Or that Ontario’s anti-bike premier is jogging in the bike lanes he wants to rip out.

And apparently, bikes can use the full LAN.

You know, in case you need to print something when you’re riding.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

April Fools-free edition — sadness and schadenfreude on Highland Ave, and let’s impound the cars of repeat scofflaw drivers

April 1, 2025 / / One comment
Day 91 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Well, this is not fun anymore. 

I found myself struggling to breathe Sunday afternoon, accompanied by a spike in blood pressure and a drop in blood oxygen.

Fortunately, the situation resolved before it got serious, but left me feeling like I’d been hit by a truck for the rest of the night. 

So my apologies for yesterday’s absence. 

I’m starting to realize why my doctors all warned that combining Covid and diabetes probably wasn’t the best idea.

Anyway, let’s get on with today’s April Fools-free update.  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

This is who we share the road with.

And why.

Over a decade ago, there was a movement to build LA’s first bicycle boulevard on 4th Street through Hancock Park.

But it didn’t take long for local residents to get out their torches and pitchforks in opposition to it, despite our best efforts to explain how it would benefit them, from eliminating cut-through traffic to increasing property values.

The greatest conflict, however, was over finding a safe way to get bike riders across busy Highland Ave.

Each proposal was soundly booed, whether a traffic circle, stop light or on-demand crosswalk. Even though it would have made Highland much safer for everyone, on foot, a bike or in a car — or just living in the general area.

It didn’t take long for then Councilmember Tom LaBonge to fold, promising not to make any changes to the dangerous intersection, and dooming the entire proposal to the scrapheap of history.

Although someone later saw the light, and belatedly installed a push-button on-demand traffic light. Which helps people cross the street, but does little or nothing to slow speeding drivers.

So it was with a combination of sadness and schadenfreude that I heard local residents complain about speeding drivers using the wide, straight divided roadway as a race track, after the driver of a Lamborghini ran away from a fatal hit-and-run on the street.

No, literally.

On foot, leaving the smashed supercar behind.

All just blocks from where that proposed traffic circle would have forced drivers to slow down, improving safety along the entire corridor.

It’s common for people everywhere to oppose change. But in an effectively run city, the final decision would be made with an eye to safety, after listening to objections and incorporating any reasonable suggestions, knowing that most people will come around to support it once they get used to it.

But in Los Angeles, the only voices usually heard are the loudest — and too often, wealthiest.

So Highland will continue to be a racetrack, just like Sunset and Hollywood boulevards.

And innocent people will continue to die.

………

This is who we share the road with, too.

And why people keep dying on our streets.

A 35-year old mother was killed, along with her two young daughters, when a speeding driver slammed into another car, and careened into them as they walked in a New York crosswalk; at last report, her four-year old son was still clinging to life in critical condition.

Yet the 32-year old woman behind the wheel was still driving despite a suspended license, suspended registration and expired insurance, as well as 15 school zone speeding and red-light tickets in just the last 12 months.

Yes, 15.

New York Mayor Eric Adams described as a “tragic accident of a Shakespearean proportion.”

But in reality, it was the entirely predictable result of allowing a woman who has shown a clear disregard for traffic laws and the courts to keep a car she could no longer legally drive.

Virginia just passed a law allowing judges to require repeat excessive speed drivers to install speed limiting technology, making it impossible to exceed the posted speed limit; New York State is considering a similar law.

Now we need to take the next step of impounding the cars of people with suspended driver’s licenses until they regain the right to drive legally.

………

Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor is one of us — or at least his son is now — using a towel as a sling to help the kid learn how to ride a bike.

………

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

Houston is ripping out a vital protected bike lane in the city’s Mid-City neighborhood, replacing it with sharrows and putting bike riders at needless risk, because drivers found it a little inconvenient.

A Tennessee man faces charges of reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and criminal littering for threatening a group of bicyclists on a rural road, driving his car at them and throwing beer bottles out the window, leaving two of the victims with visible bruises; he then made a U-turn and came back to run over one man’s bicycle, after the rider managed to jump out of the way.

