Tomazic was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and did not appear to be at fault, according to a sergeant with the LAPD.
No word on how the collision occurred or why police appeared to blame the victim. Or at least, someone or something other than the driver.
This is the 13th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Los Angeles County. And it’s the second in the city of LA this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brian Tomazic and his loved ones.
LA’s first official Great Street could get even greater.
A workshop will be held this Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm to show off the new sidewalk patterns and benches lining Reseda Blvd in Northridge, and discuss what improvements will take place in Phase 2 of the project.
Thanks to the BAC’s Glenn Bailey for the heads-up.
Speaking of Reseda, I’m told the topic of the city’s first parking-protected bike lane lining one side of the boulevard came up at the meeting of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee earlier this month.
Specifically, the question of how LA intended to keep rocks, glass and other debris from piling up, since none of the city’s street sweepers are narrow enough to fit between the bollards and the curb.
Which is exactly the argument commonly used against having a physical separation the parking lane and the bike lane to keep cars out. Although even that hasn’t been effective with confused LA drivers.
Apparently, it will require the purchase of a skinny new street sweeper.
Using funding from the bikeways program, of course.
Although placing tourists on the city’s unwelcoming streets may be problematic.
Beverly Hills might want to rethink the decision not to widen Santa Monica Boulevard to make room for bike lanes before they thrust tourists on slow bikes into the already jammed traffic lanes.
Flying Pigeon says the force isn’t with you when the LAPD is leaving their patrol cars in what’s supposed to be a buffered bike lane, not a parking lot.
The Daily News says California needs more focus on older people. But they get it wrong in suggesting downtown lofts and bike paths are strictly for young people; older adults benefit from vibrant, walkable neighborhoods as well, and many improve their health and happiness by riding bikes. And need a safe place to do it.
An 81-year old bike rider suffered life-threatening injuries in an El Monte collision on Tuesday night; by Wednesday morning he was in stable condition.
State
CABO joins Calbike in coming out in opposition to SB 192, the proposal to require all California bike riders to wear a helmet when they ride, with reflective hi-viz at night.
Seriously? Money magazine offers advice on how to beat the high cost of bicycling, even though it only costs a lot if you want it to; many riders get by on almost nothing.
An Indian newspaper seems amazed by a 22-year old’s nearly 3,000 mile, 49 day “crazy” journey across the country, noting that he has never been a professional cyclist or had specialized training in long-distance riding.
Sad news from San Diego, as a bike rider has died in a solo fall.
According to the Union-Tribune, the 59-year old cyclist crashed his bike in the Lake Murray area after apparently suffering some sort of unidentified medical issue.
The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding on Kiowa Drive near Lake Murray Blvd when he fell around 7:30 pm Thursday. He died after being taken to a local hospital.
No other information is available at this time.
Remarkably, this is just the 12th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, compared with 31 in the seven-county SoCal region this time last year — a drop of nearly 61%.
However, it’s the fourth bicycling death in San Diego County, compared to two last year at this time.
Correction: The original version of this story mistakenly said this was the eighth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year; it was actually the 12th. The story has been amended to reflect the accurate total. My apologies for the error.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
It’s been over a year since Matthew Liechty was run down by an allegedly drunk driver while riding in a Huntington Beach bike lane. The driver was arrested after fleeing the scene on just three wheels, leaving his victim to die where he lay.
Now Antonio Magdaleno Jr. is finally due to be arraigned this Friday on felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, fleeing the scene of a collision and hit-and-run with permanent and seriously injury.
Yeah, I’d call death permanent and serious.
The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 am in W12 DUI court at the Westminster courthouse, 8141 13th Street.
If you can make it, it would be good to have a few cyclists in the courtroom to show support for Matt’s family and let the court know we care about the outcome of this case.
I don’t know how much time Magdaleno faces, but it’s a lot less than what he sentenced his victim to.
Thanks to Michael Liechty for the heads-up.
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Apparently, the topic du jour is what, exactly, a bike lane is for.
It’s not for pedestrians, as a Chicago writer apologizes for her fellow bipedalists. Nor is it a parking spot, as a Houston writer goes to great lengths to point out.
