Tag Archive for bicycling deaths

Fatal bike and ped hit-and-run rates rise, 45 years in random fatal beating of Florida bike rider, and a look at SoCal’s killer highway

July 14, 2026 / / One comment

Happy Bastille Day to all who celebrate! Although how happy will be determined by today’s le Mondial, mais non?

We’re going to do something a little different today. Too many important stories have involved too much work on my part, leaving no time for the links that usually follow. At least not if I want to get any sleep at all tonight. 

So we’ll discuss the big stuff today, and circle back to the more extraneous links tomorrow, if that works for you. 

Besides, my internet connection is starting to feel like molasses, so I want to get this up before it goes down. 

………

It’s not your imagination. Or mine, in this case.

According to a press release from a bicycle legal group, bicyclists and pedestrians are far more likely than drivers to be the victims of a hit-and-run.

Cyclists are increasingly being struck by drivers who flee the scene, according to a 2026 analysis of federal crash data released today by Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group (BALG). In 2023, 1 in 5 U.S. cyclists injured in traffic was hit by a driver who left the scene, and more than 70% of everyone killed in a hit-and-run that year was a pedestrian or cyclist. Hit-and-runs reached an all-time high that year, and many injured cyclists have no identified at-fault driver to hold liable, according to the firm’s review of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

The trend is moving against cyclists even as U.S. roads overall grow safer. Fatal bicycle hit-and-runs rose 63% between 2017 and 2023, from 168 to 274 deaths, outpacing the 45% increase in overall cycling fatalities, the BALG analysis found. After 2020, total traffic deaths began to fall while bicyclist hit-and-run deaths kept climbing, a sign that safety gains reached drivers inside vehicles first.

The scale is significant. More than 919,000 hit-and-run crashes were reported in 2023, about 15% of all collisions. Cyclists are among the most exposed: nearly 1 in 4 cyclists killed in traffic that year died in a hit-and-run, up from 1 in 5 in 2017.

That corresponds with what I’ve found writing about bicycling deaths, consistently finding that somewhere between a quarter and a third of all fatal bicycling crashes each year involve a hit-and-run driver.

It’s clear that drivers are far more likely to flee in a collision after hitting something soft, like a human being, than they are after hitting something hard, like another motor vehicle. If only because their car or truck is more likely to be disabled after striking another motor vehicle.

Which could explain why there is so little urgency around the issue, and why so little is being done about it. Because if it’s not a problem affecting the great mass of people in their big, dangerous machines, then it’s not really a problem at all.

At least not for the people who could do something about it.

Then there’s this little bit of information.

Accountability remains rare even in fatal cases. A large share of hit-and-run drivers are never identified, and in New York City police solved just 324 of 6,652 nonfatal hit-and-run cases in 2020, about 1 in 20, according to NYPD figures.

That’s some damned impressive detective work, at least compared to Los Angeles, where the rate of drivers identified and convicted of nonfatal hit-and-run crimes is reportedly somewhere south of 1%.

………

Talk about gut-wrenching.

A 21-year old Florida man was sentenced to a well-deserved 45-years behind bars for a random crime spree that included beating a bike rider to death with a tire iron when he was just 17-years old.

Savonne Morrison was convicted of manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder, for driving the getaway car in a 2022 crime spree that started when his nextdoor neighbor recruited his help to beat up the new boyfriend of the neighbor’s ex-girlfriend.

But she wasn’t home, so his neighbor, Jermaine Bennett, started drinking and using coke, then set off on a vandalism spree by smashing random cars with a tire iron.

That continued until they spotted an 82-year old man walking alone in front of a St. Petersburg carpet store. Bennett got out of the car on a pretext of asking the man for directions, then repeatedly hit him with the tire iron, knocking him out with the first blow. Fortunately, he survived the attack.

That can’t be said for their next victim. Forty-nine-year old Jeffrey Chapman was riding his bike when Bennett again jumped out of the car and knocked Chapman on his bike with the tire iron. They then took turns beating Chapman to death, before driving off with his wallet.

Bennett eventually pled guilty to murder, and was sentenced to life in prison.

For whatever reason, the jury didn’t convict Morrison on a 1st degree murder charge, instead convicting him of manslaughter.

However, Morrison was on probation at the time of the attack for a violent carjacking when he was just 15 years old, when he and a group of friend used a girl they were both dating to lure another boy to come meet her. But when he arrived, Morrison and the others pistol-whipped the boy, forcing him out of the car, then driving over him as they took off in his car.

As a result, the judge gave Morrison the maximum of 15 years for manslaughter, and another 30 for violating his parole on the carjacking charge, to be served consecutively.

Florida law requires serving a minimum of 85% of a prison sentence in most cases, meaning Morrison will be at least 59-years old when he gets out.

Somehow, that doesn’t seem like enough.

………

She gets it.

Los Angeles Times columnist Robin Abcarian took a look at the Malibu section of Southern California’s killer highway on Sunday.

The stretch of Pacific Coast Highway that spans the length of Malibu is one of the most storied roads in the world and also, tragically, one of the bloodiest. As someone who frequently drives PCH between Santa Monica and Trancas, I often hold my breath for fear that some spacey tourist or distracted teenager will wander off the beach and into my path. Or that a car will back out of a driveway right into me. Or that a driver ahead of me will spot an open space on the shoulder and slam on the brakes to back into the spot. I am in awe of the brave cyclists willing to risk their lives for the sake of a beautiful ride.

Me too, sadly.

She goes on to discuss the 2023 documentary 21 Miles in Malibu made by Hollywood producer Michael Shane, whose 13-year old daughter Emily was killed in 2010 “by a reckless, suicidal motorist” as she walked to meet him after a sleepover.

Three years ago, Shane, a film producer best known for “Catch Me if You Can” and “I, Robot” made “21 Miles”  to shine a light on the extraordinary dangers of having a five-lane state highway running through what is essentially a residential neighborhood. The hour-long documentary, which won several film festival awards, aired Thursday on PBS SoCal and will be available on the PBS app and website.

“Being on this roadway,” says Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Det. David Huelsen in the film, “is probably the single most dangerous thing you’re gonna do on your vacation.”

Or any other time, for that matter.

After years — okay, decades — of work by safety advocates of all stripes, Caltrans is finally making improvements to the deadly highway, retiming traffic lights and adding roundabouts to deter speeding. And ten automated speed cams will come online this fall, part of a pilot program authorizing them in Malibu, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Glendale, as well as three cities in Northern California.

But as Abcarian points out, the fines are way too low.

Shane thinks the fines are ludicrously low, and I agree.

“If you got a $1,500 ticket instead of a $200 ticket, you might think twice about going fast, because it’s going to cost you,” he said.

………

As long as we’re discussing the LA Times, I saw one opinion piece that went the news equivalent of viral, as former Times opinion editor Paul Thornton’s smartly thought-out column from the Golden State newsletter was picked up by news sites across the country, including CalMatters.

Thornton argues that making ebikes safer is smart. But smothering them isn’t.

Electric bikes are powering an urban transportation revolution. They flatten hills, haul cargo and people, and offer an alternative to driving that doesn’t involve breaking much of a sweat or waiting for a bus.

I’ve experienced these wonders firsthand. For the last three years, I have used an e-bike — an electric-motor assisted bicycle — to do everything from commuting 23 miles across Los Angeles for work to meeting up with friends at places where finding a parking spot takes longer than the drive over. In a city choked by traffic and pollution, calling these machines liberating isn’t an overstatement…

Lawmakers in Sacramento have introduced at least eight bills this year targeting e-bike safety. One would have added licensing and registration requirements for most e-bikes; anotherwould have rewritten the state’s classification system, making most e-bikes already rolling on California streets illegal.

Thankfully, those bills died, and with them a level of regulation that could throttle an efficient, clean and fun transportation option in California, and hamper a technology that is already driving the majority of revenue growth in the bicycle industry.

He goes on to make the case that Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s Senate Bill 1167 hits the the right notes, with the right restrictions to improve safety without killing the golden e-goose.

Done intelligently, safety regulations do not have to curtail e-bike adoption and all the upsides these joyous devices bring to cities clogged by traffic. Policies crafted using data instead of panic might actually lure more people out of their cars and onto two wheels.

It’s more than worth taking the time to read it. Because he’s right.

………

They get it.

In an extensive letter to the editor that’s really more of an op-ed, a pair of Edmonton, Alberta physicians make the case for maintaining a connected bike network, in the face of rumored provincial legislation that would restrict current and future urban bike lanes.

They argue that bike lanes make the city healthier for everyone, not just the people who choose to ride.

I won’t get into all their arguments here, though it is worth a few minutes to read the entire letter.

But they close with this.

As with public policy in any area, the devil is in the details of implementation: Any change could have negative impacts for some citizens. This reality underscores the critical importance of local involvement in decision-making that balances the pros and cons of any specific policy proposal, in order to arrive at the best possible solution for the people who are most impacted. Neighbourhood and municipal policies imposed by higher levels of government do not make sense.

As physicians, we advocate strongly for the development and maintenance of infrastructure to support and encourage active transport by bicycle, including a connected network of protected bike lanes. We support the right of Edmontonians to make the decisions that best meet our needs.

………

I learned a long time ago not to trust social media. So does anyone know how accurate this video is?

Twitter post

According to the Daily Dot website, commenters go on to criticize California for having the nation’s highest tax rate, which is true. Although the overall tax burden places it lower, somewhere in the top ten states.

One even calls the pathway a death trap. But as unsightly as it is, graffiti does not a death trap make. For that, you usually need motor vehicles

Which are absent from this video, anyway.

………

Calbike says a Lathrop woman made a simple request for the city to hold a free community bike and traffic safety education event at City Hall during National Bicycle Safety Month. It was her attempt to be proactive before something bad happened, after her family had too many close calls while riding their bikes.

Which then became a reality when the driver of a city vehicle cut off her seven-year old daughter as she was riding her bike in a crosswalk, forcing her to crash into the side of the vehicle.

Camryn was not seriously hurt, which is fortunate. But that does not mean the incident should be brushed aside. A child should not have to be badly injured before a city takes repeated warnings seriously. For Cortez, the crash was terrifying and enraging because it felt like the very scenario she had been trying to prevent. For months, she had been telling officials that children biking and walking in Lathrop were at risk.

What followed, Cortez says, has been its own kind of burden. She wants to know what happened. She wants records preserved. She wants clarity about whether the driver was working at the time. But more than anything, she wants the city to stop treating a preventable safety failure like an isolated incident.

“I can sue them all I want,” she told CalBike, “but then I would just be a rich person in an unsafe neighborhood.”

………

Speaking of Calbike, the statewide bicycle advocacy group made a statement yesterday opposing Proposition 45 on the November ballot, even though at first blush it would seem to benefit bikes.

