243 miles of South Bay bullshit, WeHo considers banning non-protected bike lanes, and LA rips out existing bike lanes

November 3, 2023 / / One comment

Don’t forget tonight’s memorial and ghost bike ceremony for fallen Santa Monica bicyclist Tania Mooser.

Meanwhile, I’m told Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, is working with the widow of fallen Hollywood producer Bob George to arrange a ghost bike ceremony, after he was fatally doored in a Fountain Blvd bike lane, and will invite everyone to show up to demand safer infrastructure when details are in place.

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The South Bay Cities are punting on safer streets and installing a 243-mile network of sharrows, which have been shown to actually increase the risk for people on bicycles.

In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that sharrows are worse than nothing in terms of bicycle safety, while their arrow motif appears to exist solely to help drivers improve their aim in an effort to thin the herd.

Which is why bike writer Peter Flax has said “sharrows are bullshit,” in a Medium column as well as on a popular t-shirt.

So, in other words, the South Bay intends to install 243 miles of total BS.

And frankly, that stinks.

www.nicetryflaxy.com

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Yes, please.

In marked contrast to the South Bay, the West Hollywood City Council will consider a proposal at their meeting on Monday to plan and implement nothing but protected bike lanes — Class I or Class IV — anywhere in the city.

Better yet, the proposal would be implemented without removing any proposed bike lanes from the city’s General Plan, and could include upgrading existing facilities.

Like the bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd, which currently provide convenient space for double-parking while waiting for a curbside space to open up in Boys Town.

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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton calls out the City of Los Angeles for putting bike riders at risk by removing bike lanes on six streets, in favor of installing still more parking.

Because as we all know, the convenience of drivers matters more than human lives in the City of Angels.

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For those keeping score at home, The Washington Post offers all the facts you need to know regarding the trial of Kaitlin Armstrong for the murder of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson on Austin, Texas last year.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. Toronto NIMBYs, including the provincial premier, trot out the usual anti-bike lane tropes in calling for the removal of a newly extended bike lane, insisting that no one ever uses it even though it’s the busiest bike lane in the city.

A British bike rider shares harrowing footage of getting deliberately rammed off his bike after he had the temerity to object to a punishment pass; naturally, the woman behind the wheel walked without a single day behind bars.

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Local 

Pasadena’s intentionally irreverent Doo Dah Parade returns in two weeks to gleefully mock the city’s Rose Parade. But ride a bike to avoid the city’s infamous traffic and parking problems. 

 

State

The raisin capital of the world hosted an international transportation innovations summit last week, as Fresno celebrates a lifestyle of fun and livability.

Bay Area bicyclists have filed suit against US Bank, after it allegedly installed a gate blocking a longstanding bike path easement used as a shortcut to access Mt. Diablo, forcing bike riders — including a high school and middle school mountain biking team — to ride a busy, steep and narrow highway instead.

Sacramento is converting a busy one-way street to two ways to make room for bike lanes, although not everyone is onboard.

 

National

Writing for Road Bike Rider, a cycling coach lists 12 common off-season mistakes to avoid.

Bicycling suggests the best forms of cross training to help reach your bicycling goals. Although I originally read that last word as “goats,” which would have made for a much more intriguing article. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you. 

A modern Penny Farthing rider takes pleasure in bringing a little silliness and joy to the streets of Kansas City, even if some people mistake him for a hipster. Because everyone knows Penny Farthings are the hipster transportation of choice.

Cincinnati Bengals safety Nick Scott is one of us, riding his ebike to work at the city’s stadium. Even if he thought the terrain in Los Angeles wasn’t conducive to riding in his four years with the Rams.

A Streetsblog op-ed argues that it’s long past time for protected bike lanes in Jamaica, Queens, which has thus far been ignored by city officials.

A North Carolina website considers cheap and easy changes to improve safety for the state’s bicyclists.

The Orlando, Florida man accused of murdering a couple riding their bicycles home from last year’s Bike Week festivities — the motorized kind — is back for another mental competency hearing, after he was diagnosed schizophrenia and hospitalized earlier this year.

 

International

Momentum examines that makes a great bicycling city. Los Angeles at least has the topography and climate parts covered; the rest, not so much.

Makes sense. A British Columbia driver saw someone on a gas-powered bicycle coming up fast behind her, so she naturally slammed on the brakes, with predictable results.

Kate Middleton, Britain’s Princess of Wales, ran to the rescue in full mom mode when a young boy fell off his bicycle, after she and Prince William rode a bike course at a Scottish school.

Letter writers in the UK take issue with the assertion that bike lanes are only for “champaign socialists.” Everyone knows we’re more into a good craft beer, anyway. 

 

Competitive Cycling

The last place finisher in this year’s 2,500-mile Transcontinental Race from Belgium to Greece discusses her experience on a Road.cc podcast, including crashing into a fence after falling asleep as she was riding her bike.

Carson’s Velo Sports Center will host next years US Elite & Para-cycling Track National Championships, as well as the 2024 Pan American Track Championships.

 

Finally…

If James Bond rode a bike, this would be it. When life gives you mistakenly installed bike lanes, don’t enforce the parking restrictions.

And the proper response to getting a parking ticket is to just ride your bike instead.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LA Mayor Bass caves to Freeway to Nowhere NIMBYs, and new fed bill aims to protect vulnerable road users

November 2, 2023 / / Comments Off on LA Mayor Bass caves to Freeway to Nowhere NIMBYs, and new fed bill aims to protect vulnerable road users

She gets it.

Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith asks why the city won’t even study removing the 90 Freeway stub to nowhere, after the mayor and other local officials caved to LA’s notorious NIMBYs.

Mayor Bass had initially supported a federal grant request to fund a two-year study of the project, which would scrap the three-mile, lightly trafficked highway, potentially replacing it with low-cost housing and a massive linear park.

But in true LA fashion, the mayor and other local officials were for it before they was against it, listening to the loudest angry voices instead of the voice of reason.

Now, though, my excitement as well as (Streets For All founder Michael) Schneider’s has given way to familiar feelings of frustration. True to form for NIMBY-indulging Los Angeles, the political support he believed was solid has suddenly turned porous.

That includes Bass: “I do not support the removal or demolition of the 90 Freeway,” she said in a statement last week. “I’ve heard loud and clear from communities who would be impacted and I do not support a study on this initiative.”

L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park agrees with her. After conducting a very unscientific poll of her Westside constituents, she wrote in her newsletter that: “The 11th District does not support the demolition of the 90 Freeway. Your voice is why Mayor Bass rescinded her initial support.”

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell told me that, despite rumors to the contrary, she never decided to back a study or tearing down the Marina Freeway, which abuts her district in the unincorporated neighborhood of Ladera Heights. “But it’s a moot point now,” she said.