Boston is joining Houston in ripping out protective curbs and bollards on a trio of newly installed bike lanes, after the mayor initiated a review of all the city’s safety and bus infrastructure projects, bowing to impatient drivers as she prepares to run for re-election, as it they are the only voters.

An English city was forced to install bollards on a new bike lane outside a hospital, after drivers immediately turned it into a parking lane.

No surprise here. British women continue to be frightened off their bikes by threatening and intimidating drivers, compounded by a lack of safe infrastructure.

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

A former English cop complains that he’s being taunted by ebike-riding “yobs” after he was fired for ramming his patrol car into a couple of teens with long criminal records, when they “taunted” him by riding past his car on their bikes.

………

Local  

Metro is hosting a series of meetings this week to discuss the Sepulveda Transit corridor, with in-person meeting on Thursday and Saturday, and a virtual meeting on Friday; Streets For All urges you to voice support for heavy rail under the Sepulveda Pass, rather than the inefficient monorail preferred by wealthy Bel-Air homeowners who don’t want to be disturbed by underground construction.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition with host their monthly virtual meeting on Monday, highlighted by presentations on the San Gabriel Valley Greenway Network and a local carbon-free electricity campaign; they’ll also host a family-friendly ride on April 12th showcasing homes with native California landscaping.

The South Pasadena Public Library will host a Repair Café on April 19th offering free repairs on a number of items, including bicycles.

 

State

French startup Upway opened their first SoCal location in Redondo Beach over the weekend, buying and selling refurbished e-bikes, similar to Carvana or CarMax for motor vehicles.

About two dozen Fontana kindergarteners got new bicycles, courtesy of All Kids Bike.

A Simi Valley letter writer complains about a recent ebike editorial, asking if there are “excellent bike lanes” traversing the city, where are they?

Your next ebike could charge in just 15 minutes, thanks to a new bike mountain biking legend Gary Fisher plans to introduce this month at Monterey’s Sea Otter Classic.

The threatened protected bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is safe for now, after Caltrans withdrew a proposal to turn it back into a motor vehicle lane on weekdays.

 

National

A tech website asks why buy your bike accessories when you can just 3D print them?

Momentum teams with People For Bikes to dispel the most common myths about bike riders, ranging from not many people ride bicycles to we’re all rich, lawbreaking and fearless.

Juiced Bikes is rising from the dead after the ebike maker shut down operations last year, amid efforts from the founders of Lectric EBikes to revive the brand.

America’s seven-time ex-Tour de France champ says if you want to feel safe on a bike, ride a gravel bike so you can go onto any surface, and avoid long straight stretches of roadways to reduce the risk of distracted drivers.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, with the Great Plains Gravel Route that stretches 3,800 miles through Texas, Kansas and five other Midwestern states.

Life is cheap in Idaho, where the driver of a gravel truck got a whole 90 days behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a 14-year old kid standing on the side of the road next to his bicycle, but at least he’ll have to spend every holiday behind bars for the next two years, along with both his and his victim’s birthday.

The 24-year old woman accused of killing 17-year old Magnus White went on trial yesterday, nearly two years after running down the rising US National Team cyclist in Boulder, Colorado; prosecutors say she fell asleep at the wheel after staying up all night partying.

San Antonio, Texas becomes the latest city to offer ebike vouchers, providing 244 $1,000 vouchers for low-income residents. Meanwhile, California’s deliberately throttled voucher program remains just this side of moribund.

A 64-year old Galveston, Texas man was sentenced to 35 years behind bars for using his truck to murder one man and injure another as they tried to get away on their bicycles, all over over a paltry five buck debt, as well as another 25 years for assaulting a third man. Which means he’d be 124 if he survives to serve his full terms, which seems just a little unlikely. 

The Illinois legislature is considering over a dozen bike-related bills, from including tricycles in the legal definition of a bicycle to plainly stating that bicyclists are intended users on every roadway.

A kindhearted Ohio man gave away dozens of refurbished bicycles to anyone who needed one, just because he could.

People For Bikes flew a group of bicycle industry leaders to DC to advocate for tariff relief and trade fairness.

 

International

Severance star Britt Lower is one of us too, riding a bicycle through the streets of Toronto to get a better understanding of the character she plays in the upcoming film Darkest Miriam.

