Update: Man riding a bicycle killed by speeding driver in possible DTLA street racing crash

May 10, 2019 / / 4 comments

A man riding a bicycle is dead because a driver couldn’t keep his foot off the gas pedal.

And he may not have been the only one speeding.

According to KTLA-5, the crash occurred around 8:55 Thursday night on the 2100 block of South Alameda Street in Downtown Los Angeles.

Although earlier reports put the time of the crash closer to 8:30 pm.

The northbound driver lost control when he hit the railroad tracks and smashed into the victim at high speed, then slammed him into a utility pole.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was deemed beyond medical help when firefighters arrived, and died at the scene.

For once the driver stuck around. Probably because he was trapped inside his overturned car with minor injuries, and he had to be removed by the firefighters.

Witnesses reported that he was driving at least 50 mph before the crash, and appeared to be racing another driver.

Police took him into custody on suspicion of negligent manslaughter. Which sounds like the bare minimum he should be charged with.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD at 877/527-3247.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the sixth in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: The victim has been identified as 30-year old Manuel Gonzalez Hernandez, who was reportedly homeless. Which does not make this any less tragic, or minimize the severity of the crime in any way.  

The driver, who still has not been publicly identified, was driving on a suspended license. 

One more reminder that taking someone’s license away doesn’t always stop them from driving. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Manuel Gonzalez Hernandez and all his loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: DC takes Vision Zero seriously, WeHo talks Sunset bulb-outs, and LA zero-emission mobility fund

May 9, 2019 / / 2 comments

This is what happens when you take Vision Zero seriously.

A DC councilmember has introduced a 25-point bill to achieve to curb rising traffic deaths.

The Vision Zero bill ranges from mandating protects bike lanes in any new developments, to banning right turns on red lights throughout the city, as well as cutting speed limits to 25 mph on minor arterial streets.

The proposal would also require the addition of protected bike lanes when streets are repaired, impound vehicles blocking bike lanes or sidewalks, and allow bike rider to report bike lane parking violations by taking photos of the offending vehicles, with police ticketing the owners of the vehicles as a result.

A pair of companion bills would require curb extensions in all new road improvement projects, and make bike-related rules part of the district’s driving test.

Maybe someday Los Angeles will follow DC’s lead, and finally get serious about Vision Zero.

Because it sure as hell hasn’t happened yet.

Photo shows LA Mayor Eric Garcetti proudly signing the city’s Vision Zero proclamation at his prop desk; too bad that Vision Zero was just a prop, too.

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West Hollywood will discuss success, or otherwise, of the bulb-out pilot program on the Sunset Strip in three upcoming meetings.

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Somehow we missed this one last week.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti followed-up on his proposed LA Green New Deal by announcing a $300,000 zero-emissions mobility pilot fund directed towards disadvantaged communities.

Three hundred grand could buy a lot of ebikes.

And lanes to ride them in.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Police in Melbourne, Australia are offering a $50,000 reward for whoever has been throwing tacks on bike paths and roads, resulting in serious injuries to a number of bike riders. Nice to see them taking the crime seriously.

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Local

A writer for UCLA’s Daily Bruin complains that the Westwood Village Improvement Association applied for a Great Streets grant to improve Westwood Blvd, while ignoring the crumbling, dangerous streets students must use to get there.

A Glendale office building is home to the first commercial property ebike-based bikeshare, available to tenants at no charge.

Pasadena introduces Metro’s Laura Cornejo as the city’s new Transportation Director.

An affordable — whatever that means — Santa Monica apartment development walking distance from the Expo Line will offer 89 underground bicycle parking spaces. And not one space for cars.

Long Beach celebrates jumping over 100 spots into the top 50 bike cities in the US, which seems right since no one could understand why it ranked so low last year.

The 10th Annual Tour of Long Beach will roll this weekend, raising funds to fight pediatric cancer.