As Smith makes clear, what they’re all now opposing is nothing more than a feasibility study.

No one, at this point, is calling for the actual destruction of anything. And nothing regarding this project would be done for years, if not decades, that would inconvenience motorists in the slightest.

The flip-flopping pols cite a lack of public outreach their rapid NIMBY cave-in. Yet the reason there hasn’t been any is simply because it isn’t time yet.

Extensive outreach would be a major part of the study, and there’s no reason to do any outreach now, because there’s nothing to actually discuss at this point.

In other words, it’s not that it hasn’t been done. It just hasn’t been done yet.

So what’s the problem in just studying whether the project is feasible and practical, or even wanted — without spending a dime of city funds?

If the mayor is going to cave to NIMBY voices this easily, it doesn’t bode well for getting anything accomplished on our streets during her administration.

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Inland Empire Rep. Norma J. Torres cosponsored legislation calling on federal government agencies to develop methods to better protect pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, as well as providing grants to cities to improved pedestrian infrastructure.

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Prosecutors in Austin, Texas opened the murder trial of Kaitlin Armstrong for the shooting death of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson, revealing that Armstrong tracked Wilson through Strava to learn where she was staying.

In a chilling note, they also said that the last sound Wilson ever made was a scream of terror.

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A memorial will be held this Friday evening in honor of 69-year old Tania Mooser, the woman killed by a driver in a Santa Monica collision last weekend.

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San Diego is looking for more feedback on the city’s draft mobility plan.

Let’s just hope they don’t adopt, then ignore, the finished document, like a certain megalopolis to the north.

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Tell me again why you need an SUV to carry groceries home.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A San Francisco letter writer complains that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael bridge “is a joke, foisted on the 40,000 commuters” who use the bridge each day “by the loud and elitist bicycle lobby and its virtue-signaling political allies.” Never mind that the gridlock he complains about is caused by too many people in cars, and won’t be relieved by ripping out the bike lane.

Portland, Oregon is in a dither over whether to rip out a bike lane that was “mistakenly” installed overnight without community input, as bike-riding residents block a large truck to prevent its removal after it was already in the process of scraping the paint off.

No bias here, either. A British mayor faced criticism for his “abysmal failure” to fulfill a campaign promise to rip out a bike lane that has seen several bicycling and pedestrian injuries, in addition to being filled with illegally parked cars. But those injuries couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the parking problem. Right?

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Local 

Incumbent 4th District Councilmember Nithya Raman and challenger Ethan Weaver discussed transportation, transit and public safety issues in a debate sponsored by Streets For All, with both calling for increased efforts to prevent traffic deaths.

This is who we share the road with. The driver of a heavy electric truck somehow went airborne and slammed through the exterior wall of a pizza place in Hollywood. Which explains all the sirens and why there was a police helicopter circling around our apartment Tuesday night.

Santa Monica is creating a “strategic” 700-foot extension to the Michigan Greenway bike/walk project.

He gets it, too. A Manhattan Beach English teacher describes how he gave up his car for a one-hour bike commute to work, asking “why doesn’t everybody?”

 

State

San Diego will hold the 10th Annual Jim Krause Memorial Charity Cycling Ride the Point to support research to combat pancreatic cancer on November 11th.

A man was shot and killed by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputies in San Jacinto Tuesday afternoon when he pulled a gun as they ordered him off his bicycle.

Sad news from Bakersfield, where a person riding a bicycle was apparently killed in what the CHP described as a “high-speed collision.”

Santa Barbara is attempting to reduce conflicts between bike riders and pedestrians by installing a bike lane down the center of the city’s State Street Promenade.

San Luis Obispo County will build a 1.25-mile, $7.4 million bike path along the scenic stretch of coastline between Morro Bay and Cayucos, providing an alternative to biking on the busy coast highway.

More sad news, this time from Modesto, where a 36-year old homeless woman was killed by a driver while riding her bike last week.

About damn time. The San Francisco city attorney is suing websites that sell banned license plate covers that drivers use to illegally evade the police, tolls and tickets.

Bicyclists in Napa just got their first buffered bike lane.

 

National

And they get it. Electrek says we need fewer driverless cars, and more carless drivers. They also get bonus points for correctly using “fewer,” rather than the commonly used “less.”

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. The Las Vegas driver who killed BMX champ Nathan ‘Nate’ Miller as he rode his bike in the city claimed he’s a good driver who never had a crash before — despite 19 previous tickets, including for driving without a license.

A Colorado company has developed an online calculator to, um, calculate how much a city could save in both carbon and cash by investing in ebikes. Which serves as yet another reminder that California’s long-delayed ebike rebate program still isn’t rebating anything to anyone. 

Kindhearted strangers pitched in to buy a North Dakota man a new ebike, just one day after his bicycle was snapped in half when he was struck by a motorist.

In another reminder that bikes mean business, a Chicago CEO recounts how he started his waste composting business by pulling a red wagon behind his bicycle to pick up food waste when he was still a kid.

A 45-year old randonneur describes the hit-and-run in upstate New York that left him with a fractured back and sacrum, a trashed bike, and a long recovery.

Artnet News tags along with Filipina American artist Jasmin Sian on her daily 15-mile bike commute on New York’s Hudson River Greenway, discovering how it helps inform her art.

Speaking of NIMBYs, New York’s mayor is attempting to un-install a new bike boulevard that is virtually finished by re-opening a call for community input, while continuing to micromanage bike lane projects and back off campaign commitments to build more.

A Memphis newspaper says the city’s depiction as the nation’s least-bike friendly city doesn’t tell the whole story, and that bicycling in the city is amazing and getting better — despite a death rate 21% higher than average.

 

International

GCN suggests the best Christmas gifts for bicyclists. Can we at least put off the Christmas talk until we put Halloween a little further in the rearview mirror?

Bicyclists in Windsor, Ontario are angry after a recent report showed the city built less than three miles of bike lanes in the last two years.

Life is cheap in the UK, where an “arrogant” speeding driver who killed a 77-year old man riding a bicycle while driving with traces of ketamine, cocaine and alcohol in his system, walked without a single day behind bars, as a prosecutor described his standard of driving as “just below” the threshold for dangerous driving. You would think that, regardless of the drug use, killing someone while speeding would be prima facie evidence of dangerous driving. But evidently, you’d be wrong. 

A British self-described “cycling nut” is suing giant bikemaker Giant for the equivalent of over $243,000, after he broke his back in four places when the fork on his new carbon-frame bike separated from the steerer tube while he was riding, and the bike collapsed under him.

The star of Britain’s favorite TV commercial returned to the same hill he walked his bike up as a child to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous bread ad.