The measure would accelerate review for a broad category of projects, including transportation. It would impose stricter deadlines, limit the alternatives agencies must consider, and restrict judicial review. But the same reduced friction available to a bikeway or transit project would also be available to a highway expansion, and in a state that often seems more eager to widen a doomed highway than expand transit, it is not hard to imagine this will result in more sprawling freeways than verdant bikeways. That is why CalBike opposes Proposition 45…

The initiative’s central mistake is treating transportation as a single public good. A bus lane, a protected bikeway, and a freeway widening can all be described as infrastructure, but they do not produce the same future. Yet, Proposition 45 would place both in the same expedited category, blind to induced demand or driving alternatives. Reduced friction does not operate in a vacuum. California’s highway-building institutions already have money, plans, political allies, and decades of momentum. Open the gates equally and the results will not be as lopsided as they have always been.

As much as we need new bikeways, and would benefit from a faster review process, the last thing we need is more and bigger highways.

And as Calbike points out, it’s the people who build highways who have all the money and lobbyists.

………

I was halfway through a story from a Michigan public radio station about a Los Angeles actor who rode his bike 3,500 miles to his hometown of Lansing, Michigan, to deliver a letter from his daughter to his 101-year old father, before I realized I knew him.

“I was looking for a way to kind of connect my family,” Nichols said. “My two daughters, I was such a part of their upbringing, and with my dad…he was so involved with my upbringing, and I sort of wanted to connect them.”

Nichols started his journey on May 15, where he rode across the Golden Gate Bridge through a path that took him through Oregon. His weeks have been spent travelling bike trails through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

On Monday, he arrived in Michigan through the SS Badger, where he will be biking from Ludington to the finish line, East Lansing. He said he plans to be back to his dad on Monday.

The original plan was to go through the Upper Peninsula and over the Mackinac Bridge, but his trip was interrupted.

“I did have to take a short break in the middle to go home to Los Angeles to shoot a movie, and then I flew right back and got back on the bike, and kept going,” Nichols said.

I admit, I didn’t pay any attention to the guy’s name until I got further down, and read this.

Nichols settled in Los Angeles years later after starting his acting career in New York.

But outside of his acting career, Nichols cohosts BikeTalk, a radio show advocating for safer spaces for people to travel on bikes. Nichols has documented his entire journey through the show.

“Our audience is following Taylor’s journey after maybe having listened to Taylor as a co-host on Bike Talk for several years, now he’s up and moving around the country,” Nick Richert, BikeTalk co-host, said. “He’s embodying everything that we’ve been talking about on the show.”

It was only then that I realized they were talking about our own BikeTalk’s Taylor Nichols, someone I’ve traded emails with for years about various bike stories. And I’ve spoken with Taylor and Nick on BikeTalk many times over the years, until my health problems and the assorted meds I take for them made me stop doing live interviews.

Because I can control and edit what I say on here, so I don’t usually make too much of a fool out of myself. But live, I’m prone to memory losses and misspeaking, making TV and radio too much of a minefield for me.

I also confess it’s been awhile since I’ve listened to the program, even though I remain a fan, and host a free public service ad for them over there on the right.

So I wasn’t aware of Taylor’s journey. And confess to being gobsmacked when I realized who they were talking about. Which is a word I don’t use often.

Or ever, even.

But I’ll let Taylor have today’s last words.

“I decided that I would just do it as a way of showing that the bicycle is not just a toy, but is an actual tool of transportation,” he said. “And that if we can create safe places for people to bike, we can break our dependency on oil and automobiles and things like that.”

Amen to that.

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

Traffic deaths dropped last year — except for bikes, Trump declares war on “DEI” bike lanes, and Pico businesses fret loss of parking

July 13, 2026 / / No comments

Well, at least it wasn’t my fault this time. 

It turns out Friday’s downtime was the result of a recent WordPress upgrade that left my site vulnerable to an attack by a swarm of 19,000 feed-crawlers. 

And no, I never heard of a feed-crawler before Friday. Let alone 19,000 of the little bastards. 

Anyway, they’ve all been gathered up and shoved back in their little feed-crawler cages, so we should be good now. 

Today’s photo is a new T-shirt design that’s probably my favorite so far. But if you’re more in the mood for corgi designs, check out my other T-shirt site. 

………

In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone, overall traffic deaths continued to decline last year.

Except, of course, for those of us on two wheels.

According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, full-year traffic fatalities dropped last year to their lowest level since 2019, while the annual death rate of 1.10 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was the second-lowest ever recorded.

That trend continues into the first quarter of 2026.

According to Carscoops.com,

According to new preliminary estimates from the NHTSA, approximately 7,770 people died in traffic crashes during the first quarter of 2026, down 4.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. The fatality rate also dropped to 0.99 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the lowest first-quarter figure since 2014 and just shy of the all-time quarterly record of 0.98…

Despite the positive overall trend, one category continues to move in the opposite direction. Bicyclist fatalities rose 4 percent in 2025 to 1,148 deaths, remaining near the highest levels seen in more than four decades…

According to the NHTSA, the first quarter of this year represents the 16th consecutive quarterly decline in overall traffic deaths.

If only the news was as good for people riding bicycles.

In fact, traffic deaths decreased in every category last year, compared to 2024, with the single exception of people on bicycles.

  • Total estimated driver fatalities decreased 5 percent.
  • Total estimated passenger fatalities decreased 12 percent.
  • Total estimated PV occupant fatalities decreased 10 percent.
  • Total estimated motorcyclist fatalities decreased 8 percent.
  • Total estimated pedestrian fatalities decreased 8 percent.
  • Total estimated pedalcyclist fatalities increased 4 percent.
  • Total estimated fatalities in crashes involving at least one large truck decreased 7 percent.
  • Total estimated nonoccupant fatalities decreased 5 percent.

However, unlike 2024, when bicycling deaths increased every month compared to the previous year, bicycling fatalities decreased in five months in 2025, while increasing in seven.

So that’s something, anyway.

What’s not clear, however, is the effect that ebikes have had on these stats, since the NHTSA stopped listing motorized bicycles as motor vehicles in 2022, and now includes them as pedalcyclists, aka bicycles, if the rider is killed in a collision with the driver of a motor vehicle — and not at all if it involves a single vehicle crash.

There’s no explanation, however, of whether than only applies to ped-assist bicycles, or if it also includes electric and gas-powered motorbikes that fall into the gray area between ebikes and motorcycles.

So at least part of the rise could be due to the increase in electric bikes, legal and/or otherwise.

Hopefully someone, somewhere, will eventually break out those numbers so we can actually know what’s going on out there.

………

No bias here.

In a paywalled story, The Times of London says the Trump administration has declared war on bike lanes.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made the move after decrying the “DEI” focus on bicycling over cars as he shifts $1.7 billion in funding to roads and bridges, jeopardizing safety projects around the country.

And raising the obvious question of what the hell is a DEI bike lane.

Then again, if Trump handles his war on bikes as well as he has the war with Iran, we’ll probably end up with more and better bike lanes than we would have otherwise.

Or maybe he’ll just give us control over the roadways after declaring they’re open.

………

LAist reports that small business owners on Pico Blvd recognize the street has a speeding problem and can be dangerous for pedestrians, but worry about the loss of 228 parking spaces after LADOT gives the street a Complete Streets makeover.

According to the website,

LADOT will overhaul 3.5 miles of Pico Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and Figueroa Street to reduce speeding and unsafe turns and lane changes. The agency said the project is intended to improve safety by adding a center turn lane for left turns and emergency vehicles, protected bike lanes and new TOUCAN traffic signals at Manhattan Place and New Hampshire Avenue. LADOT will also repair sidewalks and curb ramps.

To make room, the city will remove parking on the north side of the street and reduce travel lanes from two to one in each direction. Construction is set to begin by the end of the year.

In other words, just like business owners everywhere else where protected bike lanes have gone in.

And just like business owners everywhere else, chances are they’ll see increased foot and bike traffic that will more than make up for the loss of parking spaces — and likely more sales, as studies have repeatedly shown that sales and tax receipts usually go up after a project like this goes in.

Something you’d think LAist could have mentioned somewhere in their story.

Never mind that over a ten-year period ending in 2023, there were 75 crashes resulting in severe injury or death on that stretch of Pico, with nearly three-quarters involving people walking or riding bicycles, and all 11 of the people killed on the corridor were pedestrians.

Which is especially important to consider in the largely Jewish neighborhood, where large numbers of people walk to temple every Saturday.

………

According to the WeHo Times, a small group of West Hollywood community members met at Blake Ackerman’s ghost bike on Thursday evening to remember the 27-year old man killed by a hit-and-run driver a year ago while riding his bike home from work.

West Hollywood Councilmember and State Senate candidate John Erickson, who lives nearby on Fountain Avenue, called on WeHo Mayor John Heilman and Council Member Lauren Meister to support plans to remake the corridor to improve safety.

“It’s been a year since the community lost Blake,” Erickson said. “If we just updated a street for street safety for pedestrians, bikers and cars, it would make the most sense. And that is what we are doing.”

Erickson said his own parked vehicle was nearly struck about a week and a half ago, calling it another example of dangerous driving along the corridor.

“I can’t replace my life, and clearly we can’t replace other people’s lives,” he said.

I stopped by the ghost bike the next day, and was please to see several people had left flowers on the bike, in a sign that he has not been forgotten. And hopefully, Ackerman’s will be the last ghost bike we’ll need on the deadly corridor.

Meanwhile, the case against accused 73-year old driver Douglas Morton Adams remains pending, with no trial date currently set.

………

Thanks to Megan for forwarding a story about a hero teenager who rescued an Arizona woman with dementia who was wandering the streets in triple-digit heat, even if he was likely riding an illegal e-moto instead of a bicycle.

………

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

Grand Junction, Colorado goes the wrong way with a proposal to reduce the amount and type of bicycle parking required in the city, allowing developers to make their own decisions on whether to invest in them — even though bike parking is just a fraction of the cost of a single motor vehicle parking space.

No bias here. Bicyclists in a Liverpool, England neighborhood are complaining about a plan to “temporally” decommission a less than two-year old road diet and protected bike lanes, to make more room for cars when they start work on repairing a nearby bridge.

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

Thanks again to Megan for forwarding news about to two Vermont men fined $35,000 for cutting down over 300 trees to build an illegal mountain bike trail.

………

Local 

BikeLA, the organization formerly known as the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, led a bike ride to MacArthur Park for a World Cup watching party on Saturday. Although as far as I could tell, both matches won by VAR.

Santa Monica will host its State of the City 2026 as a free, open street celebration on Main Street from 4 to 7 pm on Thursday, July 23, between Hollister Ave and Ocean Park Blvd; Santa Monica Spoke will host a bike valet on Norman Place.

Internet tabloids had a meltdown over the weekend after the paparazzi caught sight of bike-riding, 83-year old Harrison Ford’s physique when he stripped down to his bib shorts after an LA ride.

 

State

Authorities are looking for 32-year old David Creech, who was last seen riding his bike away from his home in the Spring Valley Lake area of San Bernardino County just before 9 am on Wednesday, July 1st.