Welsh advocates warn that budget cuts are threatening to put the government’s efforts to promote bicycling at risk.

Momentum offers 20 reasons why the Netherlands is a bike rider’s paradise.

Stars and Stripes celebrates the joys of biking in Deutschland.

Nice work if you can get it. A 28-year old British woman says her 9-to-5 job is riding her bicycle from her English hometown to Singapore to raise funds for a mental health charity; meanwhile, a 31-year old British man is one year into his ride around the world to raise money for a children’s hospital.

A pair of 15-year old Japanese junior high students spent 13 days riding over 600 miles around Taiwan. At that age, my parents barely let me ride around my own hometown. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Tour de Big Bear is adding a 50K cross-country mountain bike race to their August lineup, promising a “a thrilling 36 miles, starting with a 4-mile neutral rollout before immersing riders into demanding single-track and double-track trails.”

Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij crashed just as he attempted to respond to an attack by eventual winner Mads Pedersen at Gent Wevelgem, suffering a broken collarbone.

Slovenian Primož Roglič won an “explosive” final stage of the Volta a Catalunya ahead of Laurens De Plus and Lennert Van Eetvelt, vaulting into first place in the overall standings, points and mountains classifications.

 

Finally….

Fight off bike thieves with a U-lock that smells like something died. Your next NFL draft baseball cap could have a bike on it, but only if you’re a Packers fan.

And always remember to bungie your corgi before you ride.

@tedrogerla.bsky.social Grabbed this from a Kiwi Corgi FB group. The owner takes "Spud" everywhere on the bike. She says Spud is harnessed in and loves it.

— (@nzdebs.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T23:26:17.058Z

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Move along, nothing to see here — continued Covid edition

March 30, 2025 / / 5 comments

My apologies.

I thought I was finally getting over Covid, but things took a concerning turn for the worse on Sunday. Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help, and we’ll be back tomorrow to play catch up.

Category: General /

Ebike rider killed by heartless hit-and-run driver in San Diego’s Claremont Mesa East neighborhood early Saturday

March 29, 2025 / / 2 comments

Once again, someone on a bicycle has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

This time in San Diego.

According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a 36-year old man was riding an ebike on the 6900 block of Balboa Ave, in the city’s Claremont Mesa East neighborhood, when he was struck by a driver around 1:30 am.

Police report the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the westbound bike lane when he veered left for some unknown reason and was hit by the westbound motorist, who continued without stopping.

He died shortly after being taken to a local hospital.

Video from the scene shows damaged car parts and a Lectric ped-assist bicycle lying in the center of the three through traffic lanes.

The suspect vehicle is described as light-colored 2016-2022 Mercedes Benz E-Class sedan, possibly gray, with likely front-end damage including missing grill and other front-end body parts.

It’s not clear if there was a witness to the crash, or if investigators pieced events together from evidence found following the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Division of the San Diego Police Department at 858/495-7800, or Crime Stoppers at 888/580-8477. 

This was at least the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

This is also the fourth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

LA officials vote against the will of LA voters on Vermont BRT project; LA 50 wants your input; and Bike Oven art crawl

March 28, 2025 / / One comment
Day 87 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

So let’s get this straight.

The Metro Board unanimously approved plans for the Vermont Transit Corridor bus rapid transit project — but without the bike lanes required by law under voter-approved Measure HLA.

According to LAist,

Founder and CEO of Streets for All, Michael Schneider, told LAist in a statement that Metro ignored “the law and will of the voters” by voting to move forward with the design of the project without bike lanes…

The disagreement here isn’t about the bus lanes themselves — Schneider and other transportation advocates in L.A. agree that improvements to transit on the corridor are needed.

But the question is whether Metro, a countywide transportation agency, is required to comply with Measure HLA, a city-level initiative.

Metro doesn’t think so, and it has threatened legal action if it is forced to comply.

To repeat, it’s not a question of whether the bike lanes called that are called for in the city mobility plan are required under HLA, which applies to all but the most minor street resurfacing projects on Los Angeles city streets.

But rather, whether the city ordinance applies to a county agency.

Proponents of HLA — myself included — say it does.

