Vision Zero fail 8 days away, 2x CicLAvia donations now, and cop threatens 13-year old for riding on sidewalk with no lights

December 24, 2024 / / Comments Off on Vision Zero fail 8 days away, 2x CicLAvia donations now, and cop threatens 13-year old for riding on sidewalk with no lights
Just 8 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

It’s Last Day of the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to William C, Steven F, Lorena C, Justin C and Joel F for their generous support to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!

Seriously, it’s too late to wait! So give now!

………

This will be my last regularly scheduled news update this year, as I prepare to embark on my annual post-Christmas mental, physical and emotional breakdown, if I can just make it through tomorrow. 

We’ll be back bright and early on January 2nd to catch up on anything important we may have missed over the next week. 

And I’ll be around in case any breaking news needs your attention. 

So please accept my best wishes for the holidays, however and whatever you celebrate. And may you and yours have a very healthy, happy and prosperous year to come. 

Just remember to be careful out there, whether you’re riding, driving or walking. Because I don’t want to write about you or anyone else, unless maybe you interrupt your ride to rescue kittens from a burning building or something. 

And a special thank you to everyone who has donated to this year’s fund drive. I can’t begin to tell you just how grateful I am. 

Let’s just hope next year isn’t quite as challenging as this one has been. 

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Speaking of donations, any contributions to CicLAvia will be doubled through the end of the year.

Twitter post

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No bias here.

A Georgia cop stopped a 13-year old boy and his 19-year old brother for the heinous crime of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk — without first identifying himself as a cop.

Then he tackled the boy when he got off his bike, telling him to put his hands behind his back. And ended up threatening to tase the kid after he got scared and ran into his garage, while his brother called for their mom.

Yet the local police department insists the cop didn’t do anything wrong, although they did decide they need to rewrite the policy to require officers to identify themselves at the beginning of an encounter.

Gee, ya think?

And maybe teach their cops how not to escalate a situation that begins with a very minor traffic infraction committed by a little kid.

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‘Tis the season.

A Brawley, California restaurant held its annual bike giveaway, handing out 159 bicycles to kids in the Imperial Valley.

A Colorado Springs, Colorado bike shop distributed over 1,000 refurbished bikes to area kids.

New Orleans rapper Rob49 hosted a bicycle giveaway in the Big Easy, passing out hundreds of bikes to the city’s kids.

A Louisiana trash company donated 30 refurbished bicycles to kids in the state’s St. Charles Parish.

………

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

Seriously? Florida ruined a popular bike route by putting rumble strips in in the bike lane running along a busy stretch of the coast highway.

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Local  

LA Metro will offer free rides all day today and New Years Eve on a buses and trains; the Metro Bike bikeshare will also be free from today through January 1st by using the code 010125.

 

State

Calbike considers the best and worst of 2024, from legislative wins to removal of the MOVE Culver City bike lanes. Although they criticized the short rollout time for the state ebike voucher program, without mentioning the botched launch itself. 

Chula Vista’s popular Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade will close down after the first of the year for construction work on the nearby Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, with a planned February reopening.

Palo Alto is the latest California city to adopt Vision Zero, committing to eliminating traffic deaths within ten years. Let’s just hope they have better luck than some other CA cities I could name — and by “luck” I mean commit the money and resources necessary to actually improve safety, rather than just shove the plan on a shelf and forget about it. 

A San Francisco website gives the city a mixed report card for long-promised improvements on a half-dozen corridors, ranging from work-in-progress to not doing a damn thing, as the city, like Los Angeles, completes a decade of Vision Zero with no reduction in traffic deaths.

 

National

Road Bike Rider considers whether it’s really safer to take the lane, if it means drivers are more likely to get pissed off at you.

Streetsblog recommends three driving turn restrictions that cities really should  implement now, from the ever-popular no right on red to banning slip lanes in urban areas.

Outdoor Life recommends the best trail-tested mountain bike shoes, just in time to buy for yourself if you don’t get them for the holidays.

Hundreds of bicyclists turn out each week for a regular Wednesday ride through downtown Las Vegas.

The director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition is on a mission to ban distracted driving in the state, while making it a world bicycling capital. Seriously, that shouldn’t be legal anywhere. Period. 

 

International

Pink Bike considers whether ceramic coating can protect your bike from the worst a Scottish winter can throw at it.

No bias here, either. A British petition calls for halting a children’s bike park, claiming it would lead to anti-social behaviour, parking issues, and the “disturbance of a tranquil area.”

Your next e-cargo bike could be a double-decker Japanese e-trike.

 

Competitive Cycling

American ultracyclist Lael Wilcox is taking on the Yukon as her next challenge after shaving more than two weeks off the women’s record for riding around the world, accepting an offer to compete in the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational.

 

Finally…

Yes, you can carry almost anything on a bicycle — including your family Christmas tree. When you’re carrying meth and ‘shrooms and a loaded gun you can’t legally own, while riding one bike and ghost riding another, put some damn lights on them, already.

And that feeling when a viral video of working on your laptop while riding your bike becomes a meme, followed by a movement.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

44-year old Oxnard resident Antonio Rodriguez died Monday, ten days after he was struck by driver in La Colonia area

December 23, 2024 / / One comment

It was exactly a week ago that we reported on an Oxnard man who suffered major injuries when he was struck by a driver while riding a fixie in the city’s La Colonia neighborhood.

Even though the local paper felt the need to note that he was riding brakeless, and wasn’t wearing a helmet, even though there’s no indication either had anything to do with it.

