She gets it.
A writer for Culver City Crossroads complains about a lawn sign campaign to “Save Overland” from the Better Overland Complete Streets project.
She argues that the opposition campaign is “both amazing and shocking. Also, laughable.”
The slogans on these signs are not just false, they are complete reversals of truth. That is organized disinformation.
So, first of all, there is no plan to remove all the parking from Overland Ave. Making this the top slogan shows that the people leading this campaign are consciously using a bait-and-switch approach to getting your attention.
She goes on to make the case that the project has been thoroughly vetted, and if people didn’t know about it, it’s only because they weren’t paying attention.
Actual, verifiable facts: The Better Overland project has been in process since May of 2024, and has been approved twice by the Culver City Council. Twice.
City staff held eight public meetings for the community, in addition to multiple private meetings with smaller organizations that were stakeholders in the process.
There were QR codes posted along the entire length of Overland Avenue so that everyone using the street could post their thoughts and ideas regarding Overland directly to the project portal. They received more than a thousand public comments, the vast majority in favor of the project.
It’s typical whenever a project like this goes in that some people will somehow insist there wasn’t enough public outreach, no matter how many times they were given an opportunity to provide their input.
Or that they were never informed, despite repeated efforts to do just that.
That was what happened in Playa del Rey, when opponents said they were never informed about the road diets to Vista del Mar, Pershing Drive and Manchester Ave, or given a chance to voice their objections.
Even though the project was designed by local residents, part of a multi-year public process that included several meetings at a local school, as well as outreach efforts to contact local residents.
So if anyone didn’t know about it, it was because they had their heads firmly buried in the sand at Dockweiler Beach.
Never mind that any increased congestion usually goes away as motorists find other routes, or other ways to get around, like walking or riding a bicycle.
Then there’s the ultimate trump card for the driving public, which seems to be in play with Better Overland, that officials are coming for your parking spaces.
Even though most homes have driveways, and the curb space along the street belongs to the city, not local homeowners. And any actual loss of parking is usually mitigated nearby.
It’s inevitable that no matter what a city does to prepare residents for road changes, some people will always complain. It’s human nature to resist change.
But as former New York DOT director Janette Sadik-Khan put it, people always fight to prevent changes. Then once they get used to it, they’ll fight to keep it.
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A group of at least five adults are being investigated for allegedly roughing up a kid in Palm Beach, Florida who was doing wheelies on his ebike, while a woman heckled the boy from the sidelines.
They are also accused of stealing the boy’s phone, which contained video of the altercation.
No matter what the boy was doing, or what kind of ebike he was riding, they had no right to put hands on him or take his property.
If he was actually causing a problem, call the cops. That’s what they get paid for.
@sab.trader445 Crazy, who do you thinks at fault? – #fyp #viral #ebikekid #karen #xyzcba
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Streets For All is endorsing CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman for Mayor of Los Angeles, calling her the change agent the city needs.
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LADOT is looking for input on creating a low-stress bikeway along Marmion Way and Monte Vista Street, rather than implementing the road diet long planned for the deadly, high-speed North Figueroa corridor.
The Complete Streets project was killed by former Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who was for it before he was against it. Cedillo conducted a series of sham public meetings, which ostensibly gauge public opinion, while blocking comments from those in favor of the project.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Sad news from Tulare County, where the CHP was quick to blame the victim when someone riding a bicycle was killed after allegedly veering left in front of an SUV driver — which a local paper TV station reported by saying “it” veered in front of the SUV. Talk about a great job of dehumanizing someone. Never mind that what actually happened depends entirely on whether there were any independent witnesses, or if the CHP relied entirely on the driver’s perspective.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Schmuck. A British bike rider is justifiable criticized after posting video of himself telling a pedestrian to “use a bit of fucking common sense” when the man steps out in front of him as the bike rider ran the red light. Seriously, don’t do that.
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Local
No significant action yet on Joe Linton’s lawsuit to force Metro to comply with Measure HLA by installing bike lanes on the Vermont Avenue project, after the first day in court last week.
State
Sad news from San Jose, where a man was killed trying to put out an ebike battery fire in his apartment; a woman was able to escape without serious injury. A tragic reminder to only use UL or European certified lithium-ion batteries, as well as a battery that’s made for your bike.
That’s more like it. Santa Rosa is installing 120 new U-shaped bike racks in key locations along the city’s bicycle network.
National
Portland, Oregon is launching a $20 million ebike rebate program to help pay for more than 6,000 ebikes over the next three years. Which compares favorably to Los Angeles, which has invested exactly $0 in ebike rebates to help improve traffic congestion and air quality by getting cars off the road.
Washington State is rolling out another round of ebike rebates up to $1200 for a Class 1, 2 or 3 bike, with recipients chosen by lottery. That compares favorably to California’s ebike rebate program, which now only pays for electric cars after the funding was stolen by the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB. Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.
You’ve got to be kidding. A 52-year old Arizona man died in police custody after he was repeatedly struck and tased by cops for fleeing a traffic stop — because he didn’t have a damn headlight on his bicycle.
A Las Vegas writer says you can easily bike to any of the city’s three major sports arenas in ten minutes or less from the Las Vega Strip, with bike parking available at each site.
A Wyoming group is opposing a bike trail over fears it would cut off a vital migration route for a mule deer herd, even though supporters says it would be on the opposite side of a lake and wouldn’t affect the herd.
A writer for Cycling West recounts her experiences exploring the bikeways of the Grand Tetons National Park, easily among the most beautiful spots in the US.
A pair of sisters in their 60s are riding more than 2,000 miles from Miami to Cape Cod along the East Coast Greenway to raise climate awareness.
Hats off to a group of Fort Meyers, Florida nonprofits, who provided eight adaptive bicycles to local kids with disabilities.
International
Momentum offers 20 reasons why the Netherlands is a bicyclist’s paradise, as if we needed any convincing; the magazine also shares six lessor-known bike-friendly cities around the world. None of which is Los Angeles. Or even on the West Coast.
I want to be like him when I grow up. A 72-year old Indian man is joining six other men to ride more than 2,200 miles across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Prices for Chinese ebikes are going up, as the price of raw materials goes up and the country reduces trade-in incentives.
A 33-year old Australian man faces culpable homicide and DUI charges after a woman was killed in a skitching incident last year, when she lost her grip on the man’s SUV and fell into the car’s path.
Competitive Cycling
Tadej Pogačar could etch his name in history as just the fourth cyclist to win all five Monuments, including the great Eddy Merckx; Pog has already won Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and Il Lombardia, and only needs a win at Paris-Roubaix to complete the cycle.
The 40th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic kicks off tomorrow with a time trial at Lake Perris.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the bike and belongings of Polish endurance cyclist Justyna Jarczok, which she described as everything she owns, including her house keys, when she stopped at a gas station after winning one of the UK’s toughest bikepacking events; her belongings were found at a local park, but her rare Kona mountain bike is still missing.
Finally…
That feeling when you somehow find humor in the idea of running someone down with an SUV.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
