Battling anti-bike bias in the ‘Bu

July 8, 2010 / / 13 comments

The tranquility of the beach belies the dangerous conditions and hostility cyclists face getting there.

Pity poor Malibu.

Blessed with an idyllic location along the sun-drenched Pacific Coast, the city draws countless visitors, from celebrity hunting tourists to motorists speeding — often literally — along scenic PCH.

It also attracts countless cyclists.

And that, in the eyes of some locals, is the problem.

Not the dangerous, poorly designed highway. Not the near total lack of cycling infrastructure. Not even the deaths of Rod Armas, Scott Bleifer and Stanislav Ionov in recent years.

No, the problem is those bad, bad cyclists who ride side-by-side, running red lights and blowing through stop signs. And keeping wealthy homeowners from being able to back out of their driveways.

Though anyone who has to back out onto a major highway should seriously consider investing a little money to reconfigure their parking situation.

Bleifer and Ionov were killed by a catering truck in September, 2005 when the driver deliberately failed to brake or swerve around them because another person was illegally cooking in the truck’s kitchen area when the truck was in motion. Despite traffic traveling at 50 mph or higher, they were forced to ride in the lane because of an obstacle blocking the shoulder where they’d been riding.

In an astounding display of compassion — or the lack thereof — following the deaths, Malibu Public Safety Committee Chairperson Carol Randall was quoted by the Malibu Times as expressing fears about anything the city might do that could encourage cycling on PCH, “particularly where it is lined by driveways in eastern Malibu.”

“It’s very irresponsible to encourage something that we know is not safe,” she said. “I invite them to try to back out of my garage on any weekend onto PCH.”

Yeah, being able to back out of a driveway certainly trumps bike riders’ right to use the road in a safe and legal manner. Let alone to return home in one piece.

Then again, she wasn’t the only one. Defending Malibu’s unshakable commitment to do virtually nothing, Council Member Pamela Conley Ulich, who claimed to bike on PCH herself, was quoted in the same article as saying:

“The bikers need to work with us,” Conley Ulich said. “They have [a motive] here: they don’t want to die.”

Amazingly, both still hold the same positions within Malibu’s apparently cold-hearted city government.

Of course, it’s hard to work with someone who refuses to work with you. Malibu’s solution to the riders who pass through the city every day has apparently been to ignore them in hopes we’ll go away.

And if that doesn’t work, crack down on bicyclists, rather than the roadway and drivers that put their lives at risk.

It’s an attitude exemplified by former council candidate and current Public Safety Committee member Susan Tellem in her recent letter to the editor in the Malibu Times, Bikers be warned.

As a Malibu Public Safety Commissioner, I have been disturbed by the high number of bicyclists who do not follow the rules of the road. While many do obey the vehicle code, just as many do not. They run red lights, do not stop at stop signs and ride three abreast even though the law is clear about what is safe and what is not. Motorists become frustrated and rude in turn, and this leads to ugly confrontations, not just here in Malibu, but everywhere.

She goes on to say that enforcement is the key. And announces a campaign called Share the Road – Share the Tickets to encourage “the sheriff, CHP and LAPD to ticket cyclists who break the law.”

This is a winning campaign in that everyone will be safer once cyclists realize that laws for them will be enforced. Tickets will decrease and maybe even disappear as the word gets out about enforcement. The biggest payoff? Motorists will be less likely to threaten bike riders and much more willing to “share the road.”

So let me get this straight. In Tellem’s opinion, it’s the fault of bike riders that we’re threatened by motorists.

Yes, cyclists are subject to exactly the same road rules as drivers. We’re required to signal — not that most drivers do — and stop for stop signs — ditto — and red lights. And if not, we can be ticketed, just like drivers.

On the other hand, I don’t recall any case of a motorist being killed by a cyclist in Malibu. And last I heard, drivers are already required to share the road, and under California law threatening another human being is illegal, regardless of motivation or self-justification.

Just ask Dr. Christopher Thompson.

And let’s not forget that it’s a Malibu city employee who’s charged with killing Rod Armas in a drunken hit-and-run last year.

