Tag Archive for Abbot Kinney

Celebrating 10 years of SAFE & why I do what I do, Metro joins HLA lawsuit, and MAAP LaB LA lands on Abbot Kinney

September 15, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 258 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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I got a little dose of inspiration yesterday.

My wife, the corgi and I attended the first part of SAFE’s 10th anniversary celebration yesterday evening, before we had to leave for a family commitment.

The nonprofit group known as Streets Are For Everyone was born from Damian Kevitt’s first Finish the Ride, after more than 600 people turned out to ride with him to finish what started out as a pleasant bike ride with his wife, before it was interrupted by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

I covered that horrific 2013 crash from the very beginning as best I could, based on the cryptic reports available at the time.

But in time, it became clear that Kevitt had been struck by the driver of a van while riding on Zoo Drive, and dragged hundreds of feet onto the northbound 5 Freeway by the fleeing driver.

He freed himself from under the van by sheer force of will. And likely survived only because the trailing drivers saw what was happening and stopped to protect him, and because some of those cars has people with medical training, who began treating him at the scene before paramedics arrived.

The odds that he would survive his multiple life-threatening injuries were somewhere between slim and none. But his mother refused to give up and fought for him at every turn. And Damian’s sheer will to live was evident when he told her and his wife that he would one day finish that ride, whatever it took.

In those ten years, Damian has gone from a victim to founder of a successful organization that has spawned other traffic safety groups and shepherded a number of important bills through the state legislature, as well as memorializing victims and calling attention to our most dangerous streets.

He has become someone I truly admire and consider a good friend. And along with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider and Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, he’s one of the first people I reach out to with any bike or pedestrian safety problem that demands a solution.

We are lucky to have people and groups like that fighting for us every day.

Listening to the inspiring stories from other victims of traffic violence, along with SAFE staffers and volunteers, it coalesced in my own mind just why I do what I do, and what keeps me fighting when our mean streets and uncaring officials continue to drag me down and break my heart.

For the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, I can now sum it up in two simple sentences.

I want everyone who wants to ride a bicycle to be able to ride one, regardless of who they are or where they live.

And I want everyone who leaves home today on a bicycle to get home safely.

That’s it.

I’ll keep fighting for that as long as I have any fight in me. Sometimes I think that day was yesterday. And sometimes I think I’m just getting started.

One other note before we move on.

One of the speakers yesterday described how he was struck by a driver and badly injured just five months after moving to Los Angeles. And yesterday’s CicLAvia was the first time he had ridden a bike in this city since.

It was a reminder just how important CicLAvia and other open streets events like Beach Streets in Long Beach, and Active Streets in the San Gabriel Valley, are to all of us.

Because without them, many people in the this car-choked megalopolis wouldn’t ride bikes again.

Or at all.

Top photo: Damian Kevitt speaking at SAFE 10th Anniversary event.

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Speaking of Joe Linton, his HLA lawsuit over the city’s failure to include bike lanes in the Vermont Ave bus lane project was in court on Friday, as Metro fought to be included in the case.

And it’s important to note that Linton’s lawsuit is a personal matter, unrelated to his work for Streetsblog.

In a very narrow ruling, the judge concluded that Metro could join the suit, but could only focus on the Vermont case, and not any other possible cases.

As Linton describes it on his personal website B.I.K.A.S, which stands for Bicycle Infrastructure Knowledge Activism and Safety,

In the discussion in court, the judge engaged Metro’s lawyers regarding how expansive this case would be. Metro’s earlier filing noted that my lawsuit “attacked” Metro’s authority to build “the Vermont Project and other Metro projects.” The judge asked Metro’s lawyer if it was ok to strike references to other projects, and just focus on Vermont. Metro’s lawyer agreed. Towards the end of the discussion, the judge summarized that this trial would focus on one project on Vermont, and that another day could focus on another project on, for example, Western or Alameda

That’s it for now.

Going forward, Metro will undoubtedly argue that HLA is a city ordinance that does not apply to them as a county agency, while Linton’s attorneys will argue that Metro is working for the city on a city project, on a city street included in the city mobility plan.

It will be interesting to see how this develops from here.

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Conservative media was up in arms over a former member of the USA Cycling National team, after the transgender BMX rider appeared to celebrate the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Although I’m not sure if they were more appalled because of the Instagram posts or the gender identity of the person behind them.

I haven’t commented about the shooting here because it falls outside of the scope of this site.

But as someone who lived through the killings of both Kennedys and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the attempted assassinations of Presidents Ford and Reagan, and the near-fatal shooting of Alabama Governor George Wallace, I can attest that no good ever comes from political violence.

And you can’t kill an idea, good or bad, with a bullet.

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Aussie bikewear brand MAAP has opened their first North American store right here in Los Angeles.

