Morning Links: LAPD ordered to turn over video of bike rider beating, and Redlands riders do the right thing

April 27, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: LAPD ordered to turn over video of bike rider beating, and Redlands riders do the right thing

Local

A judge orders the LAPD to turn over video of the beating their officers allegedly gave South LA bike rider Clinton Alford.

An artist working on a bicycle-themed interactive art installation for the Los Angeles State Historic Park wants your bike story for the project.

Nice idea. A custom-made book bike operating out of the San Pedro branch of the Los Angeles Public Library can carry and display 200 pounds of books to encourage reading.

Gizmodo looks at LA’s fabled elevated bike highway and why it failed, blazing the trail for what would eventually become the Pasadena Freeway.

For a change, a Malibu motorist actually admires the bike riders making their way up Latigo Canyon.

A Metro panel discussion asks if bicycling is in your future on Monday, May 11th at Caltrans HQ in DTLA.

The same Caltrans HQ location will be the site of Color Wheels: A Bicycle Community Art Show featuring art works from LA bike riders on Bike to Work Day night on Thursday the 14th.

 

State

After a compromise agreement, a single e-bike bill moves forward in the state legislature.

Bike riders attending Sunday’s Orange County Transportation Authority Bike Festival say streets behind the Orange Curtain aren’t as safe as they should be. Sort of like streets everywhere, in other words.

No bias here. According to the local paper, a Riverside bike rider wasn’t hit by a police car, but rather, he collided with it.

Female cyclists don’t earn enough as it is. Yet the women competing in the recent Redlands Classic agreed to donate 15% of their prize money to the family of Erica Grief, who was killed in a car crash on the way to compete in the race.

San Luis Obispo County leads the state in per capita bicycling deaths.

Bad news from Sunnyvale, as bike rider was killed during the morning commute.

 

National

Consumer Reports rates bike helmets, with recommended models starting at just $12.

Here’s your chance to buy a rare bike from a Portland collection. Or maybe all 203 if the mood strikes.

Evidently, winter is officially over in Jackson, Wyoming when the bike racks come back.

Wisconsin drivers can’t seem to figure out how to use roundabouts without endangering bike riders and pedestrians.

A 70-year old Minnesota woman plans a two year journey by bike across the US. If you can call a fully enclosed, solar powered e-assist tricycle a bike, that is.

Vermont cyclists are mourning a leading local rider and bike shop employee killed in a collision with a 17-year old driver, who also died after going over an embankment.

Crain’s talks with the new boss of New York’s Citi Bike about how to turn around the financially troubled bike share program.

CBS News discovers last weekend’s Red Hook Criterium, which brought over 300 riders from 29 countries to compete on the streets of Brooklyn. Here on the Left Coast, it was all about the Waffle Ride.

The NYPD is cracking down on bike riders, making New York’s most bike friendly neighborhood significantly less so.

 

International

The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats promises to turn Britain into a cycling nation.

A British jury finds a dangerous junction guilty, along with the driver who killed a cyclist; the 70-year old motorist said the victim somehow blended in with the background, despite his hi-viz.

Ed Ryder sends word that sometimes diabetes can be beat, as bicycling helps save the life of an overweight Brit man after his sons intervene. Which almost makes me wish I was overweight.

Scottish officials promise to increase spending on bicycling, while cyclists call for presumed liability in bike collisions, which would require motorists to prove they’re not at fault.

Dubai police seize 11,000 bikes from law-breaking riders in just two months. Imagine how many cars they could seize if they applied the same standards to scofflaw drivers.

 

Finally…

In a world where advertising has become inescapable, bike lanes have become the latest marketing medium. Jared Leto takes his new Joker green hair for a ride around Toronto.

And beware doping drivers. A pair of Ohio grad students have developed a roadside test to determine just how high they really are; apparently, counting the number of empty Twinkie wrappers in the vehicle is not a legally valid standard. Thanks to Geri Wilson for the heads-up.

