According to the report, the victim was riding west on Victoria Park, when he apparently turned right onto Rochester Ave. He was struck by a driver headed north on Rochester.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The driver, a 30-year old man from Rancho Cucamonga, remained at the scene.
The intersection is controlled with a traffic signal in every direction; the report makes no mention who had the right-of-way. However, I’m told witnesses say the pickup driver ran the read light, and hit the victim from behind.
The victim has not been publicly identified, but friends say he was 60-year old San Bernardino resident James Zoltan Williamson.
Rusk describes Williamson as a 63-year old teacher at Heritage Intermediate school. He says he was the “friendliest guy, and a beast on the bike.”
And adds poignantly, “I will miss him.”
Anyone with information is urged to call the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department, a division of the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, at 909/477-2800; ask for Deputies B. Ogas or G. Coss Y Leon.
This is at least the 70th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
West Hollywood wants to know what you think about plans for a lane reduction and bike lanes on Fountain Ave.
The bike lanes would replace the existing sharrows, which seemed like a good idea at the time. But uncomfortably place bike riders in front of impatient drivers, who use the street as an alternative to traffic-choked Santa Monica and Sunset Blvds.
And who often show no reluctance to take out their frustrations at finding someone on a bicycle in the lane ahead of them.
Which is why most riders I see on the street prefer to take their chances in the door zone, instead.
Here’s what the LACBC had to say about it in their latest newsletter.
The City of West Hollywood is considering significant changes to Fountain Avenue, including new bike facilities and widened sidewalks. Fountain currently has a high-collision rate, substandard sidewalks and few street trees.
Please attend the virtual workshop on Thursday, October 20th @ 6:30 PM to learn more about the alternatives and tradeoffs and let us know your preferences and priorities for an improved Fountain Avenue.
An online survey is also available to share your preferences and priorities and provide written public comments.
A quick reminder that LA’s ongoing automotive hegemony is a choice made by our elected leaders.
Remember this picture every single time you hear someone in your city say "we're not Amsterdam." This was #Amsterdam in the 1970's via @fietsprofessor. The cities we admire made better choices regarding cars, and are still making them today. Better choices instead of excuses. pic.twitter.com/bNAwnTQ8bh
A former LA city planner says the city isn’t doing enough to combat climate change, noting that Mayor Garcetti’s LA Green New Deal will be circling the drain the minute he leaves office; he calls for a number of changes, including bike and scooter lanes throughout the city.
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Cal State Northridge will host the “first annual” BikeFest on Sunday, October 23 to promote bicycling to and on campus, along with a job fair promoting jobs in the bike industry. Although you’d think a university would know it’s not annual event until you have the second one.
State
An 18-year old Vacaville woman owes her life to a crew of inmates on cleanup duty on a local bike path, after they stopped a man who they saw stabbing her in what appears to be a random attack; the 18-year old man was booked on suspicion of attempted homicide.
Swift Bicycle Bags with nine-inch rubber straps are being recalled because the straps could break, causing them to come loose and fall. And likely causing the rider to do the same.
This is who we share the road with. Ten people were injured, including two children, when a pair of NYPD cops responding to a report of a stolen car hit another vehicle after crossing onto the wrong side of the street, then careened onto the sidewalk into a crowd of bystanders. Yet somehow, the New York Times blames the patrol car, and not the cop behind the wheel.
Life is cheap in the UK, where two men were sentenced to 18 and 14 months behind bars, respectively, after hitting a man riding a bike with his family, while racing along roadway at speeds up to 100 mph in a 40 mph zone, and leaving the victim with life-changing injuries.
Interesting study from a German university, which reversed the usual planning process of adding bike lanes one at a time to meet demand; instead, the authors created a virtual model with bike lanes on every street, then gradually removed less used streets from the network, showing how to meet demand at minimal cost.
A writer for Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website lists ten bicycling products she can’t live without. All of which are good ideas, but none of which you can’t live or ride without.
The world reached a tragic milestone this week — and one to which the US contributes more than its share.
This week we reach 1,000,000 deaths on the worlds roads in 2022! Yes, 1 million people! Outrageous, since we know what to do to avoid this needless suffering. The UN Decade of Action on #RoadSafety 2021-2030 & related plan are a unique chance for more vigorous action, now! pic.twitter.com/WhVUI1BWVR
A London bus driver lost his appeal to keep his job after he was fired for dangerously swerving onto the wrong side of the road to pass a bicyclist he thought was delaying him, then brake checked the bike rider, forcing him to ride up on the curb to avoid plowing into the bus.
