Morning Links: California leaps to top 10 bike friendly state; opposition withdrawn to MyFigueroa project

May 2, 2014 / / One comment

Screen Shot 2014-05-01 at 10.42.11 AM_0We’re number nine.

For the first time, traditionally bike-resistant California has made a remarkable jump into the top tier of bicycle friendly states, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

Interestingly, the Great Leap Forward wasn’t a result of the progress at the local level, where countless cities, from San Francisco passionately auto-centric San Diego, have committed to building the infrastructure necessary to improve safety and encourage new cyclists who may currently be reluctant to ride.

Rising from 38 to 54 points in 2014, California jumped 10 spots to #9 in the ranking, thanks to notable progress in legislation, funding and policy that will make it easier to build bike lanes and mandate drivers give cyclists three-feet of space when they pass.

“Better bikeways depend on two things: the right designs and enough funding to build them. California is getting better on both fronts,” said Dave Snyder, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition. “Caltrans has been updating its design manuals — in fact it just endorsed the NACTO Urban Bikeways Design Guide — and spending on biking and walking increased by 30% over 2012 levels.”

“Our jump to one of the top ten states reflects Caltrans’ commitment toward more bike friendly communities,” said California Department of Transportation Director Malcolm Dougherty. “We plan to continue our success by working with our local partners to infuse about $360 million into biking and other active transportation projects over the next three years.”

Wait. Did the Director of notoriously auto-centric Caltrans really just say they’re committed to bike friendly communities — let alone spending the money to make it happen?

Evidently, that polar vortex reached a lot further south than any realized.

Hell has officially frozen over.

……..

Big news on the local front, as well, as the complaint holding up the MyFigueroa project is officially withdrawn, which should allow the project to finally move forward.

The compromise promises to remake one of the city’s most vital boulevards — small b — into LA’s first complete street, including improved walkways, a dedicated bus lane and, yes, curb protected bike lanes.

As Eric Bruins, Planning and Policy Director for the LACBC suggests, this is a win for everyone. Including the businesses along the corridor who fought it, which will benefit from a re-envisioned street built on a more human scale that will actually attract customers instead of encouraging them to speed by.

And at the same time, improve safety for everyone traveling between Downtown and USC/Exposition Park, by whatever mode.

Now if we can just get the long-promised — and already funded — bike lanes on the other end of Figueroa.

You’d think CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo would look at MyFig and fight for something similar to improve safety and the quality of life in his district, rather than pushing a complicated network of sharrows that won’t benefit anyone.

Let alone bike riders or the businesses along North Figueroa.

But who knows what he’s really thinking, since neither he nor his staff have been willing to discuss the matter with anyone.

……..

Speaking of elected officials, the LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee prepared candidate questionnaires for people running for County Supervisor and Sheriff in the upcoming June election.

The first results are in and have been posted online.

Hopefully, more of the major candidates will respond before the election.

If you’re involved with any of the campaigns that haven’t responded, urge them to complete the questionnaires so bike riders can make a truly informed choice at the ballot box.

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Local

Ride with the mayor of El Monte this Saturday.

Studio City hosts a belated Car Free SFV Earth Day celebration on Sunday.

Pasadena host a Women on Bikes Night for Wednesday of bike week.

Two San Dimas bike riders are injured when the lead rider flats after hitting a rock and takes out his companion. Thankfully, it sounds like their injuries weren’t too serious.

No press bias here, as a 16-year old Norwalk bike rider is seriously injured in a left cross collision, yet the paper somehow blames him for riding into the car.

 

State

Bike theft is rising an average of nearly 11% a year in California.

The opening of San Diego’s new bike share program is pushed back until June.

San Francisco’s contraflow bike lane opens today.

 

National

What makes a campground bike friendly?

A writer takes admitted doper and Lance domestique George Hincapie to task in an extended criticism; somehow, Hincapie has escaped the public criticism leveled at his former boss. Then again, not everyone agrees.

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske has his bike stolen, and ably captures the gut-wrenching feeling it evokes.

At least a dozen riders are injured in a mass crash in New Mexico’s Tour of Gila; two were airlifted to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.

 

International

That fatal Ontario, Canada collision that led a driver to sue the parents of the teenage cyclist she killed for the pain and suffering it caused her is now under review by an outside police agency after allegations of police favoritism.

