Tag Archive for bicycling

13 years for Santa Ana gang bike theft killing, bust made in deliberate Fullerton crash, and LADOT fills Imperial gap

July 31, 2025 / / Comments Off on 13 years for Santa Ana gang bike theft killing, bust made in deliberate Fullerton crash, and LADOT fills Imperial gap
Day 211 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A 24-year old man will spend the next 13 years behind bars for killing a Santa Ana man to steal his bicycle five years ago.

Jose Luis Salgado was sentenced after pleading guilty to felony voluntary manslaughter and misdemeanor street terrorism, along with sentencing enhancements for being a gang member.

He was convicted for being primarily responsible for the killing 31-year-old Pedro Morale Chocoj, as part of a gang attempting to take the victim’s bike.

Co-defendant Jesus Gonzalo Ibarra was sentenced to just a year behind bars after pleading guilty to multiple felonies for the same attack.

I don’t know how many times we have to say it — no bicycle is ever worth a human life.

Period.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels.

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Fullerton police have made an arrest in an alleged intentional crash that left a man riding a bicycle hospitalized.

Twenty-two-year West Covina resident Christian Diaz is charged with attempted murder for making a U-turn to slam head-on into the 31-year old victim on the afternoon of July 20th.

Even if KTLA-5 somehow portrays it as a simple wrong-way hit-run, burying the apparently insignificant detail that police believe Diaz acted deliberately deep in the story.

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LADOT has finally closed the long-missing link on Imperial Highway in what passes for a protected bike lane here in Los Angeles, even though it would be called a separated bike lane in any more rational locale.

Because those flimsy little plastic bollards ain’t gonna protect anyone.

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They get it.

Santa Monica police are joining other cities in cracking down on ebikes.

But thankfully, they know enough to distinguish between legal ped-assist ebikes, and illegal e-motorbikes designed for off-road use, impounding a dozen Sur-Ron style bikes at a beach charging station.

Thanks to David and Ellectrek for the heads-up.

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Ukrainian soldiers used a drone to deliver an ebike to a wounded soldier trapped behind enemy lines.

Then used another one, which finally allowed him to escape, after first one was blown up by a landmine when he tried to ride to safety.

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That feeling when your downhill ride is interrupted by a cattle crash.

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

There may be justice after all. An Ontario judge blocked the removal of a trio of Toronto bike lanes, ruling it was unconstitutional because “removal of the target bike lanes will put people at increased risk of harm and death, which engages the right to life and security of the person.”

A Malaysian website says recent headlines have given the impression that bike riders are a nuisance on the roads — if not outright enemies.

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Local 

A Hollywood cinematographer is planning to make a full-length documentary about Jose Yanez, inventor of the bicycle backflip, who spread the move across the country with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, before ending up homeless in Phoenix.

WeHo residents voiced their anger and concern over deadly Fountain Ave at the West Hollywood Public Safety Commission meeting, demanding action as the Sheriff’s Department offered an update on traffic safety on Fountain. Or rather, the lack thereof. 

Mark your calendar for the Culver City meets Venice CicLAvia on Sunday, August 17th, connecting the two cities by way of Mar Vista. Meanwhile, Streets Are For Everyone is looking for volunteers to help work the event.

Long Beach’s dangerous Pacific Avenue is getting a major makeover, including a road diet and protected bike lanes — some of them curb-level — to fix the street LAist calls long “blighted by speeding and deadly crashes.”

 

State

Calbike will host an online summit session on August 20th to discuss bicycle highways, as a bill to make it easier to build them awaits the return of the state legislature from its summer recess.

A sleek new ebike from Fremont, California startup Morelle claims to recharge in just 15 minutes, rather than hours like other ebikes.

 

National

Momentum offers a look at ten “amazing” urban bicycling trails in the US they say are perfect for exploring cities. None of which are in Los Angeles, of course, although San Francisco’s Wiggle and Sacramento’s American River Parkway made the cut. 

Momentum also lists six reasons businesses want bike-riding customers. Or rather, why they should, since merchants too often oppose the very bikeways that could boost their business.

Bloomberg’s CityLab says we should all be biking along the beach, questioning why beachfront bike paths are so rare in the US when they help relieve beach traffic and mitigate the ill effects of over-tourism.

A woman writing for Cycling Weekly says you can’t call yourself a bicycling community without fat Black women on bikes.

Life is cheap in Seattle, where a cop with an extensive history of preventable traffic collisions walked with a lousy written reprimand and additional training after lying about crashing into someone riding a bicycle, initially saying he came to a full stop before admitting he ran the stop while looking at his onboard computer.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Hundreds of people turned out for a memorial to remember a 37-year old mother of two who was killed by a Denver dump truck driver while riding in an unprotected bike lane six years ago; a protected was built there afterwards, too late to save her life.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for the hit-and-run driver who killed a couple downed in the roadway, after another driver had knocked them off their bikes.

A Great Lakes website takes a deep dive into why Americans don’t bike like the Dutch yet. Short answer, if more people felt safe riding a bike, we would. Longer answer, speeding, drunk and/or distracted drivers need to stop killing us, and traffic engineers need to stop loading the damn metaphorical gun for them, already.

A crowdfunding campaign is intended to help a Memphis restaurant owner, who was left lying in the street with broken ribs and a punctured lung when a heartless coward fled the scene after crashing into his bicycle.

No surprise here, as New York cops ticketed far fewer drivers in the second quarter of this year, as they shifted their focus to far less dangerous bikes and ebikes; The Sun says the crackdown on bike riders is really a “war on people.”

They get it, too. A Greensboro, North Carolina newsletter says cars are king in the city and they’re killing people, as local groups lead efforts to be more bike and pedestrian friendly.

That’s more like it. A Florida woman will spend the next 15 years behind bars for fleeing the scene after injuring a teenager riding a bicycle, and running from police — all with her kids in the car. Although it’s disconcerting that the state can only take her license away for a maximum of five years. 

 

International

Finally, a list of relatively snappy retorss to all the common complaints against bike lanes.

A new study in Nature compares the relative severity of ebike and e-scooter injuries, concluding that e-scooter crashes result in more and worse head injuries, particularly because so many riders are intoxicated.

Singer Lilly Allen is one of us, riding her bike through London’s Notting Hill neighborhood, even if all the press cared about was the new ring on her finger.

If you want to be named the UK’s cop of the year, just borrow a bicycle from a bystander to chase down a jewel thief.

A writer for a travel website takes a bicycle tour of Copenhagen.

Helsinki, Finland proves that Vision Zero is achievable, as the city of over 650,000 people goes a full year without a traffic death.

Bicycling is up 14% in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, over just two years.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mauritian cyclist Kim Le Court reclaimed the yellow jersey by winning stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes by mere inches, after a premature celebration nearly cost her the race.

Some of the favorites are already out or the women’s Tour.

A pair of team managers may resort to pistols at 20 paces, with a war of words continuing in the wake of a crash that injured Dutch pro Demi Vollering, even though she was able to continue.

Six-time world champ Ellen van Dijk will call it a career at the end of this season; the 38-year old Dutch cyclist has 70 win in all categories so far.

Newly crowned four-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar says he doesn’t see himself continuing in the sport “much longer,” and may start considering retirement in 2028. Which would give him a chance to equal Lance’s non-record for ex-wins. 

Former Guernsey pro cyclist James McLaughlin has filed a lawsuit asking for the equivalent of over $1.3 million, arguing his attempt at a comeback was derailed when a 2020 London dooring left him suffering from depression, memory loss, fatigue and PTSD, and he now requires an emotional support dog.

Tour de Big Bear starts tomorrow and continues through Sunday, including the national mountain biking championships.

 

Finally…

You know ebikes are making a splash when even Fox News gets on board. It’s not a bike lane, it’s an open air ice cream market.

And this may just be the best DIY traffic sign yet.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Blaming bad drivers for the real problem on our roads, teaching a sainted pope to ride a bike, and ICE-y bike lanes in DTLA

July 29, 2025 / / Comments Off on Blaming bad drivers for the real problem on our roads, teaching a sainted pope to ride a bike, and ICE-y bike lanes in DTLA
Day 210 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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He gets it.

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, a Colorado auto and traffic safety writer says it’s long past time to address the real problem behind the 845,000 deaths on American roadways.

