According to the paper, 53-year old San Diego resident David Sheridan was struck by the driver of a Toyota Camry around 5:15 am on the southbound State Route 163, near the transition to State Route 52 in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood.
Earlier reports indicated the driver’s car was traveling at 60 mph as she transitioned from westbound SR-52 to southbound SR-163. She crashed into Sheridan’s bicycle after the driver ahead of her swerved to avoid Sheridan as he rode in the traffic lane ahead of her.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at 11:38 am Wednesday.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
There’s no explanation given for why Sheridan would have been riding on a major freeway where bicycles are not allowed.
A satellite view shows a four lane freeway on the southbound side, with a double transition lane entering from both directions of SR-52.
It’s possible Sheridan may have been riding on the shoulder of the freeway, and was caught in traffic when he tried to cross the entrance lanes. However, that is just speculation.
There’s no word on whether he had lights on his bike at that pre-dawn hour. The U-T also notes that he was wearing a helmet, even though it wouldn’t have done a damn bit of good under those circumstances.
This is at least the 27th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
And this is the third SoCal bike rider killed while riding on a freeway in recent memory.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for David Sheridan and all his loved ones.
“It’s just created havoc,” says John Russo of KeepLAMoving, an organization that sued the city to remove the Playa del Rey bike lanes. That Venice Boulevard already had a bike lane (albeit an unprotected one) and hadn’t seen a cyclist death since 2010 has only added to the outrage. “I don’t think we’ve ever gotten a good explanation as for why Venice Boulevard needed a road diet,” says Selena Inouye of Restore Venice Blvd., a neighborhood group opposed to what it calls the L.A. Department of Transportation’s “lane theft.”
Which suggest that drivers do, in fact, own the roads. Or at least think they do.
However, there is another side to the argument.
In a region with the world’s worst traffic congestion (for six years running, according to transportation analytics firm INRIX), it’s hard to fault people who would rather drive than bike for being impatient. But it’s also hard to blame people who opt out of driving and choose to pedal. “Our streets are already built out,” says Rogers. “There’s no room to expand them. So the only way to guarantee the failure of our streets is to do nothing. If you keep doing exactly what we’re doing now, we will reach a dystopian future where our streets are so gridlocked that nobody can move at all.”
And yes, that’s me he’s quoting there.
It’s worth reading the full piece.
Then maybe get mad, and demand that the lives of human beings start taking priority over the convenience of selfish drivers.
And do something to save our lives, and our city, while we still can.
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Let’s catch up with a few upcoming events to add to your calendar.
Pasadena bought new Complete Streets software to identify gaps in the street networks, and design solutions while keeping the public involved, in hopes of avoiding more disastrous meetings like the one that killed plans for a lane reduction on Orange Grove Blvd.
Portland’s famed Velo Cult bike shop is closing its doors, six years after moving from San Diego. The shop, which was unable to keep up with requirements to maintain it’s license to serve beer, will now focus exclusively on e-commerce, which does not require a local liquor license. Thanks to brer bear for the heads-up.
If you know a diocese that’s looking for a killer bishop with a drinking problem — who apparently still refuses to take responsibility for her actions — former Baltimore Episcopal bishop Heather Cook has applied for work release from her well-deserved sentence for the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider in 2014.
Police in the UK are looking for two young mountain bikers who punched a driver after blocking his car. As usual, no word on what the driver might have done to encourage the assault. Which does not make it right in any way.
It’s raised over $2,100 of the $10,000 goal in less than 20 hours. And hopefully can reach the rest of the way, as his family struggles to cope with his loss.
Maybe someone who lives or rides in Cudahy can give us some insight on what needs to be done to improve safety in the city, so this doesn’t happen again.
Santa Clarita is painting “Heads Up!” on local bike paths in an effort to get bike riders to pay more attention to their surroundings. Which doesn’t exactly seem like the biggest threat riders face.