Cap off next week’s Bike Week with the return of the 626 Golden Streets, an open streets event running five miles from Mission Street in South Pasadena to the San Gabriel Mission. Evidently, CiclaValley is already in the mood.

 

State

An Orange County real estate agent says California’s future demands higher and denser housing and fewer cars.

A bike-riding man fled from police and barricaded himself in a Costa Mesa hotel room for five hours, eventually emerging with self-inflicted injuries.

Business owners in San Diego’s North Park say a little used parking garage could make up for the loss of 420 parking spaces to make room for protected bike lanes. Meanwhile, a San Diego weekly says the city’s removal of parking spaces isn’t fair to homeless people who live in their cars.

Mountain biking the historic Anza Trail through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Happy Bike to Work Day to all you NorCal bike riders; Los Angeles will celebrate next Thursday on National Bike to Work Day. Pro tip: You don’t have to be riding to work to join in on the fun; riding to school or errands, or just for the hell of it works too.

A San Francisco woman relates the lessons she learned from biking to work for three weeks, calling the experience “life changing.” As long as you can avoid the spaghetti vomit in the bike lane.

Nice move. United Airlines is offering free airfare to anyone flying to California for next month’s AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

 

National

Popular Mechanics considers the best road bikes for every kind of rider. For twelve grand, the Roubaix SRAM Red eTap AXS damn well better be.

They get it. A Yakima WA paper says the city needs to get it in gear and be more bike friendly.

A man calling himself The Bicycle Friar paused in New Mexico after spending 20 months and 15,000 mile bicycling across the US; the former Catholic monk is collecting prayers written on pieces of cloth to carry with him to San Luis Obispo.

This is the cost of traffic violence. An 83-year old Iowa minister was killed in a collision while riding his bicycle in Iowa City; he had served the community since his appointment as an associate Methodist minister in 1965, officiating at over 700 weddings over the years.

Texas bike riders go gravel grinding with the pros.

San Antonio TX bicyclists respond to a pair of recent deaths by forming a new bike safety advocacy group to educate both bike riders and drivers, while demanding more bikeways in the city.

I want to be like her when I grow up. A 77-year old Chicago woman recently finished a 3,000-mile cross-country bike ride from St. Augustine FL to San Diego — while riding into the prevailing winds most of the way.

This is who we share the roads with. A Cleveland woman attempted to use her car as a weapon, jumping the curb and slamming into a house in an attempt to ram a pair of women standing on the porch, but hit a kid riding his bike instead.

They get it, too. A Louisville KY TV station looks into suggestions that the city cut funding for bike lanes to make up for a $35 million budget deficit, concluding that after zeroing out bike funding, the city would still need to find another $34.6 million to cut.

MIT mourns a recumbent-riding thermodynamics professor who was an expert in gas turbines, jet engines and human-powered transportation.

In yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the streets until it’s too late, the road raging motorcyclist who severely injured a Florida bike rider by allegedly swerving into a group of riders was still riding, despite having his driver’s license permanently revoked following four DUI convictions; he was also accused by his stepson of murdering his wife, though he was never charged with the killing.

A Tampa FL bike rider was shot in the ass after refusing to stop when two men tried to get him to.

 

International

Red Bull offers tips for your international mountain biking expedition.

How to take much better photos of your bike.

A London woman says the city could be a bicycling town, if the reckless macho bicyclists would just tone it down. She’s got a point. The highest law of bicycling should be to always ride in a way that doesn’t pose needless risk to yourself or others. 

When a Welsh bike rider couldn’t find a mountain bike he wanted, he built it himself.

Not only will Welsh doctors be able to prescribe bikeshare use to their patients, as we noted yesterday, but it will be fully covered by Britain’s National Health Service for up to six months.

This is who we share the roads with, too. An English driver pretended she was piloting a race car, right up to the point she crashed through a house and killed the 90-year old woman inside.

Two UK men were sentenced to life in prison, while a third got 13 years, for the stabbing death of a teenaged boy in what police termed a minor dispute over a bicycle. Although it’s hard to call any argument that results in murder “minor.”