The Dutch city of Maastricht is addressing a plague of “wild parking” — illegally locking bicycles to lampposts or railings — by confiscating the illegally parked bikes and increasing penalties to get them back.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website considers why it took so long to invent the bicycle after the Mesopotamians invented the wheel.

Beijing, China is cracking down on traffic violations — and not just the ones committed by the people in the big, dangerous machines.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch cycling star Jeffrey Hoogland broke the 1 kilometer time-trial world record in Aguascalientes, Mexico, averaging over 40 mph from a standing start.

 

Finally…

Apparently, bikepacking isn’t for everyone. Your next ebike could be made by Lotus, if you happen to have an extra 24 grand lying around.

And this is what it looks like to ride the world’s steepest street.

Or not.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Remaking deadly PCH as Malibu’s Main Street, and Armstrong goes on trial for murder of gravel champ Moriah Wilson

November 1, 2023 / / 2 comments

Thank God October is over.

Now that the deadliest month in memory is finally over, let’s put the whole damn thing behind us and start fresh with a new month. 

Although maybe we can observe today’s Dia de los Muertos by remembering those who have needlessly lost their lives just because they rode a bicycle. 

And recommit ourselves to ensuring it doesn’t happen again. 

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They get it.

The Los Angeles Times calls for a total makeover of PCH through Malibu, arguing that piecemeal improvements aren’t enough to save lives.

While state and local officials can and should take immediate action to make the road safer, such as putting in more traffic lights and getting permission to install automated speed enforcement cameras, it’s also time to rethink the configuration of PCH through Malibu. It’s a state highway that runs through the middle of the community. The road now caters to commuters and pass-through traffic. It could be redesigned to function as a local road with more sidewalks, traffic signals, bike lanes and crosswalks that force motorists to slow down and drive as though they’re in a city — because they are.

A road redesign won’t be easy. Sections of PCH through Malibu are squeezed between mountains and the ocean, leaving little room to add sidewalks or protected bike lanes without removing a traffic lane or parking or buying expensive property for widening. And it certainly wouldn’t be without controversy, given how many people rely on PCH for different needs. It’s a commuting route, a residential neighborhood, a business district and a destination for beachgoers.

It’s definitely worth reading the whole thing.

Because Los Angeles County’s killer highway is going to keep taking innocent lives until we make some major changes.

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Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of 35-year old Kaitlin Armstrong, who faces up to 99 years behind bars for fatally shooting rising gravel champ Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas last year.

Armstrong was arrested in Costa Rica after she allegedly fled the country to avoid prosecution, living under an assumed name as a yoga instructor, dying her formerly red hair, and reportedly having plastic surgery to change her appearance.

Prosecutors accuse Armstrong of killing Wilson for being the other woman in a perceived love triangle for the affections of pro cyclist Colin Strickland.

Armstrong added to the media’s fascination with the case by attempting to escape when she was taken to a doctor’s appointment last month, and trying in vain to climb a fence despite being handcuffed.

You can read all about it in the —

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A writer for The LA Times experiences the surrealism of biking on a car-free 110 Freeway during Sunday’s Arroyo Fest, as the paper offers photos from the event.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers his own photos of the joyful event.

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Dr. Grace Peng provides a powerful thread on the absurd limits placed on bike-riding kids in the South Bay.

Click on the posts to read the full thread on Twitter/X.

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The EPA wants to see your video documenting your experience with any form of EVs, ranging from from electric scooters to electric school buses.

Which means you could win up to $3,000 just for telling them about what it’s like to ride an ebike.

Or an e-scooter.

Or an electric skateboard or hoverboard.

Thanks to Andre Villasenor for the heads-up.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

London’s Daily Mail insists there’s still no law to deal with reckless bicyclists who kill, after a bike rider who killed a pedestrian got out of jail after 18 months; meanwhile, the victim’s husband says the government is “utterly cowed by the cycling lobby. Although that jail term would seem to suggest that there is, in fact, a law to prosecute reckless bike riders. Never mind that he got more time than most killer drivers do. 

Life is cheap in the UK, where a road-raging woman walked without a day behind bars for deliberately ramming a bike rider in a dispute over a close pass; the victim described it as a hate attack that trashed his $9,700 bike.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Scottish bike advocacy group called on delivery companies to make sure the ebikes their riders are using are legal and roadworthy, after a bicyclist was terrified following a collision with delivery bicyclist riding salmon in a bike lane. Even though that has absolutely nothing to do with the crash. 

A road-raging British bike rider admitted punching a driver in a dispute over a close pass last month, arguing that he was clipped by the driver’s mirror. Violence is never the answer, no matter how justified it may seem in the moment. 

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Local 

The L.A. Bureau of Engineering has released a plan for the 25-year, $4.8 billion makeover of the massive Sepulveda Basin in the San Fernando Valley, which currently serves as both a recreation area and a flood control basin.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton visits the new protected bikeway along Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge.

 

State

The California Transportation Commission is holding a public meeting at 1 pm today, both online and in-person, to gather input on the state’s Interregional Transportation Improvement Program, which includes more bike and train projects, as well as flushing more money down the induced-demand toilet for highway projects; they’ll hold another meeting November 8th.

Irvine cops wasted no time busting a bike thief who stole a bicycle belonging to the city.

San Diego planning officials are proposing more housing, greater density, more bike lanes and less parking for the city’s Hillcrest neighborhood; a local city council candidate somehow thinks that’s a bad thing.

A 41-year old woman suffered a broken pelvis when a driver struck her bike in San Diego’s Point Loma neighborhood; police blamed the victim, saying she was riding with no lights and wearing dark clothing. Because evidently, cars down there don’t have lights that could illuminate someone directly in front of them. 

Santa Barbara has reached an agreement over the design of the proposed the Modoc Road Multi-Use Path, which will now require the removal of fewer trees, and less encroachment on an existing preserve.

Humans and zombies turned out for the pre-Halloween opening of a new Davis pump track. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

 

National

Men’s Health rates the best ebike foldies. 

Bicycling rates the best road bike tires for training and race day. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Government Technology says build the bike lanes, and delivery cargo e-bikes will quickly follow. Hopefully in the right direction.

A new study considers how to best communicate the dangers faced by vulnerable road users to mitigate dangerous behavior. Thanks to Gabrielle Lesard for the link. 

CNN says cities are cracking down on free parking to free up valuable curb space.

An Alaska railroad will consider leasing a plot of land for a bike path, after failing in its efforts to block it.

The bicycling community will lose its leading Congressional advocate, as Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer announced he won’t seek re-election next year, after 17 years in the House; Bike Portland reports he’s not concerned with his legacy. Although passage of his federal ebike rebate bill would be a good way to cement it.

“Intense” Las Vegas police bodycam video shows the family of fallen bicyclist and former Bell, California police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst arrive at the site of the intentional hit-and-run that killed him; they came the same time the ambulance did, after Probst’s phone alerted them to the crash.

