Tag Archive for anti-bike bias

Morning Links: Seattle jock attacks bike zealots, CD4 candidate offers hope, and LAPD ignores drivers to ticket bike rider

July 30, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Seattle jock attacks bike zealots, CD4 candidate offers hope, and LAPD ignores drivers to ticket bike rider

No bias here.

A Seattle radio jock says “bike zealots” are trying to force the city’s traffic problems on the the Bellevue area, apparently by calling for a road diet and bike lanes.

He also claims only 25 bike riders a day currently use the street in question, and doubts the number is likely to increase once the bike lanes go in.

Maybe someone should tell him you can’t judge the need for a bridge by how many people swim across the river.

Or if a new road is needed by how many people currently drive across the fields.

Then again, maybe he could learn something from the bikeway on Vancouver’s Burrard Street Bridge, which many motorists called an unnecessary failure on a road few bicyclists used when it opened ten years ago.

And now may be the busiest bike lane in North America.

All those bike riders must have been busy swimming against the tide a decade ago.

………

CiclaValley offers a painful reminder that once upon a time, we actually had the mayor’s support for safer streets and hope for the future of our city.

Even if it does seem like a fairy tale now.

On the other hand, the following response to that tweet is exactly the attitude we need from our elected officials. And why Sarah Kate Levy has my personal support for LA’s 4th Council District set currently held by David Ryu.

Even if she isn’t one of us.

Yet.

………

An LAPD cop ignored drivers rolling a red light, and ticketed the guy on two wheels for jumping the light by a few seconds.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Someone booby trapped a Colorado bike trail, stringing potentially deadly wires across the path at neck level; one bike rider was lucky to escape with a bloody nose.

Someone painted “No Bikes” on a Tulsa OK bike lane — and bizarrely, “Kayaks Only.”

Then again, the people on two wheels aren’t always the good guys. 

A man is under arrest for attacking a woman after colliding with her as he was riding on an Irvine bike trail; a Good Samaritan intervened to stop the assault and hold him for police.

………

Local

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Calbike’s Dave Snyder says the Complete Streets bill currently under consideration in the state legislature would benefit bike riders and pedestrians.  Everyone else, too. One way or another.

No bias here, either. The story says very clearly that police in San Diego conducted a safety operation “focused on enforcing safety laws involving motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.” Too bad the headline is all about a crackdown on bicyclists and pedestrians.

Sad news from Bakersfield, where a woman has died nearly a week after her bike was struck by an alleged drunk driver.

Now that’s more like it. A new San Francisco program provides a variety of hand-cycles, side-by-side tandem bikes and adult tricycles for people with mobility-related disabilities during carfree Sundays in Golden Gate Park.

Streetsblog San Francisco calls for regulating killer trucks. Trucks don’t kill, drivers do. But no truck should ever be allowed on the roads with massive blindspots that can prevent drivers from seeing bike riders and pedestrians, or without sideguards to keep people from getting swept underneath.

Hats off to a Santa Rosa bike shop for giving a Utah triathlete a new $5,000 bike after her’s was stolen the day before the race.

Marin County sheriff’s investigator have released the name of a suspect who allegedly stole $25,000 worth of bicycles from a bike shop earlier this month; they’ve recovered the bikes from a storage shed, and have a warrant out for his arrest.

 

National

A new study shows falls at home are the leading cause of nonfatal head injuries in American kids. Which is why your kids should wear BikinginLA’s patented new HomeHelmet™ from the day they’re born until they turn 21.

Anyone who wants a 20 mph e-cargo bike for just $1,500 raise your hand. Sorry, I may be typing one-handed for awhile.

Evidently, bikes as props are a thing for scantily-clad models this year. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Anne de Paula rides a bike in some exotic-looking beach location while wearing a “cheeky” one-piece swimsuit. Which may be a BikinginLA record for most hyphens in a single sentence.

Twitter erupted with predictable outrage after Arizona police announced plans to give good drivers faux tickets containing coupons for Circle K; the cops backed off after realizing the plan was of “questionable legality,” deciding they’d just stop bike riders and pedestrians instead. But if it’s questionable to pull over drivers who aren’t breaking the law, why wouldn’t the same thing apply to people walking or riding bikes? Or do civil rights only apply to people in cars?

Why bother breaking in to a Denver-area bike shop, when you can just drive a bus through the front door?

The death toll continues to climb in New York, where a 30-year old art teacher was killed when she was doored while riding her bike and knocked into the path of a semi for the city’s 18th bicycling death so far this year; New York Mayor de Blasio reminded drivers that it’s against the law to open a car door into the path of a bicyclist.

South Brooklyn community boards tell de Blasio where he can put his plan to expand protected bike lanes; apparently they don’t care how many bike riders die on the streets.

They get it. A Charleston SC newspaper says it takes a special kind of logic to reject a safety project over fears it would be unsafe, and that ignoring bike and pedestrian safety won’t fix anything.

For one brief instant, it seemed like we had reason to be excited, and maybe there was actually hope for Los Angeles. Except the new Complete Streets project is on the wrong Hollywood Blvd, in the wrong Hollywood, in the wrong state, on the wrong side of the country. 

This is why you always need to maintain your bike. A Florida man is dead after he threw the chain on his bike and fell into the street, where he was struck by a driver.

In yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a Jacksonville FL man will face charges for the hit-and-run deaths of two women as they rode their bikes, after police found “biological material” in his shattered windshield; he has been charged with at least six other moving violations dating back to 1999.

 

International

A Vancouver man gets his bike back less than a day after it was stolen — and with a better front wheel — when a bike courier spotted someone riding it and negotiated its return for $60.

She gets it too. A Vancouver letter writer says “Maybe it’s time to end the debate of cyclist vs vehicle driver and just ask your city to provide safe infrastructure for both.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

It takes a real schmuck to steal a paraplegic’s custom adaptive bike from a Calgary hotel parking lot; the theft victim had continued to ride despite losing the use of his legs in a mountain biking accident three years ago.

Toronto newspaper readers go ballistic when a columnist suggests bicycles don’t pose the same threat to pedestrians that drivers do. The simple fact is, someone on foot is far less likely to be killed in a collision with a bicyclist than with a driver, for reasons that should be obvious. But it can and does happen. So it’s your responsibility to ride safely and carefully around pedestrians, who can be every bit as unpredictable as drivers think we are.

Huh? A British columnist bizarrely spends most of his column talking about smoking, vaping, coffee drinking and otherwise distracted drivers. But then says we should pity the drivers who get blamed for the sins of modern bike riders if they actually hit one. Personally, I’d rather pity the person who gets hit. 

So much for that. It only took 60 seconds to steal Dutch bikemaker VanMoof’s $3,000 theft-proof ebike.

The US has a long way to go to catch up with Poland’s glowing bike path.

Four people were seriously injured when a driver crossed over the center line and plowed into their bicycles in a Japanese tunnel; four other people were injured when a second driver crashed into his car, including a two-month old baby who suffered major injuries.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Sacramento Bee says the future of French cycling looks bright, even if the country had its Tour de France dreams dashed once again.

The Independent talks with a man who mentored new Tour de France champ Egan Bernal in his teens, and talked him out of giving up the sport.

The Washington Post examines 2016 Olympic cycling silver medalist Kelly Catlin and the massive hole left in the lives of her family and friends after she took her own life following a series of injuries, and the untreated depression that may have resulted from a concussion suffered during a bike race.

 

Finally…

We may have hit-and-run drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about hit-and-run deer. If you’re going to break into a garage and steal a bike, try not to leave a scent for the police dogs to follow.

And this is why country music is called three chords and the truth. Just hang up and drive already.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for that last video.

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

Morning Links: LACBC calls for action on safe streets, bad day for San Diego bike riders, and anti-bike victim blaming bile

July 15, 2019 / / 3 comments

My apologies for Friday’s unexcused absence. 

I was knocked on my ass by another bout with dangerously low blood sugar. Except this time, I couldn’t get back up. 

It took four hours, three fig bars and two cookies to get my blood sugar back up to a minimal safe level. 

Yes, it’s true. 

Your sweets are my life-saving medicine. 

And as anyone with diabetes knows, the toll something like that takes on your body lasts for hours afterwards. 

Which is all a long-winded way to say diabetes sucks. 

So get tested if you’re at risk or have a family history of the disease. Then do everything you can to get your blood sugar back under control, and keep it there. 

Because you don’t want this.

Trust me. 

Now let’s get on with today’s news. Because we have a lot to catch up on. 

Photo by Dan Fador from Pixabay

………

We’ve waited a long time for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, aka LACBC, to step up and take any real action on our streets.

Including during my five-plus years on the board, when I fought a losing rearguard action to encourage them to stop working only behind the scenes, and take good fight to the streets.

It looks like that time is finally here.

They even make it easy for you by including the email addresses for the mayor and city council.

  • mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org
  • councilmember.cedillo@lacity.org
  • councilmember.Krekorian@lacity.org
  • councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org
  • david.ryu@lacity.org
  • paul.koretz@lacity.org
  • councilmember.martinez@lacity.org
  • councilmember.rodriguez@lacity.org
  • councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org
  • councilmember.price@lacity.org
  • councilmember.wesson@lacity.org
  • councilmember.bonin@lacity.org
  • councilmember.Smith@lacity.org
  • councilmember.ofarrell@lacity.org
  • councilmember.huizar@lacity.org
  • councilmember.buscaino@lacity.org

Let’s all take a few minutes and email the councilmember for your district. And remember, as the LACBC notes above, to include your address to prove you’re a real, honest to God constituent.

If you don’t live in Los Angeles, contact the councilmembers for any districts where you work or ride, and make it clear you want to be able to bike safely in the City of Angels.

I haven’t had a chance to write my email yet. But I’ll do my best to get it done today.

So I hope you’ll join the LACBC — and yes, me — in demanding safer streets for bike riders, and everyone else, throughout Los Angeles.