British cycling great Chris Boardman says ending the hostility towards bicyclists is more important than wearing helmets or hi-viz. Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Laura Laker says UK bicyclists need enforcement, not calls for respect.

Australian advocates call for better bike infrastructure, saying bicycling in the country should be safer; bicycling crashes make up nearly 20% of all transportation-related injuries Down Under.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks forward to the three-week Giro d’Italia, which starts on Saturday. And no, you can’t see it in the US, unless you want to spring to stream it online.

Rigoberto Uran will make his comeback from a broken collarbone at the Amgen Tour of California, which starts on Sunday.

American pro Kiel Reijnen found solace riding the cobbles on the Tour of Flanders, weeks after his brother was killed in a workplace accident.

 

Finally…

The only bias here is against Americans — and Californians in particular. They may be the latest fashion craze, but if you’re high on meth and only wearing bike shorts and a single shoe, try to have a bicycle with you.

And a better use for those indoor cycling bikes.

https://twitter.com/Animals_Humor/status/1125772097437958144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1125772097437958144&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fvideoclub%2F201905081074815278-cat-trainer-bike%2F

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: 405 induced demand failure, it’s National Bike to School Day, and Beverly Hills Complete Streets plan

May 8, 2019 / / 2 comments

In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone, traffic congestion on the 405 Freeway over the Sepulveda Pass has only gotten worse since Metro spent over $1 billion to widen it.

Because apparently, their engineers have never heard of induced demand. Or like typical auto-centric traffic safety deniers, simply chose to ignore it, hoping it wouldn’t apply this time.

Right.

Never mind that billion bucks would have paid for the entire LA bike plan, which might actually have done something to reduce traffic.

Speaking of which, Metro wants your input on their budget for the 2020 fiscal year starting July 1st.

Tell them not to waste any more of it on highway projects.

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If you see more kids than usual on bicycles today — or any, in my neighborhood — it’s because it’s National Bike to School Day.

Let’s hope drivers are paying attention. And they all get back home safely.

Meanwhile, Northern California holds their Bike to Work Day on Thursday, while OCTA offers a limited slate of Orange County Bike Month events.

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Today’s common theme is road rage, from drivers and bike riders, both of whom should really know better.

The Minneapolis school bus basher strikes again, as the same road raging rider who broke windows on a bus with his U-lock for parking in a bike lane on Friday returned to the scene of the crime to whack a second bus for the same reason on Monday.

Also in Minneapolis, a bike rider was beaten up, had iced dumped on him and his bicycle stolen when he complained about a limo double-parked in the bike lane outside a strip club. And naturally, the cops didn’t do anything, even though it was caught on video.

Florida police busted a road raging motorcyclist who intentionally swerved into a group of bike riders last week, sending one to the hospital with severe injuries.

Police in New Zealand are looking for a road raging bike rider who broke the jaw of a 73-year old driver during a dispute that followed a collision.

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Folding bikemaker Tern is giving their popular GSD folding e-cargo bikes to deserving nonprofit organizations.

Which raises the obvious question of whether my lack of income qualifies me.

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Beverly Hills has released its draft Complete Streets Plan, which, if adopted, would represent a dramatic turnaround for one of the area’s most incomplete cities.

There will be a public meeting to discuss it at 6 pm this evening at Beverly Hills City Hall.

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Joni Yung, aka @ayogist, offers a firsthand report on DTLA’s new two-way protected bike lanes.

Instagram post

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Local

The LACBC will team with Metro and Councilmember Bob Blumenfield’s office to host a BEST Class: Bicycling 101 bike safety training in Reseda tomorrow.

Thursday also marks the annual Streetsblog awards dinner and fundraiser, at El Paseo Inn on Olvera Street in DTLA.

This week’s SGV Connects podcast talks protected bike lanes in Pasadena.