Sadly, though, he didn’t make it.

The Ventura County Star reports that 44-year old Oxnard resident Antonio Rodriguez died today, ten days after he was struck by a 20-year old motorist.

The crash reportedly occurred round 7:55 am on Friday, December 13th, at First Street and Roosevelt Ave.

However, there’s still no word on how the crash occurred, or who may have been at fault. The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators; he hasn’t been ticketed or charged, though the crash remains under investigation.

And yes, the paper still felt the need to comment, without context, that Rodriguez didn’t have brakes or a helmet.

Whether his bike had brakes only matters if he was somehow unable to stop before riding out in front of the driver or crashing into him. And Rodriguez’ lack of a bike helmet shouldn’t make any difference unless he suffered a head injury, or his other injuries may have been survivable if he had one.

Anyone with information is urged to call Oxnard Police Officer Ivan Sanchez at 805/385-7749, or email ivan.sanchez@oxnardpd.org.

This is at least the 55th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Fundraiser for Long Beach woman injured in hit-and-run, more on CA ebike voucher fail, and undercharging killer drivers

December 23, 2024 / / Comments Off on Fundraiser for Long Beach woman injured in hit-and-run, more on CA ebike voucher fail, and undercharging killer drivers
Just 9 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

It’s Penultimate Day of the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Jame S, Paul F, Patti A, David A, Penny S, SAFE, Patrick M and San M for they generous donations to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!

But time is running out. So don’t wait!

Stop what you’re doing and give now!

………

We usually never hear about bike riders injured by drivers unless someone gets killed.

If then.

That was the case once again in Long Beach this past October, when a staff member with the Long Beach Beer Lab suffered a spinal injury when she was struck by a cowardly hit-and-run driver while riding her bike to work.

Instagram post

A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $8,500 of the relatively modest $10,000 goal, which will likely cover only a small fraction of Julie’s medical expenses.

So it’s okay if you skip donating to the BikinginLA Fund Drive this year, as long as the money goes to help her out, instead.

Thanks to James for the heads-up. 

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Sure. Let’s go with that.

After last week’s failure by design of the launch of the California ebike voucher program, a spokesperson for the California Air Resourced Board discussed the values of ebikes.

“E-bikes help address two pressing problems in the state: pollution from transportation sources and the need to increase mobility options for people who need the boost the most,” said Lisa Macumber, Branch Chief of CARB’s Equitable Mobility Incentives Branch. “The program is a reflection of California’s innovation in finding air quality solutions and its commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in a zero emissions future.”

Yet somewhere around 100,000 people who qualified among those “who need the boost most” were in fact left behind, as CARB intentionally throttled the rollout, limiting it to just 1,500 applicants. Even though they knew in advance that would meet just a tiny fraction of the anticipated demand.

And by targeting the program to lower-income people who need it the most — presumably meaning those without other means of transportation — they appear to be aiming it at people who would otherwise use relatively clean mass transit, as opposed to those who drive dirty gas-burning private vehicles.

Which would have exactly the opposite effect of addressing pollution from transportation source.

Just two more example of how badly this program has been planned and rolled out.

And don’t get me started on having the program managed by a firm that is currently the subject of a criminal investigation.

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This is why people keep dying on our streets.

A middle school teacher was convicted of the distracted driving death of a 10-year boy riding a bicycle just minutes from my bike-friendly Colorado hometown after a four-day trial.

Yet she was only charged and convicted on a misdemeanor for killing the little boy, along with a second misdemeanor count she previously admitted to for deleting texts from her phone — including one sent just 11 seconds before the crash.

Meanwhile, a friend of hers tried to help her out by getting the boy’s ghost bike removed.

………

‘Tis the season.

A formerly incarcerated Bay Area man discusses the joy he feels helping to organize an annual bicycle giveaway program, which distributed 250 new bikes this year; the Community Giveback program — formerly the Big Bike Giveaway — started 25 years ago with inmates in San Quentin who refurbished bikes for kids.

A Maui, Hawaii car dealer has given away bicycles to kids and families for eleven years, this year donating a total of 500 bikes on Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi.

Kindhearted cops in Gilbert, Arizona gave a new bike to a six-year old girl, after hers was stolen during a recent trip to the park, when officers saw a post from the girl’s mom on Nextdoor.

Equally kindhearted cops in Midland, Texas gave a new bicycle to a young girl when the one she received as an early Christmas present was somehow destroyed. Unless they were the ones who destroyed it, of course, in which case forget the “kindhearted” part. 

The NFL’s Houston Texans hosted their annual bicycle giveaway for 100 local elementary school students.

Over 170 Ohio kids received new bikes and helmets through a bike giveaway program that distributed bicycles to economically-disadvantaged children in a three-county area.

Still more kindhearted cops, this time in Boston, gave a young girl a new bicycle, just because one of the officers knew she wanted one.

The annual Syracuse, New York CNY Family Bike Giveaway distributed over 2,000 bicycles to local kids.

An Alabama Baptist church gave more than 300 bicycles to local kids as part of their 4th Annual Christmas Bicycle Giveaway.

Two hundred children got new bicycles in Sweetwater, Florida when Santa Claus swooped in and gave them all a bike and a toy.

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

New Yorkers should all send a thank you card to New York DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who has come out against the mayor’s call to require license plates and registration all ebikes.

The mayor of Guelph, British Columbia is calling for a pause on any new bike lanes that require removing a traffic lane or parking spaces, after some people complained about the most recent one. Once again, prioritizing the convenience of drivers over the lives and safety of people on bicycles.