On the other hand, California bike lanes could soon be for electric skateboard riders; the Weekly enjoys a moment of schadenfreude as they note cyclists could learn how motorists feel when they’re crowded out by bikes.
Now you can have that $500 full-face bike helmet that actually meets DOT standards for motorcycle helmets that you’ve always wanted; no word on whether SB 192 has been amended to require them for all bike riders.
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Thanks to my friends at CLIF Bar for sending me a care package of their new Organic Trail Mix Bars.
The bars are all certified USDA organic, gluten free, and 200 calories or less. And they have a low glycemic index, which means you won’t get that sugar rush followed by a crash.
They come in seven flavors — Coconut Almond Peanut, Cranberry Almond, Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry, and Wild Blueberry Almond — four of which I’ve tried so far, and all of them good.
There should have been seven bars in this photo, but I ate one. And it was good.
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Speaking of food, a group of chef’s will be riding for a great cause this summer.
Last year, celebrity chefs Jason Roberts and Allan Ng rode from New York to Washington DC with a small group to raise money for the No Kid Hungry campaign, to ensure that every child has access to healthy food where they live, learn and play.
This year, they’ve organized a group of 50 professional chefs for Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry to ride 300 miles in three days. One group will ride from New York to DC the weekend of June 7th through 9th, while a second will go from Santa Barbara to San Diego June 14th through 16th.
Maybe a Napa Valley Gran Fondo/progressive feast where you can ride along with well-known chefs, winemakers and former pro cyclists will inspire you to dig deeper.
In San Diego, cyclists sometimes have to ride half an hour just to go 644 feet. But at least the city has finally linked a pair of bikeways formerly separated by a block-long gap.
A Lodi paper offers a useful glossary of bike race terms for those new to the sport; I always thought Gruppetto was the guy who made Pinocchio.
National
A driver’s cone of vision narrows significantly with just a simple jump from 20 to 30 mph. Of course, it takes a pretty crappy driver to keep his or her eyes narrowly focused straight ahead, instead of scanning the full roadway like good drivers are trained to do.
Palm Beach zoo employees are biking to work to cut their carbon footprint and show what individual people can do to protect wildlife habitats.
It takes a serious schmuck to hit a little girl with his SUV while she rides to her school, get out and apologize, then drive off leaving her crying in the street.
A paper calls for protecting cyclists in a two-page editorial, but offers only one-and-a-half sentences calling for motorists to drive safely.
Police arrest a man for punching out a bicyclist because he — the puncher, not the punchee — heard someone was looking for him. And apparently, because he didn’t like the rider’s age.
A double tragedy, as a Russian truck driver hangs himself three days after killing a 72-year old cyclist who was riding across the country to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
A Kiwi bike rider was arrested when he got too aggressive with police who responded when he was knocked off his bike.
Finally…
Portland authorities are on the lookout for a hit-and-run cyclist who left a dying duck in his wake. Somehow, a Wisconsin cyclist goes flying over a car when a peddler is cut off by a motorist who failed to yield. Or maybe they mean pedaler, rather than an itinerant salesperson.
And a word to the wise: You might want to dump your dope and clear up those nagging outstanding warrants before you report a bike jacking to the police.
April 7, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Survey asks what residents really think about Westwood bike lanes; cars vs. cyclists in Flanders
Enough with the posturing.
A new group called Westwood for All wants to know what local residents really think about bike lanes on Westwood Blvd.
This is from the press release announcing the questionnaire.
A community group called Westwood4all has released an online questionnaire to advance the discussion about bike lanes on Westwood Blvd. The aim is to provide accurate numbers about local support for bicycle facilities on Westwood Blvd. Results will be shared with elected officials so that they can make an informed decision.
When planning a transportation network, the opinion of local residents is just one factor in a very complex equation. An informed decision by elected officials will also consider the network as a whole, the effects on the neighborhood, on business, safety, parking, environment, congestion, public health, etc. But if the general attitude of the local community towards bicycle infrastructure is known, then a controversial issue can be settled more easily.