Unbelievable. A San Mateo County woman is dead after a truck driver slammed into her bicycle while driving on the wrong side of the road last month, because he was working on just two hours sleep and driving with a puppy on his lap; he veered onto the wrong side of the road when the puppy fell off and he bent over to pick it up. He faces a well-deserved charge of felony vehicular manslaughter.
Good question. A Toronto paper wants to know why there are still thousands of ring-style bike racks on the streets, even though the city has known for more than a decade that they’re subject to theft; after the current rate, they’ll finally replace the last one sometime between 2041 and 2050. Canadian law may vary, however, knowing about the problem and failing to fix it could means the city can be held liable if a bike is stolen from one.
We Love Cycling, the bike-focused website from Czech carmaker Škoda, takes a look at some of the lesser known bike-related world records. Maybe we should all take a crack at the world’s highest bunny hop; I’m pretty sure I can clear at least an inch. Maybe two.
A comprehensive review of existing literature by an Australian university on the reasons why people don’t ride bikes points the finger at “fear of motorist aggression” and poor quality and badly maintained bike lanes. Other reasons include a lack of bike education, mandatory helmet laws, and overly hilly bikeways.
Here’s your chance to become a fully supported endurance cyclist. Three people will be selected for the Ultra Distance Scholarship, each of whom will receive a custom Stayer Cycles bike, full Albion bike kit and nine months of training support from Velogi Cycle Coaching in preparation to compete in next year’s Pan Celtic Race.
This is the crap women’s cyclists have to deal with. After Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes rode to victory in Belgium’s Binche-Chimay-Binche, she had to contend with an overly handsy and persistent race official, despite making it clear she was uncomfortable having his hands on her body.
C'est possible d'arrêter de poser la main sur une coureuse quand celle-ci vous signifie ouvertement qu'elle n'a pas envie d'être touchée ? pic.twitter.com/9v3Xu0asKk
October 5, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sunset4All, protected bike lanes at Transportation Committee; free Metro and Metro Bike for Sunday’s CicLAvia
Let’s start with some quick reminders.
The LA City Council Transportation Committee will meet at City Hall at noon tomorrow.
On the agenda are motions regarding implementing the multimodal Sunset4All Complete Streets plan, as well as installing protected bike lanes on Riverside Drive east of Fletcher Drive, and continuing onto Stadium Way in Elysian Park.
The meeting will also consider the city’s Slow Streets Program, as well as a proposal to put cameras on Metro buses to catch driver’s who illegally park in bus lanes.
Unbelievable. Violent assault, with and without a deadly weapon, is apparently no big deal in the UK. Because the victim was just, you know, a bicyclist.
Jack Rawlins was given a suspended jail sentence for this assault on a cyclist in Bristol. pic.twitter.com/5r5s3rT5YY
After getting four bills they sponsored signed into law this year, Streets For All is looking for volunteers, as well as ideas for transportation and safety legislation that can be introduced in the next legislative session.
The daughter of late TV star Michael Landon is demanding answers, after she says her 24-year old son was killed by a hit-and-run Metro bus driver while walking in a Rancho Palos Verdes bike lane nearly two months ago; the driver has escaped charges after claiming he didn’t know he’d hit anyone.
Cyclist examines why Remco Evenepoel quit soccer to focus on cycling, despite serving as captain of Belgium’s under-16 team; the 22-year old clearly made the right choice, after winning both the Vuelta and the Worlds this year.
October 4, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on WeHo merchant calls for licensing cyclists, racist Palo Alto road rage attack, and Hugo calls for carfree Hollywood Blvd
Fast forward to 2022, a debate about removing the parking lanes on Fountain and to install bike lanes in their place, eliminating two for cars to drive. Those bike lane people are ferocious in their arguments. If you had to drive a bike and cars whipped past you it might cause a sense of anger that you deserve a safe space too. But perhaps bike riders who choose to use the road should also be licensed. Maybe they should pass a written test to travel 40 miles down the road. Perhaps they can pay a license fee to help offset the cost of these installations. As a partially sighted part-time driver I can say that it is difficult to drive past the bikes who often show little respect for the road weaving in lanes. But that is another story.
