Pedestrian deaths reach 4 decade high, USDOT caves on cutting truck side deaths, and Buena Park needs your input

June 23, 2023 / / One comment

If you think things are bad out there, you’re right.

While estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggest that total US traffic deaths dropped a modest 3% in the first quarter of this year, the news for pedestrians is every bit as bad as you might think.

In fact, Streetsblog reports pedestrian deaths reached a 41-year high last year, topping the previous year’s 40-year high, while erasing decades of progress in reducing fatalities for people outside of motor vehicles.

And horrifyingly, that is with only 49 states checking in.

According to new estimates from the Governors Highway Safety Association, “at least” 7,508 people on foot were killed by drivers on U.S. roads last year — an estimate, that notably, excludes the entire state of Oklahoma, which failed to deliver its preliminary totals this year due to technical difficulties but has averaged 92 pedestrian deaths in recent years.

If that estimate sticks, U.S. walkers will have experienced a stunning 77-percent increase in deaths since 2010, rising at a rate more than three times faster than the rest of the traveling public, for whom fatalities increased 25 percent over the same period.

While the total doesn’t include bicycling fatalities, a rise in one usually corresponds with rise in the other.

The GHSA report suggested that common factors in pedestrians deaths include large arterials designed to prioritize vehicle speed, the ever-increasing size of motor vehicles, and dark road conditions.

You can add to that a lack of safe sidewalks and crosswalks, and all the multiple and varied forms of driver distraction — including distracting video and touchscreen systems installed directly into the dashboard.

The GHSA reports that “in the absence of urgent action to address those systemic factors, safety officials are begging drivers themselves to be more careful.”

Sure, that’ll happen.

Notably, pedestrian deaths are estimated to have dropped 20% in California, tied by South Carolina, and exceeded only by New Jersey’s 27% decrease.

So we may be doing something right.

Photo by Kaique Rocha from Pexels. 

………

Meanwhile, according to a report from Pro Publica, the US Department of Transportation allowed trucking lobbyists to review an unpublished report recommending sideguards on all large trucks.

The goal of the report was to save lives by preventing bike riders and pedestrians from getting trapped underneath turning trucks, or from overly close passes.

Needless to say, trucking firms rejected the modest cost of sideguards, which are already required in the European Union, apparently preferring to pay higher insurance fees and the occasional legal settlement when they actually kill someone.

And making it clear that the USDOT exists to maintain corporate profits, rather than save human lives.

Here’s what the Bike League had to say on the subject.

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Orange County bike advocate Mike Wilkinson sends word of an important active transportation survey in Buena Park.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! Buena Park is developing its first Active Transportation Plan. This is a rare opportunity for people who bike or walk to tell the city what they need.

There are two surveys. One is near the top of the page linked here, and it asks for basic information about biking and walking in the city. Scroll down further, and there is an interactive map that allows you to click on streets or intersections that need to be improved. It’s a little complicated, but please take your time to figure out how to use it, and then let the city know what needs to be done!

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Wealthy NIMBYs in San Diego’s Pacific Beach used their cars to protest permanent safety installations on Diamond Street, claiming they will somehow cause more traffic emissions.

And missing the irony entirely.

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Rhodes scholar, country singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson is one of us, or at least he was in his college days at Oxford.

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

A Colorado letter writer somehow surmises that an ebike rider’s torn pants leg means he’s already crashed his bike, because there couldn’t be any other possible explanation for fashionably torn jeans. And questions whether the state’s ebike rebate program pays for the bike helmet he apparently lacks, too.

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Local 

People Powered Media says the new bike lanes on Venice Blvd are far from ideal, in part because they encroach on the gutter, and were laid over the existing broken roadway.

Claremont is ending its micromobility pilot program, and making the city’s shared mobility ordinance a permanent part of the city’s municipal code.

Meanwhile, West Hollywood will decide at Monday’s city council meeting whether to permanently approve the city’s micromobility program, or reinstate the city’s previous ban on rental ebikes and e-scooters.

Police in Santa Monica busted a bike-riding homeless man for robbing a Wells Fargo Bank of $1,100, after stopping the man while he was still in possession of the money.

 

State

Bike-riding Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner is making her third consecutive attempt to pass a California Safety Stop, aka Stop as Yield, aka Idaho Stop law, after Governor Newsom vetoed the bill two years ago; last year she pulled the legislation after it passed both houses of the legislature to avoid another threatened veto.

Police in San Bernardino busted a bike thief who preyed on an autistic man as he made his twice daily coffee run.

Ventura will ban bikes and e-scooters from the city’s pedestrianized Main Street in the downtown area.

 

National

If you’re going to tour Roswell, New Mexico, do it from the seat of a bike. That way, there will be some evidence left behind after the aliens grab you. 

Milwaukee concludes that sharrows may work in some limited contexts, but are pretty much useless in most cases.

Kindhearted Illinois sheriff’s deputies bought a new bike for an 11-year old boy after his was stolen.

A Duluth, Minnesota columnist says if you hate potholes, trying riding a bike more often to do less damage to the roadways. Or none, even.

A writer for The Guardian says the four people killed recently in a New York ebike battery fire won’t be the last if nothing changes.

 

International

Velo says your next fully 3D-printed titanium roadie could retail for a mere $18,600.

Soccer great Lionel Messi is one of us, enjoying a bike ride with his family in Venezuela before reporting to his new team in Miami.

Glasgow, Scotland is empowering women refugees from Afghanistan and Iran by teaching them how to ride bicycles.

London’s annual Parliamentary Bike Ride draws Members of Parliament, local officials and bike advocates to promote bicycling in the city, putting active transportation over party politics.

Germany’s Schwalbe is bringing its rubber-free Aerothan thermoplastic polyurethane material to bike tires, saving 5 grams per tire — or a whole 0.17 ounces.

Inside EVs says Yamaha’s new ebike motor is a weight weenie’s dream come true at just 5.7 pounds — over five ounces lighter than the previous version.

Life is cheap in Australia, where a 20-year old woman walked without a single day behind bars for killing a 75-year old bike-riding grandfather, because the judge concluded “her remorse is self-punishing.”

He gets it. The Aussie academic behind the recent study showing drivers see bike riders wearing helmets and hi-vis as less than human says “If you have a safe and normal cycling culture, how could you see people as anything but human?”

 

Competitive Cycling

Your new 2023 US national time trial champs are former national and world time trial champion Chloé Dygert, and Giro stage-winner Brandon McNulty.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the US can’t even manage to crack the list of the world’s most livable cities. Or when a $10,000 stolen bike isn’t a typo.

And if anyone has me on their Secret Santa list this year, this will do nicely.

 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Active transportation a public health issue as LA faces teen obesity crisis, and Safer Streets popup tomorrow in Buena Park

June 22, 2023 / / 2 comments

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I’m still having problems with extreme, sudden-onset illness, either due a bad reaction to one of my diabetes meds, or yet another physical problem resulting from diabetes that recently came to light. 

Or maybe both. 

Which serves as yet another reminder to get yourself tested if you’re at risk, watch out for symptoms of diabetes, and do whatever you need to do to avoid it. 

Because you really don’t want this crap. God knows I don’t.

………

LAist reports that three in ten LA teens suffer from obesity.

No one needs any preaching from me about the need to maintain a healthy weight, or to get out and exercise.

Even though that’s one of the best ways to avoid diabetes, despite not working in my case.