Montreal planners won the battle over removing parking spaces for a bike path by county nearby parking spaces and showing it would result in the loss of just 300 of the 11,000 spaces. A good tactic to try in any city, including ours.

A new Brit Tesco commercial cheers on ordinary cyclists.

Learn about your favorite Cannondale Pro Cycling riders, including the irrepressible Peter Sagan.

Newly found video footage shows a bike-friendly 1932 Copenhagen. Or maybe you prefer a wild alleycat race through the streets of 1930s Paris.

 

Finally…

A Glendale man faces charges after falling off the child’s bike he was trying to steal. And a tall bike comes in handy when you want to photo bomb a TV reporter on a flooded street.

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On a personal note, the good news is, my doctor has cleared me to get back on my bike for the first time since I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this month. The bad news is, I have to stay home and wait for the plumber today.

Maybe next week.

Category: Morning Links /

Bike rider reportedly dies weeks after South Bay dooring

May 1, 2014 / / 8 comments

Sadly, word is just filtering in that a bicyclist died earlier this month, weeks after he was doored while riding in the South Bay.

Terrance Owen Brooks died while riding on April 12th, reportedly the result of a blood clot that may have resulted from the dooring a couple weeks earlier. I’m told Brooks was examined at a hospital following the collision, and released after doctors found only contusions.

However, his broken helmet suggests he may have needed a more extensive neurological examination than he received. It’s difficult to say conclusively that the clot resulted from the dooring, but it seems likely.

Brooks reportedly was a bike racer; however, I have been unable to find information about him online. Michael Eisenberg quotes his memorial card as saying:

His most recent accomplishment was placing number 2 out of 42,000 contestants worldwide and number 1 in the USA in the Anchor (cycling) Challenge in December 2013 sponsored by Strava.

He was 49 years old.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any other information at this time. If anyone has more details, please leave a comment below or email the address on the About page.

This is the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and 15th in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Terrance Owen Brooks and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael Eisenberg for the information. 

Update: In a comment below, Serge Issakov points us to Brooks’ Strava page. Very sad to see that low total for April, knowing the reason why.

I’m told Brooks may also have been known as Terrance Jackson; Issakov suggests this may be his Facebook page. If so, the last entry from him is dated April 4th.

Update 2: A comment from Brook’s fiancé places the date of the original dooring as April 5th, and confirms that her died of a seizure while riding one week later. And that the hospital failed to perform a neurological exam, despite his broken helmet.

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

Morning Links: CD1 City Council Member tries to trade North Figueroa bike lanes for sharrows

April 30, 2014 / / 7 comments

While workshop participants imagine what North Figueroa could be, CD1 City Council Member Gil Cedillois backing off from the already approved, funded and shovel ready bike lanes planned for the street.

Instead, he suggests replacing them with a complicated — and virtually worthless — network of sharrows that would do absolutely nothing to tame traffic on the street. Or encourage traffic-averse bike riders and potential riders to take to a street that would be only marginally safer than before. Let alone more comfortable to ride.

If you can make next Thursday’s community meeting, show up and tell him no.

Make that hell no.

Maybe there’s a reason Cedillo didn’t complete the LACBC’s candidate survey in last year’s election.

Meanwhile, he has also come out against a plan to turn the old Riverside-Figueroa Bridge into an elevated bike and pedestrian park over the LA River.

Mayor Garcetti wants to turn Figueroa into one of the city’s first Great Streets. But that will be hard to do if our elected officials are standing in the way.

……..

Lexington KY police cite a bike commuting woman for reckless driving — not once, but three times — because she insisted on riding in the traffic lane for her own safety, as she had every right to do.

Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed. Even though she wasn’t scheduled for trial until August, a judge ruled in her favor this week.

Thanks to Bob Young for the heads-up.

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If you’re looking for a good cause, you can’t do much better than this.

After a bike advocate struggling with cancer is forced to sell her bike to pay medical bills, a group of cyclists are raising funds to buy her a new one.

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Local

Flying Pigeon asks which approach is a more efficient use of space — Downtown LA’s massive parking lots or Portland’s downtown bike parking?

