Northridge West NC tables ridiculous $150 licensing proposal after no one speaks in favor of it

April 13, 2011 / / 7 comments

L.A. Bicycle Advisory Vice Chair Glenn Bailey reports on the absurdly punitive proposal to charge cyclists a $150 annual licensing fee, which was tabled on a technicality in the middle of debate at last night’s Northridge West Neighborhood Council meeting.

According to Bailey, not one person spoke in favor of the proposal — including the author of the proposal, who was sitting in the audience.

A proposal to charge $150 annual bicycle “license” fee was abruptly tabled last night in the middle of public comment being heard by the Northridge West Neighborhood Council board.

After several cyclist stakeholders made comments strongly opposing the measure, NWNC President Tom Johnson announced the item would be tabled because “the motion needs to be presented by a Board member” and that it was an “oversight” that it was placed on the agenda.  Johnson asked the remaining speakers to “save it for a month” but that was objected to and comments continued.

Residents, stakeholders, and cyclists unanimously spoke against the proposal, listed on the agenda as 13v. Motion: NWNC Requests LA City to Encourage Bicycle Violator Citations and Reinstitute Bicycle Licensing (Bicycle license fees must be at least $150 per year to reflect their shared responsibility for the cost of maintaining the roads and their safe use).

The measure was repeatedly called “ridiculous” in that it would “become a barrier” to cycling and thereby hurt public health and the environment.

Glenn Bailey, vice-chair of the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee reviewed the reasons the City repealed its previous licensing ordinance two years ago and told the board that “we should be encouraging, not discouraging, cycling.”

He asked the board not to “waste any more of our time” by giving any further consideration to the proposal, which speakers pointed out was in violation of the California Vehicle Code.

NWNC stakeholder Ron Wengler, whose name was on the agenda as proposing the motion, was in the audience but did not speak in favor of the item.  In fact, no one did.

The 93 Neighborhood Councils in the City of Los Angeles are advisory bodies established under the City Charter and are governed by boards elected by the stakeholders within the boundaries of each NC.

Although many emails were sent prior to the meeting, additional comments may be directed to all NWNC board members by emailing board@northridgewest.org

As Glenn points out, the proposal is ridiculous — and illegal — on its face, and should be dead on arrival, with no attempt to revive it at the next meeting.

And writing for Cyclelicious, Richard Masoner artfully eviscerates Wengler’s proposal, and warns him to be careful what he wishes for, because he just might get it.

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , , , ,

Breaking news — Carlsbad man arrested in the hit-and-run death of Encino cyclist Jim Swarzman

April 12, 2011 / / Comments Off on Breaking news — Carlsbad man arrested in the hit-and-run death of Encino cyclist Jim Swarzman

Good news in the fatal hit-and-run collision that took the life of Encino endurance cyclist Jim Swarzman.

Or at least as good as we can hope for under the circumstances.

According to multiple reports, 46-year old Carlsbad resident Joseph Ricardo Fernandez was taken into custody after contacting authorities on Monday. The reports indicate that he called police investigators to say that he believed he may have been involved in a traffic accident recently.

Fernandez’ Dodge Ram 1500 matched the description of the suspect vehicle police released on Monday.

Swarzman was riding with his fiancé and another rider when he was hit by a pickup truck while riding in the 1300 block of Highway 101 in Leucadia around 1 am Sunday. According to witnesses, the truck drifted between the number one and two lanes before hitting Swarzman, who was riding in a well-marked bike lane.

In a heartbreaking story in the North County Times, his fiancé, Nicole Honda, says she was riding ahead of Swarzman when the highway became flooded with light, and she heard a crash behind her. Something flew past her and landed on the highway ahead of her; that something, the story implies, was the man she planned to move into a new Agoura Hills home with next week, and marry in August.

After investigators examined the vehicle, finding damage consistent with the evidence collected at the scene, including a headlight assembly, Fernandez was taken in for questioning. He was officially arrested at 11:15 Monday night, and scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Vista on Wednesday; he is being held on $50,000 bond while the investigation continues.

There was no comment from the San Diego TV station that suggested the collision may have been intentional, beyond simply reporting the arrest.

The reports of the arrest raise as many questions as they answer, such as how it could be possible for the driver to speed away from such a violent a collision without knowing he hit anything. It would seem like he would have to have been either sleeping at the wheel or very drunk — and even then, the impact from the collision should have been enough to get his attention.

Maybe he sobered up the next day and saw the damage to his truck. Or woke up after a good night’s sleep and put two and two together after hearing the news reports.

Or maybe he just heard the description of the suspect vehicle on the news, and realized that the police would soon be closing in.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter.

A popular local rider is dead; his family, fiancé and friends devastated by their loss. For whatever reason, a good man is gone, yet another victim of SoCal streets.

And by all accounts, we are all the poorer for it.

………

A memorial service will be held for Jim Swarzman this Thursday at noon at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, just off the 134 Freeway near Burbank and Griffith Park. The address is 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles CA 90068; (323) 469-6000.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Breaking news — Carlsbad man arrested in the hit-and-run death of Encino cyclist Jim Swarzman

April 12, 2011 / / Comments Off on Breaking news — Carlsbad man arrested in the hit-and-run death of Encino cyclist Jim Swarzman

Good news in the fatal hit-and-run collision that took the life of Encino endurance cyclist Jim Swarzman.

Or at least as good as we can hope for under the circumstances.

According to multiple reports, 46-year old Carlsbad resident Joseph Ricardo Fernandez was taken into custody after contacting authorities on Monday. The reports indicate that he called police investigators to say that he believed he may have been involved in a traffic accident recently.

Fernandez’ Dodge Ram 1500 matched the description of the suspect vehicle police released on Monday.

Swarzman was riding with his fiancé and another rider when he was hit by a pickup truck while riding in the 1300 block of Highway 101 in Leucadia around 1 am Sunday. According to witnesses, the truck drifted between the number one and two lanes before hitting Swarzman, who was riding in a well-marked bike lane.