A Texas city installs pretty artistic bike racks, including one that looks like a giant children’s toy. Because everyone knows the best bike racks are the ones no one uses because they don’t look like bike racks. 

Jail inmates in an Arkansas city will take part in a program to learn how to repair bikes, which will be given away to people in need.

Republican Wisconsin state legislators will hold hearings on a pair of proposed bills to ban Madison’s annual World Naked Bike Ride, after becoming incensed that parents allowed their child to participate. Because children should clearly be shielded from nasty things like protesting carbon-based fuels and the climate emergency.

Vermont is discussing long-range plans to build a bicycle corridor along the state’s eatern seaboard, stretching nearly 200 miles from Massachusetts to Quebec.

Rhode Island is encouraging residents to apply for the state ebike rebate program, which pays up to $350 for the purchase of an ebike, or $750 for low-income residents. Meanwhile, California’s ebike rebate program continues to be nothing but vaporware after more than two years. 

This is who we share the road with. A New York drunk driver allegedly caused a multi-car crash that injured eight people Sunday, after previously serving six years for the hit-and-run crash that killed a woman riding a bicycle. Just one more example of officials allowing a deadly driver back on the road, as well as argument for why hit-and-run drivers should lose their licenses permanently. 

A North Carolina bike rider was shot multiple times by bikejackers after he resisted the robbery attempt; fortunately, his wounds aren’t life-threatening, and he was able to keep his bike. Yet another reminder that no bike is worth your life. Just let them take it, and live to ride another day. 

 

International

Montreal is reinstalling a bike lane three years after it was ripped out due to opposition from local residents,

A 77-year old British bike rider is dead because a stoned driver was in a hurry to get home from a friend’s barbecue.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website lists nine commuting mistakes you should avoid, like riding in jeans or secretly racing strangers.

Jakarta, Indonesia plans to improve the city’s bike lanes, even after cutting the budget by 80% in the face of local resistance.

A writer rediscovers the charms of Shanghai by riding a bike through the city’s neighborhoods in the autumn breeze, while an American tourist is shocked to see a $15,000 Pinarello left unattended, and unmolested, on the street.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclists called it a dark day for hill climbing when the winning competitor in the British championship crossed the finish line using disc brakes. But at least he wasn’t on an ebike.

American Vuelta champ Sepp Kuss and Italian cyclist Giulio Ciccone question the need for a new Saudi-backed Cycling Champions League composed of only the top teams.

Velo describes the tension on the Jumbo-Visma team bus, as Kuss fended off cycling superstars Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard to claim the victory.

A third man has been convicted in the knifepoint robbery of sprinter Mark Cavendish and his wife, including the theft of watches worth $850,000.

 

Finally…

Your next bicycle could be an Aston Martin. Probably not the best idea to try to reclaim your stolen bike from the cops until you clear up those outstanding warrants.

And nothing like leading police in a slow speed chase in a stolen fork lift on the local bike path. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Update: Valley Glen man dragged, killed by hit-and-run driver; 4th LA County bike death in 4 days, 15th SoCal rider killed in 25 days

October 31, 2023 / / 2 comments

Dear God, not again.

For the fourth time in four days, someone riding a bicycle has been killed on the deadly streets of Los Angeles County.

This time, it was hit-and-run. And should be considered murder, but probably won’t be.

According to multiple sources, the victim was found lying in the street at Van Nuys Blvd and Calvert Street in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles around 11:40 pm last night, after being struck by a driver three-quarters of a mile away at Van Nuys and Burbank Blvd.

Or maybe he was found a third of a mile away at Van Nuys and Hatteras.

Which is the problem with news outlets mindlessly parroting police reports that too often contain major mistakes. Because the description of this crash doesn’t make any sense.

According to all three reports posted online, the victim was rear-ended by the driver while riding south on Van Nuys at Burbank Blvd, and dragged under the vehicle for multiple blocks.

Except both locations where the victim’s body was alternately described as being found at Calvert, or coming dislodged from beneath the vehicle at Hatteras, are north of the reported impact point, making it impossible to have been rear-ended while riding south.

It also seems extremely unlikely that the victim, described only as a homeless Hispanic man in his 40s, could have been found at Calvert after being dislodged at Hatteras. It’s possible he could have staggered nearly half a mile after being dragged by the fleeing driver, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

It’s also possible that the victim and the motorist were actually traveling north on Van Nuys, which would fit with where the victim’s body was dislodged, but would not explain the multiple locations.

Either way, the cops are now searching for a murderous coward in a red Toyota Camry or Corolla, who fled multiple block while dragging the victim’s body beneath their vehicle.

And if that’s not murder, I don’t know what is.

This is at least the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the eighth time a person was been killed riding a bicycle in Los Angeles since the start of the year.

Seventeen of those SoCal bicyclists have been the victims of hit-and-run drivers.

And he was the 15th person killed riding a bike in Southern California in the past 25 days.

Update: Now it makes a little more sense.

KABC-7 is reporting that the victim was actually struck by the driver at Van Nuys Boulevard at Delano Street.

The driver then continued south on Van Nuys, dragging the victim’s body nearly a mile to Van Nuys and Burbank. They made a U-turn at Burbank, dislodging the victim, before traveling north on Van Nuys then fleeing east on Hatteras.

Which means the victim, who died at the scene, was likely found at Van Nuys and Burbank. 

The station also describes the suspect vehicle as an older model, light-colored sedan. 

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 40-year old Trino Lopez, who police said was homeless. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Trino Lopez and his loved ones.

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

Update: 60-year old man killed riding bike near LAX; 3rd LA County bike rider killed in 3 days, 14th SoCal victim in 24 days

October 30, 2023 / / 3 comments

Another day, another person killed riding a bicycle on the mean streets of Los Angeles County.

For the third time in just the last three days, a bike rider died after being struck by a driver in the county.

This time in Los Angeles, just south of LAX.

According to the website 2 Urban Girls, the victim was run down by an eastbound motorist while attempting to ride south across busy Imperial Highway at California Street, around 8:35 pm yesterday.

He was identified only as a 60-year old man.

The driver remained at the scene. Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time; there’s no word on who may have had the right-of-way.

The intersection is controlled by a traffic signal, with four through lanes and a left turn lane in each direction on Imperial. That could make it difficult to cross the wide highway in the span of a short traffic signal cycle.

His death came after a woman died a day after she was struck by a driver in Santa Monica on Friday, and another man was killed riding his bike in Long Beach Saturday.

This is at least the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also at least the seventh time a person was been killed riding a bicycle in Los Angeles since the start of the year.

And he was the 14th person killed riding a bike in Southern California in the past 24 days.

Update: The victim has been identified as 60-year old Robert Mack. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Mack and his loved ones.