The Santa Monica Mirror considers the city’s embrace of e-scooters in the wake of the LA area’s first motorized scooter death — even though that was a man riding a private electric mobility device, which has nothing to do with dockless scooters, except what they’re called and what powers them.

Meanwhile, a new Texas study has reaffirmed the results of a UCLA study of Santa Monica scooter users, with one third of injured riders suffering broken bones, and up to half suffering head injuries.

 

State

Encinitas will open the new Cardiff Coastal Rail Trail this Friday, part of a planned 44-mile bike path from Oceanside to Downtown San Diego. 

A San Diego writer visits a downtown bike chop shop in search of stolen bikes and parts.

A bighearted Santa Ynez teenager is hosting her own bike ride to raise funds to buy bicycles, air pumps, locks and tools for girls in Cambodia to help them get to school safely, and avoid child marriage and sex slavery.

San Jose traffic fatalities have jumped 37% over the past decade, promoting bike and pedestrian advocates to demand a Vision Zero program. But as LA advocates have learned the hard way, if it doesn’t have real teeth, Vision Zero is meaningless.

A San Francisco girls soccer team is calling for safer streets after one of their teammates was killed by a 91-year old woman while walking in a marked crosswalk; the driver said she couldn’t see because the sun was in her eyes. Yet another example of why older drivers need to be tested on a regular basis to ensure they can drive safely. Never mind that the correct response to being blinded by the sun is to slow down or stop until you can see there’s nothing in your way. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

One more reason to be jealous of the Bay Area. An Oakland developer paid for a protected bike lane with enough bollards to actually keep drivers out of it, as mitigation to get approval for a building.

Talk about off-off-off-off-off-Broadway. A Davis theater company is performing a bike-themed musical to teach bike safety to school kids.

 

National

Sad news, as Frank Peter Brilando, the designer and engineer who helped develop the classic Sting Ray, Varsity and Continental bikes for Schwinn has passed away; he was 93.

Consumer Reports recommends the best bike helmets to reduce your risk of a concussion.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss calls for banning right turns on red lights.

Don’t piss off a Washington mom by stealing her son’s bike.

Washington sheriff’s deputies discovered the body of a man who disappeared nine months ago while riding with his son after the two got separated; he apparently lost control and hit a sign, then fell into the field where his body was found.

Caught on video: A Las Vegas boy was lucky to escape with minor injuries when a sleeping driver jumped the curb in his car, and smashed into the boy at 35 mph as he rode his bike on the sidewalk.

The University of Texas responds to a lawsuit over the death of a bike-riding woman by trying to get all riders not affiliated with the university banned from its campus and declared trespassers on university streets.

Something is seriously wrong when an 83-year old Iowa man can’t ride his bike without getting run down from behind. Apparently, Midwestern minivans don’t have brakes, since the woman behind the wheel was forced to hit him because there were cars in the other lane. No, really.

Great idea. Dallas will build a bike hostel with up to 40 beds to attract bike tourists to the city.

Over one hundred Oklahoma City bike riders rallied for safer streets, thanking people for giving a damn and calling BS on the notion that streets are for cars.

A seven-year old Michigan girl is holding a bike-a-thon to fight MS for the third consecutive year, which means she started when she was just five years old; this is the first time she’ll ride it without training wheels.

Evidently, a Boston protected bike lane is just another shortcut to drive your car to a parking lot.

As if they didn’t have enough to worry about, New York delivery riders are being targeted by a pair of ebike thieves — which means turning for help to the same NYPD officers who ticket them just for doing their jobs.

New York advocates demand action to improve the city’s Vision Zero program as traffic fatalities rise for the first four months of the year, following several years of steady declines.

Police in an upstate New York city are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider who smacked into a pedestrian while illegally riding on the sidewalk.

Now that’s more like it. The mayor of New Orleans calls for creating a low-stress bike network by building new protected bike lanes and adding barriers to 125 miles of existing bike lanes, doubling the city’s bikeshare network, and requiring bike parking in private buildings.

