A San Pedro man rode his new e-bike to work for just the second time yesterday.
And the last.
According to the Long Beach Post, 35-year old Ben Rael — described by his brother as having “the biggest damn heart you can imagine” — had saved up for six months to buy the bike he lost his life riding.
Rael was apparently thrown into the back of the truck, where the driver performed CPR until paramedics arrived; he died after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Police said alcohol was not a factor.
However, damage to the truck, and Rael’s shattered bicycle, suggest that speed may have been. It’s possible that the driver may have been speeding, or that Rael may have been traveling at a high speed when they hit head on.
Or both.
Either could explain why he apparently rode out directly into the path of an oncoming truck, which is the lingering question in explaining what happened.
This is at least the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ben Rael and all his family and loved ones.
August 3, 2018 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Help keep Rowena safe next Wednesday, and London bike riders attacked by road raging driver
And ask why they would even consider undoing the road diet on Rowena Ave, which has proven itself successful in slowing traffic and improving safety.
Once again putting the imagined convenience of a few motorists over the safety of everyone else, and the livability of the entire community.
Then again, you might want to put the same questions to Councilmember David Ryu, since it was his office that shelled out $80,000 to study making Rowena more dangerous again.
Santa Monica-based Bird announces plans to donate $1 per day for every scooter in operation to help build more bike lanes. While that could quickly add up to a lot of money, the real problem is developing the political backing to build bike lanes, rather than finding the funding, as we’ve repeatedly seen in Los Angeles.
Talk about not getting it. A Santa Maria newspaper complains that removing a whopping 24 parking spaces next to a Solvang park to make room for bike lanes would ruin “Solvang’s tourism quaint, wow factor.” And that encouraging more bicycling — without removing a single traffic lane — would somehow force drivers off the street and into the surrounding neighborhood. As if anyone visits the faux Dutch community to see its quaint parking spaces.
National
USA Todayoffers a long list of guided bike tours to get you back on your bike, after first reciting a brief history of the bicycle, in case you’ve forgotten.
Streetsblog questions why “bull bar” grill attachments are the hot fashion accessory for US police vehicles, when they’re outlawed abroad, and deadly for any pedestrians who get in their way. I’m less concerned about police using them than I am the jerks in massive pickups and SUVs who insist on putting them on their trucks for no apparent reason.
Dockless bikeshare companies are bailing on the Big D after Dallas developed regulations requiring the companies to pay for the number of bikes or scooters they have on the streets; just 3,500 bikes remain compared to a peak of 20,000.
A couple of Chicago kids achieve their goal of riding their bikes a total of 100 miles over summer vacation, turning it into a chance for three generations to ride together. While that’s something to be proud of, someone should tell the reporter that a 13.5 mile ride is no big deal for a lot of people. Even kids.
A Delaware city is using stenciled messages on the sidewalk to tell riders over 12 to walk their bikes. That’s actually a good idea. In too many cities, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to tell whether and where you’re allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk; putting a notice there removes any confusion.
Yes, a bicycle and clothing are basic requirements for women who want to ride bikes. If you have to wave a flag just to cross a street, it should be a white one, instead.
And how to tell you’re a really crappy driver who probably shouldn’t be one.
Deputies working Bike/Pedestrian safety operation today said there was motorist pulled over for making illegal turn. She told deputies that she had just been cited for using her cell phone down the street. Then she told deputies she was on way to DMV for license renewal.
Councilmember Mike Bonin rebuts the call by fellow councilmember Paul Koretz to temporarily ban e-scooters in Los Angeles.
We need smart regs for dockless scooters, not a total ban. Scooters are popular, convenient, zero emission. If we are serious about combatting climate change, cutting emissions, or reducing gridlock, we need to put our mobility where our mouth is. https://t.co/PwJbOo8Zr7
Since we’ve been talking about e-scooters recently, maybe we should all catch up on the laws regarding their use in the Golden State. Much of which may come as a surprise to many people using them.
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A Metro bus nearly took out a trio of bicyclists when the driver starts drifting into an occupied bike lane in DTLA.
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Credit Vietnam with what may be the world’s coolest pedestrian bridge.
This pedestrian bridge in Vietnam was opened to the public in June. Known as the Golden Bridge, it stands 1,400m above sea level above the Ba Na hills and is a work of art. pic.twitter.com/jveuu5kySB
— Kimmel to trump: Isn’t it past your jail time (@MaggieJordanACN) July 30, 2018
Talk about not getting it. A New York expat in San Luis Obispo says people in SLO aren’t going to give up their cars to walk, bike or take mass transit. The point is to make it safe and convenient for people who want to leave their cars at home, which will make traffic a little easier for everyone — even people who insist on driving everywhere.
