Morning Links: Nine years for drunken West Covina hit-and-run; suspect wanted in Agoura Hills bike crash

March 16, 2016 / / 2 comments

For once, the punishment fits the crime.

The Los Angeles County DA’s office announced Tuesday that 25-year old Presley Danielle Rodriguez was sentenced to nine years in state prison for the drunken, high-speed hit-and run that took the life of 44-year old Jose De Jesus Ruiz Villanoeva as he rode his bike to work in West Covina last October.

She was arrested almost immediately when an officer pulled her over after hearing the crash and discovered the damage to her car, while a second officer discovered Villanoeva’s body.

This sentence comes as a pleasant surprise for an office with a reputation for bargaining away serious penalties just to get a conviction in many bike cases.

Although someone should tell the Daily News to read their own story before writing the headline.

Thanks to DreamWaveDave for the heads-up.

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LA County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a hit-and-run driver who fled after hitting a woman riding her bike in Agoura Hills.

The victim was severely injured when she was apparently right hooked while riding on Argos Street around 11 am Sunday by a driver turning onto Parkheath Drive.

The suspect is described only as a man driving a late-model black compact car. Anyone with information is urged to call the Malibu Lost Hills Station at 818/878-1808.

Thanks to Chris Willig for the link.

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Sadly, this is exactly how too many bikeways are planned.

Sort of like Paul Koretz’ search for an alternate route for the Westwood Blvd bike lanes, which seems to be proceeding at the same pace as OJ’s search for the real killers.

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Now that’s tough.

Not the bad break — literally and otherwise — that kept track cyclist Missy Erickson of the nascent World Cycling League’s California Wave team from competing in the Rio Olympics.

But Erickson herself, who broke off a cast so she could compete in a race after suffering a broken wrist and collarbone, as well as a Level 3 concussion, when she took a bad fall during a competition.

The league premiers this Friday and Saturday in Carson; Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson seems to think it’s a good idea.

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Local

Once again, Los Angeles tops the rest of the US for the nation’s worst traffic. Maybe that explains why groups like Fix the City are fighting the new Mobility Plan; why change anything when you’re already number one?

Good Magazine talks with the founder of the Ovarian Psychos about their new documentary and riding gentrifiers out of town.

Bike friendly New York restaurant, sandwich shop and butcher The Cannibal is finally slated to open, partially at least, in Culver City next month; the name is based on the great Eddy Merckx, not the Donner Party.

Actor Josh Brolin is one of us, as he rides his single speed cruiser along Santa Monica’s Main Street. Although the British tabloids once again seem most impressed with his biceps.

Will Arnett is one of us, too; he recommends riding a bike through the streets of Venice, calling it the greatest mode of transport.

Call it a non-CicLAvia ciclovía, as Long Beach celebrates its downtown area this Saturday with the city’s second Beach Streets open streets event.

 

State

Costa Mesa’s Orange Coast College plans a pedestrian-free bike and skateboard loop around the campus, while banning riding from other areas.

San Marcos will get a one-third mile Complete Street this year, but not as soon as planned.

A San Diego group has unexpectedly dropped their lawsuit against buffered bike lanes on the city’s 4th and 5th Streets.

A Santa Barbara neighborhood association once again chooses parking over bicycles, threatening to sue if the city doesn’t consider alternatives to a contested bike lane on Micheltorena Street and conduct an environmental impact report. The governor signed a bill in 2013 exempting bike lanes from environmental review, but that hasn’t seemed to stop anyone from suing.

Berkeley officials call for extending a protected bike lane two blocks, a month too late to help a woman who was critically injured while riding her bike there.

Red Kite Prayer visits the Marin Museum of Bicycling.

A columnist for the Davis paper looks at Calbike’s proposal to offer a rebate to anyone who buys a commuter bicycle.

 

National

Evidently, the death of a bicyclist is no big deal in Alaska. An 18-year old hit-and-run driver is allowed to finish her college semester before beginning her prison sentence; she was under the influence when she ran down the victim while driving in reverse down the street following a party.

An anonymous Seattle bike vigilante has earned the moniker Bike Repo Batman for helping theft victims get their bicycles back. Thanks to joninsocal for the tip.

Sad news from Boulder CO as former pro cyclist Phil Zajicek lost an arm in a collision with a flatbed truck; fortunately, he’s expected to survive. Zajicek received a lifetime ban for doping violations in 2011.

Bighearted Michigan cops buy a new bicycle for a five-year old boy who was injured when a car backed over him as he tried to ride around it.

An upstate NY man is making plans for a record-breaking attempt at the world’s biggest classic bike parade; under the rules — yes, there are rules for such things — the bikes must be at least 30 years old, and travel at least two miles. Which means my 1981 Trek would easily make the cut, if I could get it to go that far.

 

International

A sustainable transportation lecturer writing in the Guardian says it’s not enough to reduce speed limits on residential streets to 20 mph; we need to stop cut through traffic — aka rat running — to keep quiet streets quiet.

It’s time to bury the phrase “Share the Road” once and for all when it’s used by auto-centric NIMBY’s to fight a planned London bike superhighway.

A London woman breaks the third date rule, agreeing on her second date to ride around the world promoting education with the man who’s now her fiancé.

It takes a real schmuck to steal a Brit paperboy’s bike as he delivers his paper route.

English bicyclists take safety into their own hands by spray painting a warning on an unsafe bike lane; naturally, county officials respond by calling it vandalism rather than actually doing anything to fix it.

A man in Limerick, Ireland was arrested after riding his bike with a sawed off shotgun looking for people to shoot; he wounded one man and missed another before he was stopped while looking for a third victim.

Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize goes on a rant against what he considers bad bikeway designs, insisting that if you don’t see it used in the Netherlands or Denmark, it’s probably a stupid idea.

Yemini women lead the resistance to the country’s civil war by riding bicycles as a symbol of solidarity.

Beijing tries free bikeshare in an attempt to battle the seemingly endless pollution gripping the city.

 

Finally…

We may have to deal with LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to plow our own pathways. Forget PowerBars; try surviving on roadkill on your next bike tour.

And what to ride when an ordinary, sub-$9,000 bike just isn’t good enough.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Reminder to expect the unexpected on bike trails; Feds decide bike/ped safety matters, too

March 15, 2016 / / 3 comments

People are unpredictable.

Mike Wilkinson sends a video reminder of that, as he barely avoided a pedestrian who turned into him without warning on the San Gabriel River Trail.

I’ve been there countless times myself; I still carry a scar from a piece of Velcro that got embedded in my hip when someone turned into me on the beach bike path.

The obvious solution is to give pedestrians and slower cyclists as much room as possible when you ride by. Mike was able to avoid the woman only because he was riding the center line on the trail, which was as far left as he could go with riders coming in the opposite direction; I usually cross over to the other side when it’s safe to do so.

And using a bike bell or calling it out when you’re about to pass usually helps, though even that can confuse or startle some people. Which is why I usually save it for when I can’t give the person I’m passing at least the same three-foot distance I’d expect from a driver.

The best answer is to always ride defensively and expect the unexpected, even when you’re in a supposedly safe environment.

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The Feds finally recognize that the lives of people on bikes and on foot matter, too, by issuing their first safety performance standards for bicyclists and pedestrians.

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Not bike related, but still worth checking out, as great artworks are reworked by a Minneapolis Group to show how they’d look in the age of the automobile.

Including a typical Sunday in the Park.

Sunday in the PArk

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Local

A man in his 30s survived being shot multiple times while riding his bike South LA Sunday night; police say the victim of the drive-by was not a gang member.  On the other hand, that doesn’t mean the people who shot him weren’t.

Robert Gottlieb, founder and former director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, discusses the possibilities of a post-car, or at least car lite, Los Angeles.

Flying Pigeon captures a shot of the new bollard-protected bike lane on Venice Blvd.

CiclaValley offers video evidence of why the southbound Magnolia ramp off the 170 Freeway is dangerous by design.

KPCC looks at the new bikeshare system in Long Beach, and discusses the lack of compatibility with the coming system planned for Los Angeles. Maybe the operators of both systems should attend the Better Bike Share Conference to work out their differences.

 

State

Palm Desert residents will get a chance to try out a planned road diet, including bike lanes and wider sidewalks, with a pop-up event in May.

A Santa Barbara paper provides tips on where to ride your bike on your next trip to town.

Sacramento is the latest California city to consider adopting a Vision Zero plan. As the story notes, education and engineering are important. But we’ll never come close to eliminating traffic deaths until we change the culture that places the convenience of drivers over the safety of humans and the livability of our cities.

 

National

A writer for Next City says it’s time for American cities to ban right turns on red lights if we’re going to improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians.

The great Seattle bikeshare battle is over, and the good guys won. The city council voted Monday to buy and expand the troubled bikeshare system.

A London cyclist only made it three days into a planned 5,500 mile ride from Vancouver to Panama before he was hit by a Washington driver.

A new study finds a third of all Boston cyclists ride distracted — if you consider earbuds and headphones distractions, that is; otherwise it drops to just 12.5%. And none of them pose anywhere near the danger to others that a single distracted driver does.

A Maryland website says bicyclists and motorists must learn to share the road safely, because people seem determined to ride their bikes despite the risks. Although it’s entirely possible that bicycling is actually safer than other modes of travel, since they failed to put it in context with the risk to people walking or driving.

There is a special place in hell — and hopefully, prison, and for a very long time — for whoever walked up and shot a six-year old Georgia boy as he rode his bike; fortunately, he’s expected to survive.

 

International

Calgary university students now have their own bikeshare system. Which is really more of a bike library, but why be picky?

New children’s bike maker and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins says bike riders need to mind their Ps and Qs on the streets; his comments raise the question of who exactly is a cyclist? As far as I’m concerned, a cyclist is anyone who rides a bike, just as a driver is anyone who operates a motor vehicle.

The Belgian cyclocross rider at the heart of cycling’s first confirmed motor doping scandal has decided to retire at age 19 rather than defend herself.

Let’s all go fat tire biking down the snow-covered Italian Dolomites.

After an 86-year old man plowed through a group of cyclists, a Spanish news site feels obligated to point out that some cyclists break the law sometimes. Which has absolutely nothing to do with what happened.

Just three drivers have been held accountable for violating the equivalent of a three-foot passing law in the six weeks since it went into effect in Australia’s New South Wales. But they don’t seem to have any problem citing cyclists.

Australia’s NSW government isn’t the only ones who appear to hate bikes Down Under, as a Gran Fondo is halted when a saboteur strews tacks and nails across the roadway.

Not surprisingly, a Kiwi driver appears to have taken down an expletive-laden video showing her swearing a blue streak as she was stuck following a group of cyclists for a whole 53 seconds. The only question is why the hell would she have posted it in the first place.

 

Finally…

Forget doping, motor or otherwise; the latest cycling scandal is hairy legs. Your next Brompton could do a lot more than fold, while your next bike pedals could be made of rice.