A website for gay and bi women lists the top 25 cinematic dykes on bikes — their words — with no distinction between women on bicycles or motorcycles. Or spin classes, for that matter.
A road raging New Mexico driver faces up to five years behind bars after being charged with intentionally backing into a group of bicyclists, seriously injuring one of the riders. He denies any responsibility, claiming the victims just ran into his car when he stopped after they flipped him off for no apparent reason.
A Minnesota paper talks with Melody L. Hoffmann, author of Bike Lanes Are White Lanes: Bicycle Advocacy and Urban Planning, about the invisible cyclists and the need for equity in advocacy.
Not satisfied with getting off with a slap on the wrist for killing a woman on a cross-country bike ride, an Ohio woman is asking the court to seal the record of her conviction so she can “heal from this accident.” And apparently not suffer any repercussions, unlike the victim and her family.
A North Carolina bike rider was collateral damage in a police chase, losing his leg when the driver of a stolen car slammed into him after fleeing police at speeds up to 100 mph. Warning: This story includes a deeply disturbing bodycam video of the police tending to the victim, who is in extreme pain and in fear for his life. The newspaper showed a severe lack of judgement in posting it.
Evidently it’s not just Los Angeles. Officials in South Carolina rip out a road diet and bike lanes after complaints from angry drivers. Which leaves the situation just as bad as it was before, if not worse.
A Tampa bike rider says bicyclists don’t ride on the sidewalk because they want to, but because it’s safer. However, studies have repeatedly shown just the opposite, demonstrating that bicyclists are safer on the street than on sidewalks, where multiple driveways and limited sight angles dramatically increase the risk.
A Montreal cemetery that has been open to the public for the past 166 years is now banning bike riders. Though I’m sure it would welcome any run down on the roads after losing a safe place to ride.
Peter Sagan vowed to continue in the Tour after the world champ misjudged a corner and crashed into the forest on Wednesday; fortunately, nothing was broken.
The ordinance will prohibit shared mobility devices from being placed in any public right-of-way or on public property, operated in any public-right-of-way or on public property, or offered for use anywhere in the City of Beverly Hills.
That would appear to apply to dockless bikeshare bikes as well as e-scooters.
However, the legality of that dockless vehicle ban is highly questionable.
While Beverly Hills does have the authority to ban the placement of dockless devices in the city, it’s unlikely that they have the authority to ban the use of a vehicle that is legal under state law on public right-of-ways.
Let alone the deep pockets to fight the companies in court.
The question is whether they are willing to force tourists off their bikes and scooters as they ride into the city from other places and fine violators, risking a public relations disaster that could harm tourism in a city that depends on it.
Let alone whether the police will be willing to devote resources that are better spent elsewhere to enforce it.
Either way, it’s a big step backwards for a city has has been working to overcome its previously well-deserved reputation as the LA area’s biking black hole.
Meanwhile, David Drexler reports that e-scooters have been officially banned from Santa Monica’s beachfront bike path.
Naturally, people have responded exactly the way you might expect. By ignoring it and using the scooters anyway.
As the photo shows, not everyone is a fan of e-scooters.
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As long as we’re on the scooter beat, here’s a few more pieces to consider.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
And this time it hits close to home, as CiclaValley reports that he was hit with a water balloon from a passing car.
I just tried to make a report with @LAPDVTD that I was assaulted by this teenager. He hit me with a water balloon at me that almost knocked me into traffic around Coldwater & Ventura. New RED Prius with a distinguishable BLACK hood.@bikinginla@lapdVanNuysDivpic.twitter.com/M4zmJH8TvE
While it may sound like a harmless prank, throwing anything from a moving vehicle at another human being is a crime. And one that could have caused him to lose control and crash, possibly with catastrophic results.
Fortunately, in this case, he just got wet. And understandably angry.
LA-based former pro Phil Gaimon has posted the final video in his epic grudge match battle with fellow ex-pro Fabian Cancellara.