In a heartbreaking story in the North County Times, his fiancé, Nicole Honda, says she was riding ahead of Swarzman when the highway became flooded with light, and she heard a crash behind her. Something flew past her and landed on the highway ahead of her; that something, the story implies, was the man she planned to move into a new Agoura Hills home with next week, and marry in August.

After investigators examined the vehicle, finding damage consistent with the evidence collected at the scene, including a headlight assembly, Fernandez was taken in for questioning. He was officially arrested at 11:15 Monday night, and scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Vista on Wednesday; he is being held on $50,000 bond while the investigation continues.

There was no comment from the San Diego TV station that suggested the collision may have been intentional, beyond simply reporting the arrest.

The reports of the arrest raise as many questions as they answer, such as how it could be possible for the driver to speed away from such a violent a collision without knowing he hit anything. It would seem like he would have to have been either sleeping at the wheel or very drunk — and even then, the impact from the collision should have been enough to get his attention.

Maybe he sobered up the next day and saw the damage to his truck. Or woke up after a good night’s sleep and put two and two together after hearing the news reports.

Or maybe he just heard the description of the suspect vehicle on the news, and realized that the police would soon be closing in.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter.

A popular local rider is dead; his family, fiancé and friends devastated by their loss. For whatever reason, a good man is gone, yet another victim of SoCal streets.

And by all accounts, we are all the poorer for it.

………

A memorial service will be held for Jim Swarzman this Thursday at noon at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, just off the 134 Freeway near Burbank and Griffith Park. The address is 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles CA 90068; (323) 469-6000.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Memorial service for Jim Swarzman, photos from CicLAvia, party with People for Bikes

April 12, 2011 / / One comment

A few quick bike notes, starting with the most important.

………

There will be a memorial service on Thursday for Jim Swarzman, the Encino cyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver in North San Diego County early Sunday morning. It will take place at noon at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, just off the 134 Freeway near Burbank and Griffith Park. The address is 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles CA 90068; (323) 469-6000.

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Santa Monica Spoke reports on an important city council meeting in that city tonight, including a discussion of bike lanes and road diets planned for the downtown area. The meeting takes place a 6:30 pm in the council chambers of Santa Monica City Hall.

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I had planned to include this with my thoughts on Sunday’s CicLAvia, but haven’t been able to get that online yet due to more pressing matters. However, I do want to call your attention to great photo sets from Harry Dougherty from CicLAvia, as well as the LACBC Sunday Funday ride on the 4th.

George Wolfberg was also kind enough to forward photos, which I will share later along with my thoughts.

………

Don’t forget to attend tonight’s meeting of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council, or email your protest of the ridiculously punitive proposal to license all bikes for a minimum of $150 per year — clearly an attempt to force most cyclists off the road.

I don’t know if it’s possible to recall a member of a neighborhood council, but if it is, Valley cyclists should give it some serious consideration.

………

If you’re downtown tonight, you may want to attend the filming of People for Bike’s newest PSA, which promises to combine Djs, food and performance art. And you’re encouraged to bring your bike to join in. Full details below.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

A “Modest” Proposal: $150 Bicycle License Fee? That’s What Up In Northridge Tonight

April 12, 2011 / / 29 comments

I received the following email this morning from BAC Vice Chair Glenn Bailey, and think it’s important enough that I’m reposting it in it’s entirety.

In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote his essay: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.

Tonight in Los Angeles 282 years later, the Northridge West Neighborhood Council is considering a “modest” proposal of its own:

13v. Motion: NWNC Requests LA City to Encourage Bicycle Violator Citations and Reinstitute Bicycle Licensing (Bicycle license fees must be at least $150 per year to reflect their shared responsibility for the cost of maintaining the roads and their safe use).

$150 cost per bicycle to maintain roads?  Really?  How many potholes have bicycles created?  None.

Although they are confusing licensing (a person) with registration (a vehicle/bicycle), this is clearly an anti-bicycle proposal.  In fact, many motor vehicles on the road today are not charged fees this high!

Help defeat this outrageous proposal by attending and speaking up at tonight’s meeting:

Northridge West Neighborhood Council
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Beckford Elementary School

19130 Tulsa Street, Northridge, CA 91326

This item is 13v; the full agenda may be viewed at:  http://www.northridgewest.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/NWNC-April-2011-Agenda.pdf

If you are unable to attend tonight’s meeting, please consider sending an email IN YOUR OWN WORDS to the NWNC board expressing how you feel about this “modest” proposal:  board@northridgewest.org

Thank you for your support of bicycling….and bicyclists…..in Los Angeles.

Glenn Bailey, Vice-Chair
Bicycle Advisory Committee
City of Los Angeles

Of course, this proposal is outrageous, and clearly not intended to regulate cycling, but to force the overwhelming majority of riders off the road.

At $150 dollars, it’s significantly more than I pay to license may car — which actually does cause damage to the road, as well as contributing to traffic congestion and air pollution. And, unlike my bike, poses significant risk to other people if I operate it carelessly.

A careless driver is a danger to everyone around him, while even the most reckless cyclist is primarily a danger to him or her self.

As for that well worn out and blatantly false claim that cyclists don’t pay our share of the road, the fact is that it’s drivers who don’t pay their full share for the roads they use. And all taxpayers — you, me and everyone you see on the road today, in or out of cars — make up the difference.

How about a counter motion requesting a$150 rebate for everyone who agrees to ride a bike instead of contributing to L.A.’s massive gridlock?

Because we’re not the ones slowing down traffic, clogging the streets and damaging the roads. Take every bike in Los Angeles off the roads, and traffic wouldn’t improve at all. But remove just a fraction of the motor vehicles, and traffic improves instantly, as anyone who has ever driven on even a modestly observed legal or religious holiday has already seen.

I won’t be at that meeting tonight.

But I won’t leave the house today until I’ve emailed the Northridge West Neighborhood Council to express my disgust and anger at this outrageously punitive motion.

And I hope you will join me in flooding their inbox with emails demanding fair treatment for cyclists, and recognition that it’s driver, not bike riders, that cause the problems.