More on Santa Barbara’s call for residents to provide feedback on an AI-generated map to create a low-stress bike network.

 

National

PeopleForBikes says bicycling to school matters more than you think, “creating opportunities for independence, physical activity, and lifelong riding habits. In many ways, it is investing in the future of bicycling itself.”

Around 6,000 people took part in the annual two-day, Seattle to Portland STP Bicycle Classic over the weekend.

A Kansas columnist says even as he closes in on 70, it’s never too late to start bicycling again.

A Minneapolis-St. Paul website had a good idea, asking a road cycling grandfather to test a high-end e-cargo bike by transporting his own grandkids, which he described as feeling like “you’re balancing a tray of kettlebells as you walk through a cosplay convention.”

More than 125 Penny Farthing riders converged on Dayton, Ohio to celebrate the Wright Brothers roots as bicycle mechanics before the brothers went on to invent some sort of flying contraption.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A 36-year old Boston woman was killed when her bicycle was struck by a truck driver; Louisa Gag was a city transportation planner and prominent bicycle safety advocate who worked to make Boston’s streets safer for everyone.

DC bicyclists won the fight to preserve a three-quarter-mile bikeway known as America’s Bike Lane from a last-minute effort by the Trump administration to have it ripped out to make room for an an exclusive, high-end golf course.

A new Virginia Historical Marker recognizes Botetourt County’s place on the legendary TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, on the 50th anniversary of the Bikecentennial ’76 cross-country bike ride.

This is who we share the road with. A road-raging Florida driver rammed a 15-year old boy riding an “ebike” off the road, then slapped the kid, when a group of teens had tried to get the driver to stop after swerving at them; naturally, the police responded by impounding several of the teens’ bikes for not being street legal, rather than busting the driver.

 

International

Momentum calls out 30 bike lanes around the world that should have never been built, from blocked bike lanes to lanes that start and stop in the middle of high-traffic areas. I particularly like the ones that go over traffic islands, because cutting through them would have been just too much work, apparently.

Momentum also offers a guide to Quebec’s 3,100 mile bicycle network.

Residents of a Montreal neighborhood have a reasonable complaint after the city removed parking spaces on one side of the street, including disability spaces, for a protected bike lane, arguing that the city wouldn’t even install a crosswalk so one older woman could reach the spaces across the street.

A British Member of Parliament had her new e-cargo bike stolen the first time she tried riding it to town in Oxford.

Residents of a north London neighborhood take a different approach to installing a ghost bike, first towing it on a bike trailer through an intersection where too many people biking and walking have been killed, then putting it on display the local museum’s “50 Years of Cycle Islington” exhibition.

London’s department of transportation failed to install a single mile of bike lane in the city last year, relying on local council’s to do all the building. There’s probably no truth to the rumor that the head of Transport for London has been hired to run LADOT on that basis. 

Irish towns as small as 5,000 to 10,000 people see up to a 50% increase in a ridership when bike lanes go in, according to the country’s transportation minister, despite the fears of local councilors.

Congratulations to Świdnica, Poland, which won a competition to be named the country’s bicycling capital by riding the most miles.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two Tour de France riders, including Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay, were warned by jurors after apparently turning the race into a contact sport during the final sprint on Saturday.

Mathieu van der Poel won the third Tour de France stage of his career on Sunday in a stage reminiscent of the one-day classics he thrives on; race leader Tadej Pogačar finished safely six seconds back.

Former race leader Torstein Træen’s surprising turn in the yellow jersey didn’t last long, crashing out of the race by clipping a teammate’s wheel two days after he gained a remarkable seven-minute advantage on the race favorites.

The rise of the Hincapie brothers’ Modern Adventure Pro Cycling Team saved the cycling career of 30-year old Whitefish, Montana resident Sam Boardman, who signed with the team “just before he hung up his helmet and dove into a ‘real job.’”

The Manhattan Beach Grand Prix returned to the beach city on Sunday for its 63rd running; no results have been posted yet.

 

Finally…

With all the hi-tech innovations in bicycling, no one has yet invented a mosquito-proof face mask. And that feeling when your new bicycle is part folding bike, part Erector Set.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

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

Traffic safety ignored in LA election, bipartisan bike bill in US Congress, and Long Beach man killed by driver while biking in SLO

June 2, 2026 / / One comment

Seriously, if you haven’t already, get out and vote. And remember to Bike the Vote while you’re at it.

Aside from Streets For All, there’s not a lot of guidance on who to vote for, unfortunately. But you can get a little help from Calmatters and LAist on who and what the candidates and issues are, while Streetsblog recommends other sources for endorsements. 

Metro and LADOT transit are both free to help you get to the polls today.

Twitter post

Twitter post

 

Once again, our spokescorgi urges you to vote early and often. 

……….

He gets it.

Writing for Golden State, former Los Angeles Times Opinion editor Paul Thornton, who wisely opted out when Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong gutted and neutered the section, writes about the public safety crisis you barely heard about in the LA mayor’s race.

That’s right.

Your right to bike, walk or drive on the streets of Los Angeles, and get home again in one piece.

Hundreds of people are killed on the streets of Los Angeles every year. But you barely heard about it during the mayoral primary.

I’m not referring to criminal homicides, which last year dipped to their lowest tally in 60 years, but an even deadlier menace.

Drivers and their cars kill a lot of people in this city. You’d think someone running to unseat an incumbent would mention this: L.A.’s streets have never been more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians than under Mayor Karen Bass.

Because for the third straight year, traffic deaths outnumbered murders in the City of Angels, the latter which have continue to fall, despite perceptions fueled by the news media.

And the former are far worse now than when the city adopted, and promptly ignored, Vision Zero a decade ago.

This public safety discordance played out conspicuously at the most high-profile candidate forums. The May 6 NBC debate opened with a jarring montage set to scary music that showed (no joke!) hooded marauders, shotgun-wielding cops and people saying things like “I don’t sleep well at night at all.” The ensuing exchange between Bass and her main challengers, Spencer Pratt and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, featured memorable utterances on trash, “super meth” (which may or may not exist) and the “thousands” of moms who’ve talked to Pratt about not feeling safe.

But not one of the candidates mentioned the hazard that Angelenos have good reason to worry about: Getting killed by a speeding vehicle while driving to work, walking to the park or out for a relaxing bike ride.

Streets Are For Everyone and People’s Vision Zero have been pressing city officials to declare a traffic violence state of emergency in Los Angeles, and are preparing to send a letter to that effect when they get it up to 1,000 signatures.

Wait, you have signed it, right?

But even with that, and the failure of Vision Zero and former Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Green New Deal — let alone the coming World Cup and ’28 LA Olympics — no one is even talking about the lack of action improving city streets.

Or paving them.

That’s what led to the passage of Measure HLA two years ago, when two-thirds of city voters mandated that the city build out the already-approved Mobility Plan.

And you know how that went.

Instead of complying with the law by following the Mobility Plan when a significant amount of work is done on any city street, they simply stopped almost all street work.

Then the city invented the term “large asphalt repair” to get around complying with the law, as well as the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Meanwhile, the condition of our roads continues to get worse.

Twitter post

Again, according to Thornton,

Long Beach, Santa Monica, Glendale and other cities rooted in the same car culture as L.A. are at least trying to address the problem by adding infrastructure to protect cyclists and pedestrians from bigger, faster and deadlier vehicles. South Pasadena is re-working Huntington Drive, one of its most dangerous roads, and South El Monte has made numerous upgrades in the last few years to protect non-drivers.

Yet Angelenos wait for the progress they overwhelmingly demanded in 2024.

Apparently, we’ll continue to wait.

Unless we all demand that whoever makes it to the November runoff addresses the issue.

The first step is signing that letter.

The next is attending candidate forums, debates and open houses, and not letting them leave until they tell you exactly what they intend to do to bring traffic deaths and serious injuries down, too.

If you haven’t yet, donate to Golden State today to support local, independent news.

……….

A new bipartisan omnibus bike bill sponsored by the co-chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus, California Democrat Mike Thompson and Florida Republican Vern Buchanan, hopes to improve and expand bicycling in the US.

According to the Fairfield CA Daily Republic, HR 9041 The America Bikes Act,

  • Improves cyclist safety by expanding access to federal funding for local governments to improve roadway safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. It would help local, regional, and tribal governments to fund safety action plans and infrastructure projects aimed at preventing roadway fatalities and serious injuries. It makes bike safety education a standard part of youth learning nationwide and expands access to funding for on-bicycle education to elementary and secondary school students.
  • Encourages more people to bike by improving access to programs that help kids safely bike and walk to school. It expands biking and walking infrastructure on federal lands. It reauthorizes federal funding for communities to plan, design and build walking and biking infrastructure. It expands incentives so more Americans switch to bicycle commuting. It creates a grant program to connect biking and transit stations, including supporting bike parking at transit stations and expansion of bikeshare programs.
  • Brings bike manufacturing back to our shores by creating incentives to manufacture bikes in the United States.

Good luck with that last one.

But it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Although I don’t have a lot of faith in anything getting out of this Congress. Or an administration that has already doubled down on highway funding.

………

Sad news from San Luis Obispo County, where a 64-year old Long Beach resident was identified as the victim killed by a driver while riding his bicycle near Edna Valley last month.

Gregory Koch died following the May 20th collision at Orcutt and Tiffany Ranch roads.

There’s still no word on how the crash occurred, nor any mention of his death in the Long Beach media.

………

If you need a good laugh, Metro Bike Share says they’re ready for the World Cup.

Which they may be.

As long as tens of thousands of foreign visitors, who may or may not even know English, don’t mind mixing it up with LA’s famously patient drivers, who never, ever touch their horns or force someone off the road if they impede their progress for even a millisecond.

Because we’re still waiting on all those bus and bike lanes we were promised to get ready for those foreign visitors.

So have fun, sportsball fans.

Rent a bike, and just ride to the venue, restaurant or bar of your choice.

After all, getting there is half the fun, right?

And surviving it is the other half.

………

Megan forwards news that Sacramento is facing the same problems with ebikes and e-motos you’re seeing just about everywhere else.

Even though it’s only the later that’s really the problem.

……….

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

Outrage in Toronto, as multiple cops are shown on video tackling a bike rider and holding him down, for the apparent crime of rolling a stop sign — even though provincial law prohibits using force to stop someone for a routine traffic infraction “unless the circumstances present an immediate and serious threat to public safety.” Which is like cops ramming and handcuffing a motorist for turning right on a red arrow.

………

Local 

WeHo Times reports that Blake Ackerman’s ghost bike disappeared from its location at Fountain and Gardner Street sometime Saturday night; no word on who took it or why. I noticed it was missing Sunday afternoon; not seeing it there hurt almost as much as watching it being placed last July.

Four Master of Public Administration (MPA) students from USC’s Price School were recognized for their work advising CD11 Councilmember Traci Park on how to make part of Washington Blvd safer for bicycle riders.