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Local  

Streets For All posted their annual report card grading every state legislator’s efforts on improving safety and mobility.

Metro closed out the latest round of comments on the “underwhelming” Vermont Bus Rapid Transit project on Friday.

Malibu remains committed to improving safety along Southern California’s killer highway, prioritizing safety over access in PCH transformation plans. Meanwhile, the Mountain Resource and Conservation Authority and sister organization the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy are attempting to derail the plans in order to protect access to parking, while blaming crashes on drunk drivers.

 

State

Not everyone on the road is supposed to be there. A bike rider in Victorville was hospitalized after he was struck by a 16-year old driver without a license. Even if the story said a red bicycle was hit by the maroon car, apparently with no humans involved

A Palo Alto advocate calls for less parking and more homes for a better environment.

Sad news from San Francisco, where a man in his 30’s was killed when he was struck by the driver of a massive Chevy Tahoe while riding his bike near a freeway off-ramp, then hit by multiple other drivers. Although the news report identified the initial driver merely as “the Tahoe man.”

San Francisco cops fatally shot a security guard as he worked outside the Dior store in Union Square, after a bizarre chain of events that began when an ebike rider allegedly scratched his SUV; he then hit two girls coming out of a Chipotle when he jumped a curb while chasing the bike rider with his car.

The Los Angeles Times considers the furor over the planned closure of San Francisco’s beachfront Great Highway, which will be transformed into a walking and biking path, as auto-centric residents launch a recall attempt against a local councilmember who backed the plan — apparently forgetting that the proposal was approved by city voters in not one, but two recent elections. Never mind that part of the highway is already falling into the sea. 

 

National

Cycling Savvy posts ebike resources for parents.

Construction began on a “controversial” protected bike lane in Denver, after the city scaled it back to preserve parking spaces; a driver crashed into a home on the street Thursday night, which could have been prevented if the bike lane had already been in place.

Organizers of Cleveland’s St. Paddy’s Day parade claim they’re being pushed off their preferred street by a new bike lane, which the city’s mayor termed a “$25 million…once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment to improve traffic safety, provide equitable transportation options, and beautify the street.” Seriously, how much room do a bunch of drunk people need to stumble down the street, anyway?

An Atlanta man was robbed when two masked men pulled up in a car and demanded his backpack and ebike while he was riding to work, then shot him in the leg afterwards for no apparent reason; a crowdfunding campaign to help replace the stolen items has raised just $730 of the $5,000 goal.

 

International

Momentum explains why it makes sense for governments to pay people to bike to work.

Canadian Cycling Magazine recommends new things to try on your bike in the coming year, from Everesting to a group ride.

If you think biking to work can be a challenge in sunny Los Angeles, trying carrying a tux and a double bass to work in the Canadian winter, as a professional musician with the Winnipeg, Manitoba symphony does on a daily basis.

Yet another study has confirmed that people who bike to work tend to live longer — this time an 18-year study involving more than 82,000 Scottish adults, which showed that bike commuting “significantly lowers the risk of early death, hospitalizations, and a range of chronic illnesses.”

A British bike rider says potholes are making the roads around Shropshire a “deathtrap,” after a fried suffered serious injuries hitting one on his bike.

A Gazan paracyclist says he still has hope, even if he couldn’t make it to the Paralympics this year. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

A Thai social media influencer learns that hard way that if you’re going to film a video on the train tracks to promote bicycling to your followers, maybe do it after all the trains have passed.

Australia’s Bicycle Bandit’s nearly two decade reign of terror is apparently over.

 

Competitive Cycling

Team Visma|Lease a Bike has signed the youngest-ever rider to a WorldTour contract; 17-year-old junior rider Ashlin Barry will join the team’s developmental squad, following victories in the U.S. national road and time trial races in his first year as a junior.

Mathieu van der Poel is considering skipping next year’s Tour de France to concentrate on winning a world title in mountain biking, after underwhelming performances since making his debut in 2021.

Hats off to American BMX star Hannah Roberts, who won her fifth consecutive freestyle world championship. 

Bike Magazine looks back at “amazing” footage of the evolution of Downhill World Cup Racing.

 

Finally…

That feeling when local officials ban parking in a bike lane, only to realize it was a typo. We may have to deal with flighty LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about getting chased by an ostrich; thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

And now you, too, can finally have the Schwinn Sting-Ray you coveted as a kid, complete with five-speed stick shift and death-defying handlebars.

Or was that just me?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai try to kill Forest Lawn Dr improvements, and CARB claims ebike voucher fail went as planned

December 20, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 11 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

Just six five days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Samer S for a generous donation to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite screen every morning.

This year’s fund drive has seen 54 people give anything from $5 to $500. And trust me, I appreciate every dime, because I know how hard it can be to donate when money is tight.

Especially this time of year.

But if you haven’t given yet, you’re almost out of time. So just stop what you’re doing and give now, already! 

Meanwhile, today’s photo shows the corgi’s natural reaction to today’s headline.

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A pair of local cemeteries are trying to bury a plan to improve safety on Forest Lawn Drive, apparently in hopes of burying the rest of us.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports on the conflict over the deadly street, most of which is inside Griffith Park. And which shouldn’t really be a conflict at all.

Quite a few cyclists use Forest Lawn to get to car-free roads inside Griffith Park. It’s one of the flattest routes from the East San Fernando Valley to central parts of Los Angeles. Some cyclists avoid Forest Lawn because of speeding car traffic there.