Category: Advocacy & Politics / Tags: , ,

Encino cyclist killed in Leucadia; local TV speculates an attempted vehicular serial killer could be at work

April 10, 2011 / / 22 comments

This is not what I wanted to write about tonight.

I had planned to discuss another exceptionally successful CicLAvia; hopefully I can get to that tomorrow.

But this time, we need to talk about, not just the tragic death of a local cyclist on SoCal streets, but the chilling possibility that someone may be intentionally running down bike riders in San Diego County.

According to multiple press reports, 47-year old Encino resident James Steven Swarzman was riding with two other cyclists in North San Diego County around 1 am Sunday. The riders were headed north on the 1300 block of Highway 101 in Leucadia — a stretch of road I rode hundreds of times when I lived down that way. A competitive cyclist, he was reportedly on a late night training ride to get ready for the upcoming season.

A witness on the scene reportedly described a Ford pickup drifting between the Number 1 and Number 2 lanes before striking Swarzman’s bike from behind. Despite a flight to a local trauma center and aggressive attempts to resuscitate him, Swarzman was declared dead just three hours later.

The driver fled the scene without stopping; the vehicle is described as a newer blue Ford F-150  pickup, and should have damage to the front end, including one or more broken headlights. Anyone with information is urged to call the Encinitas Sheriff’s station at 760-966-3500.

That should be the end of the story.

I only wish it was.

According San Diego TV station KGTV, S.D. Sheriff’s Investigators are looking into the horrifying possibility that the collision was intentional.

According to their report, a witness said that the driver didn’t slow down before hitting Swarzman. The description sounds eerily familiar to 33-year cyclist Heath Bernstein, who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run collision on the same highway last January.

He was also riding with two other cyclist, at 11 pm on Tuesday, January 18th, when he was struck from behind by a dark colored pickup truck in nearby Carlsbad. According to Bernstein, it was clearly a deliberate act, with the driver crossing over two lanes of traffic before hitting him in the bike lane.

KGTV notes that the description of the truck is virtually identical to the vehicle in Bernstein’s crash.

It’s bad enough if this turns out to be another needlessly tragic hit-and-run.

The idea that this could be murder — let alone the work of a wannabe vehicular serial killer — is almost beyond comprehension.

Update: A fellow rider remembers Jim Swarzman, and says he had been riding in Leucadia with his fiance and a friend as part of a 600k hosted by the San Diego Randonneurs; he also points us to an old, brief blog Swarzman had started.

Update: In the comments below, Joe Mizereck, founder of 3 Feet Please, has personally offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in this case. And Scott Wolfe, who identifies himself as a friend of Jim’s, asks for contact information for Jim’s parents; if you have that information, please call him directly (click here for number) rather than leaving in a public forum like this.

.………

As long as we on the subject of hit-and-run, there’s more bad news from Torrance.

According to the Daily Breeze, a girl was critically injured when she was hit by a car driven by an 83-year old driver while riding her bike at the intersection of Emerald Street and Madrona Avenue around 3:40 last Thursday afternoon.

The driver fled the scene, but witnesses followed the car and called the police and followed the car, who pulled him over not far from the scene. The paper reports that the driver was not taken into custody due to his age and medical condition, however, authorities plan to file felony hit-and-run charges.

Neither the victim or the driver have been publicly identified.

.………

Thanks to Jim Lyle for the heads-up on both these cases. I’ll try to get back to some good news tomorrow.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Your consummate link guide to SEE-klaw-VEE-uh; a massive load of upcoming events

April 9, 2011 / / 4 comments

Let’s face it.

CicLAvia outweighs everything else this weekend. And we’ve got a long list of links to prove it, in no particular order.

Repeating from my last post, Joel Epstein says he’s longing for CicLAvia in an insightful HuffPo piece, linking Sunday’s event with the fight against obesity and diabetes, and fellow HuffPo writer Aaron Paley says it’s about overthrowing the tyranny of the automobile.

Long-time L.A. bike advocate and LACBC co-founder Ron Milam sees CicLAvia as the next step in the history of efforts to make the city friendlier to cyclists. LACBC offers photos from Friday’s press conference. KNBC-4 says our streets, no cars and lots of bikes — and free, too — while Fritz Coleman tours the CicLAvia route with a helmet cam. Militant Angeleno offers an epic tour of CicLAvia sites. Brand X says CicLAvia is on a roll.

Annenberg Radio News reports on the second coming of CicLAvia. Will Campbell calls it CicLAviawesome. KPCC says car-free streets are back and offers a list of road closures and crossing points. March to support rail in Los Angeles on car-free L.A. streets. You’ll find great food throughout the CicLAvia route. Good offers advice on how to play in the street. The Daily News offers an overview, and San Diego offers an alternative.

South L.A. cyclists can ride in on the proposed route for a future CicLAvia in their own neighborhood. LACBC affiliate Santa Monica Spoke will host a ride in from the Santa Monica Pier; I’ll be joining in as they pass through Century City. C.I.C.L.E. will ride in from South Pasadena, and other feeder routes will flow in from throughout the city. Metro offers advice on getting there by transit.

In case you find yourself bike challenged on Sunday, Flying Pigeon is offering rental bikes. Bikerowave is closing down on Sunday for CicLAvia; meanwhile, the Bicycle Kitchen is open extended hours to serve CicLAvia riders. Damien Newton says he’ll see you there.

Collect each of the four new CicLAvia buttons; I understand LACBC may have some cool stuff, too. And CicLAvia says be nice, be safe, share, enjoy and slow traffic ride to the right.

.………

Bike Talk airs Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

The San Diego Custom Bicycle Show takes place this weekend through Sunday at Golden Hall in San Diego, 3rd Ave and B Street. Single day admission is $15; a four-day pass including professional workshops on Thursday, April 7th is $45.

Celebrate CicLAvia eve with T-Shirt Revival Night with artist Kelly Thompson on Saturday, April 9th from 7 to 10 pm at Outpost HQ, 1268 N. Ave 50 in Los Angeles; have a sharrow symbol silkscreened on the item of your choice for just $6.