Known for high-performance gear and a culture-first approach, the company’s MAAP LaB Los Angeles landed on iconic Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, their eighth location outside of Australia.

According to StupidDope, it’s designed to be a creative hub for bicyclists and creatives.

At its heart lies a social coffee bar, an anchor point meant to bring riders together before and after their rides. It’s more than a retail space; it’s a venue where cyclists and Venice locals alike can gather, share stories, and connect over a shared passion for performance and design. This approach reflects MAAP’s “Life Around Bikes” philosophy — a reminder that cycling culture is about more than the ride itself.

They’re not the first to try that approach.

And Abbot Kinney is littered with the gravesites of other high-end bike brands who thought they had a “can’t miss” concept in the ideal location.

But let’s hope it succeeds this time.

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Don’t forget the two important meetings today

First the Encino Neighborhood Council’s Traffic and Transportation Committee considers the threatened Amestoy Ave pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway in a virtual meeting starting at 4:45 pm.

Then starting at 6 pm, the West Hollywood City Council takes up the Fountain Ave safe streets makeover. WeHo residents can watch on Spectrum Cable channel 10 and YouTube; I’m hoping the latter works for those of us in LA, too. And comments can submitted online prior to the meeting.

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Local 

Well, no shit. LAist says Los Angeles is lagging behind on installing the speed cams approved over a year ago by the state legislature. If “lagging behind” means not installing any yet, that is. 

A Long Beach man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening upper and lower body injuries, after allegedly swerving his bicycle in front of a driver while on PCH in Long Beach. Although we often find that drivers swear a bike rider swerved in front of them or came out of nowhere, when in actuality they just weren’t paying attention. 

 

State

Costa Mesa will offer free ebike safety lessons for school kids on September 27th.

Carlsbad is looking for input on whether to ban ebike use for kids under 12. I’m down with that, but maybe make 14, instead.

A kindhearted Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy arranged the donation of a new bike to a nine-year old kid after his was stolen.

The CEO of The San Francisco Standard news site describes what it’s like to get sideswiped by a pickup driver while nearing the end of a 100-mile training ride. But be careful if you don’t want to see it, because security cam video at the top offers a disturbing view of the crash.

A Streetsblog op-ed from a San Francisco environmentalist and transportation rider says the city can’t afford to build safe streets so slowly, as peer cities like Austin, Texas show it can be done swiftly and cheaply. Maybe Los Angeles could take notes, too. 

 

National

Bike riders in Santa Fe, New Mexico are calling for safety changes and greater accountability after a man was killed riding his bike in June, and the driver who killed him walked with a deferred sentence.

The mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming is about to become a former bike shop owner, after he announced the store will be closing after 35 years — leaving just one other bike shop in the state’s largest city.

A 21-year old autistic man from Billings, Montana got his stolen adaptive tricycle back after community outrage encouraged someone to drop it off at city hall.

Bike riders in Houston bared all for the World Naked Bike Ride, while accusing the city of backsliding on safety; some people did the same in Los Angeles, too.

A five-day bike ride is traveling 700 miles across Wisconsin to support military families and first responders, while focusing on children of fallen service members and disabled veterans.

The US Department of Transportation pulled a $675,000 grant to finish an Illinois bike trail, although grants for similar projects in red states Wyoming and Idaho appear to be moving forward.

Bicycling collisions reached an eight-year high in Michigan last year, with a 42% jump over 2021.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 78-year old New Hampshire man is circumnavigating the state on his bike; he expects to finish in nine days, riding 70 miles a day. Must be a small state.

A DC food delivery worker traded her moped for an ebike in an attempt to appear less obtrusive to ICE agents.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A North Carolina police officer was killed in a traffic collision while ride a bike with his wife, less than a year after joining the force.

That’s more like it. A 30-year old Florida man with a long history of reckless driving and hit-and-runs was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for the high-speed hit-and-run crash that killed a 15-year old boy riding a bicycle; the car’s onboard computer shows he hit the kid at 75 mph without braking.

 

International

Road.cc takes a look at the very first Brompton foldie, on the company’s 50th anniversary.

London bicycle crashes spiked 44% last week as more than 2 million people took their bikes as a result of a strike by subway workers — although that jump amounted to just eight more crashes than usual.

After a British man restored a 1936 French bicycle, he’s riding it back to the home of the original owner to surprise them, while raising money to fight pancreatic cancer.

There’s a special place in hell for any driver who would leave someone in their 80s to die alone in the street, like this bike-riding 80-something Irishman killed by a hit-and-run driver.

A new survey shows 83% of Netherlanders support requiring bike helmets for young ebike riders, though it doesn’t say how young.

Officials in Seoul, South Korea are cracking down on brakeless fixies after the recent death of a teenage bike rider, well over a decade after the brakeless fixie panic in the US.

