That was the case in North Hollywood last week, when a bike rider was killed after falling in front of a car that had changed lanes to go around him.
According to an officer with the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division, the 50-year old victim was riding south on Coldwater Canyon Ave near Saticoy Street last Tuesday, riding with one hand while holding a cup of coffee in the other. When he moved left to go around a parked car, he clipped the car’s mirror and fell into the left lane, where he was hit by the car.
Tragically, the driver had seen him, and had already moved left to give him a safe passing distance.
No word yet on the victim’s identification, what time the crash occurred or whether he died at the scene.
This should be a reminder to stay out of the door zone, and hold onto your handlebars as if your life depends on it. Because sometimes, it does.
This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County. It’s also the first in the city of Los Angeles since the first of the year.
Update: The victim has been identified as 52-year old Efrain Molina; the crash occurred at 5:55 am on Coldwater between Elwood and Saticoy.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Efrain Molina and his loved ones.
Welcome back from what was a three-day weekend for some, and just another Monday for others. Either way, I hope you took advantage of the weather, maybe took in the parade, and spent a little time on your bike.
The wife of a New Jersey chef has filed suit after he was killed riding his bike into a sewer excavation trench that was left unmarked and uncovered by workers.
A Philly writer says bike lanes are key to the city’s plans for safer streets, even if some residents don’t like them. Although a spokesman for a motorist group says people are going to drive at whatever speeds they feel comfortable with, regardless of any efforts to slow them down.
A Baton Rouge LA bike rider says he feels like an urban archeologist as he sifts through the litter on the side of the road, saying “what is deplorable is countered by what is captivating.”
You’ve got to be kidding. Police in England’s South Yorkshire say it’s not worth the effort to enforce the law against passing bicyclists too closely because not enough riders get killed to justify the cost.
The 62-year old chief information officer of a global electronics firm is working to make Singapore more bikeable; he says the island nation needs another five years to catch up to Japan’s bicycling culture.
It was a slow weekend on the local front, but there’s plenty of bike news from around the world for your entertainment and edification.
But before we start, let’s take a moment to remember the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, with words as appropriate now as they were fifty years ago.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
A message as meaningful for our streets as for our nation, and our world.
………
Local
Once again, no news is good news. Right?
State
High desert cities are working to keep up with road repair on their crumbling streets; a new project in Victorville will add bike lanes along with pavement improvements — whatever that means — on La Mesa Road.
An app website lists the three best cycling apps all cyclists must have on their iPhones. Assuming they have iPhones. And for some reason, they filed it under “Hobby.”
In an update to the story of the homeless man who rode his bike from California to Wichita to build planes, because he said God told him to, a local bike shop talked him into letting them fix his bike and gave him new tires so he can ride on ice this winter.
A former Canadian pro cyclist is lucky to be alive after suffering sudden paralysis from the neck down when a blood vessel burst between two vertebrae; he was able to drag himself to his phone using only his chin, then had Siri call 911.
A Vancouver letter writer says there’s no need for business owners to worry about the loss of parking spaces to make room for bike lanes, because people on bikes will more than make up for it.
Caught on video: Ottawa police say no charges will be filed after video surfaces of a bike rider using his bicycle as a shield to block the path of a driver, who continually lurches into it. No word on what triggered the confrontation.
London’s mayor clarifies his recent remarks, saying he didn’t mean cycle superhighways cause pollution, but that badly planned construction of them causes congestion, which does cause pollution. That clears up everything, right?
January 14, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Weekend Links: North Dakota could legalize killing peds, kid antichrist from The Omen convicted of road rage
The bill would create an exemption under state law for drivers who crash into people in the roadway, whether they’re holding protest signs or, presumably, standing in a deserted roadway after their car breaks down.
It’s not hard to imagine the law being applied to bike riders who have the audacity to take the lane or ride two abreast, if someone concludes they were in the way.
Hopefully, the rest of the legislators will have a little more sense.
The Fort Wayne IN newspaper says drivers need to stop for red lights. Clearly, it’s not just bike riders who go through traffic signals, despite what some drivers seem to think.
A study in a Malta medical journal calls for mandatory bike helmets for kids under 18, but not for adults, in order to avoid discouraging potential cyclists.
January 13, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps
Happy Friday the 13th.
You could be one of those unlikely people trapped in their cars today. Or you can improve your day just by getting out on your bike.
Seems like that makes this a lucky day for all of us.
Culver City considers building protected bike lanes to link the Expo station with the city’s downtown half a mile away, as well as connecting the Helms District with Culver Blvd.
A determined San Ramon detective tracks down a stolen bicycle that was a woman’s only means of transportation, and returns it to her in less than a week.