Evidently, the night before CicLAvia is dedicated to art, with the 5th Anniversary Spoke(n) Art Ride rolling at 6:30 pm, Saturday, April 9th from the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop, 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

If you’re in San Diego for the bike show, don’t miss the 3rd annual Gran Fondo Colnago Sunday the 10th, with rides of 60 and 105 miles.

Get a head start on CicLAvia on Sunday, April 10th with the 2011 edition of Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer, a 10 stage race up some of the city’s steepest hills. Competitors will assemble at 7:45 am at the intersection of Sunset and Griffith Park Blvds; maybe Lance will be up for the challenge. Or not.

On Tuesday, April 12th, People for Bikes will celebrate their 210,000 pledges to support cycling with a video shoot in Downtown L.A. Called Bikes Make Life Better, it will offer a massive light show using stationary projectors as well as some mounted on bikes to transform streets and buildings into massive bike-themed animations. You’re invited to bring your bike and join in with free food and music from local DJs, from 7 – 10 pm at the corner of 5th and Olive, across from the Pershing Square Metro Station.

Keep the post-CicLAvia good bike feelings going on Thursday, April 14th with Bike Night at the Hammer Museum, starting at 7 pm at 10899 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood. Free admission, free food, drinks and screenings of the 1986 BMX classic Rad.

Celebrate tax day with the second annual Streetsblog fundraiser at Eco-Village on Friday, April 15th from 6 to 10 pm at 117 Bimini Place; suggested donation is $20, but L.A. Streetsblog editor Damien Newton says no one will be turned away.

The Culver City Bicycle Coalition hosts a special Family Ride on Saturday, April 16th to tour the bicycle and pedestrian improvements planned for the Safe Routes to School grant recently awarded to Linwood Howe Elementary School; riders meet at Town Plaza near the Culver Hotel at 10 am. with the ride starting at 10:30 or 11.

Saturday, April 16th, C.I.C.L.E. invites you to join in on the Lorax Ride II to celebrate Earth Day and Pasadena’s greener side; ride begins and ends at Pasadena Memorial Park, from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.

Sunday, April 17th, join in the races, or watch the racers go by at the L.A. Circuit Race at Los Angeles International Airport, open to riders from beginners through Masters and Elite categories. The race takes place on the north side of LAX on what is described as a fast, challenging course; direction and sign-up information on the link above.

Join Bike SGV on the Earth Day Community Bike Ride in Monterey Park on Saturday, April 23rd from 7:30 am to 9 am, beginning and ending at Barnes Park.

Thursday, April 28th, help craft the Glendale Bikeway Master Plan at the first community meeting for the updated plan. The meeting will be held at the Glendale Central Library, 222 East Harvard Street from 6 pm to 9 pm.

The Dana Point Grand Prix will be held on Sunday, May 1st, featuring a .8 mile criterium; the start/finish will be located at the intersection of PCH and Del Prado in Dana Point.

The Antelope Valley Conservancy sponsors the 16th Annual Antelope Valley Ride on Saturday, May 7th with rides of 20, 30 and 60 miles; check-in begins at 7 am at George Lane Park, 5520 West Avenue L-8 in Quartz Hill.

The annual Long Beach Bicycle Festival takes place on Friday, May 13th and Saturday, May 14th in Downtown Long Beach. The festivities include the Tour of Long Beach on Saturday, May 14th with rides of 4, 31 and 61 miles to benefit Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach.

L.A.’s 17th annual Bike Week takes place May 16th through the 20th, with an emphasis on bike safety education, and events throughout the city. This year’s Blessing of the Bicycles will take place as part of Bike Week from 8 to 9:30 am on May 17th at Downtown’s Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 S. Witmer Street. And Metro is looking for Bike Buddies to guide inexperienced cyclists on Bike to Work Day.

The San Diego Century ride takes place on Saturday, May 21st with rides of 37, 66 or 103 miles, starting in Encinitas, along with free admission to an expo featuring sports, local cuisine and live music.

L.A.’s favorite fundraiser ride rolls on June with the 11th Annual River Ride; advance registration is open now. Volunteers are needed now and on the day of the ride, email RRvolunteer@la-bike.org for more info and to sign up.

The next two CicLAvias will take place on July 10th and October 9th.

And mark your calendar for the 2011 L.A. edition of the Tour de Fat on October 9th; unfortunately, Yom Kippur also falls on that date this year, so cyclists of the Jewish Persuasion will have to choose between atoning and having something else to atone for.

.………

It may soon be legal to carry your kids in a bakfiets in L.A. It’s time for UCLA to take off the training wheels and truly become bike friendly. Riding on the sidewalk may be legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s popular — or safe, for that matter. The Wilbur road diet heads to a compromise conclusion that isn’t likely to please anyone. A blind California man uses echolocation to ride his bike. As the recent experience in Japan shows, your bike could be a vital part of your disaster kit.

Modern day futurists see a bright future for bicycles. Six steps to beginning zen bicycling. An biking undercover cop and the driver who nearly ran him down kiss and make up. Fourteen days in jail for hitting a Kansas cyclist in a road rage incident. Marian University looks to take over a formerly world-class Indiana Velodrome. Bike lanes are coming to Philly, and he doesn’t seem happy about it. A Twitter based backlash causes a Carolina TV station to pull a story blaming the victims in a bike crash. It only takes a split second to take — or spare — a life.

A new taillight provides GPS tracking for your bike. Insurance company research says a lack of bike lanes put cyclists at risk; we could have told them that. Bikes are back on London’s South Bank. Budget cutbacks put Brit cops on bikes and in specialist lubricated underwear. The Guardian asks what do you do with a loved, but worn out bike? Looking forward to this weekend’s Queen of the Classics; a legendary four-time winner says Cancellara will be the one to tie his record. Evidently, hit-and-run is considered professional behavior for Aussie attorneys. It’s Bike Week, or weekend anyway, in Phuket. South Koreans get paid to commute by bike.

Finally, the family of Adam Rybicki, the cyclist critically injured by an alleged underage, DUI driver on Sunday, has created a CaringBridge website to track his progress.

See you at CicLAvia!