 

State

The Hustle takes a look at California’s 50-year old Santana Cycles — just “30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles” — as it tries almost singlehandedly to prop up the tandem industry in the US.

Fontana police warn parents about the dangers of kids riding ebikes and e-motorcycles, especially when fleeing from police. So if you’re an adult on an electric motorbike, go ahead and flee, evidently. 

 

National

Velo considers the year’s best road bikes, but kindly hides most of the prices to avoid scaring the crap out of us; fortunately, Road.cc has more affordable options for under the equivalent of two grand.

A Minnesota radio station says yes, bicyclists are legally allowed to roll a stop sign in the state, if the intersection is clear.

An “avid cyclist” took up bicycling at age 30 at the urging of his bike-commuting wife, and now bikes to work at the US Department of Justice, while leading DC’s Jew on Bikes.

 

International

Momentum offers tips on how to have your best summer ever on two wheels. Although it would be pretty damn hard to beat when I was ten or so and riding my bike all over town. 

No bias here. Canada’s CTV News offers everything you need to know for a safe bicycling season, from an ABC check to the 2V1 helmet fitting method. Although there’s no mention of bike lanes, lane sharing or how to ride around inattentive drivers, or anything else that would actually help you, you know, stay safe.

London maps out the city’s most dangerous intersections for bicyclists, as injuries climb to their highest level in eight year, even though bicycling deaths are down.

British bicyclists mostly support the country’s first “cycle street,” though at least one considers the $3.2 million bikeway a “bleedin’ waste of money.”

Sad news from France’s Loire Valley, where 54-year old gravel influencer Stéphane Goyard was killed by a driver while competing in the “Défi200” event at the country’s Nature is Bike festival, just hours after posting his last video to Instagram.

The Türkiye Cycling Federation will mark World Bicycle Day with coordinated bike rides throughout the country formerly known as Turkey. Or as World Bicycle Day is known in Los Angeles, Wednesday.

Speaking of Türkiye, a 32-year old Italian man has reached the northwestern part of the country on his way from Milan to Tokyo by bicycle. Although that last part of the ride could get a little damp. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly lists all eight cycling greats who have won all three Grand Tours, starting with France’s Jacques Anquetil in the late ’50s and early ’60s.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you turn your bike ride across the country into an audiobook and record album 25 year later. Or when you make history by winning a Grand Tour with hairy legs.

And when you’re carrying meth in your mouth while riding an ebike, put a working headlight on it, already.

The bike, that is. Not the meth.

Or your mouth.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

California is #8 in bike/ped deaths and #1 in lawyer bikewashing, and pedestrian killed in intentional South LA hit-and-run

March 20, 2026 / / Comments Off on California is #8 in bike/ped deaths and #1 in lawyer bikewashing, and pedestrian killed in intentional South LA hit-and-run

We’re #8!

A new study from a law group shows that California recorded an average of 1,164 pedestrian and 153 bicyclist deaths per year over a five-year period between 2019 and 2023.

That ranks us eighth in the US on a per capita basis, behind perennial champion Florida.

Although yet another study from yet another law practice ranks Louisiana as the state where bicyclists face the greatest risk of getting killed on a bike and from bad roads.

By that standard, California ranks seventh.

None of which really proves anything, other than a) too many people die from traffic violence on California streets, b) we need more and better bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and c) law firm marketers think bikewashing is the best way to improve their search rankings.

And they’re probably right.

Which is why I linked to stories about their studies, rather than the actual studies. You can click through if you really want to.

………

This is who we share the road with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver accused of using his car as a weapon to run down a 54-year old man walking in South LA, intentionally driving up on the sidewalk and striking the victim twice.

The man died after being taken to the hospital.

There’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle at this time. Although as always, there’s a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

Even when it’s on purpose.

………

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

Adding insult to literal injury, a Louisiana bicyclist was ticketed for being at fault after the bike rider was struck by a state trooper in an unmarked car. Because somehow, cops never seem to be at fault when they hit someone on a bicycle, especially when they’re doing the investigating.

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

No bias here. Some New Yorkers are up in arms over Mayor Mamdani’s decision to stop criminally charging bicycle and ebike riders for traffic offenses — including the widow of a Gone Girl actress killed by an ebike rider — instead of giving them traffic tickets like people in what obviously must be much safer motor vehicles. Never mind that they continue to confuse ped-assist ebikes with electric motorbikes and dirt bikes.

………

Local 

Congratulations to Bike LA Executive Director Eli Kaufman on his speaking gig at next week’s National Bike Summit in Washington DC.

 

State

Someone please tell the Seal Beach Police Department that a Surron is not an electric bicycle, as the local weekly says there’s been some online debate over whether the kid who hit an elderly pedestrian was riding “an electric bike or an electric motorcycle.” Gee, ya think?

He gets it. An op-ed writer for the Voice of OC says investing in bike infrastructure pays dividends for all, noting he can get from Anaheim to Irvine faster on a bike than by car.

That’s more like it. About 30% of San Diego Door Dash deliveries are made by bicycle, ebikes or scooters, enabling workers to spend an average of around 15% less time from offer acceptance to pickup, while earning over 10% more per hour.

San Bernardino County’s latest extension of the Santa Ana River Trail was named the 2025 Inland Empire Branch Project of the Year, as well as the Southern California Chapter’s BEST (Building Excellence Shaping Tomorrow) project from the American Public Works Association.

A San Francisco website gets candidates for the city’s Board of Supervisors District 4 on the record for their stands on bicycling.

 

National

No bias here, either. A Seattle news radio program blames a new bike lane for costing $156 million and removing curbside parking, conveniently forgetting that most of the money is being used to build bus lanes.

Minnesota Governor and erstwhile vice presidential candidate Tim Walz made a visit to Angry Catfish Bicycle in Minneapolis, which sponsored the nationwide Unity Rides honoring fallen mountain biker and VA nurse Alex Pretti, murdered by ICE agents in January.

Residents of Downtown Miami are reportedly fed up with people parking in bike lanes, as well they should be, arguing that it’s a public safety hazard and enforcement is rare.

 

International

An Irishman was killed falling off his 30-year old bicycle, offering a tragic reminder not to ride when you’re three — no, make that four — sheets to the wind.

Speaking of biking under the influence, Japan suspended the driver’s licenses of 1,507 people for bicycling while legally drunk last year, up from just 23 the year before.

 

Finally…

Look, if you’re going to shoot someone over ten bucks, maybe try riding off on a plain colored bicycle. What self-respecting male reality TV star wouldn’t ride a tandem in lingerie and suspenders?

And that feeling when your bike seat falls off with 14 miles of cobbles left to go.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Ghost bike placement tonight for pregnant woman killed in Playa, and memorial ride Sunday for Long Beach hit-and-run victim

February 19, 2026 / / One comment

Let’s start with a small correction. 

The other day, I tried to make one of my typically lame jokes, about why Islands magazine was writing about Montreal, when it isn’t one. 

Except, as Doug pointed out, it actually is. 

Which I suppose is the Canadian equivalent of not knowing Manhattan is an island. So I’ll just sit over here in the dunce corner for the rest of the day. 

Photo of one of SoCal’s far too many ghost bikes by Matt Tinoco.

………

A ghost bike will be placed tonight for 36-year old Regan Cole-Graham, who was killed by an elderly driver while riding with her husband and two sons on Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey — right where a road diet was ripped out to appease angry drivers in 2017, after being installed just months earlier.

I’m also told a heartbreaking little white Strider bike is being prepared to honor her unborn child, who died with her just two months short of full term.

Twitter post

………

Long Beach bike groups are hosting a memorial ride for Lori Ann Carreon this Sunday.

According to Bike Long Beach,

…this coming Sunday, a number of Long Beach cycling groups will gather at 4:00 p.m. at 2nd Street and Redondo Avenue for a memorial ride to remember Lori Ann Carreon, the cyclist that was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver two weeks ago. At 4:30 p.m., the group will ride together to Bixby Park (approximately 1 mile, 2 miles round trip) for a sunset candlelight vigil as they honor her life and come together in community. All are welcome. The ride will be slow and accessible to all. Please ride safely and bring a candle if you’re able.

 

I wish installations and rides like this wen’t necessary. But as long as they are, I’m glad there are still people willing to do it.

And you can get flameless candles online for as little as ten bucks, some of which look pretty realistic if you opt for the flickering variety.

………

Streetblog’s Damian Newton says the early reviews are bad on the proposed license plate-mandating ebike legislation we discussed here the other day, as bike safety advocates pan the bill.

And give him extra credit for quoting my comment that it’s just “an asinine political stunt.”

Meanwhile, Calbike wants your input to help fight the damn thing, as well as enforcing existing laws against illegally misrepresenting e-motos as legal ebikes.

………

Bike Long Beach is also hosting their next Bikes and Coffee ride Sunday morning, with a nine-mile, no-drop ride exploring the city’s aviation history.

If you’re planning to attend, sign their ride waiver. And you’re encouraged to bring a helmet, bike lock, and repair kit, as well as a bike in working order.

The latter of which would seem to be a prerequisite.

………

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

No bias here. An English driving academy questions whether bicyclists have a right to the road, while using AI slop to conjure a not-quite right image of a bicyclist riding on the road near a narrow bike path, accompanied by a couple paragraphs of AI written copy.

No bias here, either. An Irish bike lane is scheduled to be redesigned, or maybe removed, after drivers complained it was a pilot program “with no pilot,” and compared it to a “North Korean style” bike lane that left poor, afflicted motorists with nowhere to pull over if they had a flat or engine trouble, while making it impossible for two combine harvesters to pass one another, which must be a common problem there. Although some of those North Korean bike lanes look better than a lot of LA bike lanes. 

………

Local 

Eaton Fire recovery charity Lotus Rising LA will host a Lunar New Year bike ride this Saturday through Pasadena and Altadena to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse.

 

State

Calbike is introducing their new line of bike-themed T-shirts and accessories. Some of them aren’t bad.

About damn time. San Diego is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to lower speed limits “around school zones, business corridors, key pedestrian and bicycle routes, and areas with a history of crashes.” Although in Los Angeles, that last clause could cover the entire city.

A Florida father is planning to ride across the country, from San Diego to the East Coast of Florida, to honor his sister who was killed on 9/11. With all due respect, though, riding across the country is hard, with countless unforeseen obstacles that can derail even the best plans — like when my brother was forced to ride out a tornado in a public restroom. So wake me when someone completes a ride, not when they’re planning one. 

Bike riders in San Francisco will highlight Black history and culture with a five-hour ride through the SoMa, Mission Bay and Bayview neighborhoods, culminating in a block party at the end of the ride.

Manteca has formally banned street takeovers by bicyclists, with a $1,000 fine if you’re caught participating, or a mandatory bike safety course and having their bike impounded for anyone under 16.

 

National

More than 1,100 organizations, including major bikemakers, sounded the alarm over funding cuts to bike and active transportation infrastructure, urging Congress to maintain current levels as it drafts the next national transportation bill.

