Volunteers needed for LA Mobility Plan initiative, and a call to fix dangerous 2 Freeway/Glendale Blvd stub

February 7, 2022 / / 5 comments

Streets For All wants to make Los Angeles put its money where its mouth is.

Or maybe put its stripes where its pavement goes.

As we’ve repeatedly discussed, the LA city council unanimously passed the groundbreaking 2010 bike plan, which included three separate but interconnected bike networks to take riders across their own neighborhood or across the city.

That was subsumed into the equally groundbreaking 2035 Mobility Plan, along with LA’s Vision Zero plan, which promised to reshape how we get around the City of Angels. And which passed with just two negative votes — from bike-hating Gil Cedillo and self-proclaimed environmentalist Paul Koretz, who apparently never met a car he didn’t like.

Then all three plans were immediately placed on the shelf, and promptly forgotten.

https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1490514757580775428

As a result, Streets For All is introducing a ballot measure that would require the city to implement the mobility plan whenever a street gets resurfaced, as some other cities have done.

Which, as we’ve all seen, isn’t often enough.

But here’s what the organization has to say about the initiative.

Announcing Healthy Streets LA – a ballot measure to change things once and for all.

We’re excited to share our ballot measure with you – and we need your help to get it on the ballot!

Despite passing a 2035 Mobility Plan containing over 1,500 miles of pedestrian safety improvements, bus lanes, and bike lanes, the City of Los Angeles has implemented less than 3% of their plan in seven years. One tragic result of this failure has been exploding traffic violence in Los Angeles, with an increasing number of people getting hurt and killed each year. We don’t have to live this way.

Healthy Streets LA is a ballot measure requiring the City to implement its own plan each time it repaves a street. Since a street has to be re-striped anyway after repaving, this will reduce the cost and dramatically speed up the implementation of the Mobility Plan on the hundreds of miles of streets the city repaves each year.

To qualify for the ballot, we need to turn in 65,000 qualified signatures by May 27th. If we can get it on the ballot, our polling shows it would easily pass. We are excited to partner with LACBC, Climate Resolve, Streets Are For Everyone, Sunrise Movement LA, the West Valley Peoples Alliance, The Transit Coalition, and The River Project on this effort.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

  1. Sign up to volunteer and gather signatures in your area.
  2. Sign up to be an area director and manage volunteers in your area.
  3. Pledge to sign the petition – and get others to as well.

This is the most ambitious thing we’ve ever worked on, and together with your help and the help of our coalition, we can pull it off, and change our city forever.

Hopefully this will get enough signatures to get on the ballot. I’ll be signing it the first chance I get.

Then we’ll see if our fellow Angelenos really support making the changes needed to address traffic congestion, street safety, smog and climate change.

Or like our elected officials, they’d rather just sit in their cars all day, and let someone else deal with it.

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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton calls on Caltrans to fix the 2 Freeway stub, where a bike rider was the victim of a hit-and-run on Glendale Blvd last month.

Linton writes that the freeway was part of the infamous Beverly Hills Freeway, which was cancelled in the 1960s when residents of the “wealthier and whiter neighborhoods” it was supposed to go through rose up against it.

Unlike the less wealthy and white neighborhoods that were obliterated to build some of LA’s other freeways.

Today unfinished freeway merges with heavily travelled, high-speed Glendale Blvd, with its heavily travelled, high-speed slip lanes dangerously dumping freeway traffic onto the boulevard.

Naturally, Caltrans, Metro and the City of LA recognized the problem, and immediately set out to do what they do best.

Nothing.

For many years, Metro, Caltrans and LADOT worked to plan a State Route 2 Terminus Improvement Project. Streetsblog covered the meetings – with a telling 2009 headline that read LADOT Values Capacity over Community on Route 2/Glendale Blvd., Drags Metro along for the Ride. The process resulted in a 2009 Metro board approval of a so-called hybrid alternative that largely ignored the surrounding community’s push for less traffic and more green space.

Metro published fact sheets and broke the project up into phases, declaring that “this approach ensures delivery of the improvements as quickly as possible.” To make the wretched place not quite so hostile, these agencies had planned to add landscaping, ornamental street lights, and sidewalks – and to leave the deadly slip lane in place…

Then, like several other freeway stub-end reimaginings that even barely shift space away from driving, the Metro Highway Program and Caltrans quietly shelved the already-inadequate plans (after completing modest Phase 1A improvements). The project has been scrubbed from Metro’s website (find it at the Wayback Machine).

The city of L.A. approved protected bike lanes for this part of Glendale Boulevard in the city’s Mobility Plan. But, like the rest of the non-car features in that plan, the bikeway was never pursued.

Which takes us back to Streets For All’s ballot initiative we mention above, to force the city to build out the mobility plan.

And the need for Caltrans to live up to its newfound commitment to safer, more complete streets and roadways — if they really mean it this time.

If the victim of this crash had been more seriously injured, he would have been able to sue Caltrans and Los Angeles for failing to fix a situation they clearly knew was dangerous over a dozen years ago, but decided to just leave that way.

Fortunately for him, he escaped serious injury.

But because of that, there’s little chance of finding an attorney willing take the case, and force them to make the changes that are so desperately needed to improve safety for everyone.

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Sometimes it takes people on bicycles to stand up to people in trucks.

Bike riders in Vancouver were able to block and delay, if not halt, a large truckers convoy protesting Canada’s vaccination requirements, one of several roiling the country.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the links.

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Speaking of Lynch, she calls on bike-friendly Davis to conduct drills for cargo bike owners to simulate bringing in relief supplies following a natural disaster.

Which wouldn’t be a bad idea down here, or wherever you are.

And toss in all those fat-tired ebikes while we’re at it.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1490236618946404353

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

No bias here. The British press goes berserk over a “feckless” bike rider “making mockery of the Highway Code” by taking a selfie while riding in the middle of the traffic lane, making it “impossible to pass.” Even though the cabbie filming him on dashcam didn’t seem to have any trouble passing him after just a few moments.

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

Pleasanton mountain bikers demand more access after more than a dozen riders were cited by park police, despite the fact the ticketed riders weren’t on a designated trail. Seriously, don’t complain if you’re not willing to play by the rules and protect the land.

Tulsa police fatally shot a man who allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband; he was accused fleeing on a bicycle after robbing a man outside a check cashing business.

Police in Kent, England are looking for a bike rider who allegedly attacked a young woman and threatened her following a collision. Look, adrenalin is born to be running high after something like that, but violence is never the answer. So just don’t.

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Local

Metro calls on everyone to mark Black History Month by supporting Black-owned businesses while using bikeshare and transit.

The NASCAR Foundation teamed with All Kids Bike to provide 50 Los Angeles area schools with fleets of 24 balance bikes, along with pedal-conversion kits, helmets, a teacher’s instruction bike and an eight-lesson curriculum to teach kids how to ride a bicycle.

Pasadena will consider the city’s new pedestrian plan, which will move to the city council soon following the end of public comment. Anything that improves safety for pedestrians should be good for people on bicycles, too.

A crowdfunding campaign for the Hermosa Beach bike rider rescued by his Apple Watch has raised nearly $22,000, despite confusion over whether he fell or was attacked from behind.

 

State

A new bill in the state legislature would permanently exempt from environmental review any projects designed to improve safety for walking or biking, improve bus speeds or modernize light rail stations; a current law that does just that will expire next year. Environmental regulations have long been abused by NIMBYs using tortured legal arguments to halt projects that would benefit the environment by encouraging alternative transportation.

This is who we share the road with. A 33-year old man was sentenced to 15 to life for the drunken hit-and-run that killed one man and seriously injured another in a 2018 Santa Ana crash; Jesus Segura Herrera was over three times the legal alcohol limit when he slammed into another car after drinking at a company party.