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

LBFD Captain charged with DUI & felony hit-and-run; report on last weekend’s Sunday Funday ride

April 8, 2011 / / 6 comments

This one slipped under nearly everyone’s radar.

On Friday, April 1st, a cyclist riding in a Seal Beach bike lane was hit by a pickup traveling at roughly 60 mph. The driver, who fled the scene leaving the crumpled victim clinging to life, turned out to be a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department.

And yet the story didn’t break widely until a full week later.

Maybe they thought it was a particularly unfunny April Fool joke.

The still publicly unidentified 48-year old rider was headed east on Westminster Blvd east of Bolsa Chica Street at about 1:30 pm — the L.A. Weekly inexplicably places it at 1:30 am — when he was hit from behind by a Chevrolet truck, catapulting the rider onto the side of the road. According to press reports, he is still hospitalized with major head trauma.

To answer the inevitable question, there’s no report on whether the rider was wearing a helmet. And no, it doesn’t matter — no bike helmet is capable of protecting the wearing in a 60 mph collision.

According to multiple reports, the driver did not stop to check on the injured cyclist. Witnesses followed his truck to a home in Huntington Beach, where 38-year old John Hines was arrested on charges of DUI and felony hit-and-run; he was later released on $50,000 bond.

As it turned out, Hines is not only an LBFD captain, but the son of a retired captain and nephew of the department’s former chief.

Maybe he missed the memo that fire fighters save lives, not take them.

The first report I can find of the collision appeared on a local Seal Beach website the following Monday; not unusual for a story that breaks on the weekend. It identifies the driver only by name, age and place of residence.

The association between Hines and the LBFD first appeared the following day. Yet widespread coverage of the story didn’t occur until the Long Beach Press-Telegram took it up yesterday.

Just what took so long might make a very interesting story.

.………

Late word on the condition of cyclist Adam Rybicki, critically injured in an collision with an allegedly drunk, underage driver early Sunday morning. I won’t share the details, but it sounds like he could use your prayers.

.………

Eric Weinstein joined in on last weekend’s LACBC Sunday Funday ride. I invited him to offer his thoughts on the ride and the route we followed.

About 30 riders assembled in Westwood on Sunday morning for the Crosstown Traffic Ride. Latest in the LACBC rides, this one was lead by Greg (famous LACBC Board member), on a Dahon single speed folder. Many different, average, ordinary people were on this ride, with a multiplicity of bikes: a beach cruiser, an electric, a couple hybrids, a few fixies, and a bunch of road bikes. All suitable for this fun ride exploring the nice easy routes across town. There has gotta be a nicer way than Venice all the way to Downtown for me. And there is!

Sunday Funday riders gathered across from Angelus Temple in Echo Park

The route’s interesting details follow:

We started near the Westwood Federal Building (near to UCLA), turned onto Santa Monica Blvd, then demonstrated the trick of crossing to the opposite very wide sidewalk when the bike lane ends in Century City.

We then road through the Hilton and across Wilshire to North Beverly Hills. That is were the drivers are still BH friendly, and stop at intersections to wave you through first. Amazing.

From there, we took Carmelita across to Doheny at West Hollywood, returning to the Santa Monica Bvld. bike lane where it starts up again. When it ended, we turned north and rode up to Fountain. Fountain is not bad, passing near the Hollywood Bowl and Metro, and crossing the 101 on a quiet bridge. Brian sez “Watch for glass!” as he got one on this stretch.

A stop to fix a flat tire serves as a reminder...

After that, we turned onto the Sunset Blvd bike lane. Nice place and close to Dodger Stadium, if you ever go there. Then right on Park Avenue to Echo Park, around the lake on Glendale Blvd, and a quick jog west on Beverly Blvd before heading south down on Alvarado to MacArthur Park.

Excellent notable lunch stop at Mama’s Hot Tamales. Good, inexpensive, and politically correct, just as I like it. I’ll be back!

(Ed note: Mama’s offers some of the best coffee and tamales west of Downtown. And as for the politically correct part, it’s a non-profit restaurant that trains immigrants to work in the food service industry.)

A few Westward jogs and we’re on the famous 4th Street Bicycle Boulevard. Not a bad way across town, despite what they say about the potholes. After a few miles we turned left at Cochran, then south to 6th street, and kept on going West for awhile. Here’s where it got awkward. When 6th ends, turn left, then right on busy Wilshire for a few blocks to La Cienega. Walk the bikes across, then west to Le Doux, and a quick turn on wonderful Charleville through Beverly Hills.

...to look for rare beauty in unexpected places.

We followed Charleville across all of Beverly Hills. Nice! Where it ends bear left, then right, until you come to the next awkward part at Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. You have to zoom across with the light, then get up on the same wide sidewalk next to the golf course that we took riding out.

Got that? I really, really like this route across Beverly Hills, but it’s quite hard to find.

Weirdly (to me) the ride dissipated from here towards the end. Almost everyone rode their bike to go on this ride, so they broke off near the end to ride on home. Clearly, this was a ride for people who ride.

You shoulda been on the ride!

Thanks to Greg and the LACBC for organizing this educational ride. Now I know a few nicer routes.

My apologies to Eric for the delay in getting this online due to this week’s breaking news.

..………

A New York cyclist is arrested a nearly getting doored, then chased in a road rage incident by a plain clothes cop who reportedly feared for his own safety. Yeah, a small woman on a bike is a real danger to a cop driving threateningly in an unmarked car.

Maybe it’s time for Mayor Bloomberg to call NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly on the carpet and ask him what the f*** is going on with his department.

..………

Way too many CicLAvia links to include here. I’ll try to catch up with them on my next post later tonight. In the meantime, Joel Epstein says he’s longing for CicLAvia in an insightful HuffPo piece linking Sunday’s event with the fight against obesity and diabetes. And fellow HuffPo writer Aaron Paley says CicLAvia is about overthrowing the tyranny of the automobile.