Help clean up the LA River this Saturday, then bike over to Golden Road Brewing to celebrate over some of LA’s best beers. Or if you’re closer to the coast, help reimagine what Santa Monica could be.

Sweet Ride USA invites you to join in on their next ride,which will roll along the beachfront bike path this Sunday.

Wrap up Bike Week Pasadena with a bike-in movie on Friday, May 16th.

More on Saturday’s sixth annual Long Beach Bike Fest; the free event sounds like a lot of fun. Meanwhile, it may be the most bike-friendly city in SoCal — though Santa Monica is giving it a run for it’s money — but Long Beach still has some work to do.

 

State

A shirtless bike rider uses the center divider of I-80 through San Francisco as his own personal bike lane.

New OC bike safety campaign tells riders to “Bike Smart. Bike Safe.” And for parents to teach their children to do the same. Now how about telling drivers not to run us over.

Google donates a cool $1 million to Mountain View for bike projects. Now that they’ve got a major center in Venice, maybe they could spread a little of that bike love our way.

 

National

Big step forward as an experimental medical process enabled a group of men with disabling leg injuries to grow new muscles, improving enough to walk or ride a bike for the first time in years.

Treehugger looks at the disparity between bike and ped funding, mode share and funding. And it ain’t pretty. The site also points out that a warmer climate doesn’t result in higher ridership levels.

Intoxicated Oahu driver deliberately rams a group of bicyclists on a metric century ride to honor an advocate for safer cycling. Oddly, only three riders were hit, but five people were injured.

Evidently, there’s only one acceptable form of transportation in Oregon, as the Oregon Humane Society refuses to let a bike riding woman take her adopted cat home because she wasn’t driving a car.

Meet the Boulder CO woman behind CycloFemme, sponsors of the CycloFemme LA Mother’s Day Ride and hundreds of others around the world.

Colorado’s AAA will now offer roadside assistance for cyclists. But they won’t fix your flat.

Bad headline, good story as a Florida bicyclist looks at why the state is so dangerous for people on bikes.

 

International

Hats off to Ontario, Canada man who bought an apparently stolen bike off the street for $10, then set out to return it to its rightful owner.

A new reports says a diabetic Ontario driver suffering from low blood sugar should never have been behind the wheel when he killed three people in 2009, including an 81-year old bike rider — then was allowed to keep his license for another 18 months. It recommends a series of steps to keep dangerously diabetic drivers off the road.

Evidently, the bike boom is in decline in the UK.

Looks like a 12-year doping ban isn’t enough to keep former pro rider Riccardo Ricco from buying EPO. Lots of EPO.

 

Finally…

For the second year in a row, Tour de Fat will bypass LA. And a Brit tandem cyclist rides with a bony stoker even skinnier than I am these days.

 

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

Update: Dana Point bike rider killed in suspected DUI collision

April 30, 2014 / / 3 comments

Yet another bike rider has lost his life to a suspected drunk driver.

According to the Orange County Register, the 30-something victim, whose name has been withheld pending notification of next of kin, was riding south on PCH in Dana Point around 11:14 last night when he was hit from behind. The car, a 2001 Acura, then overturned, injuring both of the people inside.

The victim was pronounced death at the scene, while the driver and his passenger were both taken to a local hospital with head trauma. And yes, alcohol use is suspected of playing a role in the collision.

The collision occurred on PCH near Green Lantern; a satellite view shows a clearly marked, if intermittent, bike lane, with a posted 35 mph speed limit. The story does not say which side of Green Lantern it happened on.

This is the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth in Orange County; that compares with just two in the county this time last year.

At least three of the Orange County deaths have involved drugs or alcohol, compared to a quarter of the deaths throughout Southern California.

Update: The victim has been identified as 38-year old Dana Point resident Haitham Gamal. The driver has been identified only as a 19-year old Dana Point man; his passenger was 18.

As an underage driver, any alcohol in the blood would be a violation of the law.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Haitham Gamal and his loved ones.

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

 

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

Morning Links: Turns out most bike riders don’t run red lights after all, and TdF winner LeMond fixes le flat

April 29, 2014 / / One comment

The next time someone tells you all bike riders run red lights, show them this.