Many drivers use Forest Lawn Drive to cut through the park to get on and off the 134 Freeway. Though the posted speed limits are 40-45 mph, drivers often exceed 50 mph on a road with limited visibility due to curves. Predictably, this situation results in crashes, injuries, and deaths.

According to the city Transportation Department (LADOT), from 2013 to 2023 Forest Lawn Drive saw 83 crashes, including three deaths/serious injuries. In December 2022, a driver was crushed to death (and another hospitalized) in a two-car crash in front of Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Yet for the cemeteries and their supporters, that’s no big deal. I guess when you have thousands of bodies already, what’s a few more?

Never mind all the close calls people have experienced that haven’t resulted in actual collisions. Which is why I stopped using the street, regardless of whether I was driving or riding.

According to Linton, commenters at a pair of recent public meetings, including a representative of the cemeteries, voiced concerns about a lack a lack of data from the city, and creating a permanent traffic disaster.

Even though the city had gone back to the drawing board after the initial designs were presented, conducting more traffic studies and watering down the project.

And even though the city had just presented their data, which showed that the project, which would reduce the current two lanes in each direction with one lane each way, along with bike lanes and a center turn lane, would have no noticeable effect on traffic times.

You can guess what the reaction was, often prefaced with “no one is against biking,” or the evergreen “I’m a cyclist myself.”

As Linton relates,

(Forest Lawn Memorial Parks CEO Darin) Drabing termed the city’s safety improvements “unbelievable,” “unfathomable,” “unnecessary,” and “punishing.” “I just find it unfathomable that we would have to take away fifty percent of the traffic flow in order to… make [bike lanes] more prominent and more secure.” (Note the LADOT does not anticipate taking away any of the traffic flow, but expects that reducing four lanes to three will easily accommodate existing and anticipated traffic.)

Mount Sinai’s Randy Schwab noted that he was in “total agreement” with Drabing. He spoke of “traffic accidents” occurring there “on a blind curve” but then reiterated his opposition to planned safety measures. “Bicycle activity is relatively low” on Forest Lawn Drive and, according to Schwab, “to reduce the traffic by cars by fifty percent” would be “catastrophic” and result in “back up throughout the area.”

Maybe someone could explain to them that a) the project is intended to improve safety for all road users, not just add bike lanes; and b) maybe the reason that “bicycle activity is relatively low” is that people just don’t feel safe riding there.

At the end of one of the meetings, Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council voted 14-3 to oppose the project.

Which isn’t saying much, of you’ve ever attended one of their meetings.

I have, and vowed never to go back after the rude reception I received, particularly from the head of the NC, who runs it like her own fiefdom.

Fortunately, the Neighborhood Council is merely an advisory board, and the final decision rests with CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, who generally supports bikeways.

But money talks. And in Los Angeles, it too often screams, especially when huge corporations like Forest Lawn get involved.

So if you ride, drive or walk along Forest Lawn Drive — or would like to, if the damn thing felt any safer — take a few minutes to read Linton’s full article, and voice your support for the project on LADOT’s survey form.

Because we’re all going to end up someplace like Forest Lawn or Mount Sinai eventually.

But most of us would like to put that off as long as possible.

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No surprise here.

The California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, says the launch of the state’s ebike voucher program went exactly as expected.

Sadly, most of us would probably agree.

That’s true whether you were one of the estimated 100,000 people left frustrated when they tried to apply, or what’s probably an even larger group who decided in advance that it just wasn’t worth the effort, expecting the launch to go pretty much the way it did.

Count me in the latter group.

The only real surprise is that the demand didn’t crash the website, which I would have bet on.

The sad part is we can’t expect them to make any changes, because the launch went off as designed.

So they will continue to dribble out the remaining $35 million in funding just a few million at a time, throttling applications because the group hired to manage the vouchers apparently can’t handle the demand.

To call this a failure is being kind.

But it’s also a success, because this is exactly what they intended.

Meanwhile, Electrek points out that even with advance preparation, it was almost impossible to complete the voucher application in the allotted time.

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Yep.

Twitter post

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We’ve linked to this story before. But we’ll do it again, because he nails the real problem.

Twitter post

Twitter post

As long as you keep a clean driving record in California, you won’t have to take another driver’s test for decades, if ever.

Which means many, if not most, drivers on our streets have never been tested on recent law changes, and may not be familiar with them or modern street treatments.

So drivers end up confused by something that is only new to them. And too often, local officials respond by reversing the changes, rather than educating the drivers.

Keeping the roadway, and the people on it, just as dangerous as ever.

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Gravel Bike California rockets around the hills of Whittier.

And if you might even get to see a recruitment ad for the CIA first, like I did.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the heads-up. 

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‘Tis the season.

Victorville’s Doris Davies Memorial Bicycle Giveaway distributed over 150 bicycles to children from nearly two dozen elementary schools, for the 21st consecutive year.

An Oakland bike club donated nearly $66,000 to a local food bank.

A local men’s service organization in Navasota, Texas is hosting its third annual Bike and Electric Scooter giveaway this weekend, with plans to distribute over 1,000 bikes and scooters to kids. And no, I never heard of Navasota, either. 

University of Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond is just the latest college or port athlete to join chicken joint Raising Cane’s to distribute 100 bicycles to children with the local Boys and Girls Club.

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

Congratulations, Irvine and San Diego. You’ve been singled out for having some of the worst bike lanes in America right now — San Diego twice, thank you.