Mountain Bike Action asks if a new drop bar ebike can erase the line between mountain and gravel bikes. Finally bringing this divided nation together. 

An enterprising 12-year old Bend, Oregon boy is detailing cars to raise money to buy his own ebike. You gotta applaud the spirit, even if kids that young shouldn’t be riding them — especially not throttle-controlled electric motorbikes. 

Sad news from Seattle, where a local TV station announced that a 14-year old spaniel has died, two years after he was the first dog to walk across a new pedestrian freeway overpass. No, really.

LV Sports Biz says Las Vegas paid $800,000 to a Henderson, Nevada firm for a Vision Zero study, but questions what difference that has actually made on the streets.

Over on the other coast, a 67-year old Connecticut man says the Watchman procedure has allowed him to get back on his bike, after 15 years on blood thinners. Yes, I know it’s a healthcare advertorial, but still. 

A New York bike club is suing the city over Central Park’s new 15 mph speed limit, calling it a real threat to active transportation.

 

International

Bike riders in Halifax, Nova Scotia complain that collisions are rising along with bike ridership, as the streets remain dangerous for people on two wheels.

A Welsh police captain has been forced to apologize after a “miscategorized” emergency call left an injured bike rider lying in a busy intersection for more than three hours before an ambulance arrived.

There may be dirty tricks afoot in London’s bikeshare wars, as dockless ebike firm Bolt is accusing its competitors of secretly moving the company’s bikes in the middle of the night to areas where they will get impounded by morning.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website busts a handful of ebike myths, starting with ebikes aren’t just for seniors and lazy people. Both of which could describe me these days. 

A British woman shares the highs and lows of her “magical” 6,214-mile bike ride across Africa, from Kigali, Rwanda to Cape Town, South Africa. Although getting chased by tsetse flies was probably one of the lows. 

New Zealand authorities are belatedly paving over a railroad track running through the middle of a bike path, after a 71-year old man suffered multiple injuries when his bike tire got caught in a rut.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a “Mensa reject” says you can avoid a ticket by putting your car’s license plate on the bike rack. Who needs an ebike when you’ve got an e-ski?

And nothing like pedaling a three-wheeled bike through the Moroccan desert loaded with 21 satellite dishes.

Or maybe on an artfully deconstructed and rearranged bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Killer distracted hit-and-run driver gets out after less than 1/3rd of sentence; LADOT wants thoughts on Sunset/Cesar Chavez

February 13, 2026 / / Comments Off on Killer distracted hit-and-run driver gets out after less than 1/3rd of sentence; LADOT wants thoughts on Sunset/Cesar Chavez

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

The mother of fallen Corona bike rider Benjamin Montalvo has received word that the hit-and-run driver who killed her son is getting out of prison six and a half years early.

Twenty-eight-year old Neomi Velado was sentenced to nine years behind bars after she was convicted of felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run causing death.

She was busy texting her boyfriend when she slammed into Montalvo’s bicycle back in 2020, after reportedly drinking and smoking weed; it was her fourth distracted driving crash, which alone should have justified a murder charge.

But by fleeing the scene, she gave herself enough time to sober up before her mom convinced her to turn herself in — but only after she had replaced her windshield to hide evidence of the crime, and driven to work the next day.

And was photographed partying with her boyfriend in Las Vegas shortly afterwards. Apparently, taking the life of an innocent man didn’t do much to dampen her spirits.

Montalvo’s mother is appealing to Governor Newsom to halt the early release. She is also supporting Senate Bill 907, which would add gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the state’s list of violent felonies, which would allow sentences to be reduced by just 15%.

The fact that they aren’t already considered violent felonies would be impossible to believe if this wasn’t California, where even the most egregious motor vehicle collisions are still just considered “oopsies.”

The bill would also require a Watson notice anytime a DUI is knocked down to hit-and-run, allowing drivers to be charged with 2nd degree murder if they kill anyone while driving under the influence again.

Although they should also require a Watson notice after a first-time distracted driving conviction, so the driver could face a murder count if they kill someone while driving distracted again.

Let alone a fourth time.

Instead, we once again allowed a demonstrably dangerous driver to remain on the streets until it was too late.

And even then, shamefully let her go with a relative slap on the wrist.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

………

LADOT is conducting yet another survey, this time to consider changes to the Sunset/Cesar Chavez corridor.

Sunset/Chavez Safety and Mobility Project
We want to hear from you! Take our survey for a chance to win a $50 gift card!

The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is kicking off a new planning effort to improve safety and mobility along Sunset Blvd and Cesar Chavez Ave, between Fountain Ave and Alameda St. This major corridor connects neighborhoods across the city to key destinations such as Dodger Stadium, LA State Historic Park, Chinatown, Olvera Street, Union Station, and Downtown LA – Today there are critical gaps in the transportation network and ongoing safety concerns for people walking, biking, and taking public transit along the corridor.

At this stage, LADOT is focused on understanding the full range of issues people experience along Sunset Blvd and Cesar Chavez Ave. We are especially interested in hearing from community members about safety concerns, access challenges, and ideas for how the street could function better for everyone. LADOT wants your input to better understand the full range of issues experienced along Sunset Blvd and Cesar Chavez Ave to ensure the project reflects the community’s needs. Please take our survey to share your experience along the corridor and let us know how the corridor can be improved for all road users.

The survey is available until Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese.

Survey participants will be entered into an opportunity drawing for a chance to win a $50 gift card.

Take the Survey by Tuesday, March 31, 2026

 

……….

Metro will host an All The Love Community Ride to mark Valentines Day tomorrow.

………

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

Um, okay. A columnist for the London Telegraph calls for all of us “selfish” bike riders to be forced to wear license plates, arguing that drivers are ‘”terrified” by “egomaniac” bicyclists with “absolutist green agenda.”‘ Maybe we should just rivet a license onto our bike shorts. Or jeans. Or whatever the hell you ride in. 

………

Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Nope, nothing to see here, either. 

 

National

A Las Vegas police station swings into action when a viewer complained about the broken HAWK beacons on a rail trail bike path crossing.

A 100km — 62 mile — ride connecting the Tucson area’s three Costcos has become an annual tradition for the University of Arizona medical school, and sparked conversations that have led to new areas of research.

The head of a Denver design firm makes the case for why the city’s protected bikeways provide a year-round return on investment. When I lived in Denver back in the Dark Ages, I could ride my bike across most of the city without ever riding in the street. And did year round, unless it snowed. In which case I used the same paths to ski to work. 

People For Bikes marks Black History Month, without mentioning it, by celebrating the North Omaha Trail, saying it connects communities while centering its culture, in the birthplace of Malcom X.

Two weeks after bike riders around the world honored slain Minneapolis mountain biker and VA nurse Alex Pretti, a moment-by-moment video analysis by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul showed that Pretti made no aggressive movements or tried to resist ICE officers in any way, and did nothing to justify the shooting that killed him.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani will announce plans today to re-reverse his predecessor’s decision to reverse plans for bus and bike lanes. Got that?

Florida cops conducted a full-blown police chase, complete with helicopter, and eventually took the miscreant into custody — a 14-year old kid on an ebike.

 

International

Travel site Islands takes a look at Montreal, after Copenhagenize named it the most bike friendly city in North America. Which oddly, is not an island. But still. 

A BBC radio host will ride a tandem most of the way across the UK, but not quite, to raise funds for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.

You’ve got to be kidding. In a story that’s equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating, a 58-year Korean man walked without a day behind bars for using a choke chain to drag his dog to death behinds his ebike, while leaving a half-mile streak of bloodstains from the dog’s bleeding paws. Maybe someone should put the judge in a choke chain and make him run barefoot behind an ebike for an hour on an 82° night. 

 

Competitive Cycling

The first stage of Spain’s Andalucía Bike Race has been called on account of rain.

 

Finally…

Your next taillight could use AI to scare the crap out of you when a car comes too close. Your next bike could trace the history of Trek.

And we may have to deal with some real snakes behind the wheel. But a real Burmese Python, not so much.

………

See you at Santa Anita Park on Sunday, when our spokescorgi will compete in the Winter Corgi Nationals. 

We’ll be easy to spot. We’ll be the ones with the corgi. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Nationwide Unity Rides Saturday to honor Alex Pretti, and accused hit-and-run killer of 6-year old Hudson O’Loughlin arraigned

January 28, 2026 / / One comment

Alex Pretti was one of us.

The 37-year old Minneapolis VA nurse, who was fatally shot — okay, murdered — by ICE agents on Saturday was a lover of the outdoors, and an active mountain bike rider.

Which is just one reason the bike community is rallying behind him.

Minneapolis’ Angry Catfish bike shop, which claimed Pretti as a frequent customer, is helping to organize memorial Unity Rides rides across the country for this Saturday, starting with Minneapolis.

The Radavist is calling for the entire bicycling community to come together for healing and to honor Pretti, who he says could have been any of us. Although I’m not sure how many of us would have stepped up to help a stranger at the risk of our own lives.

Meanwhile, Minnesota-based Salsa Cycles is urging bike riders to contact their legislator and join in a Unity Ride to protest the recent fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

According to Cycling Weekly,

“Our neighbors are being unlawfully detained, harassed and murdered at the hands of the federal immigration enforcement agents,” Salsa Cycles wrote in its statement. “Now is the time to speak up and stand up…”

“Community is important in times like this,” Salsa Cycles states. “Alex Pretti was a member of our local cycling community…We encourage you to come ride with us, host a ride in your community, or simply go ride in solidarity on Saturday.”

Bike Portland reports other rides have been announced for Portland, Oregon, Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; San Francisco, California; Wichita, Kansas; and Memphis, Tennessee.

West LA Bicycle will host a Unity Ride here in Los Angeles (click here in case the Instagram link below doesn’t embed properly).

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCoEbDjDuR

Anyone interested in organizing a ride can contact Community@angrycatfishbicycle.com for more information.

Let me know if there are any other rides planned for Los Angeles or Southern California.

I honestly don’t care what your politics are.

No one should be killed for legally, and peacefully, exercising their 1st and 2nd Amendment rights.

………

Ten years hardly seems like enough.

Thirty-two-year old Tiffany Sanchez was formally indicted Tuesday on felony charges of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run for killing six-year old Hudson O’Loughlin as he rode his bike with his family on a Pacific Beach sidewalk January 18th.

The former carries a maximum of six years, while the latter has a max of just four years, thanks to California’s lax hit-and-run laws.

And that’s only if she is convicted on both charges, and gets the maximum penalties, to run concurrently.

Anyone want to give odds on that?

Sanchez is accused of knocking Hudson off his bike as she turned right into an alley, stopping briefly, then fleeing the scene and driving over the boy as he lay helpless on the ground.

According to 10 News San Diego,

“The defendant did not stop, she did not render aid, she did not assess the situation or try to help out, she didn’t, she did not call 911,” said Cassidy McWilliams, deputy district attorney.