I should also point out that cyclists are legally allowed to take the lane when appropriate, and despite what Tellem writes, there is nothing in the California Vehicle Code that prohibits riding side-by-side as long as the riders don’t block traffic. So on a roadway with two or more lanes in each direction, cyclists can legally occupy an entire lane as long as drivers can safely go around them.

Of course, what the law allows and what the police and courts enforce aren’t always the same thing.

Tellem has taken her campaign to Facebook, where she continues to criticize cyclists and misrepresent California law — including the frequently misstated and misunderstood requirement that cyclists ride as far to the right as practicable — while asserting her rights as a private citizen.

…You cannot legally impede traffic on PCH, or ride side by side and you must ride as far right as safely possible. If you get a ticket and come to court in Malibu for any of these infractions, you will lose every time. All I am asking for is safe riding. Stop at red lights and stop signs. As for saying I am “overtly hostile” to bicyclists – please show me proof. Your claim that I should be “investigated” is patently ridiculous as safety comes first. Finally, this site has nothing to do with the City of Malibu or the Commission. Just like you I am entitled to free speech…

Yet as a member of the city government, she has a higher responsibility to be truthful, not just as she sees it, and to protect the rights and safety of all road users.

I’ll leave the final word to John Abbe, in a letter published yesterday in the Malibu Times.

The PCH through Malibu is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in California and cyclists are not the problem. Like it or not, every weekend thousands of cyclists ride PCH to enjoy riding thru the beautiful canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains. They all have as much right to the PCH as those driving cars and trucks…

He goes on to cite the cases of Armas, Bleifer and Ionov, as well as Tracey Clark, a 26-year old triathlete killed on PCH in 1990, for whom the Dolphin Fountain at the famed Malibu Country Mart was dedicated.

The truth is that they all were not annoying obstacles to traffic on PCH, or a hindrance to homeowners trying to exit their driveways on PCH. They were all somebody’s husband, somebody’s father, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s son, somebody’s loved one-lives now gone forever!

And he concludes by quoting from pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie’s website, Yield to Life.

“We all travel life’s roads. I stand before you to ask for your cooperation in providing safe space for cyclists. When you see a cyclist on the road, please, yield to life”.

For the sake of full disclosure, I don’t ride PCH through Malibu anymore, tempting as it might be at times. While I never met Scott Bleifer, I knew his father through his medical practice, and his son’s death struck a little too close to home. As a result, my wife asked me to stop riding on PCH, and I have respected her request. And while Tellem may be biased against bicyclists, she can’t be all bad; she’s the founder of a local Tortoise rescue program along with her husband.

Update: Damien Newton has picked up the subject, and Gary of Gary Rides Bikes has joined in with an exceptionally detailed and insightful examination of Tellem’s Facebook group; Tellem herself has responded on Streetsblog.

………

Mark Cavendish sprints to victory in Stage 5 of the Tour de France, while the overall standings remain unchanged; no major moves are likely until the riders reach the mountains. More on 4th stage winner Alessandro Petacchi, who won his second stage of the Tour at age 36, which could bode well for another older rider — if he can put up with the heckling.

Rumors of mechanical doping continue to follow the Tour, particularly surrounding current leader Fabian Cancellara’s performance in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix; a German bike shop owner shows how it can be done.

………

Bike Lawyer Bob Mionske says adding better bike infrastructure helps create more riders, while EcoVelo says more separated bikeways could help beginning riders feel more comfortable. Paris proves it takes more than a bike share program to be bike friendly. And research shows that women prefer off-road paths, bike lanes and streets with low traffic that actually go where they need to go.

Meanwhile, lobbyists for the electronics industry want to preserve the right of distracted drivers to run you off the road.