Police in Bristol, England arrested three teenaged boys for a string of mo-ped attacks that resulted in a number of bicyclists being pushed off their bikes, as well as the assault of a woman.

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Local  

Pasadena unveiled its revised City Bicycle Plan at a public meeting yesterday, after a city council committee rejected the previous draft, telling city staff to come up with something more ambitious in the wake of recent deaths; the city also announced plans for a study session on a plan to improve North Lake Avenue.

 

State

Police in San Luis Obispo arrested a 44-year old Bend, Oregon woman for the the July 23rd hit-and-run that killed an 87-year old man riding a bicycle, and injured a 74-year old rider; she had previously been arrested for a second crash that occurred minutes later, while driving at over four times the legal alcohol limit.

Palo Alto begins streetscape improvements to California Ave that could eventually lead to a carfree shopping district.

San Francisco Streetsblog remembers “another person killed by traffic engineers and politicians,” arguing that if there isn’t enough money to make a traffic project safe for everyone, there isn’t enough money to build it, period.

 

National

Iconic mountain bikemaker Rocky Mountain is the latest in a rapidly growing line of bikemakers to restructure in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy.

Pink Bike announces their nominees for value bike of the year.

Cycling Weekly offers its best suggestions for keeping yourself, your bike and your friends dry during wet season, saying there’s no suck thing as bad weather, only unsuitable fenders. They clearly haven’t ridden through some of the downpours I have, then.

Streetsblog Chicago provides a virtual ride along the city’s new raised bike lane.

 

International

Momentum considers whether ebikes are up to the challenge of riding through winter weather in the frozen North. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, probably better than most of the people riding them. 

Cyclist rates and reviews the year’s best roadies. No, the bikes themselves, not the people on them. 

Core 77 considers “radical bike-related designs” spotted this year. Some of which stretch “bike-related” to the breaking point. 

Fuming British residents slam “eco-vandalism” after ten trees were removed for a new bike lane, “all for the odd cyclist.” I freely admit to being more than a little odd, but…oh, they meant it the other way. Never mind.

 

Competitive Cycling

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website looks back at the past road racing season, terming 2024 the year of the crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you want your toddler to saddle up on a “little red rocket” of a balance bike. Or when you feel the need to debunk a viral glow-in-the-dark bike path image.

And who among us hasn’t ridden in this exact manner?

Some of us more than once.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA ebike incentive launch just this side of a total shitshow, and Hollywood Blvd may be safer but business owners hate it

December 19, 2024 / / One comment
Just 12 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

Just seven six days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Stephen C and Todd T for their generous donations to bring you all the best bike news and advocacy from around the corner, and around the world.

Time is rapidly running out to support this year’s fund drive. So just stop what you’re doing and give now! 

………

The California Ebike Incentive Program actually launched yesterday, so we can finally stop our failure to launch countdown, after nearly a full year since it’s previously promised launch date, and three-and-a-half years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law.

Now if they could just a) get their collective shit together, and b) at least make some effort to meet the demand.

I’m told this was the typical experience for people attempting to apply for an ebike voucher.

1) Attempt to login at exactly 6 pm

2) When that fails, attempt to login again, and again

3) Keep trying to login until you finally get in

4) Get a message saying you are in a very long line to apply

This message was received by someone attempting to apply at exactly 6:30 pm and 23 seconds.

That was followed by,

5. Attempt to login again an hour later

6. Get the following message when they finally let you in

So far, everyone I’ve heard from has had a similar experience. And I’ve yet to hear from, or even about, anyone who actually got a voucher.

Though I’m sure there has to be someone, somewhere.

Seriously, though we’ve been predicting this for months, if not years.

The initial funding of a paltry $3 million is ridiculously low for a state of 38 million people, even when limiting applications to lower-income residents, ensuring that demand would far exceed the available funds.

And outside administrator Queue-it appeared to throttle the application process, ensuring that only a handful of people fortunate to get in on the first or second try would even get a chance to apply.

I’m told the problem may have stemmed from Queue-it launching the program a few minutes early, so that people who attempted to log in at 6 pm had already been blocked by those fortunate few who coincidentally tried to login ahead of time.

Unless, of course, those people somehow knew the window would open before 6 pm. But that would be cheating, right?

At lease the website didn’t crash, as has happened in other states.

Let’s be honest, though.

This program, as now established, is just an underfunded joke.

Funding for California’s electric car rebate program has likely now exceeded $1.5 billion — yes, with a B — fueling sales of over 600,000 vehicles.

Not around 1,500, which is how many ebike incentives were predicted to be funded in the first round.

And without the interminable three-month between application windows faced by ebike buyers.

While those EVs are much cleaner than gas-powered cars, they are still cars. They take up just as much space, and pose just as much risk to others as any other car, while contributing the same amount of particulate pollution from brake, tire and roadway wear.

Ebikes don’t.

Ebikes can easily replace car trips of up to ten miles – which represents the overwhelming majority of motor vehicle trips — while removing nearly one car for every ebike pressed into service.

Ebikes are also much cleaner than even zero-emission vehicles, requiring significantly less energy to operate, and contributing almost no wear and tear to the road surface.

And ped-assist ebikes work to improve the health of the user, unlike motor vehicles, which reduce life expectancies with every mile driven.

Never mind that limiting ebike rebates to lower-income residents is counterproductive in a state with more cars than people. Or that Pedal Ahead, the group administering the program for the California Air Resources Board, is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the state DOJ.