The Executive Director of San Diego County Bicycle Coalition will discuss the state of bicycling in San Diego County in a Zoom conference at high noon tomorrow.

If you build it, they will come. New San Diego bike counters show the city’s bike lanes are seeing an average of 2,000 riders a day, even in the middle of winter.

A Santa Barbara letter writer praises a new multi-use path along Las Positas and Modoc Roads, calling it “beautiful and well done,” while noting some bike riders may prefer to stay in the traffic lanes.

A Cal Berkeley student relates the lessons she learned riding down the California coast with a male companion. Including that nearly every man they met directed their questions to the guy, not her.

 

National

My bike-friendly Colorado hometown is celebrating National Winter Bike to Work Day this Friday, complete with a free breakfast for anyone on a bicycle. Yet somehow, we can’t manage to mark the day here in Los Angeles, where the weather is perfect for it.

That’s more like it. Denver is more than doubling the cost of parking tickets for drivers who block a bike lane, sidewalk or crosswalk, raising the fee from a paltry $25 to $65. Maybe if we did that here in Los Angeles, we might actually stop people from parking in bike lanes. Of course, that would require the city to actually ticket them, which they seem reluctant to do.

Sad news from Brooklyn, where a woman was killed by a school bus driver in an apparent right hook; she’d been commuting by ebike to protect her family from Covid and lighten her environmental footprint.

Thirty years after a 61-year old New York man founded a bike messenger service, he’s traded his bicycle for a keyboard to pursue his passion for music, living off donations as a street busker.

Philadelphia decides to keep one of the city’s most dangerous streets that way by scrapping plans for a road diet, even though it was judged to be the safest option and had widespread support; they claimed they didn’t do enough outreach to underrepresented communities. Evidently, Los Angeles isn’t the only city where leaders have to scrounge for any excuse to not do the right thing.

Tragic news from Georgia, where the founder of the local chapter of the Bikes Up, Guns Down group to use bicycles, dirt bikes and ATVs to reduce gun violence was himself the victim of a fatal shooting.

Horrible news from West Palm Beach, Florida, where a woman was killed when she fell through a draw bridge as she was walking her bicycle across; she was just ten feet from safety when she fell through a gap in the roadway, falling up to six stories to her death.

 

International

London’s mayor warns of disastrous consequences for bicyclists if the city’s transportation department is forced to slash the equivalent of $678 million in spending, due to declining revenue resulting from people working from home or avoiding transit systems.

London firefighters issue a warning after a rash of apartment fires sparked by ebike batteries.

An English ebike rider was killed in a collision with a pedestrian, dispelling the myth that only pedestrians are at risk in such crashes. Unlike with motor vehicles, where pedestrians and people on bicycles face nearly 100% of the risk.

An English bike rider says he’s reported 300 dangerous drivers to the police, and taken five to court himself based on based on bike cam video, and claims he’ll keep going until drivers treat people on bicycles better. Yet another reminder that the law has to be changed in this country to allow drivers to be ticketed or charged with misdemeanors based on video or photo evidence, which is currently barred in most cases.

A volunteer with a UK mountain rescue team was called on to save an unconscious mountain biker, only to discover the victim was his own 42-year old son.

British bike cab company Pedal Me bizarrely cites safety concerns for prohibiting their riders from wearing bike helmets.

A Dublin paper considers whether the city can ever be made safe for bike riders, as former pro Nicolas Roche says even he feels like he’s risking his life there.

That’s more like it, too. The government of Australia’s New South Wales state has announced plans to more than double its current spending of $950 million for active transportation.

More awful news, as an alleged drunk driver in India’s Uttar Pradesh state was beaten to death after losing control on a speed bump and crashing into someone on a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch cyclist David Dekker was lucky to escape serious injury when he rode off the side of the road and into a ravine during last week’s Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

Longtime Spanish pro Alejandro Valverde announced plans to call it a career at the end of the upcoming racing season after two decades as a pro cyclist.

The former captain of Afghanistan’s first women’s cycling team is now living in Roanoke, Virginia, where she’ll compete with the Blue Ridge Twenty24 in hopes of making it to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you give accident-prone TV star a set of training wheels for his ebike. Bicycling as a tool to reduce inbreeding.

And folding bike, folding wheels.

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

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

Bike-riding victim ID’d in Azusa motorcycle cop crash, Angeles NF crashes, and murder charges in 2020 Venice shooting

February 4, 2022 / / Comments Off on Bike-riding victim ID’d in Azusa motorcycle cop crash, Angeles NF crashes, and murder charges in 2020 Venice shooting

We finally know what happened.

Yesterday, we complained about a lack of transparency from the Azusa Police Department, which still hadn’t explained why happened when a motorcycle cop killed a bike rider in a collision in the unincorporated Charter Oak area on Monday.

Now the victim has finally been identified as 67-year old Xueqi Li.

Li was reportedly crossing Cienega Ave at Asherton Ave when he was struck by the off-duty officer, who was traveling east on Cienega on his way home.

The officer remains hospitalized in stable condition.

However, there’s no explanation for why the crash happened. Or why Li’s age had been estimated as anything from his 40s or 50s, or why he was originally identified as a pedestrian.

The collision remains under investigation by the CHP. Anyone with information is urged to call the Southern Division Investigative Services Unit at 323/644-9550.

Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels.

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This is the downside of riding in the Angeles National Forest above Los Angeles.

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Something tells me they could use this in the rest of the country right about now.

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Mitt Romney was one of us, riding a bike during his Mormon mission in France in 1968.

https://twitter.com/FrenchHist/status/1489300642476662787

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

No bias here. A British county councilor complains that a decision to invest the equivalent of $13.5 million in new bikeways is “not money well spent,” arguing that it doesn’t make sense to spend 10% of the transportation budget on bicycling when only 1% commute by bike. Which is exactly why more people don’t.

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

Police at Louisiana State University are looking for a theft suspect who was last seen riding away on a bicycle.

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Local

Two men face murder charges in the fatal shooting of a young mother outside bike rental shop on the Venice Boardwalk in December 2020.

 

State

The new federal infrastructure bill will require California to spend 15% of Highway Safety Improvement Program funds on protecting vulnerable road users, under a provision for states where bicycling and pedestrian deaths make up over 15% of overall traffic deaths.

Despite a business owner insisting she never sees anyone using San Diego’s new 30th Street bike lanes, a recently installed bike counter shows an average of 282 people using them on a daily basis.

The death of a recumbent rider outside a Fresno park last month was due in part to a 2008 decision making it difficult to access unless you’re in a car.

Berkeley ripped out a block of brand new barrier protected bike lanes after discovering that truck drivers couldn’t access a medical center campus. Which they probably should have figured out before they built it.

A Gold Country writer sets out for her first bike ride in a couple years, and surprises herself with how much she enjoys it.

 

National

Travel site Lonely Planet recommends the best bike trails for your next trip to Bozeman, Montana.

That’s more like it. A pedaling Minneapolis pastor is on a one-man mission to get bicycle traffic reports on the local public radio station, rather than just the usual auto-centric traffic updates.

The state’s decision to take back a San Antonio, Texas roadway to halt a planned road diet is called a big blow to safe bicycling in the city.

A New Jersey man faces charges of vehicular homicide, speeding, reckless driving, careless driving and improper passing for killing a 62-year old woman riding next to another person; he was doing 75 mph in a 50 mph zone, and trying to pass on a blind hill when he swerved back into the victim to avoid a driver coming from the opposite direction.

DC is pledging to build another ten miles of protected bike lanes this year, with a goal of doubling the current 24 miles of protected lanes within the next few years.

She gets it. The head of Georgia’s Department of Transportation blames bad driver behavior for a jump in traffic fatalities, saying nine out of ten times a driver is at fault.

 

International

Canada’s Global News offers advice on how to keep riding your bike through the winter. Some of which even applies down here in sunny California.