The poorly trained drivers behind the wheel.

Approximately 94 percent of car crashes involve some form of driver behavior like speeding, distraction, failing to yield or DUI identified as a contributing factor, although this doesn’t mean the driver is always solely responsible — bad roads, confusing or obscured signage, wildlife darting into the road, mechanical failures and other factors play their part, too.

But mostly, the problems lie with us. We aren’t very good drivers. And there is a potential solution: better driver training. If we can fix bad driving, at least partially, we can save thousands of lives.

Although he adds that better eduction of drivers can only do so much to lower the appalling death rate on our roads.

It would be wonderful to lower the death rate from 30,000 deaths a year to 25,000 or 20,000. I don’t think anyone thinks we’re going to get to zero. Some people will just be rotten drivers all their lives, and others will always ignore the rules.

But if we change the narrative and empower people to drive safely and skillfully, that’s a start.

His stats are just a tad out of date, though, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration celebrated last year’s drop to “just” 39,345 traffic deaths, the first time this decade it’s been below 40,000.

And he may be right about never getting to zero, at least as long as humans are doing the driving.

But we can do a hell of a lot better than 20,000 to 25,000 people sacrificed to the almighty motor vehicle every year.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay. 

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Not many people can claim to have taught both a pope and a saint to ride a bike.

Even if it was the same person.

A Roman Catholic website recounts the story of the legendary Gino Bartali, a two-time winner of both the Giro and the Tour de France, as well as a member of the Italian resistance honored as Righteous Among the Nations for saving an estimated 800 Jews during WWII.

The modest Carmelite Catholic never told his own story, which only came to light after his death.

As if that wasn’t enough to stake his claim to fame, he’s also said to have taught Pope John XXIII, who was canonized in 2014, how to ride a bike.

That alone should be the first miracle to get him sainted.

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This may not be why people keep dying on our roads.

But it sure as hell doesn’t help.

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Bicycling lifestyle brand Rapha joined with Los Angeles area bicyclists to mount a ghost bike on Stunt Road for Marvin Cortez, who was killed by a reportedly speeding and reckless driver last month.

Thanks to Aaron for the heads-up. 

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

London’s Kensington and Chelsea council said “oopsie,” and cancelled a fine equalling the equivalent of $133 issued to a university professor for the crime of riding his bike in a shared bicycle and pedestrian lane, exactly where he was supposed to.

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Local 

The Ballona Creek Bike Path will be closed for the next two days for maintenance from Overland Ave to Higuera Street between 6 am and 4 pm

 

State

Singletracks looks at five of California’s best mountain bike trails.

A San Diego public radio station examines Vista’s plans to rip out newly installed protected bike lanes, because drivers just couldn’t deal with them, and a number bicyclists didn’t like them, either.

Santa Barbara County is recruiting bike-riding volunteers to offer direct feedback on “comfort factors” like lane width, and traffic speed and volume, to confirm the results of an AI survey of county streets.

Oakland has broken ground on a $5.4 million project to build a barrier-protected bike lane near the city’s Lake Merritt, to be named for a four-year old girl who was killed there while biking with her father two years ago.

 

National

Electrek calls ebike rebate programs a rare win-win offering cleaner air, less traffic and more mobility for people who need it most, as more cities and states provide them.

Seattle Bike Blog says no, those new lines are fog lines, not bike lanes.

A People Magazine podcast questions whether a University of Idaho student was the victim of a serial killer, after she disappeared while riding her bike to her sister’s house in 1981 and her dismembered body was found floating in the Snake River nine days later.

A new study from an Arizona law firm shows that North Dakota paid the highest dollar cost for bicycling deaths at $14,177 per 1,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, followed by Alaska, Montana and South Dakota. Although the story doesn’t explain how they calculated that cost, and doesn’t provide a link to the study.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Two years after a teenage boy was killed by a driver while riding on a residential Chicago street, and another bike rider badly injured, the city removed a traffic lane and converted it to a far safer neighborhood greenway.

CNN is finally starting to catch on, as Elon Musk’s The Boring Company promises to solve Nashville’s traffic problems, after the company’s vaporware solutions in other cities.

A Senator from Vermont has introduced a bill to restore the tax deduction for riding a bike to work, which was killed by Republicans during the first Trump administration after nine years, while expanding it to include ebikes, bikeshare and scooters.

The Washington Post provides a reminder that Cycling Without Age allows infirm elderly people to feel the wind in their hair while riding in a pedicab.

 

International

The New York Times “Wellness Around the World” series joins pre-dawn bicycle “trains” in Bogota, Columbia, as groups of up to 100 riders join together for protection against thieves and get their days off to a great start.

A Vietnamese bike touring company is introducing a “bold” ten-day gravel bike tour starting in Saigon, and traveling past tea and coffee-growing highlands, ancient Cham ruins, quiet fishing villages and bustling coastal towns, and the memorial to the infamous My Lai massacre, ending in the UNESCO World Heritage site Hoi An.

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling awarded 40 titles at last week’s four-day 2025 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships. Seriously, when I was that age, I barely knew bike racing was a thing, let alone track cycling.  

Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes won Monday’s stage of the Tour de France Femmes in a “furious” sprint, as race favorites Demi Vollering and Kim Le Court were caught in a late crash, allowing Marianne Vos to reclaim the yellow jersey after Le Court held it for just two days. But does that mean Le Court has to give up her new yellow bike?

The crash left Vollering “limping and emotional” with pain in the knee, glutes and back.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you end the world’s most famous bike race with a fiancé, instead of a trophy.

And that looks like fun.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Paris offers a guide to transform LA streets in time for ’28 Olympics, and video of Ackerman ghost bike vigil in WeHo

July 28, 2025 / / Comments Off on Paris offers a guide to transform LA streets in time for ’28 Olympics, and video of Ackerman ghost bike vigil in WeHo
Day 209 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Maybe there’s still hope for Los Angeles.

Momentum takes a look at the transformation Paris made to the city’s streets prior to the 2024 Olympics, and looks for lessons for Los Angeles, as well as other cities.

The magazine spells out five key changes Paris made, from expanding bicycle infrastructure and pedestrianized streets to offering financial incentives to leave your car at home, that offers steps other cities could take to emulate the City of Lights.

Take financial incentives, for instance.

The Parisian government has introduced financial incentives to encourage cycling. Subsidies for purchasing bikes, especially electric ones, and grants for bike repairs make cycling more affordable. These measures aim to lower the entry barriers and promote a culture of cycling .

The “Coup de Pouce Vélo” program, launched in 2020, provided up to 50 euros for bike repairs and up to 200 euros for the purchase of a new electric bike. This program has been extended due to its success, with over one million Parisians benefiting from these subsidies . The country of France has also offered as much as 4,000 euros as an incentive to switch from a car to an e-bike or bicycle…

Governments can support cycling by offering financial incentives for purchasing and maintaining bikes. Subsidies and grants can make cycling more accessible to a broader population, fostering a more inclusive cycling culture .

Research: A study by the European Cyclists’ Federation found that financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase cycling adoption, with countries like Belgium and the Netherlands leading the way in offering substantial subsidies.

Then they take it a step further — or five steps, actually — to consider how to make tough choices and navigate political will, which is where Los Angeles has repeatedly failed.

It’s worth reading.

Because right now, the talk of making major changes to LA’s streets in time for the 2028 Olympics looks like just that.

Talk.

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The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition shares video of the vigil and ghost bike for Blake Ackerman, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding home from work earlier this month.

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Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, is holding a meeting this afternoon for volunteers to help encourage the use of public transportation throughout LA County.

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

A competitive cyclist in St. Louis, Missouri will be out of commission for the next several months because a hit-and-run driver brake-checked him after rolling down his window and yelling at the victim; that comes just two weeks after another rider was verbally and physically assaulted in the city, though police won’t say if the two incidents are related.

Someone appears to be sabotaging the bikeway on New York’s Marine Parkway Bridge by leaving string across the path at neck and head level, resulting in a number of injuries, although the NYPD continues to say “no criminality is suspected.”

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Local 

KCAL News takes an aerial view of the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Path.