 

Competitive Cycling

As expected, Jonas Vingegaard won the Vuelta on Sunday, his first Vuelta win after two Tour de France titles; Portugal’s Joao Almeida was second, with Britain’s Tom Pidcock third; Pidcock called his first podium the biggest performance of his career.

However, the final Vuelta stage never completed, as organizers abandoned the stage with nearly 40 miles to go when up to 100,000 pro-Palestinian protesters flooded the streets — and that was after the stage was already shortened by 3.1 miles before the race in anticipation of the protests.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez praised the protesters, calling it a just cause.

The Pro-Palestinian protests extended to Canada’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, where 200 protesters gathered to protest the Israel-Premier Tech team, but didn’t interfere with the race itself.

Americans took three of the first four spots in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, with Brandon McNulty edging teammate Tadej Pogačar as they crossed the finish line together; Quinn Simmons was third and Neilson Powless fourth.

South African Alan Hatherly won the men’s world mountain bike championship on Sunday, despite a switch to road cycling for most of the year, and Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds won the women’s championship, in a return to the sport after she fell into severe depression and an eating disorder following her gold in the Rio Olympics.

 

Finally…

If you can’t find a sexy tandem, just learn to build your own. Who needs a little metallic trill when you could have your very own digital bike bell with eight distinct sounds?

And nope, nothing will ever get people to ride bikes.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Snopes says Pete really did ride, witness looks for victim in Venice hit-and-run, and NIMBYs gear up to fight 4th Street again

April 5, 2021 / / One comment

Yes, he really did ride to the cabinet meeting.

NBC reveals an ability to read the room, noting that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is winning fans just by riding a bicycle and talking with the public.

But needless to say, conservative media had a completely different take on the former Mayor Pete’s recent ride to a cabinet meeting.

However, even Snopes got involved to confirm it wasn’t staged, despite their accusations.

………

Once again, we have a witness looking for the victim of a possible hit-and-run last week.

This time, on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

This is what the Reddit post has to say.

If you are the cyclist who was hit by a white BMW today at Abbot Kinney and Westminster, I have a photo of the plate.

You had just fallen off your bike when I approached the intersection so I didn’t see the incident, but based on the way you and a couple of other folks gestured towards the car, it seemed like that driver may have hit you and run.

The car turned in front of me from Westminster onto Abbot Kinney and I snapped a photo once we came to a stop down the road.

I can send it to you if you like.

Update: Thanks for the advice, I called it in to LAPD. They didn’t have an incident report for the time/location but they will share the information with the traffic cops in that area in case anything comes up with that vehicle description.

If you were the victim, or know someone who was, click on the link about and reply to the original post, since they didn’t leave contact information.

And always report a hit-and-run to the police, even if you aren’t seriously injured.

You never know who else they might do it to next time.

Thanks to Bean and David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

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Keith Johnson forwards news of what could be yet another contentious public meeting in Hancock Park, as local residents continue to fight changes that would improve safety for bike riders on 4th Street.

Even though the improvements would benefit their neighborhood, as well. Whether or not they ride a bike.

  • Neighborhood Traffic Changes!  Hancock Park and Windsor Sq. will host a Transportation Town Hall on April 14, at 6:00 PM. We expect the LA Department of Transportation to explain their reasoning behind their recently posted survey regarding Bike Lights and Restricted Turns on 4th Street at Highland and Rossmore.  Make your voice heard! AGAIN!  Join the meeting at this Zoom link.
    https://zoom.us/j/96677001434

Local residents have a long history of fighting what was once called the 4th Street Bike Boulevard, over mistaken fears of increased traffic and difficulty of emergency vehicles getting through.

The reality is that the changes would eliminate cut-through traffic, while allowing continued emergency access.

And likely increase property values, too.

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Pasadena is looking for input on safety improvements for the segment of North Lake Ave directly above the 210 Freeway, which can certainly use it.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

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Leimert Park talks electric mobility, including ebikes, on Thursday.

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Nice to see some overdue attention to a long marginalized segment of the bicycling community.

I’ve heard far too many tales of people size shamed at their local bike shop or by other riders.

And here’s that short film in case you missed it.

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Here’s the video of a Vancouver man using his bicycle to attack an obnoxious anti-masker we mentioned last week.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

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The aforementioned Megan Lynch forwards a photo of Burbank cops teaching bike safety from 1957.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1378229991645712384

Check out that nifty mixte in the background, which would have been considered a girl’s bike back in the day. 

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Ebikes to the rescue!

No, literally.

But don’t bother clicking the link unless you can read Dutch.

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

A New York restaurant owner installed his own DIY speed bumps on the protected bike lane next to his in-street outdoor seating; fortunately, the city ordered them removed before he killed someone.

A Scottish woman was pelted with rocks, bottles and other items by a group of teen boys as she rode beneath the wall they were standing on, then was drenched with a soft drink when she stopped to call police.