And maybe if we all respond, this won’t be the last time the LACBC tries something like this.

If you want to share your email on here, just let me know.

………

Speaking of the LACBC, here’s your chance to tell them to form an associated 501(c)4, so they can engage in direct political action without risking their tax-exempt status.

SoCal’s largest bike advocacy group, the LACBC wants your comments on what direction they should take at a Community Input Forum on Saturday, July 27th, as they regroup to confront the challenges of bicycling in Los Angeles.

You already know what I think.

If not, read these last two sections again.

………

Saturday was a very bad day in San Diego.

In what was initially a very confusing story, a 60-year old man suffered a life-threatening head injury when he allegedly descended too fast on a steep hill in the city’s Park West neighborhood around 3 pm, made an “unsafe” move to the right and somehow clipped a car mirror.

It made more sense when the Union-Tribune clarified that he clipped the mirror of a parked car; he was thrown several feet onto the pavement as a result.

Just three hours later, someone described only as a teenager was riding on Claremont Blvd in Kearney Mesa when he or she was struck by an SUV turning onto the northbound I-805 onramp; the driver claimed he didn’t see the victim until it was too late.

Which should be seen as a confession, but usually serves only as a Get Out of Jail Free card to absolve drivers of any responsibility.

The driver remained at the scene, while his passenger jumped out to perform CPR on the victim.

Naturally, the CHP investigators blamed the victim, saying he or she wasn’t riding in the crosswalk. Even though bike riders aren’t expected or required to use a crosswalk.

And even though bicyclists still get ticketed for riding in a crosswalk, which is legal in California following a recent change in the law.

It’s not the first crash at that intersection, either.

Early reports indicated the victim had died, but other sources revised their stories to say it was unclear whether or not the victim was still alive.

Sadly, it seems like prayers and good thoughts are called for in both cases.

Chances are, we’ll hear more about one or both cases in the next few days.

Thanks to JMK for the reminder about the deadly intersection.

………

No bias here.

An anti-bike op-ed from an anti-bike writer in the generally anti-bike New York Post says it’s your own damn fault if you get killed.

The two things that might have prevented this horror — training and adherence to rules — are tellingly absent from the protesting cyclists’ list of demands.Not to put too fine a point on it, cyclists are frequently their own worst enemy, and their presence has made everyone less safe.

Of course, automobiles are more dangerous than bikes, but adding cyclists to the mix, many of whom refuse to obey traffic laws, has compounded that hazard.

Never mind that in many, if not most, of the New York’s recent bicycling fatalities the victim didn’t do a damn thing wrong.

But clearly, he doesn’t let that give him a moment’s pause.

When Mayor Mike Bloomberg began wedging bike lanes into our already crammed streets, it wasn’t to meet a demand — it was to create one. To promote cycling, he and then-DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, a bike enthusiast, threw caution to the wind and encouraged cyclists to hit the streets without so much as a helmet law, which might have deterred ridership, especially among the affluent, arrogant, scofflaw cyclists who want to use the city as their own personal racetrack.

Of course, only affluent people ride bikes.

Even though bike commuters are more likely to come from low income households, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone saddled with monthly car payments — let alone gas, insurance, maintenance and taxes.

And as well all know, anyone who rides a bike arrogantly insists on not getting killed by some random jerk. Like say, the writer of that piece, for instance.

It was a recipe for disaster, and the disproportionately influential, ceaselessly kvetching bicycle-advocacy groups capitalized on every heart-rending fatality to further their agenda.

Nobody elected the advocacy outfit Transportation Alternatives to speak for New Yorkers. It isn’t a safety organization, a cadre of seasoned city planners or even some impartial arbiter seeking what’s best for everyone; it’s a bunch of mainly upscale cyclists trying to make the city more navigable for themselves.

Actually, they did.

TransAlt is one of the nation’s largest and most effective alternative transportation and traffic advocacy groups, composed of thousands of average, everyday New Yorkers who elected the group to speak for them.

Then there’s this BS.

It’s not at all unusual to see them texting or riding hands-free as they careen through traffic. Close calls have become a daily occurrence, especially for the elderly and disabled, whose reflexes aren’t ideal for evading speeding cyclists.

Case in point, two months ago, 67-year-old Donna Sturm died after being mowed down by a cyclist who ran a red light in Midtown. If bicyclists can ride fast enough to kill, they ride too fast to enjoy exemption from the training, certification, insurance and identifiable licensing required for the use of every other vehicle on our streets.

Just wait until someone tells him about cars, whose drivers have killed far more New Yorkers than the single person killed by a jackass bike rider this year.

Not to mention that simply bumping into someone while walking can cause a fatal fall — as can tripping over your own shoelaces.

Which by his reasoning means that every person who steps out of their home or apartment must be trained, licensed, insured and certified.

Good luck with that.

We’ll leave the discussion on this final outpouring of faux journalistic bile.

Bike lanes haven’t made anyone any safer, but they have inarguably taken traffic congestion from bad to intolerable. The narrowing of our city’s critical arteries to accommodate a tiny minority whose vehicles are rendered impractical all winter and on rainy days seems to have been irrationally prioritized with regard to triage.

Maybe he should do just a little research before guessing like that. And missing by a mile.

But then, what would you expect from someone who pops up periodically with his anti-bike, but seems to be a ghost otherwise?

Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

………

A Bay Area bike rider was pleasantly surprised when another bicyclist returned his lost money clip, completely intact, just an hour after tweeting that it was missing.

………

Driverless cars may not be coming anytime soon.

But a new company plans to introduce fully automated delivery pods in the near future.

And plans to take your hard-won space on the street to do it, knocking us from second class citizens to ranking somewhere behind a bunch of robots.

https://twitter.com/Jerryhirsch/status/1149417154703290368

………

This is who we share the roads with.

An Arizona man faces charges for swerving into a bike lane and killing a bike rider, while under the influence of a veritable pharmacopeia of legal and illegal drugs.

Taylor acknowledged taking methadone — a drug used to treat addiction — earlier that day, but he initially denied any other drug use. After failing several impairment tests, he was arrested at about 9 p.m., according to the report.

Taylor later tested positive for opiates, methamphetamine, amphetamine and methadone, the police report said. He told officers he had used meth and heroin earlier in the week before taking methadone the same day as the collision.

Police also found heroin and paraphernalia in his possession, according to the police report.

 

Let’s hope he can manage to get clean in whatever deep, dark hole they throw him in.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the worldwide war on bikes just keeps going on, as someone has been sabotaging popular British bike paths by placing medieval-style booby traps across the trails.

………

Local

Mariah Banks pled not guilty in the hit-and-run death of Frederick “Woon” Frazier in South LA last year, despite reportedly confessing when she turned herself into the police weeks after the crash.

Metro wants you to help rank their priorities for Our Next LA.

An ebike magazine goes e-mountain biking with recently retired former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who helped get the department back on bicycles.

Burbank is studying how to improve safety for people riding bicycles as part the city’s Complete Streets plan, while the mayor calls for “quick and dirty” solutions.

 

State

Speaking of San Diego, the city has made the first installment in the promise by city leaders to remake the downtown area to be safer and more inviting for people on bikes, with parking protected bike lanes, bollards and green intersections appearing on three streets.

A group of bicyclists are riding across the US to raise money for families in need, starting at the site of the Poway synagogue shooting.

A Santa Maria paper says people in cars may be safer, but bike riders and pedestrians, not so much.

Oakland promises its new equitable bike plan will be accessible to everyone, regardless of identity.

 

National

The new Complete Streets Act introduced in both houses of Congress would require states to set aside 5% of federal highway funds for streets that serve all road users.

It’s getting rough in the Great Plains, as a Kansas cop rear-ended a fleeing bike rider while driving on the sidewalk. And an Oklahoma cop tasered an apparently intoxicated bike rider who refused to stop, even though the victim didn’t pose a direct treat to to the officer or anyone else.

Someone please tell this Illinois TV station that sharrows are not bike lanes.

Pittsburgh bike riders are leaving their bikes on buses. Or someone’s, anyway.

A Pennsylvania doctor thanks the four strangers who saved his life when he was struck with a sudden heart attack while riding his bike.

Speaking for NIMBY’s everywhere, a Boston writer says don’t mess with our street, promising to fight plans for a road diet and bike lanes, in an apparent effort to keep it dangerous.

No shit. New York’s police commissioner agrees that the NYPD’s longstanding policy of ticketing bicyclists following a fatal bike crash is just a tad insensitive. You think?

The New York Times wants to know what the hell happened to a city that was supposed to be getting better for bike riders, while Bicycling says it’s shocking just how badly New York is failing people who ride bicycles.

NYC councilmembers want to ensure the city’s expanding bikeshare program serves low-income residents, too.

Does it really surprise anyone that cars — or more precisely, the people operating them — are more dangerous than guns on the streets of the Big Apple?

A homeless man in Louisiana learned the hard way not to stick around the parking lot begging for money after you walk out of Walmart with a stolen bike.

An op-ed in the local paper says people should warned explicitly that riding a bicycle just about anywhere in the Charleston SC area is inherently unsafe, while the paper hopes the third time is the charm to get approval for a bike and pedestrian bridge.

 

International

The good, the bad, and the ugliest bikeways around the world.

A Canadian driver swerved to avoid a crash as a group of Gran Fondo cyclists cut into his lane at the last second to avoid a fall in the peloton.

A Toronto newspaper politely explains the point of ebikes, calling them the great equalizer, while a writer in the city tries bikeshare for the first time, and decides it should be expanded.

A climate change protester shut down a British airfield for 20 minutes to protest a military air show as he road his bike on the runway, pursued by firefighters and service members.

A UK YouTube star became the first person in the country to be killed in an e-scooter crash.

Adding insult to injury, an English thief not only stole a teenage boy’s bike, he flipped the victim off while riding away with it.

Maltese bicyclists complain about dangerously substandard bike lanes. Especially the section that dead-ends into a brick wall. Oh, and the green paint is slippery, too.