Other cities and states have tied vouchers to a commitment to replace or reduce motor vehicle usage, making them more efficient at replacing motor vehicles than California’s misguided approach of only funding ebikes for people who may not be able to afford a car in the first place.

But at least the launch wasn’t a total shitshow.

So there’s that.

………

Early indications are that the lane reduction and protected bike lanes on east Hollywood Boulevard are improving safety, according to councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.

But as usual, that’s not good enough for local business owners, who complain that their apparently nearsighted customers can’t see their stores, since they now have to park a few feet from the curb.

Sure, that makes sense.

They also complain that drivers have to wait while other cars park, and that fewer lanes cause traffic to slow down.

Which is kinda the point, yes.

Although that would seem to benefit local businesses by making their businesses more apparent to drivers who would otherwise speed past, just like they did before.

And God forbid that they would want to enjoy the benefits that other cities have seen, as more walkable and bikeable business corridors usually see increased sales over the long run.

But that would require a little patience, which seems to be sadly lacking these days.

………

Um, sure.

John Franklin, author of Britsh bicycling skills manual Cyclecraft — and the country’s answer to Effective Cycling author John Forrester — says bicycling on the country’s roads is “very safe,” while calling for “less exaggeration of danger” facing bicyclists.

Meanwhile, South Bay-based LA bike writer Peter Flax says the books offer useful information for experienced bicyclists. “But as far as offering a philosophy or policy prescription that can grow participation and make cities safer, they are complete dogshit.”

Which is just one of many reasons I strongly recommend his new book, which is perfect for holiday giving.

Even if you’re giving it to yourself.

………

Sadly, no surprise here.

Twitter post

Ghost bikes make drivers uncomfortable, which is exactly the point, reminding them to drive safely because the cost could be another human life.

And they make city officials uncomfortable, because they offer a stark reminder of their failure to build streets that protect the lives of their residents.

So while they may offer some silly excuse like ghost bikes are unsightly, or get in the way — as if officially sanctioned objects like homeowner trashcans don’t — the real real reason can be found in their red faces, sweaty brows and tight collars.

Although you’d think someone like Claremont resident Donna Orange would deserve better.

………

‘Tis the season.

Twenty San Diego elementary students got new bicycles courtesy of the San Diego Unified Police Department.

………

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

A San Diego letter writer wants the city to charge bicyclists for annual bike licenses to pay for all the bike lanes he claims no one uses, because apparently, our taxes somehow don’t pay for them like his does.

A Toronto news outlet considers the burning question of why does Ontario Premier Doug Ford hate bike lanes so much, as he carries on the legacy of his late bike-hating, crack-smoking brother, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

………

………

Local  

Streets For All asks you to email Metro to demand that the Vermont Ave Bus Rapid Transit project comply with the recently passes Measure HLA, with is now law in the city of Los Angeles.

Longtime Los Angeles Times writer and editor Shelby Grad relates how he transformed from a bike lane pessimist to falling in love with those little strips of striped asphalt. Hint: It didn’t happen here.

Momentum profiles Santa Monica film editor Caro Vilain, whose viral pro-cycling videos are “fueling a fun-filled cycling revolution.”

 

State

This is who we share the road with. A police chase has once again taken the life of an innocent victim, this time in Fullerton, where a driver fleeing from the cops caused a multi-vehicle pileup, killing a woman in her 60s; this was the suspect’s second crash of the chase, which really should have convinced pursuing cops to break it off and track him by other means just a tad less risky to the public.

San Francisco has paid out $40 million over the past five years to settle 151 claims from pedestrians run over by city workers, with dozens still outstanding.

 

National

Smart Cities Dive considers the two men charged with ripping up Biden’s bike, rail and EV friendly transportation policies, and implementing Donald Trump’s vision for how we’ll get around.

New legislation expected to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by Biden could mean an end to exploding ebike batteries by setting safety standards for them. Or maybe not, since that was part of the bipartisan budget deal Trump blew up at the last minute yesterday.

Oregon is investing $330,000 to reduce motor vehicle use in underserved communities.

A Colorado Congressman has introduced a bill to require automatic emergency braking systems on all new passenger vehicles, capable of detecting bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, regardless of skin tone, clothing color or protective gear; the bill is named in honor of 17-year old US national team member Magnus White, who was killed by a driver while on a training ride last year.

A Pittsburgh attorney is teaching kids leadership skills by taking them on bicycling adventures through other states that they might never see on their own.

New York cops caused their own police chase crash when a suspected drug dealer fleeing from police slammed into a man riding a bicycle, before ditching the car several blocks away.

Florida thieves are targeting online bicycle sellers by arranging meetings for a test ride, then taking off without paying for the bikes.

It’s back behind bars for a former Florida bridgetender convicted of failing to look before opening a drawbridge while a woman was walking across it, causing her to fall to her death; she will now serve ten years for violating her probation for the original conviction by smoking cannabis to help her sleep. Then again, I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I caused that, either. 

 

International

Historic cycling brand GT Bicycles is temporarily ceasing operations, significantly reducing staffing and liquidating existing merchandise as parent company Pon Holdings announces a major restructuring; a Bike Radar columnist says the company’s death would be a tragic loss for bicycling.

A Toronto collision sent two pedestrians and a man riding a bicycle to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, after they were collateral damage in a multi-vehicle crash. Once again pointing out the danger motor vehicles and the people who drive them pose to everyone around them.

