I’m going to be off the rest of the week after surgery on my arm and hand.
I was scheduled for carpal tunnel surgery in December, which was cancelled at the last minute when Covid-19 overwhelmed the hospitals, and elective surgeries were put on hold.
But a last minute opening to have the surgery came up unexpectedly yesterday. Unfortunately, though, my condition continued to deteriorate in the meantime; what was a simple wrist operation will now include surgery on my elbow and hand, as well.
As a result, I’m not sure how long it will take to get the use of my arm and hand back, which means I’m not sure how long it will be before I can get back to bringing you the latest bike news. I’m planning to be back on Monday, but it could be longer.
And yes, all that damage was caused by diabetes. Which is one more reason to do whatever you can to avoid it.
So have good weekend, ride safe, and hopefully I’ll see you next week.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Milwaukee man is charged with murdering a prominent immigration lawyer in a road rage incident that began when the lawyer yelled at the other man for riding his bike on the wrong side of the road, nearly causing a collision; the man in the bike shot the victim as he was getting out of his wife’s car to confront the bicyclist.
The Eastsideroffers a recap of Eagle Rock’s Beautiful Boulevard plan, noting that it’s designed to maintain the community’s small town feel, while making room for the NoHo-to-Pasadena bus rapid transit line on Colorado Blvd.
Months after Los Angeles announced a partnership with Bike Index to register bicycles, Hermosa Beach announces they’re teaming with Project 529 to do the same thing there. Which will inevitably complicate bike theft reporting and recovery, since police will now have to check both sites.
April 6, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LA media belatedly reports death of 80-year old NB bike rider, fed rules favor cars over people, and ride for Woon this Sat.
Saturday 4/10 – On this date in 2018, 22-year-old Frederick “Woon” Frazier was killed in a horrific hit-and-run at Manchester and Normandie. Though the driver was ultimately apprehended, the case is still making its way through the court system. In the meanwhile, little has changed in the way of safety in that area; cars seem to be driving faster than ever along both busy corridors. To continue to push for both justice and safer streets, friends and family ask you to join them on a bike/walk for justice in honor of his memory. Meet up at 51st and Harvard at 11 a.m.
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Sarcasm is a powerful tool.
Although there’s always a few tools who don’t get it.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Tallahassee police are looking for a would-be thief who rode his bike up to a bank patron using an ATM, then shot him in a botched robbery attempt; the victim was hospitalized in serious condition.
Sad news from San Jose, where a man was killed when he was run down by a motorist while riding his bike across the street; police stress that he was “outside of a marked crosswalk” when he was killed. Never mind that bike riders are neither required nor expected to use a crosswalk — and often blamed when they do.
A Pennsylvania man got a well-deserved one to nine years behind bars for a hit-and-run crash while driving with a suspended license, which critically injured a toddler being pulled behind her mother’s bicycle; the judge wisely added a request not to release him after serving the minimum sentence.
Native Frenchman and former French road cycling champion Nacer Bouhanni hits back against racist online comments since he was DQ’d for bodychecking British cyclist Jake Stewart in last week’s Cholet-Pays de Loire. Seriously, he may ride like a jerk, but there’s no excuse for that crap. Ever.
If you are the cyclist who was hit by a white BMW today at Abbot Kinney and Westminster, I have a photo of the plate.
You had just fallen off your bike when I approached the intersection so I didn’t see the incident, but based on the way you and a couple of other folks gestured towards the car, it seemed like that driver may have hit you and run.
The car turned in front of me from Westminster onto Abbot Kinney and I snapped a photo once we came to a stop down the road.
I can send it to you if you like.
Update: Thanks for the advice, I called it in to LAPD. They didn’t have an incident report for the time/location but they will share the information with the traffic cops in that area in case anything comes up with that vehicle description.
If you were the victim, or know someone who was, click on the link about and reply to the original post, since they didn’t leave contact information.
And always report a hit-and-run to the police, even if you aren’t seriously injured.
You never know who else they might do it to next time.
Thanks to Bean and David Wolfberg for the heads-up.
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Keith Johnson forwards news of what could be yet another contentious public meeting in Hancock Park, as local residents continue to fight changes that would improve safety for bike riders on 4th Street.
Even though the improvements would benefit their neighborhood, as well. Whether or not they ride a bike.