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

Las Gatos police are looking for the racist bike rider who shoved a 40-year-old Filipina medical worker to the ground without warning as she walked along a sidewalk, then shouted “Go back to (expletive) China.” Seriously, there’s no excuse for that. Ever. And not just mistaking someone from the Philippines for a person from China. 

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Local

The Los Angeles City Council will consider resolutions in support of state legislation allowing bicyclists to treat stops as yields, and state and federal bills to provide up to $1,500 in ebike tax credits at Tuesday’s virtual council meeting.

Streetsblog recaps Metro’s presentation of current plans for a more walkable, bikeable and livable, transit-oriented Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock; as usual, opponents try to paint supporters as not having a real stake in the community.

Metro is hosting an online class on how to clean your bike Wednesday evening. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the link.

Singer Chris Brown’s seven-year old daughter is one of us, as she goes for an unsteady barefoot bike ride in Los Angeles.

 

State

A 71-year old man suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a cowardly hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in San Marcos Thursday evening.

Fresno police are looking for a bike thief who used a slingshot to bust out a car window, then reached inside to grab the garage remote and make off with a bicycle.

A new Santa Cruz county supervisor booted two members off the county Bicycle Advisory Committee, replacing them with his own candidates.

Speaking of Santa Cruz, a Texas letter writer makes a poignant plea for a proposed bike trail, noting his brother was killed crashing his ebike into a median, on a street he wouldn’t have been riding if that Santa Cruz trail had been built.

East Bay bicyclists are complaining about armed robbers who are lying in wait to steal bikes from unsuspecting riders in the hills around Oakland and Berkeley.

 

National

NPR takes a look at the bike theft epidemic and what you can do about it; the story also notes that over half a million bikes are now registered with Bike Index.

A writer for Wired is no fan of a three-wheeled e-cargo bike from Bunch, calling it awkward, graceless and uncomfortable, even though her husband insists on liking it.

A car website wonders if an ebike tax credit would be enough to get your out of your car.

This is who we share the road with. A Portland man faces a hate crime charge, as well as attempted assault, reckless driving and unlawful use of a weapon charges, for attempting to run down another driver after yelling a racist slur, in what may or may not have started as a road rage incident.

Now bike thieves aren’t even waiting for new bikes to hit the market before stealing them, as someone stole a one-of-a-kind pre-production Canfield mountain bike from the back of a vehicle in Salt Lake City.

Family and friends of a San Antonio, Texas man are still waiting for justice, two years after he was run down by a drunk driver while riding his bike.

Transgender cyclocross legend Molly Cameron says cyclists need to take a strong stand against recently passed anti-trans legislation in Arkansas; the state is slated to host a ‘cross World Cup event this October, and the cyclocross world championships the following year. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

Kindhearted community members in upstate New York pitched in to buy a 14-year old autistic boy a new, customized three-wheeled bike — complete with his name embossed on the rear basket — after his stolen bike was recovered in an unrideable condition.

A Maryland paper reports distracted drivers killed nine people every day in the US in 2019. Far too many of those victims are the ones who aren’t wrapped in a couple tons of glass and steel.

In Florida, drivers don’t even have to be alive to hurt a bike rider. A speeding driver was killed after losing control and smashing into a tree; the car then careened on to hit someone riding a bike, who had to be flown for emergency care.

 

International

Cycling Weekly suggests eleven ways to give your faithful bicycle that new bike feeling. Without, you know, re-adjusting it so nothing fits quite right.

Road.cc offers tips for Brits on how to buy a new bike this year, despite the bicycle shortage driven by the pandemic bike boom.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an autistic English boy’s bicycle as he was delivering newspapers; the victim was dedicated enough to finish his route on foot.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a British man’s bike after he was rushed to the hospital after getting hit by a driver.

Irish thieves are using axel grinders, muggings and home break-ins to fuel a surge in stolen bikes; police warn people not to take matters into their own hands if they spot their stolen bike for sale online.

A Malaysian newspaper looks at the coming digital trends in bicycling.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish cyclist Kasper Asgreen won his first Tour of Flanders on Sunday, with a perfectly timed attack to overtake leader Mathieu Van der Poel with about 800 feet to go.

Twenty-eight-year-old Annemiek van Vleuten won the women’s Tour of Flanders, ten years after the Dutch rider claimed her first Flanders title at 18.

Swiss cyclist Michael Schär became the first rider busted under UCI’s new prohibition on littering during Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. Which is an odd thing to call tossing a water bottle to fans lining the route.

Schär wasn’t the only rider to get the boot, though, as Astana’s Yevgeniy Fedorov and Alpecin-Fenix’s Otto Vergaerde were both DQ’d when Fedorov brake checked Vergaerde, who responded by slamming himself into Fedorov.

Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from the race.