Because apparently, our tax money doesn’t count — even though it pays for the roads he drives, whether we use them or not.
Never mind that studies have repeatedly shown that a licensing program for bicyclists would cost more than it would bring in, while dramatically reducing ridership exactly when we need more people on bikes. Or that bike riders pose a lot less risk to others than people in cars do.
Especially people with bad eyesight.
Besides, are you really going to tell a six-year old she can’t ride her bike because her license expired?
So maybe the next time you’re in WeHo, stop in and tell him why you’ll be spending your money somewhere else.
Besides, not many of us can really pull off the spangled banana hammock look.
Not that our significant others would actually want us to try.
In other words, exactly where he should have been.
The victim had moved into the lane to pass a driver who was attempting to park. Yet when he stopped at the next stop light, he was accosted by a white pickup driver for “riding in the middle of the road.”
The two men began arguing, at which point the truck driver called the cyclist, who is Black, a racial epithet. The victim reported to police that the driver spat on him, reached out to grab his arm, and then drove the truck into the side of the bicycle. The cyclist fell to the ground.
The cyclist said the truck drove over his bicycle, and the driver turned north on Webster Street and then east on Lytton Avenue. The cyclist later saw the truck turn back onto University Avenue heading east and continue driving. The cyclist’s leg had a small laceration, which paramedics treated at the scene. His bicycle was damaged but remained rideable, police stated.
It’s possible that the victim could have moved into the lane suddenly, without signaling or checking behind him, and cut off the driver. Or not.
None of which justifies violence, let alone racism.
The local police are investigating it as a hate crime, as well as an assault with a deadly weapon and injury hit-and-run.
Which is good, because there’s just no excuse for this. Ever.
Period.
And no pit deep enough for someone who could do something like this.
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Things could finally be looking up in Hollywood.
While CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell has called for a much needed Complete Streets makeover of Hollywood Blvd, challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez has raised the ante with a call for pedestrianizing sections of the iconic tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, Los Angelenoexamines the race between O’Farrell and Soto-Martinez; while O’Farrell has been justly criticized for blocking bike and traffic safety plans until recently, Soto-Martinez is calling for more bike lanes in the district.
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Finish the Ride and the LACBC hosted a Clean Air Ride over the weekend.
We had a great 1st Annual #cleanairca Bike Ride last Saturday! Thank you to all who joined us and to our partners @lacbc for collaborating, and to @laurafriedman43 for joining us.
Someone did an impressive job trolling St. Louis officials by installing old bike helmets and an official looking public notice calling on pedestrians to use them crossing the street.
All to call attention to the city’s unacceptably high death rate.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Horrible story from the UK, where police are looking for four men who chased down a 21-year old bike rider with their car, then got out and stabbed him to death, apparently because the driver had crashed into the victim.
Your next bike could have a “Los Angeles” frame with a camo finish. Although that color choice may not be the best option if you actually want drivers to see you.
LAisttakes a deep dive into California’s new Freedom to Walk Act, which doesn’t actually legalize jaywalking after all; it’s still technically illegal to cross the street in the middle of a block, but police are now directed not to cite it unless crossing poses an imminent danger. However, California’s restriction against jaywalking only applies to blocks with a traffic signal on each end, so it’s already completely legal anywhere else.
The CHP has received a $1.2 million federal grant to “promote the importance of drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians looking out for one another so that everyone can safely share the road.” Maybe they could put the money to better use by giving their officers more training in bike law and bicycle crash investigations.
Streetsblog talks with Elizabeth Creely, of the San Francisco-based grassroots advocacy organization Safe Street Rebel, on how to start a grassroots safe streets movement in your city. Or you could ask Streets For All founder Michael Schneider, who’s done a helluva job in just a few short years.
Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as two riders explore archeological relics and forested parks — and the local hospitality — by biking Jordan’s ancient trade route.
And few people realize that sharrow is a portmanteau of arrow and sheep.
During our study tour on Friday I learned something new. The beautiful cycling bridge across the Waal River in Nijmegen is actually a shared use path. I feel like a new type of sharrow would be in order. "Sheep may take the full lane" pic.twitter.com/ltR9fgOHb8
G’mar chatima tova to all observing Yom Kippur tonight.
Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his latest monthly donation to help keep all the best bike news coming your way every day. Any donation, no matter how large or small, is always deeply appreciated.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Thanks to Gavin Newsom’s signature, it will now be legal to cross the street, after the new law goes into effect on January 1st.
SIGNED INTO LAW: AB 2147 (by @AsmPhilTing) decriminalizes walking across the street – a law created by car companies and heavily enforced against low income folks and people of color. Thank you @GavinNewsom for righting this historical wrong! pic.twitter.com/rDbmGKKuSe
The Sunset For All compete streets plan is finally getting a hearing at City Hall this Thursday, if only because CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell is feeling his opponent breathing down his neck in the lead-up to next month’s general election.
But whatever the reason for his Road to Damascus turn to support the much-needed plan, we’ll take it.
This is what Sunset For All had to say in a recent email.
By clicking on the buttons below you will send a message to the city council that Sunset4All should be one of their top priorities. This is an essential step to achieving a Sunset4All! Don’t wait! Send in your public comment TODAY!
Innovation makes useful things smaller and smaller. Overconsumption makes things bigger and bigger. Bigger vehicles and larger homes for fewer people is not progress. HT @fietsprofessor for graphic pic.twitter.com/q8Oas7TUDq
Sad news from Fresno County, where a woman in her 50s was killed when the driver of an Acura supercar veered onto the wrong side of the road on a curve, and hit her bicycle head-on.
The Jerusalem Post says riding a bike with friends or through the desert is the perfect way to contemplate self-improvement in the days leading up to Yom Kippur. It’s also one of the best times to ride a bike in Israel, thanks to nearly empty streets on the holiday.
A Malaysian website offers seven ways bicycling is good for your mental health, including as meditation. I’ve used riding as a moving meditation for years, usually until some jerk in a car pulls me out of it.
September 30, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bicycle killed in South LA’s Florence neighborhood; 22nd SoCal bicyclist killed in hit-and-runs this year
This isn’t the news anyone wanted to end our week with.
The victim, identified only as an adult male, was riding north on Wall Street at 61st Street when he was run down by the driver of a westbound panel van around 11 pm Thursday.
He died at the scene.
The driver continued without stopping, dragging the victim around 30 feet underneath the van. Police say he had to have felt the impact and known he’d hit something.
Police are looking for a white commercial panel van with a roof rack and conduit carrier, possibly a 1996 to 2022 GMC Savana or Chevrolet Express, with likely front end damage.
Investigators speculate the driver may be a plumber or construction worker who lives in the area.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Officer Alex Guizar, Central Traffic Detectives, at 213/833-3713 or email 39761@lapd.online, or call the Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at 213/833-3746.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 69th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 21st that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the 11th in the City of Los Angeles.
Twenty-two of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.
September 30, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on This is who we share the road with, new 1st Street bike lane in DTLA, and call to end freeway widening in LA County
Let’s start with a quick look at who we share the road with.
And a 20-year old woman faces 25 to life after allegedly using her car to kill a Cypress man she thought was trying to run over a cat; she thoughtfully recorded the confrontation on her cellphone, in case prosecutors needed more evidence to put her away. No word on whether the cat escaped with all nine lives intact.
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Another new bike lane in DTLA.
Now if they’d just put a few in the rest of the city.
1. Stop chopping up projects into smaller segments to avoid CEQA review 2. Admit all additional lanes induce more demand 3. Put an end to all freeway widening in L.A. County
More news from Gavin Newsom’s veto pen, as he signs a bill requiring bike parking in new multifamily construction, but vetoes a bill requiring the state to put its climate change money where its mouth is.
VETOED: AB 2438 (by @laurafriedman43 and @climateplan) would have aligned state transportation plans and greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards via the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure. Very poor climate leadership here, @GavinNewsom. pic.twitter.com/ZvyPKR4wOj
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Life is cheap in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where killing a woman and injuring another bike rider as they took part in a fundraising ride only merits a lousy ticket for a bad lane change. Although that’s still more than the driver would get in some other places.
Richmond’s Rich City Rides is as important to the East Bay Community as the East Side Riders are down here. Right now, they’re 13% of the way to their $10,000 fundraising goal to keep giving away free bicycles and bike repair to people in need. Just in case you have a little extra money lying around.