Louisiana 8th graders are learning how to repair bikes by reconditioning donated bicycles to give to people who need, but can’t afford, one.

Calling herself the Crazy Bike Lady, a 44-year old Tampa FL women is saving money and getting in the best shape of her life by biking everywhere instead of driving.

 

International

More proof bikes are good for you. Welsh doctors will now be able to prescribe bikeshare for their patients.

Edinburgh, Scotland hosted its first open streets event, which will repeat every Sunday through the summer.

Scottish police will conduct plainclothes sting operations to enforce the country’s equivalent of a three-foot passing distance, including the use of a special mat to show drivers just what that looks like. Something we’ve been told is somehow impossible to do on this side of the Atlantic; thanks to Megan Lynch and John McBrearty for the links. 

Caught on video, too: An English bike rider learns the hard way to always stop for emergency vehicles.

A British man is surprised to learn that the American made, 1800s mini Penny Farthing he bought for £200 is worth £2,000 — the equivalent of $2,670.

New regulations will require improved visibility for drivers in all large trucks beginning next year. Meanwhile, here in the US… <crickets>.

A jump in Aussie bike riders over 45 has led to a soaring number of hospitalizations and deaths for older riders.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says this year’s Giro d’Italia will be “ferocious;” the first of the three Grand Tours rolls on Saturday. Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, the Amgen Tour of California kicks off a day later.

A European website looks back at the great Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, who helped save the lives of hundreds of Jews during WWII, in addition to back-to-back wins in the Giro and winning the Tour de France the following year.

 

Finally…

Even e-cars are going dockless now. If you pass an unlocked mail van while riding your bike, don’t steal a package — steal the whole damn truck.

And when you’re riding your bike while drunk off your ass, with a half bottle of booze and a pellet gun tucked in your waistband, and weed and more booze in your pocket, just…don’t.

Period.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Not so bikeable Los Angeles, Times endorses Lundquist in CD12, and dodging distracted bicyclists

May 7, 2019 / / 3 comments

The latest rankings of America’s most bikeable places are out.

And this year, my Colorado hometown only ranks second, behind nearby Boulder CO, and one spot above Eugene OR.

Somehow, I’m sure they’ll get over it.

People for Bikes, the nonprofit bike industry-sponsored advocacy group the compiled the rankings, explained their methodology this way.

To compile the data, PeopleForBikes crunched Census figures, analysis from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, plus the group’s own analysis of city planning information, maps, and surveys from community members in cities.

“We focused this year’s efforts on engaging more cities to improve accuracy of ratings,” PeopleForBikes director of research Jennifer Boldry said in a statement. “Better accuracy provides a more valuable tool that helps cities benchmark, set goals and measure progress.”

The list changes year to year to account for traffic injury rates, ridership figures and public investment in creating bike lanes and other infrastructure.

Bikeable Santa Monica was the highest rated SoCal city, checking in with an eight-way tie for 11th with a 3.1 overall score; a group that also included Santa Barbara.

San Diego was a notch behind at 3.0, while Ventura and Goleta both scored a 2.9.

And where did the not-so-bikeable City of Fallen Angels rank?

Over 180 notches below the leaders, with a lousy 1.7. And as CiclaValley points out, a significant drop from last year’s 2.6.

Twitter post

Not that we’re going the wrong way or anything.

But who knows?

Maybe if LA’s leaders get serious about Vision Zero and building out the mobility plan, and lose their irrational fear of angering the NIMBY traffic safety denying segment of LA’s driving public, we might work our way back up to 1.9 — or maybe even a 2.0 — in no time.

It could happen.

On the other hand, at least we’re not Detroit.

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The LA Times endorses astrophysicist Loraine Lundquist for LA City Council in CD12 to replace Mitch Englander, who decided he didn’t want the job anymore; she also got an A rating from Bike the Vote LA.

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It may not be the holiday season, but generosity still carries the day.