But what we do need is safe bike and walking infrastructure that would allow people of any age to travel under their own power, instead of forcing kids into the back of their parent’s SUVs.

Which makes the Los Angeles Mobility Plan one of the city’s most vital public health interventions.

And a prescription for better health for our kids, both now and for the rest of their lives.

………

Orange County bike advocate Mike Wilkinson forwards news that Buena Park is hosting a Safer Streets Popup tomorrow.

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Streets For All founder Michael Schneider rides his Brompton from his home to LAX and back, while bicycling around Europe in between.

Although if he’d waited just a little longer, he could have ridden the new Bear Grylls Brompton, instead.

………

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

New York disability advocates are calling for restrictions on ebikes, citing NYC stats showing more than 1,200 incidents of ebike, motorbike and bicycle crashes in the past year. Even though there’s no way to credibly lump motorcycles in with bicycles, either in the number or severity of crashes.

London’s conservative Spectator continues its bizarre attack on bikes, this time warning about the “rise of the ‘vigilante cyclist’ and ‘lycra-clad informant’.”

British residents call for registering and licensing bike riders, “like other road users.” Never mind that pedestrians are unregistered and unlicensed road users, too.

You’ve got to be kidding. A road-raging driver in the UK walked without a single day behind bars, despite physically attacking a man riding a bicycle, threatening to shoot him, and attempting to run him over with his car. But at least he lost his license for a whole three years — even though it should have been a lifetime ban. 

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

The LAPD is looking for a gang of bike-riding armed thieves who robbed five people at gunpoint in Panorama City, pistol-whipping one victim, before speeding off on their bikes.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies busted a man following a high speed chase through the San Gabriel Valley, after he abandoned his car and somehow commandeered a bicycle, calmly riding through the neighborhood until he was taken into custody.

An Ohio woman tried to do the right thing by not driving after drinking, and ended up getting cited for public drunkenness after apparently riding her bicycle into a telephone pole.

………

Local 

Streetsblog confirms that LADOT and Metro once again ignored the city’s mobility plan while making modest bike improvements around the new Downtown stations for the regional connector line.

Speaking of Streetsblog, editor Joe Linton shares his photos from Sunday’s Juneteenth CicLAvia.

Metro highlights 15 projects planned for completion before the 2028 Olympics, with a focus on “first mile, last mile” projects that will encourage people to walk or bike at the beginning or end of their journeys.

The Bicycle Film Festival screens Shimano’s documentary The Engine Inside tonight, telling the story of six people around the world “who reveal the unique power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world.”

ActiveSGV is teaming with Nature For All this Saturday for the first of four bike rides that will explore some of the rivers and mountains in the San Gabriels.

 

State

Calbike wants your support for AB 413, which would mandate daylighting to improve sight lines — and safety — at California intersections, as well as another measure extending California’s ebike incentives beyond this year.

A man in his 50s was rushed to the hospital after falling off his bike in San Diego’s Carmel Mountain Ranch.

Santa Barbara’s CycleMAYnia Bike Month celebration drew around 1,800 people to 22 events throughout the county.

Santa Barbara calls for bike riders and pedestrians to cooperate to improve safety on the State Street Promenade, while commenters demand a return to a car-centric street and blame people on bikes for any problems.

The LA Times says bicycling is the best way to experience the iconic 17-Mile Drive between Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Although you do have to watch out for errant golf balls from Spyglass Hill. 

The controversial, still-unfinished center-line bikeway on San Franciscos’s Valencia Street is being criticized after at least two bicycling crashes in the first two months, as bicyclists call it an “abomination,” “designed by people who don’t ride bikes.” Meanwhile, Streetsblog calls for ripping it out and replacing it with Dutch-style, side-running bike lanes immediately, sort of like this one.

San Francisco supervisors voted to make permanent a pandemic-era lane reduction and protected bike lane on Fell Street, after a study showed crashes declined 40%, despite a 9% increase in traffic, while weekday driving times increased just 17 seconds.

This is who we share the road with. A San Francisco cop tried to turn a restaurant into a drive-thru, after running a red light during a police chase, clipping a motorcycle and crashing through the front of the building, injuring a child.

 

National

Canary Media says driving less could be as easy as riding a big electric bike.

Gran Fondo Magazine rates the year’s best gravel race bikes.

Sadly, no surprise here, as witnesses contradict the official police statements about the death of a Vancouver, Washington man riding his bike with his young son; the state police say he fell over in front of a passing pickup, while a witness says the truck never moved over and ran him down from behind, while questioning why cops would protect the driver.

A Milwaukee newspaper digs deep into the World Naked Bike Ride to explore the connection between two-wheeled nudism and fighting climate change. The Los Angeles edition rolls this Saturday with dueling rides at 10 am and 1 pm. And no, I won’t be participating, because no one wants to see this diabetic corgi dad bod naked. Trust me.

A Wisconsin woman faces charges for allegedly running down a bike rider while high on heroin; a blood test revealed she also had oxycodone and fentanyl in her system at the time of the crash.

Chicago is budgeting $17 million to add another 150 miles of bike lanes, with infrastructure targeted to historically underserved and overlooked communities.

An Illinois judge acquitted a Chicago cop facing charges for violently slamming a Black teen to the ground and pinning him with his knee, after mistaking him for the man who stole his son’s bicycle.

It takes a special kind of schmuck to leave a seven-year old bike-riding Michigan girl bleeding in the street, with a broken femur, broken pelvis and severe abrasions.

A new Maine law allows the creation of an ebike rebate program, without actually establishing one. Meanwhile, California’s long-delayed program is promised to launch sometime in the next nine days. Fingers crossed.

Horrible tragedy in New York, where four elderly people were killed, and two others critically injured, when a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery broke out on a ground floor bike shop beneath their apartments; the New York Times considers how ebike fires became a deadly crisis in the city, with over 100 so far this year.

A writer for Slate complains about the absurdity of getting a ticket for briefly riding a bikeshare bike on a New York sidewalk, when over 30 drivers were idling in the bike lanes.

Actors Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany are two of us, as the couple were seen on a casual bike ride through New York; more impressively, they’ve been married for 20 years.

Republicans in Congress want to ban red light cams in DC and keep right turns on red legal, despite a ban scheduled to go into effect in two years. Which is about as good an argument for DC statehood as you could make. 

He gets it. A North Carolina columnist says motorists could learn a lot from bicyclists, which could make anyone a better driver.

An Air Force Chief Master Sergeant has spent two years recovering from the collision that killed her two teammates, and nearly killed her, as they were nearing the finish of a 72-hour race across Florida.

 

International

Ex-pros Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin introduced their new line of kids’ bikes at the Eurobike bike show, although the bikes aren’t currently on the market.

Cycling Weekly considers the best bikewear brands, “from heritage labels to value-focused disruptors.”

A London columnist imagines what the city could be like if bicycling was for everyone, not just men in Lycra. Even though the city has a pretty good contingent of suit-clad bike commuters every weekday.

A London industrial design student has developed a handlebar add-on that would control your lights, provide turn signals and create your own laser-light bike lane as you ride.

Life is cheap in England, where an 88-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that knocked a 46-year old mother off her bike, where she was killed by another driver as she attempted to get up; the driver said she felt a thud, but had no idea she hit someone. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. 

The return of the Raleigh Chopper was clearly welcomed with pent-up demand, as hundreds of people stood in the Nottingham, England rain for hours to be among the first to get one, while thousands more queued online.