………

Come back later Tuesday morning for a guest post from LA Bicycling Advisory Vice Chair Glenn Bailey reporting on efforts to remove the bike lanes from Chase Street in the SFV.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: LA Times picks Ramsay, LA bike plan site pushes rug padding, and how to pass a bike respectfully

April 26, 2015 / / One comment

Local

The LA Times endorses Carolyn Ramsay in LA’s 4th district. Without ever mentioning the word bicycle.

Evidently LADOT’s website got hacked. Or maybe someone forget to renew the domain registration for the 2010 LA bike plan, which now links to a spam site for rug padding. Thanks to Jonathan Fertig and Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

Speaking of LA’s DOT, they are currently reinstalling the bronze plaques honoring the late Alex Baum, which had been stolen from the bridge named after him. That would have provided a good opportunity to hold along-delayed public memorial for LA’s leading, long-time and much revered bike advocate if the city cared to, which they evidently don’t.

Rick Risemberg writes that you’ll now find bikes in every corner of LA, as the City of Angels slowly becomes a city for people.

Looks like even bike-challenged USC will get a bike share program before LA.

LA Magazine looks at the new seven-mile long bike lanes on PCH, which should be just the first of many in the ‘Bu. Let’s hope they help tame what has long been one of the area’s most dangerous roads.

Kick off National Bike Month with Ride On! Bike Day at Amoeba Records on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood this Sunday; the afternoon event benefits the LACBC.

 

State

The new California Streetsblog updates a couple of the proposed bills in the state legislature affecting bicycling, which are starting to look a lot better; Cyclelicious looks at some of the other nearly 40 bills currently before the legislature affecting bikes.

SoCal agencies gather to fight the rising tide of drugged driving. Although I’m told the OC crime lab doesn’t even bother to test for some common prescription drugs that can seriously impair driving.

As expected, the two men convicted of killing a developmentally disabled San Diego bike rider just for the hell of it have been sentenced to a well-deserved life with parole.

An Antioch boy was injured when a motorist drove into the bike lane he and a friend were riding in to get around traffic; the driver was arrested when he collided with another car after fleeing the scene.

 

National

Bicycling explains the problem behind the massive Trek recall, which could affect other bicycle manufacturers.

Triathlete site Slowtwitch examines the dreaded speed wobble.

Garmin sets out to challenge GoPro with an updated line of action cams. However, affordability doesn’t appear to have been high on their feature list.

Denver police are using GPS enabled bait bikes to battle bike theft.

A Wisconsin professor has written an academic history of the battle to give bikes a piece of the road.

Life is cheap in Ohio, where fleeing the scene of a collision — leaving a critically injured cyclist lying in the street — and tampering with evidence to cover up the crime isn’t worth a single day behind bars.

The New York Daily News says there is virtually no enforcement for bike riders who break the city’s law against riding on the sidewalk — except for the 10,000 people who were ticketed for doing it last year. The article also cites the 1,000 pedestrians injured in collisions with bicycles throughout the state each year, but fails to consider that maybe not all of the collisions were the bike riders’ fault.

A Philly columnist takes the city’s new bike share program out for a ride.

A video from Mobile AL demonstrates how to pass a bicyclist properly and respectfully.

 

International

A Toronto writer says cycling is synonymous to socialism, and compares bike riders to smelt. Seriously?

The owner of a Brit trucking company says cyclists are the worst users of the road, and truck drivers are the best. Sure, let’s go with that.

A Scottish writer suggests balancing the country’s books by taxing “odious” middle-class activities like bicycling and jogging. Never mind that that taxing cyclists would be self-defeating, and many poor people bike. In fact, some people even use them to transport trees.

Thousands of Scot riders Pedal on Parliament to encourage politicians to make the country more bike-friendly.

Alejandro Valverde wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the third time, just days after winning his third La Flèche Wallonne.

Smart idea. Finland fines law-breaking motorists more the more money they have.

Tens of thousands of people turn out on two wheels to promote bicycling in Budapest.

Japanese anime goes bicycling.