An Indian ex-con hated life on the outside, and the abuse he suffered from his wife and kids, so much that he stole a bicycle to get back to his friends behind bars.

 

Competitive Cycling

Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten won her second Giro Rosa in a row, only finishing out of the top seven twice in the ten-stage race.

In your spoiler-free Tour de France update, the difficult terrain on Saturday’s 8th stage shook up the standings.

Le Tour went gravel grinding last week, forcing French pro Romain Bardet well off the pace.

Amazing photo catches defending TdF champ Geraint Thomas in midair as he crashes, landing on teammate Gianni Moscon while snapping Moscon’s bike in two and sending him to the hospital.

Then there were three. Tejay van Garderen dropped out of the Tour de France after breaking his hand in a fall, leaving just three American cyclists in the race. VeloNews considers why such crashes are inevitable.

The newly reformatted Colorado Classic announced the course for the August race, as it transforms into a strictly women’s stage race.

Horrible news from the world of track cycling, where a 17-year old Italian cyclist was in intensive care after he was impaled when a piece of the track splintered and punctured his lung at the European U-23 and Junior Track Championships.

 

Finally…

Bike riders hardly ever crash into outdoor cafes, and when they do, the result is usually a little spilled coffee and avocado toast. Before you sell a bike on Letgo, make sure it’s really yours.

And this is who we share the roads with, too.

Note the bike tally on his door.

 

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

Morning Links: Bikemakers burned out in Camp Fire, Brit shrink calls bike riders narcissists, and Lake Wobegon drivers

November 20, 2018 / / 3 comments

It’s hard to find bigger hearts and more caring people than you’ll find in bicycling.

Like the two framebuilders who lost their homes and workshops in Northern California’s deadly and devastating Camp Fire.

Yet insist on helping others instead of themselves.

Custom bikemaker Alistair Spence moved to Paradise from Seattle earlier this year, and had just finished setting up his workshop a few months ago.

But even though he and his wife have lost everything, he’s only accepting $7,000 from the crowdfunding campaign to help him get back on his feet, and donating the rest to help other victims.

Meanwhile, former Portland resident Mitch Pryor also lost his home in the Camp Fire that has killed over 70 people. And like Spence, he’s only accepting $10,000 of the money raised for him on his GoFundMe page, and giving the rest to fire relief causes.

Between them, that’s over $6,000 that will go to victims of the Camp Fire thanks to their kindness and generosity.

Maybe we can do something to help push that total up a little.

Thanks to James Biffin for the heads-up. Photos of Mitch Pryor (top) and Alistair Spence from their respective GoFundMe pages.

………

No bias here.

A British psychotherapist, who probably shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near actual patients, has somehow diagnosed all bicyclists as narcissists.

I wonder what she’d say about medical professionals who diagnose people they’ve never met from the comfort of their studio chairs?

Let alone allow their own windshield bias dictate how they respond.

………

Call it the Lake Wobegon effect.

Like Garrison Keillor’s fictional town, where all the children were above average, British motorists seem to think they’re better than average, as well.

In fact, in a recent study, 91% of UK residents consider themselves good drivers — even though most also admit to speeding to get through yellow lights.

But not a hint of narcissism there.

Right?

The same study also shows that 77% of Brits would support an automatic driving ban for people convicted of causing death or serious injury.

And it suggests that bicyclists are 46 times more likely to be killed on UK roads than motorists on a per-mile basis.

Although the problem with that last stat is that bike trips tend to be far shorter than car trips; bike riders spend more time covering shorter distances.

So a more accurate measure would be comparing actual time spent on the road.

………

Here’s your chance to bid on a one-of-a-kind Specialized Allez Sprint custom painted by Spanish artist Felipe Pantone, valued at $45,000, to benefit World Bicycle Relief.

………

Best wishes to longtime SCAG Senior Transportation Planner Alan Thompson, who left his position with the Southern California Association of Governments last week to head up the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Bikeway’s Division.

While he’s somehow managed to stay out of the spotlight over the years, Thompson has been a forceful advocate for bicycling in Southern California, and will be very missed.

Oregon bicyclists will be lucky to have him.

………

Local

Hats off to Santa Monica College, which was upgraded to a silver level bike friendly rating by the League of American Bicyclists, and remains the only community college in California to be named a Bicycle Friendly University.

Streetsblog takes a look at the Wilshire bus-only lane leading to the 405 in Westwood, which drivers have illegally co-opted for another traffic lane.

 

State

Uber has deployed 300 JUMP dockless ebikes on the streets of San Diego, as a writer questions how long they’ll last after other bikeshare providers have pulled out of the city.

Apple is planning to take a hike to improve iOS Maps directions for bicyclists and pedestrians, after a successful test in San Francisco.

Someone please tell San Francisco’s KPIX-TV that there’s a slight difference between a $3 million price tag to complete the bike and pedestrian path along the Bay Bridge, and the actual estimate of $300 million. But really, what’s $297 million between friends?

It’s environmentalists 1, mountain bikes 0, after Marin County agrees to a two-year delay before opening any more trails to bicycles.

 

National

A local news site posted photos of Saturday’s Tour de Tucson, where an estimated 7,000 riders took part.

It takes a major scumbag to steal or tamper with a memorial to a victim of traffic violence. Yet thefts and vandalism of ghost bikes are on the rise in Albuquerque NM.

An Austin TX man was injured after pushing his wife to safety when he was hit head-on by someone driving in the bike lane they were running in.

Chicago marked the annual World Day of Remembrance by placing 132 pairs of white-painted shoes around the Federal Plaza to represent the victims of traffic violence in the city over the past year.

A cyclist pens a love letter to a Minnesota velodrome, soon to be sacrificed for a parking lot.

Grand Rapids MI is succeeding at their Vision Zero efforts, with bicycling crashes dropping to the lowest level since 2008.

NIMBY New York residents rally to demand their unsafe street back; the oddly misnamed Queens Streets for All wants to take the street back from all users, and turn it back over a cars.

Ignoring studies showing that bikeable, walkable streets are good for business, New York business owners complain about a lane reduction and newly widened bike lane that took away 150 parking spaces; a DOT spokesperson says the real problem isn’t the bike lanes, it’s drivers double parking in the only remaining traffic lane.

Now that’s more like it. DC now has a dedicated work crew to clear snow and ice from bike lanes, as well as clearing curb cuts for wheelchair users.

 

International

Once again, a British bike rider has had to withdraw a claim that injuries he suffered from hitting a pothole left him too badly injured to ride, after social media posts showed him competing in the “best obstacle-packed course on the planet.”

A man died after falling off a Belfast bar bike; the 15 passenger rolling pedal-powered pubs are popular with tourists.

A hard-hitting column from a Pakistani writer points out the harassment women face in the country just for riding a bicycle — unless they happen to be Westerners, and white.

Bengaluru, India bike riders are embracing bikeshare, even if the government is struggling to keep up.

A Kenyon paster wowed the country after riding his bike 190 miles to look for work as a driver in Nairobi.

A Wellington, New Zealand writer says the city is on the right track thanks to the city council’s bicycling plans.

An Aussie architect asks when Sydney will finally take bicycling seriously.

Shanghai bikeshare users who break the rules or leave their bikes in the wrong places will now be placed on a blacklist.

Schadenfreude is also a dish best served cold. Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested on fraud charges in Japan for under-reporting his salary; Ghosn had told CNBC in 2016 that bicyclists usually “don’t respect any rules.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Prince Harry’s friend Dean Stott has denied allegations of cheating in his record-breaking ride along the full length of South and North America, blaming disgruntled support staff for the accusations. He broke the existing record by 17 days in order to get home in time for the prince’s wedding.

Belgian cyclist Stig Broeckx is back on a bike, two years after suffering a severe brain injury in a crash with a race moto in the 2016 Tour of Belgium.

Relive Lance’s victory over Marco Pantani on Mount Ventoux in the 2000 Tour from the comfort of your theater seat.

 

Finally…

Maybe marathon isn’t the right word when  your country’s first-ever bike marathon only travels two miles. Ride your bike in the annual Macy’s parade; no, not that one.

And forget carbon, your next lightweight bike could be made of Super Magnesium.

Let’s just hope they’ve overcome that whole explosive/flammable magnesium thing.

 

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Morning Links: CSUN dean looks to ban skateboards, bikes and scooters from campus, and bike election results

November 8, 2018 / / 3 comments

CSUN skateboard users may soon find themselves on double-secret probation.

Like the Deltas in Animal House, skateboards are being targeted by a college dean who apparently wants them booted off campus.

And bicycles and scooters, too.

Dr. Jerry Stinner, the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at California State University Northridge, writes in an email to faculty members that he was recently knocked down by someone on a skateboard.

Which is a bad thing.

And for which the person responsible should be held accountable. Not everyone who tries to get around the CSUN campus by any means other than walking or driving.

Just wait until someone tells him about cars, and the dangers they pose to students and faculty on campus.

Although the image of a college dean pointing a speed gun at unsuspecting students making their way across the massive campus, undoubtedly from his hidden vantage point, is pretty laughable.

But for someone who heads up the mathematics department, he doesn’t seem to have a solid grasp on statistics and polling. His survey questions are clearly slanted to elicit an anti-skateboard/bike/scooter response, rather than any clear gauge of actual attitudes.

Maybe he could have one of those statistics professors draft an actual, unbiased poll that could go out to everyone, including students.

Let’s hope CSUN has some Deltas of their own who are willing to throw a toga party or two to fight injustice.

And show Dean Stinner, and the rest of the CSUN administration, just how ridiculous this is.

Or the next time a pedestrian bumps into him, he may try to ban walking.

………

Streetsblog rounds up the transportation-related issues on California ballots in Tuesday’s election, saying Democratic super-majorities in the state Senate and Assembly bode well for climate change issues and a balanced transportation system.