And if you still haven’t gotten enough bike news for one day, check out the massive list of links in this week’s Sadik-Khan — with and without the hyphen — themed bike blog roundup from the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain.

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A special thanks to Margaret W. and Todd Rowell for their generous contributions to support this site. Margaret considers it her annual subscription to BikinginLA, while Boston-based Todd says it should be the start of a Rides of March fundraiser.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Entrada Drive to get a little narrower, a call for safer driving, and your next bike may not need you

March 13, 2016 / / 3 comments

Are bicyclists about to lose their place on Entrada Drive?

Cyclist Guy Seay forwards notice of a plan to install a much needed sidewalk on Entrada Drive as it winds along the hillside between Santa Monica and Los Angeles on its way to the coast.

Entrada Notice

But as he points out, the plan calls for narrowing the roadway three feet, potentially taking up the excess space that keeps slow moving riders — as shown in this short video — from having to take the lane in front of drivers headed up the short, steep hill.

It couldn’t hurt to slow drivers down, going uphill and down; I’ve frequently had to dodge drivers who take the corner too fast. And narrowing the roadway could do that.

But lets hope they’ve taken the needs of the many bike riders who use that route to connect the bike lanes on San Vicente Blvd with PCH and the beachfront bike path into account, as well.

Update: A comment from Mark, who lives near Entrada, says he’s been involved in the planning process, and that there will be room for bikes in both directions after the project is finished. 

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Local

The wife of a South Bay cyclist asks drivers to remember that the bike rider in the lane ahead of them is someone’s husband, wife or child, and thanks an LAX cop for taking it on himself to keep riders safe.

The Hollywood Reporter reviews the new documentary about the Eastside’s own Ovarian Psychos Bicycle Brigade as it premiers at South by Southwest.

The LACBC wants you to nominate someone to join their diversity team as a supported rider for this year’s Climate Ride.

 

State

Local residents complain about the planned location of an Ojai bike park, citing the possibility of noise and yes, the loss of parking. Because cars are more important than giving kids a safe place to ride, right?

A San Francisco columnist crawls inside Lance Armstrong’s brain by moderating a conversation with America’s greatest ex-Tour de France winner, and says Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth had nothing on him.

A Marin columnist says the solution to Bay Area traffic congestion is to not give people any alternatives to driving, by voting against all regional measures, as well as politicians who support an admittedly expensive bikeway across the Bay Bridge.

Two Sausalito woman are under arrest for a drunken hit-and-run that injured a cyclist; they stopped their minivan a few miles away to switch seats in an apparent attempt to cover up who was behind the wheel, even though police say they were both under the influence.

When a writer says Portland should use it for a role model for bicycling, you know Davis is doing something right.

 

National

A writer with the Frontier Group says bicycling isn’t the answer to global warming, but it can be a tool for transformation to lead cities toward the next steps in de-carbonization.

Tucson cyclists are reporting near misses to collect data to improve safety.

So much for that bill requiring Iowa drivers to change lanes to pass bicyclists; it died in a legislative committee, even though 70% of Iowans support the measure.

A Philadelphia professor says it’s time for drivers to stop treating bicyclists like vehicles, and start treating them like they would pedestrians.

Will Smith is one of us, at least in his new movie shooting now in the Big Apple.

 

International

More anti-bike terrorism, as someone booby trapped an English bike path by stringing barbed wire at neck level.

Welshman Geraint Thomas is the winner of this year’s Paris-Nice stage race, beating Alberto Contador by just four seconds.

An 87-year old Spanish driver is under arrest for slamming his SUV into a group of cyclists without stopping, then driving on to a nearby restaurant where he finally reported the wreck.

An Australian bicycling group develops a code of etiquette to encourage cyclists to ride “impeccably” so they won’t piss off motorists and pedestrians. Which of course says nothing about drivers who can’t seem to see the rider in the lane directly in front of them, let alone what can be done about it.

Not even Superman uses a phone booth anymore. So Thailand is converting them to bike repair stations.

Bicycle tourism is bringing benefits to the people and economy of an Indonesian island.

 

Finally…

Apparently, a bicycle makes an effective getaway vehicle if you’re going to steal an electric guitar from a Chinatown music shop. So if bike counters are triggered by the metal of a passing bike, does that mean riders on carbon and bamboo bikes don’t count?

And who needs a bike rider when your e-bike can ride itself?

 

Category: Bike Access, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Santa Ana bike rider killed in late night hit-and-run

March 12, 2016 / / 6 comments

Yet another person riding a bike has been left to die in the street by a heartless coward who fled the scene.

According to the Orange County Register, a bike rider identified only as an adult male was hit by an SUV shortly before 1 am on the 1400 block of West Warner Ave, just East of the South Pacific Ave in Santa Ana.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

There’s no word at this time what may have caused the collision, or how it occurred. Witnesses reported the driver fled east on Warner, but no description of the driver or the SUV is currently available.

A street view shows a wide open three lane roadway east of Pacific, with no parking allowed and nothing to slow drivers down.

Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana police Cpl. Matt Wharton at 714/245-8209.

This is the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Orange County; it’s also the second in Santa Ana since the first of the year. That compares with ten in the seven county SoCal region this time last year, and none in the county.

Update: The victim has been identified as 44-year old Ricardo Aguilar; no city of residence was given. The time of the collision has been changed to around 5 am. Note: The story in the Register misidentified the victim as Ricardo Martinez; his niece sent a correction in the comments below.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ricardo Aguilar and his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: Bike the Vote rates Culver City candidates; Sadik-Khan speaks at Hammer Museum

March 12, 2016 / / 2 comments

Bike the Vote LA is out with their voter’s guide for the upcoming Culver City elections.

tumblr_inline_o3v4i8iIh11qakqep_500

And in case you’re wondering why former Culver City Detective Jay Garacochea scored so low, it might have something to do with prioritizing traffic flow over pedestrian safety, even if he does ride a bike.