Never mind that she hasn’t had a valid driver’s license for nine years, and shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

She was ordered into custody on $150,000 bond, and will be required to wear an ankle monitor and forbidden from driving if she manages to post it.

………

A new map from the San Francisco Chronicle shows the most dangerous streets and neighborhoods for bicyclists and pedestrians, based on traffic deaths from 2020-2024, as reported by law enforcement agencies to the Transportation Injury Mapping System at UC Berkeley.

According to the paper,

This analysis includes people walking, biking, using wheelchairs or riding personal conveyances such as rollerblades or skateboards. In total, nearly 6,500 people were killed while walking or biking across California during this five-year period, a toll that includes about 800 cyclists.

Fatalities climbed steadily for nearly a decade across the state, reaching a peak of 1,429 deaths in 2022, before receding to 1,208 in 2024. In comparison, the Bay Area has remained relatively stable. The number of fatalities has ranged between 150-180 deaths per year.

The map pinpoints the location of both pedestrian and bicycling deaths, while blocking out high-fatality hotspots.

The latter of which makes Los Angeles look like the hot mess it is.

………

Active SGV is hosting a free Learn to Bike class in El Monte on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/2015903927703646291

The group is also hosting an easy ride to Whittier Narrows next weekend.

Twitter post

………

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

A New Jersey legislator is “backpedaling” on his own proposal to require a $50 annual bicycle registration fee to make bike riders contribute to the cost of their own infrastructure, with public comments running 61% against. Because apparently, people who ride bikes don’t pay taxes like normal folks, and the proven societal and health effects of bicycling are worth nothing. And no, drivers don’t pay their own way; the overwhelming cost of building and maintaining roadways comes from general tax funds.

The simple act of bicycling without a helmet or hi-viz clothing could soon become a criminal offense in Ireland if a new government proposal is enacted; the president of an Irish bicycling organization calls it “performative policymaking,” arguing “there is no credible evidence” that it would significantly reduce collisions or fatalities. Meanwhile, an English author and columnist writing for the Irish Times says that “Anyone who thinks cyclists ‘come out of nowhere’ should not be in control of a vehicle.”

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

Carpenteria is becoming the latest coastal California city to crack down on ebikes without distinguishing ped-assist bikes from the electric motorbikes and illegal ebikes causing the problems, although they are capping ebike speeds at 28 mph, mirroring state law.

………

Local 

Metro will mark the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks next Wednesday, aka Transit Equity Day, with free rides throughout the system, including Metro Bike; the agency is also conducting a survey to better understand the needs of neurodivergent riders.

UCLA is now requiring that every ebike and e-scooter kept on campus be UL-certified and registered with the school transportation department.

A Canyon Country bike rider was hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of a hit-and-run crash with a truck driver leaving a movie set. Which means the driver shouldn’t be too hard to find. 

He gets it. A personal trainer from Signal Hill says Long Beach residents don’t need another fitness trend, because all they have to do is go outside to enjoy one of the city’s most effective health resources, including the beachfront bike path.

 

State

Once again, a bike thief has been busted in Orange County, after stealing a bait bike worth over $2,000 in Huntington Beach, which makes it a felony. Meanwhile, the LAPD still won’t employ bait bikes because a former city attorney feared it could be construed as entrapment, even though similar charges have held up in other cities that do.

Laguna Beach city leaders are debating potential locations and designs for a pump track, though they haven’t made a commitment to building one yet.

A 71-year old man was critically injured when he was struck by a pickup driver in Indio Tuesday morning and knocked under the truck, suffering “significant” injuries; shockingly, the driver was unharmed. And yes, that’s sarcasm. 

Congratulations to San Jose, where traffic deaths dropped for the second straight year, declining ten percent from 2024 to the lowest level since 2012.

Bike-friendly Davis has released a new citywide bike map. Granted, it’s easier to build a connected bike network in a small city, but at least Davis has one. Los Angeles doesn’t. 

Sad news from Lodi, where a 78-year old retired physician was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle in Amador County, southeast of Sacramento; he was called The Lone Rider by his bike club because he rode so much after his retirement 23 years ago.

 

National

Gadget Review ranks the fifteen best bikes from last year. Some of which actually are. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The assets of bankrupt Seattle ebikemaker Rad Power Bikes were auctioned off in a fire sale for $13.2 million, following its recent Orange County warehouse fire — a 99.2% drop from its high valuation of $1.65 billion.

Once again, someone riding a bicycle has been collateral damage in a police chase, when a bike rider was killed by a speeding driver fleeing from the cops in Tucson, Arizona, who also crashed into a pedestrian before being shot by state troopers; the driver was hospitalized, while the pedestrian suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Winter bicycling rates are skyrocketing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, increasing over 400% in the past ten years, thanks in part to the city plowing snow from bike lanes.

South Carolina authorities are searching for a 15-year old boy who disappeared under “unusual” circumstances after leaving his grandfather’s house for a bike ride a week ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Weekly says like it or not, of course there are barriers to bicycling for female riders, from the cost of an entry level bike to products designed for male riders, and threatening behavior from other road users.

A new Canadian study shows that nearly 3,600 kilometers — roughly 2,200 miles — of high-quality bicycling infrastructure was added across the country, but the increase largely bypassed areas with more children and older adults, which could benefit most from it.

The London Times asks if 2025 was the year London became a bicycling city, as even Timothée Chalamet embraced the city’s ubiquitous Lime bikes.

British Transport Police have reversed their recent announcement that they wouldn’t investigate the theft of bicycles left at train stations for more than two hours.

A British man completed a six-month, 14,000-mile trip from Melbourne to Melbourne, the former in the UK and the latter in Australia.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a man’s wallet when he fell from his bike after leaving a nightclub in Turin, Italy, and was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was on the ground.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard was lucky to escape serious injury when he crashed on a training ride, after he tried to drop an amateur cyclist who repeatedly tailed him and wouldn’t back off; amateur Pedro García Fernández posted video to Strava showing him riding on Vingegaard’s wheel, saying he couldn’t understand the pro’s anger at being followed by a fan. It used to piss me off when some stranger drafted off me, and I’m not even famous.

Chinese bikes have made it to the WorldTour, with the Quick Pro brand signing a new sponsorship agreement with the Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team, after more than 30 years using Orbea bikes.

Ouch. Aussie Jay Vine finished the Tour Down Under riding with a broken wrist after getting caught up in the infamous kangaroo crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you give five grand from your insurance settlement to the driver who knocked you off your bike because the crash cured your back pain. We may have to deal with rabid LA drivers, but at least we hardly ever run into potentially rabid baby bats. Who needs a bike seat when you’re Ryan Seacrest?

And honestly, who wouldn’t want their very own lobster bike?

Bluesky post

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

 

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

Bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run, Calbike calls for LA River path completion, and bizarre Pedal Ahead apologia

November 13, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 317 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

KNBC-4 reported late last night that someone riding a bicycle was killed by a motorcyclist in a South LA hit-and-run.

According to the station, the crash happened around 7:30 pm at Vernon and Stanford.

Unfortunately, the story hasn’t been posted online, and that’s all we know right now. Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

………

About damn time.

Calbike says there’s no time to waste to reach out to your Los Angeles County Supervisor, and demand completion of the LA River Bike Path by 2028.

Don’t let Metro miss our last chance to finish the LA River bike path by 2028.

LA Metro has approximately $400 million to complete the LA River bike path through central Los Angeles. Approved by voters in 2016 as part of Measure M, the funding is more than enough to build an in-channel path in the entire 8-mile gap from Arroyo Seco to Vernon. If completed by 2028 as predicted in Metro’s original schedule, the LA River bike path will connect Olympic venues as part of the Festival Trail and provide safe and affordable transportation to the residents who need it most. It will be transformative.

Unfortunately, LA Metro has only considered “above channel” versions of the path that cost $1.1 billion, $700 million more than is available. They have not identified additional funding and have said in public meetings they will not deliver the path by the summer of 2028.

You can change that by helping to get Metro to approve the following two decisions.

Adopt the in-channel design that can be built with available funds. Except for a few weeks each year in the rainy season, it would give Angelenos an amazing river-level experience and a transportation facility that is especially valuable to low-income residents.

Create a Joint Powers Authority dedicated solely to delivering the project by 2028. Independent agencies focused exclusively on specific projects with the power to build and maintain the infrastructure are proven nationwide to expedite construction.

The Metro Board has only one more meeting in 2025. There is no time to waste. Right now, contact your Los Angeles County Supervisor, in their capacity as an LA Metro Board member, and ask them to support the change to an in-channel design and create a Joint Powers Authority.

That project was originally part of the vaunted Twenty-Eight by ’28 list of transportation projects to be completed before the world comes to Los Angeles for the ’28 Olympics.

That is, until Metro decided it was just too hard to get done in that timeline, and replaced it, along with a number of other projects.

Just one more example of the agency’s lack of commitment and follow-through when it comes to bikes and transportation.

………

For once, I don’t even know what to say.

Malcomb forwards an absolutely bizarre Twitter/X post from San Diego’s Pedal Ahead defending their role in the now-defunct California Ebike Incentive Program.

Twitter post

Let’s blow that up a little more so you can read it.

 

Not mentioned is that some of those “multiple audits, financial review,” et al, were due to alleged misconduct and reputed state and criminal investigations.

Or that the founder of Pedal Ahead was allegedly forced out as operator of the ebike program.

The San Diego nonprofit may be proud of the job they did, but most observers considered the program deeply flawed, if not a total disaster.

I believe the term I used after enduring the failed first round was “shitshow.”

Which makes their post, in the words of the Bard, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

………

We mentioned this one earlier, but it’s worth repeating as the story is circulating again.

The Associated Press wrote last week that California isn’t strongly punishing DUIs, even as alcohol-related traffic deaths increased.

The AP kindly listed exactly the reasons for that, in bite-sized, easy to digest chunks.

  • California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country, allowing repeat drunk and drugged drivers to stay on the road with little punishment.
  • The state gives repeat drunk drivers their licenses back faster than other states.
  • Even when the state does take their license, many drivers stay on the road for years — racking up more tickets or new DUIs — with few consequences until they eventually kill.
  • Courts and lawmakers don’t treat DUI deaths as violent crimes.
  • California has fallen behind on a simple solution embraced by many other states: in-car breathalyzers.
  • Despite the mounting death toll, state leaders have shown little willingness to address the issue.

Which goes a long way towards explaining why people keep dying on our streets.

And why every Vision Zero program enacted in the state has failed.

Thanks to Steven for the heads-up. 

………

A YouTuber examines the disconnected Ohio Ave bike lanes to nowhere, while urging you to take the survey to help improve them.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Bicycle Academy weighs in on long overdue plans to improve safety on Ohio and Westwood Blvd.

………

Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette reminds us about the need to maximize your uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance, to ensure you’re protected if you’re injured by a driver with the minimal coverage mandated by the state.

Ted, Im so tired of seeing the bicyclist victims going uncompensated in bad crashes.