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Proof that not all radical right wackjobs are eligible for social security, as a much younger YouTuber sees last weekend’s Go Human Demonstration Project in West Covina as an attempt to impose a carfree, Agenda 21-driven future on all us real Americans.
Be sure to listen closely as he boos the mayor pro-tem of Ontario, who is also the president of the Southern California Association of Governments, aka SCAG, around the 3:30 mark.
Which I’m sure is why he booed him. And not because he was the only one wearing a yarmulke.
And for anyone who needs a refresher, Agenda 21 is a harmless, non-binding UN action plan calling on all nations to work towards a more sustainable future, and not some secret cabal hellbent on destroying our gas-driven way of life.
San Diego approves a hard-fought bike plan that promises to greatly increase bike use, and includes a proposal to provide bicycle eduction for fourth grade students; however, the plan has no deadlines for completion. Let’s hope they don’t follow the Los Angeles model, and end up putting it on the shelf indefinitely while individual councilmembers slowly gut it.
This is the exact opposite of Vision Zero. Bike riders in South Lake Tahoe call for a safe crossing on the highway that serves as the town’s Main Street where a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run earlier this month. Naturally, Caltrans can’t fix it without conducting a study first, and says it’s too late to conduct one before they rebuild the roadway.
National
Actor Dennis Quaid is one of us, going from a banana seat Sting Ray, to starring in Breaking Away, to riding 100 miles a week on his roadie. Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.
Heartbreaking story from Denver, where a bike commuter did everything right, only to end up paralyzed by a careless driver, and a second collision with a hit-and-run driver as he lay in the street.
Chicago talks with the founder of a DIY website for posting photos of vehicles blocking bike lanes, with the possibility that the city may end up ticketing the drivers. I’d love to see LADOT start a website like that here, and send tickets to the owners of the vehicle with legible plates.
A month-long Florida lane reduction project was successful in reducing speeding by 53%, while the protected bike lanes resulted in a 50% jump in bicycling rates and a 38% boost in walking.
And sure, he may be a pro cyclist competing in his first Tour de France, but he’s also a poet and a proponent of the Oxford comma.
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Thanks to Mark J for his generous donation to help support this site; any contribution, in any amount to help keep this site coming your way (almost) every morning is deeply and truly appreciated.
Especially since we didn’t win the half billion dollar lottery yesterday.
My sincere apologies for the lack of a new post today.
One of the joys of diabetes is dealing with the unexpected spikes in blood sugar, followed by a sudden crash. Which often leads to another spike trying to recover from the crash.
That’s the roller coaster I’ve been on since about 9 pm last night. And trust me, it’s not a fun one.
Hopefully, I should have things back under control by morning. As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.
And let this serve as a warning. If you’re at risk for diabetes, do everything you can to avoid it. Work out, ride your bike, eat right, lose weight, and follow your doctor’s advice.
The victim, described only as an adult Hispanic man, was riding east on Santa Ana Street at Atlantic Avenue at 11:50 am, when he made a left turn onto Atlantic Ave.
He was stuck by the driver of a 2010 Dodge Charger traveling west on Santa Ana after apparently turning into the path of the car.
He taken to a nearby hospital with a major head injury, and died following surgery.
No other information is available at this time.
A street view shows one lane in each direction on Santa Ana with a right turn lane eastbound at Atlantic, and left and right turn lanes in the opposite direction.
This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th in LA County.
Update: The victim’s family has identified him as Bellflower resident Daniel Romero; he died just 10 days after his 23rd birthday.
The deadly 85th Percentile Rule has gone mainstream.
Credit the LA Times’ Laura Nelson for interrupting the paper’s move to El Segundo with a front page story explaining how and why speeds are set at the speed of the 15th fastest driver on the street — the 85th percentile of drivers.
To update driver speeds, city engineers visit a street in the late morning or early afternoon, park along a stretch of road without stop signs or traffic lights, and use an electronic device to measure the speeds of 100 drivers.