Unbelievable. A British paramedic will be allowed to keep his medical license, despite being sentenced to five years behind bars for the drunken, distracted off-duty crash that killed a man riding a bicycle; he had ten pints of beer before getting behind the wheel, and was looking at his phone when he veered onto the wrong side of the road.

Killing a vulnerable road user in the UK is now an aggravating factor that can lead to longer sentences.

A travel magazine visits the “garden paradise” of Flevoland, just 30 minutes from Amsterdam, which the Dutch built on reclaimed land, along with a city where bicycles take precedence over automobiles.

German prosecutors have released the truck driver accused in the hit-and-run death of 30-year pro cyclist Davide Rebellin in Italy last year, pending a decision in his extradition case.

No surprise here, either, as a Spanish study from three months in the future confirms that commuting by motor vehicle is bad for your mental health. And not great for your financial health, either.

Proving once again the elections matter, a conservative new Spanish government is promising to rip out recently installed bike lanes in an effort to reverse the previous governing coalition’s green agenda.

Parents in Australia’s New South Wales are calling for safer roads around schools to enable active transport.

 

Competitive Cycling

Men’s Journal considers who will win this year’s Tour de France. 

Outside’s Velo looks at who’s coming to the Tour de France, including Caleb Ewing, while Primož Roglič confirms he’s sitting this one out, along with the worlds.

RAAM competitor Jeff Conaway will need surgery after an apparent solo crash on a Colorado roadway left him with a head injury, broken scapula and a broken collarbone; he doesn’t remember the crash, and no one on his team witnessed it to say what happened. His Garmin alerted his team to the crash by calling 911.

Start training now for the first-ever snow bike world championships in Châtel, Haute-Savoie, France next February.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you take a hundred mile roadtrip pulling a 500-pound DIY bike camper. Or when you’re on a 3,000-mile mission from God.

And it’s hard enough riding a mountain bike by yourself.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

14-year old bike rider injured by hit-and-run car thieves, and pistol packing, gun-shooting Culver City bike rider

June 20, 2023 / / 3 comments

I’m feeling pretty sick tonight, so I’m posting this without editing. My apologies in advance for any mistakes.

………

The LAPD is looking for four men who stole a Kia, and left a teenage bike rider severely injured when they lost control and slammed into him as he rode his bike.

The 14-year old boy was riding north on Main Street near Adams Blvd when the car headed in the opposite fishtailed direction fishtailed and knocked him off his bike around 7:30 pm on Tuesday, May 16th.

The victim suffered a broken knee and arm, with bruises and road rash all over his body.

A crowdfunding campaign to help pay his medical expenses has raised over $11,000 of the $30,000 goal. If you’ve got any extra cash lying around, this would be a good one to give to.

As always, there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injury in the City of Los Angeles.

Let’s hope that’s enough to get someone to turn them in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMZcL09Swao

………

Police in Culver City are looking for a bike-riding man who bizarrely rode down an alley firing a gun into the air, for no apparent reason.

The incident occurred around 5 pm last Wednesday in the Lindberg Park area.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

The suspect is described as a man wearing a red sweatshirt and shorts, with a dark baseball cap and tattoos on his hand, riding a black bike.

Anyone with information is urged to call Culver City police at 310/253-6316 or 310/253-6202.

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Heartbreaking news from the Tour de Suisse, aka the Tour of Switzerland, where 26-year old Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder died after going off the road on a high-speed descent.

Mäder was found lying unconscious in water at the bottom of a ravine. He was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.

His Bahrain Victorious team withdrew from the race in the wake of Mäder’s death, while news of his death brought condolences from throughout the bike racing world.

American cyclist Magnus Sheffield was discharged from the hospital after three days for his injuries suffered in the same crash.

Twenty-two-year old Danish cyclist Mattias Skjelmose dedicated his victory in the tour to Mäder.

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Actor Bob Odenkirk is one of us.

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

A Boston-area letter writer says a West Roxbury group is fighting plans for new bike lanes using fear mongering over lost parking spaces, small businesses suffering, and interfering with emergency response — even though it would remove just two parking spaces, and preserve five of the six existing lanes.

In a terrifying incident, road-raging Welsh retiree threatened to kill a bicyclist at a busy intersection before physically assaulting him, then driving his car at the victim, telling him “You will die on this road today!” And even after he was arrested, demanded the cops give him the victim’s name so he could have a hit put out on him.

A 19-year old English driver faces charges for allegedly intentionally running down a pair of teenaged boys walking along a roadway, before a passenger in his car took one victim’s bicycle, and tossed it in the trunk before driving off.

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

The CHP issued a warning after a group of teen bike riders took their latest rideout onto the northbound lanes of Interstate 580 in Hayward, California on Monday.

Houston’s mayor says violent incidents won’t be tolerated after a group of people on bikes swarmed a driver’s car, kicking a scratching it, and bashing in the windshield with a bike chain.

It takes a major scumbag to steal a 14-year old British boy’s bike after crashing into him with a bicycle.

………

Local 

Streets For All founder Michael Schneider bikes and talks with actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. about running errands in LA without a car.

This is who we share the road with. Actor Pete Davidson faces a misdemeanor reckless driving charge for crashing into a fire hydrant and a home in Beverly Hills in March.

A short video shows how much nicer the Ballona Creek bike path is now that the brush has been cut back.

A writer for the Westside Current goes for a test ride in a Waymo self-driving taxi. However, there’s probably no truth to the rumor that the name comes because they’re way mo’ likely to run you down as you ride your bike. 

The next 626 Golden Streets open streets even will come to South Pasadena and Los Angeles with Arroyo Fest on Sunday, October 29th.

 

State

A Fullerton newspaper calls for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the city.

A 10-year-old was collateral damage in a rolling car-to-car shootout along a San Francisco bike path, when she was hit by a driver distracted by the shooting as she walked her bike across a street.

Sacramento County advocacy group Bicycle Advocates for Rancho Cordova held a Juneteenth celebration Sunday offering free dinner, kid’s books and bike repairs.

 

National

A writer for Wired makes the case for keeping your kids off ebikes until they’re old enough to handle them. But bizarrely uses the tragic death of death of 12-year-old Molly Steinsapir as a case in point, even though her death was allegedly the result of brake failure at the base of a steep hill.

Spectrum News reports the pandemic bike boom and bust is still affecting the availability and cost of new parts, causing some riders to opt for used parts.

A writer for Slate says his ebike changed his life. Presumably in a good way.

Bikes mean business. A study from Northwest Arkansas shows that bicycling contributed $159 million to the local economy, and while creating 743 jobs.

Kindhearted West Virginia cops replaced a young girl’s stolen bike after it was recovered chopped into pieces.

Former Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten, nee John Lyden, is officially placing his name on US-made Ionic Bikes’ new edition of their early-2000s mountain bike, which was released with his name, if not the rights to it.

A New Orleans street performer known as the Queen of Bourbon Street was injured when she was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding her adult tricycle.

 

International

Ten cities around the world will get a major boost for biking with grants from the first-ever Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure. None of which are in the US. 

Heartbreaking story from Ecuador, where an alleged drunk driver is being held without bail for killing a 71-year old man and his two teenaged grandsons as they waited at a bike trailhead for their rental bikes to be delivered.