September 29, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Tax rebate for carfree households vetoed, Ballona Creek path closure, and cops claim quiet street too dangerous for bikes
More climate arson courtesy of Gavin Newsom’s veto pen.
Or pocket veto, anyway.
The California governor drove the final stake through what once was a very good bill, which in its original form would have paid Californians five grand a year not to own a car.
State Senator Anthony Portantino’s SB 457 was watered down as it made its way through the legislative process, until the final form passed by the legislature provided just $1000 for carless households.
Meaning if one person took the bus or rode a bike, while their partner drove, they’d get nothing.
But apparently, even that was too much for Newsom, who returned the bill unsigned.
VETOED: SB 457 (by @Portantino sponsored by Streets For All) would have given a $1,000 tax rebate for not having a car. Very disappointing @GavinNewsom, we give tax rebates for those buying electric cars, why not for those that don't drive at all? pic.twitter.com/PUHvayajwi
Newsom’s veto message says he wasn’t signing the bill because it created a nearly $1 billion unfunded obligation each year, despite California’s record budget surplus.
Then again, he could have covered the entire thing by just moving a billion from Caltrans $20 billion budget.
Governor Newsom vetoed Senator @Portantino’s SB 457, which would have given $1,000 to qualifying people for not owning a car. Here’s his veto message. pic.twitter.com/tKs41yiPxN
Looks like you’ll have to negotiate the streets through Culver City for the next week.
Due to work on the Higuera Street Bridge Replacement Project, the Ballona Creek Bike Path between National Blvd and Duquesne Ave will be temporarily closed. The closure will begin September 28 and last at least one week.
But as this photo makes clear, if this one isn’t, what street is?
If you're following the Houston case where Texas DPS officials say an 8-year-old who was killed while riding his bike was in an area that "isn't safe for pedestrians or people riding bikes." Look at where he was killed. Ponder the layers of toxic bias that underlie that statement pic.twitter.com/Dv7kYZa6Ut
Caltrans will tear down a 63-year old pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway in Encino this weekend because it doesn’t offer enough vertical clearance for oversized vehicles; the agency pinky swears to develop even better freeway crossings for bike riders and pedestrians, though, after local residents vetoed plans for a replacement bridge.
Los Angeles is finally making plans to fix San Vicente Blvd between Olympic Blvd and La Brea Ave, reducing the number of lanes on the up to ten-lane residential street, while improving walkways and installing parking protected bike lanes.
A reporting team from The New York Times goes for an autonomous car ride through the streets of San Francisco, describing the self-driving vehicle as the overly cautious opposite of the famous car chase from Bullitt. And ended up walking when the car mistakenly detected a possible crash, and refused to budge.
Get ready for your next public meeting with a rousing round of SIM NIMBY, the utterly useless SIM game that doesn’t allow you to build anything, anywhere.
Whatever the hell illness I’ve been dealing with appears to have broken finally, so let’s ease back into things by catching up on a few stories we’ve missed, along with today’s news.
And please forgive me for not keeping track of who sent me links this time. Under the circumstances, I was happy just to keep track of my meals.
When the kid somehow managed to free himself from under the truck, he demanded that the driver stop his truck and get out.
Instead the jerk — which is the mildest term we can use here — backed up his pickup, freeing the boy’s bicycle, before zooming off.
Thankfully, the victim wasn’t seriously injured, though he did suffer severe road rash.
Let’s hope the driver is feeling his pain.
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This is why people keep dying on our streets.
An elected member of the Mar Vista Community Council explains why she opposes extending the Venice Blvd protected bike lanes and bus lanes.
And no, she doesn’t just sound callous.
“I know this sounds super callous, but 50 something people dying in 10 years, that’s 5 people a year, think about, what you’re doing to the community… maybe there are other ways than slowing [cars] down and messing up the community.”
And none of which require joining out of fear; you can also participate if you want to give back to the community, or just enjoy riding with like-minded people.
Seriously, they should know better.
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The governor finally signed Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s parking reform bill, no thanks to our “climate mayor.”
Taking a cue from Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, Italy’s Bianchi goes electric. And yes, you have to be pretty damn old to get that reference.
Competitive Cycling
UCI announced a second Super Worlds, with all cycling events — including road, track, BMX, mountain bike and paracycling — taking place in the same week in Haute-Savoie, France, four years after next year’s Super Worlds in Glasgow.