A player for the Denver Broncos donated 70 bicycles to kids at a Denver elementary school, in hopes it will help the develop healthy habits for a lifetime.

A former foster mom continues to provide new bicycles, locks and helmets to Ohio foster kids through her Bike Mom charity, providing more than 11,000 bikes over the past 11 years.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Florida bike rider was injured when he ran into a fishing line that had been strung across a path, slicing his throat.

Two 16-year old Japanese boys face attempted murder charges for stringing a rope across a roadway, seriously injuring a 79-year old woman on a scooter.

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Local

A transit site says LA Metro is hosting a host of LA Bike Month events.

Santa Monica police with run one of their periodic bike and pedestrian safety enforcement days this Friday. And this time, they’re throwing scooter violations in the mix, as well. So ride to the letter of the law as long as you’re in the city.

The tenth annual Tour of Long Beach will roll this Saturday to benefit kids suffering from cancer. Meanwhile, the city is stepping up Visio Zero efforts after 31 people were killed in traffic collisions in Long Beach last year.

 

State

Vallejo police released body camera footage of a police officer shooting and killing a black man for the crime of riding a bicycle without a headlight, after the bike rider allegedly grabbed the cop’s flashlight during a struggle.

 

National

No surprise here. A pair of new studies conclude that the way the news media reports on bicycle crashes reflects a subtle bias that helps shift blame to the victim.

Following the introduction of their high-end mountain and gravel bikes, Walmart is jumping into the road market with a $2,300+ road bike available only online. Although if they had a better sense of humor, they would call it L’Viathon.

Amazon’s Waymo self-driving cars may have finally learned to recognize people on bicycles.

Common sense has carried the day in Oregon, where the legislature has passed a bill to overturn a bizarre court ruling, making it clear that bike lanes extend through intersections, even if the paint doesn’t.

He gets it. A Washington traffic columnist says bicyclists might be safer if they didn’t have to stop at stop signs.

Famed framebuilder Roland Della Santa was found dead in his Reno home on Saturday; he was 72.

A Nevada public radio station asks whether bike riders are safe on the state’s streets.

Sad news from Utah, where an 11-year old Rwandan refugee died just hours after she was placed in a foster home; she was allowed to ride her bike without supervision, despite knot knowing the area, and was killed in a collision.

A 60-year old Kansas man is given a free car so he doesn’t have to bike to work anymore. Which doesn’t sound like a happy ending from here.

New York’s presumptive presidential candidate mayor is urged to forget his quixotic quest to become president, and refocus on the city’s Vision Zero problems.

This is why you always ride carefully around pedestrians. A New York woman has died weeks after she was struck by an alleged red light running bike rider.

Over 200 bike riders turned out to form the funeral procession for a beloved New Jersey bike shop owner whose goal was to save the world with bicycles.

 

International

Your next ebike could make its own electricity.

A Dutch intern living and biking in Vancouver says maybe Amsterdam isn’t the best model to follow due to rage, chaos and clashes in the biking mecca.

A Canadian woman tries biking to work, and finds it wasn’t as easy as it seems.

Residents of a Montreal suburb are threatening to move because of plans to replace parking spaces with a bike lane.

A new Scottish study shows that active commuting can cut your risk of heart disease and early death, whether or not you’re overweight.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list. An eight-day self-guided bike tour from Venice to Croatia.

China’s 29th International Bike Fair kicked off in Shanghai on Monday.

 

Finally…

Even sunglass-wearing dogs have to deal with bike theft. Don’t get mad and bust out the windows of a bike lane-blocking school bus with your U-lock — especially since we all have to pay to get that shit fixed.

And those damn distracted drivers…uh, bicyclists.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the video. 

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Thanks to Matthew R and Theodore F for their generous donations to help support this site.

Donations of any amount are always welcome. And appreciated. 

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Man in his 60s killed in Santa Ana when he fell off his bike into the street

May 6, 2019 / / 2 comments

Sometimes, sidewalks only offer the illusion of safety.