So far, the cycling community has posted a petition with 500 signatories. A number of UCLA stakeholders have also called for bike lanes. The Business Improvement District in the Westwood Village has recently voted for bike lanes in the village. One the other hand, the leadership of some local homeowner groups and of the Westwood Neighborhood Council have objected to the plan. Our effort may help to resolve this conflict by documenting local attitudes for or against bicycle infrastructure on Westwood Blvd.
Meanwhile, American pro Peter Stetina will be out for the foreseeable future after he breaks his leg, kneecap and four ribs in a peloton pile-up in Bilbao, Spain.
And Jaguar and Pinarello came up with a unique suspension system to ease the discomfort of riding the cobbles, reducing road vibration 50% without adding significantly to the bike’s ultralight frame.
In California, bicycling is somehow seen as a greater risk than polio and measles. Yet the state’s mandatory helmet law for kids, unlike voluntary vaccinations, shows no obvious benefit.
Not exactly instant karma, but close. A San Diego County shooting victim was arrested, but evidently not convicted, in a 2006 head-on hit-and-run that seriously injured a cyclist.
A new three-mile stretch of the Coyote Creek Bikeway adds another link to the 66-mile OC Loop.
This is why you always carry your cell phone when you ride. A Loma Linda mountain biker is rescued after injuring his head; a call to his wife following the fall triggered the search effort.
Porterville residents pitch-in to buy a new bike for a Navy vet after the bike his great-grandson gave him was stolen.
A San Jose road diet gets mixed reviews, even though it seems to be working. I love this quote from a local resident, which should be recited at every public meeting to discuss one: “I suspect that folks truly wanting to speed are simply finding alternate routes, but who cares about them anyway?”
A Minneapolis writer says Pittsburgh should embrace bicycling because it makes a city more welcoming. Even though he won’t get on one for fear of being killed.
A Detroit man was killed when he was run over by a bus as he was trying to remove his bike from its rack.
A Muncie IN bike shop celebrates its 150th anniversary, although the shop has changed names, locations and owners. But other than that, it’s exactly the same, right?
Seriously? A Pennsylvania letter writer says bike lanes are a bad idea because they have to be maintained — unlike the rest of the roadway, evidently.
China’s Flying Pigeon bike maker collaborates with a video website to introduce a “super” smart bike, which will incorporate a music player, navigation, social networking, health monitoring, anti-theft lock and turn signals. Or you could, you know, just ride a bike.
Finally…
Seven very tongue-in-cheek tips for urban cyclists, from always strapping a baby onto your bike, to politely taking up as little space as possible when you’re sprawled on the pavement. A Kiwi cyclist pedals to work in a giraffe-print onesie to calm aggressive driving; a requirement for adult animal-print onesies is no doubt being added to California’s proposed helmet and reflective clothing law as we speak.
And before you impatiently honk your horn and buzz a group of cyclists while shouting obscenities out the window, make sure it’s not a group of bike cops on a training ride.
Just a suggestion.
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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to help support this site. If the mood strikes, you can contribute here.
But there’s often a significant delay between when the bike is stolen and when word of the theft is posted online. If I hear about it at all.
I’ve long wanted a way for bike owners to post a notice of their stolen bikes themselves in order to get the information out there as quickly as possible.
The crowd funded, open source bike registry has partnered with bike advocacy groups and websites throughout the country to provide free online bike registration, as well as a way to report bike thefts so local residents and businesses can be on the lookout. And maybe even get those bikes back.
Click on the first, and you’ll be taken to a form where you can record the identifying details of your bike in a free online database. So you’ll have the information when and if you need it, and police, bike shops, pawn shops and individual buyers can check to make sure any bike is legit, no matter where it turns up.
Even if you don’t know it’s missing.
In fact, police often say registering your bike is the single most important step you can take to help get it back if it’s ever stolen.
Then, in the unfortunate event someone does snatch your bike, you can post news of the theft on the Report A Stolen Bike tab.
Your bike will be entered in a national database of stolen bikes, which can be accessed by anyone anywhere in the country — or the world, for that matter — and help bring it back home wherever it may turn up. And an alert will immediately go out on both the BikinginLA Twitter and Facebook accounts so the bike community can be on the lookout for your ride, increasing the chance of recovery.