French pro Nacer Bouhanni insists he’s not a thug after slamming Britain’s Jake Stewart into the barriers during a mad sprint to the finish at the one-day Cholet-Pays de la Loire last week, even though he faces a potential ban for dangerous sprinting. Is it just me, or does his “I’m not a thug!” sound a little too reminiscent of Nixon’s “I am not a crook!”?

 

Finally…

No, bike lanes aren’t supposed to be passing lanes, regardless of what some drivers seem to think; then again, bike trails aren’t for cars, either. Before sharing a bicycle ride with a fellow Bollywood star, make sure he knows how to ride one.

And that feeling when a headline typo cuts a little too close to the bone.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

Morning Links: LA Times catches up on Fig4All, Timbuk2 opening on Venice’s bike-friendly Abbot Kinney

July 17, 2014 / / 2 comments

The LA Times finally picks up the story of Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s single-handed decision to kill the already approved, funded and shovel-ready road diet on North Figueroa.

They get most of it right in what reads like an attempt to be overly even-handed. Although they incorrectly frame the debate as being over bike lanes, when the lanes themselves are just one tool in a plan to reduce the roadway’s overcapacity in an attempt to slow traffic and improve safety.

They also fail to challenge Cedillo’s unsupported claim that the road diet would increase emergency response times, even though that is not the position of either the LAPD or LA Fire Department. Or his bizarre claim that the city’s bike plan that was unanimously approved by the city council — before Cedillo sat on it — was developed by just 1,000 people, despite numerous public meetings and presentations, as well as months of online comment.

And since when are bike riders who simply want a safe route through Northeast LA considered “activists” — a loaded word most likely to be used in a disparaging manner by those opposing the project?

But it’s a lot better than the Boulevard Sentinel’s labeling them “extremists,” I suppose.

Meanwhile, LA Biz offers their own look at the controversy, while the Times provides an interactive map demonstrating just how dangerous the area is for cyclists and pedestrians.

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Popular custom bike bag manufacturer Timbuk2 opens their first SoCal store next week, across from Linus Bike on increasingly bike friendly Abbot Kinney.

The store has a soft opening next Saturday, July 26th, at 1410 Abbot Kinney, with an official Grand Opening celebration scheduled for the weekend of August 16th and 17th.

Designed by award-winning design and architecture firm Gensler, the new store will include features such as

  • Custom design workshop with over 60 fabrics options.
  • Floor to ceiling street-facing glass wall, bicycle and product design art installation and custom-crafted display tables and fixtures.
  • A designated hub for community events and group bike rides.
  • San Francisco-inspired indoor parklet for relaxing and refueling.
  • Access to bike tools, bike pumps, bike maps and extra tubes for community cyclists.

Sounds like they’ll fit right in on the trendy street. And be a great addition to the LA bike scene.

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Nibali continues to hold the yellow jersey as the Tour de France heads into the Alps, with a lead of more than two minutes over his nearest competitor.

Meanwhile, Brit rider Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is banned for two years and fired from Team Sky for doping. Nice to know the sport has cleaned itself up and no one would ever dream of cheating anymore, right?

……..

Local

Advocates — not “activists,” thank you — gather to learn about CicLAvia coming to Leimert Park.

Neon Tommy looks at three local groups supporting LA’s “fearless” cyclists.

Bike riders and pedestrian advocates make a statement in calling for fair funding for active transportation from Metro.

 

State

One hundred cyclists storm the Laguna Beach City Council to demand safer streets.

Caltrans surprisingly invites cyclists to consult on a realignment project for Highway 1 in Cambria.

Catch up on everything Calbike is working on in their latest report.

 

National

Bixi’s bankruptcy means no expansion for Alta-operated bike share programs this year.

Caught on video: A Texas rider captures the hit-and-run truck driver who Jerry Browned him and left him lying on the side of the road.

Trek president John Burke calls on Wisconsin’s governor to take down a campaign ad that allegedly defames the company; the governor is running for re-election against Burke’s sister.

Pro cyclist Ted King introduces pure maple syrup energy gels, promising natural vitamins and minerals with a lower glycemic index than other gels.

An Atlanta man faces charges including attempted murder for intentionally running down a bike rider; his girlfriend is charged with evidence tampering.

 

International

Canadian letter carrier goes postal on a woman who stopped to complain about his parking in a bike lane.

In a bizarre accident, a British cyclist barely survives getting impaled with her brake lever.

Three-quarters of Scot cyclists report a near miss on the roads.

Italy honors legendary cyclist Gino Bartali, aka Gino the Pius, for his role in saving hundreds of Jews from the Nazis in WWII. Isn’t it time the Vatican honored the devout Catholic?

German cyclists lost over 300,000 bikes to thieves last year; naturally, police blame the victims.

To encourage more cycling, Qatar’s bicycle master plan requires dedicated bike infrastructure, including separated bikeways, on all major roads when possible.