………

Damien Newton asks if L.A. cyclists can fix the sharrows study without killing it. Oaklavia reveals what this September’s CicLAvia might look like. A look at last week’s Tour LaBonge, where police handcuffs double as bike locks. Santa Monica is adding 400 bike racks, and has a new bike share program for city employees. If you’ve been suffering from a shortage of seriously cute in your life, check out this 4th of July parade, courtesy of my friends at Altadenablog. ESPN looks at Kristina Ripatti-Pearce, the paralyzed former LAPD officer who just complete the Race Across America (RAAM). A 21-year old Reno area rider is declared brain dead two days after being rear-ended by a Sheriff’s SUV. A Portland rider successfully defuses a road rage situation, ending in a handshake; another close call in Eugene OR ends more the way you’d expect. The Museum of Arts and Design in New York will be hosting Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle through August 15. A biking 4th in Birmingham AL. Mississippi authorities are looking for the victim of a YouTube prank, in which two men in a truck purposed smoked out a cyclist. A new bike lane in York — the old one, not the new one — results in problems on nearby streets. The European Cross Country Mountain Bike Championships come to Haifa, giving a local Israeli rider the hometown advantage. The hit-and-run driver who ran over the son of a former Israel Supreme Court Justice after drinking and smoking hashish faces manslaughter charges.

Finally, when a dangerous bus driver nearly runs a cyclist over, it helps if the cyclist works for the company that runs the buses.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Update on the dangerously sandy Marvin Braude Bike Path

July 7, 2010 / / 5 comments

As you may recall, last week I complained about the long-standing problem of sand on the popular Marvin Braude bike path through Venice and Santa Monica.

I also mentioned contacting a city official to get something done about it, only to get a response saying they weren’t sure who had responsibility for maintaining the pathway.

Bike tires and sand don't mix; maybe L.A. County doesn't get that.

Turns out, I reached out, not just to the wrong department, but the wrong government. Because even though the bike path borders Venice, which is part of the City of Los Angeles, it’s the county that maintains that section of the bike path.

As a result, yesterday afternoon I sent the following email to Abu Yusuf, Bikeway Coordinator for the County of Los Angeles, and cc’d County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents that district.

I’ll let you know when I get a response.

Dear Mr. Yusuf —

I want to reach out to you regarding the sand on the Marvin Braude bike path along Venice beach, since it is my understanding that L.A. County is responsible for maintenance of the path, rather than the City of L.A.; I don’t know if the county also has responsibility for maintaining the pathway through Santa Monica, as well.

As you may be aware, the bike path has been covered with sand since a series of heavy storms back in May. While attempts have been made to remove the sand using a heavy front-loader, that has actually made the situation worse by leaving behind a thin layer of sand that can cause riders to slip and fall.

Even as an experienced bicyclist, I’m forced to slow down and ride carefully when I take this path, especially on the many curves in the Venice section, and I have personally seen a number of bicyclists suffer minor injuries after falling because of the sand on the bike path. It is clearly only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.

You can see photos on my blog, taken last week, showing the sand covering the bike path by clicking here. I’ve made suggestions as to more effective methods of removing the sand, and I’m sure you can come up with a number of others. But something has to be done; this bike path is one of the prime tourist attractions in Los Angeles County, as well as a vital recreation and transit corridor for local cyclists.

I urge you to look into this matter as quickly as possible, and take whatever steps are necessary to clear the sand off the County-maintained sections of the Marvin Bruade Bike Path — and keep it clear so that the tens of thousands of bicyclists who use this path on a daily basis can ride in safety.

Sincerely,

Ted Rogers
bikinginla.com

………

Day three of le Tour traveled the legendary cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix, as the teams broke out special gear to handle the rough roads. Norwegian Thor Hushovd won the stage and a non-motor-assisted Fabian Cancellara moved back into the yellow jersey. Losers included Frank Schleck, who is out of the Tour after fracturing his collarbone in three places, and Lance Armstrong, who fell two minutes and 30 seconds back after suffering a flat, noting that his chances of victory have dropped.

Day four was, thankfully for the riders, far less eventful as Alessandro Petacchi wins the stage. Meanwhile, Saxo Bank rider Jens Voigt calls the organizers assassins. Cancellara doesn’t just wear yellow, he rides it as well. And the World Anti-Doping Agency says the drug probe resulting from Floyd Landis’ allegations is “significant.”

………

Two cyclists were injured in separate collisions in Glendale.