According to a new study from Portland State University, an overwhelming 94% of bicyclists in four Oregon cities — not just bike-friendly Portland — stopped for red lights. And 89% were observed obeying the rules perfectly, while 4% jumped the light just before it changed.

Only a paltry 6% actually blew the lights.

The study was based on a review of over 2,000 videos from intersection crossing cameras. Which means there was no observational bias from researchers at the scene, or riders acting on their best behavior because they knew they were being watched.

As Bike Portland’s Michael Anderson notes, that compares to an estimated 36% to 77% of drivers who break the speed limit.

Which makes you wonder just who the real scofflaws are.

Interestingly, the study also notes that nearly four times as many helmetless riders ran their lights than helmet-clad riders.

Make of that what you will.

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America’s only remaining Tour de France winner responds to that recent video of Lance Armstrong fixing a flat with one of his own. And proves he’s a real blowhard in the best possible sense.

And speaking of TdF winners, the first women’s winner in recent years will be crowned with one-day circuit race before the men arrive on the Champs-Elysees on the final day.

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Local

Looks like there will be 10 of those new LA bike repair stations in the initial rollout.

NELA’s anti-bike Boulevard Sentinel accuses bicyclists of successfully hijacking this past weekend’s Neighborhood Council elections; a better description might be democracy in action.

BikeSGV is looking for bike count volunteers starting this weekend.

Long Beach ranks third on a list of the country’s 20 most bicycle-friendly cities behind San Francisco and Austin; Portland ranks a surprisingly low 15th.

The Long Beach Post looks at Stylish by Bike, part of the city’s annual Bike Fest this Saturday.

 

State

Bicycling suggests a few classic rides to create your own tour of California.

A Newport Beach city council member says improve safety on the Back Bay, rather than restricting usage as some have called for.

Bike share is coming to La Jolla and the rest of the San Diego area this June. Meanwhile, LA’s bike share program is scheduled to open a week from who the hell knows.

Riverside cyclists can look forward to a Cinco de Mayo ride next Monday.

The Times offers more details on that 17-year old Sacramento County driver who deliberately chased down a 10-year old boy after someone threw a water bottle at her SUV. The victim was riding bikes with his brother when the girl attacked him, dragging him 10 feet beneath her vehicle; according to a CHP spokesperson, she was non-remorseful and didn’t seem to care that she’d just committed assault with a deadly weapon.

 

National

Forget hockey — if you really want organized violence, try bike polo. But do we need yet another story saying cycling is the new golf?

Utah police can’t explain how a collision that took the life of two bike riders happened, but somehow conclude the driver wasn’t at fault.

Denver cyclist with early-onset Alzheimer’s plans to ride 100 miles to fight the disease.

Dallas considers repealing its rarely enforced helmet law to encourage bicycling and allow a successful bike share program.

America’s most famous college bike race — and the setting for Breaking Away — took place with another successful Little 500 last weekend.

The NYPD cracks down on Critical Mass while ignoring speeding drivers. So which one poses the greater threat to the public, I wonder?

 

International

Sadly, a British adventurer on a round-the-world bike tour is killed in a Bolivian collision.

People for Bikes offers three lessons from Calgary’s great bike leap forward.

Bike racing’s governing body establishes a commission to promote non-competitive events. Despite what the article suggests, there is no governing body for riding your bike down the street.

Caught on video: A Brit driver deliberately runs down a bike rider from behind, then backs up and flees the scene.

Evidently, Aussie women go out of their way not to commute by bike.

 

Finally…

There’s a new poster child for drunk driving, as an intoxicated motorist drove onto an off-road trail — and plowed into a marathon raising funds to fight drug and alcohol abuse.

And I don’t even know what to say about this one, as a Santa Rosa woman assaults customers and staff in a Dollar Store, steals not one but two bikes, and is finally arrested with Vicodin, a meth pipe and some things she stole from the store.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Morning Links, Roadway Courtesy / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: A disgustingly auto-centric driver, and the rest of the story on that biking tech exec beating

April 29, 2014 / / 11 comments

They drive among us.

Commenting on the Facebook page Look! Save A Life / Arizona, a gigantic motorhead asshole driver makes it clear he could care less about the lives on any cyclists who happen to ride — legally — on the road.

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Thankfully, jerks like this are a very small minority of drivers, most of whom do their best to drive safely and accommodate everyone.