Especially when it’s a narrow sidewalk along a busy, fast-moving street.

According to the Orange County Register, a man was killed when he fell off a Santa Ana sidewalk, and was struck by a passing car.

The victim, identified only as a Hispanic man in his 60s, was walking or riding his bike headed east, on the north sidewalk, under the railroad overpass on First Street near Standard Ave around 8:30 pm when he somehow fell in front of the driver’s car.

A Santa Ana police advisory reports that the driver immediately stopped, and several bystanders gathered around the victim in the street to protect him from traffic. He was taken to OC Global Trauma Center, where he passed away.

The sidewalk appears to narrow significantly under the overpass, which could have caused the man to fall.

The police statement said the driver was only traveling 25 mph at the time of the crash, which seems unlikely; the speed limit is 40 mph on that section of First, and most Southern California drivers routinely exceed posted speeds by 5 mph to 10 mph, or more.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at 714/245-8200.

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

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

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: CHP almost gets left turns right, war on bikes Culver City edition, and possible $1000 CA rebate on ebike

May 6, 2019 / / One comment

After criticizing the CHP last week, it’s only fair to give them credit when it’s due.

An Orange County CHP officer got it right when he was asked whether bike riders could use left turn lanes.

Almost, anyway.

He said that bicyclists have a right to turn left just like drivers do, and even noted that they are allowed to take the full lane when traveling at the speed of traffic — an exception to the ride to the right rule most cops seem to miss.

But the CHP officer incorrectly notes that bicyclists must hug the curb in other instances. Even though the law says people on bicycles are free to take the lane anytime it’s too narrow to safely share with a bike and car side-by-side, which is the case with most righthand lanes in Southern California.

And he suggests that anyone who’s uncomfortable turning from the left turn lane should get off their bike and walk in the crosswalk.

Never mind that bicyclists have the right to ride in a crosswalk under California law.

Or that box turns work better, anyway. With or without painted turn boxes.

Photo from CHP website. 

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The war on bikes may have raised its ugly head right here in Southern California, after a handful of razor blades were found in a Culver City bike lane.

https://twitter.com/d_mcneary/status/1124364013721145345

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Keep your fingers crossed.

If a Calbike proposal is adopted, you could be eligible for a rebate up to $1,000 on the purchase of an ebike.

Or better yet, sign the petition.

Twitter post

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An ad featuring a boy walking his bike up a steep hill to deliver bread in post-war England has been named Britain’s most iconic classic ad.

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Local

The LA Times wants to know if Bird can finally build a better scooter before it runs out of cash.

Displaying more cuteness than allowed by law, Strider Bikes hosted a series of toddler races at LA Live this past weekend.

CicLAvia shares their favorite moments from the recent Wilmington event.

There will be a meeting to support the Rowena road diet and help keep the street safe at 6 pm this Wednesday at the Friendship Auditorium.

One more reason to ride a bike. The founder of the Golden Road Brewery in Atwater Village changed her career trajectory after meeting the owner of the famed Oskar Blues Brewery while riding her bike in Colorado. Seriously, you’re not likely to meeting anyone while speeding down the same roads in your car — unless you hit them.

Roughly 75 people turned out for last week’s meeting on a proposed two-way protected bike lane on Pasadena’s Union Street.

Santa Clarita’s mayor invites you to celebrate all things cycling in the city as they mark bike month, and a visit by the Amgen Tour of California.

A bike-riding man is the chief suspect in a series of alleyway arson fires in the Cal Heights neighborhood of Long Beach.

 

State

A legendary backcountry OC mountain bike ride raises a whopping $1.25 million to aid people in Rwanda.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss proves he’s not that snobby after all, riding this Cambria’s Eroica California on the cheapest bikes he can buy.

Authorities stopped an Amtrak train for over an hour to search for a man who was apparently struck by the train while he was walking his bike along the tracks in Pismo Beach; he turned up later in an ER with hand and arm injuries, after all searchers found was a mangled bicycle.