On Thursday, a cyclist riding on the sidewalk was struck by a driver who fled the scene; police later arrested 24-year old Akop Arshamian of Sun Valley on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

In the other incident, a bike rider struck a car from behind on Sunday and did a face plant in the rear windshield. The Glendale News-Press says the rider was tailing the vehicle; reading between the lines, some cyclists might suspect the driver cut off the rider in order to make a right turn.

………

Check out the new video about BiciDigna, the Spanish-language bike co-op developed by the LACBC’s City of Lights program and the Bicycle Kitchen. Gary rides the new sharrows in Santa Monica, while Stephen and Enci Box take the debate over the LADOT sharrows program to the National Committee of Uniform Traffic Control Devices in Chicago. Travelin’ Local takes a lovely spin around Marina del Rey. Bicycle Fixation wishes all those bike-hating drivers who make anonymous comments would just shut up, and seemingly devotes his life to getting a water-filled pothole on 4th Street fixed. More bikes in Big Bear is a good thing. Heaven for bike riders: riding through a car-free Yosemite. A look at car-free spaces around the world. Are blue bike lanes better than black? A small Texas town bans groups of 10 riders or more without a permit. In DC, even NFL players ride bikes. A DC area radio host criticizes cyclists for riding on the road, and doesn’t think they belong off it, either. Would you rather ride in freezing weather or sweltering heat? Having lived in Louisiana and Colorado, I’ll take the heat, thank you. Speaking of Colorado, the Rockies baseball team actively encourages cyclists to ride to the games; any guess when the Dodgers will do the same? Miami-Dade is the deadliest county for cyclists in the nation’s deadliest state. London takes steps to reduces the number and severity of bike collisions with big trucks. When you suck in a fly, do you spit or swallow? Frida Kahlo rides a bike. A positive review for DIY sharrows in British Columbia. Wear your helmet, get a free ice cream. Two men in India are arrested after hitting a cyclist and loading into their van, telling bystanders they’re taking him to the hospital, then dumping him on the side of the road and leaving him to die.

Finally, everybody do The Bike.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Just the links — the Tour takes off, an unexpected heart attack, child endangerment in London

July 5, 2010 / / 6 comments

Lots of leftover links after a banging 4th of July weekend. So settle in to start your work week — or continue it for you unfortunate ones who had to work on Monday — with a little light bike reading.

But be sure to do your reading before or after you ride.

Not during, like the guy I saw surfing sites on his iPhone as he rode down Santa Monica Blvd over the weekend.

………

In Tour de France news, Sunday’s crowds and banging in the peloton took down several riders; Monday it was the slippery descents that brought down riders including Lance Armstrong and the Schleck brothers. Meanwhile, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi wins Stage 1, and Frenchmen Sylvain Chavanel wins Stage 2 to claim the leader’ jersey. Armstrong’s crash drops him to 5th place over 3 minutes behind, 5 seconds ahead of chief rival Alberto Contador in 7th.

Ten things to watch for in this year’s Tour. Before Giro could build Lance a helmet, they had to build a better Lance; or at least another one. NPR looks at the first weekend of the Tour, with Armstrong predicting there will be carnage.

Evidently he was right, as top sprinter Tyler Farrar of the Garmin-Transitions team broke his wrist Monday, while team leader Christian Vande Velde is out with two broken ribs; Irvine’s Felt is their bike sponsor for le Tour.

………

An L.A. cyclist and bike blogger who could ride just about any of us under the table ruminates on the aftereffects of an unexpected heart attack that woke him from a sound sleep about 10 days ago. Take it as fair warning — if something like this could happen to a serious and seriously in-shape rider like GT, it could happen to any one of us.

This is one of those rare times when I really have no idea what to say — except to offer my prayers and best wishes to a great guy. Hang in there and keep getting stronger, GT, and we’ll look forward to reading all about getting on your feet and back on that bike soon.