Finally, it will automatically be entered in the local Stolen Bike Listings, enabling anyone to check an exclusive LA area database to see if a bike was stolen, or to keep an eye out for missing bikes. Right now, it’s set to cover a 20-mile radius from the Hollywood area; that may be adjusted up or down as we work out the bugs.
Of course, Bike Index isn’t the only bike registration program; you can also register your bike with Bike Shepherd and the National Bike Registry, among others.
The important thing is that you register your bike, whether here or somewhere else.
And that you report it to the police, then post it here, if anyone takes it.
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Just to be clear, there is no financial relationship or any other form of compensation between Bike Index and BikinginLA. Bike Index has provided the WordPress plug-ins that allows free online registration and theft reporting, as well the listing of stolen bikes, at no charge in order to help fulfill their mission of helping theft victims get their bikes back. And I accepted their offer for the same reason.
The man accused of shooting and killing a developmentally disabled San Diego bike rider just for the hell of it has pled guilty to first degree murder.
Twenty-two-year old Humberto Emanuel Galvez leaned out of a car window and shot Jordan Hickey with a shotgun as Hickey was just blocks from his home as he rode home from visiting his girlfriend four years ago.
Galvez will be sentenced to life without parole for the shooting; by pleading guilty, he took a possible death sentence off the table.
His partner in the crime, 24-year old Juan Ignacio Gomez, also faces life without parole after being convicted last week.
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Local
Routing bike riders onto alternate back streets that don’t form a complete grid isn’t the right answer, a lesson CiclaValley says ostensibly bike-friendly CD4 candidate Carolyn Ramsay needs to learn.
Build it, and they will come in droves. Buffered bike lanes in San Diego result in a 347% increase in ridership since 2012.
Former baseball great Curt Schilling joins with other San Diego residents to help replace the 18 custom bikes stolen from wounded vets; so far, they’ve raised $25,000 to replace bikes valued at $45,000.
I want one. Or maybe two. Trek’s Bontrager line introduces a new tail light designed for daytime use, said to be brighter than a car taillight and visible for over a mile away.
A Harvard study says police are still using outdated collision report forms, missing out on vital data that could help prevent bike collisions; Los Angeles cyclists have been asking the LAPD to improve their forms for years.
Nice story. A 12-year old boy in my hometown who was born without arms will soon be able to ride a bike for the first time, thanks to the efforts of his new friend.
A Milwaukee writer says it’s not riding a bike that’s hazardous to your health.
A Minnesota public library is introducing The Book Bike, a bicycle-towed trailer designed to bring books to local kids.
Some people just don’t get it. A Syracuse paper says parking is more important than bike lanes, even though getting more people on bikes could reduce the need for it.
The Baltimore bishop accused in the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider has pled not guilty; she faces trial on June 4th. So much for confession being good for the soul.
No bias here, as a Florida rider died after being doored, yet the local press blames him for running into it. Note to Tampa Bay Times: If someone dies of his injuries, they were life threatening, even if they didn’t appear that way at first.
International
Montreal cyclists say the city has a long way to go to improve safety; a new bike path could have only been designed by someone who doesn’t ride.
Paris plans to double the size of its bike lane network to over 860 miles in the next five years, including protected bike lanes on the Champs Elysees and other major avenues. Seriously, if they can do it there…
At least Mercedes AMG didn’t build yet another high-end racing bike, like so many other car makers dabbling in bicycling. They built a mountain bike instead.
Bystanders join together to lift a car off a Chinese cyclist when she’s pinned underneath following a collision. For some reason, though, they illustrated the story with a photo from CicLAvia, and a caption about LA’s planned bike share program.
Finally…
Someone stole the new sign asking people to stop pooping on an Illinois bike path; to be honest, given the opportunity, I might have taken it myself. When you’re wanted on two outstanding warrants and carrying nine packets of heroin on your bike, put a damn bell on your bike if that’s what the law requires.
And yes, biking under the influence is illegal in California, as a San Raphael rider blows twice the legal limit after blowing a stop sign.