Houston police name the suspect in the shooting of a noted cardiac surgeon who was killed by another bicyclist while riding his bike to work; he had apparently carried a grudge against the doctor for 20 years, ever since his mother died during surgery.
Talk about not getting it. An Illinois accident reconstruction specialist says bike riders should only ride on quiet country roads, not urban bike paths. Which is fine if you only ride recreationally, but ridiculous if you actually need to go somewhere. He also doesn’t seem to know the difference between a bike path and a bike lane.
An Illinois politician says the racist comment he posted to a video online isn’t racist, just funny. If you consider a stumbling drunk white woman knocking a Hispanic woman off her bicycle, combined with a joke about Trump’s border wall, funny. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.
You’ve got to be kidding. After a speeding, distracted driver kills a bike-riding Baton Rouge city councilmember, the Louisiana parish where it occurred responds with a series of victim-blaming safety recommendations that wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference.
A very well-deserved five years behind bars for a British man who downed a Jägermeister shot and 10 pints of beer, then got behind the wheel and sent 38 texts while driving before running down a man riding his bike. And just drove away afterwards. You really have to suck to make five years seem like a light sentence.
No bias here. A British paper writes that Aussie motorists blew up when they saw a photo of a bicyclist riding in the street, rather than in a brand new $4.7 million protected bike lane next to it. And only at the end mentions that the bike lane was still taped off because it wasn’t open yet.
Yes, Paul Koretz, the councilmember who singlehandedly blocked desperately needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd — as well as on other major corridors throughout the Westside — has taken action to force people of their e-scooters and back into their cars, rather than allowing a viable first mile/last mile solution to take root.
This is the same councilman who has called for a Climate Emergency Mobilization Department. Yet can’t seem to see the logical disconnect in fighting alternative forms of transportation while paying lip service to climate change.
Until firm regulations are in place to protect riders & pedestrians, I've asked the City Council to adopt an interim ban on motorized scooters. Too many riding unsafely: no helmets/on sidewalks/underage riders/double riding, etc. Better safe than sorry. https://t.co/oWu9HjrY0n
“When we had a hearing in our Transportation Committee, at the time I had seen about three of them and I thought it wasn’t a big deal,” Koretz said. “I’ve probably seen a thousand since just on Beverly Boulevard where I live, and 100 percent have no helmet usage. … I’ve seen probably 20 go by with double on the scooter, which is very dangerous. On the commercial streets, everyone is illegally on the sidewalk.”
Which was followed by,
As for the public’s reaction, Koretz said he believed most residents want the scooters off the streets. He said his office has receive hundreds of complaints about them in recent weeks.
Yes, that is the scientific way to gauge public opinion, especially since people who support the scooters aren’t likely to call to say so without some compelling reason.
Like a stupid proposal to ban them, for instance.
And how is it that “hundreds of complaints” somehow outweighs thousands of users — by his own observation?
Scooters have shown to pose safety hazards while operational and parked. According to injury attorney Catherine Lerer of L.A.’s McGee Lerer & Associates, who has written extensively about electric scooters, the top two seen in her office are people hurt when a scooter malfunctions — when a brake line is cut by disgruntled L.A. residents, for instance, or the scooter’s main post collapses — and pedestrians tripping over the scooters. “I’ve gotten calls from elderly people exiting businesses…people leave them right outside the front door,” Lerer notes.
Doesn’t exactly sound like a disaster in the making. Especially when one of the leading causes of injuries is sabotage by scooter-hating NIMBY terrorists.
The proposal was seconded by San Fernando Valley Councilmember Mitch Englander, who has also proposed a ban on dockless bikeshare until the city can work out a permitting process.
This follows the misguided bans on e-scooters in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills; the latter banning even riding bikeshare bikes or e-scooters through the city, which most likely violates state law.
And something tells me Koretz would have been one of the first to call for a ban on bicycles had he lived in the 1890s. Although he probably would have been fine with the Model T chasing everyone else off the roads.
Of course, Los Angeles could take a more rational approach, like working with Lime and Bird to address any issues while they work the bugs out, as Culver City and Long Beach are doing.
But that would make too much sense.
Especially for an environmentalist who seems determined to keep Angelenos in their smog and greenhouse gas-belching cars.
And a St. Louis website gives Lime scooters a test ride, and comes back with 13 things they learned. Including that they’re fun as, well, you get the idea.
And a Tuskegee University football player will never play the game again, after his leg was severed when a friend’s car he was helping to jump was hit by a driver with a “criminal history dating to 1989 (that) ‘shows a pattern of driving offenses and felony arrests.'”