 

Finally…

If you’re carrying hash oil and marijuana on your bike, and already wanted on multiple active warrants, put a damn light on it, already. And amazingly, a very lucky 17-year old Russian bike rider walks away after being run over by a large truck in a terrifying video.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day — Main Street Santa Monica goes neon green

March 16, 2014 / / 2 comments
New green bike lanes below Pico in Santa Monica.

New green bike lanes below Pico in Santa Monica.

When the revelers stumble out onto Main Street in Santa Monica tonight, they may think the street has been dressed just for those who pretend to be Irish by getting fighting drunk for a night.

But they’d be wrong.

Even if the pavement matches the green beer they’ll soon be regurgitating onto it.

Because actually, the street has been repainted for your benefit. And not just for one night.

As of Friday, the much maligned door zone bike lane on the Santa Monica stretch of Main Street has been widened, and repainted in a vivid shade of green guaranteed to cause conniptions in a Hollywood location scout.

Or at least, that’s the effect a similar shade had in Downtown LA.

Intermittent patches of green lead up to intersections.

Intermittent patches of green lead up to intersections; you can see where the lane marker has been moved left.

Maybe that’s why the lanes are only intermittent south of Pico, where they match up with LA’s normally hued lanes through Venice. And full green only north of Pico, where they pass through the city’s civic center, where presumably, fewer film permits are in demand.

Or maybe Santa Monica just recognized the risk posed by all those drivers trying to access City Hall and the LA County Courthouse.

In fact, that’s long been on of the mostly likely places to get right hooked among my usual riding routes, as confused drivers cut across the bike lane to access Civic Center parking.

Broken lane leading to the entrance to City Hall/Courthouse parking lot.

Broken lane leading to the entrance to City Hall/Courthouse parking lot.

Whether a bright shade of green will help with that, or convince drivers they don’t belong there — despite the break in the paint — and make them more likely to turn across the lane rather than merge into it as the law and safety requires, remains to be determined.

I’d rather see the full green on the south section as a vivid reminder to drivers to look for riders before opening their doors or turning across the lane. We’ll have to see if the city’s spot job will do the job.

On the other hand, that extra foot of bike lane should make a huge difference by allowing cyclists to ride further outside the door zone without having to leave the bike lane.

Here’s a fast-forward view of the civic center lanes on both sides between Pico and Santa Monica Place.

Let’s just hope they hose them down in front of the bars Tuesday morning.

………

Just down the road and around the corner on Abbott Kinney, LADOT installed the City of Angels’ third and fourth bike corrals last week, on a street that has long suffered from a lack of adequate bike parking.

When every other parking meter has a bike attached — which is technically illegal, though rarely enforced — it suggests an unmet demand, which the city has wisely heeded.

Even if, on the day I checked it out, one had as many hipsters enjoying lunch in and on it as it did locked-up bikes.

Just out of the frame, one more bike and two more guys sitting on the railing having lunch.

Just out of the frame, one more bike and two more guys sitting on the railing having lunch.

A brand new bike corral, full on a Friday afternoon.

A brand new bike corral, nearly full on a Friday afternoon.

One of the new bike corrals adorned with the new LADOT #bikeLA sticker.

One of the new bike corrals adorned with the new LADOT #bikeLA sticker.

 

 

Category: Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Friday’s ride, on which I concede an angry driver has a point

September 4, 2010 / / 6 comments

Funny how life found a way to contribute to this morning’s topic.

And gave quick lesson in shutting up long enough to grasp someone else’s perspective.

I’d taken a quick spin down to the South Bay in the afternoon, and was making my up Abbot Kinney Blvd on my way home.

About a block after crossing Venice Blvd — oddly, almost exactly where the randomly placed arrow ended up on the Google Map — a driver headed in the opposite direction made sudden, very illegal U-turn in the middle of the block and stopped directly in front of me to back into a parking space.

I shot a quick look over my shoulder and saw that I had just enough room to swing around him. And knew it shouldn’t be a problem, since the cars behind me would either have to stop, or make an illegal — and très L.A. — maneuver to cross over the double yellow line and go around the car blocking their way.

Because it’s so not acceptable to, you know, stop or anything.

I stuck out my arm to signal what I was doing, and in the same motion, leaned to the left to carve a perfect curl around the car in my path, only briefly occupying the space between it and the yellow line to my left.

As I did, though, I heard a quick honk from behind. I could tell it wasn’t close enough to present a danger, though, so I leaned back to the right, sailing back to my normal position along the sharrows.

Funny how quickly I’ve gotten used to them.

A minute or two later, a car pulled up on my left and a very angry looking man stared my way, shaking his head. His window was down, so I simply said “I had the right of way,” and pedaled on my way.

But he pulled up on my left once again, and leaned over to yell “you cut me off!”