………

If you think somewhere is too far to bike, you’re probably wrong. A bike-centric photo tour of the 4th in Claremont. L.A.’s KABC7 reviews Consumer Reports search for the top two bikes, while the L.A. Times discovers the new sharrows in Santa Monica. Another day, another bike-riding bank robber is caught, this time in Santa Cruz; thanks to TC for the heads up. A Reno cyclist is critically injured after being rear-ended by a Sheriff’s SUV. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood looks at the U.S. Bicycle Route System. Does a website that allows you compare stats with other riders encourage dangerous behavior that led to a rider’s death? It was a rough day for riders in Western Colorado, as two bicyclists are injured in separate hit-and-run incidents. A pair of 16-year old riders look back on a crash last month, caused when a distracted driver looked away to reach for a cigarette. The mayor of Elk Grove, IL takes a header while training for a race, and credits his helmet for his survival. Illinois celebrates the 4th with a new bike safety law, including penalties for driving recklessly or too close to cyclists. Commuting by bike since 1969. With no bike lanes in the current plan, it’s no wonder Memphis is one of the three worst cities in the nation for cycling. A Florida pedestrian is killed in a collision with a bike; very rare but it does happen. An Aussie rider looks back on being dragged under the car that hit him. Debating New Zealand’s mandatory bike helmet law. A peer-reviewed study shows that the health benefits of riding outweigh the risks — and it’s good for the community, too. Cyclists are raising donations for the Benin National Team. Israel is becoming a nation of peddlers.

Finally, a London couple could face action from Children’s Services for the “irresponsible” crime of letting their children bike to school, allegedly putting them at risk from traffic and other children. London Mayor Boris Johnson more than weighs in on the subject:

They have taken the sword of common sense to the great bloated encephalopathic sacred cow of elf (Ed: self?) and safety. And for this effrontery they are, of course, being persecuted by the authorities…. Their vision of urban life is profoundly attractive – a city so well policed, and with so strong a sense of community, that children can walk or cycle on their own to school. Instead of hounding the Schonrocks we should be doing everything we can to make their dream come true – in every part of the city.

Update: A reader from the UK corrected my guess at the word “elf” in Boris Johnson’s statements above, indicating that it refers to health, as in “health and safety.” Just another example of two great countries divided by a common language.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Bicycle Cop Dave, a self-appointed four-wheeled bike coach and more slime from Landis

July 3, 2010 / / 8 comments

Mea culpa.

I was going through my email this morning, and discovered a message I received that was definitely worth mentioning here.

A month ago.

So let me apologize for my oversight. And catch you up on a local phenomenon called Bicycle Cop Dave.

Or better yet, we’ll let my correspondent GDogg explain:

Well sports fans, the second installment of the mystery webcomic Bicycle Cop Dave, illustrated and lettered by the very talented Manoel Magalhães is now up at fourstory.org/.

Set in a downtown Los Angeles where gentrification displaces the working poor, where loft dwellers walk their little dogs past dark alleyways from which the sickly sweet smell of something else wafts, police officer David Richter patrols this mixed area on his trusty bike.

Some of you might be saying, who the hell is Dave?  Well, like the recently concluded Lost, Dave’s adventures include odd situations and characters – a crack smoking crooked lawyer, a preacher with more than the gospel on his mind, the dangerous Genghis Rabbit, a downtown power broker with a secret agenda (is there any other kind?) and a crazed homeless former architect who just might have all the answers.

But unlike the aforementioned television saga, all will be explained…eventually.  For now, you can come on over and read the first installment to catch up then see what’s currently up with our man, Bicycle Cop Dave on www.fourstory.org/.

You can catch up with the current installment by starting here. Or start from the beginning, and learn how bike cop Dave Richter worked his way down from detective to pedaling the mean streets of Downtown L.A.

And there’s no truth to the rumor that LAPD bike liaison Sgt. David Krumer was the role model for Bicycle Cop Dave.

Sgt. Krumer is much cooler.

………

Funny how many cycling coaches you encounter on the streets of L.A.

I was riding through the Marina Friday morning when I went to make a left from Via Marina onto Admiralty Way. So I swung into the left turn lane and took my place behind several cars waiting for the light to change, as a number of cars lined up behind me.

Once the left turn arrow turned green, I clipped back into my pedals and signaled for my turn. Which evidently was the first time one of the drivers behind noticed me, because I heard a man’s voice call out “Get off your bike and walk it across the street!”

I was a little busy at the time, so I muttered something under my breath that may have sounded sort of like “Thank you,” but wasn’t.