The Guardian says an e-cargo bike could be the future of carfree local transportation, but only if the cost comes down. Even though the $2,500 cost of the one she tested is on the low end for e-cargo bikes. And just a fraction of the cost of the cheapest motor vehicles. 

Bighearted London, Ontario residents are refurbishing bicycle to donate to migrant farm workers.

A 35-year old man from the other London took a “hot, busy, trafficky” three-hour ride around the city, using his GPS to draw a giant heart to raise awareness for Refugee Week and advocate for a kinder policy towards refugees.

No bias here. An op-ed in London’s liberal New Statesman calls the 15-minute city a working-class nightmare, adding that “a car-free lifestyle is only possible for those whose profession and income permit it.” Never mind that many low-income people ride bikes and walk because they can’t afford a car.

Police in the UK are investigating the death of a man in his 60s taking part in the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride.

A British counselor sounds the alarm over a monster pothole, standing waist-deep in the hole to warn of the danger it could pose to a bike rider or motorcyclist.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 87-year old British man says bicycling has been a lifesaver, still setting long-distance records while riding 150 miles a week.

A writer for The Guardian takes a 2,700 mile bike ride from Ibiza to England’s Norfolk Broads in an effort to understand David Bowie’s Life on Mars, released 50 years ago this week.

A 62-year old German truck driver was finally arrested for the hit-and-run death of pro cyclist Davide Rebellin in Italy last November; he’ll face charges of vehicular homicide and failure to provide assistance if he is extradited to the country.

 

Competitive Cycling

Queer Gravel founder Abi Robins makes the case for why nonbinary representation in bike racing matters, as they work to build a space for gay- and trans-identifying cyclists. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

The Euskaltel-Euskadi and Baloise-Trek Lions cycling teams had to pull out of the final stages of the Tour of Slovenia and Baloise Belgium Tour, respectively, after bike thieves stole the teams’ bikes and wheels.

A BBC radio podcast will explore what really happened to Italian cycling great Marco Pantani, asking if the mafia would really kill such a high-profile cyclist.

Former Tour de France, Vuelta and Giro champ Alberto Contador suffered a bloodied face when another rider crashed in front of him during China’s Desafío Beijing by La Vuelta; he was in the country to encourage people to ride bikes.

A British elite bike race demonstrated the problem of competing on an open course when it had to be cancelled just 18 miles into the planned 125-mile course when a drunk driver plowed into a family car while traveling at 100 mph; remarkably, no one was injured. The driver was so drunk he couldn’t even stand up after the crash.

South African pro cyclist Nic Dlamini is still waiting for justice, over three years after five national park rangers broke his arm for allegedly failing to pay the entrance fee.

 

Finally…

Forget a tandem, and get a Buddy Bike instead. If you’re going to celebrate your race victory arm in arm, maybe wait until you actually win.

And when you’re riding your bike with a broken meth pipe and a week-old baby raccoon in your backpack, put a damn light on it, already.

The bike, that is, not the backpack. Although you could do that, too.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

LA columnist pans CA speed cam bill as “weirdly bitter hatred of cars,” and Metro — and Metro Bikes — free this weekend

June 16, 2023 / / One comment

Happy Father’s Day and Juneteenth weekend!

Three-day weekends and holidays mean more drunks on the road, and more distracted drivers rushing to get out of town. 

So practice the usual safety protocols. Ride defensively, and assume any driver you see on the road after noon today has been drinking, and that every driver is distracted in some way. 

Or both. 

Because I don’t want to write about you unless you leap from your bike to rescue puppies from a burning building, or return a little old lady’ lost life savings that you found while riding by in the street.

And I expect to see you here bright and early when we return on Tuesday.

Today’s photo of a smiling corgi on a Metro Bike is here just for the hell of it.

………

No bias here.

A columnist for the conservative Los Angeles News Group complains about AB 645, which would establish a speed cam pilot program in six California cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.

For the first time, that is. Not “bring them back,” as the headline suggest.

Apparently suffering from a bad case of windshield bias, she worries what could possibly go wrong. And answers her own question, in her own mind, by noting that the revenue from the speed cams will go to traffic calming projects.

So this speed camera bill is actually an attempt to fund an incremental plan to make driving more and more difficult, less and less practical…

It’s our goal to have no one struck at all, and 20 mph is obviously not the answer. It’s a way of saying, “streets are for everybody except people who are driving to get somewhere.”

Road diets and other tricks to strangle vehicle transportation are not really about pedestrian safety. They’re just the latest expression of a weirdly bitter hatred of cars, a mode of transportation that gives people freedom and options.

She goes on to bizarrely conclude that the reason pedestrian deaths increased 53% from 2008 to 2018 was — wait for it — because streets became darker after Los Angeles and other cities began installing new energy-efficient LED streetlights.

Not, for instance, because the emergence of smartphones over the same period led to a dramatic increase in distracted driving.

Or that the ever-increasing size and popularity of massive SUVs and trucks have made even relatively minor collisions exponentially more dangerous for anyone not safely ensconced inside multiple tons of steel and glass.

And never mind that LED streetlights are actually whiter and brighter than traditional high pressure sodium lights.

But evidently, she’s too busy fretting about her imaginary war on cars to notice.

However, you may have to find a way past the LANG’s draconian paywall if you want to read it.

………

Metro will be free all weekend to celebrate today’s opening of the new Regional Connector Line and three new Metro stations in DTLA, through 3 am Monday.

That includes free Metro Bike rides. But you’ll need the promo code below to unlock them.

………

Today’s mountain bike break comes from Montana, courtesy of Rowdy Flow.

And yes, that’s a person.

………

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

A New York website complains that hundreds of bike lane opponents in the city’s Greenpoint neighborhood jammed into an unofficial meeting with the city’s transportation commissioner, while supporters of the proposed bike lane were locked out.

A British man suffered facial injuries when he was whacked in the face with a piece of wood, for no apparent reason, by a group of teenage boys who ran away after the attack without taking anything.

………

Local 

The Los Angeles edition of the clothing optional World Naked Bike Ride is set to roll next Saturday, encouraging riders to go as bare as you dare; the first 200 people to pre-register with a $5 donation will get a pull-string backpack to hold your clothes during the ride. Because officials may not be so forgiving if you don’t wear something on the way there and back. And if you use a bikeshare, rental or borrowed bike, bring something to put over the seat. Please.

LA’s new Sixth Street Viaduct was honored at the honored at the 57th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala as the year’s most outstanding engineering achievement.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton notes that Santa Monica’s concrete-barrier printing machine that built the new Ocean Ave protected bike lanes have gained worldwide fame.

Long Beach tourist and shopping destination Shoreline village is set to get a much-needed makeover, including new bike ramp access, and new bike parking and storage facilities, in time for the 2028 Olympics.

 

State

The Sierra Club considers the benefits of ebikes to create a revolution in sustainable transportation.

Teenage ebike riders in Encinitas who carry a passenger on their handlebars will now be required to attend a bicycle education class; no word on whether the law applies to adults, as well.

San Diego will install traffic-calming measures to create a more pedestrian-friendly space on Diamond Street in Pacific Beach, including painting sharrows on the roadway in an apparent attempt to use bike riders’ bodies to slow drivers.

An Air Force sergeant is back at work after he was airlifted to safety following a mountain bike crash in the hills above Menifee last month; he was able to call for help after regaining consciousness, despite suffering critical injuries.