Again, I said I had the right of way, considering that all the explanation required. After all, I’d been riding in the lane, right where the sharrows indicated, and was the only one positioned to go around the car blocking the lane — and the only one who could have done it legally.

Again, though, he said I’d cut him off. So I repeated myself one last time.

But this time, his response was different. “You just stuck your arm out and cut in front of me!”

Which, I realized, was exactly what I had done.

So I just said, “you’re right.”

There was no need to explain the rest of the story. Like how, as experienced cyclists, we learn to read traffic situations and anticipate what is most likely to happen. And our how well-honed reaction times and more responsive vehicles allow us to react so much faster than the drivers we share to road with.

Or from his perspective, how he barely had time to see what I was doing and tap his brakes before I was in front of him and gone again. And how he could have overreacted, potentially risking a collision with the car behind him.

Even if he was in the middle of a dangerously illegal maneuver by attempting to go around us both on the wrong side of the road.

We understood each other.

So I nodded, and he nodded back.

And we both went on our way, with perhaps a little better understanding of each other’s perspective.

………

In upcoming events:

The L.A. Bicycle Film Festival continues through Sunday; check the website for schedule and locations.

Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Since it happened to pop up in my inbox, I’ll pass along word that PV Bicycle Center in Palos Verdes is having a sale this weekend, and hosting public time trial up the PV Switchbacks on Sunday morning (women start at 9:30 am, men at 10), followed by free barbeque, call 310/377-7441 or toll-free 888/377-7441 for more information. Note to PVBC — if you put events like this on your own website, someone might actually be able to link to it.

Flying Pigeon hosts a book signing with photographer and former D.A. Gil Garcetti (you may also know his son Eric) for his book Paris: Women and Bicycles on Thursday, September 9 at 7:30 pm. I had a chance to look it over at this year’s River Ride; if you love beautiful photographs of beautiful women on beautiful bikes in one of the world’s most beautiful cities — and who doesn’t? — this is a beautiful opportunity to meet the man behind the lens.

Make your plans for Parking Day LA on Sept. 17th.

Celebrate the third anniversary of C.R.A.N.K. MOB at C.R.A.N.K.MAS III, 9 pm on Saturday, September 18th and 7 am Sunday, September 19th; costumes mandatory.

Also on Sunday the 19th, the Los Angeles Wheelmen celebrate their 65th anniversary with century and half-century rides; $5 of the $30 ride fee will go to the LACBC.

Hearings for the proposed bike plan are scheduled for September 25, 29, 30 and October 2, with a noontime  Webinar scheduled for Wednesday the 29th.

Explore the effects of bicycles on art and culture at the Grand Opening of Re:Cycle — Bike Culture in Southern California, October 7th – 9th, at U.C. Riverside’s newly relocated Sweeney Art Gallery at the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts, 3834 Main Street in downtown Riverside. A reception will be held from 6 – 10 pm Thursday, October 7th; the exhibition continues through December 31st.

New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat makes its first L.A. stop on Saturday, October 23rd. The following day, Sony sponsors their bikeless Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

………

More on the victory of Alessandro Petacchi in stage 7 of the Vuelta; no major changes in the standings as the riders prepare to head into the mountains. The soigneur for Team Sky, Txema Gonzalez, dies of an infection in Seville, Spain. Tour de France champ Alberto Contador will skip the World Championships later this month. And an interesting insight on why the Lance Armstrong investigation is taking place here in L.A., and why now.

………

In only semi-bike related news, everyone seems to be bailing on Colorado’s tinfoil-hat wearing Republican candidate for governor — the man who claimed Denver’s new bike share program was part of a UN plot for world domination. But he insists on staying in the race, no doubt much to the relief of his bike-friendly opponent.

………

Public radio program Living on Earth looks at the state of bicycling in Los Angeles, concluding it’s no Copenhagen; thanks to Patrick for the link. Gary offers the good news and bad news from Wednesday’s Agensys meeting. LACBC says there are no more potential bike lanes in L.A.’s new potential bike plan. Crosswalk sting nabs two cyclists for riding with headphones; CHP says use them in one ear only, thank you; a Brit biking fatality could illustrate why. New video promotes bike-friendly Long Beach. The Santa Cruz Sierra Club says bikes are worse than heroin. A Sonoma cyclist says we are to pedestrians what cars are to us. New bike lanes coming to Downtown Tucson. Arizona cyclists can take a class and avoid a fine for a ticket. Turning cars into a bike sandwich. Tampa letter writers say cars are the real problem, no, bikes are. James Cracknell, the British Olympian critically injured by a truck in Arizona earlier this year, finally returns home after an extensive hospitalization. How to deal with common bicycling ailments. Young punks on bikes disturb elderly Scots. Why is it always the driver in the Prius? On a very bad day in New Zealand, a little good news as world track cycling medalist Jesse Sergent signs with Lance Armstrong’s Team Radioshack; thanks to the Trickster for the heads-up. The world’s five most bike-friendly cities.