I now have a couple of said cases. I also reviewed another case, after a hit & run. Low insurance limits again. It’s just not that much more money if you’re bicycling the mean streets to buy big limits of UM/UIM coverage. But I know money is tight for many I get it. But a while ago, I read an article in the WSJ that said 4.9 Million Motorists are either Uninsured or Underinsured in CA.

Duquette more fully addressed the matter in an earlier blog post, which is more than worth reading again.

You know, in case you meet one of those 4.9 million uninsured or underinsured motorists on the road.

………

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

Members of the Arlington, Virginia Bicycle Advisory Committee are in open revolt against the county manger, complaining that the committee no longer serves a clear purpose after the county cut back on its responsibilities.

No bias here. Berlin, Germany has been backpedaling on bicycling since a conservative government took over two years ago, cutting back on bike-friendly policies and infrastructure, and turning back the clock to a more car-focused time.

………

Local 

She gets it. The founder of H.A.R.D., aka Hit-And-Run Deaths, explains why Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance for the victims of traffic violence matters, eight years after her 15-year old grandson was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike in Natomas.

The Eastsider says plans are starting to come into focus for a $10.5 million Complete Streets remake of Huntington Drive through El Sereno, including dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lanes, with two traffic lanes in each direction, a thin median, and wider sidewalks.

 

State

A writer on the San Francisco Peninsula makes the case for why ebike bans are unenforceable, from federal regulations to the fact that there’s nothing to prevent anyone from claiming their ebike is a mobility device.

 

National

American bicyclists are urged to take action, as a new federal transportation bill threatens to zero out all bicycle funding as it shovels federal money into highways.

A 29-year old man is suing Salt Lake City and a local cop, accusing the officer of a blindside tackle during a popular bike ride, resulting in torn ligaments in both knees; the cop accused him of fleeing after he told a group of riders he was going to cite them for traffic violations, but the plaintiff says he didn’t think the officer was talking to him, and simply rode off when the light changed.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Texas man rode his bike 75 miles to celebrate his 75th birthday.

Wisconsin is finally getting around to officially recognizing its part of the 3,000-mile Mississippi River Trail, which follows the river from Minnesota through Louisiana, about a quarter century after the other states did.

Once again, Chicago bike riders rolled through the city’s Hispanic neighborhoods buying out the stock of street vendors, so they could go home and be safe from ICE. Thanks to Megan for the link.

A 64-year old Massachusetts man discusses what it was like to ride 4,800 miles across the US, including “about 40 flat tires.”

Livability recommends three regions to explore if you ever ride in Virginia.

Sad news from Florida, where an 82-year old man was killed by a left-turning driver while riding salmon on an ebike.

 

International

Momentum explains just what cities lose when they fail to build or remove bike lanes, from declining local business revenue to rising collision rates and danger to pedestrians.

A writer for Cycling Weekly says he just felt lost after misplacing his bike computer.

After spending a week in Copenhagen, aka the world’s happiest city, a writer for Business Insider provides five lessons for the US, starting with the positive effect an emphasis on biking and walking can have.

If you build it, they will come. Bicycling rates in Paris have doubled in just the last year, thanks to the city’s commitment to building new bicycling infrastructure, and is continuing to trend upward.

A German couple rode their bikes nearly 5,000 miles to Busan, South Korea, discovering along the way how connected everything is.Which is good, because if it wasn’t connected they might have fallen off. 

A native of the Netherlands questions whether she will ever ride a bike again after getting hit by drivers twice since moving to Australia five years ago.

 

Competitive Cycling

A writer for Cycling News discusses what it’s like to cover Tadej Pogačar, from “his quirks to his brutal honesty.”

The Athletic drops their paywall for an interview with Wout van Aert, as he discusses what it’s like to drop Pogačar, and what pro cycling can learn from the NBA.

You can forget adding ‘cross to the 2030 Winter Olympics.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a car maker can’t tell the difference between a cargo bike and a horse and buggy. Or when you’re accused of wearing a condom coat.

And you can now add this helmet-holding turtle to your holiday wish list.

Instagram post

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Report on bike deaths appears prepared by trained monkeys, and more details on road rage stabbing of Sausalito bike rider

November 11, 2025 / / One comment
Day 315 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Maybe someone can make sense of this.

Because I sure as hell can’t.

A new report on bicycling deaths from a legal group professes to list the safest and most dangerous states for people riding bicycles.

According to the report, Florida is the most dangerous state in the US, with a whopping 234 people killed riding bicycles in 2024, up from 222 in 2023. California ranks second with 145, which would be a significant drop from 177 the year before.

Although they note that the 2024 figures are based on their own analysis, since official states aren’t yet available.

However, the report seems to misplace the Golden State, however, calling California “a close neighbor of Florida,” as if it had somehow switched places with Alabama or Cuba. It only makes sense in the context of the state’s ranking one and two, even though Florida had 89 more deaths, which doesn’t seem close at all.

The rankings are also based on sheer number of deaths, without taking population into account. On a per capita basis, California had roughly one bicycling fatality per 274,000 people, while Florida had one death per 98,000.

So which of these is not like the other?

Then there is this bizarre chart, which bears no correlation to the actual rankings, placing California 4th, and Florida 8th.

 

It also lists Washington State “1th,” Massachusetts “2th.” and Oregon “3th.” And no, that’s not a typo.

Or at least, not mine.

Apparently, that what you get when you let AI do the work for you. Or farm it out to the lowest bidder in some non-English speaking country.

Or maybe just leave all the work to a bunch of trained monkeys.

But at least that’s better than the report on that report published by The US Sun, which offered this mind-boggling set of stats.

The report also showed that cyclist fatalities have increased significantly since 2015, starting at just over 20,000 a decade ago and now amounting to roughly 28,000 in 2024.

Which is about 25 times the estimated total of 1,109 bike deaths in the US last year, and 24 times the total for 2015.

At least that appears to stem from some staffer incapable of reading a badly drawn chart from the lawyers group report that conflates total US traffic death with bicycling fatalities.

But at least The US Sun ends their story about bicycling deaths with these helpful safety tips.

No, really.

………

More details are starting to come out about the Bay Area bike rider who was stabbed by a Tesla driver near Sausalito, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Velo reports the incident appears to be the result of a road rage dispute that began on a narrow road with poor sight-lines, and a history of being unsafe for cyclists. The stabbing itself appears to have occurred just as the roadway widens to make room for a dedicated bike lane.

Both parties were taken into custody once police arrived, with the bike rider taken to a hospital where he is reportedly in stable condition.

There’s no word on who started the dispute, or who was the aggressor. But there’s no question who was the victim.

………

BikeLA, formerly known as the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, is hosting their happy hour fundraiser this Saturday, rain or otherwise.

Rain or shine — BikeFest 2025 is on!

We’re celebrating this Saturday, November 15, from 12–3 p.m. at Highland Park Brewery – just a hop, skip, and roll from the Chinatown Metro Station. A little light rain might join the fun, so come prepared with a jacket and your best bike spirit.

Join us for this Pedal-Powered Party and enjoy:
  • Free bike valet
  • One beer or non-alcoholic drink
  • A commemorative BikeLA bandana
  • ️ Our largest-ever bike-themed silent auction, featuring gear from Spurcycle, Patagonia, Yakima, Tern, Road Runner Bags, ABUS, Kryptonite, and more – the auction is live now, so you can start bidding today!

Come celebrate with us and help support BikeLA’s mission to make L.A. a safer, more connected place to ride.

Get Your Tickets Here

………

Streets For All is hosting a mobility debate for Los Angeles Council District 1 next month, including incumbent Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.

………

Holiday gift guides for your favorite bike rider are starting to roll out, with new guides from Bike Rumor and Cyclist. Even if your favorite bike rider is you.

………

Local 

Damn good question. A San Francisco website examines how the planned completion of LA River bike path through DTLA ended up in bureaucratic hell.

 

State

Once again, an AirTag hidden in an ebike led to the arrest of an Orange County bike thief, after Huntington Beach cops tracked a surfer’s missing bike to Anaheim.

Sad news from Tulare County, where someone riding a bicycle was killed in a collision with the driver of a milk truck; the victim was reportedly riding on the centerline when the milk truck approached from behind, and the driver veered off the road to avoid a crash, just as the bike rider inexplicably veered right, and struck the truck. No, it doesn’t make any sense to me, either. As always, the question is whether there were any witnesses who survived the crash, other than the driver. 

Over 60 people rode their bikes across the Richmond-San Rafael bridge on Sunday to celebrate the sixth anniversary of bikes being allowed on the bridge, though the mood was darkened by the recent loss of the bike lane across the bridge on weekdays.

 

National

Bike Magazine provides a tutorial on how Trump’s tariffs are affecting mountain biking, and what it all means for bikes, frames and parts.

The New York Times examines how the Sierra Club entered a doom spiral by embracing social justice at the expense of its core environmental mission, leaving it in a weakened position to combat changes under Trump.

Once again, bike riders were heroes, as a Seattle search and rescue team rode ped-assist ebikes to save a hiker in distress on a local peak as night fell and temperatures dropped.

Popular Seattle ebike maker Rad Power Bikes is reportedly circling the drain, as the company battles “significant financial challenges,” and could shut down operations within the next two to three months.

A sightless man rode in the 43rd-annual LoToJa bike race, completing the 200 mile race from Logan to Jackson Hole, Wyoming riding a tandem.

A 46-year old Illinois man was critically injured when a nine-year old boy darted out from between two cars, and into the path of the man’s ebike; fortunately, the kid escaped with just minor injuries.

Kindhearted Ohio cops gave a new bicycle to a ten-year old boy after the one he had worked all summer to buy was stolen.

A New Jersey judge ruled that prosecutors can use a statement from Sean Higgins, the driver accused of the drunken killing of the hockey-playing Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bicycles last year, admitting that he tossed the empty beer cans he’d been drinking from into a cornfield before investigators arrived.

A kindhearted Louisiana lawyer is planning to give away 600 bicycles and helmets to kids across the state before the holidays, in his 10th annual bicycle donation program.

They get it. Fox News reports that a 15-year old Florida boy faces felony charges after leading police on a dangerous chase while riding an electric dirt bike, weaving through traffic at speeds up to 70 mph. But at least they made clear it was not a ped-assist ebike.

 

International

Momentum recommends seven cities around the world where biking is the “coolest” way to explore them. None of which are Los Angeles, of course. Or even in the US. 

Cleveland police vetoed plans for a new bike path through a field, arguing that it would exacerbate a problem with drug runners who cut through while riding off-road motorbikes. No, the one in England.

An Aussie writer explores the “five countries” of the British Isles by bicycle. Even though Northern Ireland isn’t technically a country.

An Irish newspaper remembers a doctor who dedicated his life to caring for the Tarauacan people of Brazil while riding a folding bicycle he brought with him from Ireland; he was 89.

A Spanish website says Malaga, Spain may seem like a bicyclist’s paradise to tourists biking along the sun-drenched coast, but a lack of safe bike lanes make riding impractical for many residents.