Someone described only as a minor was airlifted to a Valencia hospital after being involved in an ebike crash. Although what kind of ebike they were riding or whether anyone else was involved hasn’t been explained at this time.

Streetsblog says the landscaped walkway along Valinda Ave in unincorporated Los Angeles County between La Puente and West Covina is a community treasure.

 

State

Santa Ana says they’re halfway through a lane reduction project on Standard and McFadden avenues, and have begun installing “improved” bike lanes.

A four-year old boy was lucky to escape with abrasions after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in San Diego’s Mission Bay Park Sunday evening.

The San Francisco Standard says if there’s a war on cars, the cars are winning as the city slowly surrenders to the automobile, despite efforts to encourage alternative transportation.

 

National

Go ahead and ride your bike just on Saturday and Sunday, or whenever your weekend occurs, because a new study shows “weekend warrior” workouts alone are enough to significantly reduce the risk of death from all causes for people with diabetes. And as we all know, diabetes sucks. 

A lawyer with the Bike League offers an update on multiple lawsuits filed by cities, states and advocacy groups over active transportation funding frozen by the Trump administration over unrelated issues like noncompliance with immigration or DEI orders.

A group of nine women have set off on a seven-week ride down the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego to awareness and funds for victims of sex trafficking.

Denver bike riders say they were left out of plans for a nearly $1 billion transportation bond measure that includes hundreds of millions for bridges, roads and underpasses, but virtually nothing for bikeways.

A Florida man was killed by a sheriff’s deputy while taking his usual morning ride to the beach as the deputy was responding to a crash with lights and siren; investigators suspected that he might not have been able to hear the siren, or could have thought emergency vehicles had all passed before riding his bike out into the intersection.

 

International

Momentum rates the best North American rail trails to ride this summer. Not that the summer isn’t half over by now, but still. 

A Mexican man has gone from cutting sugar cane in Belize to being recognized as the “bike guru” of the city of Orange Walk.

After a ten-year bike boom, Calgary, Alberta has gone bust, with roughly just a quarter of the bike lanes called for by 2020 actually built, and no one in charge of bike lanes at City Hall.

The New York Times examines the battle over bike lanes in Toronto as local bicyclists fight back against plans to rip out the city’s bike lanes.

Bicyclists in London are accusing a local council of trying to sweep the unsolved hit-and-run that killed a man riding a bicycle by removing and destroying his ghost bike.

An English woman says instead of being the best time to ride, summer is actually the worst time to ride a bike in London due to “fair-weather cyclists, drunken riders and tourists,” causing gridlocked bike lanes, unpredictable behavior and a more chaotic commute.

Yet another tragic reminder to always carry ID with you when you ride, as detectives in the UK thanked the public for their help in identifying a man in his 70s who collapsed and died while walking his bike. Put a copy of your driver’s license in a secure pocket, wear a RoadID, write your name and phone number on your bike, or use some other form of identification that won’t get stolen if you’re somehow incapacitated in a fall or crash. 

An Irish man finished a year-long, 7,400-mile ride to Vietnam to raise funds for cancer patient support services.

Sad news from South Africa, where an incoming junior on Princeton’s Ivy League champion rowing team was killed while she was riding a bike back home in Johannesburg.

A consultant is encouraging Malaysia to enact a national code spelling out the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists, in a country where most people don’t know where bikes are legally allowed, or how to drive safely around them.

 

Competitive Cycling

To the surprise of no one, Tadej Pogačar won the Tour de France for the fourth time after taking control of the race midway, saying the victory left him speechless and he didn’t want to discuss speculation he’s chasing Eddy Merckx as the greatest cyclist of all time. Never mind that guy who claims he won the race seven times, but isn’t found anywhere in the record book.

Pogačar didn’t win the final stage, however, after Wout Van Aert dropped him on the climb to Montmartre, after the Tour dropped the traditional ceremonial, champaign-swilling final stage in favor of a more competitive finish.

Twenty-four-year old German cyclist Florian Lipowitz not only finished his first Tour de France wearing the white jersey for best young rider, but made the podium with a third-place finish in the general classification. 

Britain’s Geraint Thomas said goodbye to the Tour de France with his five-year old son on his handlebars, seven years after he won the race for the only time.

Fifty-four-year old Ofer Calderon didn’t compete in the Tour de France, but still rode along the Champs-Élysées in full Israel Premier Tech cycling team gear, invited by the team’s owners after surviving 484 days as a hostage in Hamas captivity.

The Washington Post examines the spreading rumors of motor doping in pro cycling, and whether officials are up to the challenge of keeping up with constantly changing techniques and technology.

Dutch great Marianne Vos won the opening day of the nine-stage Tour de France Femmes.

Spain’s Mavi Garcia’s became the oldest stage winner of the Tour de France Femmes by taking Sunday’s stage with an aggressive attack, breaking Annemiek van Vleuten’s record by more than two years.

Velo says 29-year old Mauritian cyclist Kim Le Court’s best pro season got even better when she donned the yellow jersey after Sunday’s stage of the Tour.

Velo examines the 10-rider strong North American contingent competing in the women’s Tour.

 

Finally…

The case for stealing Pee-wee Herman’s bike, again. And using your bike to smash a car windshield in a dispute over removing a political sign is not actually one of its many accepted uses.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Three WeHo/Hollywood hit-and-runs within 10 blocks and 20 days, and road-raging driver runs down Fullerton bike rider

July 25, 2025 / / Comments Off on Three WeHo/Hollywood hit-and-runs within 10 blocks and 20 days, and road-raging driver runs down Fullerton bike rider
Day 206 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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This is who we share the road with.

A 33-year old man was arrested for fleeing the scene after crashing into a motorcyclist outside Jones Restaurant in West Hollywood, just eight days after the hit-and-run crash that killed Blake Ackerman just seven blocks away.

And that crash was just three blocks from a hit-and-run crash that killed a 36-year old woman in Hollywood 11 days earlier; unlike the others, no one has been arrested for this one yet.

That’s three hit-and-run crashes, leaving two people dead, within a ten-block area straddling WeHo and Los Angeles in less than three weeks.

Houston, we have a problem.

It’s going to take some major coordination between the two cities to solve it before someone else ends up dead, and another driver flees the scene.

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This is who we share the road with, part two.

A Fullerton man was intentionally hit head-on by a road-raging hit-and-run driver for the crime of simply tapping the driver’s bumper when he didn’t move his car when the light changed, because he was too busy flirting with a woman to pay attention to the light.

The victim, who was just riding his bike home from work, was lucky to escape serious injury, despite being sent flying off his bike.

That was the driver’s second attempt at running him down. The first came when the driver swerved at him from behind and missed.

He was more successful in his second attempt, after apparently turning around and cutting across traffic lanes to target the victim from the other side of the road.

Fullerton police are looking for as a red two-door car, possibly a Dodge Challenger, and hoping to find security video showing the car’s license plate,

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6800.

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

No bias here. Yucatán Magazine says bike lanes in Mérida, capital of the Mexican state, are showing mixed results after three years, with some people using them while others still bike in the traffic lanes, while suggesting the mere presence of the lanes contribute to greater traffic congestion. No, too many cars are the cause of traffic congestion. And of course people still ride in traffic lanes if bike lanes don’t take them where they need to go.

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

A former Premier League youth soccer player will spend the next 27 months behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that severely injured a woman crossing a Manchester, England street, while riding an ebike with another man on the back; both men fled, and had to be chased down and caught by bystanders.

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Local 

The Pasadena Planning Commission unanimously voted to turn North Lake Ave into a new Old Pasadena, with plans calling for wider sidewalks, landscaped medians, a comprehensive streetscape strategy, and new bicycle facilities. Which could mean anything from physically protected bike lanes to a few random bike racks.

A 21-year old Claremont man just finished a nearly 6,000-mile bike ride with two college friends, riding across the country from New Jersey to Seattle, then down to the Mexican border before returning home.

Westlake Village became the latest city to join in on the rush to crack down on ebikes, banning all electric micromobility devices from virtually everywhere but city streets, while allowing sheriff’s deputies to ensure compliance, but “only during lawful stops.” Well, that’s comforting.

 

State

Fullerton’s 3rd Annual Christmas in July Bike Ride will roll through the city’s streets tomorrow, with Santa Claus trading in his sleigh for a mountain bike. Please pass along my wish for Santa that someone will find the road-raging SOB who ran down that Fullerton bike rider, and lock his ass up for a damn long time. 

