Tag Archive for 2014 LA County election

Morning Links: LACBC Bikes the Vote in June’s county elections, and anti-bike San Marino NIMBYs attack

Things are starting to get interesting.

As we discussed earlier, the LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee* crafted questionnaires for the candidates for LA County Supervisor and Sheriff in next month’s primary election.

Now responses have finally come in from some of the leading candidates, including Hilda Solis in the 1st District, and Bobby Shriver and Sheila Kuehl in the 3rd, as well as Jim McDonnell, considered by many to be the front runner for county sheriff.

And they have some intriguing things to say.

Personally, I’ve been leaning towards Kuehl. But I’m starting to seriously question that choice based on her comment — which she repeats twice — that she supports bike lanes as long as they don’t reduce the total number of lanes available to vehicles.

In other words, she’s not in favor road diets.

Even when they reduce speeds and improve safety and livability for everyone. And she seems to be in favor of maintaining the automotive hegemony that has made a shambles of our city and county, and put the lives of their residents at risk.

But other than that, she has some good things to say.

On the other hand, Shriver seems to get that overcapacity encourages high speeds and dangerous driving, and that narrowing lanes and installing bikeways can help tame traffic.

Meanwhile, McDonnell has some good things to say about the role law enforcement can play in making the streets safer and more equitable for people on bikes, and improving relations between the department and county cyclists.

I don’t know yet how I’m going to cast my ballot, whether for these or any of the other candidates who’ve responded to the surveys. But one thing I can guarantee you is that I won’t vote for anyone who didn’t respond.

Because we have a right to know where the candidates stand on the issues that matter to us. And to make an informed decision based on their responses.

Whether or not we happen to agree with them.

*Full disclosure: I chair that committee, and helped write the questions along with LACBC Planning and Policy Director Eric Bruins and some truly outstanding volunteers, including the guy in the next paragraph — and I don’t mean Gil Cedillo.

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Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Rick Risemberg agrees that you should read what the candidates have to say about bikes now, or be sorry later. And uses 1st District City Councilmember Gil Cedillo — who didn’t respond to the LACBC’s questionnaire for last year’s city election — as the poster child for what could happen otherwise.

The LA Times notes Kuehl and Shriver also disagree on the plans for the Subway Not Quite to the Sea as it passes through Beverly Hills and under the high school. And whether that really matters at this point.

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Evidently, they have NIMBYs in San Marino, too.

Annonymous opposition has arisen to what had been expected to be a fairly smooth route to adoption of the city’s draft bicycle and pedestrian plan (pdf).

Their objections seem to focus on the plan’s regional connectivity with other local jurisdictions — which could bring dreaded outsiders on bikes! to their fair city. And worse, those dirty, smelly cyclists might “freshen up, shower and change clothes” in their precious parks and schools.

Ooh, scary!

The only thing missing is a reference to Agenda 21. Although I’m sure someone will bring that up at today’s meeting to discuss the plan (pdf).

San Marino flyer front

San Marino flyer back

If you live or ride in the area, you might want to be there.

Because your voice will be needed.

Thanks to BikeSGV for the heads-up.

San Marino Meeting

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Mark Cavendish bookends the Amgen Tour of California with victories in the first and final stages, while Bradley Wiggins wins the overall title and sets his sights on making the team for the Tour de France. Bike prodigy Peter Sagan won the penultimate stage in a sprint to Pasadena City Hall, as a Spanish cyclist celebrates one lap too early.

Meanwhile, Cadel Evans is back in pink at the Giro d’Italia, as Pieter Weening sprints to victory.

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Local

Former LACBC board member Michael Cahn writes that a bike rider was injured by a car in Santa Monica on Saturday. And examines both how it happened, and what can be done to prevent something similar in the future.

Paramedics rescue a bicyclist who apparently suffered a heart attack while riding on a bike path next to Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country.

 

State

Not even pedestrians are safe from hit-and-run drivers, as a UC San Diego professor is killed while walking on the sidewalk with her husband; thanks to Mark Ganzer for the heads-up.

KCET looks at Bike Week in Ventura County.

 

National

Passersby help free a Seattle bike rider trapped underneath a truck after she’s apparently right-hooked by a drunk driver.

The bicycling equivalent of a dude ranch is planned for a location near Arizona’s Saguaro National Park.

A 90-year old Arizona driver “thought” he had enough room to pass a trio of bike riders; instead, he hit all three, killing one. Something has to be done now to ensure older motorists are still safe to drive before they kill someone, not after.

A Colorado e-bike builder develops a bike-pulled emergency response trailer to help people stranded by natural disaster.

A Michigan bike builder specializes in wood frame bikes.

 

International

Former Trinidad and Tobago national team cyclist Roger Smart was killed while driving on the island, the second member of the team killed in a collision in the last two months.

An Irish bike rider on 3,000 kilometer fundraising tour for his sister’s medical expenses says the county’s drivers are going to kill someone, and it might be him.

Drivers in an Aussie state could now face up to two years in jail for endangering cyclists, motorcyclists and “riders of animals.” I assume they mean horses. Or do they have a lot of koala and wallaby jockeys Down Under?

