Day 241 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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This, too, is the cost of traffic violence.
A hit-and-run driver severely damaged a popular Hollywood sculpture Monday evening, literally decapitating a statue of early film icon Anna May Wong, widely considered to be the first Chinese American film star.
The statue is, or rather, was, part of the Four Ladies of Hollywood Gazebo at Hollywood Blvd and La Brea Ave, a popular photo site for tourists, even if it has been without the small statue of Marilyn Monroe that used to top it until an influencer stole it as a prank and broke it.
According to Beverly Press & Park LaBrea News, the unknown driver fled the scene after crashing into it around 5:50 pm Monday. He’s described only as a male in a full-size, older model, white work van.
Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD’s Hollywood Division at 213/972-2971.
Let’s hope they find the coward and force ’em to pay for repairs.
Or rather, she wants to close it to cars so we can open it up for everyone else.
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Researchers are discovering that automated traffic cams are more popular than you think, for one good reason.
They work.
According to Bloomberg,
But writ large, the track record of automatic enforcement is overwhelmingly positive. In surveys most Americans understand and value the upsides that traffic cameras offer. A 2022 study found that a majority of American adults back automatic traffic enforcement, and that presenting it as a tool to advance racial justice can make it even more popular. Earlier research identified consistently strong support. A 2012 study of people living across 14 US cities found that two-thirds of them supported red light cameras. Papers published in 2014 and 2016 found that 76% of residents in the District of Columbia and 62% of those in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, respectively, supported speed cameras.
Public support can transcend party lines and geography. Sarah Seo, a law professor now at New York University, found in a 2020 reportthat a majority of likely voters across the US supported “moving most traffic enforcement to traffic cameras and non-police agencies” (such as a transportation department, as Berkeley, California, has explored), including almost two-thirds of Democrats, a plurality of independents, and 42% of Republicans.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
An 85-year old San Francisco man ended up with multiple injuries when something knocked his cane out from under him and sent him flying as he walked in a bike lane — although he has no idea if it was someone on a bicycle, someone getting out of an Uber, or something or someone else.
More on the road-raging British bicyclist who allegedly threw his bike at a car in a fit of rage after the driver “bumped” into him, causing over $1,300 in damages, even through the driver pinky swears he was only going 2 mph at the time of the crash. Which kinda stretches credibility, because most cars can idle faster than that if left in gear.
In an op-ed for the nonprofit Voice of OC, a Huntington Beach man who identifies himself as an “automobile driver, a cyclist, and an e-bike rider” says enough with passing performative ebike laws on a city-by-city basis, since state law already covers it — including defining any two-wheeled electric device without pedals as a motorbike.
Commissioners in Florida’s Seminole County are hesitating to install new green bike lanes, after receiving a letter from the state ordering them to remove green crosswalks.
More proof that bicycling is good for you, as new Italian study shows that riding your bike as little as 2.5 miles to work four to five times a week is enough to boost your heart health as much as 30%.
The victim, identified as 39-year old Wilmington resident Andrew Rodriguez, was crossing Grand Ave at Fairhaven Ave when he was struck by a southbound driver around 11:35 pm.
Rodriguez died at the scene, despite the efforts of officers and paramedics. The driver, 26-year old Santa Ana resident Vanessa Anahi Picenavalos, was arrested for DUI.
Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana Police Detective K. Briley at 714/245-8215, or the Traffic Division of the Santa Ana Police Department at 714/245-8200.
This is at least the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Andrew Rodriguez and his loved ones.
August 28, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Repairs begin on Marvin Bruade Trail, share your thoughts on 3rd Street barriers, and LA’s bike “party on wheels” tomorrow
Day 240 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
The $800,000 project will fix the pathway between Chautauqua Boulevard and Entrada Drive, near the Roosevelt Pedestrian Tunnel, that was washed out by heavy rains early last year.
The popular pathway is used by upwards of 10,000 people a day.
It’s been awhile since I’ve ridden that path, but I’m told there’s also a section further south that’s been washed out, as well.
And raise your hand if you even knew that tunnel had a name. Because I sure as hell didn’t, and I used it for years.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass claimed she was one of us when she campaigned for office. But to the best of my knowledge, she’s has ridden a bike to work or with any member of the community ever since.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Texas man faces multiple charges after allegedly using a stolen truck to jump a curb and intentionally crash into a man riding a bicycle, then returning three minutes later to run over the victim where he sat injured on the ground; the driver was arrested following a short police chase, after a witness used her own pickup to halt the second attack.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A writer for the Southern California News Groupexplains the rules governing bicycles after an Upland writer asks what can be done to stop scofflaw bike riders from breaking the law. Just wait until they find out about all those scofflaw drivers breaking the law in their big, dangerous machines.
Commenters in Victoria, British Columbia were up in arms after someone posted a photo of a man riding a bicycle with a helmet-less baby strapped to his back. Although it’s my understanding that a baby’s neck isn’t developed enough to support the weight of a bike helmet.
A Reno, Nevada bike rider was hospitalized with minor injuries after being struck by a 14-year old riding an illegal electric motorcycle on the sidewalk; the kid who caused the crash was cited for multiple violations, while a friend on another bike was released with a warning.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A second-generation Methodist paster in rural Tennessee was killed when he was rear-ended by the driver of a big rig truck while riding his bicycle.
Talk about not knowing your market. The owner of a Summerville, Massachusetts donut shop fears the removal of parking in front of his shop for a new bike lane will force him to move. Never mind that studies show bike lanes are good for business. And we don’t need any studies to know donuts attract bicycles like magnets.
A 49-year old New Jersey man will spend the next five years behind bars for killing a “selfless” nurse bicycling with her husband eight years ago, while driving under the influence of “a very high level of narcotics.” Although his two previous DWIs — aka DUIs — would have made him subject to a murder charge here in California.
