While environmental and advocacy groups have been working for years to restore the river to a more natural state, Gehry, who was invited to reimagine the river by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, wants to cover it up instead.
Gehry proposes addressing decades of social injustice by leaving the concrete river channel alone, while building a continuous park on platforms stretching above the river.
What that would mean for long-time plans to finally complete the LA River bike path along the full 51-mile length of the river isn’t clear.
There’s no word on whether it would be left where it is along the banks of the river, moved onto the new platforms, or buried beneath them.
Or just forgotten entirely as yet another inconvenience in the path of progress.
But the simple fact is, Los Angeles has turned its back on the river at its heart for far too long.
And burying it, when we have a chance to finally revive it, isn’t any better.
Thanks to Fatema Baldiwala for the heads-up.
Photo shows the 4th Street Bridge over the Los Angeles River during CicLAvia.
That compares to Los Angeles County, with over four times the population, where bicycling deaths inexplicably dropped from 34 in 2019 to just 16 last year.
Thanks to Phillip Young for the link.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes keeps going on.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A Long Beach mother and military vet was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she slept on a sidewalk; Stephanie Jackson became homeless after watching her fiancé die of liver cancer, but wouldn’t admit it even to her daughter.
The crash happened on Monday, January 4th, at the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Nevin Avenue in the Central-Alameda neighborhood.
The driver had just turned the corner when he struck the man as he knelt near the curb. He briefly stopped, then continued on without getting out of his truck.
The crash was caught on a security cam across the street.
But be warned before you click on it, because it clearly shows the innocent victim getting hit by the driver’s truck. And there’s no way to unsee it once you do.
The biggest and most important thing an ally can do is shut up, listen, and amplify the voices of Black and brown folks, who are often silenced.
That’s an important message.
Because too often I’ve heard well-meaning white people explain to people of color what they need, instead of asking them first.
And sometimes, I’ve been one of them.
We’ve come a long way from the days when a friend told me you’d never see him or any other Black person on a bicycle, because everyone would just assume they couldn’t afford a car.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes keeps going on.
No bias here. A Singapore news site somehow concludes a bike rider was in the wrong for getting right hooked after stopping a few feet beyond the stop line, as if the truck driver that nearly hit him had no obligation to see or go around him. I would have flipped him off, too, under the same circumstances.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A bike-riding Chicago-area man was busted for allegedly committing 15 car burglaries while wearing ten different shirts and five pairs of pants; whenever he was caught on security cam he’d take off a layer to make himself less recognizable. Didn’t work, though.
January 11, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on The cost of traffic violence, vehicular cyclists versus protected bike lanes, and why people keep dying on the streets
I heard a loud bang. A heavy thud. A violent bump. It was me. It was the noise of my body slamming against the lorry. And then falling to the ground.
I couldn’t work out what was happening. My heart was in my throat. I was staring up at the beautiful, bright blue sky, but at the same time sinking into darkness.
I was in excruciating pain as the heavy truck’s wheels – of which there were 12 in total – ran over my leg.
It’s a powerful story.
Especially this part.
I was desperate to see my kids, but I didn’t want to scare them. After two days, I put on my bravest face and held them when they visited me.
My son said, “Mummy, you’re not ready to die. We haven’t finished our story yet.”
Fortunately, she made it. And kept her leg, thanks to five separate surgeries, including one 12 hour marathon.
But something else to consider.
While she doesn’t mention it in her story, one vital aspect in getting back on her feet was the UK’s National Health Service, which meant she didn’t leave the hospital with a massive bill like she would have in the US.
In fact, chances are, she paid little or nothing, despite her month-long hospital stay.
So she was able to go home to her family and resume her life, even writing a book about her experiences.
Instead of being forced into bankruptcy like so many Americans after a similar experience.
“This is to attract the all-ages and abilities groups that are just trying to go places within their communities, but if you need to go fast, the (car) lane is always open,” said Everett Hauser, a traffic engineer focusing on bicycle infrastructure for the city of San Diego.
Many new projects around the region also include bicycle-specific traffic lights at busy intersections and reconfiguring streets to encourage slower driving especially at tight turns.
Still, not everyone’s convinced.
“These protected bike lanes that have appeared in the last few years are the most dangerous thing that’s ever happened to bicycling in San Diego,” said Ralph Elliott, 70, historian of the San Diego Bicycle Club and a member for more than 50 years. “They’re unsafe. If there’s a car door in your face, somebody’s walking in the protected bike lane, skateboarding in the lane, dog in the lane all that’s dangerous because you can’t get out.”
But as the story points out, protected bike lanes are designed for casual bike riders who might not feel safe mixing with motorists.
Club riders and other experienced bicyclists who don’t want to slow down should be free to continue riding in the regular traffic lanes, where their speed won’t pose a danger to themselves or others.
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Sadly, two SoCal bicycle riders lost their lives over the weekend.
Two more tragic reminders that our streets aren’t safe enough for people on bicycles. And our safety is still in the hands of those we share the road with.
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This is why people continue to die on our streets.
An Iowa man who deliberately drove his car through a group of racial justice protestors because he thought they needed “an attitude adjustment” walked without a single day behind bars, despite leaving several injured people in his wake. To make matters worse, his conviction will be expunged if he stays out of trouble for three short years.
Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge died unexpectedly last week at 67; he was known for his frequent recreational rides through his district, though he also blocked a number of bike projects, including the long-planned 4th Street Bike Boulevard.
No bias here. A Singapore paper asks if bicyclists and drivers can ever get along — but only includes rules for the people on two wheels, with barely a word on how motorists can drive safely around people on bikes.
The motorcyclist was riding east with three other motorcycle riders when he somehow slammed into the other man on the narrow two-lane road around 9:30 am today.
There’s no word on what may have caused the crash.
This is at least the 3rd bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the first that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
Update: The victim has been identified as 40-year old Chula Vista resident Julius Cunanan; he leaves behind his wife and two young sons, one just a month old.
The video, which is disturbing to watch, shows a mangled mountain bike under the truck, along with the victim’s body covered in a shroud. So be warned before you click the link, because you may not want to see it.
This is at least the 2nd bicycling fatality in Southern California already this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