.………

Writing for Flying Pigeon, Rick Risemberg says get involved, get out there on your bike, be visible and make some noise. LADOT is moving forward with bikeways around the city, including an extension of the Orange Line bike path, and wants your opinion on how to build bike lanes on Venice Blvd. LACBC reports on the Tuesday’s Altadena workshop for the new draft county bike plan; the Messenger Online looks at the Monday Topanga workshop. Street-hassel asks if Stephen Box blundered in deciding to head up Budget LA. Seventh Street will soon go on a road diet; the new bike lanes won’t be ready for this weekend’s CicLAvia, but could be there for the next. Congestion due to roadwork related to the 405 expansion offers an opportunity to promote bikes as an effective alternative. The C-Blog looks forward to Sunday’s Queen of the Classics, aka the Hell of the North. A Redondo cyclist will ride 500 miles to call attention to his friend’s rare illness. Confused by Claremont’s double standards and rider-less bike signs. This time, Long Beach’s biking expats are riding for a cause.

The Daily Pilot tells distracted drivers — and cyclists — to pay attention; evidently, it’s a world-wide problem. San Clemente revises a proposed I-5 onramp design after complaints from cyclists. Not surprisingly, Herman Lopez Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty in the Oceanside death of 18-year old David Mendez last month. Ross del Duca of Just Another Cyclist is the new head of VeloReviews. Art of the Group Ride continues its series on the anatomy of a great group ride. Book a room at San Francisco’s Clift Hotel and get use of a Dutch-style bike during your stay. Thursday was Bike to School Day in the City by the Bay.

The Lovely Bicycle says the Urbana bike I reviewed last year would make a perfect hi-vis rainbike, and discusses the problem of female saddle discomfort; maybe that’s why more women don’t ride. Levis introduces a new line of bike-friendly jeans. An introduction to bike riding for beginners, and six tips on how to help your significant other learn to ride. Tucson bike commuting stalls. An Anchorage cyclist’s GPS iPhone app captured his rides throughout the city — including the exact point where he was killed by a car. Edmond OK okays their own three-foot passing law. Evidently, St. Louis-area bikes and bikinis go together after all. Tennessee state senator and triathlete Roy Herron suffers a broken collarbone, handful of broken ribs and a slightly collapsed lung following a Sunday riding accident. Detroit cyclists rediscover a long-forgotten velodrome. A rising New York politician swears he’s pro-bike, but won’t take a stand on bike lanes. When a New Jersey cyclist is hit in a classic right hook, local police can’t figure out the driver is at fault. A writer for the Baltimore Sun says roads weren’t actually made for cars, and says those who can’t watch out for bikes and interact safely with them should seek instruction or stop driving. A drunk driver keeps going after killing father and son cyclists in North Carolina. Zeke says cycling is blooming like spring. New Orleans in suddenly on track to be a leading bike city; take it from me, if they can do it there, it should be easy here. Look ma, no hands — no really, it could be legal in Florida soon. Michelin introduces self-sealing inner tubes.

Tijuana cyclists roll on monthly Friday night Paseo de Todos rides. Now that’s what I call a mostly off-road bike race. Kate and Will gear up for the big day with healthy bike rides. An insightful UK MP calls for more reliance on bikes and less on cars. The City of London gets new public bike pumps. The Guardian asks what’s the best way to pass other traffic. Maybe bikeways wouldn’t suck so much if we had a hand in designing them. David Hembrow looks at the new innovative NACTO bikeway standards, and finds them lacking.

Finally, a Montana legislature actually stands up to defend drunk driving as a traditional way of life; maybe you’d better wear some serious protective devices if you’re planning to ride up there. And the next time you’re stuck behind a bus sucking diesel fumes, you’ll wish you had new First Defense Nasal Screenstm. Wonder if they’d keep my wife from complaining about the dog’s gaseous emissions?

No, seriously, it’s the dog. Honest.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Guest Columns, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

LBFD Captain charged with DUI & felony hit-and-run; report on last weekend’s Sunday Funday ride

April 8, 2011 / / 6 comments

This one slipped under nearly everyone’s radar.

On Friday, April 1st, a cyclist riding in a Seal Beach bike lane was hit by a pickup traveling at roughly 60 mph. The driver, who fled the scene leaving the crumpled victim clinging to life, turned out to be a captain with the Long Beach Fire Department.

And yet the story didn’t break widely until a full week later.

Maybe they thought it was a particularly unfunny April Fool joke.

The still publicly unidentified 48-year old rider was headed east on Westminster Blvd east of Bolsa Chica Street at about 1:30 pm — the L.A. Weekly inexplicably places it at 1:30 am — when he was hit from behind by a Chevrolet truck, catapulting the rider onto the side of the road. According to press reports, he is still hospitalized with major head trauma.

To answer the inevitable question, there’s no report on whether the rider was wearing a helmet. And no, it doesn’t matter — no bike helmet is capable of protecting the wearing in a 60 mph collision.

According to multiple reports, the driver did not stop to check on the injured cyclist. Witnesses followed his truck to a home in Huntington Beach, where 38-year old John Hines was arrested on charges of DUI and felony hit-and-run; he was later released on $50,000 bond.

As it turned out, Hines is not only an LBFD captain, but the son of a retired captain and nephew of the department’s former chief.

Maybe he missed the memo that fire fighters save lives, not take them.

The first report I can find of the collision appeared on a local Seal Beach website the following Monday; not unusual for a story that breaks on the weekend. It identifies the driver only by name, age and place of residence.

The association between Hines and the LBFD first appeared the following day. Yet widespread coverage of the story didn’t occur until the Long Beach Press-Telegram took it up yesterday.

Just what took so long might make a very interesting story.

.………

Late word on the condition of cyclist Adam Rybicki, critically injured in an collision with an allegedly drunk, underage driver early Sunday morning. I won’t share the details, but it sounds like he could use your prayers.

.………

Eric Weinstein joined in on last weekend’s LACBC Sunday Funday ride. I invited him to offer his thoughts on the ride and the route we followed.