Metro takes the contrarian stand, however, arguing that it only applies to work actually done by the city, rather than projects done by outside agencies on the city’s behalf.

Although a better question might be why Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and CD6 Councilmember Imelda Padilla voted against a city ordinance that they are legally required to implement.

And whether by doing so, they violated their obligations as officials elected to represent the City of Los Angeles, which is why they are on the board in the first place.

Because the people who put them there are the same ones who voted overwhelmingly to approve the measure.

And the same ones they will face when they run for re-election.

Correction: I’m told Karen Bass did not vote against HLA, if only because she missed the meeting. Blame Padilla, CD5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, and LA representative Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker. 

Rendering of Vermont BRT project, sans HLA mandated bike lanes. 

………

LA 50 wants your input on who should get the latest round of LA 50 Challenge Grants.

Although they don’t apparently trust us to vote directly on the recipients anymore, but rather just express opinions that will apparently influence their choices.

………

The Bike Oven co-op is hosting an art ride on North Figueroa tomorrow night.

………

Local  

Pasadena police with conduct a bicycle and pedestrian safety operation today, focusing on driver behaviors that endanger bicyclists and pedestrians — although they are legally required to enforce the law equally, whether it’s someone on four wheels, two wheels or two feet who commits the violation. As usual, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit lines, so you’re not the one who gets written up.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton says the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres may be behind the Dodgers in the standings, but are miles ahead of LA in providing bike and transit access to their home stadiums. Okay, so maybe I was the one who threw in a little shade about the standings. 

Laguna Beach becomes the latest Orange County city to succumb to the spreading ebike panic, adopting an ordinance restricting the speed and use of ebikes in the city. Although once again apparently failing to distinguish between ped-assist bicycles and throttle-controlled electric motorbikes.

Sausalito debates whether to accept a grant for a “controversial” safety project that would require bike lanes in each direction on a dangerous stretch with no crosswalks, where bicycles and cars are forced to share a single lane in each direction, and drivers use the center turn lane for free parking.

Sad news from Woodland, where a man in his 50s was killed when he was run down by a man driving a tractor, while riding in a bike lane on a rural road outside the Sacramento suburb. Although thee’s no word on why the driver was in the bike lane, and why he somehow failed to see the victim despite operating a slow-moving vehicle. And no, tractors aren’t allowed in bike lanes, any more than any other motor vehicle. 

 

National

Blogger Craig Medred takes a deep dive into how the law protects dangerous drivers, when most fatal crashes are just written off as “oopsies.”

Grist considers who will be hurt most by Trump’s freeze on funding for bike lanes and other pedestrian safety projects. That’s easy — everyone. Because as the story says, “infrastructure that prioritizes safety over speed…are proven solutions that protect everyone.”

Nice change in Portland, where the Downtown Neighborhood Association wants fewer traffic lanes, instead of demanding more.

Residents of Chicago’s predominantly Latino Southwest Side debate whether protected bike lanes will improve safety, or lead to gentrification. Even though the bike lanes would protect low-income workers and immigrants who may not own a car, and rely on a bike to get to work, school or other destinations.

In New York City bike-related violence, a food delivery worker was stabbed in the back with a screwdriver when he attempted to defend his bike from thieves trying to take it, and pair of “crazed” men used their own bicycles to beat another man senseless on New York’s Upper East Side.

 

International

British parliamentarians called for urgent reform of the country’s Cycle to Work program by opening the bike voucher system to low-income workers, freelancers and retirees. Because salaried white collar workers aren’t the only ones who could benefit from biking rather than driving.

Momentum says stop bending over, and ride upright on one of these Dutch-style bikes, instead. Personally, I’ll take the Pashley, Guv’nor. 

An Indigenous man riding an ebike in a Sydney, Australia suburb was killed when a police sergeant somehow ran him down with his patrol car while attempting to make a traffic stop; he was found to have $10,000 in cash and three ounces of meth on him after he was killed. Which does not justify the cop using lethal force to make the stop unless the victim somehow threatened him — even if the cop knew or suspected he was dealing drugs.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Dutch pro Laurens ten Dam says he slept under the stars surrounded by cows and grizzly bears with pepper spray tucked under his pillow last year during the 3,000-mile Tour Divide race from Canada to Mexico.