 

Competitive Cycling

A 24-year old British cyclist says it hasn’t sunk in yet that he’s a world champion, after winning the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And no, I didn’t know that was a thing, either.

Speaking of UCI, bike racing’s governing body is actively monitoring suspicious betting activity across gambling platforms in an effort to prevent corruption or race fixing, which has recently affected basketball and baseball.

 

Finally…

Your purloined bicycle could be stripped and turned into a makeshift shotgun. When you’re illegally packing a pistol on your ebike, don’t ride on the damn sidewalk (although you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall to read it).

And don’t ride your electric motorbike through a Rancho Cucamonga mall.

Or any mall, for that matter.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Fight to save another endangered Encino pedestrian bridge, and Beverly Hills attorney killed in Aspen ebike crash

September 4, 2025 / / One comment
Day 247 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Maybe we should put Encino pedestrian bridges on the endangered species list.

Less than three years after Encino residents lost the fight to save the Encino Ave pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway, another nearby pedestrian bridge is on the chopping block, this time on Amestoy Ave.

That battle started so long ago, I had forgotten all about it until someone reached out to alert me to an upcoming virtual meeting of the Encino Neighborhood Council’s Traffic and Transportation Committee on September 15th to consider the matter.

An online petition describes the problem, and the solution, better than I could. And yes, you’ll find my signature on it; I was just the third person to sign, so let’s make sure I’m not the last.

The Issue

Encino residents, the Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge is facing potential demolition. This bridge serves not only as a safe passage for pedestrians but also as a symbol of unity and convenience connecting Encino residents, North and South of the 101 freeway.

The Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge is structurally sound and provides a car-free route to/from Ventura Blvd, Balboa Park, and Encino Charter Elementary School for countless residents, including children, seniors, and cyclists.  It’s the only pedestrian-only bridge left in Encino.   The bridge is a significant pathway that encourages walking and reduces vehicular traffic, not to mention demolitionalone would cost taxpayers over $6.1M.

CalTrans agrees that the Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge should be saved and renovated and is seeking resident feedback.  The proposal would cost $7.8M to renovate the Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge and the Louise Avenue car bridge.

BUT, there is a vocal group who would like to see the Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge demolished.  According to Caltrans the cost to demolish the Amestory Avenue pedestrian bridge and renovate the Louise Avenue bridge would be $8.4M.   That’s right, demolishing the bridge will cost more than renovation!

To ensure that our voices are heard, we must act now!

  • Sign the petition
  • Contact local officials from CD4 and Encino Neighborhood Council to express your support for preserving the bridge.
  • Participate in the Caltrans survey below

Caltrans Survey

Your involvement is crucial. By speaking up, we can demonstrate to decision-makers our commitment to maintaining this essential piece of infrastructure. Let’s preserve our community’s character and quality of life by standing together in solidarity. Sign the petition now and make an impactful change for the better.

Now that you’ve signed the petition and completed the survey — you have, haven’t you? — just click on the links below to email the Encino Neighborhood Council and CD5 City Councilmember Nithya Raman to share your concerns.

I’m including a sample letter that was forwarded to me below. Feel free to put it in your own words, or write your own message.

But send it before the September 15 meeting. And mark your calendar to participate.

Traffic & Transportation Committee
  • 4:45 pm September 15th
  • The zoom link and meeting agenda should be posted soon.

ATTENTION ENCINO RESIDENTS: 

The Amestoy Avenue pedestrian bridge is in jeopardy of demolition!!!!!!  If you want to preserve and renovate the structurally sound bridge and not spend $6.1M ++ to demolish it…. 

  • Please reach out to the following officials, using the letter template below if you support keeping the bridge
  • Attend the Traffic & Transportation Committee Zoom on 9/15 @ 4:45PM
  • Don’t forget to take the Caltrans survey 
  • Every email counts, make sure your voice is heard! 
Subject: Please Do Not Demolish the Amestoy Avenue Pedestrian Bridge in Encino

Dear [Elected Official/Agency Representative],

I am writing to urge you not to support demolishing the Amestoy Avenue Pedestrian Bridge (Ann Stewart Pedestrian Bridge) in Encino.

This bridge, built in 1954, remains an essential pedestrian connection for Encino. It provides a safe route for residents north of the 101 freeway to access Ventura Boulevard without driving, and it allows families south of the freeway to reach Balboa park and other neighborhood resources including the Metro Bus Line. It also sits within the same district as Encino Charter Elementary School—without the bridge, many families would be forced to drive, increasing congestion and traffic in our community.

Currently the Amestoy Pedestrian Bridge is the only passageway for “pedestrians only” within the Encino community. This is a safer option in general for pedestrians. 

The bridge is not obsolete. It is used regularly by me and many others, and even more people could benefit from it if properly rehabilitated and publicized. Destroying it would be a step backward for walkability, safety, and climate-conscious infrastructure in Los Angeles.

Cost & Scope Considerations
  • Demolishing the Encino Ave bridge cost $6.1 million.
  • The current proposal estimates:
    • $8.4 million to rehabilitate the Louise Ave bridge and demolish the Amestoy Ave bridge.
    • $7.8 million to rehabilitate both the Louise Ave and Amestoy Ave bridges.
  • Rehabilitation of Amestoy Ave alone would save taxpayer dollars while preserving critical infrastructure.

Importantly, the bridge inspection reports confirm the Amestoy structure is structurally sufficient. Rehabilitation—including replacing the railings, improving security, and enhancing the surroundings—would maximize the benefit of infrastructure spending.

Additional Considerations
  • Traffic safety: In California, the maximum legal vehicle height is 14 feet. The Amestoy bridge already provides adequate clearance at 15’-3” northbound and 15’-0” southbound.
  • Repairs: While Caltrans has repaired the chain link fencing twice in the past year, this hardly qualifies as “constant.” In fact, there were far more graffiti removal work orders than fence repairs, suggesting maintenance is manageable.
  • Use of funds: When the Encino Ave bridge was demolished, unused funds were not redirected toward local pedestrian or bike improvements; they simply reverted back to the state program. We should not repeat this mistake,
Conclusion

The Amestoy Avenue Pedestrian Bridge is a vital community link that should be rehabilitated, not demolished. Rehabilitating the bridge is both the fiscally responsible and environmentally responsible option along with offering a much safer option for pedestrians walking in Encino. Please prioritize keeping this bridge intact for the sake of students, families, and the entire Encino community.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address or Neighborhood]

………

Tragic news from Aspen, Colorado, where Beverly Hills attorney Michelle Mulrooney Jackoway was killed Monday when she lost control of her ebike and crashed into an embankment.

She was 64.

Law firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher identifies her as a partner and founding member of their Los Angeles office, specializing in estate planning for high-net-worth individuals.

According to the firm,

Aside from her many impressive legal accomplishments, Michele was deeply committed to giving back to others, including through her work as a mentor and advocate for women. Early in her career, she worked part-time because she had young children. When she went back to full-time and eventually became a partner, she ensured that her firm kept women active in law by giving them the opportunity to work a reduced schedule to balance family and career without sacrificing one for the other. Michele also had a strong passion for philanthropy and derived great satisfaction from helping her clients realize their philanthropic goals and giving back to institutions that were meaningful to her, including those supporting education, women’s rights and equal opportunity for all.

She was an active leader in the LA legal community. Through her role as a Board Member of the USC Gould School of Law, her alma mater, and her longstanding support of other community initiatives, Michele was deeply respected for her integrity, compassion and generous spirit. She also served as Co-chair of the Building Committee for Gould, and as a member of the UCLA Health System Board.

………

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

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ripped out a ten-year old bike lane that was unpopular with motorists, even though it was favored by downtown bike riders after a nearby bike lane was removed a year ago.

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

Sad news from San Jose, where a woman has died a little over a week after she was struck by struck by an allegedly stoned bike rider while jogging on a local trail; the rider was arrested on suspicion of DUI on a bicycle causing injury and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

The schmuck who dragged a dog to its death behind his ebike on a South Korean bike path, reportedly because it was overweight, was released pending trial, after police had requested that he be jailed. With any luck, that will be the last taste of freedom he has for a long time.

………

Local 

The Eastsider profiles Gloria Hwang and Thousand, the Boyle Height bike helmet company she founded a decade ago, featuring helmets designed to “look like if you found an old motorcycle helmet in your grandparents’ basement.”

 

State

Fixed-gear street racing league Formula Fixed is bringing “three days of racing, parties, and creator-driven content” to San Francisco and Oakland beginning Saturday, September 13th; winners will qualify for the pro league.

 

National

Cycling News says there’s no such thing as a grountain bike, so get over it.

A Washington traffic safety commissioner explains why you shouldn’t ride salmon. Besides the fact it’s illegal, that is.

A Reno, Nevada nonprofit is already getting ready for next year’s Burning Man, even though this year’s just ended, collecting donations of used bicycles as well as bike abandoned by Burning Man revelers.

Now even the deer are out to get us, as a North Carolina man riding an ebike was killed when a hit-and-run deer darted out into the roadway ahead of him; the deer survived the crash but fled the scene before police arrived.

 

International

A staff member working for the Indonesian embassy in Lima, Peru was assassinated by a gunman as he rode his bicycle home from work Monday evening, in what authorities believe was a contract killing outside his apartment in the Lince neighborhood.

British folding bike maker Brompton celebrated its 50th anniversary with a limited edition 1975 foldie.

Momentum offers four great bicycling routes to explore Paris this fall. And no, not the one in Texas. 

You can see a lot of things from a bike, including a rare mama lynx and her kittens along a bike path in Maardu, Estonia.

Add Morocco to your bike bucket list, as Drift Travel highlights the country’s top five bike rides and bicycling routes.

 

Competitive Cycling

No one won yesterday’s Stage 11 of the Vuelta after organizers halted the race three kilometers — around 1.8 miles — from the finish in Balboa, Spain after pro-Palestinian protesters spilled onto the course, disrupting the peloton.

Italian cyclist Simone Petilli crashed after protesters ran out onto the road and police were unable to hold them back, later writing on Twitter/X “Please, we are just Cyclists and we are doing our Job, but if it will continue like this our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger!”

American pro Neilson Powless hopes a new pavé section is hard enough to result in some separation at this weekend’s one-day Maryland Cycling Classic.

USA Cycling is following the lead of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee by banning trans athletes from all female categories at sanctioned competitions starting September 15th, following Trump’s executive order prohibiting trans women from competing in women’s sports.

A humanitarian organization profiles Rwandan cyclist Olivia Maniragena, who rose from a single mother in the impoverished country to finding success and empowerment on a women’s cycling team, in advance of the country hosting the road world championships.

 

Finally…

Apparently, “Lime bike leg” is the modern equivalent of “bicycle face.” That feeling when a pedestrian was in the road because a bicyclist was on the sidewalk because a car was parked in the bike lane.

And why just carve a few trails, when you can carve your own bike, too.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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