Just two more examples of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late.
Sad news from Del Norte County, where the CHP is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a woman as she rode her bike; the victim wasn’t carrying ID and still hasn’t been identified. One more reminder to always carry some form of identification when you ride; I never leave home without my RoadID, which doubles as a medic alert bracelet.
A Washington writer gets a detailed education in why many bicyclists prefer to ride on the highway, when there’s a perfectly good bike path nearby. Which should be required reading for planners before they’re allowed to design any offroad path.
Curbed looks at 14 gorgeous carfree cities around the world. Anyone one of which I’m just about ready to move to. Although bike riding on the Venice canals might be a bit of a challenge.
Speaking of VeloNews, the magazine also talks with the head of the Dimension Data team about his efforts to build an African team; while several African riders have competed on the WorldTour with the team, no black African has yet won a stage at the highest levels.
July 31, 2018 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Sympathy for fallen LADOT Traffic Officer, and terrorist attack kills bike tourists in Tajikistan
As bike riders, we don’t hesitate to criticize LADOT when its called for.
But let’s take a moment to offer the the city’s Department of Transportation our sympathy and prayers on the death last week of LADOT Traffic Officer Gregory Park, who became collateral damage in a traffic collision as he was writing a parking ticket in Van Nuys.
I hope you’ll join me in sending our condolences to his family, friends and co-workers.
And remember that we’re not the only ones at risk on the streets.
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Yesterday we mentioned two American bike tourists who killed in Tajikistan, along with riders from Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Authorities later killed two suspects and arrested three others, as well as recovering a car that may have been used in the attack. Another three suspects were “rendered harmless,” though it was unclear what was meant by that.
The goal is to help kids who are lagging behind in school and struggling at home with accelerated learning and help combating difficulties outside of the classroom.
But here’s the best part.
LeBron James often credits his bicycle as a huge factor in his childhood that gave him an escape from dangerous parts of his neighborhood and the freedom to explore — every student will receive a bicycle when they arrive.
I’ve never been a big basketball fan, but I’m starting to like this guy.
Speaking of San Diego, it’s less than a month away from Bike the Bay, your once-a-year chance to ride the city’s iconic San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge and cruise around the San Diego Bay.
Oh, hell no. A new bill in Congress would tax transit agencies, bicycle tires and ebike batteries to pay for the growing Highway Fund deficit instead of raising the gas tax, which hasn’t been increased since 1993. In other words, they want bike riders and transit users to subsidize drivers even more than we already do.
A Florida letter writer complains about all those inconsiderate bicyclists who park their cars at the beach to ride their bikes, as opposed to all those very considerate drivers who park at the beach to just go to the beach.
As we mentioned last week, London’s new Vision Zero plan would eliminate traffic deaths by 2041. They might actually succeed, after cutting traffic fatalities nearly 50% in just the last ten years, and with an actual plan to get them the rest of the way.
Biking home after too many biers could get you a big fine. Apparently, asking a cop why he’s pulling over bicyclists on a charity ride can also get expensive.
Clearly, hit-and-run is not just an American problem.
Two American bike tourists were killed in Tajikistan when a driver slammed into the group of riders before fleeing the scene; two Dutch bike tourists were also killed, and three others injured.
The speeding bicyclist who killed an elderly pedestrian in San Francisco several years ago, bringing scorn and derision on the Strava app, is now launching his own ten-part podcast to give his side of the story.
A former player for the Arizona Diamondbacks is creating his own cross-country triathlon, starting with a seven-mile swim across the San Francisco Bay, followed by biking 2,344 mile to Chicago, then running the rest of the way to New York.
People can’t seem to figure out why there are stripes in a Texas bike lane. You’d think the local DOT might want to explain that before the paint went down. But evidently, you’d be wrong.
The Department of DIY strikes again, as Rhode Island residents install their own stop signs on a bike path where a six-year old boy was killed recently, rather than wait months to go through official channels; the state DOT says they can stay for now.
They get it. A Virginia newspaper says the best way to reduce the severity of bike crashes is for everyone to slow the hell down. Okay, I may have added “the hell” to that, but still.
Caught on video: After riding erratically, a Winnipeg bike rider crashes into a stopped car while fleeing from police, then takes off on foot. Watch carefully in the background, and you can see a passerby trying to roundup the rider’s stray wheel following the crash.
Who says women are the weaker sex? An international team of women’s cyclists completed the entire 2018 Tour de France route one day ahead of the official Tour to show that women can handle the rigors of a Grand Tour.
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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