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

Avalos charged with murder for South LA dragging hit-and-run, a successful Arroyo Fest, and Malibu’s killer highway

October 30, 2023 / / Comments Off on Avalos charged with murder for South LA dragging hit-and-run, a successful Arroyo Fest, and Malibu’s killer highway

Go ahead and call it murder.

Prosecutors are.

Felipe Avalos pled not guilty Friday, after he was formerly charged with murder and hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury in the gruesome death of 65-year old bike rider Francisco Gonzalez in Willowbrook last Tuesday.

The 66-year old driver fled the scene with Gonzalez still trapped under his van, as Avalos twisted and turned for nearly a mile in his efforts to escape, before Gonzalez’ body was finally dislodged in Compton.

The murder charge suggests investigators were able to confirm witness accusations that the crash was intentional. Or maybe the DA’s office just decided that dragging a man’s body for almost a mile demonstrated intent.

Avalos will be due back in court on November 9th to set a trial date, although that date is subject to change.

………

Evidently, a good time was had by all.

Sunday’s Arroyo Fest gave LA County residents a rare chance to take to a local freeway without having to encase themselves in a couple tons of glass and steel. Or having to dodge the usual overly aggressive, speeding, distracted or otherwise generally reckless drivers.

That is, when the crush of cars doesn’t turn it into a parking lot.

In fact, it was the first time in 20 years that the II0 Freeway had been closed to cars, and open to everyone else for what the Los Angeles Times termed “four glorious hours.”

For four glorious hours, cyclists and pedestrians had a chance to safely explore six miles of the 110 Freeway between Los Angeles and Pasadena, a stretch of roadway that opened in 1940 and typically carries more 100,000 daily motorists who brave its winding turns and scary entrance ramps.

Aside from events such as Sunday’s 626 Golden Streets ArroyoFest and other bike celebrations, such as CicLAvia, cycling in L.A. County is not for the faint of heart. The road network was built for automobiles. Bicyclists are often left to vie for space alongside cars on congested, poorly maintained streets. Fatal bike crashes are an intractable problem in the county, and efforts to build dedicated bike lanes have been spotty…

This was the reality for the cyclists who joined the crowd of thousands in Northeast L.A. on Sunday…

The paper goes on to talk to a number of bicyclists who participated in the event about what they love about bicycling in greater Los Angeles, and what they’d change about it.

Which might have been the wrong way to frame the question, since the freeway closure likely brought out a number of people who would normally be reluctant to ride on city streets.

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Star-News reported tens of thousands of people turned out to enjoy the all-too brief opportunity.

And Los Angeles Magazine says people “walked, ran, biked, skateboarded, and even rode on horseback to celebrate the second iteration of this rare community event.”

https://twitter.com/GlennC1/status/1718837817558839451

……..

She gets it.

Los Angeles Times culture columnist Mary McNamara extended her beat Sunday to what she termed “Blood Alley,” as Pacific Coast Highway winds, or maybe speeds, through 21 deadly miles of Malibu coastline.

And by extension, some of the other iconic LA-area roadways too many drivers seem to think were built for high-speed thrills.

In Los Angeles, it isn’t just PCH that’s treated like a cinematic backdrop with often fatal consequences. After being featured in “The Fast and Furious” franchise, streets in Angelino Heights roiled with the type of street racing that has plagued other parts of Los Angeles for years. Angeles Crest Highway remains a draw for reckless driving too; despite increased Highway Patrol presence, there are yearly incidents of motorists taking its curves too fast and driving over steep cliffs.

So yes, Malibu definitely needs speed cameras, sidewalks and more signs reminding motorists that they are entering a residential area. Perhaps, as some including Shane suggest, those 21 miles of PCH that cut through Malibu should be designated as a boulevard rather than a highway, with all the traffic-law changes it would require…

There is no reason on God’s green Earth for anyone who is not involved in a professional auto race or being chased by actual monsters to drive more than 80 miles an hour, never mind 100. “The Fast and the Furious” is a film franchise; James Bond is a fictional character; and PCH is, in many places, a treacherous road that should be driven with care even if the Beach Boys are playing.

If you need the exhilaration of speed, go on a roller coaster.

Take a few minutes to read the whole thing.

Then read the paper’s examination of why LA County’s killer highway continues to claim more victims.

……..

As if we haven’t had enough bad news lately, someone riding a bicycle in Palm Springs was critically injured when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver early Saturday.

Twenty-two-year old Mecca resident Diego Pacheco was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence for the 1 am crash.

No word on the current condition or identity of the victim.

……..

Jury selection was scheduled to begin today in the trial of Kaitlin Armstrong for the murder of 25-year old champion gravel cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas earlier this year.

Armstrong was the subject of an international manhunt when she fled the country after allegedly shooting Wilson, who she saw as a romantic rival for the affections of professional cyclist Colin Strickland..

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Police in Madrid are investigating what appeared to be an intentional attack, as a motorist accelerated into a Critical Mass-style protest ride in support of Palestinians, injuring five bike riders; however, the driver claimed he acted in self-defense after several riders assaulted his car.

News broke over the weekend that a New Zealand TV star erupted into a bizarre rant when a bike advocate approached him about allowing a bike path to pass through his estate earlier this year, calling her “the enemy” and saying she needed to “have her head cut off and brain replaced.”

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A New Jersey man faces charges after a 70-year old man died two weeks after he punched the victim and knocked him off his bicycle; the incident allegedly began when the victim hit the man’s girlfriend with his handlebars, then called him a racial slur.

Police in Telford, England warned local residents about an “errant cyclist” riding an ebike who was abusing pedestrians and wheelchair users on a local trail.

………

Local 

UCLA is bringing back a program allowing staff and graduate students to trade their parking permits for a free bicycle worth up to $900.

 

State

A writer for the UC Santa Barbara student newspaper puts tongue firmly in cheek, and suggests the Tour de France had been rerouted to the campus bike lanes for the second week of the fall semester, and all students were automatically entered.

Sad news from Fresno, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a train after apparently waiting for one train to pass, without realizing there was another coming from the opposite direction. One more reason why you should always wait for the crossing gates to go up before riding across the tracks. 

 

National

The Bike League is out with their latest list of the most Bicycle Friendly Universities, with Stanford, Colorado State University, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Boise State University awarded platinum status. Only one of which is in my platinum-level bike friendly hometown.

Honolulu residents turned out to pick up trash and revitalize the bike path that runs along Pearl Harbor’s waterfront.

Velo talks with Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer about his career-long support for bike riding, as well as a possible national ebike rebate and how to advocate for bikes.

The driver who killed BMX champ Nathan “Nate” Miller in Las Vegas last month was somehow still on the road, despite receiving at least 19 tickets for driving without a license, registration or insurance. Just one more example of officials keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late; he should have been in jail, or had his car impounded, at the very least.