No surprise here, as a fully separated Class IV bike lane is getting pushback from residents in San Mateo, who say they have been ignored in the design process — and would prefer an additional traffic lane to reduce congestion, even though induced demand means that would probably just make things worse.

 

National

A new report considers why more people aren’t mountain biking, finding problems ranging from perceived risk to the sport being seen as mostly white and male dominated.

A woman who grew up parenting herself with a mother suffering from severe depression says learning to ride a bicycle at 35 allowed her to meet the child she never got to be.

Seattle has a newly built, physically protected bike lane along a section of the bike-friendly city’s waterfront.

Scottsdale, Arizona has banned children aged 16 or below from riding any ebike capable of traveling 21 mph or higher.

That’s how to do it right. Minnesota’s popular and successful ebike rebate system returns for another year, with a 10-day portal to apply. Unlike California, which somehow expects over 100,000 people to apply in a single hour without crashing the system. Again. 

Ebike maker eBliss Global will invest over $4 million into a new Utica, New York factory to onshore production of their bikes beginning this fall, hoping to make the area a center for ebike manufacturing.

Virginia Tech University has raised the threshold to achieve their vaunted 5-Star safety rating, resulting in 139 bike helmet models being downgraded to 4 Stars or below.

 

International

A Mexicali, Mexico bike advocate describes what it’s like to ride a bike in the city that recorded North America’s second-highest temperature at 126° Fahrenheit, or 52.4° Celsius, and what can be done to make biking there better.

A Vancouver woman is creating Strava art, riding her bike across the region using the app to draw images including a piggy bank, crocodile and a T-rex.

An op-ed in the Guardian says the bicycle is an important part of Ireland’s past, and Irish cyclist Ben Healy’s brief time in the Tour de France’s yellow jersey can inspire a revival of bike riding in the country.

Ouch. A Kazakhstan paper asks if the country’s largest city is turning into a car-choked Los Angeles clone.

 

Competitive Cycling

Reuters says Australian Ben O’Connor “stormed to a sensational victory,” on yesterday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France, his “eyes blazing with determination,” as he “launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze.” Well, okay then.

Apparently, the Visma-Lease a Bike team will do anything to stop overall leader Tadej Pogačar from winning his fourth Tour, after brake-checking Pogačar with the team car at the start of yesterday’s stage.

Road.cc examines the “unwritten rules” of the Tour de France, how they’re enforced and how they actually determine how the race plays out.

After becoming the first African man or woman to win a Monument, Kim Le Court reflected on her unusual entry to the sport, taking it up because her parents and brothers were bicyclists, after first trying tennis, golf, touch rugby and soccer.

British former world champ Lizzie Deignan is calling it a career after announcing her pregnancy.

 

Finally…

If you get banned from a bike shop during the day, just let yourself in during the night when it’s closed. And the eternal question of why cyclists shave their legs.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Congress member echoes calls for safer WeHo Streets, and CO cops succeed with hit-and-run alert LAPD and CHP won’t use

July 24, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 205 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Burbank Congressional Representative Laura Friedman echoed last week’s call for safer streets in West Hollywood.

The Beverly Press quotes the 30th District House member as saying,

“We need to be thinking about this from every angle, from the way we design vehicles, to what safety features are in vehicles, to employing technology like speed cameras across the state in a thoughtful way, to driver’s education,” she (Friedman) said.

Friedman also commended West Hollywood and other cities for implementing safer traffic measures, calling the increase in fatal collisions a “public health crisis.”

Because a public health crisis is exactly how we need to be looking at traffic violence. Just like we should consider gun violence, but don’t.

In both cases.

The paper also quotes Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, founder Damian Kevitt citing a “shocking” increase in traffic violence in the city of just 34,000 people.

Kevitt also cited the problem of drivers fleeing following a crash because the penalties for hit-and-run are more lenient than for DUI.

“That is a huge factor and that is where the law needs to catch up,” he said.

Kevitt added that reducing traffic congestion by adding surface area on streets has not been successful in Los Angeles and that using alternative means of transportation is a more effective way of reducing vehicle congestion.

However, we’re not likely to reduce congestion until people feel safer using other forms of transportation on those congested streets.

Egg, meet chicken.

The paper also reminds us about the petition to install a red light camera at Fountain and Gardner.

Which has gathered less than 250 signatures so far, when it should be at least ten times that number by now.

So if you haven’t signed it yet, do it already.

………

The same day an Englewood, Colorado bike rider was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a Medina Alert, which is their version of a hit-and-run alert.

Which is exactly how it’s supposed to work.

Maybe someone should tell that to the cops here.

Because the hit-and-run alert programs for both Los Angeles and California were copied from Colorado’s successful program, which itself was based on the very successful program patterned after the Amber alert system that originated in Denver.

The only difference is they use it, and we don’t. Which just might have something to do with why Colorado solved every felony hit-and-run in 2022, while only around 20% ever get solved in California.

Or maybe they just care enough to devote the resources necessary to solve them, and the cops and elected leaders out here don’t.

But at least the LAPD only waited two days to ask for the public’s help this time.

………

A new video game allows you to ride a magical bike through a massive open world in search of some legendary bike part; The Verge calls it “the feel-good game of the summer.”

………

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

No bias here. New York bike riders are understandably frustrated after a nearly 1,000% increase in bike traffic tickets in the second quarter of this year — except their now criminal summons, which require recipients to appear before a judge in criminal court, rather than traffic court.

………

Local 

A Hollywood judge will now determine whether a 62-year old Pasadena man will stand trial for killing his wife, dismembering her and stuffing her remains in a suitcase, then taking his bicycle on a train, riding his bike to North Figueroa and setting the suitcase on fire in a Home Depot parking lot, after his attorney questioned the man’s mental competency. Gee, ya think?

Burbank unveiled its draft Safer Street action plan, including plans for traffic calming measures on nine separate streets; you can weigh in at the August 12th city council meeting.

 

State

Calbike shares strategies used by local advocates in two California cities to add bikeways to state roadways.

Chula Vista became the latest California city to crack down on ebike riders, although they put off enforcement of the new restrictions for 90 days.

Just like West Hollywood last weekend, nearly 100 people in San Rafael gathered outside City Hall Monday evening to honor a “beloved husband, coach and cyclist” who was killed while riding his bike last month, and demand that the city fix the dangerous intersection where he was was run down by a driver.

 

National

Bike Mag examines the impact Black Sabbath and the late Ozzy Osbourne had on mountain biking.

They get it. A Bend, Oregon newspaper says if the state wants more people to ride bikes, it has to invest in bike safety; if not, maybe the city’s bike riders should just stay home.

Seattle Bike Blog says riding your bike to transit is the ultimate hack to get around the city’s freeway construction this summer — and every other day, too.

Two people have already died during this week’s RAGBRAI ride across Iowa, despite receiving prompt medical attention from medical professionals taking part in the multi-day event; meanwhile, the 140-member Air Force Cycling Team is riding along with the RAGBRAI participants to provide assistance to anyone who needs it.

A Milwaukee driver faces up to 31 years behind bars for — allegedly — blowing through a red light and seriously injuring a man riding in a bike lane, while a) FaceTiming with a contracting customer b) smoking a joint, c) driving on a suspended license, and d) driving a car belonging to someone else.

An Atlanta city councilmember got a first-hand look at the dangers bike riders face on the roads, when he was struck by a driver making a U-turn, while he was riding his bike home from a soccer match with his four-year old daughter; his attorney says his bike was properly lit and he was doing everything right.

A new video series tries to normalize bike riding as it follows Tampa, Florida ebike riders on their way to local businesses.

 

International

A Canadian woman just set new Guinness World Records for the fastest speed on a Penny Farthing by a woman at 25.93 mph, and the fastest women’s one kilometer on a Penny Farthing. But bikes like that have only been around for 150 years, so no big deal. 

Friends of a Brazilian man who was killed while riding his bike in London last year plan to reinstall his ghost bike, after it was removed by the Tower Hamlets council just three months later without consulting his family or friends.

An English man discovers there’s nothing like working as a food delivery rider to train for an epic bike ride from the UK to Australia.