An East Sacramento hit-and-run driver left a bike rider lying in the street with serious injuries. Meanwhile, a mother asks the hit-and-run driver who left her bike-riding son with a serious brain injury to turns themselves in.

 

National

An Irish man rode and ran across the United States in just 36 days to raise funds in an effort to raise over a quarter million euros — $279,670 — to fight Spina Bifida.

Ai Wei Wei’s sculpture may be titled Forever Bicycles, but it won’t be displayed in Austin TX that long. Or much longer, for that matter. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

An Arkansas newspaper breaks the shocking news that you can get hurt riding a mountain bike.

Minneapolis has pulled the plug on Minnesota’s North Star Grand Prix once again after a last-ditch crowdfunding effort raised just $12,000 of the $200,000 they needed to put on a UCI women’s race

Proving once again that we all face the same problems, Boston bike riders complain about the glacial pace of implementing the city’s bike plan, arguing that the mayor’s plan is falling short.

New York held their annual Blessing of the Bicycles over the weekend; LA’s version will take place at Good Samaritan Hospital on May 14th as part of Bike Week.

A 50-year bike commuter says New York bicyclists have to do better, and calls on riders to welcome stricter enforcement by police. Sure. That’ll happen.

Today weatherman Al Roker is one of us, joining thousands of other riders for New York’s Five Boro Bike Tour.

A West Virginia bike rider urges people to control their dogs after suffering a concussion and separating his shoulder when his bike broadsided a dog that ran out in front of him. No word on how the dog fared.

Police in Charleston SC respond to rising rates of bicyclists and pedestrians by insisting that pedestrians would be safe if they just used crosswalks, rather that concluding that maybe there aren’t enough crosswalks or they’re in the wrong places. And never mind all those people in the big, dangerous machines.

Two kindhearted South Carolina cops pitched in to buy a kid a new bike after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver. Although someone should tell the TV station that the car probably had a driver.

New Orleans’ mayor sees better bus service and more dockless bikeshares — not more traffic lanes — as the solution to the city’s transportation problems.

A Key West parade celebrates human powered sculpture.

 

International

A Vancouver writer describes how she learned to love commuting by bicycle.

A Toronto business owner complains about plans for a road diet to make room for protected bike lanes, insisting that he only sees a single bike rider every few days. Which is like saying we don’t need a new bridge because you only see a few cars driving into the river.

London bicyclists donned their best Harris and Donegal woolens and mounted classic bikes for this year’s Tweed Ride.

You have exactly one month to get to the UK to ride your bike naked on the Queen’s official birthday.

An Indian man who spent five decades riding across the country has given his Trek Madone to a 15 year old cycling prodigy, after he had to quit riding due to medical problems.

An Indian paper looks back on seven Parsi men who travelled the world on their bicycles over 100 years ago.

India’s Economic Times says bicycling in Bengaluru is a cruel joke on bicyclists.

A Sydney, Australia writer says check your biases next time you hear the word cyclist or get stuck behind one in traffic, after a Facebook post about the death of a bike-riding woman got 464 comments — only four of which expressed any sympathy for the victim or her family.

An Aussie bike rider caused considerable, and reasonable, consternation after he was photographed wearing a Nazi armband.

 

Competitive Cycling

Don’t plan on seeing Colombian pro Egan Bernal in next week’s Giro d’Italia, after breaking his collarbone on a training ride.

The New York Daily News considers the meteoric rise and fall of Major Taylor, the one-time world’s fastest man, who broke cycling’s color barrier more than a century ago. Now we just need someone to do it again.

 

Finally…

Maybe next time, he’ll listen when a cop tells him to get his golf cart out of the bike lane. Apparently, a bicycle only makes you invisible if you don’t don a hideous blond wig to bike through a police dragnet.

And no, that’s not a bicycle riding in a new bike lane.

 

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