You can find the full responses for all the candidates by visiting their website.

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The Guardian talks with former NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan about her new book and the battle to give the city’s streets back to people, instead of cars. Thanks to Jon for the link.

Speaking of which, she’ll be speaking with LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne at the Hammer Museum in Westwood this Wednesday. Tickets to the event are free.

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My friend, popular cyclist and LA yoga maven Joni Young, is raising funds to take part in this year’s Climate Ride as part of Team LACBC. As of this writing, she’s raised $711 of the $3,000 goal.

If you’d like to help a great person raise money for a good cause, here’s your chance.

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Lots of news on the bike racing front.

Former pro cyclist and current Cannondale team manager Jonathan Vaughters says it’s time for professional cycling to grow up.

VeloNews is giving away a new BMC bike hand-painted by cycling scion Taylor Phinney.

Forty-six-year old Columbian cyclist Maria Luisa Calle gets a four-year ban for doping after failing a drug test at last year’s Pan American Games.

UK track cyclist Victoria Williamson is recovering after the devastating fall that nearly left her paralyzed while competing in Rotterdam.

Bo knows biking. Former football, baseball and track star Bo Jackson says the real athletes ride in the Tour de France.

And an Israeli cycling team will ride the same roads cycling legend Gino Bartali rode as he smuggled documents to save Jews during WWII; the devout Catholic also hid a Jewish family in the cellar of his Florence, Italy home until it was liberated in 1944.

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Local

The LACBC’s monthly Sunday Funday ride, delayed a week because of last week’s CicLAvia, rolls this Sunday with a pre-St. Paddy’s day tour of DTLA.

The annual Fargo Street Hill Climb up LA’s steepest street rolls next Sunday, the 20th.

The Source provides a calendar-ready list of open streets events through the end of June.

Metro turns to students at the Otis School of Design for fashion-forward styles to encourage more women to get on their bikes.

Santa Monica police will be conducting yet another bike and pedestrian safety crackdown on Sunday. So try to ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits.

Whittier police use a sting bike to bust a pair of bike thieves.

 

State

Laguna Niguel opens a .7 mile multi-use path along Oso Creek.

Newport Beach considers a road diet complete with buffered bike lanes to improve safety on Bayside Drive.

The tipping point that caused the Marines to crack down on trespassing Miramar mountain bikers came when riders on a covertly crafted trail crashed the funeral for a fallen Marine.

 

National

People for Bikes reports 19% of people over 55 ride bikes in 2014, since it offers low-impact exercise with a long list of health benefits.

Next City offers women advice on how to deal with harassment when you ride, sexual and otherwise.

A Washington man recovered his stolen bicycle from in front of the same credit union where it was stolen two years earlier; another man parked it there after buying it from a thrift shop.

The Denver engineer who invented the sharrow says he came up with it because he was constantly pressured to do less.

Evidently they take traffic crime seriously in Colorado, as a 20-year old drunk driver who ran down a cyclist will be 30 when he gets out of prison.

What the hell is wrong with people? East St. Louis drivers actually drove around an 11-year old boy as he lay injured in the street following a hit-and-run.

Chicago could have an elevated bike path stretching nearly two miles along the Chicago River by the end of 2017.

A Minneapolis baker puts his buns in the saddle to make his deliveries by bicycle.

A Virginia bill would impose a $50 fine for dooring a cyclist. Make it $500, and people might actually pay attention.

 

International

Cycling Weekly traces the evolution of the cycling cap from practical bikewear to hipster fashion.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A British driver gets just seven years for a fatal DUI collision, despite 31 previous convictions, including eight for drunk driving and six for driving without a license. But at least he lost his license for nine years. Not that it will stop him, evidently.

Australia’s New South Wales is apparently going out of its way to put an end to bicycling, including fining two cyclists the equivalent of over $300 for doing trackstands at traffic lights. Which isn’t even against the law there.

 

Finally…

It’s not a bike, it’s a 75 pound two-wheeled weather station. If you can’t ride, at least you can color.

And before you sue a bike seat maker for wrecking your marriage, make sure that was really the problem.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Memorial ride for RPV cyclist, 11-year old advocate writes for Times & Mt. Hollywood stays car free

March 11, 2016 / / One comment

Most fallen cyclists are fairly anonymous, their deaths, while tragic, affecting only a relative few.

Then there are those who are well known in the local community, among their fellow riders as well as others.

Redondo Beach resident Pissanuk Jonathan Tansavatdi, known as Jonathan to his friends, fit that description.

According to Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, the 29-year old rider, who lost his life descending Hawthorne Blvd in Rancho Palos Verdes this week, was a member of his Big Orange riding club.

He cites Matt Miller, another member of the club, who wrote a remembrance of his best friend.

Jon wasn’t just strong, either. He was kind. After the last bro ride, we sat on our top tubes for 10 minutes outside his apartment while he gently encouraged Bader to ride hard, but also to ride more safely and obey the rules of the peloton.

Off the bike He was a prodigious success. He was a founding member of the Rubicon Project, a tech startup that made it big. He just left to found another start up company that had already secured several million in investments.

Perhaps most impressively, Jon had invented his own photosharing app, nearly at the beta testing stage, that allows users to automatically share photos with friends nearby via bluetooth. We mused how useful an app like that would be on our rides.