Demonstrating a keen grasp of proper British etiquette, Montecito residents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, sent a thank you note to the Santa Barbara bike shop owner who gave their son Prince Archie a new bike for his fourth birthday.

Governing says Sacramento’s poor street design is perfect for hit-and-runs, citing experts who blame aging roadways designed without pedestrians or bicyclists in mind. Just wait until they see the streets here in Los Angeles.

 

National

Right now, you can buy the belt-drive, VanMoof-knockoff BirdBike ebike for just a thousand bucks, less than half of the usual $2,300 price.

Bicycling looks at the indigenous women taking part in this years edition of the annual 950-mile Remember the Removal bike ride commemorating the infamous Trail of Tears, one of the most shameful events in American history. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you. 

Vermont Governor Phil Scott is one of us, as he plans to take a 93-mile ride to celebrate the opening of the state’s new rail-to-trail pathway.

She gets it. A public diplomacy professor at Massachusetts’ Tufts University is very diplomatic in asking how many Americans have to die before we do something about road safety, noting that residents of Canada, Australia and France were about three times less likely to die on roadways than U.S. residents, on a per capita basis.

He gets it. A father in West Hartford, Connecticut makes a plea for safer streets, saying all people deserve safety, even if they’re in the minority of road users.

Some bike shops serve coffee. A few serve craft beer. But a New Jersey bike shop will let you feast on ramen and soft serve while you wait.

In a tragic irony, a New Orleans man was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver while riding a bicycle, just a block from a roadside installation of several ghost bikes meant to call attention to the number of bike riders killed on the city’s streets.

 

International

Momentum Magazine argues that making room for bicycles can save cities money while boosting the local economy.

Momentum also offers 12 last-minute Father’s Day gifts for the bike-loving dad in your life.

Cycling Weekly offers advice on how to develop the mindset of a pro cyclist, highlighting the mental traits inseparable from success — whatever that means to you.

Edinburgh officials will remake a zig-zagging bike lane because the current curves are too sharp for many riders, and don’t meet city standards.

The first, and apparently only, British citizen to ride one million lifetime miles on a bicycle has passed away following years of declining health; Russ Mantle completed the feat to great fanfare in 2019. He was 86.

Long-awaited changes to Britain’s Highway Code designed to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians are going into effect; the law creates a hierarchy of road users by giving priority to pedestrians, followed by bike riders, equestrians, motorcyclists, private cars, vans and minibuses, and finally, larger buses and trucks.

A Nigerian PhD student says the country needs to emulate the Netherlands and embrace bicycles as an alternative to cars, tricycles and motorbikes, after the country’s president increased gas prices by removing a key fuel subsidy.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-six-year old Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder was seriously injured when he went off the road, along with American Magnus Sheffield, on a fast descent during Thursday’s stage of the Tour de Suisse; Sheffield was treated at a local hospital for a concussion and bruises, while Mäder was flown to the hospital after being found motionless in the water at the base of a ravine, and resuscitated at the scene.

Reigning world champ Remco Evenepoel criticized race organizers for placing the stage finish line at the bottom of such a dangerous descent.

Unbelievable. More than 30 riders taking part in the the U-23 Giro d’Italia, which is being rebranded as the Giro Next Gen, were disqualified in a mass cheating event on the famed Passo dello Stelvio when they were caught on camera hanging onto team cars and motorbikes.

NBC Sports explains the meaning of the different colored — and polka dotted — Tour de France leaders jerseys.

 

Finally…

Frog wants his purloined ebike and joke books back. Now you, too, can be the proud owner of a Walmart mountain bike for under a Benjamin.

And that feeling when someone links to me saying sharrows suck.

Because they do.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Man riding bike killed in April hit-and-run in Historic South Central; 8th SoCal bicyclist killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

June 15, 2023 / / Comments Off on Man riding bike killed in April hit-and-run in Historic South Central; 8th SoCal bicyclist killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

Once again, someone riding a bicycle was killed on the streets of Los Angeles

And once again, we didn’t find out until weeks later.

The LAPD announced today that a man was killed by a hit-and-run driver over two months ago in Historic South Central.

The victim, identified as 68-year old Salvador Gonzalez Arechiga, was riding east on Adams Boulevard at Trinity Street around 3:35 am April 13th when he was rear-ended by the driver, who sped away without stopping.

Arechiga was taken to a nearby hospital suffering from severe, life-threatening injuries, where he died nine hours later.

Police are looking for two men in a dark-colored 2007 to 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe. Security video shows the driver was a Black man approximately 30 to 50-years-old, 5’08” to 5’10” tall, 200-250 pounds. He was wearing a dark jacket, blue pants with a white pattern on the left leg, a white Dodgers LA t-shirt, white tennis shoes and a black dew rag.

The passenger was described as a Black man, with black hair and a black beard, approximately 5’10” to 6′ tall, and 250 to 300 pounds; he was wearing a white hoodie with a dark logo and dark pants.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

This is at least the 20th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; half of those have been in the City of Los Angeles.

It’s also the eighth fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider this year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Salvador Gonzalez Arechiga and his loved ones.

Thanks to LAPD Central Traffic Division for the heads-up.

 

 

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

SaMo councilor withdraws anti-bike lane motion, calling out knee-jerk anti-bike bias, and Subaru bats just 300 at missing bikes

June 15, 2023 / / One comment

It looks like the Santa Monica bike community won this one.

Streetsblog is reporting that SaMo City Councilmember Phil Brock pulled his motion calling for a report offering more options for the 17th Street protected bike lane and pedestrian improvement project, which isn’t even completely finished yet.

The site says he wanted to prevent the sort of fiasco we recently saw in Culver City, where a newly conservative council voted to remove the highly successful Move Culver City project from the downtown area.

Santa Monica councilmembers report being flooded with dueling email campaigns, with one calling for preserving the bikeway, while another from residents of the Mid-City neighborhood called for its removal.

But for a change, more emails came from predominantly younger bicycle and pedestrian safety advocates, than from the more conservative — and presumably older — neighborhood activists.

So pat yourself on the back.

Even though the councilmember now says he never really wanted to radically alter or remove aspects of the project.

Good to know.

………

Boy, does she get it.

In an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, a carfree former emergency room nurse, semiretired professor and septuagenarian bicyclist writes about the knee-jerk hatred of people on bicycles, both online and in what passes for the real world these days.

The next time you are tempted to pile on to such a discussion about bicyclists, ask yourself if you are doing so because you consciously or unconsciously resent them — for taking up space on the roads, for slowing you down in your car, for seemingly being so free while you are stuck in car traffic. And if so, stop and ask yourself if you can re-envision them in a non-stereotyped way: as your own kids, grandmothers, parents or other people who are placed at risk by negative comments. Your words have the power to reinforce hurtful stereotypes or to reshape perceptions.

Ultimately, hate of bicyclists comes from the same place as racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia: a desire to cling to the status quo power arrangements that favor some over others. As the bicycle becomes re-popularized as a legitimate form of transportation, there are inevitably more conflicts with those who continually and mindlessly assert that “streets are for cars.” But just as gay people are no longer willing to stay in the closet, nor women in the kitchen, bicyclists are no longer willing to settle for crumbs in terms of use of our public roadways.

It’s more than worth reading the whole thing.

Although you’ll have to find a way past the paper’s draconian paywall to do it.