They rank the speeds from fastest to slowest and identify the 85th percentile — that is, the speed just below the 15th-fastest driver. City engineers use that “critical speed” as a basis for establishing a new speed limit, typically rounded to the nearest 5 mph.
Which means drivers can set the speeds with their right foots. Which is kind of like putting bank robbers in charge of security at Wells Fargo.
Although that might be an improvement over their recent scandals, but still.
Failing to conduct those surveys, or raise speeds as a result, means police officers are prohibited from using speed guns or other electronic devices to stop speeders.
And drivers can go as fast as traffic and LA’s over-engineered streets will allow.
The restrictions on police using electronic devices has coincided with a 77% drop in the number of speeding tickets written annually by the Los Angeles Police Department, from 99,333 in 2010 to 22,783 last year.
Traffic officers have been particularly hamstrung in the San Fernando Valley, where the majority of the city’s speeding tickets are written and more than 130 miles of streets carry speed enforcement restrictions, according to a Times analysis of city data.
“People are driving like maniacs on city streets,” said Dennis Zine, a former city councilman in the Valley who worked as a traffic officer. “It’s costing people their lives.”
Particularly the lives of bike riders and pedestrians.
There have been numerous failed attempts to reform the 85th Percentile Law, each dying in the legislature over fears that speeding drivers will have to slow down or get the tickets they deserve.
Which is kind of the point.
Maybe this story will finally motivate homeowners to join with bicycle and pedestrian advocate, to demand that state legislators change the law that imposes highway speeds on city streets.
And leaves far too many bodies in its wake.
Thanks to David Drexler for the heads-up.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
Someone vandalized a pair of cyclist resting posts in Vernon, British Columbia, which position riders in the right spot to be recognized by traffic signals, and allow the rider to rest at the light without unclipping. Note: I originally wrote this as Vernon, California; thanks to Joe Linton for the correction.
The Hollywood Reporter says a backlash is brewing against e-scooters, which are being blamed for crashes and near-crashes with bicyclists and pedestrians.
A Michigan man who attempted to ride all of Route 66 in honor of his late son arrived in Santa Monica last week, raising $10,000 for pediatric cancer research.
A new 85-mile Calgary bike path connects 55 communities with over 400,000 people. And links to a 621-mile bike path network, the longest bike path network in the world.
The local newspaper says someone is going to get killed on a bikeway bypass around a temporarily closed footbridge in Ottawa, Canada; a safer plan was nixed when people signed a petition preferring parking over preventing injuries to people on bikes.
Mayor Eric Garcetti seemingly addressed street-safety concerns in his annual budget proposal, setting aside a record-high $38 million for his signature traffic program Vision Zero. Now in its third year, the ambitious plan aims to eliminate all road deaths by 2025. “Fatalities are not a tolerable byproduct of transportation,” Garcetti said when he launched Vision Zero in August 2015. “Loss of life and severe injuries resulting from traffic crashes are unacceptable outcomes that we can address.”
April’s rash of hit-and-runs, however, show how the city’s Vision Zero program has gotten off to a rough start. Despite two years of analyzing data and installing small-scale safety measures like curb extensions and high-visibility crosswalks, last year was the deadliest in more than a decade: 245 people died on L.A. streets, nearly double the year before. More than 60 percent were hit and killed while walking or riding a bike—a 5 percent increase from when Vision Zero began.
The story looks at the power of LA city councilmembers to halt traffic safety projects in their districts, and the bikelash from angry drivers that forced the removal of bike lanes in Playa del Rey. As well as cowing councilmembers into canceling planned bike lanes in their districts.
And how Frederick “Woon” Frazier paid the price, killed by a hit-and-run driver on Manchester Blvd where a bike lane was supposed to be stripped, but wasn’t.
The piece also quotes yours truly and other LA bike advocates. But you’ll have to read it to see what we said.
Never mind that they are also the nation’s two most populous cities, with a relatively high rate of bicycling. And would likely rank significantly lower if the study considered bicycling fatalities on a per capita basis.