More than anything, Jon loved his family. He spoke of his sisters and mother and wife with compassion, understanding, and a clear desire to protect them.

Clearly, he was someone who touched a number of people in his all-too-short life, and will be missed by many.

A memorial ride will be held this Saturday at the weekly FDR ride, departing from Miramar Park in Redondo Beach at 8:10 am.

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I’ve often mentioned that homeowners and renters insurance can cover your bike if it ever gets stolen, even away from home. And recommended carrying high levels of uninsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance to protect you while you’re riding your bike.

But bike lawyer John McBrearty offered some good advice I hadn’t considered in a comment on yesterday’s post about the UCLA student raising funds to pay legal fees, after she was sued by the driver that hit her for damaging his car.

You are absolutely correct about Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist protecting you on the bike-possibly it’s the most important insurance a cyclist can have if the correct policy limits are purchased. However, while homeowners/renters insurance will not provide liability coverage while you are operating a motor vehicle it will cover you for liability if you are on a bike. Much the same way it covers you for liability if someone trips and injures themselves on your property or if your dog bites someone at any location. Of course, you should always read the “Exclusions” section of your policy to see what they don’t cover, some dog breeds are excluded from coverage but I have never seen an exclusion for a bike accident that was caused by the policy holder. Liability coverage only protects you from third parties who are making a claim against you. Again, that’s why UM/UIM coverage is so important for a cyclist also. UM/UIM will also protect you if you are walking, running or otherwise if you are hit by someone who is uninsured or underinsured.

Meanwhile, after mentioning it here yesterday, her gofundme account has reached over $7,000 of the $9,000 goal as of this writing.

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Great piece from precocious traffic safety advocate and future mayor Matlock Grossman, who says LA streets should be safe for 11-year olds like him to ride a bike.

My vision of a livable city is one where kids like me can ride our bikes to school, or to orchestra practice, or wherever, and our parents don’t have to worry about our safety. Streets where cars can only go 20 to 30 miles per hour would be a great start. People driving would still be able to get where they are going in the same amount of time, but the roads would be much safer for everyone — young and old, rich and poor, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians…

By the time L.A.’s mobility plan is supposed to be in place in 2035, I will be 31. I don’t want my children to have to write newspaper articles to make it easier for them to ride their bikes to orchestra class. Safe streets belong to everyone.

It’s well worth reading the full piece.

I only wish most adults understood the need for safe streets as well as he does.

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In a victory for hikers and bike riders, the city announced plans to charge for parking at the Griffith Observatory, while expanding shuttle service throughout the park — except for the highly contested Mt. Hollywood Drive, which will remain closed to vehicular traffic.

Give CiclaValley credit for telling the full story the news media based theirs on.

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Local

The Nation asks if a revitalized LA River will become a playground for the rich, crowding out everyone else. Which is surprising, since I didn’t even know the former left wing bible was still around.

The Easy Reader News names Hermosa Cyclery the South Bay’s best bike shop.

Long Beach has a shiny new aqua-colored and still unnamed bikeshare system, which will eventually offer 500 bikes at 50 stations throughout the city. Down the road, it should be compatible with Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare, which is blowing through the Santa Monica College campus.

 

State

A Rancho Mirage resident says the city’s leadership doesn’t seem to represent people like her, who aren’t afraid of change and support the planned 50-mile CV Link bikeway through the Coachella Valley.

Even Barstow in getting bike lanes on its Main Street.

A San Francisco couple lived just five blocks apart, but they met, fell in love and got engaged at the Solvang Century bike ride; this year’s edition rolls Saturday.

No bias here. A San Francisco TV station says an Antioch cyclist wasn’t hit by a car, but collided with it, instead.

After nearly declaring war on bike-riding tourists last year, Sausalito plans to expand a Bike Ambassador program to help alleviate problems caused by too many people on two wheels. On the other hand, they never seem to complain about all the tourists on four wheels, which made my last visit there pretty miserable.

 

National

A scary new study says distracted driving is the new normal, as motorists spend over half their time paying attention to something other than the road.

Bicycling offers useful advice on how to make sure the bike rack you’re using is secure. Or you could just build your own.

After helping her husband Kurt set the new record for riding the most miles in a single year, Alicia Searvogel plans to tackle the women’s record.

An auto-centric Seattle radio host argues for keeping the streets dangerous and letting pedestrians die, fearing that advocates will lie about an uptick in pedestrian deaths to demand safer streets. Then again, he doesn’t sound like a prince on other subjects, either; thanks to NE Seattle Greenways for the latter link.

An Iowa columnist learns first hand what it’s like to bike like a bike cop.

A Houston weekly lists six streets where people “probably” won’t die riding their bikes. Maybe they should move to Boston, which claims to be tied with DC for the nation’s safest big city for cyclists and pedestrians.

A Missouri woman plans to ride 13,000 miles, stopping at churches in 37 states to raise awareness of sex trafficking.

Forget Vision Zero, says New York police commissioner — and former LAPD chief — Bill Bratton, who insists there will be traffic deaths as long as there are people on the roads. Maybe the city should find someone to do the job who doesn’t give up before he starts.

 

International

A writer for the Guardian offers 10 tips to conquer your bike commute.

A Scottish paper asks if the draconian new fines on Australian cyclists offer a lesson to be learned, or just make the state a laughing stock. You can probably guess how riders in New South Wales, who say they remain terrified on the Aussie state’s roads, would respond.