………

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says Subaru’s EyeSight crash avoidance system shows promise, reducing crashes with drivers traveling parallel to bicycles by 30 percent.

However, it only showed a modest benefit in other types of crashes, which earlier versions — like the ones tested — weren’t designed to detect.

Although that means it failed in 70% of crashes, which may be a good record in baseball, but not so much in real life when it’s your ass that’s on the line.

………

A co-working site cites Boston and Newark, New Jersey as the best cities in the US to live without a car, followed by New York, DC and San Francisco.

That’s followed by 15 other cities, none of which is Los Angeles, unsurprisingly.

………

Apparently, Los Angeles County, which is responsible for maintaining the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail, has once again allowed it to become overrun with sand.

And is apparently allowing it to stay that way, rather than promptly clearing it.

………

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

No bias here. A Wyoming police chief blames bike riders for most crashes with motor vehicles, claiming bicyclists have a misconception that they aren’t expected to obey the same traffic laws as motorists — even though the department doesn’t track bicycle crashes, so he’s really just guessing who’s actually at fault.

No bias here, either. English residents complain that “unsightly” bike hangers don’t get used, then complain when they do.

In an apparent attempt to thin the herd, Edinburgh officials say two-way street markings on a Low Traffic Neighborhood, the UK’s equivalent of our Slow Streets, will remain in place, even though they direct bike riders directly into oncoming motor vehicle traffic on the one-way street.

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

Adding insult to literal injury, an Edinburgh bike rider was convicted of dangerous bicycling after he ran a red light and was struck by a motorist.

………

Local 

The popular Ballona Creek bike path will be closed for maintenance through 3 pm today, from Duquesne Ave to Jackson Ave. Or vice versa, depending on which way you’re traveling.

 

State

San Francisco Streetsblog says the city’s Hyde Street bike lane project is garbage, suggesting the “info-free outreach and terrible designs” demonstrate how little the city’s transit agency really cares about bicycle safety.

A Chico mom worries about whether she should send her kids to school on their bikes using dangerous major streets, or ride bike paths through homeless camps where she would feel unsafe.

 

National

GearJunkie has tips on how to buy a used ebike, whether online or in person.

A German brand has introduced a sturdy and capacious, but relatively pricey, e-cargo bike, with prices rising to seven grand for a belt-drive version; meanwhile, another German bikemaker is offering a more compact e-cargo bike for over two grand less.

PinkBike editors demonstrate the bike park protective gear they actually wear.

Speaking of protective gear, Bell Sports is recalling their “Giro” Merit helmets because they don’t comply with CPSC safety standards, and could pose a risk of head injury. Which kind of defeats the purpose of a bike helmet in the first place. 

A flight website offers tips on how to fly with your bicycle, complete with a table of major airlines’ policies. Which is not the same as flying on your bicycle, which usually happens if you hit a bump or something bumps into you. 

A “semi-new” Oregon explorer offers advice on overnight bike touring and bikepacking.

That crowdfunding campaign we mentioned last week to buy a new ebike for a popular carfree, 78-year old Longmont, Colorado man after his new one was stolen has topped the $3,500 goal, which means he’ll soon be riding again.

Missoula, Montana residents are resorting to a letter-writing campaign just to get the state transportation department to fund a study of a dangerous street, in hopes it will lead to safety improvements.

Good news from Chicago, where Streetsblog editor John Greenfield is on the mend, two months after he was placed in a medically induced coma with major head trauma, as well as several broken ribs and a broken clavicle, after he was struck by a plastic pipe sticking out from a passing truck while riding his bike on the sidewalk.

A Minnesota writer wonders whether we’ll ever have a European-style bike culture in the US, in which bikes are integrated into residents lives, rather than being considered exercise or an activity.

Vermont has opened its first fully adaptive mountain bike trails offering open accessibility to all trail users, able-bodied or otherwise. Read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

 

International

Momentum Magazine considers bike buses, calling them a global trend in active school transportation.

That’s more like it. Vancouver will offer a secure bike valet service for the downtown area. That contrasts with Downtown Los Angeles, where police warn your bike may not be there when you get back.

This is who we share the road with. After a 16-year old British bike rider was run down by a female hit-and-run driver while riding in a bike lane, the boy’s mother accused her of watching Netflix as she was driving; fortunately, the victim wasn’t badly injured.

This is who we share the road with, too. Video from the UK shows impatient drivers zooming down the wrong side of the road, on a street where three bicyclists have been killed in recent years. Then again, maybe they were just visiting Americans unable to comprehend the country’s left-side driving rules.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website considers the role of big data in shaping bicycle friendly cities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Women’s WorldTour cyclists condemn organizers of the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées, which was cancelled when riders protested dangerous conditions on the final stage, after they referred to pro riders as “girls” and “spoiled children” for cancelling the tour.

 

Finally…

If you’re making off with a stolen bike, maybe try stopping for the stop signs. And thank a 17th century mathematician and scientist for your air pressure gauge.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

More corruption at LA City Hall, more Metro money for induced demand, and SaMo suffers premature evaluation

June 14, 2023 / / Comments Off on More corruption at LA City Hall, more Metro money for induced demand, and SaMo suffers premature evaluation

Is anyone really surprised to find still more corruption on the Los Angeles city council?

The LA Times is reporting that CD9 Councilmember Curren Price, a ten year veteran of the council, was charged with ten counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest yesterday.

Price, a 10-year veteran of the City Council, is accused of having a financial interest in development projects that he voted on, and receiving tens of thousands of dollars in medical benefits from the city for his now wife while he was still married to another woman, according to a statement issued by the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

He was charged with five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to a criminal complaint made public Tuesday.

The Times says Price, who resigned his position in the state legislature to run for the council seat, should do the right thing and resign.

Yeah, that’ll happen.

City Council President Paul Krekorian says he’ll move to suspend Price, just the latest in a long line of councilmembers to face criminal charges or resign under a cloud.

Maybe we’d have better luck getting safer streets if we slipped bag of cash to a few councilmembers under the table.

………

Metro’s board will vote today on a proposal to seek grant funds and shift yet more money to a $100 million plus project to widen the 405 Freeway between Artesia Boulevard and the 105 Freeway.

Demonstrating that they have learned absolutely nothing from the failed $1 billion project to widen the highway through the Sepulveda Pass, which actually resulted in more congestion and longer rush hour commute times.

Metro, meet induced demand.

Meanwhile, Streets For All wants you to tell Metro’s Planning and Programming Committee at this morning’s meeting not to flush another $26 million down the toilet on freeway projects.

They accuse Metro of greenwashing highway expansion by putting “multimodal” in the name of highway projects including a “widening project right in front of a middle school in Whittier, and laying the groundwork for the i-605 Hot Spots program which may destroy homes.”

………

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton reports that Santa Monica councilmembers RE asking for a premature report on the still-unfinished 17th Street protected bike lane and pedestrian improvements, which could shade results showing the eventual usage and effectiveness of the project.

Streets For All urges you to contact the council to object to the slightly disguised effort to rollback progress in the city.

………

Boy George is one of us.

So was the original voice of Jiminy Cricket. Although playing his uke while riding with no hands might be more impressive if there wasn’t a rack holding the bike in place.

………

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

A proposal to rip out a bike lane in Kingston, Ontario is rattling local bicyclists, who fear a change in the ostensibly bike-friendly city.