A London ebike rider captures the moment he was barely able to avoid a bikejacker, who sprinted towards him from the side of the road; another person had his bicycle stolen at knifepoint in Birmingham.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Luxembourg all pay people to commute by bike, so why doesn’t the US?

 

Competitive Cycling

Pez Cycling News recalls pro cyclists who were never the same after suffering serious crashes.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you almost run over Oprah on your moped. Or when a mortician refuses to ride a bike in a bike lane.

And here’s the perfect note to end the week on.

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

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

$5,000 reward for felony hit-and-run, repaving Rose Bowl Loop, and still no details in bike rider killed by Azusa cop

February 3, 2022 / / One comment

The LAPD wants your help to bring a heartless coward to justice.

Last month, we reposted a plea from a man who was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike on Glendale Blvd, near the offramp from the 2 Freeway, on January 16th.

He was lucky to escape without serious injuries, somehow scrambling to safety as the driver crushed his bicycle.

We couldn’t embed video of the crash at the time, instead including stills from a dashcam video from a driver who captured the whole thing.

But the LAPD’s Central Traffic Division solved that problem, tweeting a hit-and-run alert yesterday that not only included a link to video of the crash, but also the dashcam driver chasing the hit-and-run suspect as he fled the scene.

As usual, be sure you really want to see the crash before you click on the first video, because many people may find it disturbing.

The LAPD report indicates there’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver, which is the standing amount for any hit-nd-run involving property damage in the City of Los Angeles.

However, the driver is being sought on a charge of felony hit-and-run, even though the victim wasn’t seriously injured.

Usually, any hit-and-run just involving property damage would be considered a misdemeanor under California law, but it can be charged as a felony if the amount of damage exceeds a certain level.

And no, I haven’t been able to find out just what that level is. But apparently, the damages in this case exceed it.

Meanwhile, Wesley Burt forwards a Nextdoor exchange from a couple of women who can’t seem to conceive of someone driving around with a dashcam, without some nefarious purpose.

Naturally, they blame the victim for being up to no good.

And Streets For All founder Michael Schneider points out this rash didn’t have to happen in the first place, if the city had taken its own mobility plan seriously.

Let alone Vision Zero.

Here’s how KCBS2/KCAL9 described the crash.

The suspect vehicle is described as a 2012 to 2016 Hyundai Elantra, with likely right front-end damage and a missing right front hubcap.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Detective Juan Campos at 213/833-3713, or email 31480@lapd.online. You can remain anonymous by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 800/222-TIPS (8477), or going online at LA Crime Stoppers.

Thanks to Jeff Vaughn and Thomas Riebs for the heads-up.

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The popular Rose Bowl Loop is getting a new coat of asphalt.

https://twitter.com/reutimann/status/1489055340188422144

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Nothing fishy here.

Three days later, there has still been no information released about the crash that killed a bike rider when he was struck by an Azusa motorcycle cop.

Nothing.

We don’t even know anything about the victim, except that he’s a man.

This lack of openness by the Azusa Police Department makes you wonder just what they’re trying to hide.

And creates doubts about their credibility when and if they finally get around to telling us what the hell happened.

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This is who we share the road with.

Because aggro fools like this have to leave the freeway sometime.

https://twitter.com/fka2much336/status/1488225351532748811

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Your periodic reminder that bike lanes aren’t just for able bodied people wrapped in spandex.

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

No bias here. After a A Buffalo, New York paper says safer bike infrastructure is helping attract the younger residents the area needs, a columnist says go ahead and build all the bike paths you want, as long as they don’t inconvenience drivers.

An infuriating story from a North Carolina newspaper says a bike rider was critically injured when he rode into an open car door. No, he was doored by a barely mentioned careless driver who threw open the damn car door without checking to see if anyone was there.

No bias here, either. After a British bike rider posts video of a Range Rover driver buzzing a little girl riding her bike as evidence of why people on bicycles should take the lane, the Daily Mail calls him a cycling zealot and drivers complain she wasn’t wearing a helmet. As if a little bit of plastic would protect her from a three and a half ton vehicle.

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

There’s not a pit deep enough for the armed robber who held up a pair of elderly women at gunpoint as they were having lunch in Palo Alto, before fleeing on a cruiser bike. Thanks to Robert Leone for the tip.

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Local

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who left a 13-year old Long Beach boy bleeding in the street after slamming into his bicycle.

The LA Times offers a positive spin on America’s deadly streets, saying there may be a national crisis, but we can fix them.

BikinginLA sponsor Cohen Law Partners writes that if you’re in a collision in California, there’s a one in six chance that the driver who hit you won’t have liability insurance.

The rich get richer, as bike friendly Long Beach intends to complete 15 bikeway projects totaling 33 miles within the next three years, as part of an effort to finish 300 miles of bike lanes by 2040, as well as a promise to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.

 

State

A pair of Santa Barbara brothers have been honored for their short documentary exploring gender, equality and two-wheeled empowerment among Kenyon schoolgirls; Jacob Seigel Brielle and Isaac Seigel-Boettner won the same award for their first film in 2010.

They get it. Berkeley’s Berkeleyside website says the city’s bike plan needs to treat people on bicycles better, noting that bike boulevards should have the same safe and convenient street crossings that drivers get.

San Francisco bike riders swarmed the city’s Bike Kitchen hoping for deep discounts as the co-op tried to solve the problem of having too many bicycles, which kept coming in even as the shop was closed because of the pandemic.

San Francisco Streetsblog calls on Caltrans to build “incomplete streets” by banning cars from off-road bicycle highways, physically separated lanes, bridges, and pedestrian paths and plazas.

 

National

Fast Company calls for building bridges for people instead of cars.

The Atlantic suggests scaling traffic fines along with income, so wealthy people pay more for breaking traffic laws than people who can less afford the fines.

A writer for Electrek calls the new $1,200 Aventon Soltera the most beautiful low-cost ebike he’s tested, while Cycling Tips says the $7,000 Urban Arrow e-cargo bike is a pickup on two wheels.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A Maui driver is being held on half a million dollars bail for the alleged drunken hit-and-run that killed a 73-year old man riding a bicycle, just a week after he plead guilty to DUI in another case. Which is exactly when his keys should have been taken away, and car impounded.

Sad news from Portland, where Bud Clark, the bike-riding mayor who set the city on its bike-friendly course, passed away Tuesday at 90 years old.

Interbike could unexpectedly rise from the ashes, as its parent company explores reviving the Las Vegas bicycle trade show.

A New York program is helping essential workers buy ebikes to get to work, offering microloans between $500 to $1,500 with no minimum credit score required.

New York Streetsblog wonders what happened to two promised rule changes that would allow bike riders to roll through red lights after stopping in some limited circumstances.

 

International

The petition backed by US bike mechanics calling for an end to built-to-fail bicycles is gaining traction in Vancouver, as well.

The NFL is paying a Canadian university to look into whether substances found in cannabis can prevent and treat concussions. It can definitely prevent concussions if people get too stoned to get off the couch.

London’s Evening Standard looks at their picks for the best bike locks.

An aide to London’s mayor argues that the risks to people walking or riding bikes should be considered before any road safety programs get the axe, saying bike riders get injured in the city every day.

An Irish paper warns that Dublin bike riders and drivers are on a collision course as commuters start heading back to work next week, after record numbers of people took to their bikes during the pandemic.

A Vietnamese website recommends a bike tour to see Hanoi from a different perspective.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal faces a second operation on his spine, as he remains in intensive care after nearly losing his life crashing into a poorly parked bus while training in Colombia.

The news about Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters isn’t good, as she remains in stable condition in a deep coma more than a month after she was critically injured in a training crash just before Christmas.