Nice gesture, as bicyclists in Brighton, England greeted workers with a cake, mince pies and alcohol-free Prosecco to thank them for building a new protected bike lane. Although why they would then punish them with mince pies is beyond me. 

An Irish family ditched the car and fell in love with their new cargo bike, going so far as to decorate it for holidays, and worrying when they have to lock it up somewhere.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Belgium, where Belgian cycling legend Rik Van Looy died two days before his 91st birthday; Van Looy was known as the King of the Monuments after becoming the first cyclist to win all five single-day Monuments in the same year, as well as being a two-time world champ with a remarkable 371 total wins.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your potential pro career depends on always having the wind at your back. Your old bike parts could be somebody’s new Christmas ornaments.

And no, those new bollards aren’t there to stop people from driving golf carts in the bike lanes.

That’s just an added benefit.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Los Angeles ranks 15th in new Urban Mobility Readiness Index, and making sense of New York ebike registration

December 18, 2024 / / Comments Off on Los Angeles ranks 15th in new Urban Mobility Readiness Index, and making sense of New York ebike registration
Just 13 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

Just seven days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Bernard B for his generous donation to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite screen every day.

But time is rapidly running out for this year’s fund drive. So what are you waiting for, already?

Just stop what you’re doing and give now! 

And if you’ve ever wondered what this site would look like rewritten by AI, today is your lucky day.

As long as you’re willing to view a brief ad, that is. 

………

UC Berkeley and the Oliver Wyman Forum have released this year’s Urban Mobility Readiness Index, which ranks 70 cities worldwide on the basis of how well they’re preparing for the future of transportation.

Momentum reports has Paris moved up six spots to second in the index, behind only San Francisco, thanks to a “generational” investment in bicycling infrastructure and public transportation, while de-emphasizing motor vehicles as it moves to create the 15-minute city.

San Francisco retained first place for the second year in a row due to its heavy investment in autonomous vehicles and electric vehicle charging facilities.

Although an autonomous car is still a car, and still takes up the same amount of space on the roadway, while using the rest of us as beta testing subjects. Willingly or otherwise.

As for Los Angeles, we check in at a surprising 15th, despite a mediocre score for sustainable mobility and a deservedly dismal rating for public transit. What saves us is a second-place score for technology adaptation.

However, clicking on the link for Los Angeles only gives you a 404 error, which somehow seems oddly appropriate.

………

PeopleForBikes brings a little much-needed clarity to the debate over ebikes in New York City, where officials have called for registering all electric bicycles, citing statistics showing 46 people have been killed riding ebikes in the city since they were belatedly legalized five years ago.

Yet without breaking down how the crashed occurred, or who was at fault.

Here’s what PeopleForBikes has to say about it.

Over that same roughly five-year period, the number of people who lost their lives in New York City in a crash involving only an e-mobility device climbed from zero a few years earlier to 11 in 2023. That same year, eight cyclists and two pedestrians lost their lives in crashes that did not involve an e-mobility device or motor vehicle. As one might expect, crashes involving motor vehicles were the deadliest, taking the lives of another 22 cyclists, nine e-mobility users, 101 pedestrians, and 112 vehicle occupants. Despite the grim data clearly showing the dangers posed by motor vehicles to all road users, there has unfortunately been an increased focus on e-mobility devices (collectively and often incorrectly referred to as “e-bikes” in the public discourse) as particularly threatening. As the data clearly shows, New York City streets do present a real and present danger for operating an e-bike or e-scooter.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) both issued reports showing that the growth in popularity of e-mobility devices over the last five years has led to a significant increase in crashes and fatalities nationwide. Appendix B to the NTSB report reveals exactly where these fatalities occurred. Of the 53 reported e-bike fatalities nationwide from 2017 to 2022, 25 occurred in one of the five boroughs of New York City and two more occurred in neighboring cities in New Jersey. New York City had 47% of nationwide e-bike fatalities even though its residents only account for about 2.5% of the U.S. population. So just why is that?…

What is it about New York City in particular that led it to have both 72% of the fire deaths and 47% of the e-bike related deaths from traffic violence? This may be an instance where we should blame the e-bikes, because New York City has a type of e-bike that exists nowhere else on the planet.

According to group, the problem is that Gotham officials made a major boo-boo when they approved ebikes just five years ago, creating Class 3 for throttle-controlled ebikes offering a top speed of 25 mph, which is significantly faster than allowed in other states.

What happened in New York City was that no major e-bike manufacturer was willing to make an e-bike that (1) wasn’t legal to sell or operate anywhere else and (2) was likely subject to federal motor vehicle safety regulations.

The result should have been foreseeable in 2020 but has now become painfully clear in hindsight. Thousands of cheap e-bikes with unsafe speed capability and low quality batteries were made by a few foreign companies and sold to a vulnerable population. The names of these companies are well known to authorities. These companies do not have to bother with quality control, safety compliance, or product liability insurance because they are largely beyond the reach of government regulators and our judicial system. These low-quality e-bikes and batteries were sold not through traditional bike shops, but through e-bike stores that popped up all over the city to cash in on the growing demand for food delivery.

However, New York’s heavy-handed approach requires regulation of all ebikes, including ped-assist bicycles and otherwise safely-made bikes that meet restrictions from other states.

PeopleForBikes offers a few broad suggestions, starting with eliminating the city’s uniquely dangerous Class 3 classification, and modifying federal rules that allow inexpensive ebikes shipped directly to consumers to bypass federal restrictions and inspections.