Then I rode through the intersection glued to the bumper of the car ahead, and was halfway down the block before any of the drivers to my rear began to catch up.

I watched the passing cars as they drove by, expecting my self-appointed advisor to continue the conversation. But no one even looked my way as they went past, so I had no idea who it was that thought he had a better perspective from behind his steering wheel on how I should ride than I did from my own handlebars.

Or maybe he just decided to shut up when I made the turn faster and better than he could with a few hundred horses at his disposal.

………

The 2nd best sporting event of the summer kicks off Saturday morning with a Rotterdam prologue; in the 1st, my money is now on the Dutch.

Contador faces a number of challengers for this year’s title; Bicycling lists 10 riders to watch, as well as the top 10 Americans. Maybe this is Tyler Farrar’s breakthrough year, but don’t overlook a determined Cavendish. Cervélo TestTeam boots Xavier Florencio for a team policy violation on the eve of Le Tour.

And last but not least, by the time you read this, the latest Floyd Landis allegations will be hitting the news stands. He claims that 60 Trek bikes were sold to fund a U.S. Postal Service team doping program in 2004; federal investigators are looking into whether government funds were used to support illegal activities. Landis also accuses Lance of illegal blood transfusions and providing banned testosterone patches, as well as involvement with strippers and cocaine.

Or as we call it here in L.A., just another Saturday night.

………

L.A.’s best site for transportation news is about to come to an undeserved and much lamented end due to a lack of local funding; Damien Newton promises a new site will soon rise from the ashes.

………

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky takes a look at sharrows. LACBC says the new bike lanes on Burbank’s Verdugo Ave need your support, or they may not stay. Evidently, L.A.’s new Fisker auto dealer likes bikes, too. It will now be just a little bit harder for a convicted drunk driver to run you down in Los Angeles. Another Trader Joe’s confronts the issue of bicycle parking. Building a bike boulevard in Long Beach. Huntington Beach tries to cut summer car traffic by offering a bike valet. An OC bike tour organizer does it all for fun. A landscape anthropologist contemplates the meaning of cycling landscapes. The CHP is on the lookout a pack of helmetless 4 to 8-year old bike scofflaws. David Letterman rides a Mentos and Coke powered rocket trike. The ABCs of bike slang. A DC cyclist calls for help after being the victim of a hit-and-run, and the police merely offer to “keep an eye out” for the car. Don’t park your bike at the grocery store, fold it into a shopping cart instead. Make your own DIY bike lights. A Portland cyclist clings to life after his chain apparently breaks, causing him to veer into the path of an oncoming car. Miami plans to make a deadly causeway safer for cyclists and pedestrians. New York passes a toothless three-foot passing law without the three feet. After killing a cyclist in a right hook, a Milwaukee driver says “I can’t forgive myself for not seeing him, ever.” There’s more to the rash of women cyclists killed by trucks in London than their gender. A UK rider may have died due to dim lights. A look at biking in Tokyo. The Vancouver paper takes cyclists to task for breaking the law, while absolving drivers of any wrongdoing because they have to pass a test.

Finally, the big bad bike-riding California bank robber has been caught — after a dye pack from his second robbery of the day explodes just as he was riding past a cop.

Oops.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

True grit: surviving the dangerously sand-covered beachfront bikeway

July 1, 2010 / / 24 comments

For months cyclists in Santa Monica and Venice have had to ride over a loose shifting surface of sand.

It is — or rather, should be — the crown jewel of the L.A. area bikeway network.

But the internationally famous 22-mile Marvin Bruade Bike Path, also known as the South Bay, Marina and Santa Monica bike paths, has its problems.

Like the section though Manhattan Beach where cyclists are expected to dismount and walk their bikes when the beach area is busy, or a similar restriction in Redondo Beach that’s enforced 24/7. Or the stretch through Hermosa Beach where bikes are expected to observe an 8 mph speed limit as they wind their way through assorted joggers, skaters and pedestrians.

Can you spot the bike in this bike-only section of the Marvin Braude Bike Path in Santa Monica?

And don’t get me started on the near impassibility of the bike path at prime times through sections of Venice and Santa Monica due to the total lack of enforcement of the bike-only restrictions — despite the promises made over a year ago to the Time’s Steve Lopez.