About 30 riders assembled in Westwood on Sunday morning for the Crosstown Traffic Ride. Latest in the LACBC rides, this one was lead by Greg (famous LACBC Board member), on a Dahon single speed folder. Many different, average, ordinary people were on this ride, with a multiplicity of bikes: a beach cruiser, an electric, a couple hybrids, a few fixies, and a bunch of road bikes. All suitable for this fun ride exploring the nice easy routes across town. There has gotta be a nicer way than Venice all the way to Downtown for me. And there is!

Sunday Funday riders gathered across from Angelus Temple in Echo Park

The route’s interesting details follow:

We started near the Westwood Federal Building (near to UCLA), turned onto Santa Monica Blvd, then demonstrated the trick of crossing to the opposite very wide sidewalk when the bike lane ends in Century City.

We then road through the Hilton and across Wilshire to North Beverly Hills. That is were the drivers are still BH friendly, and stop at intersections to wave you through first. Amazing.

From there, we took Carmelita across to Doheny at West Hollywood, returning to the Santa Monica Bvld. bike lane where it starts up again. When it ended, we turned north and rode up to Fountain. Fountain is not bad, passing near the Hollywood Bowl and Metro, and crossing the 101 on a quiet bridge. Brian sez “Watch for glass!” as he got one on this stretch.

A stop to fix a flat tire serves as a reminder...

After that, we turned onto the Sunset Blvd bike lane. Nice place and close to Dodger Stadium, if you ever go there. Then right on Park Avenue to Echo Park, around the lake on Glendale Blvd, and a quick jog west on Beverly Blvd before heading south down on Alvarado to MacArthur Park.

Excellent notable lunch stop at Mama’s Hot Tamales. Good, inexpensive, and politically correct, just as I like it. I’ll be back!

(Ed note: Mama’s offers some of the best coffee and tamales west of Downtown. And as for the politically correct part, it’s a non-profit restaurant that trains immigrants to work in the food service industry.)

A few Westward jogs and we’re on the famous 4th Street Bicycle Boulevard. Not a bad way across town, despite what they say about the potholes. After a few miles we turned left at Cochran, then south to 6th street, and kept on going West for awhile. Here’s where it got awkward. When 6th ends, turn left, then right on busy Wilshire for a few blocks to La Cienega. Walk the bikes across, then west to Le Doux, and a quick turn on wonderful Charleville through Beverly Hills.

...to look for rare beauty in unexpected places.

We followed Charleville across all of Beverly Hills. Nice! Where it ends bear left, then right, until you come to the next awkward part at Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. You have to zoom across with the light, then get up on the same wide sidewalk next to the golf course that we took riding out.

Got that? I really, really like this route across Beverly Hills, but it’s quite hard to find.

Weirdly (to me) the ride dissipated from here towards the end. Almost everyone rode their bike to go on this ride, so they broke off near the end to ride on home. Clearly, this was a ride for people who ride.

You shoulda been on the ride!

Thanks to Greg and the LACBC for organizing this educational ride. Now I know a few nicer routes.

My apologies to Eric for the delay in getting this online due to this week’s breaking news.

..………

A New York cyclist is arrested a nearly getting doored, then chased in a road rage incident by a plain clothes cop who reportedly feared for his own safety. Yeah, a small woman on a bike is a real danger to a cop driving threateningly in an unmarked car.

Maybe it’s time for Mayor Bloomberg to call NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly on the carpet and ask him what the f*** is going on with his department.

..………

Way too many CicLAvia links to include here. I’ll try to catch up with them on my next post later tonight. In the meantime, Joel Epstein says he’s longing for CicLAvia in an insightful HuffPo piece linking Sunday’s event with the fight against obesity and diabetes. And fellow HuffPo writer Aaron Paley says CicLAvia is about overthrowing the tyranny of the automobile.

.………

Writing for Flying Pigeon, Rick Risemberg says get involved, get out there on your bike, be visible and make some noise. LADOT is moving forward with bikeways around the city, including an extension of the Orange Line bike path, and wants your opinion on how to build bike lanes on Venice Blvd. LACBC reports on the Tuesday’s Altadena workshop for the new draft county bike plan; the Messenger Online looks at the Monday Topanga workshop. Street-hassel asks if Stephen Box blundered in deciding to head up Budget LA. Seventh Street will soon go on a road diet; the new bike lanes won’t be ready for this weekend’s CicLAvia, but could be there for the next. Congestion due to roadwork related to the 405 expansion offers an opportunity to promote bikes as an effective alternative. The C-Blog looks forward to Sunday’s Queen of the Classics, aka the Hell of the North. A Redondo cyclist will ride 500 miles to call attention to his friend’s rare illness. Confused by Claremont’s double standards and rider-less bike signs. This time, Long Beach’s biking expats are riding for a cause.

The Daily Pilot tells distracted drivers — and cyclists — to pay attention; evidently, it’s a world-wide problem. San Clemente revises a proposed I-5 onramp design after complaints from cyclists. Not surprisingly, Herman Lopez Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty in the Oceanside death of 18-year old David Mendez last month. Ross del Duca of Just Another Cyclist is the new head of VeloReviews. Art of the Group Ride continues its series on the anatomy of a great group ride. Book a room at San Francisco’s Clift Hotel and get use of a Dutch-style bike during your stay. Thursday was Bike to School Day in the City by the Bay.

The Lovely Bicycle says the Urbana bike I reviewed last year would make a perfect hi-vis rainbike, and discusses the problem of female saddle discomfort; maybe that’s why more women don’t ride. Levis introduces a new line of bike-friendly jeans. An introduction to bike riding for beginners, and six tips on how to help your significant other learn to ride. Tucson bike commuting stalls. An Anchorage cyclist’s GPS iPhone app captured his rides throughout the city — including the exact point where he was killed by a car. Edmond OK okays their own three-foot passing law. Evidently, St. Louis-area bikes and bikinis go together after all. Tennessee state senator and triathlete Roy Herron suffers a broken collarbone, handful of broken ribs and a slightly collapsed lung following a Sunday riding accident. Detroit cyclists rediscover a long-forgotten velodrome. A rising New York politician swears he’s pro-bike, but won’t take a stand on bike lanes. When a New Jersey cyclist is hit in a classic right hook, local police can’t figure out the driver is at fault. A writer for the Baltimore Sun says roads weren’t actually made for cars, and says those who can’t watch out for bikes and interact safely with them should seek instruction or stop driving. A drunk driver keeps going after killing father and son cyclists in North Carolina. Zeke says cycling is blooming like spring. New Orleans in suddenly on track to be a leading bike city; take it from me, if they can do it there, it should be easy here. Look ma, no hands — no really, it could be legal in Florida soon. Michelin introduces self-sealing inner tubes.