Neighborhood Traffic Changes! Hancock Park and Windsor Sq. will host a Transportation Town Hall on April 14, at 6:00 PM. We expect the LA Department of Transportation to explain their reasoning behind their recently posted survey regarding Bike Lights and Restricted Turns on 4th Street at Highland and Rossmore. Make your voice heard! AGAIN!Join the meeting at this Zoom link. https://zoom.us/j/96677001434
Local residents have a long history of fighting what was once called the 4th Street Bike Boulevard, over mistaken fears of increased traffic and difficulty of emergency vehicles getting through.
The reality is that the changes would eliminate cut-through traffic, while allowing continued emergency access.
And likely increase property values, too.
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Pasadena is looking for input on safety improvements for the segment of North Lake Ave directly above the 210 Freeway, which can certainly use it.
Twitter post
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.
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Leimert Park talks electric mobility, including ebikes, on Thursday.
Twitter post
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Nice to see some overdue attention to a long marginalized segment of the bicycling community.
I’ve heard far too many tales of people size shamed at their local bike shop or by other riders.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Las Gatos police are looking for the racist bike rider who shoved a 40-year-old Filipina medical worker to the ground without warning as she walked along a sidewalk, then shouted “Go back to (expletive) China.” Seriously, there’s no excuse for that. Ever. And not just mistaking someone from the Philippines for a person from China.
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Local
The Los Angeles City Council will consider resolutions in support of state legislation allowing bicyclists to treat stops as yields, and state and federal bills to provide up to $1,500 in ebike tax credits at Tuesday’s virtual council meeting.
This is who we share the road with. A Portland man faces a hate crime charge, as well as attempted assault, reckless driving and unlawful use of a weapon charges, for attempting to run down another driver after yelling a racist slur, in what may or may not have started as a road rage incident.
In Florida, drivers don’t even have to be alive to hurt a bike rider. A speeding driver was killed after losing control and smashing into a tree; the car then careened on to hit someone riding a bike, who had to be flown for emergency care.
French pro Nacer Bouhanni insists he’s not a thug after slamming Britain’s Jake Stewart into the barriers during a mad sprint to the finish at the one-day Cholet-Pays de la Loire last week, even though he faces a potential ban for dangerous sprinting. Is it just me, or does his “I’m not a thug!” sound a little too reminiscent of Nixon’s “I am not a crook!”?
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for public input on a proposal that would divert funding currently earmarked for highways to support active transportation and Complete Streets projects.
In June 2020, Metro’s Board of Directors directed staff to explore ways to modernize the agency’s Highway Program to better align it with policy goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled while exploring the expansion of eligible projects to include active transportation and “complete streets” improvements that focus on all forms of mobility rather than just vehicles.
The changes, if implemented, would open certain Measure R and Measure M funding that is now reserved only for traditional highway or roadway projects to new types of improvements. Those improvements include bikeways, sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements, bus prioritization and explicitly using reductions in vehicle miles traveled as a criterion for planning and designing projects.
The plan, which has already received input from local governments, has been split into two sections, here and here.
Now an email from Los Angeles Walks is calling on them to reverse a bad decision.
Last week, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced their intention to permanently remove and not replace a pedestrian bridge connecting communities divided by the 101 Freeway.
While Caltrans suggested other alternatives for pedestrians, such as traffic signals and crosswalks, the removal of this bridge significantly limits the mobility of those walking or rolling. Currently, the Encino Ave. Pedestrian Bridge is located in at the intersection of Encino Ave. and Killion St (see arrow).
If removed, this reduces the number of options for residents in the area to cross the 101 freeway and places at risk a similar bridge on Amestoy Ave. about half a mile to the east. With both bridges gone local Angenelos would need to walk up to 2 miles to cross the 101 at White Oak Ave. or Balboa Blvd. Or they’ll have to walk up Louise Ave., a four lane road with scant pedestrian signage and infrastructure.
This bridge provides easy and safe access for those walking or rolling to go between the neighborhood and Burbank Ave., where you’ll find grocery stores, a pre-school, businesses, and other important community assets.
In 2019 alone, these local roads (displayed on the map) saw nearly 50 collisions. That same year the community experienced a horrific street racing crash along Burbank Blvd. that killed a 19 and 25 year old. If LA City is dedicated to its #VisionZero commitment (to reach 0 traffic deaths by 2025), tearing down a community-connecting pedestrian bridge over one of City’s largest and busiest freeways is the wrong way to go.