A hit-and-run driver who ran down a Florida bicyclist on New Year’s Day drank for eight hours before the crash and still smelled of alcohol when he was arrested, but hasn’t been charged with DUI.
Federal marshals seize the property of a Florida deputy, including his clothing, golf clubs and fishing poles, to satisfy a fraction of the $22.4 million judgment against him for shooting an unarmed bike rider, who is now permanently paralyzed.
Very moving piece from the Guardian, as a physician thanks all those who came to her daughter’s aid after bad fall while riding on a bike path, from the strangers who stopped to help and offered her what little money they had, to the surgeon who saved her and the nurses who cared for her afterwards.
Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to help support this site. Even though the holiday fund drive is over, donations are always welcome and appreciated.
While it’s not an outright endorsement of the shovel-ready bike lanes Koretz singlehandedly killed at the behest of wealthy homeowners, it’s a huge step towards improving the dangerous street following its shameful removal from the city’s Mobility Plan.
It should be noted that a study of the proposed bike lanes was already underway when Koretz halted it, insisting that they would not be built no matter what the study showed. And even though I’ve been told by multiple sources that it would have shown the bike lanes would improve safety, with no significant impact on travel times or parking.
While Westwood is part of LA’s Great Streets program, it’s also part of the Vision Zero High Injury Network, indicating that it’s one of the city’s most dangerous streets — especially for pedestrians and the many bike riders who have no other viable route to get to Westwood Village from the Expo Line or other areas further south.
As Creed notes, despite the Great Streets designation, nothing has changed on the street under Koretz’ watch, unlike some of the others which have made great strides since receiving the designation. And despite the councilmember’s apparent belief that the best solution to a dangerous street is to keep it that way.
Creed seems to get that Westwood — or any other street, for that matter — can’t be a Great Street if it’s not safe and inviting for everyone who uses it, and that it needs to serve more than just a handful of local residents who claim it as their own.
Santa Monica police revive a three-year old victim blaming bike safety spot that twists the meaning of Share the Road; the ad ran on yesterday’s KABC-7 evening news.
………
Now get the bad taste that left you with out with a little nerdcore bike rap from Santa Monica’s Public Bikes.
https://vimeo.com/198397594
And somehow, I’d forgotten about their Corgi-themed holiday video, which is still worth a watch even if the holidays are over.
A final verdict may never be reached in the Italian pay-to-race cycling scandal after lawyers and officials were driven from the hearing room by a broken heating system.
After taking up cycling to keep up her fitness in the offseason, a Canadian skier became the first from her country to compete at three different Olympics in three different sports; now she’s set her sights on becoming just the sixth person to medal at both the summer and winter games.
The LACBC will host their rescheduled Ask An Officer panel discussion, featuring representatives from the LAPD, LA County Sheriff’s Department and the CHP, along with bike lawyer and BikinginLA title sponsor Jim Pocrass, on the 30th of this month.
The San Diego Union-Tribune wants your bike commuting stories. Actually, they want everyone’s commuting stories, which means they’ll need bicyclists and pedestrians to balance out all those people in cars.
It was nice while it lasted. Colorado Springs CO caves to NIMBY’s demanding they undo a road diet and remove buffered bike lanes on a formerly six lane street, even though it carried less than half the traffic it was designed for.
Road rage, yes; assault, yes; hit-and-run, only in the most literal sense, as Scottish police are looking for a cyclist who punched a driver through an open window following an altercation.
A group of Silver Lake residents have created a website to support the successful Rowena road diet in the face of continued opposition from some people who want it torn out, even though it has dramatically improved safety on the formerly dangerous street by cutting overall traffic injuries 22% and serious injuries and fatalities a whopping 75%.
They urge you to contact CD4 Councilmember David Ryu and tell him to keep Rowena the way it is, and sign up for the mailing list to stay abreast of future action.
As expected, CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew won the award for Journalist/Writer of the Year, and Bike SGV won a well deserved award for Livable Streets Advocacy Group.
Other winners were
Elected Official of the Year: Tie between Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Marqueece-Harris Dawson and José Huizar
Civil Servant of the Year: Metro’s Phil Washington
Livable Streets-Friendly Business Award: Metro Bike’s Bicycle Transit Systems
Deborah Murphy Award for Excellence in Advocacy: Los Feliz Neighborhood Council president Luke Klipp
………
If you live or ride in the Valley, don’t forget tomorrow’s meeting to reimagine iconic Ventura Blvd. And hopefully make it safer and more inviting to bike riders, even if we got left out of the invitation.