Clean Technica urges the Tour Down Under to ditch its sponsorship by Santos, saying a fossil fuel company shouldn’t sponsor a bike race. Although these days, pro cycling can use every penny they can get.

Pro cycling’s Riders Union warns about dangerous conditions at the Saudi Tour, including hidden hazards in a gravel section and rule-breaking roadside barriers near the finish.

Ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is taking another swing at founding a cycling team, after the collapse of the Floyd’s of Leadville founder’s previous effort in 2019; the team will ride new Canadian brand Squad Bicycles.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you bust your teenage friend out of the joint by hauling him off in a kid’s trailer behind your bike. Your bike glove could tell you where to go.

And who doesn’t need a bike light with a built-in Bluetooth speaker so you can annoy everyone around you with your taste in music?

………

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

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

California traffic deaths jump 17% last year, Metro proposes erasing NoHo bike lane, and register your bike already

February 2, 2022 / / One comment

No, you’re not just being paranoid.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released their latest count of US traffic deaths for the first nine months of last year, showing an estimated 31,720 people died in motor vehicle crashes through the end of September.

That’s a 12% increase over the previous year, and the most traffic deaths in 15 years.

Not to mention the biggest one-year jump since they’ve been keeping score.

Things are even worse here in California, which saw a 17.2% increase in traffic deaths for the first nine months of 2021.

Unfortunately, they don’t break out figures for bicycling and pedestrian deaths, so we’ll have to wait to learn just how bad it’s been for those of us who aren’t wrapped in a couple tons of steel and glass, and protected by seat belts and air bags instead of a little plastic hat.

But if you thought it was getting worse out there, you’re right.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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Unbelievable.

The world may be burning, but Metro is busy erasing bike lanes.

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Yet another reminder to register your bike.

Now.

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I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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

Life is cheap in South Africa, where a prominent triathlete was killed and another injured by an alleged drunken hit-and-run driver, who was released on bail due to “lack of evidence;” the driver couldn’t get away because his Porsche was too damaged to drive. Which sounds like pretty solid evidence to me, but what the hell do I know?

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

Police in London’s Hackney district busted 18 people on bicycles for jumping red lights in just 90 minutes, fining them the equivalent of around $68.

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Local

Los Angeles is hosting tire recycling events in Baldwin Park at the end of this month, East LA next month and the Antelope Valley in April. And yes, they’ll take bike tires and tubes.

Once again, an Apple Watch has called for help to rescue an injured bike rider, this time when a man somehow came off his ebike while riding in Hermosa Beach.

 

State

A man known as the scraper bike king of East Oakland is working with kids to carry on the tradition of colorful, highly customized bikes, hoping it will help keep them out of trouble like it did him.

 

National

A new study from the Urban Institute shows that pressuring city officials to build bikeways works.

This is who we’ll soon have to share the road with. Even an automotive site calls for banning the new 840 horsepower Dodge Demon from public roads, calling it a nominally street-legal dragster.

Dockless e-scooter provider Superpedestrian is rolling out a new safety system designed to detect and correct unsafe rider behavior in real time, preventing things like riding on the sidewalk or riding salmon.

Triathlete credits a bike safety campaign featuring triathletes for the White House’s shift to prioritizing bicycle safety.

220 Triathlon considers whether you’d be better off with a women’s bike.

Reno bike riders get a new nearly half-mile multi-use path near the airport. Although it looks like whoever striped it needs to cut back on the weed.

A Denver bike advocate laments the death of what would have been a perfect bike lane, thanks to a whole 17 complaints during the public comment period.

An Ohio letter writer complains about the angry drivers who feel the need to ruin a good bike ride because they don’t understand the law. Or just having a bad day.

The Boston Globe marks Black History Month by remembering Kittie Knox, who integrated the League of American Wheelmen — now the League of American Bicyclists, aka Bike League — in 1893, a year before the organization banned Black members to keep her out.

A writer for Jalopnik totals up what it cost, in dollars and swearing, to rebuild a titanium Litespeed bike abandoned for two years on a Brooklyn street.

A New York photographer documents Gotham bike messengers of the 1990s.

 

International

More proof bike riders face the same problems everywhere, as bicyclists in Antigua and Barbuda renewed calls for greater consideration on the roads after a 16-year old boy was while killed riding his bike.

Something tells me there will be no shortage of volunteers to become the UK’s first bike lane inspector.

America’s Got Talent star Simon Cowell is still one of us, despite suffering a broken arm and suspected concussion when he pulled an endo hitting a wet patch while riding his ebike in London; he fractured his back in 2020 crashing an electric motorcycle.

That’s more like it. A drunk hit-and-run driver got seven years behind bars for killing a British man riding a bicycle; he was captured when police spotted him from a helicopter trying to sleep it off in a field.

A Scottish transport and health professor explains the changes to Britain’s Highway Code, while stressing that it’s probably not enough to change anyone’s behavior. Meanwhile, a British bike rider says forget the Highway Code, he just wants to get home in one piece.

A Santa Fe man offers advice on what to consider before exploring Germany by bicycle. Pro tip: Stop the page from loading before the paywall pops up.

As if careless drivers weren’t enough to worry about, a Spanish bike rider was seriously injured when he was shot by a hunter, who apparently mistook him for some sort of game animal riding a bicycle.

A European travel site explores Dubai’s 52-mile Al Qudra cycle track, which connects to other bikeways to form a 124-mile route.

Fifty people had to be evacuated from a Singapore housing block when a ped-assist ebike battery caught fire; authorities advised not using third-party batteries or charging them overnight to avoid fires.

 

Competitive Cycling

Egan Bernal remains in serious but stable condition, as his doctors shift to a focus on pain management to deal with his multiple injuries; Bernal suffered a fractured femur, kneecap, vertebrae and ribs, as well as a punctured lung and chest trauma when he slammed into a poorly parked bus while training in Colombia.

 

Finally…

When you’re trying to escape the cops with an outstanding warrant, try not to ride head-on into a patrol car. Why ride on dry, dusty mountain bike trails when you could have your very own dust Zamboni — which is exactly what it sounds like?

And shades of the Super Bowl Shuffle.

https://twitter.com/AstanaQazTeam/status/1488479125589442561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1488479125589442561%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyclingweekly.com%2Fnews%2Fastana-release-new-rap-video-starring-vincenzo-nibali-and-alexander-vinokourov

………

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

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

How to fight muscle car makers on Los Angeles streets, and bike rider holds up Canadian truckers protest

February 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on How to fight muscle car makers on Los Angeles streets, and bike rider holds up Canadian truckers protest

Let’s start with an email I received yesterday.

Joel Falter offers an entirely reasonable suggestion on how to fight back against overly aggressive muscle cars on our streets.

I have been thinking about today’s post regarding the tragic accident in Las Vegas. I suspect reaching out to folks at Fiat-Chrysler and suggesting they stop building muscle cars capable of stupid-fast speeds will get as far as telling them, Ford, and GM to stop building larger pick-up trucks that wreak great harm on pedestrians and people on bikes.

Maybe we should try and get the City of Los Angeles to stop permitting the filming of these commercials on LA streets, bridges, and tunnels. After all, they are leaders in the City’s commitment to vision-zero.

Yeah-Right.

It’s not a bad idea.

As Joel points out, we’re not likely to get carmakers to change a successful marketing strategy appeals to a certain motor-addled segment of society.

But we might be able to do something about it right here at home, if we can convince councilmembers that human lives and fighting climate change matter more than making money from ad makers.

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

We’ve fought this battle before, when Hollywood filmmakers threw a temper tantrum over Downtown’s new green bike lanes, convincing the mayor and councilmembers to rip them out rather than just covering them up during filming or removing them in post production.

But you never know. They might actually listen to us this time.

Especially if they think they can score some points for standing up to Detroit.

Photo by mike noga from Pexels.