Tijuana cyclists roll on monthly Friday night Paseo de Todos rides. Now that’s what I call a mostly off-road bike race. Kate and Will gear up for the big day with healthy bike rides. An insightful UK MP calls for more reliance on bikes and less on cars. The City of London gets new public bike pumps. The Guardian asks what’s the best way to pass other traffic. Maybe bikeways wouldn’t suck so much if we had a hand in designing them. David Hembrow looks at the new innovative NACTO bikeway standards, and finds them lacking.

Finally, a Montana legislature actually stands up to defend drunk driving as a traditional way of life; maybe you’d better wear some serious protective devices if you’re planning to ride up there. And the next time you’re stuck behind a bus sucking diesel fumes, you’ll wish you had new First Defense Nasal Screenstm. Wonder if they’d keep my wife from complaining about the dog’s gaseous emissions?

No, seriously, it’s the dog. Honest.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Guest Columns, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Torrance police spokesman responds about statement blaming cyclists

April 7, 2011 / / 6 comments

It seemed black and white.

A cyclist is critically injured in a collision with an underage drunk drunk driver. And the very next day, a story appears in the local paper clearly suggesting that the cyclist could have been at fault.

He added that it’s not clear if the driver swerved or what led to the accident.

“It’s kind of a residential street, so we’re not sure if the bicyclists were staying on their side of the road or taking up more of the road,” Chase said.

I responded to it almost immediately, as did thousands of other cyclists.

After all, it fit with the long-standing pattern of police bias against cyclists that we’ve been battling for decades.

But over the past few days, as the story unfolded, it became clear that there was more to the story. Riders who were on the scene reported that the police conducted a fair and complete investigation, while others stressed that the officer who made the statement was not involved in the case.

Lately, though, I’ve been receiving messages suggesting that the officer had been misquoted, and that as a cyclist himself, would never have made such a statement.

I usually take such things with a grain — if not a 10 pound bag — of salt. After all, blaming the press is usually the first response when it all hits the fan.

It’s clearly nothing new. Way back in the last century that Groucho Marx once quipped “Quote me as saying I was misquoted.”

And it wouldn’t be the first time someone claiming to be a cyclist attacked other riders.

This time, though, there may be some truth to it.

A reader named JA reached out to the officer in question, Lt. Devin Chase, and received the following response:

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.  I am a bicyclist who rides at least two to three times per week, so I share your concerns and believe me as a bicyclist I do not have any anti-cyclist bias.

I am not sure if you have ever been interviewed by the media, but they never quote you fully and often don’t quote you completely accurately.  Unfortunately the ten minute conversation that I had with the Daily Breeze reporter was reduced to the short statement in the article; which was not quoted in context, nor did it clearly indicate that we were only interested in gathering all the available facts in this case.

My actual statement was that the Torrance Police Department was conducting a major investigation into this accident and our major accident investigators had been called out and that they would be looking at all aspects of the collision in order to determine exactly what occurred.

I then gave an example of one aspect that would be looked at, which was where in the roadway was the driver and where in the roadway were the bicyclists prior to the collision. The importance of this level of investigation is that the point of rest for the vehicle and the bicyclist was against the west curb with the vehicle facing west, possibly indicating the vehicle was taking evasive action from their side of the roadway and away from the bicyclists.  To a non-trained investigator or to a citizen this might lead one to believe that based solely on those facts the bicyclist was riding on the wrong side of the street at the time of the collision; however our trained accident investigators will be able to reconstruct what occurred prior to the point of rest.

I felt this was important to point out to the reporter because if a picture of the accident scene were published it would portray the above information; which would look bad for the bicyclist.  This was all shared with the reporter, it just wasn’t printed.

I want to assure you that the Torrance Police Department conducts very thorough, bias-free investigations of all aspects of a significant incident like this and this case is no different.

Lieutenant Devin Chase
Watch Commander – Torrance Police Department

If we take Lt. Chase at his word — and frankly, I see no reason not to, having been in the same situation myself — he is guilty, at most, of talking a little too freely to a reporter, without consider the damage his words could do if taken out of context.

As I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s not easy talking to a reporter. You have to respond to questions off the top of your head, with no time to edit your response. I’ve often found myself walking away hoping they don’t use a well-intended comment that would sound entirely wrong out of context.

Even when you have time to carefully craft your words, you have no control over how they’re eventually used, as Bike Snob lately learned.

So maybe he’s right.

Maybe the press is to blame this time. Maybe the reporter got careless in trying to meet a deadline, and didn’t consider how that quote would be read. Maybe, as some have suggested, it’s the paper itself that is biased against cyclists.

Or maybe, in retrospect, the local police are just trying to scrape the shit back off the fan.

Personally, I’m inclined to give Lt. Devin the benefit of the doubt. And to take a little more time to calm down before I write in response to something I’ve read.

I’d also say I’d make more of an effort to reach out to the police for clarification before I write something. But I’ve found that, with the notable exception of the LAPD, my emails to the CHP, L.A. Sheriff’s Department and various local police departments have been almost universally ignored.

But I suppose past results are no indication of future performance, as they say on the investment ads.

And let’s give credit to the Torrance department for being the exception, as they have clearly shown in responding to cyclist complaints this week.

But maybe this is an opportunity.

Maybe the Torrance police and South Bay cyclists should take the anger this story has aroused, and use it as an opportunity start a real, ongoing dialogue like LAPD Chief Beck and Sgt. Krumer have done with the Bike Task Force.

Because it sounds like they may have a lot to talk about.

Category: Bikes & the Law / Tags: , , ,
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