Nice piece in The Guardian from LA’s Nate Berg, who says one of the most famous — and infamous — buildings in LA is a freeway interchange.
He singles out 1948’s groundbreaking four-level freeway interchange in DTLA, which set the standard for cities around the world.
For better or worse.
And helped condemn the city’s residents to a life dependent on cars; an unwilling addiction we’re still fighting to overcome.
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Sadly, it was almost inevitable.
The nation’s second e-scooter death was announced over the weekend, as a man riding one was killed in a DC collision, just weeks after a Dallas man died after falling off a scooter — a crash his family blamed on a hit-and-run.
And no bias here, as a tech website unfairly puts the blame on Lime for the deaths.
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Brandi D’Amore forwards news that Bike Index is rapidly nearing their 5,000th stolen bicycle recovery. Just one more reason to register your bike right now.
And if you want to donate to Bike Index, here’s the link.
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Local
Nice gesture from 3rd District LA Councilmember Bill Blumenfield, who introduced a motion in the council (scroll down to the ninth page) that would allow permanent memorial signs calling for safer driving where bike riders were killed. If they did the same for pedestrians, there’d be a sign on nearly every corner. Thanks to TJ Knight for the heads-up.
CiclaValley offers his thoughts on placing a ghost bike for the victim of last week’s bicycling crash in Winnetka, saying it didn’t have to happen.
Loyola Marymount University held its own Bike Week last week to introduce students to bicycling on campus.
Writing for the Pasadena Star-News, Steve Scauzillo offers lessons learned from Pasadena’s failed Metro Bike bikeshare program, placing the blame on a lack of sponsorship and safe streets.
State
San Diego’s Bike IB rolled from Imperial Beach yesterday to encourage women to be more comfortable riding a bike.
Thousand Oaks opened a new park offering six miles of trails and a bicycle skills park.
San Jose residents turned out in force to celebrate the city’s fourth annual open streets event.
National
Wired considers the nation’s stubborn bicycling gap, saying American cities are either cycling cities, or hardly one at all.
The conservative AASHTO guide has finally added design standards for protected bike lanes.
The Electrek website looks at the new ebikes introduced at last weekend’s Interbike bike show in Reno, while a writer for Singletrack compares the show with earlier editions in Las Vegas.
Bicyclists in a St. Louis suburb have started a petition calling for a Complete Streets ordinance that would require it to consider bike riders and pedestrians in any street project.
Milwaukee bike riders are worried about the city’s new streetcar after a number of riders have been injured on the tracks, months before it actually opens.
A Wisconsin letter writer says, contrary to common perceptions, bike riders already pay more than their fair share.
A new Minnesota study shows drivers are less likely to buzz bicyclists in bike lanes, especially in protected bike lanes.
No bias here, either. A Detroit writer complains about a growing sense of entitlement and invulnerability among pedestrians, blaming the victims for the rising rate of pedestrian deaths. If she thinks pedestrians are entitled, just wait until someone tells her about drivers. Or just hands her a mirror.
An Ohio bike shop owner says yes, riding a bike on the sidewalk is dangerous, but sometimes it’s the best choice.
Streetsblog says charging a New York bus driver who killed a bicyclist with a misdemeanor for violating the victim’s right-of-way is like “letting Jack the Ripper off with a misdemeanor for soliciting a prostitute.” Yet somehow, a British tabloid still finds a way to blame the victim. A video showing the crash was released last week. However, I wouldn’t recommend watching it; there are some things you just can’t unsee.
Definitely no bias here, as an Annapolis, Maryland newspaper asks if a new downtown bike lane broke the city.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 85-year old Virginia man still rides his age on his birthday.
A New Orleans website says the city is literally walking and biking away from their cars.
International
Sony introduces a set of wireless earbuds that are designed to enhance environmental sounds, allowing you to hear both your music and the noises around you.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A British expert in human and molecular genetics who was researching hearing and sight loss in children was killed in a collision with a London black cab driver.
An English woman still has her bike because a bystander intervened to stop a young thief as he was riding off with it.
A man in the UK is riding 200 miles on his seven-year old daughter’s pink bicycle to raise awareness of the brain tumor that killed her three years ago.
Britain is planning to connect a network of existing horse trails to create a 1,000-mile offroad bikeway running the entire length of the country.
A British high school has ordered students to place numbered license plates on their bikes so people can report any antisocial behavior to the school. However, anyone who arrives on foot or by car is apparently welcome to carry on, antisocial or otherwise.
A road raging Irish cab driver intentionally brake checked a man, knocking him off his bicycle after arguing with him moments earlier; the whole incident was caught on video.
Oslo, Norway is taking a number of steps to actively discourage driving in the city center to “give the city back to the people.” Which drivers naturally see as a war on cars.
Three-quarters of Swiss voters agreed to enshrine bicycling in the country’s constitution to protect the rights of bike riders, forty years after voters protected hiking and walking. And no, that’s not likely to happen here in the US anytime soon.
A Venice, Italy design exhibition features the work of British bespoke bicycle maker Hartley Cycles, founded by a former artist and jewelry maker.
A bicycle ambulance program is saving the lives of people suffering from malaria in Zambia, and could be rolled out across Africa.
Collisions between bike riders and kangaroos are on the rise in Australia, and expected to double the normal annual total as a drought brings the wild animals out of the bush.
An Aussie mom has forbidden her teen children from bicycling after concluding the country’s drivers are too aggressive behind the wheel.
Competitive Cycling
British Cycling officials have approved adding a sixth day to the women’s Tour of Britain, which already offers prize money equal to the eight-day men’s race.
Finally…
Seriously, stealing a kid’s bike is bad enough without taking a dump on their lawn. How to lie and beg your way into a new bike.
And Trump ordering the removal of bike lanes is just a bad joke.
For now, anyway.
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Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia this Sunday!
Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.