And mark your calendar for the next Draft People for Bikes meetup at Burbank’s Pure Cycles on the 19th.
LAist offers good advice for riding in the rain. I’ll add a little more: Most drivers can’t imagine anyone riding a bike in the rain, which means they won’t be looking for you. So be conspicuous in your lane positioning and at intersections. And use the best, brightest — and as many — lights as you can manage, and wrap them in plastic unless you know they’re waterproof.
Life is cheap in Kansas, where a driver walks with a slap on the wrist for killing a cyclist competing in an amateur time trial, despite attempting an unsafe pass and violating the state’s three-foot passing law; the victim was blamed for an alleged suicide swerve.
Must be nice. Iowa’s governor calls for better protections for cyclists and stiffer penalties for distracted and impaired drivers. Most California bicyclists have given up on ever hearing something like that from Jerry Brown.
Despite rising numbers of pedestrians and cyclists hit by cars, a group of New Hampshire lawmakers want to repeal the state’s hands-free cellphone law in the name of liberty. So why not just pass a law giving people the personal freedom to drive drunk, stoned or blindfolded? The same principle applies.
Former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says as long as security for Donald Trump’s 5th Avenue apartment threatens to make the street a traffic nightmare, they should turn the street into a pedestrian plaza like Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.
The governor of New York announces plans to fill in the gaps between existing pathways to create a 750-mile biking and hiking trail through the state in just three years. Notice that no one has proposed anything like that here in California, despite an ideal climate for year-round riding. Present wet weather excepted.
A South Carolina man finds and restores the 55-year old bicycle his brother got for Christmas in 1961, and gives it to him again.
January 10, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Meditations on a ghost bike, raising funds for a hit-and-run victim, and new bike jobs in Pasadena
Last year, 72 people died riding their bicycles in Southern California, just one less than the year before.
Yesterday I received the following email, from someone moved by the memorial to a young man who deserved to be more than the punctuation point to another year of needless tragedy on our streets.
When my coworker arrived at work Christmas morning, she mentioned “at least a hundred candles” at an intersection down the road. “Like when someone gets killed on the street.” So on the way home, I made a detour.
It’s on the northeast corner. With the sun in my eyes, I might’ve missed it if I hadn’t been looking for a roadside memorial specifically, despite its size. “At least a hundred candles” was a vague and yet extremely accurate estimate.
Westbound Firestone has four lanes of fuckyou, including a designated right turn lane where a homicidally impatient pick-up truck driver with zero intention of stopping at that oblique angle nevertheless braked fast when he realized the crosswalk was occupied by a goddamn cyclist. My swerve left me too terrified to yell, and nearly sent me to the asphalt.
A handsome young man stood on the ADA ramp on the narrow sidewalk, taking a picture. I spoke with him. He had missed the memorial service, but promised his school friends he would come Christmas morning. And so here he stood, alone, at half past seven on a chilly Sunday morning, looking at the memorial for his classmate: the candles, the cross, the Christmas tree, the donuts, the white painted bike frame. From a second, much more polished (I’m tempted to say “professional looking”) bike hung a sign with Chandler’s name painted on it.
The young man told me he didn’t know Chandler well, but has friends who did. He expressed disbelief that a classmate would be killed the day before winter break started. The young man indicated that Chandler had been killed just east of the intersection; I squinted towards the blind vertical curve (an overpass crosses above the train tracks there) and considered how suicidal it would be to take the lane here, given the arbitrarily high (45mph) posted speed limit allowed despite the impaired line of sight. For the record, it is illegal in the City of Norwalk to ride on the sidewalk. At this location, the insane choice to obey the law puts a cyclist in mortal danger.
Before the young man left his house that morning, he said, Chandler’s GoFundMe page had raised over $20,000.
I passed the memorial on New Year’s Eve, too. The velodoras’ wicks were submerged under an inch of water. Amidst the bushes nestled two big white plastic lumps, trash bags stuffed with the plush animals left by those who came to the memorial. The sight was just temporarily unsightly; it meant somebody cared enough to stop by and protect the offerings. The sun returned, and when I passed by the next evening, the plush critters were lovingly propped up against the candles and the bikes. As I stood there, a woman who had been sitting in a car in the parking lot approached. She asked if I had known Chandler. I explained I was just passing by. The woman had never met Chandler either; she learned from her 15-year-old daughter that her classmate had been killed, and then they found out that Chandler had also been their neighbor, living only two blocks away. Her daughter has a bike that she never uses because she (the daughter) is scared to. This mom is glad her daughter doesn’t ride around their residential neighborhood.
There is something very wrong with the world when infrastructure is set up to terrify mothers and children.
