Orwellian doublespeak lives in Northeast LA.
LA cyclists staged a ride and die-in in front of CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s Downtown condominium on Sunday to protest Cedillo’s flip flop — to put it nicely — on his campaign promise to support bike lanes on North Figueroa, as well as his depiction of cyclists who want a safe place to ride as “bullies.”
According to the story in the Eastsider, Cedillo spokesman Louis Reyes responded by saying the councilmember wants to improve safety for all residents, not just a single segment.
Except that studies have repeatedly shown that’s exactly what a road diet and bike lanes do, slowing traffic and improving safety for everyone. And that is what the already-approved 2010 bike plan calls for — and what cyclists are asking for.
Reyes went on to depict Sunday’s demonstration as the “tyranny of the minority.”
To paraphrase a popular movie, he keeps using that word, but I do not think that means what he thinks it means.
Someone is being a bully in this case, but it doesn’t seem to be the bike riders.
……..
Local
LAPD is looking for a bike rider who’s been groping women on a Canoga Park bike path.
CycleHop, the bike share vendor selected for Santa Monica’s planned program, has systems operating in Phoenix and Tampa, with others scheduled to open in Orlando and Ottawa.
Santa Monica produces a Smart Cycling guide (pdf) and gets it mostly right, including instructions to take the lane on narrow streets. But implies that cyclists can’t use left turn lanes unless there’s a bike box, and equates not wearing a helmet, and texting while riding — both of which are legal — with riding while intoxicated, which isn’t. And should note that sidewalk riding is banned in Santa Monica, not everywhere in the state.
The former Bond, James Bond rides his bike in Malibu.
State
Surprisingly, AAA embraces parklets.
Now that’s progress. Irvine approves a traffic plan study that will look at all forms of transportation — including bikes — rather than just motor vehicle traffic.
Bikes seem to be the new getaway vehicle of choice as a San Diego bank robber is the latest to ride from the scene of the crime.
San Jacinto Valley cyclists are devastated by the death of a popular rider who fell ill at a family Christmas gathering.
San Francisco’s BART transit police are using predictive policing to deal with a spike in bike thefts.
A San Rafael nonprofit donates 65 bikes to at-risk kids.
National
Turns out most people like protected bike lanes. And dedicated bike traffic signals are a hit with riders.
Someone spilled — or intentionally scattered — thumb tacks on a popular Portland bike route.
A Portland cyclist has started a Go Fund Me account to pay for a bait bike program to fight bike theft, while a local college is using GPS to catch thieves.
Denver drivers are increasingly turning away from cars in favor of alternatives, including bikes.
They get it. The Lubbock TX paper says bicycling would be beneficial for community and local college.
A Missouri legislator thinks your bike is dangerous, and wants to require cyclists to carry liability insurance.
A Chicago Good Samaritan uses a jack to lift a truck off a bike rider until paramedics arrived.
Now that’s serious bad luck, as a Chicago cyclist has his bike stolen at the police station while reporting a stolen iPhone.
A bike-hating DC columnist suggests bike riders should have their own paths through the woods. And then have to get off their bikes and find alternate transportation once they reach city limits.
A South Carolina driver argues than no one will ever use a bike path to commute to work simply because she won’t. And neither will her husband, so that settles it.
After ranking as the nation’s second most dangerous city for cyclists in 2012, Tampa Bay is finally getting it’s act together.
Evidently, it’s still a crime to bike while black in Fort Lauderdale.
A brain-injured man is riding across Florida to raise awareness for medical marijuana.
International
A new rain-proof riding jacket will indicate your turns for you.
A 64-year old British Columbia woman is arrested for allegedly booby trapping a popular mountain bike trail.
Evidently, bicycling is the new Fountain of Youth, according to a study from the UK. But you already knew that, right?
The rules have finally been changed to allow pro cycling teams to be punished when their riders dope. It’s been an open secret that many, if not most, teams tacitly encouraged their riders to cheat during the doping era. Not that anything like that would happen now, of course.
The BBC reports on Volvo’s proposed bike safety system, and new anti-theft bike pedals.
Brit bike riders are urged to watch out for trucks’ blind spots. Instead of, you know, urging drivers to watch out for bikes.
Irish cyclists call for the equivalent of a three-foot passing law, and urge motorists to act like one already exists.
A Western Australia police official calls out motorists for a lack of tolerance when it comes to bike riders, while an Aussie pub shows an apparent lack thereof after turning away a group of Lycra-clad riders.
A former bike hater finally gets it, and urges Kiwi drivers to make room for cyclists.
Finally…
Caught on video: A Florida bike rider is verbally harassed by a road raging driver; seriously, if you’re in that big a hurry that you can’t let a bike slow you down long enough to pass, why would you get out of your truck to yell at the rider? A Connecticut man is suing New York City for $60 million not forcing him to wear a helmet when he rented a Citi Bike; clearly, he was incapable of choosing to wear one himself, even before banging his head.
And a Brit stockbroker is fired after tweeting a joke about hitting a cyclist and leaving the scene; naturally, a petition has been started to get his job back.
……..
Thanks to Adeel Mansour for making a generous donation to support this site.