Seriously? Even the attorney for the former enforcer for Australia’s Banditos biker gang said he had “anger management issues” after getting out of his car and beating a bicyclist for not using a bike lane. Yet he walked with just a fine and a four month license suspension. Evidently, the only crimes they take seriously Down Under are cyclists riding sans helmets.

An Aussie woman insists she told the story of deliberately running down a bike rider who flipped her off hundreds of times, but only in an attempt to frighten off a man she thought was a “child rapist,” never imagining he might actually turn her into the police. Sure, let’s go with that.

A Kiwi bike commuter says he supports better bike facilities, just not if it involves closing his own street to vehicular traffic.

 

Finally…

Who needs real dog, when you can buy one made of recycled bike parts? If you’re going to steal a bike, don’t leave your old one covered in your DNA at the crime scene.

And Lance may have cheated, but he never put itching powder in his rivals’ shorts.

That we know of.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: UCLA cyclist screwed by insurance company needs your help; team track cycling league comes to LA

March 10, 2016 / / 14 comments

If you’ve got a few extra dollars lying around looking for a good cause, here it is.

A UCLA grad student and member of the school’s triathlon team has established a gofundme account to raise enough money to repay her mother for legal expenses after being sued by the driver that hit her.

That’s right. She was run down from behind while riding her bike, yet she’s being sued for damaging the car that smashed into her.

On Sunday April 6, 2014 while I was riding on my road bike from work, I was rear-ended by a speeding car with such force that the car’s front bumper was damaged. It is almost two years since the collision and I am still in great debt from the medical bills, property damage and lawyer fees.

Instead of paying for my medical bills, the driver’s auto insurance company had sent me four consecutive letters and invoices claiming thousands of dollars of damages and threatening to sue me for the broken front bumper. First, the company claimed that I backed into the car, although I was on a road bike that does not go backwards. Then, they accused me of smashing into the car from the side – even though my bike was run over by both the front and back wheels of the car. In fact, my bike was still underneath the back tire of the car when the ambulance and police arrived.

Sounds like the same insurance company that represented the road raging driver that ran me down several years ago. Or maybe they’re all like that.

And that’s the Catch-22.

Bike riders often need a good lawyer after a collision, but unless there are significant damages, most lawyers can’t afford to take the case. So there’s no one to hold the insurance companies accountable for their outrageous behavior.

And it’s the people on bikes end up getting screwed.

Thanks to Alex de Cordoba for the heads-up.

………

Break out your cow bells.

A new team track cycling league will hold its inaugural races at Carson’s Velo Center on the 18th and 19th. The World Cycling League will host six mixed-gender teams with a hometown format; our local heroes will be known as the California Wave.

………

Local

The Times says candidates to replace termed out County Supervisor Michael Antonovich were asked questions about “bike trails in Santa Clarita that taper off when they cross into the surrounding unincorporated county area” at a candidate forum. But then fails to mention how any of them responded.

Richard Risemberg notes that humanity, and in particular, humanity on bicycles, has returned to DTLA.

CiclaValley discusses what Strava heat maps reveal about cycling in the City of Angels.

Even if you missed Sunday’s CicLAvia, there’s still a long list of open streets events coming up in the coming months.

You’re invited to the official unveiling of Long Beach’s bikeshare program at 10 am today; the first ten stations and 100 bikes will be available to try out during the city’s Beach Streets Downtown ciclovía on the 19th.

 

State

A tiny park in Orange was originally built as a rest stop for cyclists riding on a pair of long gone bike lanes. Which pretty much sums up the state of bicycling for the past several decades; hopefully that’s changing now.

Nothing like mischaracterizing the story. San Diego Magazine positions the city’s new bike plan as nine miles of bike lanes versus the loss of 500 parking spaces. Then explains that as few as 233 on-street parking spaces might be removed, and those will be mitigated by the addition of 200 underground parking spaces. So it’s really bike lanes versus no big deal.

San Francisco cyclists are forced to ride in a center lane in front of car traffic because of a local law banning bikes from the city’s expanding network of transit-only lanes.

Plans to complete a nine-figure bikeway across San Francisco’s 80-year old Bay Bridge include an elevator to allow disabled riders — and anyone who doesn’t want to accept the challenge of a long, steep ride up the ramp — to access the bridge. Meanwhile, plans to improve bike access to the other side of the Bay Bridge could fall victim to falling gas tax revenue.

 

National

New graphene-infused bicycle tires are more resilient than standard rubber tires, while remaining firm on straightaways for lower rolling resistance, yet softening while braking or cornering for added traction.

Why settle for a dumb bell when you can have a new 95-decibel smart bike bell with built-in microphone, and accelerometer to alert you if it’s being moved without your knowledge?

Singletrack Magazine disavows its own article offering ten reasons why a fat bike should be your only bike.

Modern entrepreneurs often talk about blowing up existing business models; blowing up an actual Seattle bike shop, not so much.

Police in my hometown have located the thoughtful driver who got out of his car to move a cyclist’s bike and backpack over to the curb, but left the victim he’d just run over lying in the street with long list of broken bones. Yet oddly, they still haven’t made an arrest.

So much for political promises. Missouri cyclists plan to circle the capital building next month to protest the ridiculous proposal to require cyclists to attach a 15-foot high fluorescent flag to their bikes; the bill’s author promised to withdraw it weeks ago, but hasn’t kept his word.

As if drunk drivers weren’t bad enough, a Wisconsin bike rider was the victim of a speeding, drunk bicyclist.

 

International

The bike-riding mayor of Victoria, British Columbia wants to make bicycling the norm in the city.