Chicago advocates are justifiably outraged after a hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding in a bike lane was released without charges, even though a Breathalyzer test showed she was two-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when the cops stopped her.

Hundreds of Pittsburgh bicyclists turned out for a 60-mile race around the city and up 13 of Pittsburgh’s steepest hills, as spectators offered participants a choice of water or beer.

Baltimore letter writers say no, bike riders belong on the streets, not in alleys.

 

International

Road.cc offers advice on choosing the right bicycle for commuting to work.

A new report from the UK shows that motorists fail to see a 22% of bicyclists, compared to just 4% of jaywalkers — and younger drivers miss seeing a whopping 31%.

A new German study concluded bicyclists are more caring and concerned with the “common good” than drivers, writing “the benefits of cycling over driving are more profound and sustainable than previously thought.” Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

An Ottawa, Canada website says more residents of the city are riding their bikes through the winter months, even as climate change increases the risk from winter storms.

A Montreal writer says he’s grateful for the “insta-super-treatment” he received at a Vermont hospital after an endo on a rented ebike, compared to the endless waits in a Montreal hospital, and didn’t even mind the $10,000 hospital bill since his union insurance should cover it.

An American man completed a 963-mile journey from Nagasaki to Yokohama, Japan on a Penny Farthing, recreating a 1886 trip on the high-wheeler the Japanese called a dharma bicycle.

A Singaporean website asks if a new bikeway network is the answer to going car-lite, concluding that most people won’t give up their cars for a bicycle, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Australian traffic safety experts are calling for an investigation after bicycling deaths have risen more than any other group over the past 12 months.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo has reaction from the peloton to the newly announced routes for next year’s men’s and women’s Tour de France.

 

Finally…

Who needs to rough it when you can tow your own portable treehouse behind your bike? Your next bicycle could be the illegitimate offspring of a track bike and a cargo bike.

And who says you have to see to ride a bike?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Update: Man riding bike killed in Long Beach crash; 13th SoCal bike rider killed in past 3 weeks

October 29, 2023 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bike killed in Long Beach crash; 13th SoCal bike rider killed in past 3 weeks

Please make it stop.

For the 13th time in the last 22 days, someone was killed riding a bicycle on the deadly streets of Southern California.

This time in Long Beach.

And just hours after another woman died in Santa Monica.

According to My News LA, a man was struck by a driver around 3:20 Saturday afternoon, while riding on Pacific Ave at Wardlow Road in front of the Metro Wardlow A Line station in west Long Beach.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died after being taken to a local hospital.

The driver stayed at the scene, and cooperated with investigators.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fourth person killed riding a bicycle in bike-friendly Long Beach in 2023.

Update: At least now we know what happened. 

According to KCBS-2, the victim was riding across Pacific Place north of Wardlow when he was struck by a pickup driver traveling east on Pacific. He was struck with the side of the pickup, despite the driver’s attempt to swerve. 

Based on the description, it seems likely he was attempting to leave the Metro station, with no traffic signal or crosswalk to get across the roadways safely.

The driver, identified only as a 43-year old Long Beach resident, remained at the scene and attempted to resuscitate the victim before paramedics arrived. She reportedly cooperated with investigators, who said she did not appear to be distracted, impaired or speeding at the time of the crash. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: 69-year old woman taken off life support after Santa Monica bicycling collision; 12th SoCal bike rider killed in 3 weeks

October 28, 2023 / / 25 comments

It just keeps getting worse.

For the 12th time in 22 days, someone riding a bicycle has been killed on the mean streets of Southern California.

This time in ostensibly bike-friendly Santa Monica.

According to surf publication Shacked Mag, a 69-year old woman was riding at 19th Street and Idaho Ave around 8:45 am yesterday when she was struck by a driver.

She was taken to a local hospital. Sadly, Phil Gaimon reports the victim, a friend of his, was taken off life support this morning. She has not been publicly identified.

The driver remained at the scene, and reportedly cooperated with investigators.

A street view shows an intersection of two residential streets without lane markings. While it’s been awhile since I’ve ridden through there, I’ve occasionally used Idaho as a quieter alternative to busy Montana a block away.

Twitter/X user Mobility For Who offers a little more information about the crash site.

This is a 2-way stop, that the victim apparently rode through, but it’s also a neighborhood residential street with schools nearby. People have been asking the city for traffic calming measures there for years, from what I hear from residents. Drivers use 19th to cut through the neighborhood to get to/from San Vicente, so I guess the street is just setup to let them do that.

If you’re riding Idaho and crossing there, you’re basically just hoping that a speeding car isn’t coming hidden behind parked cars, so rolling through that stop sign often feels safer, just to get out of there as quickly as possible.

California recently passed a new law requiring daylighting at intersections, which might improve the visibility problem there. But sadly, it comes too late to help the victim of this crash.

This is at least the 47th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: The Santa Monica Mirror reports the victim was apparently riding west on Idaho, when she was struck by the southbound driver, who didn’t have a stop sign.

Update 2: A Nextdoor post identified the victim as Tania Mooser. A vigil will be held in her honor this Friday.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Tania Mooser and her loved ones. 

Thanks to bikematic, Mobility For Who and Diana Williams for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Driver arrested in grisly Willowbrook hit-and-run, and PCH killer of 4 Pepperdine students allegedly driving 104 mph

October 27, 2023 / / Comments Off on Driver arrested in grisly Willowbrook hit-and-run, and PCH killer of 4 Pepperdine students allegedly driving 104 mph

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I suffered a bad blood sugar crash Wednesday night, dropping down to a dangerous level and unable to get it back up; I was minutes from waking my wife to take me to the ER when it finally started rising again. 

Good times. 

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

……..

Police arrested a driver for the gruesome hit-and-run that killed a Willowbrook bike rider Tuesday morning.

Sixty-six-year old Compton resident Felipe Avalos was arrested later Tuesday after witnesses provided LAPD investigators with the license number of the van he was allegedly driving when he ran over 65-year old Francisco Gonzalez.

Avalos is accused of dragging Gonzalez’ body nearly a mile under the van as he twisted and turned to make his escape.

Witnesses reported that Avalos appeared to intentionally run down Gonzalez on his bike, but police investigators have been unable to corroborate that.

……..

Twenty-two-year old Fraser Michael Bohm, the driver who killed four Pepperdine sorority sisters in a collateral damage crash as they stood next to PCH last week, was allegedly traveling 104 mph in a 45 mph zone at the time of the crash.

Bohm is charged with four counts of each of felony malice murder and felony gross vehicular manslaughter, and remains behind bars on $4 million bond.

His attorney claims, apparently with a straight face, that Bohm was speeding in an attempt to get away from road-raging driver, and wasn’t doing more than 70 mph as he tried to escape.