In fact, while it’s popular with casual cyclists, many more experienced riders — myself included — largely avoid it on weekends and summer afternoons. Personally, if I don’t get there well before noon, I usually opt for a less scenic but far more ridable alternative on the streets.

Like Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”

This is what riders have had to deal with near the Venice boardwalk lately.

Lately, though, there’s been another problem, as the storms of the last few months have left a deposit of sand strewn across the bikeway that lingers to this day.

At first, sections of the path, particularly through the winding curves along Venice Beach, were unridable due to several inches of windblown sand piled high atop the concrete. Yet even now, weeks later, sand remains on major portions of the bikeway, presenting a significant safety hazard to anyone using the path.

Users crowd to the relatively clear portion, cutting the usable surface area to just a small band.

In many sections, it covers most or all of one side of the path, pushing riders, skaters and pedestrians moving in both directions onto a single side of the bike path, greatly increasing the risk of collisions. In other places, it coats the entire pathway with a thin veneer of loose sand, forcing cyclists to traverse a surface that can shift dangerously beneath them, risking a spill if they take a corner too quickly or misjudge an angle.

I’ve used my first aid kit more in the last few months patching up strangers who’ve wiped out on the sand than I have in the last few years.

A small band of sand can cause a bikes wheels to slide dangerously; many are barely visible.

Even more dangerous are the barely visible wisps of sand that spread across many of the path’s curves, threatening to take down any unsuspecting cyclist who happens to overlook such a seemingly insignificant obstacle as they take in the many sights of Venice.

I find myself breaking well before most curves, taking even relatively clear-looking corners slower than I would have earlier in the year on the off-chance that there may be a fine layer of sand I don’t see. But on a bike path frequented by tourists, not many riders have the local knowledge required to anticipate problems like that.

Loose sand makes traction treacherous, especially for narrow-tired bikes and inexperienced riders.

Which means that, sooner or later, you’re going to end up paying for the injuries suffered by a cyclist who looses control and takes a serious spill, or the pedestrian he or she slides into — assuming you’re not the one it happens to. Because even though the state law absolves local governments of any liability for off-road (Class 1) trails, it also requires adequate warning of known hazards.

And if two months worth of sand piled on the bike path isn’t a known hazard, I don’t know what is.

Santa Monica isn't much better; this was taken by the pier.

Of course, a beachfront bike path should imply the presence of sand. But the length and amount of sand, as well as the amount of time it’s been allowed to remain there, goes far beyond any reasonable expectation.

In the past, both the Santa Monica and L.A. sections of the bikeway were swept on a semi-regular basis to keep conditions like this from building up. But this year, budget cutbacks have apparently impacted cleaning operations, making any attempt to clear the path a rarity.

Several cyclists have fallen or crashed into pedestrians attempting to go around this curve.

And on the few occasions when they have tried to clean the sand off, the tool used has been a heavy industrial front loader, rather than the smaller and more efficient Bobcats, sweepers or even hand brooms that have been used in the past.

A front loader may be fine for moving a few tons of sand, but it’s entirely inadequate when it comes to removing the last few layers of sand that can make it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain traction. In fact, it can make the situation worse, as the thin layer of sand a front loader leaves behind is often more dangerous than the thicker layer that was there before.

It’s simply the wrong tool for the job. Like using a pipe wrench to adjust your spokes.

A front loader on its way to yet another attempt to inadequately clear sand off the bike path.

Last week, after riding through Venice, I emailed a city official to say that something had to be done before someone gets seriously hurt. The response I got back said that they were working on it, but having trouble determining exactly what department has jurisdiction for the path.

You’d think that would be an easy question to answer after years of previous maintenance. But maybe that’s the effect of several rounds of staff cutbacks, as the institutional knowledge required to actually run the city is seriously depleted along with its staffing levels.

Evidently, though, they must have figured something out. As I rode back along the path on Wednesday, I passed yet another front loader on the bike path, apparently on its way to another semi-effective attempt to clear the concrete.

You can see the sand left behind by a front loader; notice scrape mark and tire tracks.