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Please accept my best wishes for a happy Passover, a happy Easter, or just a damn fine weekend, whatever you may observe.
The 41-year old victim reportedly tried to stop four men from stealing his bike outside the restaurant on the 1800 block of E. Palmdale Blvd around 9:40 pm. He was assaulted by all four, described by witnesses as gang bangers, before one pulled out a gun and shot him multiple times.
Seriously, if you see someone trying to steal your bike, don’t attempt to stop them. Let them take it, and call the police; it’s their job to deal with it.
No matter how much your bike cost, your life is worth more.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. Let’s hope the police catch these assholes.
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Seriously, WTF is wrong with some people?
LAist reports that a man was stabbed in the neck after he asked an SUV driver to turn off his lights — evidently because it was disturbing his meal in the parking lot of a Mid-City Carl’s Jr.
The driver is seen on security video getting out of his vehicle and approaching the man, who tried to back off before attempting to defend himself. The driver then pulled out a knife and stabbed him, after which he calmly got back in his car and drove off with a woman passenger, who evidently did nothing to stop the assault despite briefly getting out of the car.
The victim got on his bike and rode to a nearby hospital for treatment; the website says he was okay, despite his wounds.
Police are looking for a suspect. Then again, if the driver had just used his car instead of a knife, he probably could have driven home without a ticket.
If anyone ever tries to tell you bike riders aren’t tough, show them this.
It would have been nice if they’d mentioned the date on their website, though.
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Proposed legislation would require any car sold or leased in California to have a temporary license plate before it’s driven off the lot — just like many, if not most other states require — which would allow it to be identified in the case of hit and run or other crimes.
Good news for sidewalk riders, or anyone who walks anywhere, as LA agrees to spend $1.3 billion over the next 30 years to fix the city’s broken sidewalks.
KPCC’s Larry Mantle talks with lame duck councilmember Tom LaBonge and Rec & Parks Superintendent Joe Salaices about the test project to allow cars on Griffith Park’s Mt. Hollywood Drive. Mantle also talks LA traffic with the Source’s Steve Hyman and new LACBC ED Tamika Butler.
Memphis decides to rip out a two-way separated bike path that took over one side of a four lane street, but promises some sort of complete street will return following a future repaving.
WaPo shows the ineffectiveness of most bike networks by mapping out what they look like without streets for a handful of major cities; I shudder to think what LA’s would look like.
Unbelievable. An Aussie driver is fined a whopping $1,000 for running down a cyclist from behind — even though the victim was tricked out with a hi-viz vest, plus two flags and several lights.
Calling the case an absurdity, a Kiwi judge refuses to disqualify a French tourist from driving for recklessly running down a pedestrian while riding his bike on the sidewalk.
And Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers a pointed April Fools discussion of the bike projects LADOT will ignore this year.
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No, really, the late post isn’t my fault this time. I had it ready to upload, but lost my internet connection when the electrician turned off the power to fix a balky outlet. Honest.
April is already off the a bad start, after a remarkably safe first three months of the year for Southern California bike riders.
According to the Orange County Register, a bike rider was killed Wednesday evening in a collision with a truck in Anaheim.
Very few details are available at this point.
The victim was hit by a truck around 7:15 pm at the intersection of Orangewood Ave and Harbor Blvd. Anaheim police arrived at the location to discover that the victim had been pronounced dead at the scene by members of the Garden Grove fire department.
No word on how the collision occurred, or the identity of the victim. Needless to say, the truck driver was uninjured.
A satellite view shows a bike lane on Orangewood east of Harbor, but none to the west of the busy intersection, and no bike lanes in either direction on Harbor.
This is the 11th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Orange County. That compares with 28 in SoCal, and five in Orange County this time last year.
Update: The Register reports the victim has been identified as 42-year old Timothy Binau; no city of residence was given.
An update to the original story says Binau was riding south on Harbor when he was hit by a southbound tanker truck. The paper reports investigators aren’t sure how the collision occurred.
Photos show he was riding a mountain bike, but don’t give any insight into the collision.