………

Local 

The Metro Bike bikeshare system will be free all weekend, along with all Metro buses, trains and Metro Micro, to celebrate the opening of the Regional Connector line in DTLA.

 

State

In case you missed it, a bike-riding mom was apparently collateral damage when an out-of-control driver ricocheted across the roadway in a Lake Forest crash on Sunday.

Four Santa Barbara women have set off on a 930-mile ride from California to Colorado to raise funds to encourage more young girls to ride a bike.

A Fresno County man faces a murder charge for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a Clovis bike rider last month; he was driving at nearly three times the legal alcohol limit at the time of the crash, and had signed a Watson advisement after a previous DUI conviction, informing him he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving drunk again.

You’ve got to be kidding. Business owners in Burlingame are stressing over plans to install a bike lane, fearing the loss of a whole 12 parking spaces — yes, twelve — will somehow negatively affect their business. Never mind that studies show bike lanes usually improve sales at local businesses.

A child was hospitalized with leg injuries after they were right hooked by a commercial truck driver while riding a bike in a Concord crosswalk.

 

National

Streetsblog discusses more effective ways to conduct driver education beyond “pedestrian-shaming PSAs, flimsy driver’s ed courses and lame signs on the side of the road.”

Alpecin Cycling advises how to boost your balance on your bike.

BikeRumor discusses the year’s best bike helmets, and how to get the best bike upgrade bang for the least amount of money.

A health website considers four weird things bicycling does to your body, like causing saddle sores and numbness “down there.”

An Alaska bicyclist complains about a proposed Anchorage vulnerable road user law, calling it “an exercise in virtue signaling” that wouldn’t do anything to protect bike riders.

No bias here. An Oregon driver got 19 years behind bars for intentionally running down a bike-riding man after getting into a physical fight with the victim, copping a plea to a reduced charge of manslaughter. Yet the local TV station somehow insists on describing him merely as a hit-and-run driver, as if the violent attack was just an “oopsie’ he drove away from.

The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, aka RAGBRAI, has cancelled plans to attempt a world record for the longest parade of bicyclists during the ride’s Ames to Des Moines stage, saying rule changes from Guinness have made it impossible too do. Meanwhile, the paper has sent a cease and desist order to a former ride official who posted an alternate route for the stage, fearing RAGBRAI could compromise safety by having too many riders on the route.

A bike rider was apparently collateral damage in a Houston police chase when she was run down by a driver who may have been distracted by the car chase zooming by on surface streets at speeds up to 100 mph.

New York has established a nearly $18 an hour minimum wage for food delivery workers, most of whom use bikes and ebikes for their work. Yet Tech Crunch says no one seems to be happy about it.

 

International

A pair of university researchers explain how bike helmets and safety vests make bike riders look less human to other road users. Then again, even riding naked doesn’t seem to get a better result. 

This is who we share the road with. A pair of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan cops chasing a suspected bike thief somehow managed to crash their patrol cars together, as well as hitting a parked car, allowing the suspect to slip away.

An angry London pub owner demands an explanation after his outdoor seating was replaced with bike racks with no advance warning.

Two Welsh cops were served with gross misconduct notices for closely following, if not chasing, two boys riding an ebike just before they both were killed falling off the bike — which means the cops are under investigation, but it apparently has the legal impact of a slap with a wet noodle.

A Scottish newspaper recommends the “splendid isolation” of riding your bike through the secluded Borders region.

He gets it. Britain’s top road safety cop urges the media to stop wasting time talking about putting license plates on bicycles, and focus on the real causes of traffic deaths. Which ain’t bikes.

The subject of mandatory bike helmets once again raises its ugly head, as an Irish children’s hospital consultant called for helmets to be required for all bike riders, children and adults. Never mind that helmet laws have been shown to reduce bicycling rates, at a time when the climate crisis demands putting more people on bikes. 

The Financial Times talks with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is rapidly remaking the city with much less emphasis on motor vehicles. We could have that here in Los Angeles, if our elected leaders actually had the vision and political courage they profess. 

A Streetsblog op-ed examines how Copenhagen constantly measures the true costs of driving and crafts policies to reduce them.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling reports that if you want to watch the nine stage Giro Donne — aka the women’s Giro d’Italia — which starts on June 30th, you’ll need a subscription to GCN+. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

The Guardian profiles endurance cyclist Leah Goldstein, as she sets out to win a second consecutive RAAM — aka Race Across America — after dropping her male competitors like freshman English in last year’s race.

Belgian veteran pro Thomas De Gendt has pulled himself out of the Tour de France, but invites you to join him on his own 12-day tour from Flanders to the Costa Blanca, with the mountains of Andorra thrown in along the way.

A Milwaukee website offers tips on how to ride your bike to, but not in, all 11 stages of the Tour of America’s Dairyland.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your local bike lane only works part-time. Probably not the best idea to try to steal a bicycle from the police parking lot.

And try not to ride your ebike when you’re falling down drunk.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Update: Bike-riding mom killed Sunday in apparent collateral damage crash in Lake Forest

June 14, 2023 / / 7 comments

This news from this past weekend just keeps getting worse.

Longtime Orange County bike advocate Bill Sellin has forwarded news that a woman was killed while riding her bike in Lake Forest Sunday morning, apparently the victim of an out-of-control driver.

While the initial reports appeared on Nextdoor, which is not always the most reliable source, the Orange County Sheriff’s department confirms a crash occurred just before 8 am on El Toro Road at Normandale Drive.

Sellin confirmed with Lake Forest officials that the victim of the crash was killed.

Meanwhile, a woman identifying herself as the victim’s daughter reports that the crash occurred when a driver apparently lost control, jumping a curb and hitting a light pole on one side of the street, then ricocheting across the street to hit the victim before crashing into another light pole on the opposite side of the street.

All of which implies the driver may have been traveling at an extreme rate of speed, even given the irrational 55 mph speed limit on the roadway.

Photos from the scene taken from Nextdoor show the mangled bike resting on the sidewalk in front of the smashed pickup; Sellin reports the location of the victim’s body was marked in front of her bike.

There’s no word on the victim’s name or age, though we can surmise her last name from her daughter’s post.

A person identifying themselves as her neighbor reports the victim was a mother of three.

There has been nothing in the news yet, and no official confirmation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Lake Forest, or the Coroner’s office; unfortunately, the OC Coroner no longer posts death notices online.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Update: The victim’s daughter has identified her as Sara Wheaton; sadly, she turned 49 the day she died. 

According to the daughter, Wheaton’s body was thrown 20 feet from her bike by the force of the impact. And neighbors who heard the crash don’t recall the sound of braking. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sara Wheaton and all her family and loved ones. 

Thanks to Bill Sellin for doing all the legwork and tracking down the information for this story. 

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

Beloved Trader Joe’s staffer on life support after Reseda bike crash, and following in Pee Wee’s tire tracks

June 13, 2023 / / 2 comments

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

According to KTLA-5, a 65-year old Trader Joe’s worker is on life support after he was run down by a motorist Thursday morning.

George Pareta was riding his bike on his way to work at the Reseda Trader Joe’s when the driver made a sudden turn in front of him, sending him flying through the air.

There’s no word on whether it was a right hook or left cross crash, however.

Pareta was rushed to a local hospital once paramedics were able to revive him, after his heart had been stopped for nearly half an hour following the crash.

Compounding the tragedy, Pareto’s son came upon the crash scene as he rode his bike along the same route to visit his father at work, recognizing his dad’s bike even though he had already been taken away.