Nice. A 60-kilometer Hiroshima expressway has bike and pedestrian lanes for its full length, even as it connects six separate islands.

 

Finally…

Cambridge, UK cyclists are being targeted by a drive-by egger. And an Aussie writer wraps her story in so much anti-bike bile it’s impossible to take seriously. Which is too bad, because she  actually has a point.

 

Morning Links: LA County candidate questionnaires, and insights and smiles from Cycling in the South Bay

Believe it or not, there’s yet another local election on the horizon.

And like last year’s race for LA mayor and city council, this one could have a long-lasting effect on your ability to ride safely and comfortably in the County of Angels.

As well as whether you’ll get a ticket for things like taking the lane or riding two or more abreast.

Two of LA County’s longtime supervisors are termed out, and the battle is on to replace them. District 1’s Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky in District 3 are both leaving office this year. And while they’ve both been bike supporters, this election provides an opportunity to ensure that we vote in bicycle friendly candidates to replace them.

Because whoever replaces them will play a big role in ensuring the roll-out of the new county bike plan, as well as ensuring bikes are considered in county spending and any new laws that get passed.

Like adopting a bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance on a countywide basis, for instance.

Perhaps even more important to your daily ride, at least in the short term, the county is also electing a new sheriff who will determine how laws affecting bicycling are interpreted by sheriff’s deputies patrolling the streets. And how seriously crimes affecting cyclists — from bike theft to hit-and-run — will be taken in the county and cities patrolled by the department, including West Hollywood and Malibu.

Working with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Planning and Policy Director Eric Bruins, the LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee has developed a list of questions for the candidates in all three races to measure their support for cycling, and how they would address the issues facing bicyclists once they’re elected.

You can read the questionnaires for County Supervisor and LA County Sheriff by clicking on the links here.

And you can help by reaching out to the candidates for District 1, District 2, and County Sheriff and urging them to complete the questionnaires, and asking about them at any meet-the-candidate events.

Because you have a right to know where they stand on the issues that matter to you before you cast your ballot.

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It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in with the always entertaining Cycling in the South Bay.

Today’s offerings include a great remembrance of chasing down a rude roadie on a 30 pound bike. In flip flops. With a kindergartener on the back.

Along with a look at the “long term stress caused by being taken within an inch of your life, every day, multiple times a day, for the simple act of riding a bicycle on a public road,” which Seth aptly terms Post Traumatic Jackass Syndrome.

You know, I think I suffer from that one myself.

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Local

It’s been a busy bike weekend for LADOT and the Bureau of Street Services, with the first hint of new bike lanes installed in Highland Park and the York Blvd bridge.

Arch rivals USC and UCLA come together over bicycling, as the two school’s bike coalitions join together to host Bike Talk.

LADOT Bike Blog explains why this month’s Finish the Ride matters. And yes, it does.

Kidical Mass returns to Santa Monica April 26th.

CLR Effect looks at Sunday’s LA-Roubaix ride; the ride looks incredible, and as usual, Michael offers some amazing photos.

Downey’s Firestone Bridge is undergoing reconstruction and widening, with bike lanes to be added to connect with existing lanes on either side.

 

State

Two public meetings and a bike ride have been scheduled to consider a request to limit bike use on Newport Beach’s Back Bay Drive.

Roughly 150 San Diego cyclists turn out to remember fallen cyclist David Voigt.

A former Marine who lost his legs in Afghanistan finishes a 5,200 mile cross-country bike ride at Camp Pendleton. He may not have legs anymore, but that guy’s got some serious huevos.

Pedal Love talks with the director of People Power of Santa Cruz County.

Actually, you can ride with diabetes, as these competitive cyclists prove.

 

National

Sometimes it’s okay to create congestion if it leads to a seamless network of bikeways.

A DIY lighting project can turn your bicycle into something from TRON.

Even Topeka KS is investing in bikeways, leading to more respectful drivers and fewer scofflaw riders; just imagine what Illinois can accomplish with $52 million.

After raising $61 million to fight cancer through an Ohio bike ride, a cancer survivor starts a new company to stage similar rides across the country.

Speaking of which, you can raise money to fight childhood cancer by riding from Austin to New Orleans. Best part is, at the end of a great bike ride through the bayou country, you’re in the Big Easy.

Although that’s not always a good thing, as a firefighter from Atlanta is killed and another rider critically injured in a rear-end collision while training for a New Orleans triathlon.

We’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s worth repeating as a 10 year old boy celebrates his birthday — and devotes his spring break — to riding his bike across South Carolina to raise funds for safe drinking water.

 

International

Egypt’s likely next president sets off a firestorm by riding a bicycle; debate seems to center on the price of his bike.

A Philippine writer calls for an end to the language of neglect and denial, and urges everyone to stop calling collisions accidents. Couldn’t agree more, and I hope the LA press is listening.

Another day, another pro rider seriously injured in a car collision while training.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me. If you’re going to ride a bike at 3 am carrying burglary tools, dope and someone else’s ID and credit cards, put a damn light on it.

And a San Diego area man deliberately runs down a bike rider and gets away with it. Then again, the rider was attempting to flee after robbing a convenience store and attacking the clerk with a hatchet.