………

Apparently, it only takes one person on a bicycle to hold up a right wing Canadian truckers anti-vax protest.

Somehow, I can’t look at that without being reminded of the man holding up a convoy of tanks in Tiananmen Square.

But here’s what the bike rider in question had to say about it.

And note that he uses his unexpected notoriety to encourage donations to local bike nonprofits.

Oh hey, that’s me!! Do you mind sending me this?

Edit: thanks for the kind words and gold y’all. It was pretty terrifying to plant in front of the convoy but I felt a lot better with the passerbys giving me the thumbs up and support.

The best part of this photo is that it caught the “Karen” coming up to me to say that I was disrupting traffic.

Edit 2: holy fuck, things got wild. I appreciate all the “hero we need but don’t deserve” comments. But we kind of do deserve and need more people to stand up against the loud minority. To all those offering me drinks, meals, coffee, what I really need is a titanium bike lol. I encourage you to donate to Kickstand Community Bikes or Our Community Bikes who will benefit far more and put more people on bikes.

Thanks to our anonymous correspondent for the heads-up.

………

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

Maybe when someone describes themselves as anti-cyclist, it’s not worth asking their opinion on British Highway Code changes intended to improve safety for people on two wheels, as well as everyone else.

………

Local

Metro is looking for volunteers to serve on the I-710 South Corridor Community Leadership Committee, to consider propose changes to the freeway corridor after the EPA rejected earlier plans to widen the highway. This is your chance to keep them from flushing another billion dollars down the toilet on harmful climate change and induced demand inducing highway projects, which could be better spent on transit and alternative transportation projects.

 

State

San Jose officials finally get around to identifying a 60-year old man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike nearly a month ago.

A new bike and pedestrian bridge over Menlo Park’s Bayfront Expressway officially opened Saturday, allowing riders to access a new park and the headquarters of self-referentially named Meta.

Sad news from Marin County, where a 58-year old man was killed by a driver while riding his bike near Fairfax Saturday morning.

 

National

A new Seattle study shows red light cameras cut collisions by 23%. Unfortunately, they were all removed in Los Angeles to appease drivers who would rather risk a crash than get a ticket in the mail for breaking the law.

A Denver writer describes how he found a community through bicycle advocacy, which is an experience many of us can attest to.

A pair of Colorado bike shops are collecting bicycles to give to victims of the recent pre-New Years fire, including one in my hometown.

The scientists at the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory remember the historic 1896 ride of the Buffalo Soldiers Bicycle Brigade to Yellowstone.

A pair of Dallas gelato and donut shops say the loss of parking in front of their store for a curb-protected bike lane is destroying their businesses. Although it’s hard to blame the bike lane for the gelato shop’s problems, since it hasn’t reopened since closing down for the pandemic. 

The Mayo Clinic is now officially a bicycle friendly business. So feel free to ride your bike to the ER the next time a driver runs you down.

San Francisco Streetsblog editor Roger Rudick turns up in an unexpected place, urging Pittsburgh officials to build a collapsed bridge back better.

 

International

Ebike prices continue to come down. Case in point, the petit Propella Mini, which sells for a buck less than a grand; Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter gives it a thumbs-up for getting around the city.

Toronto now has a newly minted bicycle mayor. Which is a reminder that Los Angeles doesn’t.

A London writer tries riding an ebike around town for a week, and says now he doesn’t know how he can live without it.

The Guardian’s Peter Walker questions whether the conservative London Times has declared war on bicyclists by calling for licensing and insuring bike riders, just ten years after making waves with a groundbreaking campaign for bicycle safety.

 

Competitive Cycling

Welcome to our world. Italy’s Matteo Trentin argues that training on public roadways is getting too dangerous, saying the streets are more of a jungle than a proper training environment. It’s not so safe for the rest of us, either.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can join a virtual blockchain-based bike club. That feeling when your 2,500-mile bike ride to Istanbul includes a brief stint in a Romanian prison.

And if you’re going to push a shopping cart into Walmart and ride a new bike out without bothering to pay for it, maybe leave your drug stuff at home.

………

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating today!

恭喜发财

新年好

행복한 새해되세요”

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

สวัสดีปีใหม่!

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

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

Update — Bike rider killed in collision with Azusa motorcycle cop; 9th SoCal bike death this month

February 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on Update — Bike rider killed in collision with Azusa motorcycle cop; 9th SoCal bike death this month

KCBS2/KCAL9 is reporting that a person riding a bicycle died after being struck by an Azusa police officer Monday night.

According to the station, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was stuck by a motorcycle cop at the intersection of Cienega and Sunflower Avenues around 9:10 pm.

Both the victim and the officer were taken to local trauma centers, where the bike rider died of their injuries.

The motorcycle officer is expected to recover.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.

There’s no word on how the collision occurred or who had the right-of-way, or if the officer was using lights and siren or responding to a call at the time of the crash.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more later.

This is at least the ninth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: Three days later, the victim has still only been publicly identified as a man. No further details about the crash have been provided.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 67-year old Xueqi Li, no city of residence given.

Li was reportedly crossing Cienega Ave at Asherton Ave when he was struck by the off-duty officer, who was traveling east on Cienega on his way home. 

The officer remains hospitalized in stable condition. 

The collision remains under investigation by the CHP. Anyone with information is urged to call the Southern Division Investigative Services Unit at 323/644-9550.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Xueqi Li and his loved ones.

 

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

Website wildly exaggerates LA bike deaths, taking a deep dive into LA’s Vision Zero fail, and muscle car driver kills 9

January 31, 2022 / / 5 comments

Maybe biking in LA doesn’t suck as much as we thought.

On Friday, we linked to yet another ranking of the best and worst bike-friendly cities in the US.

And to the surprise of almost no one, LA checked in at the very bottom of the bottom, once again being named as the nation’s worst city for bicycling.

But it ain’t necessarily so.

The chart from Tower Electric Bikes shows a bicycling fatality rate of 15.6 per 10,000 residents.

In other words, they say Los Angeles averages 15.6 bicycling deaths per capita for every 10,000 people in the city.

But with a population of nearly 4 million, that works out to 6,162 people killed riding their bicycles every year in the City of Angels.

Which is a little more than seven times the total number of bicyclists killed in the entire US in 2019.

As if the 18 people who needlessly lost their lives riding a bike in the city last year wasn’t bad enough.

Where they got that figure, I have no idea. A footnote on the chart says the stats came from PeopleForBikes annual rankings, but there is no mention of fatality rates on the Los Angeles page, and no reference to that 15.6 per 10,000 figure.

And it doesn’t seem to correlate to any other actual statistics, from any credible source.

So take it with a grain of salt. Or maybe a bag, given just how far off they are from anything close to reality.

Riding here can certainly suck at times, for any number of reasons.

But at least we aren’t that bad yet.

………

LAist takes a deep dive into the failure of LA’s Vision Zero program, with city streets claiming the deadliest traffic toll in two decades last year.

And just how we got in this mess, six years after the mayor signed the program into being, and just three years before Los Angeles traffic deaths were supposed to be a thing of the past.

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

Safety activists believe that work is going far too slowly. Pedestrian and cyclist groups say the city has spent decades prioritizing fast car travel on its streets at the expense of everyone else using the roads — and the rising death toll is the tragic but inevitable result.

“This is not the trajectory of a modern city,” said John Yi, executive director of the pedestrian advocacy group Los Angeles Walks. “The last thing we want is to double down on cars while other cities are reimagining what their streetscapes would be without cars.”

That total of nearly 300 people killed on city streets last year — including 18 people on bicycles and 132 pedestrians — could rise even further as more detailed analysis is done.

Meanwhile, a listing of the city’s most dangerous intersections give us all a roadmap of places to avoid.

Two of which are within a short walk from my own home, let alone a ride.