Tragically, a London woman has died after being struck by a bicyclist. Which is just another reminder to always ride safely around pedestrians; they’re the only people more vulnerable on the streets than we are, and even more unpredictable.

London parents say the city’s streets are too dangerous for children to ride their bikes.

British women hold a Suffragette Ride and Tea Party to call attention to the continuing gender imbalance in bicycling; male riders outnumber women three to one in the UK.

Norway’s plan to build ten bicycle superhighways at a cost of nearly $1 billion will be funded by the country’s oil revenue. Now that’s putting it to good use.

The third stage of the Paris-Nice cycling classic was cancelled mid-race due to snow; riders complained about the lack of a plan B.

Plug-in e-bikes are just so old school. A new Dutch model uses solar power to recharge while you ride.

German discount retailer Aldi is starting to carry bike equipment, just in time for its planned expansion into Southern California.

The bikelash rears its ugly head in New Zealand, as community members rise up against a bike lane that isn’t even finished yet.

 

Finally…

If you’re riding your bike while high, put a light on it — and don’t attack the cop who tries to stop you because you don’t have one. If you’ve ever wanted to own a Penny Farthing for pennies on the dollar, here’s your chance.

And I henceforth and for all time claim authorship of the term “areobam.”

 

Category: Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Update: San Diego cyclist killed in pre-dawn trolley collision

March 9, 2016 / / 7 comments

More bad news today.

Multiple sources are reporting that a San Diego bike rider was killed by a trolley in the city’s Barrio Logan neighborhood.

The victim, identified only as a 27-year old man, reportedly stopped at the trolley crossing alongside Harbor Drive near Sampson Street around 5:45 this morning.

After a southbound trolley passed, he rode around the crossing bars, and was immediately struck by a second trolley headed in the opposite direction. Emergency personnel tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses said that he was wearing earbuds, and may not have heard the second trolley approaching.

San Diego’s KUSI TV reports employees of both Naval Base San Diego and cyber-defense company BAE Systems, located nearby, rushed to the scene, concerned the victim may have been one of their co-workers.

This is a tragic reminder to always wait until the crossing arms are raised before walking or riding across any railroad tracks.

This is the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in San Diego County; it’s also the third bike-related death in San Diego since the first of the year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 27-year old Robert Jamil-Hanna Warren, possibly of National City.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: LACBC wins national award for work on Mobility Plan; Sadik-Khan says the bikes have won

March 9, 2016 / / 8 comments

So Cynthia Rose wasn’t the only one.

We reported yesterday that the founder of the LACBC’s Santa Monica Spoke local chapter had won the Alliance for Biking & Walking’s award for the nation’s most inspirational bike advocate.

Which if you know Cynthia, seems like an understatement.

But we missed the news that the LACBC won a second award, for Winning Campaign of the Year, for their successful work behind the scenes in getting the LA Mobility Plan 2035 approved by the city council.

Which is actually typical of the way the bike coalition seems to work; they may not make a lot of waves, but they get a lot done in ways for which they don’t always get, or take, the credit they deserve.

Congratulations to Cynthia and the LACBC for getting national recognition for their outstanding work.

………

New York Magazine offers a great excerpt from former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s new book, declaring the bike wars are over, and the bikes have won.

Or rather, the people of New York, who back her work in reimagining the city’s streets in overwhelming numbers, despite very vocal opposition, came out on top.

None of the bike-lane opponents’ predictions has come to pass. City streets have never been safer, more economically thriving, or offered more transportation options than they do today. My successor as Transportation commissioner is greatly expanding the network of bike paths and doubling the size of the city’s bike-share system…

When you push the status quo, it pushes back, hard. Everyone likes to watch a good fight. And the battle over bike lanes most surely was a street fight: politically bloody and ripped from the tabloids. Call me biased, call me crazy — many people have — but I’ll tell you this: The bikes, and all New Yorkers, won.

Meanwhile, Gothamist and Next City talk with her about her book and the battle over bike lanes.

………

A couple recent bike incidents were caught on video.

In the first, a Ventura County bike rider captures the drifting driver who ran him down from behind as he rode on the shoulder of a roadway; fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

https://vimeo.com/158039745

And a British cyclist captures the passenger in a passing BMW leaning out of the window to push him off his bike.

And yes, that’s a crime, not a prank.

Correction: I had originally said the cyclist was riding salmon, based on the directional flow of the traffic and parked cars. However, Andy S. points out that the person who posted the video says it wasn’t a one-way street, despite appearances. 

………

Local

Like a character from a horror film that just refuses to die, the debate over opening Griffith Park’s Mt. Hollywood Drive to shuttle buses is back for yet another round, with a meeting tonight to present the latest on the Griffith Park Circulation & Traffic Enhancement Plan.

LADOT reports the installation of a new bike corral on Main Street in Venice. But does that red curb mean you could get a ticket if you use it?

Twitter’s topomodesto shows a section of westbound Venice got a semi-protected bike lane between Crenshaw and San Vicente with no fanfare, even if it does need a good cleaning.

 

State

California now ranks fourth in the US for bike commuting, though it remains at just 1.1% of all commuting trips.

A bike has become a four-year fixture at UC Irvine, thanks to a sign attached to the handlebars reading “Jesus ain’t white.”

A Palm Springs writer calls it a terrible waste of energy to argue over whether bicycles should be allowed in wilderness areas, saying the matter is long settled.

Ventura police release a photo that may be the second vehicle in the multi-car hit-and-run that took the life of a 14-year old bike rider last month; unfortunately, it’s very hard to make out any details.