Our call to Action! 🚨
Let Caltrans know that the community, our seniors, our students need their pedestrian bridge. And we’ve made it easy for you!
Dense cities where public transit was already popular generally saw the largest increases. In cities with lower density, more cars per capita and higher traffic speeds, the increase in cycling was more modest. Paris, which implemented its bike lane program early and had the largest pop-up bike lane program of any of the cities in the study, had one of the largest increases in riders.
“It almost seems like a natural law that the more infrastructure you have, the more cycling you will have,” said Sebastian Kraus, the study’s lead author.
The increases held up even after taking weather and changes in public transit supply and demand into account.
Then there was this.
Bicycles, unlike cars, do not emit greenhouse gases. Matthew Raifman, a doctoral student in environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health, found in a separate study that investments in infrastructure for cycling and walking more than paid for themselves once the health benefits were taken into account.
“They increase our physical activity and reduce levels of greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, which all have impacts on health,” Mr. Raifman said.
Which is about as good an argument for transferring Metro highway funds to healthier and more efficient uses as you could make.
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The former Mayor Pete could have ridden in a chauffeured limo to his first cabinet meeting as US Transportation Secretary.
If he chose to ride a bike, it was to send a message.
Twitter post
Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.
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Betty White was one of us.
Twitter post
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
This one fits in both categories, as a Hermosa Beach letter writer calls on the city to remove the “silly” sharrows on Hermosa Ave, after someone on a bicycle hit his son while he was crossing the street. Seriously, slow the hell down and ride carefully around pedestrians, especially kids. But just wait until someone tells this guy about cars. And don’t get me started on sharrows, which exist primarily to help drivers improve their aim.
A ghost bike for the five Las Vegas bicyclists killed by a meth-using truck driver was moved to a public school in downtown Summerlin; the plan is to rotate the memorial to different locations in the city raise awareness.
Colorado’s Tourism Office explains how to build a route through the high country wilderness by threading together by a series of scenic and historic byways. All of which are even better by bicycle. And say hi to my old stomping grounds on the Cache la Poudre River while you’re at it.
VeloNews examines the technical aspects of how Irish cyclist Ronan McLaughlin became the latest in a long line of recent Everesting record holders, with a time of 6 hours, 40 minutes and 54 seconds, in part by focusing on shaving time on the descents; the solo attempt involves making multiple uphill climbs equivalent to the height of Mt. Everest.
April 1, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on $20 billion for bikes in Biden Transpo bill, “Beautiful” Eagle Rock BRT meeting tonight, and comic artist on Bike Talk
I’m doing my best to keep this an April fools-free zone today.
Which means I’m not going to play any tricks on you, and I’ll do my best not to link to any. So if anything slips through, let me know.
As always, I want you to be able to trust whatever you may see here.
Protect cyclists and pedestrians: Bikes, too, would get a share of the billions. The package includes $20 billion for safety – including funds to ‘reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.’
That’s in addition to funding for transit to cut traffic congestion and reduce the number of cars on the road.
Let’s hope the bike funding — and the bill itself — survives what promises to be a brutal congressional process.
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Tonight is the last scheduled virtual public meeting to weigh in on the Beautiful Blvd plan for Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock.
Twitter post
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Now this should be a fun conversation.
Twitter post
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Here’s your chance to work in advocacy on the east side of the Bay Area.
And what we’ll have to do if we want to reduce the city’s crippling addiction to motor vehicles, let alone make a dent in our massive contribution to climate change.
But we’re not.
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Michigan man faces up to ten years behind bars after pleading guilty to beating a Black teenager with a chain bicycle lock, just because of his race. Seriously, there’s not a pit deep enough for someone like that. And no, there’s no guarantee that he rides a bike; he could have just used the chain lock for something else. But still.
Road.ccrecommends their favorite bicycle wheels of 2021, with prices starting at the equivalent of a surprisingly low $344. Although prices are given British pounds, so cost and availability may vary.
An op-ed in an Irish paper says transportation is too often considered gender neutral, but active transportation plans must take differing needs of “women, children, the elderly, those with a disability and different ethnic minorities” into account.
Surprisingly, a British man got his bike back two years after it was stolen in an Australian town, when he was 102 days into a record-setting attempt to be the youngest person to ride solo across the world; he was literally left with just the clothes on his back after everything else was taken. A 46-year old man faces charges after being caught riding the stolen bike.