 

Finally….

Take a stand on apartment bike storage, or turn your bike into an objet d’art. Seriously, you haven’t lived until you’ve ridden a fat bike across the Gobi Desert in the middle of winter.

And forget those flammable lithium-ion batteries, and fuel your bike with the stuff that blew up the Hindenburg instead.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Help research LA & SF bike commutes, why Vermont Ave is an HLA flashpoint, and zombie street widening in DTLA

March 27, 2025 / / No comments
Day 86 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Well, this is fun. 

Evidently, Covid’s so nice I’m doing it twice.

Which puts me in the less than 3% of people who get a rebound infection, according to my pharmacist. 

Yay, me. 

At least I’ve been able to work through it this time. So let’s get on with it. 

………

A French Fulbright scholar working in the US to research bicycle commutes in Los Angeles and San Francisco wants your help with a brief survey on your bike commuting habits.

So take a few minutes to give him your honest answers. Because this is the kind of actual scientific research that’s so out of favor in government circles these days.

Survey: Long-distance (over 3 miles) bike commutes in LA

Hello everyone,

Are you a bike commuter? Do you commute by bike or electric bike and cover long distances (over 3 miles) as part of your daily mobility? Please complete this brief survey.

Conducted as part of an academic research project on sustainability and initiated by a French researcher in environmental social sciences (and in California for 6 months), this questionnaire will help better understand the practices, obstacles, levers and motivations of active mobility in LA.

Click here to complete the survey

………

Pasadena public radio station and website LAist examines Metro’s “transformational” bus rapid transit on Vermont Ave, and why it’s become a flashpoint over Measure HLA.

According to the site,

The Vermont Transit Corridor project will add dedicated side-running bus lanes and 13 stations along a more than 12-mile-long stretch of the busy corridor. It’s slated to be up and running by the 2028 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The project will also include infrastructure upgrades that help with pedestrian accessibility and decrease the distance people have to walk to get to bus stops.

But what it doesn’t include, and what’s required under HLA, is bus lanes.

The question is whether the city ordinance that was overwhelmingly passed by voters applies to Metro, which is a county transportation agency.

Metro has already threatened to sue if they’re required to comply with the ordinance.

(Streets For All founder Michael) Schneider said the argument isn’t as simple as saying Metro doesn’t have to comply with Measure HLA because it isn’t a city entity.

“The city permits Metro’s work,” Schneider said. “They contribute financially to Metro’s work. City planners sign off on Metro’s work, so it’s sort of a technicality who’s leading the project.”

Schneider also said public funds would be wasted if the bike and bus lanes don’t go in at the same time.

It’s worth reading the full article, which offers a detailed primer on the project, as well as the ongoing debate.

Then consider tuning in for the livestream of today’s 10 am Metro board meeting where a vote is scheduled to approve the Vermont project. Or show up in person at Metro HQ in DTLA to support it.

………

Call it Revenge of the Living Dead.

According to LA Streetsblog, “zombie” road widening is still occurring in Los Angeles, even though that requirement would be illegal today.

But a 54-story apartment building at Olympic and Hill that was already under construction when the rules changed. And so they were required to add a 12-foot traffic lane to previously 60-foot wide Olympic Blvd, which exceeds the road width called for under the city mobility plan.

But that’s okay, because they made up for it by building substandard width sidewalks, too.

………

Streets For All’s next virtual happy hour will take place on Wednesday, April 9th, featuring Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Randall Winston.

Maybe I’ll actually be over this damn Covid by then.

………

Congratulations to Virginia on passing the nation’s first law allowing judges to order drivers to install intelligent speed limitation tech, restricting them to going no faster than the posted speed limit.

A similar bill is being considered in the California legislature, if it can get past Gov. Newsom’s veto pen.

https://bsky.app/profile/fam4safestreets.bsky.social/post/3ll7vsuzaok2q

This transformative bi-partisan legislation allows judges to require drivers convicted of extreme speeding offenses to install Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology in their vehicles, automatically limiting their speed to the posted limit.