However, raw video from the scene shows the covered body of the victim lying by the right curb several feet before the intersection, and police examining the middle of the rear tanker trailer of the truck. (Warning — the unedited video may be too graphic for some viewers.)
That suggests that the rider may have been sideswiped by the trailer or right hooked as the truck prepared to turn. However, there may be other possible explanations for how the wreck took place.
What is highly unlikely is the Register’s suggestion in the headline that the victim “crashed into” the truck.
Update 2: I’m told that Binau lived in the Anaheim area, and may not have had lights on his bike as the sun was setting at the time of the collision.
I’m also told the tuck driver was so disturbed by the collision that he was taken to a hospital for observation.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Timothy Binau and his or her loved ones.
Welcome to today’s April Fool-free edition of BikinginLA, which is either very late or a little early, depending on your perspective.
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The media has discovered the dispute over Mt. Hollywood Drive.
A little late, but still.
KABC-7 reports on the trial opening of the Griffith Park roadway that has been closed for decades, in order to provide tourists with a closer view of the Hollywood sign. And more importantly, direct them away from the twisting narrow streets of Beachwood Canyon.
The Times says that canyon residents think they’ve already seen an improvement, quoting PR consultant Tony Fisch as he invokes Star Trek’s Spock in saying “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
The problem is, he has that backwards.
The needs of the many — that is, the people of Los Angeles, who own Griffith Park — outweigh the needs of the relatively few people who can afford to live in the canyon. Even if they do have a legitimate complaint.
Although I question whether Beachwood Canyon residents knew the streets were narrow and winding when they moved there. Or that they were living under LA’s most prominent tourist attraction.
Maybe an earthquake shook up the canyon’s previously straight roads. And they bought their homes during the bad old days when LA’s infamous smog obscured the hillside sign, only to discover it looming over their heads once the air cleared.
It could happen.
That’s not to say they don’t need some form of relief.
Websites and GPS systems have directed an ever-increasing number of tourists onto those narrow streets, raising fears of what might happen if an ambulance or fire truck were unable to gain access, or if a brush fire required a rapid evacuation — something that is always a risk for anyone living near undeveloped SoCal hillsides.
But is it reasonable to shift the risk from homeowners, who presumably accepted it to at least some degree when they moved in, to the countless people who use the park to escape the traffic and congestion down below?
Without warning, those people were forced to share an equally narrow roadway with confused tourists focused more on the scenic views and finding a place to park than on the vulnerable people and horses in the way of their cars.
Never mind the increased risk of igniting exactly the kind of wildfire Beachwood Canyon residents fear, as hot engines could light tinder-dry brush. Or that people from outside Southern California, who may not be aware of the danger, could carelessly toss their cigarettes out car windows as they drive.
The latter isn’t an idle fear.
I’m told by other riders and hikers that they’ve already seen it on multiple occasions since the roadway was reopened; it’s only a matter of time before one of those burning butts sends the entire hillside up in flames.
And there’s nothing that says tourists are entitled to take their selfies in the shadow of the sign. Or that they have an inalienable right to park on a roadway that local residents have no problem hiking or biking; the goal should be to reduce the number of cars in the park, not funnel them into it.
As Angelenos, we have an obligation to help Beachwood Canyon residents to find an answer to their problem, just as we would any other part of the city facing a similar situation. One that works for everyone — homeowners, tourists and those of us who enjoy the all-too rare undeveloped wilderness that lies in the heart of this massive city we call home.
But opening up Mt. Hollywood Drive to cars on a permanent basis isn’t it.
Full disclosure: I spent too much of the previous two days locked in a lengthy and unproductive Twitter conversation with the above referenced Mr. Fisch, who was offered, and refused, the opportunity write a guest post here with no restrictions on content. And who somehow felt compelled to include CicLAvia’s Twitter account in virtually the entire conversation, for no apparent reason.
Update: This great piece from the Hollywood Reporter fills in the background on the Beachwood Canyon dispute, making it clear that funneling tourists onto Mt. Hollywood Drive is just the last in a long list of efforts to appease a relative handful of angry homeowners. Thanks to Peter Flax for the link.
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Reader danger d sends word that things could be better Calabasas.