A bike-riding man in Singapore faces up to five years behind bars for killing a 70-year old pedestrian by failing to “keep a proper lookout” while riding his bike across an intersection.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian cyclist Jonathan Milan won his second stage in this year’s Tour de France in a sprint to the finish after a big crash took down a number of riders, including Eritrean Biniam Girmay.

French gendarmes were quick to take down an imposter who tried to ride his bike across the finish line of yesterday’s stage just ahead of the peloton.

Velo offers the “ultimate guide” to all the bikes, components and gear used by the 22 teams competing in the Tour de France Femmes, aka Women’s Tour de France, which kicks off on Saturday.

A 68-year old Phoenix, Arizona woman is the world’s oldest elite-level paracyclist.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you borrow a kids bike to pedal to your first day of NFL training camp. Or when you go over your handlebars, and a TV reporter interrupts his live remote to ensure you’re okay.

And when you’re a convicted felon and known gang member illegally carrying a loaded weapon on your bike, just don’t ride salmon, already.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Carfree Olympics threatened by lack of bikeshare near LAX, and CA failing those who need clean transportation most

July 23, 2025 / / 3 comments
Day 204 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

It was only last month that Los Angeles celebrated the opening of the Metro Transit Center at LAX.

We were told about the station’s great walkable and bikeable design, and how that would help LA host a carfree 2028 Olympics.

Just one problem.

There’s nowhere to rent a bike anywhere near the airport if you arrive in the city without one. Which most LAX passengers could be reasonably expected to do.

I learned about that yesterday in an email from Sacramento-based League Cycling Instructor and Bike League member Anya McCann, who tried, and failed, to find a bikeshare dock or dockless bike after landing at the airport.

But I’ll let her tell you the story.

I grew up in Los Angeles and spent another 20 years there as an adult. My father was a lifelong City of LA employee and he worked hard to get bike facilities built over his 40 year career and post-retirement as a community advocate.

This weekend I flew down to LAX to attend an event and decided to make it an adventure to find ways to get to my Mom’s without asking someone to pick me up or getting a $50 Uber.

I brought a bike helmet, used a backpack as luggage, and, as I’ve done in many other cities, explored how to grab a rental bike (preferably e-bike) and bike to my Mom’s house…a ride distance I used to do when I was a child with Dad on weekends for fun.

Surprise: There are no rental bike stations within a 30 minute walk of the LAX. (Although I saw several brands of e-scooters laying around all over the place.) Even if I caught an uber into the Marina, there were no e-bikes available at that time. And, I note from the service map that I would have to return it 1.6 miles from Mom’s and walk the rest of the way.

I ended up walking 1.4 miles from Terminal 1 to Westchester to catch the Big Blue Bus #3, which got me to the same block that is the closest Metro e-bike docking station I would have used – and then did the 1.6 mile walk to Mom’s. While it is a pleasant walk along a path I do just for fun and exercise, with luggage it is more of a commitment. I exited the airport at 3:30 and arrived at my destination at 5:35…a longer trip than I hoped for to travel 14 miles.

Los Angeles needs some better multi-modal access that includes more bike rental stations, and I hope your plans for improvements before the Olympics includes stations at the airports (at LAX they could be out on Sepulveda Blvd.). There also needs to be clear and connective bike lane access to get around Westchester Parkway or Lincoln Blvd to Marina del Rey from LAX that people would understand if they have never been there before.

That should be where the story ends.

But this is Los Angeles.

So we shouldn’t really be surprised by the response McCann received when she reached out to Metro Bike about the problem.

Hey there, sorry for the inconvenience on finding a bike station to get a bike. Some bad news, Metro bike share is possible going away since they weren’t able to renew their contract with the city and has been taken over by another company. Not sure if said new company will continue using bikes or an alternative form of transportation. Once again, sorry for your troubles.

So not only is there no Metro Bike dock near LAX, there could soon be no Metro Bike, period.

And those dreams of holding a carfree Olympics could be disappearing before our eyes.

………

She gets it.

In an op-ed for Smart Cities Dive, the woman who led the launch of Upway in the US argues that California’s push for clean transportation is leaving behind the people who need it most.

Marta Anadón Rosinach writes that California’s e-car and ebike rebate programs may have been successful, but too often leave out low-income people who most need an alternative to private vehicles and public transit, but can least afford it.

It’s time we rethink the definition of “clean mobility” to include equitable access. A zero-emission car might qualify on paper, but it won’t help a shift worker in Stockton without a dollar to spare or a teenager in San Bernardino commuting to school. Public buses and trains don’t reach everyone, and when they do, they often don’t run frequently or reliably enough to replace a private vehicle. But a light electric vehicle, paired with safe, connected infrastructure, can.

LEVs — including e-bikes, e-scooters and other compact rides — are cheaper to own and operate than motor vehicles, require less space and fewer resources, and work well in urban areas. For low-income workers, students and families without reliable transit, they can be a lifeline. But so far, LEVs have been left to the private market — if you can afford one, great; If not, too bad.

She goes on to argue for increasing the funding for California’s ebike incentive program, and allowing the vouchers to be used to purchase more affordable used ebikes.

Along with investing in a statewide network of safe, physically separated routes for light electric vehicles connecting neighborhoods to schools, jobs and transit.

It’s worth taking a few short minutes to read the whole thing, because it’s pretty hard to argue with.

………

A new ranking of the country’s most dangerous cities for pedestrian and bicyclists says Albuquerque, New Mexico is worst for walkers, while Stockton, California sucks if you’re on two wheels.

For once, Los Angeles fares relatively well, ranking 31st worst for pedestrians, and all the way down at 64th worst for people on bicycles.

Surprisingly, bike-friendly Long Beach fared much worse for bike riders, ranking 38th worst in the US, but slightly better than LA for pedestrians at 41st.

………

Active Streets comes to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley in November, with five miles of open streets connecting El Monte and South El Monte.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1947458366537654327

………

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

No bias here. A writer for the conservative California Globe accuses San Francisco of having an anti-car agenda, arguing the city’s “relentless” “transit-first dogma prioritizes buses, bikes, bike lanes and pedestrians while slashing critical parking spaces and discouraging driving”, “strangling the mobility of our most vulnerable residents.” Um, sure. Whatever you say.

A city in Yorkshire, England is ripping out a protected bike lane that local businesses blamed for taking away parking spaces, while a secondary concern was the risk of injury from the armadillos used to separate the bike lane from motor vehicles. So instead of removing or replacing the armadillos, they’re just ripping out the whole damn thing.

………

Local 

The 29-year old San Clemente man accused of intentionally slamming his car into a group of people standing outside of an East Hollywood night club last weekend has been charged with 37 count of attempted murder; Fernando Ramirez was allegedly kicked out of the club for fighting prior to the attack. .

 

State

A coalition of advocacy groups is calling for secure bike parking to be included in the state’s Green Building Standards Code.

Twenty-four-year old Ventura surfing instructor Elieah Boyd is recovering after surgery to reattach her arm, which was ripped off when a train hit her 80-pound ebike as she was trying to push it across the tracks earlier this month.

A 77-year old San Francisco man was killed when he was struck by someone riding a privately owned electric scooter on the city’s Market Street; the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition reminded everyone about the hierarchy of road user safety, with pedestrians more vulnerable than people on bicycles or scooters, who are more vulnerable than people in cars.

 

National

Denver bike riders are justifiably angry after someone riding a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver at an intersection where a protected bike lane was proposed, but never built; a 28-year old man was later arrested for the crime.

Colorado tries preaching to the choir, placed new bicycle safety signs along the roadway in the city’s Washington Park, insisting that hundreds of bicyclists, walkers and roller skaters will see them every day — but no drivers, since cars are banned from the park. And yes, most of those people probably drive, but thousands more people could see the same message if they put it on a billboard next to the freeway.

A legally blind teacher isn’t letting his lack of eyesight keep him from biking across the full breadth of Iowa on the back of a tandem in the annual RAGBRAI ride across the state.

That’s more like it. A 69-year old Philadelphia man was sentenced to 6 to 20 years behind bars for swerving into a bike lane and killing a Children’s Hospital physician riding her bike to work, while driving at over twice the legal alcohol limit.