For pedestrians:

  • Caesar E. Chavez Ave. and Soto St.
  • Avalon Blvd. and Imperial Highway
  • De Soto Ave. and Lassen St.
  • Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.

For cyclists:

  • Humboldt St. and San Fernando Road
  • Anaheim St. and King Ave.
  • Valley Vista Blvd. and Van Nuys Blvd.
  • La Brea Ave. and Sunset Blvd.

For total collisions:

  • San Pedro St. and Washington Blvd
  • Florence Ave. and Vermont Ave
  • Oxnard St. and Van Nuys Blvd
  • Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave

………

This is who we share the road with.

Absolutely horrible news from Las Vegas, where nine people were killed in a multi-vehicle collision when the driver of a Dodge Challenger ran a red light at high speed, striking five other vehicles in what was called a mass casualty event.

In other words, driving exactly the way the company actively encourages in its ads.

Hopefully, the survivors of those victims will get good lawyers, and sue the hell out of Dodge, not just for making machines capable of mass mayhem, but promoting their use in the most dangerous ways possible.

And if they need a good lawyer, I’m happy to recommend a few.

………

Things are looking up in Eagle Rock, even if you do have to ride in or near the door zone.

………

Note to LADOT — This is what real bollards look like, not those little white car-tickling bendie posts you seem to prefer.

This is also exactly what we need on Hollywood Blvd, particularly at Hollywood & Highland, where the city has done absolutely nothing to protect tourists and pedestrians from motor vehicle terrorists and out-of-control drivers.

More proof that the city has learned absolutely nothing from the automotive attack on the Venice Boardwalk, and the catastrophe at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.

Let alone dozens of motor-driven attacks in New York, London and other sites around the world.

………

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

Congratulations to the Fort Myers, Florida New-Press on what may be the worst bicycle-related headline in human history; only after reading the story does it turn out the victim had a little help getting killed, rather than just keeling over. 

No bias here. A writer for The Spectator complains about “the ceaseless self-pity of cyclists,” and complains about hulking male bike riders on huge bikes speeding down sidewalks, plowing everyone out of their way. Evidently, there must be a class of bicycles in the UK at least twice the size of regular bikes. Or maybe she hasn’t seen an actual bicycle since the Penny Farthing went out of fashion. 

………

Local

They get it. Following the announcement by CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin that he won’t run for re-election, the LA Times writes that the current vitriol in politics is driving good people out of public service.

Los Angeles is getting its first ebike cargo delivery service, with package-laden riders spreading out from four hubs throughout the city.

We Like LA takes a walk on the the LA River bike path through Frogtown.

If you found the LA River path blocked by police activity in Long Beach Saturday afternoon, it’s because a man was shot near the bike path around 11:15 am; the victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

New bike lanes could be coming to Western Ave on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, running from San Pedro through Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, Lomita and Torrance.

 

State

A Seal Beach police lieutenant warns against riding ebikes discourteously, and says bike riders should slow and come to a complete stop at all intersections, unless they have a green light. Which is guaranteed to piss off every driver on the road around them.

A Las Vegas website recommends bicycling amid the breathtaking beauty of Death Valley’s Artist Road.

 

National

Slate talks with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the safety crisis on American streets, and what his department plans to do about it.

Salon considers why Peloton has suddenly become television’s latest punching bag.

Texas is fighting to keep the roads deadly, moving to rescind an eight-year old transfer of a state roadway to the city of San Antonio, apparently because the governor doesn’t like plans for a lane reduction to improve safety and livability along the corridor; bike riders call for public outrage over the loss of promised bike lanes along the corridor.

More evidence that we all face the same problems, as advocates push for a better bike network in Western New York, while auto-centric drivers push back hard.

New York Magazine says ebikes are a simple solution to getting cars off the road right now.

 

International

A massive pile of junked bicycles has become a local landmark for London bike riders.

British drivers — and at least some segments of the press — are freaking out over new changes to the country’s Highway Code requiring operators of more dangerous vehicles to take greater care to avoid crashes, while advising bike riders to take the lane and ride two abreast under some circumstances to improve safety.

The Sun warns of an avalanche of lawsuits over the changes, while the Daily Mail insists drivers are powerless to stop bicyclists from riding in the middle of the road. Apparently, they can’t comprehend the difference between riding in the middle of the traffic lane and the middle of the roadway.

Remembering Swedish adventurer Göran Kropp, who rode his bicycle 8,000 miles to Mt. Everest, then climbed the mountain without oxygen.

An Indian man rode over 4,600 miles across the country to raise awareness for road safety, despite being totally blind. He was guided by navigators in cars traveling ahead of and behind his bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

The great Marianne Vos won her eighth world cyclocross women’s title.

Belgium turned tables on the Dutch, sweeping the podium in the men’s U-23 ‘cross championships a year after the Netherlands did the same thing. But the Dutch women held their own, sweeping all three podium spots in the women’s U-23.

The Eritrean cycling team was barred from participating in the Tour of Rwanda because none of the riders have been vaccinated for Covid-19; riders from the country won the race in 2019 and 2020, but no one in Eritrea has been vaccinated yet.

A crowdfunding campaign for Irish champ Imogen Cotter has raised the equivalent of over $25,000, after she was hit head-on by a speeding driver while training in Italy.

Two-time Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal says the damage from a training crash last week was bad enough that there was a 95% chance he would end up a paraplegic.

 

Finally…

That feeling when clown bikes get their own rutted lane. Be on the lookout for a serial size 46 bike shoe thief.

And the image below is supposed to be a leopard; it’s He Who Must Not Be Named who’s a cheetah.

………

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

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

Bike rider killed in Temecula crash; 3rd Riverside County bicycling death already this year

January 30, 2022 / / 2 comments

Someone was killed riding a bicycle in Temecula Friday night.

Once again, there’s almost no information available. And what little there is doesn’t make much sense.

According to multiple, nearly identical stories, a bike rider was riding on Temecula’s Margarita Road, near Moraga Road, when they was struck by a driver around 8:50 pm Friday.

they died at the scene, despite the efforts of first responders.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified in any way, was reportedly riding outside of the bike lane on Margarita while attempting to cross the street.

Which doesn’t make sense, because it would be impossible to cross the street without leaving the bike lane, regardless of just where the crash occurred, which isn’t clear, or whether he was directly crossing the road or trying to make a left turn.

There’s also no word on which direction the driver was going, or why they were unable to avoid hitting the victim.

At least the driver remained at the scene following the crash, which should be a given, but sadly isn’t these days.

This is at least the eighth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and already the third that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and their loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

US DOT almost adopts Vision Zero, bike writer’s horrific tale of online abuse, and LA is America’s worst bike city — again

January 28, 2022 / / 3 comments

What if the new infrastructure bill could actually save lives?

That’s the prospect being presented by the US Department of Transportation, which says it’s time to pivot to a focus on reducing traffic deaths.

And that the recently passed bill includes the focus and funding to do it.

If they actually follow through — which is always questionable, as we’ve learned the hard way — it could represent a huge change in direction for the department, from moving cars to protecting human lives.

Here’s what the New York Times had to say on the subject.

In a 38-page report being released on Thursday, the department outlined an approach heavily dependent on working with states and local governments to address things like designing safer roads and reducing alcohol-impaired driving. The department also said it would issue federal guidance and create new programs to carry out the strategy, such as initiating rulemaking to require automatic emergency braking technology in new passenger vehicles.

The report comes as the number of traffic deaths across the country has soared, reversing some of the progress made over the past few decades. Although fewer people were on the road at the beginning of the pandemic, about 38,680 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020, an increase of about 2,500 from 2019, and deaths surged further in the first half of 2021. Officials have blamed more people speeding recklessly and using alcohol and drugs to cope with pandemic-related stress…

The report is broken down into five objectives: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and post-crash care. It calls on states and local governments to support research and develop technology to detect and prevent alcohol- and drug-impaired driving. It also directs the Federal Highway Administration to revise guidance to encourage safer speeds and the use of speed cameras.