— Families for Safe Streets (@fam4safestreets.bsky.social) 2025-03-25T18:32:33.339Z

………

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

Advocates are complaining about a “serious downgrade” at a popular roundabout in Norwich, England, leaving no safe route to the local hospital for bicyclists and pedestrians. Which could unironically lead to more of both going there.

No bias here. A Scottish satirist is accused of spreading bike hate with a parody take on the poster for the Tour de France Edinburgh depart, replacing “France” with…well, read it yourself.

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

Neighbors are mourning the death of a 49-year old Brooklyn man, who was killed in a collision with an ebike rider last week. And yes, the bike rider stuck around after the crash.

………

Local  

Children from across Los Angeles received new adaptive bicycles to mark World Down Syndrome Day last Friday.

Glendale is moving forward with the city’s pilot speed cam program, asking for your input on where the cameras should go. Which is a hell of a lot more than Los Angeles has done so far. 

 

State

Orange County will begin to enforce new ebike regulations next month, which are targeted mostly at more powerful electric motorbikes, rather than slower ped-assist bicycles.

The San Diego Union-Tribune examines strategies to get people to actually act more sustainably, such as peer pressure, role models and rewards, financial and otherwise. You know, like riding a bike instead of driving.

San Francisco advocates are calling for a “no-brainer” protected bike lane on Oak Street along the Panhandle. Problem is, too often the “no-brainers” seem to be ones in charge. 

 

National

Seattle Bike Blog says a proposed ebike tax would “be awful” for Washington’s struggling bike shops, particularly in the face of Trump’s on-again, off-again, on-again-again tariffs.

New Mexico has passed the full Idaho Stop Law, allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields, and proceed through red lights after stopping when safe to do so. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed Stop As Yield laws twice, apparently believing there’s something special about California that means what’s been proven to improve safety other places somehow won’t work here. 

New York advocates are making an urgent call for better street safety after a 57-year old man was killed riding a bike in the Bronx over the weekend, along with a pedestrian in Brooklyn.

The best places to ride a bike in Athens, Georgia, for your next visit to the land of REM, The B-52’s and other assorted musical dinosaurs.

 

International

Bike Radar questions why there’s been so little innovation under your feet, as the first new pedal design in four decades hits the market.

Life is cheap in Ontario, Canada, where a 35-year old man will spend a whole 15 months behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run death of a 79-year old bike-riding woman, plus another two months for a second crash three weeks later; evidently, his show of remorse and promises to change overcame a long history of alcohol addiction and a six-year criminal history in the judge’s mind.

Forget “Mind the gap.” Mind the new rules banning ebikes from the Tube and other London train lines, unless you’re riding a foldie.

 

Competitive Cycling

Triple Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar is preparing to tackle the infamous cobbles Paris-Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North, for the first time; he may be riding a sparking new model of Colnago.

 

Finally….

Your next ebike could be a Rivian — yes, the e-truck maker. Your next bicycle pump could be electric, even if you don’t have an electric bike. Or truck.

And your toddler’s next balance bike could be made from eco-friendly, sustainable carbon fiber.

No, really.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wrap myself in a blanket, watch the Dodgers home opener, and try not to cough myself to death. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

15-year old ebike rider busted for DUI, HLA foot-dragging means worsening LA streets, and trial date for killer Vegas teens

March 26, 2025 / / No comments
Day 85 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Teenaged ebike riders are in the news once again.

And once again, for not-so-good reasons.

Like the 15-year old boy who was busted for DUI after crashing his ebike into a parked car in Newhall Monday night, suffering minor injuries and major problems.

Or the 16-year old ebike rider who was hospitalized after getting hit head-on by a driver while riding salmon in Rancho Cucamonga Tuesday morning.

Although, as always these days, the question is whether these scofflaw victims, who haven’t been publicly identified, were riding electric motorbikes or ped-assist bicycles.

Because police reports and the press don’t seem to be able to distinguish between them.

………

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, the city’s foot dragging on implementing Measure HLA is resulting on worsening conditions on some of the streets that had been scheduled for repaving.

That’s even though pavement cracks and pot holes can pose a significant risk to bike riders, especially after dark when they can be almost impossible to see.

And even though Los Angeles has already paid out large settlements for bike riders seriously injured by crumbling pavement.