Meanwhile, Bicycle Retailer catches up with bike-related elections around the US, including the failure of California’s Prop 6. The article notes that Madeleine Dean, wife of the CEO of Performance Bicycle parent company Advanced Sports Enterprises, was elected to represent Pennsylvania in Congress, which should give a good voice for people on bikes.

………

Local

Sandra Marie Wicksted was due in court today to enter a plea in the murder of fallen bicyclist Leslie Pray, and the attempted murder of four other riders, in Claremont last Saturday. However, the hearing was delayed until Friday.

Metro Bike is bringing ebike bikeshare to Union Station in DTLA as part of a pilot program before rolling them out throughout the county.

Three public meetings will be held to discuss closing the eight-mile long gap in the LA River bike path from Elysian Valley to Vernon; the first meeting will take place at 6 pm tonight at Metro Headquarters in DTLA. If you’ve ever tried to make it through that gap section on surface streets, you know how badly the closure is needed.

The Santa Monica Daily Press looks at SaMo’s efforts to establish scooter and bikeshare parking on the streets; doing that throughout the LA area could eliminate complaints about haphazardly parked and abandoned scooters. Although the first thing that jumped out at me was not the parking space in front, but the stripped bike locked to a rack in the background.

 

State

The CEO of ebike maker Pedego is now officially one of Orange County’s most influential people.

A San Diego exhibition, titled I Love to Ride My Bicycle, explores the relationship between artists and their bicycles.

Ventura’s Channel Islands Bike Club will host a presentation on international bicycle tourism tonight, following an ebike demo last month.

More protected bike lanes are sprouting up on the streets of Los Altos.

Interesting study from San Francisco on bicycling’s gender gap, and what prevents women from taking environmental action.

 

National

Bike Index talks with the Russian developer of a free Android app for the bike registration service.

Bike Snob says stop dooring people, already. Bad enough that the illustration shows motorists hitting a bike rider and pedestrian with their doors; dooring a corgi is just going too damn far.

Ford went shopping, and scooped up e-scooter provider Spin for a mere $40 million.; the carmaker also runs San Francisco’s bikeshare program.

Portland’s newly elected city commissioner envisions a carfree future centered on the ability to have bicycles, and free and fast public transit.

Utah will once again consider an Idaho stop law, allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields. Which is only fair, since most drivers don’t come to a full stop, either.

A Montana couple rides a singletrack trail in the Bitterroot Mountains that they fear could disappear in the next few years.

A Dallas website says the city may only have 10.4 miles of bike lanes, but it does have some lovely paths and trails.

A New York letter writer says bicycling “idiots” are a menace to “the 99% of New Yorkers” who don’t ride bikes, and police should shred lawbreaking riders on the spot (second item). I’m oaky with that, as long as the same policy applies to people in cars, as well.

This is also the cost of traffic violence. A driver charged with killing the four-year old daughter of a Tony Award-winning actress and another one-year old boy in a crosswalk while they were in a crosswalk has killed herself. Knowing you took an innocent life would be a damn hard thing to live with for the rest of your life.

DC’s mayor tells the postal service, FedEx and UPS to stop parking in bike lanes. Good luck with that.

A Baltimore woman has made a career out of teaching kids how to ride a bicycle.

Florida is building a 2.4-mile, $2.6 million dollar bike path to close the final gap in a 100-mile trail connecting two counties, part of what will eventually be a 250-mile trail across the state.

 

International

London’s Sun newspaper asks what’s the point of lowering more speed limits to 20 mph when most drivers ignore it anyway — up to 94% during early morning hours. In that case, we might as well get rid of stop signs, legalize drunk and distracted driving and remove turn signals from cars, since many drivers ignore those laws, too.

Cellphone data from a British delivery service proves that bicycles really do move through an urban environment faster than motor vehicles.

A UK bicycling magazine says the Netherlands is ahead of the game once again by proposing to ban cellphone use while riding a bicycle.

Here’s a couple more for your bike bucket list. Cycling Weekly suggests that Madeira, Portugal may be the ultimate adventure cycling destination. Unless you’d prefer a bike tour through Hemingway’s Spain.

No bias here. An Israeli writer says forget the drunk driver, let’s blame the ebike-riding victim because some people don’t ride them safely.

 

Finally…

Your next bike light could be powered by magnets. This is what happens when you put a new bike path between two shooting ranges.

And Homer Simpson is definitely not one of us. Especially when he knocks a bike rider down as a result of donut-distracted driving .

https://gfycat.com/tinyjollygalago

Thanks to Steve for the heads-up.

 

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

Morning Links: Open season on bike riders, false equivalency in the other LA, and Hollywood bike rider injured

October 15, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Open season on bike riders, false equivalency in the other LA, and Hollywood bike rider injured

It’s open season on bicyclists.

A French hunter shot and killed a Welsh mountain biker who was riding in the French Alps, claiming he thought the man was a wild boar — despite his brightly colored helmet.

And despite his colorful bicycle, which wild boars are seldom known to ride.

Thanks Adam Ginsberg and Stefan for the heads-up.

Today’s photo is another reminder of why you never just lock your bike’s wheel to the rack; the thieves not only took the bike, they stripped the tire off the wheel.

………

Seriously, I hate crap like this.

A Louisiana newspaper insists that motorists and bicyclists need cooler heads, drawing a false equivalency after a parish near Baton Rouge passed a series of victim-blaming anti-bike laws.

The laws came in response to a crash that killed a man riding a bike and injured his riding partner. Which local drivers used as an excuse to crackdown on those annoying bike riders, even though the driver was clearly at fault.

The difference is, the motorists are fighting for their own convenience, while the people on the bikes just want to be able to ride without getting killed.

Which is basically the same argument you’ll hear in any public meeting to discuss bikes, anywhere.

Meanwhile, Carlton Reid explains that those annoying people on bikes take the lane because it’s safer, smarter, legal and yes, saves lives.

………

A man appears to have been seriously injured when he was hit by a car while riding his bike in East Hollywood.

https://twitter.com/mpamer/status/1051588334839947264

While no information has been released on the identity of the victim or his condition, later comments in the Twitter thread suggest he may have been a homeless man.

The fact that the entire street was closed for several hours suggests that the police conducted a full investigation, which usually only happens if the victim is killed or suffers life-threatening injuries.

So I hope you’ll join me in offering a prayer for the victim, good thoughts, or whatever you’re comfortable with.

………

Pasadena public radio station KPCC picks up the story of LA’s recent designation as America’s worst bike city, as producer and bike commuter Leo Duran says it’s well-deserved.

And only in part because of all the cars parked in the new Spring Street bike lane.

The interview starts at 26:05. Thanks to LA ebike maker CERO Electric Cargo Bikes for the link. 

………

Horrifying video, as a driver appears to intentionally run down a bicyclist; if you look closely, you can see him holding up his cellphone as if he’s recording the crash.

https://twitter.com/CyclingTodayEn/status/1050647261791674374

No word on where the crash occurred or whether the rider was injured, if the driver was charged, or anything else. And no guarantee this wasn’t staged.

Unfortunately, I lost who sent this to me, so I’ll just have to say thank you to whoever did.

………

Local

Life is cheap in Los Angeles, where a hit-and-run driver got a whopping one year behind bars and a lousy $7,500 restitution for killing a five year old boy. And was released on time served.

LAist gives you all the information Angelenos need to Bike the Vote by mail.

Downtown News looks at the completion of the new Spring Street bike lane in DTLA, which will soon be joined by a similar project going the other way on Main Street.

A Calgary writer calls for tourists to spend a weekend relaxing in WeHo, including a celebrity bike tour with Bikes and Hikes LA. Or you could take a weekend bike getaway in Santa Monica.

A Burbank letter writer gives a big thumbs up to the city’s bike lanes.

Ofo continues its slow speed retraction in the US, as it’s accused of premature withdrawal from the Claremont Colleges.

Bird is pioneering a loophole around restrictions on the number of scooters it’s allowed in Santa Monica by introducing direct delivery and daily rentals, saying those shouldn’t count against its limit.

 

State

A 64-year old bike rider is suing a San Diego cop for allegedly using excessive force during a simple traffic stop for running a stop sign; the officer involved insists the other man was aggressive, bellicose and non-compliant, and was taken to a hospital for a psych evaluation after being taken into custody.

Bike advocates say San Francisco is hindering mobility and making streets less safe, hindering mobility and street safety.

A Sonoma paper suggests taking your bike on your next cruise. Or your first cruise, for that matter.

 

National

City planner, urban designer and author Jeff Speck calls for making cities more bike and pedestrian friendly for the good of all humanity.

In a video for Slate, a bike rider says yes, he wears headphones when he rides, and what of it?

Bicycling explains the differences between various types of bicycles.

An Oregon man gets a well-deserved 11 years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider; he was behind the wheel despite a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit when he was arrested a short time later. He claimed he thought he hit an animal, though he never pulled over to check. And being that drunk, he probably wasn’t capable of conscious thought, anyway.

Former pro Scott Mercier says bikes change lives, citing the story of a 12-year old Mexican immigrant in Colorado whose life changed for the better when she was given a chance to earn a bicycle.

A Detroit writer defends the expanding network of bike lanes in the city, debunking arguments against them while saying the debate boils down to whether the streets are for moving cars from out-of-town commuters or creating livable spaces for the people who live there. Los Angeles clearly went with the former when it unceremoniously yanked out the road diets in Playa del Rey after commuters, many from Manhattan Beach, went ballistic.

A racist New York cop says yes, the city’s police are biased against people on bikes and go out of their way to protect deadly drivers.

Bicyclists in a Georgia town are getting clipped by drivers on a sate roadway. So naturally, their solution is to ban the people on bikes from the roadway.

 

International

The bike visibility arms race goes on with the introduction of a new set of front and rear bicycle turn signals. And virtually guaranteed to confuse any motorist.

Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter makes the argument that we should lose the words pedestrian and cyclist.

Hundreds of London bike riders stage a die-in in front of Parliament to demand funding for a protected bike lane network.