Photo of Frederick “Woon” Frazier, killed in a hit-and-run on Manchester Blvd, where plans called for a bike lane as part of the Vision Zero High Injury Network.
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The LA River bike path will be closed until 2 pm tomorrow as a result of Wednesday’s thunderstorms.
It rained so the #LARiver path is now closed for 3 days. We need a practical river path that won’t be closed during a rain. We need the new design of the river to address this
My Figueroa looks at some of the connections the new protected bikeway will make possible.
MyFig is connecting many existing and planned transit options, bike facilities, and iconic destinations. @LADOTofficial has been working to balance the efficiency for all of those uses on MyFig. Check out some of the transpo options and destinations that MyFig connects! pic.twitter.com/zXPz4MHNa7
San Clemente commissioners delay a vote to allow ebikes on beach trails, while voting to require bike riders to walk across bridges, and limiting bikes to 6 mph on trails less than 10 feet wide.
This is how you invite bike tourism. Arizona unveils a user-friendly, statewide online bike map, showing local bikeways as well as the 573-mile section of US Bicycle Route 90 through the state.
A member of the Moscow city council — no, the one in Idaho — just finished a 4,300 mile ride across the US following the Trans Am Bike Race route; he’s also the owner of the Hog Heaven Sausage Works.
Philadelphia is the latest city to embrace human protected bike lanes to call attention to the need for safer infrastructure. Which have yet to make an appearance here in Los Angeles, on either count.
Self recommends 12 international bicycling destinations you’ll want to add to your bike bucket list. I can personally attest to the second one, which travels over new trails through some of the most beautiful country in the US.
Police in the UK use an undercover officer on a bicycle equipped with cameras and distance sensors to catch drivers violating the country’s 1.5-meter safe passing distance, the equivalent of a five foot law here. We’ve repeatedly asked the LAPD to conduct similar operations, pointing out that distance sensors are now readily available. But no luck so far.
An Oslo study shows 45 minutes of bicycling can help ward off Type 2 diabetes, and ebikes could be key to helping people ride enough to protect their health. Although I put in over ten times that much every week for 30 years, and it didn’t do me a damn bit of good.
Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, who finished fourth last year, is also out after falling as a result of a crash between police motos; remarkably, he finished just 13 seconds behind the winner on the legendary Alpe d’Huez despite riding with a fractured vertebrae.
Note: Due to this death in Perris last week, and Monday’s fatality in El Cajon, there won’t be any Morning Links today. We’ll catch up on everything tomorrow.
Somehow, we missed this one last weekend.
According to the Riverside County News Source, a bike rider was killed in a pre-dawn collision in Perris Friday morning.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A street view shows northbound Perris Blvd has two through lanes, with a right turn bay and double left turn lanes; the southbound side has three through lanes with both left and right turn lanes.
There’s no word on which direction Otiz was traveling, or which party had the right-of-way. Either Otiz or the unidentified driver had to have gone through the red light, although it’s possible the light could have changed while he was crossing the wide intersection before he could get to the other side.
Police do not suspect that drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision.
This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Raul Sangerman Otiz and all his loved ones.
Note: Due to tonight’s breaking news, and the discovery of another fatal bike crash in Perris last week, there won’t be any Morning Links today. We’ll catch up on everything tomorrow.
An El Cajon bike rider died after being stuck by the driver of a pickup Monday night.
Yet somehow, the San Diego paper managed to wait until the second sentence before blaming the victim.
That means either the victim or the driver went through the red light; the way the Union-Tribune’s story is written, it implies that Wilcox was at fault. However, there is nothing in the coroner’s press release to suggest that.
The statement that the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed also suggests he was exceeding the 45 mph speed limit.
It should be noted that few homeless people have, let alone use, bike helmets. And even the best bike helmet won’t prevent injuries to other parts of the body; a high-speed collision with a truck is unlikely to be survivable, with or without one.
This is at least the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County. It’s also the second in El Cajon in the last three months.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jason Wilcox and all his loved ones.