After someone stole a Virginia pastor’s mountain bike off his car five years ago, he responded by posting about the theft online and offering to repair bicycles for free — leading to a weekly backyard bike wrenching service, as well as giving away over 2,000 refurbished bicycles.

A New Orleans bike rider was killed last week on a street where a local bicycle advocacy group has been calling for a protected bike lane for the past three years.

 

International

Bicyclists riding “a very dangerous road” into London’s Kensington and Chelsea boroughs say they’re forced to choose between risking a fine equivalent to $135 for riding on the sidewalk or their lives.

A group of neurodivergent teenagers completed a 1,000-mile bike ride down the full length of Great Britain to prove that they are capable of doing anything.

Britain’s ETA insurance company calls bike storage the missing link in the country’s bicycling revolution.

A new ranking of Europe’s best city’s for bicyclists ranks Paris first, with Amsterdam third, while Copenhagen is nowhere to be seen.

Ukrainian troops accused Russian solders of deliberately shooting a man riding a bicycle in the embattled Donetsk region for no apparent reason. And trust me, you don’t want to see the drone video.

Ebikes continue to shed pounds, as Dahon’s newest folding ebike weights just 26.5 pounds, reportedly without skimping on features and performance.

 

Competitive Cycling

France’s Valentin Paret-Peintre took first place on the legendary Mont Ventoux over former race leader Ben Healy, while Tadej Pogačar put another two seconds on second place Jonas Vingegaard, who crashed into a photographer after crossing the finish line.

Norway’s Tobias Halland Johannessen was hospitalized after he collapsed following the finish stage 16 at the top of Mont Ventoux, over a mile above sea level.

US cyclist Alexis Magner is reported to be “amazingly okay” after she had to be resuscitated and rushed to surgery when she crash into a lamppost near the finish line on the final day of Belgium’s Ladies Baloise Tour.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can be a pro mountain biker. No schadenfreude here, even though Lance’s defiant former manager got a well-deserved boot from the Tour.

And nothing like riding RAGBRAI after losing an entire person.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Man riding bike killed by hit-and-run driver in North Hollywood Monday night; 5th bike rider to die in LA County since end of June

July 22, 2025 / / Comments Off on Man riding bike killed by hit-and-run driver in North Hollywood Monday night; 5th bike rider to die in LA County since end of June

Yet another life has been taken by a heartless coward who didn’t have the basic human decency to stop afterwards.

According to My News LA, a 52-year old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while trying to ride his bike across a North Hollywood street Monday night.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was trying to cross Lankershim Blvd south of Arminta Street around 10:55 pm when he was struck by the driver of an older-model silver Dodge Ram pickup traveling south on Lankershim.

He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver continued driving south without stopping.

KTLA-5 reports that the victim was riding outside of the crosswalk, which is absolutely irrelevant since there is no requirement for bicyclists to use one. And just like drivers, they are entitled to move from one side of the street to the other, whether turning, crossing or making a U-turn.

So the question is whether the victim had the right-of-way, which could depend on where the driver came from and how fast they were going.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Valley Traffic Bureau Detective Otrosina at 818/644-8036, or Detective Martinez at 818/644-8033.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fifth we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles.

This was the fifth person to die riding a bicycle in LA County in less than a month, and the ninth SoCal bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

Petition for red light cam at Fountain and Gardner, build a more livable South Bay, and tell Metro how to improve public safety

July 22, 2025 / / Comments Off on Petition for red light cam at Fountain and Gardner, build a more livable South Bay, and tell Metro how to improve public safety
Day 203 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A new petition is calling for a red light cam at Fountain Ave and Gardner Street to combat the ongoing toll of traffic violence, including the hit-and-run death of Blake Ackerman two weeks ago.

As of this writing, it stands at 199 signatures, including mine.

Let’s help get it a lot higher.

Photo by Thomas from Pixabay.

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Here’s your chance to get started on building a more livable South Bay, with an in-person discussion next Monday evening at St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach.

What does it take to create livable and walkable communities?

Join us for an informative and dynamic conversation with special guests from Livable Communities Initiative and Parking Reform Network on policy and planning reforms to create a more livable, affordable South Bay community. We’ll learn from experts in urban planning and parking reform and hear from local organizations engaged in this work. This event will spark real conversations about local reforms that can bring down the cost of living and shape neighborhoods focused around people instead of cars.

This event is co-sponsored by South Bay Forward, League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities, and South Bay Bicycle Coalition Plus.

Featured speakers: Lindsay Sturman, Co-Founder of Livable Communities Initiative and Tony Jordan, President of Parking Reform Network.

Suggested donation of $10 per person to cover event costs.

………

Metro is now accepting applications to join their Public Safety Advisory Committee.

Metro is seeking applicants to participate on our Public Safety Advisory Committee which will work to review, comment, and provide input on how the agency can reimagine public safety on our system.

We are looking for individuals who regularly ride Metro and are committed to supporting the agency in fulfilling its Public Safety Mission Statement, to “safeguard the transit community by taking a holistic, equitable and welcoming approach to public safety, in recognition that each individual is entitled to a safe, dignified and human experience.” Metro also seeks to ensure that the perspectives of youth, women, seniors and people with disabilities are represented. Please note, members serving on the PSAC are not required to be U.S. citizens but need to reside in Los Angeles County.

PSAC meetings occur in person monthly over a two-year term, with the potential for additional outreach, engagement, and subcommittee meetings as deemed necessary.

The PSAC is composed of individuals who can contribute their relevant experience as riders and expertise in:

  • Racial justice
  • Equitable transit
  • Public safety reform
  • Law enforcement
  • Victims’ rights
  • Mental health
  • Homelessness
  • Social services

We appreciate your interest in helping us ensure that Metro provides world-class transportation for all.

Applications for Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee will be accepted until Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

Apply Today to submit your application online.

………

That’s more like it.

New York prosecutors threw the book at the speeding hit-and-run driver who killed a 55-year old man on his morning bike ride and a 63-year woman sitting on a bus bench in New York’s Chinatown over the weekend, as we mentioned yesterday.

Twenty-three-year old Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero was hit with charges of with murder, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, criminal possession of a weapon, leaving the scene of an accident and criminal possession of stolen property.

That last one is because she was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car when she “flew” off a bridge at an excessive speed before jumping a curb, hitting the victims and slamming into a police van hard enough to knock it into a jewelry store.

Meanwhile, her 22-year old passenger faces two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

None of which will bring either victim back, of course.

But it’s a start.

………

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

Forget cell phones. A Boston driver says he killed a 62-year old man riding an ebike because he was distracted by a bug.

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

Elderly Singaporean residents complain that the area outside a market and food center has become a “dumping ground” for disorderly parked bicycles. Although we could also applaud the market for being exceptionally successful at attracting bicycle traffic.

………

Local 

Metro Bike is teaming with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes for a seven-mile bicycle tour of Boyle Heights rich musical heritage. I’ll settle for anyplace that has anything to do with LA music greats Los Lobos, thank you.

A Pasadena committee will consider updating the city’s ebike regulations today to bring them into compliance with state regulations while eliminating a requirement to register ebikes, which the state prohibited in a 2023 bill.

 

State

California governor and undeclared presidential candidate Gavin Newsom signed a pair of ebike bills, one requiring lights and reflectors visible up to 500 feet, and the other merely cleaning up an existing law prohibiting ebike modifications to increase the speed.

This is who we share the road with. A San Diego woman faces charges for the hit-and-run death of a man walking on a bike path — yes, a bike path — after allegedly four miles on the pathway while under the influence.

A Fresno bicycle and pedestrian safety operation resulted in 144 citations, including 90 tickets given to drivers and 54 to pedestrians and bicyclists.

San Francisco’s “premier” open streets event returned to a short 1.4-mile segment of Valencia Street in the Mission District on Sunday.

Sacramento updated its Vision Zero Action Plan. Just in case you want to remind LA’s elected officials that we have one, too.

 

National

He gets it. A writer for Singletracks says he doesn’t regret riding one of America’s worst mountain bike trails, because “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” Amen, brother.

CyclingSavvy is hosting a Zoom bike safety training seminar tomorrow on how to prevent the most common types of crashes — even those caused by motorist errors.