But whatever the answer is, requiring registration and license plates for slower, ped-assist and safely-made ebikes isn’t it.

………

A new Dutch study confirms what other studies have shown — people who arrive at shopping districts on bicycles or on foot may spend less per visit, but they visit more often and spend more over the long term.

Visitors who come to city centres by bike or on foot visit more frequently and spend less per visit compared to those who arrive by car. Over a longer period, however, cyclists and pedestrians contribute significantly more to city centre spending than commonly thought. In short, they represent an underestimated group for the economic vitality of city centres.

This is a key finding from a national Dutch study conducted by the Platform for City Centre Management, BRO, and Movares on the relationship between spending and visitors’ choice of transportation. The study, conducted in collaboration with 18 Dutch city centres, took place in September 2023. Currently, in 2024, the study is repeated with 20 other Dutch and Flemish city centres. 

That finding has held firm whether the study involves downtown areas or the effects of suburban bike lanes.

So you’d think business owners would fight to get bike lanes and pedestrian amenities, rather than fighting them.

But you would be wrong.

Whether in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago or virtually any and every other city, they consistently shoot themselves in the tootsies by opposing the very bike and pedestrian projects that would benefit their bottom lines.

………

Clearly, not everyone is a fan of the new South Bay bike lanes. Take a look yourself, and let them know what you think.

………

Let’s take a trip to the not too distant past, and take a look at bicycles in the USSR.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

‘Tis the season.

Over 1,000 students at a pair of Anaheim elementary schools received new bicycles and helmets, thanks to a partnership with Lifestyle Cycles.

Vandenberg Space Force Base held its annual holiday bike giveaway, working with a local group and bike shop to donate 100 bicycles to families of military members.

Chicken chain Raising Canes continues its nationwide bicycle giveaways, partnering with Sacramento Kings NBA star De’Aaron Fox to donate 100 bikes to the local Boys and Girls Club.

The Bozeman, Montana Bike Kitchen has given away 100 bicycles to children in need this year, with another 50 still to go.

Raising Cane’s also worked with a New Orleans Saints player to provide 100 bikes to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro New Orleans.

………

It’s now just two days short of a full year since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 42 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

The California Ebike Incentive Program is finally scheduled to launch at 6 pm today, so get your application in right away. They offer these tips to get you ready.

Let us know how it goes if you decide to apply.

………

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

Good question. A Tulsa, Oklahoma hiker wants to know why organizers of mountain bike races aren’t held accountable for cleaning up afterwards, after discovering plastic tape used to mark the course still on the trail a full week after the race.

………

………

Local  

Streetsblog looks at the improvements to Elysian Valley Gateway Park, providing greatly improved access to the LA River path.

Students at Highland Park’s Luther Burbank Middle School are learning how to repair bicycles, while maintaining the bike fleet belonging to the school’s bike club.

Disappointing news from Montrose, where the Montrose Bike Shop announced they would be closing when their current lease expires; the 70-year old store has already begun a going out of business sale.

Apparently, Claremont drivers can’t seem to figure out the city’s new bike lanes, with its “confusing” green mixing zones and bike boxes.

 

State

East San Diego County is lobbying for more spending on bicycle infrastructure, since the entire area has just one protected bike lane, which only serves to get you the hell out of there.

Bicyclists in San Jose and Los Gatos are complaining about plastic bollards marking a separated bike lane, arguing that they make the road more dangerous, rather than safer.

 

National

The US Department of Transportation has introduced an updated equity tool, allowing “state and local governments to prioritize transportation investments that benefit disadvantaged communities.” Although equity is not expected to be a priority for the next administration. Or transportation, for that matter.

America Walks considers the impact of the annual Week Without Driving, and how it changes the perspective of those who take part, including elected officials; next year’s WWD is scheduled for the week of September 29th through October 5th.

If you build it, they will come. A new Chicago bike lane is seeing significant use, despite the city’s freezing temperatures.

A New York man was sentenced to two years behind bars and ten years probation for killing a 44-year old woman riding in a Florida bike lane, while driving sleep deprived and after drinking.

A firefighter in Nags Head, North Carolina faces charges for making an unsafe movement after killing a 74-year old man when he struck him with the firetruck, even though the victim was riding in a crosswalk, which is illegal there.

 

International

Average speeds on Vancouver, British Columbia bikeways are climbing, thanks to skyrocketing ebike use.

Bristol, England will finally install closed-circuit TV cams on a popular bike trail to combat a rampant rate of bikejackings, which has led many riders to abandon it and take their chances on the roads. Which raises the obvious question of how can it be so popular if no one uses it anymore?

A Welsh man will spend the just two years behind bars for a violent bike theft in which he threatened to bite the victim’s nose off, then tried to do exactly that; his accomplice walked without a day behind bars after getting a suspended sentence.

ABC Australia describes how adaptive mountain biking is giving paraplegic riders access to the Tasmanian wilderness.

An Aussie website recommends seven of the best urban bike rides in bike-friendly Brisbane, for your next trip Down Under.

 

Competitive Cycling

British Cycling is setting its sights on the ’28 Los Angeles Olympics, with a record breaking £38.95 million pound investment — the equivalent of over $49 million — in its cycling and paracycling teams.

 

Finally…

Tilt the nose of your bike seat down, and maybe you, too, can ride like a pro. When you’re riding your bike through Los Banos with 3,500 fentanyl pills and multiple active arrest warrants, maybe just don’t.

And who needs bike tires when you’ve got tennis balls?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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