Caught on video: An angry British driver can’t manage to wait a few seconds for a bicyclist to pass another rider, even though he was traveling at 25 mph.

Life is cheap in Scotland, where a driver who killed a bicyclist while trying to pass another rider headed in the opposite direction walked without a single day behind bars. At least he’s banned from driving for ten years, though that doesn’t seem to stop some people.

A Scottish man has amassed a collection of over 400 derailleurs from all over the world, noting a bizarre relationship between the bicycle transmission system and repressive dictators.

A London student takes a humorous look at the people behind the handlebars in Florence, Italy.

The report island of Majorca, Spain has created a rating system to guide bike riders in choosing comfortable riding routes.

A South African veterinarian has shifted his focus to building bespoke bikes, reportedly crafting some of the best road and mountain bikes in the country.

A self-described “average bloke” in Australia says he’s going to help out frustrated drivers by riding to work, even if some people call for banning bikes at rush hour.

Japanese authorities have dropped all charges against a mother whose 16-month old son died when her umbrella got caught in the spokes of the ebike they were both riding. Authorities used the case to encourage parents with small children to ride safely.

A Singapore businessman rode over 4,000 mile across 10 countries on a solar power ebike made by his own Chinese factory.

Over 5,400 bicyclists turned out for a mass Hong Kong bike ride, while saying the city isn’t doing enough to improve traffic safety.

 

Competitive Cycling

An English triathlete bounces back from a near-fatal collision just days before last year’s Ironman to compete in this year’s race, despite spending three months in a halo brace to recover from a broken neck.

A Rwandan newspaper profiles the 21-year old rising star of the national cycling team.

 

Finally…

It takes a village to chase down bike thieves. If you can’t find a safe place to run or ride, just build a new island.

And once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a man rescues a woman who fell into a river trying to rescue her dog.

Naturally, the dog got out on his own.

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

Morning Links: Another bike hating Facebook group, 95-years old and still riding, and LA worst city for walkers

September 19, 2018 / / One comment

This is who we share the roads with.

According to the founders of a Northern Kentucky Facebook group, throwing quarters and lit cigarettes at bicyclists, directing homophobic slurs at bike riders, and saying “exterminate these assholes” is just good, clean American fun.

One of the group’s administrators — a candidate for the local school board, had this to say.

“I see both sides but people need to realize we are just fucking around,” he wrote in a comment on a post in the group. “I hope no one from this group would ever intentionally hurt someone.”

Despite comments like this from others in the group.

“It’s going to look real bad when one of us accidentally run over one of these bicyclist lol,” reads one post a group member wrote Sunday. That post seems to have since been deleted.

” ‘Accidentally’ lol” another member comments.

“What body?” Heim replied.

“You need an alibi I got you,” a fourth group member wrote.

A post by another group administrator, David Andriot, shows a car plowing into a group of cyclists, with several flying into the air.

“I’ll get even with those cyclist (sic) one way or another…” Andriot wrote above the photo.

Evidently I don’t have a very good sense of humor.

Because harassing and assaulting other people — let alone threatening their lives — because you don’t like their chosen means of transportation doesn’t seem very funny to me.

But what the hell do I know?

………

I want to be like him when I grow up.

A 95-year old Iowa man still rides 10 miles a day using an adult tricycle, even though he can barely walk.

More proof that just about anyone can bike. And that bike lanes benefit the elderly and disabled, despite what bike lane opponents and traffic safety deniers insist.

………

Local

Is anyone really surprised that Los Angeles is the most dangerous city in the US for pedestrians, with more than twice as many fatalities as the next highest city?

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton says the positives about the $20 million, ten-year MyFigueroa Complete Streets project are undermined by scofflaw drivers.

Curbed writes about nine cities throughout the US with smart ideas to improve transportation — including LA’s commitment to electric buses and Santa Monica’s Scooter City USA.

KABC-7 offers advice on how to deal with neck and back pain caused by riding, while Red Bull gives tips on how to stay comfortable on endurance rides.

 

State

The last fatal mountain lion attack in California came 14 years ago, when a mountain biker fixing a broken chain was killed in Orange County’s Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. Note: Thanks to Mike Wilkinson and J. Patrick Lynch for pointing out that I originally wrote “mountain bike attack,” rather than “mountain lion.” It should be noted that mountain bikes seldom attack. And when they do, it’s usually their owners.

San Diego approved plans for dense housing and commercial projects around the city’s sports arena, including 30 acres of parks, bike lanes and a bay-to-bay trail.

A writer from the University of California says the problem isn’t the scooters on our streets, it’s the streets themselves.

Curbed’s Alissa Walker says representatives of more than 400 cities around the world attending the recent climate summit in San Francisco were obsessed with electric cars, rather than biking and walking, which have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions faster.

 

National

An architecture and design site questions whether e-scooters are bad for the environment.

After a series of bicycling fatalities in Chicago, the city council opened the floor to bike riders to vent their anger. And more importantly, actually listened to them. Unlike a certain SoCal city we could name.

Life is cheap in Ohio, where a driver will serve 16 days home confinement, followed by a whopping 14 days behind bars after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of a bike rider.

Indiana second graders learn the meaning of a ghost bike near their school, and decide that everyone should know about it.

A bikeshare rider goes for a ride, partly against traffic, in a Boston highway tunnel.

A planned expansion of Arlington National Cemetery could be good news for local bike riders.

A Florida woman woman rides 50 miles a day after surviving a stroke five years ago, riding primarily through black communities so they can see an African American woman on a bike; she’s planning to ride 2,200 miles across the US to Burbank.

 

International

Keep riding your bike. Greenhouse gas emissions have started to decline in 27 cities around the world — including car-choked Los Angeles.

Five cities around the world that made their streets safer through urban design. Any guesses on whether LA is one of them? Anyone?

Cycling Weekly tells you what to look for in energy gels. How about one that comes with a wet wipe to clean your hands afterwards?

The Guardian asks what a truly walkable city would look like. And looks at life in the Spanish city of Pontevedra, where cars are banned from the central city. We could only dream. Thanks to Stephen Katz for the heads-up.

Vancouver’s aggressively auto-centric mayoral candidate, who’s running on a platform attacking lawless bike riders and pedestrians, while promising to rip out the city’s bike lanes, failed to show up for a court hearing on a distracted driving ticket; she claims the officer mistook her makeup compact for a cellphone. Sure, let’s go with that.

Monday was a rough day for Toronto bike riders, with three injured, and a 72-year old man killed, in just a single four-hour period. Thanks again to Stephen Katz.

Fifty London streets will be closed to motor vehicle traffic on Saturday for World Car Free Day.

A new survey shows Glasgow bicyclists and drivers hold a dim view of one another.

The Jerusalem Post celebrates Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, by relating the history of bicycling in Israel and Palestine.

The next round of Trump’s tariffs going into effect next week will include Chinese-made bicycles, frames and components, potentially making your next bike or parts 25% more expensive; bike safety equipment like helmets and lights were removed from the list.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling profiles Mike Wood, the Canadian cyclist who made the WorldTour just three years after he started racing. And made cycling fans cry by revealing he dedicated his stage win in the Vuelta to his stillborn son.

2016 Paris-Roubaix champion Mathew Hayman will retire after 20 years in the pro peloton.

 

Finally…

Now you can go electric on gravel. When you’re carrying meth on your bike, don’t ride salmon without lights and run red lights — or flee from the police.

And if you’re going to spend ten years riding your bike around the world, don’t wait until you’re already 60 miles away to tell your wife.

………

I’ve been blown away by the generosity of BikinginLA readers this week. So let me thank Kevin G and Alan C for their generous donations to help support this site. 

If everyone who visits BikinginLA today donated just $10, it would be more than enough to keep to keep this site going for a full year.

And G’mar Tov to all our Jewish friends; may your fast be easy.

………

Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia on September 30th!

Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: It’s a Day Without a Scooter in SaMo, progress on Beverly Hills bike lanes, and NACTO visits LA

August 14, 2018 / / 2 comments

Still more news on the scooter beat.

Supporters of Lime and Bird e-scooters are urged to head to Santa Monica City Hall tonight to protest plans to boot the popular scooter providers out of town.

City staff has recommended using scooters provided by Lyft and Uber, instead, the latter of which clearly intends to monopolize every form of shared transportation humanly possible.

Call me crazy, but it makes far more sense to me to work with the scooter companies that have already established a solid foothold in the city, then bring in other companies to compete with them on an even basis.

Meanwhile, an Ohio city shows that it is in fact possible to take a common sense approach to scooters.

………

Patrick Pascal sends word that bike lane striping on the westbound side of Santa Monica Blvd is about one-third finished, currently stretching from Doheny to Palms in the former Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills.

………

NACTO will be meeting in Los Angeles in two months.

The group, formally known as the National Association of City Transportation Officials, will be coming here the first week of October to discuss Designing Cities.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti paints a glowing picture for attendees of a city transforming the way we get around.

Maybe we can get the mayor to take them on a tour of Temple Street, and 6th Street, and Lankershim Blvd, and Westwood Blvd, and Central Ave, and North Figueroa, and all the other streets where LA councilmembers have blocked that “transformation.”

Not to mention Rowena Ave, where Councilmember David Ryu apparently wants to rip out one that’s already been successfully transformed.

………

No bias here.

An Ohio TV station reports that a 60-year old bicyclist was killed in a collision after he ran a stop sign.

But what they fail to mention is that he was competing in a triathlon at the time.

………

Local

CiclaValley looks at how the North Hollywood Block Party I couldn’t talk my wife into going to claimed the streets, if only for one day.

Councilmember Jose Huizar officially opened the new and improved Alhambra Avenue, including 1.5 miles of lane reductions and door zone bike lanes. Proving that it is possible to implement a road diet in Los Angeles, as long as it doesn’t affect entitled Westside drivers.

Burbank opens far more appealing buffered bike lanes on Riverside Drive, with the buffer on the curb side to keep riders out of the door zone; it could be coming to 1st Street soon, as well.