Officials pointed to several sources of funding within the bill, including the $6 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All program, to reduce traffic fatalities.

But this may be the single most important sentence in the story.

“The big first here is committing the department to the idea that only zero roadway deaths are acceptable, and then aligning all of our resources around that,” Mr. Buttigieg said.

While that’s not a commitment to a national Vision Zero, it’s damn close.

Of course, the federal government has limited power to force changes on the streets, most of which are controlled by state and local governments.

And the report doesn’t address the design of modern motor vehicles, with much of the increase in traffic deaths appearing to stem from the increase in massive trucks and SUV, with flat grills and high clearances that almost seem designed to kill.

But it’s a start.

If nothing else, it’s a change in attitude and direction. And if it sticks, it could lead to safer and move livable streets — in every sense.

We can hope.

Read more on Wired and the Los Angeles Times.

Photo by Alexas Fotos from Pixabay. 

………

A writer for leading British bicycling magazine Cycling Weekly shares the horrifying details of the abuse she has had to endure online, simply for being a woman in a male-dominated field.

Michele Arthurs-Brennan writes that the harassment began just four months into her job, when someone took offense to something she’d written, resulting in a daily torrent of sexually aggressive and threatening comments.

Using sexual slurs is a common tactic among a noisy minority of people who take exception to journalism produced by women. Last year, a global survey of 901 journalists found that women are experiencing unprecedented levels of violent and sexual harassment. A quarter had been threatened with sexual violence and death. This abuse, the UN concluded, was intended to “belittle, humiliate, shame, induce fear and ultimately discredit female reporters.” Similarly, Panorama’s recent documentary ‘Why do you hate me?’ uncovered the sexual and violent abuse that affects women in the public eye.

The reports tally with my experience: harassment has left me feeling physically threatened, and the instigator clearly sought to discredit my career. Very little of the abuse targeted my work directly but instead focused on my appearance, my fertility, my husband and our home. The campaign of insults and intimidation went on for close to a year.

Th abuse eventually forced her to move after photos of the home she shared with her husband started to appear online, along with other personal details.

The final onslaught  – published close to a year after the first incident – included two articles targeting not only me but also my husband. These listed our home address with photos of our house, analysis of the parking situation outside, plus screen shots showing routes I used for regular bike rides – alongside false allegations of driving offences based on pieced-together MOT records, false accusations of the use of anonymous online accounts, as well as an entirely fabricated story about my using “feminist extremism as a cover up” to hide my “infertility” and “multiple failed IVF treatments”. The giant red flag of misogyny here is the assumption that a woman would, or indeed should, cover up infertility out of shame.

This content didn’t only affect me in cyberspace. The abuse and false allegations surfaced whenever my name was searched online, alongside our home address, which had some very real repercussions for us, until we moved house.

No one should have to tell you just how wrong this is. And how no one should have to put up with this kind of crap just for doing their job.

Or for any other reason, for that matter.

I’ve with online attacks over the years, including death threats over the road diets and bike lanes in Playa del Rey and Mar Vista, from people who should have know better.

And yes, I reported them to the police.

But I’ve never had to deal with sexual harassment or attacks just for being a man; that seems to be a special online hell reserved just for women, perpetrated by men.

So if you’re tempted to comment on a woman’s body, or make crude comments or threats of any kind, just don’t.

If you wouldn’t say it to a man, don’t say it to a woman.

Or better yet, just don’t say it.

Period.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

No surprise here, as a new study once again ranks Los Angeles as the country’s least bike-friendly city, with San Bernardino and Santa Ana not far behind.

This is what the bottom ten looks like, which LA wearing the crap crown once again.

Surprisingly, tiny Colorado ski town Crested Butte, with a population under 1,400, checks in as the country’s most bike-friendly city.

You’d think that repeatedly being crowned the country’s worst bike city by multiple organizations would spur LA city officials into action.

But apparently, you would be wrong.

………

PeopleForBikes will be holding its 2022 Bicycle Leadership Conference in our own backyard in March.

………

Good advice for bikes, too.

………

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

No bias here. A Missouri writer decides ebikes don’t belong on trails, after being safely and more or less politely passed by an older man riding one, which didn’t inconvenience him in the slightest.

No bias here, either. So why the hell do some drivers think killing innocent people is funny?

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

Police in Honolulu are looking for a bike-riding man who pushed over a 78-year old woman for no apparent reason, leaving her facing surgery for serious injuries.

A Florida man faces charges after allegedly stabbing another man in the neck in a dispute over a stolen bike seat before riding away on a bicycle. Repeat after me. No bicycle is worth harming another human being. Let alone a damn seat.

………

Local

Streetsblog has more on Mike Bonin’s decision to retire from the LA city council.

The Kelly Clarkson Show, with Jay Leno guest hosting, honored East Side Riders founders John “Pops” Jones Jr. and John Jones III for their work in the community, ending the segment by donating $5,000 to the group.

Metro offers an update on plans for congestion pricing focusing on four areas, including Downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Housing Department received a $163.3 million state grant to build seven affordable housing projects, with $54.78 million dedicated to transit-related infrastructure, including seven miles of bike and pedestrian “improvements.” Whatever that means.

The LACBC offers tips on how to report blocked bike lanes on social media, and who to tag to — hopefully — get action, including using the hashtag #BikeBlockedLA.

This is who we share the road with. An 84-year old driver tried to turn a Los Feliz restaurant into a drive-thru, slamming his car into the building and injuring two patrons, as well as himself, in the process. Once again raising the question of just how old is too old to drive, and when should driver’s keys be taken away to protect others?

South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti is one of us, as the local paper says he walks the walk when it comes to the environment, and pedals the talk.

 

State

Caltrans says Complete Streets are coming, eventually.

San Diego installs bike counters in a pair of protected bike lanes, which could dispel the harmful myth that no one uses them.

 

National

A writer for Forbes says flying cars are great, but how about allowing people to ride bikes without fear of being harassed by the cops?

Chicago Streetsblog explores how the city can rank as one of the nation’s worst for bicycling, while simultaneously being a case study for best practices.

A coalition of New York advocacy groups is pushing the state to do something to curb traffic deaths, including passing a crash victim’s bill of rights. Which sounds like a damn good idea.

New York Magazine suggests “actually comfortable, expert-recommended” bicycle saddles.

Things are going the wrong way in New York, as the city suffered the deadliest year since it adopted Vision Zero in 2014, while Brooklyn was the city’s deadliest borough.

A Maryland city ripped out a successful bike lane project after a six-month trial, despite a jump in ridership and a minimal impact on traffic — as well as a drop in crashes and injuries — because some people complained.

 

International

Bike Radar offers a beginner’s guide to shifting gears.

A Toronto columnist complains that a new bike shelter for riders waiting to board the subway is all but useless because it doesn’t include anywhere to lock their bikes.

If you build it, they will come. A new study shows European cities that installed popup bike lanes during the pandemic saw an average 48% jump in bicycling rates. Meanwhile, American cities are busy ripping their popup lanes out, while Los Angeles wasted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by never building any to begin with.

They get it. Vice says not only should every town have a 20 mph speed limit, but roads should be redesigned so it feels dangerous to go any faster.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An English WWII vet is still riding his bike 100 miles a week, despite celebrating his 100th birthday.

The UK is considering switching from gas taxes and excise duties for motor vehicles, which aren’t paid by drivers of electric vehicles, to a road pricing program that would charge all drivers according to miles driven, in an attempt to improve fairness while reducing traffic congestion.

A British man thanked a jury for acquitting him of using excessive force for killing a suspected burglar by pulling him off his bicycle, then kneeling on the man’s back with his head awkwardly twisted to the side for nine minutes.