Seattle Bike Blog says the city’s new bike lanes are actually freight infrastructure for cargo bike riders. Then again, that’s just as true for Los Angeles if you choose to use them that way. And maybe you should. 

Quick action by an Iowa state trooper, along with several bystanders, is credited with saving the life of a 62-year old California man who has no pulse after crashing his bike during the annual RAGBRAI ride across Iowa.

Rhode Island’s annual Newport Folk Festival is expecting another record-setting year of bicycle traffic, with an anticipated 1,600 ticket holders arriving each day representing 16% to 18% of all attendees, thanks in part to a new city safety plan.

They get it, too. Jacksonville, Florida completed an $11 million road diet, slimming a four lane roadway down to one lane in each direction, along with sidewalks and bike lanes, in part because they expect it to attract business.

 

International

That’s more like it, part two. A 20-year old Sheffield, England man will spend the next eleven years behind bars for killing an 81-year old man riding a bicycle, after blowing a red light while high on nitrous oxide and traveling an estimated 30 mph over the post 50 mph speed limit.

A British coroner is criticizing a French investigation into the death of a high-end wine merchant, who was stuck by a driver while on a bicycling vacation in Burgundy, concluding the investigation “by the gendarmerie was inadequate” and finding no evidence the victim and his companions were riding recklessly, as the French cops had concluded.

A man in the UK is riding his bike unsupported around the coast of the country to encourage more men to bike and to get help for mental health, because “Suicide is the biggest global killer of men.”

A museum in Bhopal, India features 30 “luxurious” bicycles that cost more than some cars, including a tri bike with a frame made from a single sheet of carbon fiber with no joints anywhere. Then again, an entry-level car costs less than five grand in India. 

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where the family of a bike-riding 11-year old girl is demanding a longer sentence for the hit-and-run driver who killed her while driving drunk, high and speeding on the wrong side of the road because she was enraged that her boyfriend was having an affair; they called the 34-year old woman’s four year and five month sentence a “slap in the face,” especially considering her 29 previous convictions. Yes, 29.

 

Competitive Cycling

While other websites are obsessed with how male cyclists pee during a race, Cycling Weekly considers the problem of how women cyclists manage their periods.

A new report from Zwift says we could be entering a new golden age of women’s cycling, saying the revival of the women’s Tour de France has already transformed women’s cycling on screen, on the road and in the pro peloton.

Mountain Bike Action examines the mountain bikers currently competing in the Tour de France, including Americans Matteo Jorgenson, Quinn Simmons and Sepp Kuss.

Velo wants to let you in on the secret human side of “Tour de France King” Tadej Pogačar.

Bike Radar considers the question of why the pain tolerance of pro cyclists is so much higher than other sportspeople. Although boxing, MMA fighting and pro football kind of hurt, too.  

That’s not red wine cyclists are sucking down at the finish line, it’s tart cherry juice.

 

Finally…

Only in America could a cat grow up to be mayor of a bike path. That feeling when the county encourages you to ride on Gallows Road.

And the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gas in Los Angeles County is just a fraction under $4.50.

Just in case you walk and ride your bike everywhere and have no idea what it costs these days.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Car a weapon of mass destruction in East Hollywood, vigil for WeHo bike rider, and Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and…Pee-wee

July 21, 2025 / / Comments Off on Car a weapon of mass destruction in East Hollywood, vigil for WeHo bike rider, and Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and…Pee-wee
Day 202 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

After getting kicked out of an East Hollywood nightclub just before closing time for fighting, a man is accused of intentionally driving his car into a crowd of people standing on the sidewalk, injuring at last 37 people — seven critically.

Twenty-nine-year old Fernando Ramirez was then pulled from his car and beaten by members of the crowd, before getting shot in the ass by someone, who the police are still looking for.

Now it turns out Ramirez has an extensive criminal record, with at least 11 felony and misdemeanor busts dating back to 2014 including arrests for violent assaults.

One of those resulted in a conviction for a hate crime after Ramirez sucker-punched an employee at a Whole Foods Market in Laguna Beach, telling an officer it was because the man was Black, and “he hated all Black people,” although the conviction was later overturned on appeal.

But maybe it’s time we ask why people with a demonstrated history of violence are allowed to continue operating a potential multi-ton weapon of mass destruction.

Because until we take cars away from violent felons just like we do guns, tragedies like this will keep happening.

Even the corgi honored a request from the family of Blake Ackerman that everyone wear Hawaiian shirts to the vigil for the fallen bicyclist to remember his love for the islands. Photo by Damian Kevitt,

………

WeHo Times continued their coverage of the ghost bike and vigil for Blake Ackerman, who was killed at Fountain and Gardner in West Hollywood on July 10th.

Ackerman’s fiancé Victoria “Torie” Ball was there representing the victim, since his family chose to mourn in private, in what Streets Are For Everyone founder Damian Kevitt described as “a very emotional time for the family.”

The website reports that West Hollywood Mayor Chelsea Byers and Councilmembers Danny Hang and Lauren Meister attended, along with Culver City Councilmember Bryan “Bubba” Fish.

Unfortunately, no representatives of the City of Los Angeles chose to attend, even though the dividing line between the cities is literally the curb on the north side of the street, with Fountain in West Hollywood and the sidewalk in Los Angeles.

According to Kevitt,

“They (Ackerman’s family) thanked us for the work we’re doing–not only remembering Blake, but making sure this moment leads to real change. It’s about more than what happened. It’s about preventing future tragedies.”

Mayor Byers echoed that sentiment. “We’re here holding a vigil for Blake, who died on Fountain Avenue while riding his bike, and we’re vowing to fight for safer streets in West Hollywood and across the region,” she said. “I’m grateful that a council member from Culver City joined us tonight–it shows this is a regional issue. We’re all fighting for a future where people don’t have to risk their lives just to ride a bike.”

Amen to that.

A poster for another fatal hit-and-run was posted across the street from the Ackerman vigil and ghost bike, for a crash less than two weeks earlier, and just block away.

………

Um, okay.

“Remember the Alamo” will soon take on a whole new meaning, after the Texas historic site “officially acquired the original screen-used stunt bike” from the 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

The iconic red bicycle, one of several made for the film, will be permanently displayed in the future Alamo Visitor Center and Museum, currently scheduled to open in Fall of 2027.

You can just imagine the lessons learned by future school kids as they admire memorabilia from Alamo legends Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Travis, and yes, Pee-wee Herman.

………

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

No surprise here. A New York bike rider was injured by a turning driver on a street where New York’s mayor cancelled plans for a road diet and protected bike lanes to appease his wealthy campaign donors.

No bias here. A self-identified London “cyclist” says he looks at Lime bikeshare ebikes with the same contempt as London cabbies look at him, because they litter the street corners and clog the bike lanes — and the sidewalks, apparently. Meanwhile, Electrek says if you think ebikes are bad, just wait until you learn about cars.

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

Seriously? A Staten Island writer blames a jeep driver for blowing a stop sign and nearly hitting a kid as he rode his bike off the sidewalk, but says the child on the bike bears responsibility for not stopping or wearing a helmet. Even though a) riding on the sidewalk is legal for kids there, and b) a bike helmet wouldn’t haven’t prevented a crash.

………

Local 

Once again, the LAPD failed to use their hit-and-run alert system, and waited months to tell us a man in his 60s was severely injured when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, while riding his bicycle in LA’s Pico-Union neighborhood in the early hours of May 28th; there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries in the City of Los Angeles.

 

State

A 17-year old San Diego boy suffered a fractured left femur and shattered left ankle when he was right-hooked by a driver while riding in a crosswalk in the Fairmount Village neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

A 73-year old man suffered an open leg fracture when he was run down by a driver while biking in San Diego’s Point Loma Heights Thursday.

The founder of apparel brand Cherry Willow just finished a 715-mile ride from Sacramento to San Diego to raise awareness and funds to fight homelessness and food insecurity.

 

National

The Verge says 24,000 batteries sold with cheap ebikes have been recalled because “the US can’t get its shit together” and regulate them properly.

Thirty-one members of my old college fraternity are riding across the country from San Francisco to Washington DC to raise awareness for people living with disabilities.

That’s more like it. A New Mexico woman was sentenced to ten years behind bars for the high-speed crash that killed a Las Cruces man riding a bicycle while she was driving drunk and stoned.