August 26, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Man riding bicycle killed by driver in Twentynine Palms Monday afternoon, 8th SoCal bicycling death reported this month
A bad month for Southern California bike riders just keeps getting worse.
For the eighth time this month, we’ve learned that someone was killed riding a bicycle, this time in Twentynine Palms.
Investigators report the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding north on Adobe while weaving in and out of the northbound lanes. He was struck by the driver, presumably head-on, after swerving onto the southbound side of the road.
He died at the scene, despite the effort of bystanders and first responders to perform CPR.
The driver remained on scene and cooperated with investigators, and is not believed to have been under the influence.
Adobe is a four lane mostly rural roadway with a center turn lane; there are a handful on businesses on the west side of the road the victim may have been attempting to get to when he was killed.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station at 760/366-4175, or anonymously at 1-800/782-7463 or at wetip.com.
This is at least the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
August 26, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Why there aren’t enough cops to enforce traffic laws, and WeHo advocates call for permanent bike counter on Fountain
Day 238 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Let’s start with this exchange in yesterday’s comments.
Because it illustrates a common misperception that our streets would be safer if the cops would just do their job.
I would argue that an individuals perception of safety, isn’t a great indicator of actual risk. Society can’t be held responsible for the timid and simply because grown men are terrified of riding their bikes on the street, doesn’t meant the streets are unsafe. 99.99% of drivers do not want to hurt anyone, and simply want to get where they are going. Why must they be held responsible of the failings of law enforcement, who are tasked with making our roads and streets safer? Law enforcement takes a large portion of the public budget, so how and why do they fail to uphold their end of deal? Why are they incapable of making our streets safe?
That one’s easy. There are not enough cops in the world to enforce the law against every person behind the wheel. Take Los Angeles, as an example. We currently have around 9,000 cops on the city payroll. Now divide that by three shifts every day. Subtract all the detectives, and cops working desk duty. Now subtract all the cops on vacation, sick leave and disability. According to officers I’ve spoken with, that leaves around 200-300 uniformed officers on patrol at any given time, most of whom are either responding to or working to prevent more serious crimes, like assaults, robberies and murders. That leaves maybe a few dozen free to enforce traffic laws in a city of nearly 4 million, with the nation’s largest street grid.
Even in smaller cities are usually in a better position to enforce the streets, but even there the overwhelming majority of traffic violations go unpunished because there aren’t enough cops to be everywhere at once. And drivers know that, which is why most drivers routinely ignore speed limits and distracted driving laws, just to name two.
As for grown men thinking the streets are unsafe, it’s only because so many are.
No one wishes the police could enforce traffic laws more than I do.
I witness drivers routinely breaking the law every time I go out on the street, any time of the day or night.
During the day, drivers roll the stop signs on the corner, just like the bike and scooter riders they complain about. At night, my relatively quiet residential street becomes a drag strip as motorists take advantage of the lighter traffic to race from corner to corner.
And don’t get me started on frequent close calls just walking my dog, which should be the safest thing I do outside of my home.
As one LA cop confided to me, most drivers have forgotten they’re controlling a dangerous, potentially deadly machine. They feel comfortable playing automotive Russian roulette simply because they’ve always gotten away with it.
Until they don’t.
Yes, better enforcement is part of the solution to our deadly streets. So is getting drivers to focus on safety.
But until both of those things somehow miraculously occur, the only real solution is to design our streets so common mistakes don’t become deadly.
Which is the definition of Vision Zero.
As for those “grown men…terrified of riding their bikes on the street,” picture the same thing, but substitute your eight year old kid or grandkid for those grown men, and see if that changes anything.
Because I sure as hell wouldn’t want mine to ride around here.
The idea is to provide an accurate record of how many people ride on the current sharrows, compared to how many ride there after protected bike lanes are installed.
Which is actually a good idea.
Because, as others have said, counting the bike riders who use it now is like counting how many people cross a river without a bridge, as opposed to how many would cross it if there was one.
A Long Island driver faces charges for a road rage incident caught on Ring cam, after he was seen punching a 70-something man riding a bicycle and knocking him back onto the sidewalk; the incident reportedly started three blocks earlier when the victim yelled at the driver for not stopping at a stop sign.
Apparently, everyone in London “and beyond” is talking about the “problem(s)” with bicyclists, as a writer somehow conflates a recent survey showing slightly more than half of bike riders admitted breaking traffic laws, with a 25% increase in pedestrian deaths this year — even though drivers, not bicyclists. are to blame for the increase.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Pasadena committee is rewriting the city’s bicycle ordinances to bring them into alignment with state law and update outdated provisions; among the changes is defining ebikes, eliminating a prohibited bicycle registration requirement, and allowing sidewalk riding near churches, schools and public buildings.
A Honolulu bike advocacy group is hosting free ebike safety classes after a 15-year old boy was killed by a 75-year old driver while riding an electric motorbike in a crosswalk; police were quick to blame the kid for riding against the Don’t Walk signal, but didn’t say if he was going against the red light.
This is the cost of traffic violence, part two. Georgia bicyclists are in mourning after well-known bicycle attorney and advocate Ken Rosskopf was killed when he was struck by a driver while making a turn on his bike; the 85-year old Rosskopf was described as a legend in the community by his son, pro cyclist Joey Rosskopf.
It’s happened yet again. Vuelta leader Jonas Vingegaard was able to make it to the starting line for yesterday’s stage three, even though thieves broke into the team mechanics’ truck, taking 18 bikes worth half a million dollars. Although you’d think previous similar thefts would have been enough to put a guard on the damn things.