Finally, yet another reason to always wear a helmet — it protects from magpie attacks.

Update: One more link, sent in by David. A rider is killed after getting right hooked by a bus while riding in Honolulu crosswalk; if you’re going to ride on the sidewalk, take extra care at intersections.

And three day weekends mean more drunks and distracted drivers on the road, so keep your eyes and options open, and  be extra careful riding this weekend.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Sharrows hit the street on Abbot Kinney

July 26, 2010 / / 3 comments

Headed west on Abbot Kinney, the first sharrow appears just after crossing Venice Blvd.

Thanks to a tip from Eric B, I made a point of including Abbot Kinney Blvd on my most recent ride so I could to check out the new sharrows — the final link in the city’s new six-street sharrows pilot project.

Over all, they seem to do the job.

When there wasn’t a bike present, the cars rolled over the sharrows as if they weren’t there — unlike the response on Westholme Ave, where drivers didn’t seem to know what to make of them.

When there were bikes around, the drivers passed whenever the opportunity presented. But at least they all seemed to pass at a safe distance.

Riding beside the bumpy thermoplastic places riders dangerously close to the door zone.

Which, I suppose, is all we can really ask for.

There’s one oddly placed sharrow on the westbound lane about a block from Venice, where the street curves, which seems to direct riders off the roadway — although I didn’t get a photo of it, since I was a little preoccupied with trying not to get run over at the time.

Maybe it was directing riders to stop at the food trucks that frequent the parking lot at the Brig, since that seems to be where it’s pointing.

Choosing the bumpier ride puts cyclists in a better lane position.

And like the other locations, the raised thermoplastic makes for a bumpy ride, which may encourage cyclists to ride beside the sharrows rather than over them — giving riders less control over the lane and placing them at the edge of the door zone.

So now the final piece of the pilot project is in place.

While we may think sharrows are a no brainer, the question remains whether the city’s implementation of them will encourage cyclists to use them. Or if decisions made regarding their placement on the streets will make riders feel less safe.

Sharrows stretch out on both sides from Main Street to Venice Blvd.

How drivers will respond is also an open question. Especially without adequate signage or educational efforts directed at motorists.

As is whether historically risk-averse LADOT will use the results to improve future installations throughout the city. Or call it a failed experiment and throw in the towel if issues arise.

It’s going to be an interesting experiment.

The question remains how drivers will respond on a busier street like Abbot Kinney — especially without signage or driver education.

………

On the last day of the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish won the final sprint in Paris, while Alberto Contador won his third Tour by one of the smallest margins in TdF history — the same amount of time Andy Schleck lost when he dropped his chain.

In the penultimate stage of this year’s Tour, Schleck gave it his best in Saturday’s time trial, but it just isn’t enough as Fabian Cancellara won the stage and Contador clinched victory — but Schleck will be back in 2011. After Christian Vande Velde crashes out of the Tour, aptly named Canadian Ryder Hesjedal became an overnight sensation for Garmin-Transitions. Tyler Farrar should be back on his bike in time for next month’s Tour of Spain. For Lance Armstrong, his 13th Tour really was bad luck as he finished 23rd, and his team’s attempt to honor cancer survivors was disallowed, but at least the French are on his side for once.

And on Nightline, Floyd Landis said “I saw Lance Armstrong using drugs.”

………

A look at Saturday’s Walk and Ride for a Safer 4th Street. Make your plans for the first public meeting of the bike committee of the Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Committee on Monday night. Tuesday evening there’s a demonstration and press conference in Beverly Hills to protest the slap on the wrist given Celine Mahdavi for nearly killing Louis “Birdman” Deliz. Courtesy of my friends at Altadenablog, a USC neuropathologist rides 140 miles for Alzheimer’s research. Get your limited edition, hand-printed CicLAvia t-shirt. The former chairman of the Yucca Valley Planning Commission is ordered to stand trial for killing a cyclist while driving with a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit. Three NorCal cyclists are hurt in separate incidents on the same road just hours apart — two on the same spot. The cyclist killed in North Dakota last week was on her way to Casper WY to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. A DC area cyclist dies, apparently from the high heat and humidity blanketing the East Coast. A Brit Olympian is in stable condition after suffering a skull fracture when he was hit by a truck in Winslow AZ last Tuesday. A reminder that bicyclists have to follow the rules of the road, too; thanks, we didn’t know that. Everything you need to know to talk bikes in 27 European languages. Every bike means less traffic and one more parking space. Twelve reasons why vehicular cycling may not be the answer for everyone.

Finally, a conversation with London mayor and avid bike supporter Boris Johnson, who undoubtedly won a lot of fans with his stand on bike theft.

“Plainly, we will treat bike thieves with the utmost severity. I’m looking at a very draconian policy. Bring back the stocks!”

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,
 
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