 

Finally…

Now you can do your laundry while you pedal, as long as you don’t want to actually go anywhere. Brits are urged to be on the lookout for the “evil” bike rider who ran over the royal-in-law Chihuahua.

And as every parent knows, it’s important to share bonding experiences with your kids. Like stealing bikes, for instance.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: Super-secret discipline for Milt Olin deputy; SD’s Fiesta Island wreck caused by invisible boyfriend

April 24, 2015 / / One comment

We’ve got a lot to catch up on today.

So feel free to take a break and go out for a ride. This could take awhile.

……..

The LA County sheriff’s deputy who killed former Napster exec Milt Olin has been officially disciplined by the department. But since it’s considered a personnel matter, we’ll most likely never know what that discipline is.

And there will be no discipline for the department, which reportedly encouraged its officers to use their onboard computers while driving, despite an official policy against it.

……..

A psychiatrist says the alleged meth-using wrong way driver who plowed into 10 cyclists on San Diego’s Fiesta Island, leaving one paralyzed, “has bipolar disorder with chronic or long-standing mania and psychotic features, but also depressive features.”

Oh. Well, okay then.

She reportedly blames the crash on an invisible boyfriend who somehow popped up, apparently inside her car, before disappearing.

And she had a bag of meth in her vagina when she was arrested.

Allegedly.

Update: Despite the testimony of the psychiatrist, Theresa Owens was found competent to stand trial on Friday. 

……..

Three bikes take a 100 year journey to Bike Week LA, coming next month.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link.

……..

Update: I’ve been reminded that the OCTA Bike Festival will be held this Sunday from 9 am to 1 p in Huntington Beach.

Although how I can be reminded of something I didn’t know about to begin with is beyond me.

……..

Local

Note to CMs Gil Cedillo, Tom LaBonge and Paul Koretz: A Virginia study confirms what we’ve been trying to tell you. More bikes on the streets will actually increase traffic congestion unless we have bike lanes to ride in. But hey, go ahead, keep blocking those planned bike lanes on North Figueroa, Lankershim and Westwood until traffic improves.

If you’re looking for a new job, CicLAvia is hiring a new head honcho; meanwhile, the Times talks with outgoing exec and founder Aaron Paley. Although I wish he could remember the role the LACBC played in assisting the birth of CicLAvia; one of the first votes I cast as a board member involved approving a cooperative agreement to help get the first event off the ground.

Caught on video: Streetsblog’s Joe Linton looks a Malibu’s new bike lane on PCH, a first for the formerly bike-unfriendly city. Speaking of the LACBC, the coalitions’s Eric Bruins deserves much of the credit for the coastal city’s change in attitude.

 

State

California Streetsblog interviews Assemblyman Mike Gatto, who insists Governor Brown will sign a Yellow Alert hit-and-run notice this time around; he vetoed a similar bill last year.

Caltrans effectively unblocks protected bike lanes; the state transportation agency will hold a summit on the newly legalized Class IV bikeways next month.

Is someone targeting bike riders in OC? After a Santa Ana bike rider is shot in a possible gang-related driveby, he continued riding to a nearby residence for help; another man riding a bike was shot in the same city just a day later.

Huntington Beach police are looking for a man and woman who tried to steal a purse from a bike rider’s basket, then ripped it out of her hands when she fought back. Thanks to Louis for the tip.

The cities of Highlands and Redlands in San Bernardino County are working together to build a proposed bike lane connecting the two; a separated lane is one possibility.

Sad news from Palo Alto, as the 61-year old woman hit by a cyclist while crossing the street has died. The rider was descending around a blind curve at about 25 mph when he crashed into her; he has not been charged. The victim, Kathryn Green, was a noted philanthropist with local ties to the LA area; she was born in Santa Monica and grew up in the Palisades. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

Streetsblog SF picks up the story of the Belmont bike rider blamed by auto-centric police for talking on a cell phone and riding sans-helmet — both legal — when he was left crossed by a car; the 90-year old motorist who illegally violated his right of way wasn’t held responsible in any way.