………
As of last night, the GoFundMe page for Chandler Ray had raised nearly $24,000 in just 17 days.
Contrast that with $840 in donations to another GoFundMe account opened the same day, intended to funds to replace the front teeth a bike rider lost in yet another hit-and-run collision.
Here’s a portion of what that page, set up by the staff of Streets Are For Everyone, has to say.
On Sunday, December 4th, Capitan Arreola was riding home after having spent the morning volunteering and instructing new cyclists how to ride safe during a group ride. Just a few blocks from his home, Capitan was hit by a speeding car. Landing on the hood, the driver sped away, tossing Capitan face down onto the asphalt — bleeding and barely conscious. 20 minutes went by before he received aid from a passerby.
Capitan suffered a concussion, the loss of his two front teeth, as well as other injuries to his face and body. Despite his pain and suffering, one week later, Capitan (who always keeps his word) showed up to fulfill his volunteer agreement to Streets Are For Everyone at our event, Finish The Ride.
No surprise here. Charges won’t be filed against a Spokane cop who killed a 15-year old bike rider in 2014, even though he failed to use his lights and siren despite driving 70 mph on surface streets. Until new evidence came to light, authorities had denied the car even struck the boy.
Evidently, it’s okay to kill someone in your sleep, as an Idaho woman gets a slap on the wrist for running down a bike-riding firefighter after dozing off at the wheel.
Kindhearted strangers pitch in to by a new three-wheeled bike for a partially paralyzed Texas man who has become a local role model for overcoming disabilities.
A neighborhood group is offering free women’s self-defense classes following a series of attacks on a Madison WI bike path. Too many bike paths are hidden from public view and often deserted after dark, making them poor alternatives to on-street bikeways, especially for women.
January 9, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: No surprise in women’s ‘cross title, fewer Expo Line bike thefts, and ebike non-bombs in OC
It was a quiet weekend on the bike news front, as most riders appeared content to sit out the storms sweeping the nation.
Except for those crazy ‘cross riders competing in snowy Connecticut.
A SoCal cyclist drops the first of her three-part series on riding three bikes one three iconic rides over three years, starting with a solo climb on Gibraltar above Santa Barbara.
Fresno will pay $675,000 to settle with the family of a bike rider killed in a collision with a police cruiser while fleeing from a traffic stop; the lawsuit claimed the officer intentionally bumped his bike, then ran over him when he fell in front of the patrol car.
Now that’s more like it. The driver who intentionally ran down three Sacramento cyclists during a daylong crime spree gets a well-deserved 35 years in prison; he also struck one motorcycle rider and tried to hit another.
National
Ann Arbor, Michigan approves a five-foot passing law, requiring motorists to give at least five feet, not the usual three, when passing a bicyclist, pedestrian or wheelchair user.
Boston takes Vision Zero seriously, dropping its basic speed limit to 25 mph today in an effort to save lives. Now compare that to Los Angeles, where our nascent Vision Zero will have to address much higher speed limits and drivers who feel free to ignore them.
A new Canadian study shows that walkable — and by extension, bikeable — neighborhoods result in lower rates of obesity and diabetes. Which means that safer bicycling infrastructure is a public health issue.
A Brit business site says self-driving cars could spark a cycling revolution, but only if they can overcome problems recognizing people on bikes. Then again, others have predicted a far more dystopian future for bicyclists in a world of driverless cars.
Cancel those plans for today’s Resolution Ride. This message came in yesterday’s email:
The Resolution Ride has been postponed due to inclement weather! But don’t worry, you’ll still get a chance to continue your resolutions on our rescheduled date of February 12th! Same time, same place – and with the added bonus of happening alongside our annual Expo! This means more chances to win, more fun, more resolutions, and even more reason to come out and ride with us.
If you can’t attend the rescheduled date and would like a refund, please contact Gonzalo Garcia (gogarcia@aidslifecycle.org) to do so. Keep those resolutions going in the new year and come ride with us February 12th!
A new drop-in e-wheel promises to turn your existing bike into an ebike with a 100 mile range, while doubling as an indoor trainer. Meanwhile, a new wheel hub for fat bikes is designed to keep your tires inflated to the ideal level.
The Wall Street Journal profiles Denise Mueller as she attempts to set a new speed record for an auto-assisted bicycle on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, and finds peace at 140 mph.
A Pittsburgh paper reminds bike lane opponents that they can actually reduce traffic congestion, but bicycles only improve traffic flow when they have actual bike lanes to ride in.
A Brit bicycle courier wins a court case reclassifying her as an employee of the company she works for, which could have implications for other members of the gig economy.