Although you’d think he might have mentioned something like that to the cops after the crash.

Or maybe they just didn’t believe him.

……..

The 72-year old bike rider who survived the vehicular violence rampage that killed former Bell CA police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst labeled the two teenagers accused of intentionally running him down as “human garbage.”

Meanwhile, the two teens were disgustingly observed laughing, and flipping the bird at Probst’s family during Wednesday’s court hearing.

……..

Gravel Bike California visits Maverick Cycles.

……..

Jimmy Fallon is one of us.

Although maybe he should invest in a good bike cam, instead of flipping his bike trying to ride one-handed to record his daughter’s bike riding.

Note: This is not Jimmy Fallon.

……..

GCN suggests using your cellphone as your bike computer.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A 34-year old Madison, Wisconsin man pled guilty to two lousy charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety for repeatedly stringing wires over a local bike path, catching at least one bike rider by the neck; police showed how seriously they weren’t taking the case when DNA pointed to the subject, and they waited five months to go back when no one answered the door at his home.

An anti-semetic DC driver used his SUV to block a Jewish mother taking her child to school in a cargo bike, calling them “the devil” and yelling “I don’t give a fuck about your safety. Your life is not my concern.” There’s no place for racism or anti-semitism in this world. Or any other form of hatred.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Santa Rosa street vendor was busted for riding his tricycle around the city selling ice cream, chicharrónes, snacks and other items, including cocaine and meth.

A British woman suffered “potentially life-threatening” injuries when she was struck by someone riding a bicycle. But at least the bike rider stuck around and aided investigators this time.

………

Local 

TV station NBC Los Angeles and KCRW’s Greater LA offer more information on Sunday’s ArroyoFest, which will let you bike or walk on the 110 Freeway for the first time in 20 years.

A Culver City group has filed a crowdfunded lawsuit challenging the legality of the newly conservative city council’s decision to rip out the MOVE Culver City pilot project without conducting an environmental review.

Pasadena received $12 million from the state for the design and construction of proposed north-south greenways.

Long Beach has approved over a half million dollars to begin work on the proposed Orange Avenue Backbone Bikeway from Signal Hill to East Ocean Blvd, although that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the total $13 million cost.

 

State

Autonomous vehicle provider Cruise had their California permit yanked by the DMV, which discovered the company had omitted video of one of its cars dragging a pedestrian after a crash.

Garden Grove is working on becoming bike-friendly, with work starting on five new bike lanes in the coming months.

Emeryville, home to bike-friendly mayor John Bauters, installed a short, quick-build curb-protected bikeway, part of the mayor’s plan to connect the Bay Trail across the city.

A new Oakland bike co-op will give young people a chance to build or repair bikes they can take home for free, while hiring formerly incarcerated people to give them a second chance at life, too.

They get it. Santa Rosa’s Press-Democrat says bring on the bike valet.

 

National

Bicycling says be quiet, trolls; we’re trying to start the body-positive bicycling revolution. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

A writer for Bike Magazine offers a justification for procrastination, listing ten things she’d rather do than clean her bike.

Men’s Health offers advice on how to lose weight by bicycling. I had to add weight training before the extra pounds came off, but maybe that’s just me. You can read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you. 

An Arizona man just completed a seven-month, 13,000-mile ride around the US.

Police in Las Vegas finally arrested the driver who killed BMX star Nathan “Nate” Miller as he rode a bike last month, a week after a local TV station aired video showing the 32-year old driver speeding and quickly changing lanes before crashing into Miller.

Normally tight-fisted Texas has approved nearly $345 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects across the state. Then again, it is a big state.

Some Amish communities in Pennsylvania and Ohio are abandoning their traditional horses and wagons in favor of ebikes.

Fatherly says the Erie Canal trail offers a 360-mile epic family bike ride through 200 years of American history.

Electrek describes the new Semi-Trike cargo bike from Brooklyn-based Civilized Cycles as a cross between a five-wheeled semi-truck and an ebike.

A New Jersey driver faces multiple charges for killing a 12-year old girl riding a bicycle last month, and critically injuring a 14-year old girl riding with her.

A DC bike rider wonders what the hell that thing in the bike lane is, apparently upon seeing their first bus island.

A couple dozen federal workers in DC turned out to call for more bike friendly routes for the more than 160,000 federal workers in the city, as government employees are being called back to the office.

Evidently, the hit-and-run epidemic involving bike riders has spread to Florida’s Tampa Bay.

 

International

Sales for bike helmet tech company MIPS are down a third, more evidence of a post-pandemic slump in bicycling.

Police in a pair of UK cities are recommending that bicyclists vary their routes home, because thieves could follow them, and come back later to steal things.

English bike brand Islabikes is the latest bikemaker to go belly-up, as it moves to cease production and sales once remaining stocks are sold.

An English man completed a 3,000-mile 41-day ride from Gloucester to Istanbul to raise funds to buy a pair of adaptive bikes for charity.

Iconic British bikemaker Pashley is starting a crowdfunding campaign to help it explore the ebike market.  I’ll be the first to sign up for an e-Guv’nor, thank you.

Momentum examines how Utrecht’s Vredenburg become one of the busiest cycling routes in the world.

Life is cheap in Singapore, where a 70-year old man got a lousy 12-weeks behind bars for killing a man riding a bike after blowing through a crosswalk while driving without a license. But at least he got a nine-year ban on driving, although that didn’t seem to stop him this time.

Austrian company Tubolito is building a “nanogenerator” into its trademark orange bicycle inner tubes that acts like a mini-dynamo to power a wireless tire pressure sensor.

 

Competitive Cycling

Heartbreaking news from Hong Kong, where rising Dutch cycling star Mark Groeneveld died of a suspected heart attack, collapsing moments after finishing a track event; he was just 20 years old.

The route for next year’s Tour de France was released, with no Paris finish for the first time in more than a century due to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Gravel cyclist Anne-Marije Rook discovers that carbon frames can be repaired, after Unbound Gravel destroyed her bike, and a repair shop gave it a second life.

A Maryland high school student intends to be the first Black woman to represent the US cycling team, taking aim at the 2028 LA Olympics.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to flee from police on your bike, try to find a better hiding place. If you’re going to steal four bikes from a university campus, remember to take your backpack with you when you leave.

And Loki and Mobius are two of us, if you look hard enough.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

4 murder counts in PCH deaths of Pepperdine students, trial set for LV teens, and Bass flip flops on 90 Freeway removal

October 25, 2023 / / Comments Off on 4 murder counts in PCH deaths of Pepperdine students, trial set for LV teens, and Bass flip flops on 90 Freeway removal

I’m writing this after getting the second in a series of shots directly into my right eye to control retinal bleeding caused by diabetes. 