They get it, too. New Zealand has seen a 700% increase in ebike use over the past five years, along with an 800% jump in ebike injuries, but officials blame the higher injury rates on increased usage, rather than claiming ebikes are dangerous, as too many others have done.

 

Competitive Cycling

Good news about two-time Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal, who is reportedly alert and in good spirits after suffering critical injuries when he slammed into a bus parked partially in the traffic lane, while training near his Colombian hometown.

The news isn’t as good for Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters, who remains in a coma a month after she was critically injured in a training crash, although she’s breathing on her own and showing increased consciousness.

Still more bad news from the training front, as Irish pro cyclist Imogen Cotter says she’s lucky to be alive after she was struck head-on by a high speed driver who was passing a bicyclist on the other side of the road; she’s hospitalized with a broken arm and leg, along with other injuries.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you’ve got a flat and out of tubes, and Peter Sagan rides to your rescue. The good, the bad and the ugly of this year’s pro team kits.

And if this clip doesn’t make your day, nothing will.

………

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

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

Transportation chair Mike Bonin to step down in CD11, and LADOT officer permits parking in DTLA protected bike lane

January 27, 2022 / / Comments Off on Transportation chair Mike Bonin to step down in CD11, and LADOT officer permits parking in DTLA protected bike lane

If it looks like I lost my best friend, it’s because I have.

Or rather, we have.

Embattled CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin, the best friend the bicycling community currently has on the LA City Council, announced yesterday that he won’t seek a third and final term, and will leave the council when his current term expires next year.

Which will put the leadership of the city council’s Transportation Committee in play, as well as his coastal Los Angeles district, which encompasses Venice, Mar Vista and Playa del Rey.

Bonin has received an incredible amount of abuse in recent years from drivers angered by lane reductions in Playa and Mar Vista, and wealthy NIMBY gentrifiers angered by homeless encampments while actively blocking efforts to build housing and shelters to get them off the streets.

Not to mention dealing with at least three failed recall attempts in recent years, as opponents attempted to undo his overwhelming victory in the general election.

And apparently, it’s taken a toll.

He vows to remain active and keep fighting the good fight in his final year in office, as well as after he leaves.

The problem now is that anyone who isn’t already campaigning to replace him now have just 16 days to file their candidacy with the city clerk’s office. Which could leave the race to the handful of less progressive, decidedly un-bike-friendly candidates who had lined up to challenge Bonin.

They would likely have had little chance of beating Bonin. But now they face a wide open race where anything could happen, and anyone could win.

And not necessarily someone who will support safer streets.

So let’s all give our thanks to Mike Bonin, and offer our best wishes for healing for him and his family as they recover from the challenges of holding office in today’s abusive environment.

And hope we can find someone to take his place who will continue his fight, and have the courage to stand up to angry drivers and reactionary local residents and business owners.

I’ll leave you with this final thought from Alissa Walker.

………

That feeling when even the people responsible for enforcing the law seem to have no idea what it actually is.

https://twitter.com/seanmeredith/status/1486427970323443713

Not only are drivers not permitted to park in bike lanes, it’s a violation of the California Vehicle Code 21211(b), which specifically prohibits parking in any bikeway.

(b) No person may place or park any bicycle, vehicle, or any other object upon any bikeway or bicycle path or trail, as specified in subdivision (a), which impedes or blocks the normal and reasonable movement of any bicyclist unless the placement or parking is necessary for safe operation or is otherwise in compliance with the law.

And yes, LADOT agrees.

Maybe something like this would finally get drivers to stop parking there.

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Nice to see bike-riding Lakers fans turn out to remember Kobe Bryant, on the second anniversary of the helicopter crash that took his life, as well as eight other people, including his daughter Gianna.

Speaking of Kobe, he drove a hard bargain from a young age, demanding a red bicycle in exchange for his first endorsement deal.

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

A UK county council admits it acted illegally by ruthlessly ripping out a temporary bike lane installed on an emergency basis during the pandemic, before it could even be finished.

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

A Black Milwaukee bike rider was convicted of first-degree reckless homicide for the road rage shooting that killed a White immigration lawyer; the shooter alleged the victim had called him a racial slur.

A Spanish bike rider got the equivalent of a $1,120 fine for his drunken crash into a pedestrian, which was captured on security cam.

………

Local

LADOT will host the rescheduled Central LA Neighborhood Design Lab and Tree Adoption on Saturday, February 12th, after the original date was scrubbed due to the Omicron surge.

Streets For All will host their next virtual happy hour on Wednesday, February 9th, with special guest Stephanie Wiggins, the new CEO of LA Metro.

 

State

Gravel Bike California talks with former BMX pro Andrew Jackson about his jump into gravel, as well as his family’s efforts building a pump track in Inglewood.

A longtime Santa Barbara bike rider says he crossed over to the Dark Side by buying an ebike, and doesn’t regret it a bit. Although it’s hard to imagine anything that gets people out of their cars as part of the Dark Side.

Steroids may have kept Barry bonds out of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t stop him from living an idyllic life riding his bicycle in Marin County. Besides, performance-enhancing drugs have a long tradition in bicycling, anyway.

Sacramento will now require people using dockless e-scooters or bicycles to leave them in drop zones or lock them up to bike racks, or face a whopping $15 fine.

 

National

The Bike League has released a new benchmarking report examining five bike-friendly cities to show the importance of safe bicycle infrastructure and connected bicycle networks, while noting that the US is 40 years behind European cities in developing bike networks for people of all ages; City Lab offers an easy to digest summary of the report.

A former Uber driver had bid farewell to fares, and is riding his bike across the US to visit all 50 state capitals; so far he’s just over the halfway point, riding through 25 state capitals and Washington DC.

Michigan finally gets around to banning distracted driving.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever keeps breaking into a Louisiana bike co-op, stealing 15 bicycles worth $4,000 in a series of burglaries.

Florida’s Seminole County is planning to add a pair of bike tunnels to help riders get past the busy intersection of two highways. While bike tunnels may seem like a good safety solution, they’re also prone to collecting debris and can be subject to flooding, as well as providing a home for the homeless. And anything that removes bike riders from public view increases the risk of violent crime, particularly for women. 

 

International

A pilot project will encourage physicians in Bristol, England to prescribe bicycling and walking to address health issues such as obesity, inactivity and loneliness.

A new British study shows more people ride bikes when they feel comfortable on the roads. And aside from a lack of hills, nothing makes bike riders feel more comfortable than speed limits under 20 mph.

The UK’s Transport Minister has proposed law change that would treat deadly bike riders just like deadly drivers, by creating a new charge of death by dangerous cycling. Although wouldn’t treating killer bicyclists like deadly drivers mean just giving them a slap on the wrist, anyway?

Over two-thirds of French people support mandatory bike helmet use, even though only 30% of bike riders currently wear them. Or maybe because only 30% wear them.

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling has announced the ten-race schedule for the 2022 National Criterium Series. Although we Californians will have to travel to Salt Lake City to see the nearest one.

Next year’s Tour de France will kick off in Northern Spain’s Basque Country.

The British cycling organizer behind the Women’s Tour and the Tour of Britain calls for UCI to get off its collective ass and do something to prevent serious crashes, accusing the organization of allowing dangerous crashes to happen.

Egan Bernal’s teammate Tom Pidcock says cyclists need safer ways to train for time trials in the wake of the training crash that left Bernal in intensive care.

Biography profiles legendary American cyclist Major Taylor, the fastest man on two wheels and the world’s first Black international athletic superstar.

 

Finally…

Let’s all wish a happy belated 126th birthday to the ebike. That feeling when certain drivers can’t spot the bikes in a Captcha.

And have a thought for all those poor thieves Van Moof is trying to put out of business.

………

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

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