………

Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys, the two formerly teenage suspects accused of recording themselves laughing as they intentionally ran down and killed former Bell police chief Andreas Probst as he rode a bike in Las Vegas, are now scheduled to go on trial November 3rd.

………

This is what the Vermont Corridor could look like, if Metro continues to refuse to comply with Measure HLA, which requires bike lanes, as well.

………

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

He gets it. Former Top Gear host James May calls out the “anti-cycling rage” of London’s Telegraph newspaper, saying the “anti-cycling opposition out there ‘smacks of sheer bloody-mindedness.'”

………

Local  

Streetsblog takes a look at the newly opened Big Dalton Bike Path, nee Vincent Community Bikeway, which traverses three-miles through Irwindale, Covina, Azusa and unincorporated points in between, and is part of a planned 130-mile bike network through the San Gabriel Valley.

The manager of the Velo Pasadena bike shop says the shop has been burglarized “constantly” since the start of the pandemic, losing a total of over a hundred grand worth of bicycles — including three break-ins in just the past three months.

 

State

The Triathlon Club of San Diego talks with BikinginLA sponsor, Oceanside bike lawyer and tri supporter Richard Duquette.

La Mesa is starting its own ebike incentive program, offering 150 vouchers to people over 18 who live and plan to ride in the city. Let’s just hope they manage to do a better job than California has so far. 

After Berkeley gave 56 free ebikes to a group of low-to-moderate income residents, they reported driving less, but also learned how crappy it is to ride there.

Marin County approved an ordinance banning children under 16 from riding Class 2 throttle-controlled ebikes; presumably, Class 1 ped-assist bikes are still okay.

The Sacramento city council was scheduled to vote on approving a quick-build bike lane program for the state capital. Something a certain megalopolis to the south could stand to emulate. 

 

National

A writer for Cycling News says skip the power meter, and use a heart monitor instead — even if it’s ugly and sits on your chain collecting grease. Or better yet, skip them both and just enjoy riding a bike if you don’t race for a living.

A legal website calls out the deadliest and safest states for bicyclists, as well as offering strategies for how to make things safer. Good news and bad news — California didn’t make either list. 

Bike riders in Houston protested the removal of concrete armadillos along a formerly protected bike lane; they had intended to form a human bike lane, but moved to the sidewalk when police threatened them with criminal sanctions. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

You’ve got to be kidding. An Illinois county board member was cited for a lousy crosswalk violation, despite leaving the scene after hitting a little kid riding a bicycle with the walk signal; she ended up driving herself to the police station, claiming she was confused and didn’t know what to do. Seriously, if you don’t know that you’re supposed to stick around after a crash — especially after hitting a little kid — you shouldn’t be driving. Or in office, for that matter. 

New York State will begin an ebike voucher pilot program in Ossining offering up to $1,000, with plans to eventually expand to the greater Hudson River region. Apparently, the rest of the state can keep paying retail. Unless you know a guy with a few that fell off a truck. 

 

International

An English man was left shaken after he tried to recover his bicycle from the young thieves who grabbed it outside a bike shop; he was chased, threatened and beaten, but somehow ended up with his bike.

Researchers in Sweden and Iran have developed a better shock-absorbing material that contracts bilaterally, resulting in bike helmet liners that provide better protection from head injuries; because it’s 3D printed, it can also be custom crafted to fit individual heads.

Forbes says add sunny Morocco to your bike bucket list.

An exploring website says the story of the bike-touring Chinese grandmother calls out the problem of “silver tourism,” as China caters to older tourists, while most Western country’s don’t.

A Kiwi website credits the extensive bike lane network Christchurch built after the city was devastated by a 2011 earthquake for its high rate of bike riding, using the damage as an opportunity to re-envision its streets. Something else a certain SoCal megapolis could learn from after the recent fires.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian police raided the home of a doctor previously “affiliated” with a professional cycling team, after noticing “atypical prescribing behavior” that raised the possibility of doping practices. But the doping era is over, right? 

 

Finally….

Apparently, bike lanes make it hard to visit long-closed libraries. Now you, too, can take your final bike ride after you’re gone.

And if you’re not inclined to walk your bike up an incline, maybe you should be.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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