The Uber driver who allegedly ran down a San Francisco bike rider in a road rage dispute has surrendered his drivers license.

San Francisco’s director of transportation and public health director team up to explain the city’s Vision Zero policy. It would be nice if we could see something like that here; most Angelenos have no idea what Vision Zero is, let alone that the city has adopted it.

NorCal’s Arcata posts a YouTube video explaining the new bicycle boulevard running through the center of town. So why can’t we have nice things like that? See Cedillo, et al, above.

 

National

Phoenix cyclists agree with the city’s low ranking for bike-friendliness.

Organizers unveil the route for this year’s Tour of Utah, which includes a whopping two whole days of women’s racing. Which is better than none, I suppose.

A Houston bike rider has become the latest cyclist to be killed in a collision with a police car; the victim reportedly ran the red light.

Ever wondered what happened to the guy who inspired Breaking Away by almost single-handedly winning the 1962 Little 500?

An Ohio driver gets probation for the hit-and-run crash that left a bike rider seriously injured, and tampering with evidence to hide the crime afterwards. Evidently, life is cheap there. And the law seems pretty meaningless, too.

To celebrate the launch of Philadelphia’s bike share program, Uber brought bike riders a new helmet for just $10. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the tip.

Bike riders in South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island say harassment is common, after the arrest of a driver for yelling at a woman to get on a bike path, then getting out of his car and grabbing her arm to scream some more.

Caught on video: A Georgia truck driver gets out of his vehicle and pushes a bike rider over after the rider flipped him off for passing too closely; the driver claims he was in fear for his life after the rider kicked at his massive, multi-ton steel truck. Sure, let’s go with that.

Unbelievable. The 2013 police shooting of a Florida bike rider was caught on dash cam video; he was left paralyzed from the waist down — even though his only weapon was a cell phone.

The Justice Department will review the Tampa Bay police department’s ticketing of African American bike riders, who received 79% of the city’s tickets for bicycle violations even though they make up just 26% of city residents. The paper that broke the story asks if police will now stop the biased enforcement while the review is underway. Thanks to BikinginLA sponsor Michael Rubinstein for the heads-up.

 

International

They never learn. A young British driver becomes the latest to lose her job after tweeting about hitting a bicyclist without stopping.

A Brit woman may have suffered permanent scars resulting from a collision with a grinning hit-and-run cyclist.

A formerly morbidly obese man from the UK loses 210 pounds in a single year after taking up bicycling; he’s now planning to run a half-marathon — and have 14 pounds of excess skin removed.

Now that’s what I call fleeing the scene. An Irish driver gets six-and-a-half years for causing the death of a cyclist. He first fled to the UK, then Australia; he was arrested after being recognized in an ill-advised return to the UK.

Join the Army, and you too can experience the German equivalent of a ciclovía.

Kazakhstan-based pro cycling team Astana somehow manages to keep its top-tier racing status, despite a number of team members busted for doping.

Unbelievable. An Aussie man jailed for killing a cyclist in a 2011 hit-and-run killed another man in a second hit-and-run the same month, and hid his body under some bark and leaves.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: A llama joins the peloton. In Canada, no less, where the animals aren’t exactly native.

If you’re going to climb into a driver’s vehicle and drive off after coming to blows in a road rage dispute — with the owner still clinging to the outside of his car — try to make a clean getaway without crashing into a parked car. But if you want to experience just one angry, honking driver on your ride to work, make sure you have a police escort.

And Bo Jackson says nobody’s perfect. Not even his buddy Lance.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

BOLO Alert: Bike rider seriously injured in East LA hit-and-run

April 23, 2015 / / 7 comments

This one is hard to take.

Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for the driver of a white Toyota pickup who plowed into an East LA bike rider, then simply drove off without so much as slowing down.