So please forgive me if I miss a few mistakes today, because I can’t read shit right now. 

Just one more reason diabetes sucks. 

……..

This is who we share the road with.

Sheriff’s deputies re-arrested Fraser Michael Bohm on Tuesday, the 22-year old driver accused of killing four Pepperdine University sorority sisters last week.

Bohm was allegedly speeding on PCH in the BMW he got for his 18th birthday when he slammed into three parked cars, which then crashed into the victims. He stands charged with four counts of murder, and being held on $8 million bond.

Yes, million.

The question is what evidence deputies have developed to justify a murder charge, let alone four. Under California law, elevating vehicular manslaughter to murder would require evidence that Bohm knew his actions were likely to result in death.

Meanwhile, enraged community members stored Monday’s Malibu city council session to demand action to improve safety on SoCal’s killer highway.

That included calls for speed cams, which are currently only allowed in Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach, along with three NorCal cities, under a recently passed pilot program.

But what’s really needed is a redesign of the highway with protected bike lanes, walkways and traffic calming measures to make speeding difficult, if not impossible. And turn LA County’s deadliest highway into the Malibu Main Street it always should have been.

A petition from a grieving father calls for much-needed immediate and long-term action to improve safety on the highway.

……..

A trial date has been set for next year for the two Las Vegas high school students charged with the intentional hit-and-run killing of former Bell CA police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst.

Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys — who were 17 and 16, respectively, at the time of the crash — are scheduled to be tried as adults beginning September 16th, 2024.

Meanwhile, new video has emerged of the teens running down the second victim in a stolen car that day, laughing as they injured a 72-year old man less than an hour before killing Probst.

……..

Why am I not surprised?

LA Mayor Karen Bass was for removing the 90 Freeway stub and turning it into a linear park and housing before she was against it.

And people wonder why I don’t trust city officials.

……..

Yet another community introduces an ebike rebate before California’s long-delayed program finally launches.

If it ever does.

………

Nothing like getting run down head-on by a driver because he couldn’t see what was directly in front of his car.

………

That’s gonna leave a mark.

This is what it looks like to hit another mountain biker head-on.

………

Thousands of bike riders turned out for Key West’s annual Zombie Bike Ride.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Hollister bike rider suffered head injuries when he was intentionally run down by a pickup driver after getting into an altercation with the driver and his passenger at a gas station

New York officials abruptly shut down a vital Queens bike path without any public input, notification or explanation, though a city council member was happy to take credit, blaming it on an “influx of ebikes and cars.”

Huh? A London writer says it’s time to regulate ebikes modified to exceed speed restrictions — which means that they’re already illegal.

No bias here. A writer in the UK says we all need to wear hi-viz vests in order to reduce traffic deaths. Might as well just call for clown makeup to complete the outfit while he’s at it.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

An Illinois man faces drug and resisting arrest charges after fleeing from cops who tried to stop him for riding without a light; he evaded officers by riding through alleys and people’s backyards, before they tased him as he tried to enter his home.

………

Local 

Streetsblog looks at new bus-bike lanes on Sepulveda and Ventura blvds.

Bike Walk Glendale is calling on you to make your voice heard on the city’s Bicycle Transportation Plan, with a pair of public meetings next month.

Streetsblog’s SGV Connect podcast celebrates the first anniversary of the GoSGV bike lending program, while rising local writer Carribean Fragoza reads a nonfiction piece about a scary bike crash while riding alone and underprepared on industrial Rush Street.

Pasadena Now looks forward to Sunday’s first carfree Arroyo Fest on the 100 Freeway in 20 years.

 

State

Calbike talks with board member Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, a mobility justice strategist who directed and co-produced a pair of films on Biking While Black, as well as a guide to the movies.

Huntington Beach opened the city’s first bike boulevard on Utica Ave.

A San Diego man suffered memory loss after an e-scooter crash, unable to even remember getting married or having a kid.

A Hemet middle school student was lucky to escape without injuries when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, after reportedly riding his bike into traffic without looking while biking to school.

Visalia will soon be the first city in California’s Central Valley to have protected intersections.

 

National

PopSugar presents the best balance bikes for toddlers.

An Oregon legislator wants to legalize ped-assist ebikes for kids under 16, while maintaining the current ban on throttle-controlled ebikes.

Boulder, Colorado is the first city to bring concrete tall curbs to the United States to separate bike lanes and vehicle travel lanes. Even though it looks like standard K-rail. 

Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus offers a photo essay of New Yorkers on bikes.

New York considers a pair of bills to regulate ebike delivery riders, including requiring an ebike safety course and making providers cover the cost for safety equipment and safe ebike batteries.

A Maryland TV station says your next car could be an ebike.

Tragic news from North Carolina, where a man died after he was struck by a driver while riding 67 miles to celebrate his 67th birthday.

That’s more like it. Atlanta is introducing an app showing the location of bike racks throughout the city.

 

International

A group of 19 leading companies in the automotive, bicycling & tech sectors have banded together to develop a smart V2X communication system to help improve the ‘digital visibility’ of bicyclists and other vulnerable road users. As long as you’e willing to wear some sort of digital sensor that matches the one only some drivers are using, anyway.

A writer for Cycling Weekly gets explosive results when she experiments with bicarb supplements — but thankfully, not in terms of gastrointestinal issues.

A Canadian bike rider was lucky to avoid becoming collateral damage when two drivers collided right in front of him.

Police in Birmingham, England used lights and sirens to pull over a woman and her eight-year old granddaughter as they rode their bikes — not for any traffic violation, but just a little friendly safety advice about wearing helmets.

No bias here, either. British tabloids are accusing London’s cycling czar with “cherry picking” stats to show bike ridership has tripled in a busy part of London in order to justify more spending on bike lanes; critics accuse him of counting bicycle delivery riders, who are, in fact, riding bicycles, and would all be using cars if they weren’t.

While Paris becomes increasingly welcoming to bike riders, France’s fifth-largest city is banning bikes, scooters and skateboards from the city center

 

Competitive Cycling

Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič says he planned to jump to the Bora-Hansgrohe team before the recent drama at the Vuelta, when it became clear that Jonas Vingegaard would be team leader, and super domestique Sepp Kuss won the race. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

Meanwhile, Kuss says he thinks it’s better for everyone if Roglič is on another team. Ditto. 

Video captures “absolute carnage” during the men’s elimination race at Saturday’s UCI Track Champions League, as a mid race crash takes competitors down like bowling pins.

 

Finally…

Presenting an ebike for people who don’t want anyone to know you’re riding an ebike. Your next bike could have an airbag — or you could, anyway.

And you can now get a new ped-assist ebike foldie for less than $900. But you could have had a 121-year old Steffey ped-assist, gas-powered motor-bike instead.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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