His family is now faced with a heartrending choice “…between keeping him the way he is in an unresponsive state or taking him off life support,” while still hoping for a miracle.

A crowdfunding campaign for the beloved father, avid cyclist and spin instructor has already raised over $40,000 of the $50,000 goal to help pay his medical expenses.

………

Urbanize reports on long-delayed plans to convert Westwood’s Broxton Street to a pedestrian plaza next month.

Although maybe not quite as long as they suggest, which, judging by the second date, would have been over 1,700 years before Westwood Village was even imagined.

Planning for the Broxton Street plaza dates to 2015, when the Westwood Village Improvement Association began circulating a petition seeking support for the project – which then called for the plaza to be built one block to the north between Weyburn and Le Conte Avenue. While the project was approved in 208 by the L.A. city Council, pandemic-induced staffing shortages and other setbacks within LADOT delayed implementation until now.

………

Gravel Bike California’s Zachary Rynew finds himself riding in the famed tire tracks of Pee Wee Herman, if not with the same panache.

………

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

The former head of New York advocacy group Transportation Alternatives writes that new signs on New Jersey’s riverfront roadway requiring bicyclists to ride single file feel like a desecration — although it’s better than the total ban on bikes that existed before he negotiated a right to ride the roadway, albeit to the right only.

A Toronto website corrects the myths regarding the city’s bike lanes in the face of calls to rip up existing protected bike lanes, as well as anti-bike arguments that create a bikelash putting bicyclists in further jeopardy from angry motorists.

Missing the point entirely, an English mayoral candidate calls for banning the annual World Naked Bike Ride, calling for a return to common decency and self-respect. The point of riding naked is calling attention to driver inattention, as in “can you see me now?”

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

A 36-year old Indianapolis woman will spend a year behind bars, and another year on probation, for riding her bike across town with her two unrestrained babies in a milk crate attached to the bike with just a bungee cord.

………

Local 

Metro, BikeLA — formerly the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — and Metro Bike operator Bicycle Transit Systems have received a grant to conduct bikeshare training classes, complete with safety education and a firsthand demonstration on how to use bikeshare, along with a meal from a local business, a bike helmet, a 30-Day Metro Bike Share pass, and a group ride.

 

State

The Santa Barbara bike shop owner who gave a new kid’s Specialized bike as a birthday gift for four-year old British Prince Archie says she picked it for the bike’s gender neutral design, so he can pass it down to his sister.

 

National

A Streetsblog op-ed calls for dropping the term micromobility, arguing that SUVs, pickups and passenger cars should not be the benchmark for measuring other forms of transit, large or small.

Gear Junkie reports on the best women’s mountain bikewear from three passion-driven brands you’ve never heard of, while Outside site Velo discusses the best unreleased and new-to-this-country ebikes they saw at the e(Revolution) 2023 ebike trade show.

Tragic news from Colorado, where a missing 16-year old boy who disappeared after setting out on his mountain bike over a month ago has been found dead in a secluded canyon.

This is who we share the road with. Longtime Broadway and Hollywood actor Treat Williams was killed in Connecticut yesterday when a driver left-crossed his motorcycle.

Grieving mother Amy Cohen has gone on a hunger strike, along with three other supporters, over the refusal of the New York State Assembly Speaker to bring Sammy’s Law to a floor vote; the common sense bill named for her son would allow New York City to set its own speed limits, rather than having them set by the state. She’ll discuss the bill with Bike Talk, in a new episode that drops tomorrow. 

The star of a one-man Off-Broadway play about former President Dwight Eisenhower is one of us; John Rubinstein rides a bikeshare bike roughly 40 blocks to the theater every night, as he waits for his own bike to arrive from Los Angeles.

NPR rides with Atlanta’s oddly plural Ampersand Bikes Club, discussing how bicycles can provide strength, joy, and a way to create a protected space for Asian bike riders, even if protecting that space isn’t always easy.

A new Roanoke, Virginia traffic safety campaign urges drivers to change lanes to pass someone on a bicycle.

An LA website — no, the other LA — says riding a bike seems even smarter, now that you can buy a bicycle for the cost of a few tanks of gas.

 

International

Momentum Magazine writes that it should never be too late to start riding a bike.

Bike Radar offers a guide to the best titanium gravel bikes you can buy this year.

Life is cheap in Ontario, where the driver who killed a Hamilton bike rider walked without a single day behind bars, after he was sentenced to a lousy $12,500 fine and two years probation. And he can keep driving “for work purposes,” freeing him to kill again.

Apparently, Toronto’s anti-bike lane mayoral candidate is also opposed to paying for stock photos, after someone spotted the telltale signs of AI created images on his website, like streets and parks that don’t actually exist, and a women with three arms; the election is in two weeks. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

A new UK study shows that bikeshare really does convert non-bicyclists into more regular riders, as 60% of bikeshare users began riding after at least a year of non-riding, while 66% reported riding more often than they did before joining a bikeshare program. Read it on AOL if Bicycling blocks you.

The clock is running out on Britain’s proposed “death by dangerous cycling” law, which will struggle to get passed before the county’s next parliamentary election.

The Spectator makes up for yesterday’s criticism of Italy’s proposal to require bike helmets, licensing and registration, and liability for bike riders with an op-ed calling the country’s crackdown on bicyclists long overdue.

An Indian college student completed a 1,250-mile bike ride that touched on three international borders, to call for saying no to drugs.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling looks at the stars of Netflix new colon-heavy show Tour de France: Unchained: Season 1, while noting that Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Geraint Thomas will be skipping the tour this year; Wout van Aert calls the show disturbing, saying it’s focused on commotion. Once again, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

A writer for Defector says he got his ass kicked participating in last week’s 200-mile Unbound Gravel, calling it America’s dirtiest bike race.

New Zealand cyclist George Bennet may struggle to continue in this week’s Tour of Switzerland after finishing at the back of the peloton following a crash in stage two.

The second place finisher in the North Carolina Belgian Waffle Ride calls for a separate category for trans athletes after the women’s race was won by a trans woman, while defending the right of everyone to compete, regardless of how they identify. Meanwhile, Fox News reports tennis legend Martina Navratilova was not a fan of the result.

 

Finally…

Why settle for off the rack when you can configure your own ebike design? Your next flat bike pedals could be made of foam.

And a fat-tired ebike foldie for people into weird

looking bikes.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

42-year old Lake Elsinore man killed while riding bike in Canyon Lake collision Saturday night

June 12, 2023 / / Comments Off on 42-year old Lake Elsinore man killed while riding bike in Canyon Lake collision Saturday night

Evidently, this past weekend wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

News broke earlier Monday that a man was killed riding a bike in Riverside County’s Canyon Lake Saturday night.

According to NBC Palm Springs, the victim was riding at Railroad Canyon Road and Canyon Lake Drive when he was struck by a motorist around 9:50 pm.

The victim was later identified as 42-year old Lake Elsinore resident Kennan Ruiz.

A street view shows a painted bike lane in both directions on Railroad Canyon, but nothing on Canyon Lake Drive.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time. There’s no word on how or why the crash happened, or whether the driver was held accountable in any way.

Anyone with information is urged to call Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Petersen at 951/245-3000.

This follows news that a Reseda father is on life support after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike to work Thursday morning.

This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kennan Ruiz and all his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,
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