Pasadena authorities are urging drivers to be cautious as thousands of children head back to school this week. That goes both ways for bikes — ride carefully around children, and ride defensively around their parents as they drop them off.

 

State

California’s record wildfires are having a negative effect on bicycle sales across the state.

A real estate website ranks the nation’s most affordable “outdoorsy” cities, with Bakersfield coming in number two on the list behind Spokane WA.

Berkeley is installing a hybrid traffic signal designed to automatically detect bicycles and trigger a flashing yellow light, followed by a red light.

A bike-riding Stockton minister led the installation of a ghost bike for a man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago; he also runs the bicycle ministry for a local Episcopal church.

That’s a safe bet. A Chico letter writer says the driver who struck and killed a bike-riding physician apparently didn’t give the victim a three-foot passing distance.

 

National

NFL legend Emmitt Smith is one of us, as the three-time Super Bowl champ has traded his running shoes for a bicycle. Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

Bicycling recounts 30 “insane” cycling records, including the world’s tallest rideable bike, Stoopidtaller built by LA’s own Richie Trimble.

Life is cheap in Kansas, where no charges will be filed against the driver who ran down and killed two German bike tourists last May. Apparently not noticing two people on bicycles directly in front of your car before you run them over is perfectly legal in Kansas.

A Texas bus driver blames a bike rider after sideswiping him, even though the rider was in the bike lane the bus driver kept drifting into.

A conservative writer calls a Chicago bike rider’s decision not to report a crash with elderly Latina driver who was in the country illegally “lefty compassion run amok,” even though she once did exactly the same thing. Except in her case, he was Irish. Which I’m sure had nothing to do with her change of heart. Right?

A 15-year old Kentucky girl says she’s not going to ride her bike again after she was hit by the town’s mayor while riding in a crosswalk; the mayor was cited for hit-and-run after he drove off, then returned later, claiming he had no idea he hit anyone despite knocking the girl off her bike.

A Vermont police chief survives the dreaded death wobble after crashing while descending at 45 mph. Thanks to Opus the Poet for the link.

He gets it. An Op-Ed in the New York Daily News says it’s time to stop blaming bicyclists for their deaths, adding “those of us who don’t drive SUVs everywhere are not just second-class citizens — we’re disposable.”

A Pennsylvania county adopts an ambitious bike plan calling for 800 miles of bike-friendly paths, even though it currently has just 19 miles of bike lanes. Although as we’ve learned the hard way in Los Angeles, a bike plan is meaningless until you can actually ride it.

Great idea. A coalition of bicycling organizations has released a subway-style map showing what an actual network of connected bikeways could do to better serve the DC area.

 

International

Canadian bicyclists are calling for the legalization of riding two abreast after five riders were run down and injured in Edmonton; a bike club was riding abreast when the driver somehow failed to see them right in front of him. One of the injured riders understandably says it’s heightened his fear of cars.

Speaking of Edmonton, local bicyclists say the proposed location of a protected bike lane is just an attempt to make drivers happy.

Police in the UK defend their actions after being criticized on social media for stopping 50 kids who were popping wheelies and riding their bikes in an “anti-social manner.”

Britain’s Conservative Party has deleted a tweet accused of demonizing bicyclists, as they attempt to crack down on the perceived threat of dangerous bicyclists. Cycling Weekly responds by noting that you’re more likely to be killed by cows than someone on a bike, while Chris Boadman says you’re more likely to be killed by Christmas decorations, and asks why they hate us. Good question.

In a sad commentary on the state of British roads, a 95-year old English couple is giving up riding their tandem after 78 years because of disrespectful drivers.

A Freedom of Information request shows Dublin’s city council is failing to meet demands for bicycling infrastructure. Which sounds like another city council we could name, in a city NACTO will be visiting soon.

Maybe you’d like to try a little Irish speed dating on two wheels.

A German vehicle association has developed a new standard for measuring the range of ebikes, promising to level the playing field in comparing one ebike to another.

Boston-based bikeshare startup Go Bike is focusing on Nigeria as the first step in their goal of becoming the leading bikeshare provider in Africa.

Chinese dockless bikeshare provider Mobike has developed their own ebike with a top speed of 12 mph. Which is the same slow speed a Los Angeles proposal would limit scooters to.

 

Competitive Cycling

The all-diabetic Team Novo Nordisk makes a Rwanda radio DJ eat his words after he said diabetics can’t compete and that the team was a joke, by coming back to win the Tour of Rwanda.

Cycling Tips admires the climbing ability of Tour of Utah winner Sepp Kuss. Then again, who doesn’t?

You may be seeing double at the Vuelta, as the Yates twins make late decisions to ride.

A 33-year old British man set a new record by running the entire course of the 2018 Tour de France, beating the cyclists to Paris, in the latest moving piece by Peter Flax.

 

Finally…

Your next Pashley could be a Morgan. Your next Yamaha could have pedals — and a battery.

And someone should tell the paper this sequence of events is highly unlikely.

 

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

Morning Links: Bike Snob takes down Venice science writer, and bike shop ticketed for city-owned bike racks

January 8, 2018 / / 4 comments

Last weekend, it seemed like every bike rider in Los Angeles had the privilege of being muted by self-described “science-based advice columnist & radio host” Amy Alkon.

Or at all the ones on Twitter.

Myself included.

Not content to merely be part of the crowd calling for the removal of the protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd, Alkon upped the ante by calling parents, and soon-to-be moms, who rode bikes on the street with their kids “assholes” who should have their children taken away for child endangerment.

And anyone who disagreed with her, no matter rudely or politely, was seen by her as part of a mob of “cycling ideologues” — or worse — who were attempting to bully her into silence. And then summarily muted before they could contradict her.

Once again, myself included.

Never mind that I can’t recall a single instance of a child being killed while riding with a parent anywhere in the LA area in the six years I’ve been keeping track.

Neither, apparently, can Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss, writing about it in Outside Magazine.

Can carrying a kid on a bike be dangerous? Sure. I’d imagine hillbombing in San Francisco on a brakeless fixie with junior in tow could end pretty badly. Then again, so would doing the same thing with a Bugaboo, and it’s a virtual certainty you’re not going to be attempting either. The bottom line is that, despite drivers’ best efforts to hit us, cycling itself just isn’t that dangerous (you can even argue it’s the safest form of transport)—and the conservative approach any halfway sensible parent takes to riding with a kid onboard is even safer.

On the other hand, if your goal is to endanger your children in transit, then you can’t do any better than using a car. Setting aside the thousands of children who die in collisions every year, an average of 37 kids are killed annually due to being left in hot cars, and even more suffer “backover deaths,” which are exactly what they sound like.

It’s a good read, and more than worth a few minutes of your morning.

Because these are the people we have to deal with on a daily basis, whether fighting for safer streets or just trying to ride down them in peace.

And like Alkon, too many refuse to listen to reason.

Or anything else.

………

By far the best story of the day.

A Florida bike shop was cited for installing a pair of spiral bike racks on the sidewalk without the proper permits or inspections.

Except they had actually been installed by the city two weeks earlier.

Oops.

………

Local

Brace yourself for wet riding, with heavy rains predicted for the LA area over the next few days.

Voting is open for Streetsblog’s Civil Servant of the Year.

A letter in the LA Times says a proposed bill wouldn’t automatically open wilderness areas to mountain bikers, but leave it up to local administrators instead.

The New Yorker takes a walking tour of sites used by Nazis, fascists and the spies who fought them in the City of Angels in the years leading up to WWII, which you could undoubtedly do by bike, as well.

Planning is moving forward for a 1.7 mile Complete Streets project on Broadway in Long Beach.

 

State

Ventura police bust a bike thief using a bait bike. Something that’s still not being used here in Los Angeles.

Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties are trying to attract bike tourists with a 160-mile grand loop though the both counties.

Google is losing up to 250 of their company bikes every week, as some residents of Mountain View see them as a community asset, and others see bike snatching as an act of retribution.

Sad news from Livermore, where a woman was killed when her bike went off the road on a descent.

A Marin County driver got his road rage case tossed after completing an anger management course. Never mind that he was caught on video threatening to get a shotgun and shoot a bike rider’s head off.

 

National

A writer for Bicycling talks about falling in love with bikepacking.

Your next bike could be a weird-looking DIY front-wheel drive cross between a bicycle and a unicycle.

Even in cold and windy Laramie WY, it’s possible to ride a bike year-round. And yet people still think you can’t ride through the winter in sunny Southern California.

A Dallas TX suburb decides the solution to dockless bikeshare bikes being left in inconvenient places is to ban them entirely; although this might have something to do with it.

Bicycling is now the official exercise of Illinois. Unlike California, where the official exercise appears to be complaining about bike lanes and the people who use them.

I think I’ve found my new career. A Philadelphia man is riding around the city with his dogs on his bike, charging people to take their picture.

 

International

A Canadian letter writer says a bike path extension was a waste of money because it doesn’t get plowed after it snows. Which seems to be a better argument for clearing the path so it can be used all year.

London will roll out e-cargo bike deliveries in the historic city center in an effort to cut pollution, following a successful trial over the holidays.

A UK paper writes about a 13-year old boy whose bike was stolen shortly after Christmas. Then illustrates the story with a photo of a kid’s balance bike.

Caught on video: A Brit bicyclist nearly gets nailed by a driver who rolls through an intersection onto the wrong side of the road.

A British business site talks with the CEO of Brompton, who says the secret of the folding bike’s success is to focus on the product, stick to what you know and obsess about it.

Get your very own semi-bespoke British bike for the equivalent of $2,400.

After a UK parliament member loses his license for distracted driving, people in his district start a pointed crowdfunding campaign to buy him a new bicycle.

A pair of Indian bicyclists are riding nearly 12,500 miles across the country to raise awareness of polio, health and hygiene.

More proof that bicyclists everywhere face the same problems. An Australian writer says ordinary bike riders are afraid of drivers — especially the ones who honk, shout and hurl profanities.