A Stockton bike rider was critically injured when he was collateral damage in a collision between two cars; he had the misfortune of simply being nearby when one driver pulled out in front of the other.

A 74-year old Petaluma bike rider was hospitalized after overshooting his turn and crashing into the side of a bus.

 

National

A new study from the Mineta Transportation Institute finds that despite perceptions, bikeshare is actually safer than riding your own bike.

An Oregon letter writer blames an “inconsiderate” spandexed cyclist riding on the white line, not even in the roadway, for a near collision. And apparently never considering that it’s possible to slow down in order wait for the opportunity to pass safely.

A Seattle writer says instead of the city buying the bikeshare system, people should just go out and buy their own bikes. Except that’s not what bikeshare is for. And no offense, but any bike you can buy at Target for $70 probably isn’t worth riding.

Chicago police and cyclists disagree over whether bike riders are allowed to ride a primary bike path through the Logan Square district after 11 pm; police insist the city park it runs through is closed between 11 pm and 6 am, while bike advocates says people are allowed to ride through as long as they don’t stop. So if they get stopped by the robbers that frequent the path, would they be breaking the law? Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the link.

Connecticut cyclists back a bill that would increase the fine for careless drivers who hit bike riders or pedestrians from $90 to $500. Needless to say, truckers, who evidently plan on hitting them, think the fine is too high.

New York unveils plans for a protected bike lane to improve safety on a dangerous stretch of roadway. Maybe someday we can see something like that here in LA.

A Georgia collegiate cyclist rises to prominence, overcoming a form of stroke so rare that only six people have ever had it — and he’s the only one who survived.

 

International

Nice piece from the founder of Ella, who looks back on nine things she’s learned after launching a women’s cycling website.

A Montreal journalist is the face of a new pro-helmet campaign after she was seriously injured in a collision last year; however, a science writer says in response that it’s infrastructure and mass numbers of cyclists that really make a difference in safety.

No matter how many cities, states and provinces adopt a three-foot passing law — or one meter, in this case — politicians always seem to act like no one has ever done it before, predicting catastrophe in defeating a proposed bill in Manitoba.

As London mayor Boris Johnson prepares to leave office, he regrets not building more protected bikeways. Meanwhile, a website suggests ten things you shouldn’t do while riding on the city’s new cycle superhighways.

Japan has recorded over 9,100 bicycling violations in the six months since a new law went into effect regulating bike safety; eight men have been required to take a safety course after repeated violations.before being allowed back on their bikes.

 

Finally…

You know e-bikes have caught on when even the pros want one. Like the song says, if you like it, should’ve put a ring on it; no, on his bike, not his finger.

And when your typical day at the office involves driving in ovals at 200 mph, a little 400 mile bike ride should be a breeze.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Bike rider killed by moving truck in Rancho Palos Verdes

March 8, 2016 / / 21 comments
Ghost bike for Jonathan Tansavatdi; photo by Jim Lyle

Ghost bike for Jonathan Tansavatdi; photo by Jim Lyle

Word is just coming in that someone has been killed while riding a bicycle in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Very few details are available at this time.

However, KNBC-4 reports the victim was struck by a moving truck on Vallon Drive near Hawthorne Boulevard around 2:50 pm this afternoon; presumably they mean a truck for a moving company, rather than one in motion.

According to the station, sheriff’s deputies believe the truck, which KCBS-2 identifies as a big rig, was making a right turn off an undisclosed side street when it struck the rider.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. No other information is available at this time.

A satellite view shows Vallon as a narrow, winding residential road; Via la Cresta is the only cross street that enters it, just above Hawthorne, though Vallon connects with Marne Drive just below Hawthorne.

This is the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 6th in Los Angeles County.

Update: The Daily Breeze confirms the collision occurred at Vallon and Via la Cresta.

Update 2: KNBC-4 changes the location once again, writing that the collision took place at Hawthorne and Vallon.

According to a sheriff’s spokesperson, the victim was riding down the hill on Hawthorne at a high rate of speed, estimated at 45 mph. The driver of a Mayflower truck turned right onto Hawthorne in front of the cyclist, who was unable to stop at that speed.

The driver continued on, reportedly having no idea the rider had collided with his truck. 

However, if the rider was really going that fast, he would have hit with a significant amount of force, making it seem odd that the driver failed to notice. 

Regardless, sheriff’s deputies concluded that the driver didn’t break the law, and everything he did was “legal at the time.”

Update 3: In their report from the scene, which I was unable to view last night, KNBC-4 reports the truck was stopped at the red light headed west on Hawthorne, and made a wide turn onto Vallon when the light turned green.

The victim, who still hasn’t been publicly identified, apparently rounded a blind curve on westbound Hawthorne while descending at a high rate of speed; unable to stop, he slammed into the side or rear of the truck. 

The driver continued on, dragging the bicycle roughly 200 feet up Vallon before finally coming to a stop. 

There’s no way to know if the victim would have had a chance if the driver had stopped after the initial collision.

Update 4: The victim has been identified as 29-year old Redondo Beach resident Pissanuk Jonathan Tansavatdi. Thanks to Martin Blount for the heads-up. 

Meanwhile, Blount forwards a video showing the descent on Hawthorne Blvd. The intersection at Vallon comes into view at the 1:30 mark, with the riders passing through at 49 mph, giving credence to the police theory that Tansavatdi may have hit the truck at 45 mph.

Update 5: I’ve heard from a relative of Tansavatdi, who described him as sunny, cheerful, handsome, talented engineer, and a friend to many.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.

Thanks to Richard Masoner for the heads-up. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , ,
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