I’m not holding my breath.

This weekend marks the busiest time of the year on our local beaches, as tourists and locals alike crowd their way onto a few feet of prime beachfront real estate, competing for space on a thin strand of overly popular concrete.

Will the bike path be ready for them — let alone safe?

I wouldn’t count on it. I also wouldn’t count on it being ready for riding anytime soon afterwards.

Because if they can’t manage to sweep off the sand left behind by a few storms, how are they going to clean up after a few hundred thousand beachgoers?

This is what cleaning with front loaders leaves behind, as shown by the scrape marks; a loose sandy surface that can easily bring a cyclist down.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Just the links — a bad block in Hollywood, assaulting cyclists in Toronto, gearing up for Le Tour

June 30, 2010 / / One comment

I’m working on something for tomorrow — with lots of pictures for all you who think there are just too many darn words on here. In the meantime, here’s a whole lot of links to keep you entertained and informed.

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Just another day in Hollywood, as a driver is shot and killed, two police officers injured in a collision and a cyclist hit by a car — all on the same block less than half an hour apart.

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Evidently, not every police department has learned the lessons of Critical Mass, as Toronto police — including bike cops — are accused of illegally beating and detaining CM riders protesting the current G20 conference.

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News from the upcoming Tour de France, which begins on Saturday with a prologue in Rotterdam.

Even as the teams finalize their rosters, the Schleck brothers are already plotting their next move. Lance says this will be his last Tour, while Snoop Dogg wants to borrow his bike for a few tricks down the street. Contador is more relaxed this time around.

And what TdF news is complete without a doping report these days? Riccardo Riccò, the rider Robbie McEwen branded a “f*ucking hypocrite,” gets a two-month suspended sentence and 3,000 Euro fine; Swiss rider Thomas Frei is banned for two years after testing positive for EPO. After all the recent charges of mechanical doping, maybe race judges need to look for these.

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In a battle of biking infrastructure, LADOT stripes new bike lanes on Winnetka; Santa Monica counters with bike lanes on Arizona and raises by throwing down sharrows on 14th St.

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Ron Durgin will be teaching free Confident City Cycling courses in West Hollywood on July 10th and 17th. LADOT Bike Blog samples Council Member Tom Labonge’s Positively Fourth Street ride. Joe Linton visits the artistic new Ballona Gates. My friend at Altadenablog — who is leading the resistance to AOL’s latest attempt to rule the world make a profit — notes the final scheduled meeting on the proposed L.A. County Bicycle Master Plan is scheduled for Altadena on July 12th. How bikes helped emancipate women over a century ago. Advice from Consumer Reports on how to buy a better bike. If you ride a 2009 Felt, maybe you shouldn’t until you check the recall list. Traffic-meister Tom Vanderbilt looks at the rapidly spreading idea of bicycle highways. A red light dispute leads to a driver deliberately hitting a rider’s bike, then backing up to hit him again. NYC bike lanes, love ‘em or lose ‘em. Is the League of American Bicyclists still relevant? Cincinnati’s bike safety ordinance will be one of the strictest in the Midwest. In a classic example of police bias, a Denton, TX cyclist is berated and ticketed after stopping at a stop sign, then getting hit by a car coming around a blind corner. Now that Denver has bike share, people need a place to ride them. Bicycle Colorado is challenging the Black Hawk bike ban in court. Now that’s a pretty bike lane. The Washington Post takes a close-up look at DOT Secretary Ray LaHood; who would have thought he’d turn out to be the star of the Obama administration? The Illinois AG says blame the judge for the light sentences to two drivers convicted of intentionally running down cyclists. Just how many eyes do Oregon drivers have? A new iPhone App walks you through 20 common repairs. Waking up to ciclovia in Mexico City. An Irish mother calls for a mandatory helmet law for anyone under 18 after her son is killed, even though a helmet would not have helped in his case. The Guardian asks if bait bikes are fair or foul, while Cyclelicious notes San Francisco is planning its own sting and offers tips to protect your bike. Does Lycra make you break the law?

Finally, the perfect cufflinks to wear with your spandex tux at the next bike club awards dinner.

Category: General / Tags: , ,
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