Speaking of profanities, an Aussie bicyclist was caught on video screaming obscenities at a woman and smashing the side mirror on her car after she apparently cut him off. Don’t do that. Period.

A Kiwi writer asks New Zealanders to imagine a country where everyone rides ebikes and public transit.

A Japanese train just for bicycles and their riders rolls out of Tokyo every weekend, headed from the prime bike riding routes of Chiba Prefecture.

Singapore opens an automated bike parking garage that can hold over 500 bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

Head up to Lake Tahoe for the Cyclocross National Championships starting this Wednesday.

Atlanta music teacher Ayesha McGowan is on a mission to become the first African American female pro cyclist. It seems ridiculous that there haven’t already been many, let alone one.

American pro Tejay van Garderen has traded Aspen for Girona, Spain.

Pro cyclist Mia Manganello qualifies for the US Olympic team on her return to speed skating after a five-year break.

 

Finally…

Note to self: If you see something that looks like a hand grenade while riding your bike, leave it alone. Anyone can ride around the world sober; the challenge is to do it stoned.

And nothing like turning a city into your personal Strava doodle pad.

Or Labra-doodle pad, in this case.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Leading climate change denier attacks bikes, and problems bicyclists face on the road & with police

December 11, 2017 / / 2 comments

He’s back.

The anti-bike writer in the Financial Post who called for banning bicycles last week, saying cities made a huge mistake in promoting bicycling, is back with a second screed even less informed than the first.

Fake news, indeed.

Lawrence Solomon, executive director of the Urban Renaissance Institute, is back to misstate and misinterpret bicycling crash statistics to suggest that bikes have made the streets more dangerous, going so far as to cite unnamed studies “not funded by bike-path proponents” that show bike infrastructure actually increases crashes.

Which is the exact opposite of every study I’ve ever seen, few, if any, of which have been funded by “bike path proponents.”

It’s the worst kind of drivel, taking unrelated data points to support his arguments, such as suggesting that the recent increase in overall traffic fatalities is somehow due to the increase in bicycling, and that bike riders are almost always the ones at fault in any crash.

The problem is, his baseless arguments have given cover to other writers to attack bikes and bike lanes, like a Staten Island columnist who asks if we’re watching the beginning of an anti-cycling bikelash, or the writer for an alt-right website who does little more than repost Solomon’s arguments.

However, few of those echoing his arguments have bothered to consider who it is who’s doing the writing — a leading climate change denier and anti-vaxxer funded by the oil and gas industry, posing as “one of Canada’s leading environmentalists.” Solomon has gone so far as to call the groundbreaking Kyoto Protocol “the single biggest threat to the global environment.”

Which would suggest that everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

If not an entire bag.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the alt-right link.

………

A writer for Outside captures succinctly the problems bike riders face on the roads.

Let that sink in: I was in a bike lane, wearing a bright orange helmet, sans earphones, when a car traveling over the speed limit and completely off the road struck me from behind—and the police tried to ticket me and let the driver go free. I realized that day that altercations between cars and bikes aren’t so much about the risk factors, like distracted driving, bike lanes, or mountain versus road. They’re about a car culture that devalues bikes.

Over the years, passing motorists have thrown and struck me with eggs, fountain drinks, and, once, a half-empty can of beer. I’ve been shouted at, flipped off, menaced, driven into the shoulder, and even chased on foot. My own father-in-law grouses regularly about cyclists on the road and likes to joke about “door-popping” them. If cyclists can’t even rely on our families or the police, it’s clear that we are on our own.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read.

If you’ve been hit by a driver, you may recognize yourself in the story. I certainly do; when I was run down by a road raging driver, the police officers who responded believed her story. And ended up threatening to arrest me for filing a false police report, leaving me to limp home with a broken arm and damaged bike.

If not, it’s fair warning that you may be blamed in a crash even if you didn’t do anything wrong.

It’s not right. But it’s the battle we have to fight far too often.

Note: I originally left out the link to this piece; thanks to Mike Wilkinson and J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

………

BOLO Alert: A bike rider was seriously injured in a hit-and-run in La Tuna Canyon on Saturday; the victim was still unconscious after 20 hours in the ICU. The vehicle was described as a newer black Mazda SUV. Thanks to Mike Kim for the tip.

………

A reminder that if you haven’t signed it already, you can support one of LA’s most underserved communities by signing a petition calling for bike lanes in DTLA’s Skid Row.

We the undersigned residents of the City of Los Angeles, sign this petition calling on Council member Jose Huizar of the 14th District and the Department of Transportation to begin the process of creating Skid Row specific bike lanes on 5th street heading west and 6th street heading east. Skid Row has one of the largest bicycle riding populations in Los Angeles and because of this, we feel that we need bike lanes on these streets to improve public safety.

Thanks to Bobby Peppey for the heads-up.

………

‘Tis the season.

Over 400 Cathedral City students got new bikes for getting good grades.

One hundred ninety Clovis kids got new bikes and helmets thanks to a local nonprofit group.

Hundreds of Sonoma County fire victims got new bikes on Sunday.

Five hundred kids in Tucson got new bicycles thanks to a local community activist.

Eighty Aurora IL volunteers built 350 bicycles to donate to kids.

Roughly 100 San Antonio kids took home new bikes as part of an earn-a-bike program.

One hundred bikes were donated to children of law enforcement officers in College Station TX.

Around 35 Santas rode their bikes to raise $5,000 for a Green Bay, Wisconsin children’s hospital.

Around 90 people took part in a 1.2 mile bike ride through an underground cavern in Louisville KY, decorated with more than 2 million lights and past 850 holiday displays.

An Ulster NY bicycle club donated 30 bicycles and helmets to the local county children’s services.

………

It’s Day 18 of the 3rd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

You can help keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the Zelle app that is probably already in the banking app on your smartphone; send your contribution to ted @ bikinginla dot com (remove the spaces and format as a standard email address).

Any donation, in any amount, is truly and deeply appreciated.

As an added bonus, frequent contributor Megan Lynch will provide a free download of her CD Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me to anyone who makes a contribution during the fund drive. If you’ve already contributed and would like a copy, just email me at the address above and I’ll forward it to her.

………

Local

By all reports, Los Angeles enjoyed another successful CicLAvia yesterday; next year could see one in running through San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona and Claremont.

Metro Bike Share wants your feedback, whether or not you’ve ever used bikeshare.

David Wolfberg points out that even the LA Auto Show doesn’t recommend driving there.

 

State

Smoking dope will soon be banned in motor vehicles in California. But bikes aren’t considered motor vehicles under California law, so puff away. As long as you don’t do it in public or ride under the influence.

The Orange County Register’s David Whiting looks at efforts to clear homeless camps off the Santa Ana River Trail, even though the people living in them have nowhere else to go.

UC Santa Barbara students are having to bike through smoke and ash from the Thomas Fire to get ready for finals.

Life is cheap in San Luis Obispo, where a 60-year old driver gets 90 days behind bars for illegally crossing a double yellow line to pass another vehicle, and killing a bike rider in a head-on crash; he’s expected to actually serve just half of that. The driver is reportedly grief-stricken. Although likely not as much as the relatives of the victim.

A San Luis Obispo man responds to recent anti-bike columns by asking city officials to make it safer for people on bicycles, and for local residents to spare a few moments for the safety of cyclists.

Sad news from Fresno, where a bicyclist was killed by a suspect drunk hit-and-run driver.

A tragic find, as a bike rider discovered a young woman’s body in the water along a Sunnyvale bike trail.

Life is even cheaper in Napa, where a 77-year old woman got three years probation and had her license permanently revoked for the hit-and-run death of a popular cyclist.

A Boston website says Marin County’s West Ridgecrest road up Mt. Tamalpais may be one of the best bike rides in the US.

An Oak Park man in riding his bicycle around Sacramento, collecting garbage and scraps to turn into compost. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

 

National

The Wall Street Journal says gadget obsessed cyclists need a data detox, while a writer for Slate complains that he doesn’t even know how turn off the tech and ride his bike for fun anymore. Seriously, turn everything off, and for the rest of this month, just ride for the fun of it. You might even remember why you love bicycling again.

NPR looks at automakers attempts to woo members of Gen Z, who have shown little interest in owning cars so far.

California Congressman Tom McClintock discusses his bill to allow bicycles back in wilderness areas.

A Denver weekly looks at how the murder of mountain biking legend Mike Rust was finally solved, seven years after he disappeared; his killer was found guilty of 1st degree murder last week, along with a host of other charges.

A Colorado newspaper applauds plans to make the town more walkable and bikeable, but worries about the loss of 162 downtown parking places. Because everyone knows people never walk or bike to go shopping. Right?

A group from my hometown is asking the public for another 75 bicycles so they can donate 400 bikes to kids for the holidays. And they can drop off those bikes at the shop where I bought my first bike, back when dinosaurs still walked the earth.

A Chicago letter writer suggests everyone walking on the river walk should wear a bike helmet, since city hall somehow ignored his letter demanding that bikes to be banned from the path.

Still no explanation for what drove a bike-riding doctor to attack his neighbor, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

The surgeon who treated Bono after his Central Park bicycling crash was found dead in his New York apartment with a knife plunged into his chest, the victim of an apparent suicide.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 79-year old Georgia man is riding from Northern California to Atlanta.

Seriously? A Tallahassee FL writer welcomes dockless bikeshare to town, but worries where people will park their cars to use them.

 

International

A Canadian cycling magazine calls on the country to adopt a National Cycling Strategy. Something you’re not likely to ever see in the US.

The war on bikes continues, as someone vandalized a bike belonging to the mayor of Victoria, British Columbia for the second time; she doesn’t want to believe it has anything to do with her support for bike lanes.

Roughly 180,000 Quebec residents ride their bikes all through the winter, despite the cold and snow. Tell that to the next person who tells you Angelenos won’t ride their bikes to work year-round.