As for the others, comments like this live forever on the internet. And can be used as evidence if he ever does hit someone.

Thanks to Cyclelicious and Brendan Lyons for the heads-up.

……..

Speaking of Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious, trust him to get the whole story on that bike riding Silicon Valley tech exec arrested for beating the crap out of a driver.

Turns out the driver did hit the cyclist, as the exec had claimed. And both people in the truck — including the guy behind the wheel — were reportedly drunk, and got out to throw the first punches.

Which makes it a case of self defense against a drunken idiot, rather than the vicious assault the local press implied.

……..

And it turns out there’s a lot more to that story of the sick, twisted Ontario, Canada driver who sued the parents of the teenage bike rider she killed for her pain and suffering in having to live with what she did — including the incredible pain of the boy’s parents and allegations of police misconduct.

There’s a special place in hell for people like that.

Thanks to Stanley E. Goldich for the links.

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More on Sunday’s Finish the Ride from KNBC-4, as well as KCBC-2 and USC’s Annenberg TV. Maybe the word is finally getting out about hit-and-runs. As usual, though, it takes Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman to offer real insight and put it all in perspective.

And an LA mom says f*** you to speeding drivers and actually rides her bike on the streets of LA.

………

Local

CicLAvia co-founder Aaron Paley says we need to get rid of the us vs. them attitude on our streets.

New bike lanes appear next to LA’s Eco-Village, and vandal-resistant bike repair stations pop up on LA’s not-quite Eastside.

Naomi Watts rides a bike in Brentwood.

Repeat after me. If you’re carrying a stolen Glock and a high-capacity magazine on your bike in Pasadena after dark, put a damn light on it. The bike, not the gun.

I love this one. Three bike-riding Palos Verdes financial advisors dig into their own pockets to donate 100 bikes to underprivileged kids. Seriously, hats off to these guys.

 

State

Huh? HuPo offers seven spots in California you can only reach by bike. Like auto, transit and pedestrian-accessible Downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Venice Boardwalk, where bikes aren’t even allowed.

Oakland is racing to meet the demand for bike lanes for non-racing riders.

In a move that could improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, Google promises their self-driving cars can now recognize objects better than a human driver can — including gestures made by bike riders. Yeah, but can they recognize this one? Thanks to Ed Cable for the heads-up.

A teenage Sacramento driver deliberately chases down and pins a 7th grader to a tree after someone throws a water bottle at her SUV. Yeah, that’s equivalent force.

 

National

Grist sort of answers whether it’s safer to ride a bike or drive a car; thanks to Kevin Hopps for the link.

A new wearable bike light promises to be fashionable, but doesn’t look very noticeable.

Kansas residents pitch in when a man suffering from arthritis has his three-wheeled bike stolen.

An aggressive Austin driver intentionally targets — and fortunately misses — pedestrians and cyclists.

An LSU football player is arrested for bike theft, and says he’s very sorry. Well, okay then.

Two women take off on a bike tour of the East Coast. In 1944. Thanks to Chris K for the tip.

Shockingly, the father of a hit-and-run driver who killed a Florida cyclist says it wasn’t his son’s fault, he wasn’t intoxicated, he didn’t flee and it was all that damn bike rider’s fault. For a change, the police disagree.

 

International

Calgary’s city council votes to defy the bike haters and build three separated bike lanes as a pilot project.

A new bike lock promises to be unpickable. But does anyone actually bother to pick bike locks these days?

Caught on video. A bike riding Dutch woman breaks up a fight the hard way.

This might not be the best time for a politician to ride a bike in the Ukraine, as the mayor of the country’s second largest city is shot while riding his.

Aussie streets are designed to tolerate minor “bingles” but bicyclists aren’t. Is it just me, or does bingle sound like the name of an elf?

 

Finally…

Letters reveal the great feminist author Simone de Beauvior and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre rode bikes to help organize the French resistance in World War II.

It was de Beauvior who brilliantly wrote “There are two kinds of people in the world: human beings and women. And when women try to act like human beings, they’re accused of trying to be men.”

Which I learned from a Doonesbury cartoon.

 

Category: Car vs Bike, Morning Links, Road Rage / Tags: , , ,
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