First, he reports that the traffic flag of surrender, aka crossing flags, are taking hold as the city capitulates to the almighty automobile, as evidenced by this photo from Mulholland Hwy and Freedom Drive, not far from where Milt Olin was killed in December, 2013.
As he puts it,
I am sure that someone thought that this would be a good idea to make the crossing safer for the many students from the surrounding schools, and that is great but I am afraid that the idea of pedestrians having to wave a flag to cross the street is spreading and will take hold in more areas. Then when a pedestrian is run down without one, the police will use this as an excuse for the motorist just like “he was not wearing a helmet” excuse for running over cyclist.
So let’s make this perfectly clear.
If people have to wave little flags to get drivers’ attention just so they can cross the damn street, your traffic planning has failed.
He also sends evidence of what appears to be a clearly substandard bike lane, which he discussed with a traffic engineer for the city.
In the photo you can see what appears to be a bike lane with cars parked in it. Oddly there are “no parking on Wednesday” street signs posted here also. The fact that there were bike lane signs painted on the road and parking within this area seemed odd to me. With the parked cars in the lane there was about 18 inches from the white stripe to the left. This seemed very confusing and ambiguous.
I asked the engineer about this and he told me that as long as the lane is 12 feet wide they can mark it as a bike lane and have cars parked in it.
Don’t get me wrong, he was a nice guy and said that he would go out and measure the width of the lane, since I informed him that it could be a liability issue for the city. He seemed like he would love to help make it safer and was glad that someone came in to let him know about it.
I don’t think there was 4 feet for the bikes though, not as it is now.
It’s bad enough we have to share the roads with dangerous drivers; the Eastsider reports someone was driving on the LA River bike path Saturday night, and not for the first time. Evidently, the idea is spreading to other cities, as Chicago workers find a car abandoned on one of theirs.
Congratulations to bike and planning advocate Carter Rubin on his recent appointment to the Santa Monica Planning Commission, despite the apparent reservations of the local press.
State
Red Kite Prayer’s Padraig weighs in on California’s proposed mandatory bike helmet law, and concludes government should focus on letting drivers know we’re vulnerable on the streets, and here in increasing numbers.
Drivers have long been able to avoid fines by going to traffic school; California bike riders may finally have that option if a new bill passes the state legislature.
Sad news from San Diego, as the bike rider who was shot in the city’s East Village on Saturday has died; family members say he was a peace keeper in the neighborhood. An arrest was made in the case on Monday.
CyclingSavvy will hold training classes in Orange County on the weekend of April 24th.
What happens when a paper assigns someone who doesn’t know bike racing to write about the upcoming Redlands Classic? They not only fail to mention the date — which is April 8th through 12th, thank you. And no, the Tour of California is not a popular women’s race, though they do get four stages this year.
Coachella bike riders, pedestrians and motorists are asked for their input for the region’s active transportation plan.
I like this guy. A San Francisco reporter looks at people behaving badly by blocking or illegally driving in a bike lane.
National
Forbes writes about bikes getting smarter as companies compete to build-in advanced technical features. Other than flat-free tires, I think I’ll pass.
Women’s racing takes another step forward as Colorado’s USA Pro Challenge adds a three-stage women’s race for 2015. But will any of it, or the women’s ATOC, be televised?
A Toronto cyclist complains about male riders who insist on cutting in front of her at red lights or passing because they’re embarrassed to be behind a woman.
The hit-and-run epidemic spreads to Great Britain, as authorities look for the driver who killed a 15-year old bike rider. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.
A writer for the Telegraph says it would be easy to make fun of Brompton riders, except their bikes are just so smart.
Maybe there’s some justice in Putin’s Russia after all. A Russian driver gets three years for killing an American round-the-world cyclist in a drunken collision.
A judge gives a Kiwi man who killed a cyclist permission to drive tractors on his farm despite being stopped twice for driving with a suspended license since he was released from jail.
A cyclist doored Down Under learns the hard way to always ask for ID rather than just trusting the driver who did it.
A Chinese man creates an entire bicycle from 3D-printed plastic, even if it does look like it should come with a Happy Meal.