This is what happens when you install a temporary bike lane around a Toronto construction site, but don’t do anything to accommodate people on foot.

Ed Sheeran gets back on a bike in London for the first time since he broke both arms in a crash, even if it did have training wheels.

Shades of Children of the Corn. A British town is installing bollards designed to look like little children, and stare back at drivers to get their attention. Thanks again to David Wolfberg.

A Bulgarian expat has formed a volunteer crew to rescue damaged and abandoned dockless bikeshare bikes in Singapore; he may have his work cut out for him.

A Pakistani woman became the first woman to ride a bike up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

An Indian man is riding across the country to encourage people to ride to work.

 

Competitive Cycling

A freshly bearded cycling great Bradley Wiggins craps out in his attempt to make the British rowing team, after mistakenly lowering his oars in a “schoolboy error.”

The very busy Peter Flax has written a great profile of lifelong bike racer Bill Elliston, saying that Elliston, while never quite fast enough to make the pros, “represents much that is pure and good in the sport of bike racing.”

 

Finally…

Kylo Ren is one of us. We may have to worry about distracted drivers, but at least we don’t have dodge zebras.

And Australia chose their bird of the year even though it attacks bicyclists.

Or maybe because of it.

 

Category: Anti-bike bias, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Manhattan Beach declares war over LA roadwork; Better Bike celebrates SaMo Blvd bike lanes

June 22, 2017 / / 7 comments

Manhattan Beach has declared war on Los Angeles.

According to a Facebook post from the group fighting to reverse the changes on Vista del Mar, the Manhattan Beach city council voted to go to the mattresses in a battle with the City of Angels.

Remarkably, the comments to that post blame the free parking on the roadway — which has always existed — with an apparent increase in trash, which has always been there. But which they apparently never noticed before because it was hidden by parked cars.

Thanks to Peter Flax for the screen grab

Meanwhile, the Argonaut reports on the road rage over the road reconstruction on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, and four streets in Playa del Rey, including Vista del Mar. And illustrates it with a photo showing, not just no traffic backup on Venice, but virtually no motor vehicle traffic at all.

Rather than give these projects a chance, the motor maniacal NIMBYs want to rip them out right away. And if that’s not possible, they want to rip popular Westside Councilmember Mike Bonin out of the seat he was just overwhelmingly re-elected to.

On June 13 more than 100 residents of Mar Vista, Playa del Rey and Westchester lambasted the changes during a boisterous Mar Vista Community Council meeting, many of them peppering Bonin mobility deputy Jesse Holzer and Great Streets senior project manager Carter Rubin with a mix of questions and insults.

“Will a recall petition affect the pilot project? How quickly can we get rid of this dumb idea?” asked Edwin Ortega.

Morgan Pietz, a civil litigator who lives in Ladera Heights and works in Century City, said he’s creating a political action committee to fundraise for a campaign not only to restore traffic lanes on Venice Boulevard, but also to oppose any future lane reductions elsewhere.

So rather than just reverse the beachside street projects he objects to, Pietz wants to halt all road diets and Complete Streets projects anywhere in the city, whether local residents want them or not.

And Vision Zero be damned.

But as the Manhattan Beach council vote illustrates, most of the people fighting these projects, particularly in Playa del Rey, live outside the City of Los Angeles, many in homes far beyond the reach of average Angelenos. And commute to their jobs miles away in Santa Monica or Century City, demanding the right to continue their unsustainable lifestyle, and expecting LA to pay the price — financially and environmentally, as well as in human lives.

Maybe instead of a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to fight the road projects, they could pitch in to pay the next massive legal judgment against the city the next time someone gets killed. And buy a little compassion while they’re at it.

It cost Los Angeles $9.5 million to settle the most recent lawsuit over the death of a 16-year old girl killed crossing Vista del Mar, in part because of the complete lack of crosswalks along the deadly street.

And it will cost the city many times that to settle the next one if nothing is done to improve safety, since the city clearly knows about the dangers on the street. Hence the urgency in making the changes.

Never mind that it’s the right thing to do to place the safety of human lives over the inconvenience of drivers, which will pass as people adjust to the changes.

Speaking of adjusting, any guesses how many of the people complaining about the horrendous traffic backups actually carpool to reduce congestion and their carbon footprint? You can probably count them on one finger. And yes, I’d suggest using that one.

Bonin explained his actions in a thoughtful, detailed and moving email yesterday, which should be required reading for anyone on either side of this debate. One demonstrating the political courage and decency that’s long been missing from most of LA’s elected leaders.

He promises to hold a community meeting in a month to discuss the changes, and to be there in person — in a city where officials usually hide from angry constituents.

By that time, LADOT should have actual statistics to show if the projects have been successful in reducing injury collisions, rather than the apocalyptic anecdotes thrown out by opponents.

And traffic congestion should have begun to dissipate as people adjust to the changes.

So hopefully, by then cooler heads will prevail and they’ll be able to discuss this like rational adults, instead of petulant children whose favorite toys have just been taken away.

Yeah, I know. As if.

Meanwhile, the LACBC’s next Sunday Funday ride on July 2nd invites you to explore the new street reconfigurations in Mar Vista and Playa del Rey that South Bay drivers seem to consider a sign of the end times.

………

This year’s Tour of California champ George Bennett is just the latest cyclist to be hit by a car while training; fortunately, he only suffered minor injuries.

A women’s cyclist discusses the things she doesn’t miss now that she’s retired from competition, along with a few things she does.

No, poop doping isn’t likely to be a thing anytime soon; a professor at UC Davis calls the story ridiculously irresponsible. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

When banned dopers Lance Armstrong and former US Postal manager Johan Bruyneel oppose the re-election of UCI chief Brian Cookson, it seems almost like an endorsement.

………

Local

Better Bike’s Mark Elliot takes a well deserved victory lap, reporting on the Beverly Hills City Council’s surprising unanimous vote to install bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd. And the even more surprising vote to paint them a hi-visibility color, to the undoubted chagrin of the film industry.

Streetsblog reports the Santa Monica Blvd bike lanes should be installed next year, while crediting a handful of advocates for keeping up the ultimately successful fight.

You can let Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse know just how happy you are with the council’s decision when she hosts a public bike ride on August 20th.

Long Beach improves the complicated five-way intersection of Walnut Avenue, East 20th Street and Alamitos Avenue to benefit pedestrian and bicycle safety, and pave the way for a planned bike network.

 

State

Del Mar is rolling out preliminary designs for a facelift of the downtown area, including new bike lanes on Camino del Mar and some side streets.

A Redlands minister discusses the cross-country bike ride he took last year to raise funds for a new playground at his church.

A Santa Cruz cyclist is suing just about everyone who had anything to do with developing a traffic circle where she fell and broke her hip, alleging there were no warning signs about the train tracks where she apparently caught a wheel.

It was a tragic day for bike riders in Central and Northern California yesterday, as three riders lost their lives in separate collisions.

Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious reports that Chinese bikeshare company Bluegogo has suspended their planned invasion of the Bay Area, and will be withdrawing from American shores.

 

National

A new research paper suggests there’s a one-to-one relationship between new highway lane capacity and traffic increases, yet planners fail to take induced demand into account when designing new projects. Hopefully there’s a one-to-one relationship with removing lane capacity, as well.

It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Elly Blue, who’s started a Kickstarter campaign to fund Bikequity, described as a feminist bicycle zine about class and social justice.

People for Bikes wants your help to choose a new name for Bike Boulevards. Los Angeles calls them Bicycle Friendly Streets in the city’s mobility plan. But doesn’t seem to want to build any.

Instead of building a traditional street, Portland has built a 130-foot long street just for bicycles to connect three new buildings in the downtown area.

Don’t plan on going to Interbike in Las Vegas without a pass this year; the bicycle trade show has stopped allowing the public in on the final day of the show, as they have the past few years.

A New Zealand man is on his way back home after being seriously injured when he was hit by the driver of an SUV atop a Colorado pass while riding across the US; he’s now stuck with a $150,000 bill for medical expenses until a settlement can be reached.

An Iowa city has officially opened a new bike path segment, part of a 3,000 mile trail along the Mississippi River.

Relatives of a Chicago bike rider insist he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver, even though police say he just fell off his bike.

A new Minneapolis study shows there’s safety in numbers for pedestrians, as well. Unless this jackass happens to be around.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, a Massachusetts man is devoting whatever time he has left to fixing up bicycles to give to local kids.

It really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that riding a bike is at least as fast, if not faster, than taking a cab in New York City; researchers used data from cabs and the city’s Citi Bike bikeshare to reach that conclusion.

A bighearted Virginia sheriff’s deputy buys a new bike for a four-year old girl after hers was stolen.

A New Orleans cyclist was stabbed in the arm and accused of stealing the bike he was riding, by a man who then stole the bike he was riding.

Awhile back, we mentioned the man who was riding his bicycle across the US to visit every major league baseball stadium; sadly, his journey ended when he was hit by a car in Alabama, suffering serious injuries. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the link.

 

International

London’s mayor plans to make the entire city emissions-free by 2050, through a mix of zero-emission vehicles and increasing the mode share for bicycling, walking and transit to a whopping 80%, while cutting motor vehicle traffic by 3 million miles a day.

A London cyclist says hell is a city full of non-cyclists on bikeshare bikes.

There’s now a £2,000 reward — the equivalent of over $2,500 — to capture the British bike rider who was caught on video recently nearly getting smashed by a train when he climbed over the crossing barricades, after the near miss left the engineer with psychological trauma. Maybe it was the man shaking his fist at the train that nearly hit him that pushed the engineer over the edge.

So much for your GPS and Strava. A Dutch company has developed a new bike lock that blocks the cellular network for your mobile phone while you ride, releasing it once you lock your bike using the related app. Now if we can just require every driver to use one.

 

Finally…

How to achieve udder comfort on your bike. Now you, too, can own your very own old media publishing empire.

And if you’re going to fire a toy gun at a group of cyclists, make sure none of them are the king of a foreign country first.

 

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