KTLA-5 reports the wreck, which occurred at 9:15 am Monday, was caught on a security camera; fair warning, the video is stomach churning, to say the least.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding east on the north sidewalk of Olympic Blvd when he attempted to cross Arizona Ave in the crosswalk. The driver of the pickup, which was headed south on Arizona, went through the red light, violently knocking the rider off his bike before turning right and speeding down Olympic.

The victim was transported to County USC Medical Center with major head trauma.

The CHP, which investigates major traffic collisions in unincorporated areas of the county, is looking for a white, mid-‘80s Toyota pickup with an extended cab, metal rack and black side graphics.

Anyone with information is urged to call 323-980-4600 or the Traffic Management Center (TMC) at 323-259-2010.

Let’s find this heartless jerk.

Category: Car vs Bike, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities /

Action Alert: Panorama City NC sneaks in agenda item to remove bike lanes on Chase Street at tonight’s meeting

April 23, 2015 / / 3 comments

I just received news that the Panorama City Neighborhood Council will discuss removal of a recently installed road diet and bike lanes on Chase Street.

The group has already requested removal of the lanes in one section; now they’re planning to ask for removal of the entire road diet.

Worse, they’re trying to sneak this past the public without any real discussion by inserting a last-minute “special agenda” at the end of the previously published agenda. And allowing only eight minutes to consider the matter, effectively eliminating any possibility of legitimate discussion.

5. Consideration and possible action on the recommendation of the Public Safety committee that the Board ask the city to restore Chase Street to four traffic lanes between Woodman Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard. The Board has already taken action to request a return to four lanes between Wakefield Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard. The council had opposed lane elimination in that area when the street restriping was still in the proposal stage. Now that the restriping has occurred, a dangerous condition has also arisen at the Woodman end, where parent traffic blocks the street while waiting to turn into the alley behind Valor Academy Middle School to pick up children. The through-street’s traffic capacity reduction is also causing huge backups along the street during rush hours, and a dangerous diversion of cut-through traffic to Parthenia Street between Woodman Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard. That section of Parthenia has now changed from a quiet residential street to an arterial street. For all of these traffic disruptions, very few bicycles are ever seen occupying the two bike lanes that replaced the two traffic lanes. [8m]

If you live, work or ride in the area, you’re urged to attend tonight’s meeting:

PANORAMA CITY NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AGENDA

Thursday, April 23, 2015, 6:30 PM
Mission Community Hospital, Medical Office Building, 2nd Floor, Room 208 14860 Roscoe Boulevard, Panorama City, CA 91402

If you can’t make it, email your comments — and your outrage at the sneak attack — to PCNC@EmpowerLA.org; blind copy (Bcc) LA BAC Vice Chair Glenn Bailey at glennbicyclela@gmail.com.

Demand that they allow legitimate public discussion before taking any action.

And that they allow the bike lanes to remain until people in cars and on bikes both have a chance to adjust to the new road design — and give up this ill-advised attempt to revert the roadway back to a more dangerous state.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Unidentified bike rider killed in Bloomington collision

April 23, 2015 / / 4 comments

Bad news from San Bernardino County.

According to the county coroners office, a bike rider was killed when he rode out into the path of a car in Bloomington yesterday evening.

The collision occurred about 6:48 pm near 11100 Cedar Ave when the rider reportedly darted out of a driveway into the path of an oncoming car. No word on why he exited the drive or didn’t appear to see the car coming.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the victim, identified only as a 34-year old Hispanic man, was transported to Kaiser Permanente in Fontana with severe injuries to his head and torso. He died at 7:26 pm, about 45 minutes after the collision.

According to the Sun, the victim was not carrying ID, and would have to be identified by the coroner.

Let this be a reminder to always carry some form of identification whenever you ride. Your loved ones deserve to know if anything happens, and your survival could depend on emergency care providers learning who you are and what medical conditions you may have.

I now ride with a Road ID that lists emergency contact numbers, as well as information about my diabetes. Just in case.

This is the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in San Bernardino County. That compares with 34 in SoCal and three in the county this time last year.

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

Thanks to James Johnson of Johnson Attorneys Group for the heads-up.

 

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