He gets it. The county attorney for Leavenworth, Kansas says “When you see a cyclist, even if you’re in a rush, don’t let it crank your gears. Respect their space.”

Nelson Vails, 1984 Olympic cycling hero and the first Black man to win an Olympic medal, says he likes RAGBRAI, aka the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, because it’s just a relaxed ride, and not a race.

Two New York woman are facing charges for fleeing on foot after racing their car off a bridge at a high rate of speed, and crashing into a 55-year old man out for his usual morning bike ride, along with a 63-year old woman just sitting on a bench, killing both, then crashing into a police van with enough force to knock it into a jewelry store. The family of the bike riding victim, who was known as an advocate for safer streets, said “It’s devastating to know he was killed doing something he loved.”

 

International

A Ukrainian soldier will spend the next 61 months behind bars for stealing a bottle of whiskey from a store in Odessa, along with a bicycle worth the equivalent of $119; he was also fined the equivalent of $845.

Despite suffering a disabling brain injury seven years ago, a 65-year old New Zealand man has set off on a ride around the world, saying “Either you master your disability or it masters you.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian cyclist Tim Wellens won Sunday’s stage 15, becoming just the 113th rider to take stage wins in all three Grand Tours, while Tadej Pogačar continued his march towards a fourth Tour de France win.

US champ Quinn Simmons says he was in position for the win on stage 15 after a 33-mile breakaway until a race moto interfered with the finish, implying he might have done better that finishing 21st in a mass sprint otherwise.

More proof cyclists are tough, after Julian Alaphilippe popped his shoulder out crashing his bike on stage 15, popped it back in, and still finished just off the podium — even though he thought he won, except a) two riders finished far ahead of him and the rest of the peloton, and b) Primož Roglič knocked him off the podium in a photo finish.

That came just a day after Alaphilippe made headlines for snatching a cardboard sign out of a spectator’s hands and stuffing it inside his jersey as protection from the cold.

Two-time world champ and Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel was just one of several riders to abandon the Tour, complaining that his body wasn’t responding to the demands of the race.

A Tour de France spectator was knocked down by the driver of the INEOS-Grenadiers team car during Saturday’s 14th stage; INEOS directeur sportif Oliver Cookson, who was driving the car, was fined 5,000 Swiss francs — the equivalent of $6,200 — and given a yellow card for the crash, even though he was driving in the middle of the road.

 

Finally…

That feeling when grandma doesn’t want you riding that damn BMX anymore. Or when you’re still wanted in Belgium for using a forged Tour de France press pass, after retiring as road manager for the Clash.

And don’t try this at home.

No, literally.

3:18pm La Costa Avenue / Carlsbad
byu/MusicMan559 insandiego

Thanks to Phillip and Ellectrek for the heads-up. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Missing Oregon mtn biker drives himself home, WeHo vigil & rally for safer streets tonight, and Bike Talk talks bike stuff

July 18, 2025 / / Comments Off on Missing Oregon mtn biker drives himself home, WeHo vigil & rally for safer streets tonight, and Bike Talk talks bike stuff
Day 199 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Let’s start with the good news.

It’s a happy ending in Oregon, where a 52-year old man who disappeared on a mountain biking trip one week ago made it back to his car, and drove himself home after being missing for five days.

He explained his absence, which prompted searches with drones and National Guard troops, by saying he hid his mountain bike so it wouldn’t get stolen, then lost his footing while hiking and slid down a steep embankment. Unable to climb back up, he walked further down to a stream, becoming ill after drinking from it.

He eventually made it back to the trail, then hiked back to retrieve his bike — which was still there — before returning to his car and driving to a friend’s house.

But at least he’s okay.

………

The WeHo Times covers Wednesday’s ghost bike installation for Blake Ackerman, who was run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver last week at Fountain and Gardner.

As we reported yesterday, a 73-year old man was arrested by sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday, which gave him plenty of time to sober up if he had been under the influence.

The second part of the memorial honoring Ackerman will take place this evening, with a vigil beginning at 6 pm at Fountain and Gardner, before walking to West Hollywood City Hall for a rally and press conference.

I’ll be there for the first part of the vigil, but will have to skip the rest due to family obligations.

And yes, I’ll be the one with the corgi, and without the Hawaiian shirt.

………

Bike Talk talks about opportunities in the New York protected bike lane crisis, a Bike Life buyout for LA street vendors, and suspicions of an “anti-vehicle agenda” in San Diego.

Although that last part sounds a lot like the mythical war on cars.

I think the title says it all here. biketalk.org/2025/07/2528… @sophlebo.bsky.social @obcycler.bsky.social @bikinginla.bsky.social #bikesky

— Bike Talk (@biketalk.bsky.social) 2025-07-18T02:39:47.599Z

………

Now you, too, can compete in the Grand Fondo World Championship in Kazakhstan next month.

I think.

………

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

Gothamist says New York Mayor Eric Adams efforts to rip out a parking-protected bike lane in Brooklyn are just an effort to appeal to Hasidic voters who live in the area.

Police in Fletcher, North Carolina are looking for a pickup driver who recklessly followed a bike rider, then threatened to kill the victim during an argument.

A British motorist deliberately drove into a man riding a bicycle in Birmingham, England, then the occupants of the car got out and beat the victim as he lay in the street; the unidentified victim walked off before police arrived, but one of the attackers was arrested on suspicion of affray. And yes, I had to look that one up.

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

Lime Bikes is rolling out a London billboard campaign reminding bikeshare users they’re required to stop at red lights, as if they didn’t already know and just don’t bother.

………

Local 

Both the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Bass have signed off on the ground rules to implement Measure HLA, which took affect over a year earlier; the measure requires the city to build out the mobility plan whenever a significant portion of a street is resurfaced, which it hasn’t done up to now.

Don’t forget the bicycle and pedestrian safety operation 5 am to 8 pm today in Santa Monica; police are legally required to enforce traffic laws equally, regardless of who commits them, so ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.

A pair of “fearless adventurers” for The Inertia take an ebike tour across Catalina Island in a single day, saying the 4,000 feet of elevation gain and 360° ocean views make it an adventure you need to experience.

 

State

The state Senate has approved SB 720, a bill to modernize red light cameras to make it easier for cities to choose to install them; it now moves on to the Assembly.

A new report from Santa Cruz County reveals the county ranks second in California for bicycling deaths and injuries, and fifth for pedestrian crashes and deaths.

Streetsblog says it’s time to fix San Francisco’s Polk Street once and for all, calling it one of the city’s best streets for “nightlife, cookies, doughnuts, and city life in general,” as well as one of the most dangerous.

 

National

Seattle Bike Blog endorses a bike and transit riding mom for the city’s mayor.

A local advocacy group will post signs in a Denver park memorializing the 79 bicyclists killed in Colorado since 2020 as part of a bike safety campaign, with the blessing of the state Department of Transportation

A group of Houston artists are getting a jump on Dia de los Muertos, and will build ofrendas for the fallen bicyclists who have died in the city over the past year.

Indy rock duo Illiterate Light is taking their latest tour by bicycle, with a 700 mile bicycle trip from Harrisonburg, Virginia to Rhode Island, while passing through Pennsylvania with stops along the Jersey Shore.

The Asheville, North Carolina dump truck driver who killed two bicyclists and injured another in a head-on crash has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of death by vehicle, and driving left of center. Because apparently, killing two people riding bicycles just isn’t that big a deal.

 

International

The British Columbia bicycling community is in mourning after three bike riders were killed by drivers in a single week.

He gets it. A Whistler, British Columbia letter writer and practicing family physician complains about the Mounties focus on bicycle helmets when preventing crashes in the first place would do more good.

Momentum says Quebec’s 3,300-mile La Route Verte is North America’s most epic bicycling network.

A writer for Road.cc says London’s bicycling infrastructure is “bloody brilliant” these days, after learning how good he had it when he moved to another city.

A writer for The Guardian enjoys “freewheeling family fun” with a bicycling and camping trip along the Netherland’s Maas river.

Tragic news from Italy, where extreme sports star Andreas Tonelli was killed when he fell over 600 feet while mountain biking near Gröden/Val Gardena in the Dolomites; the 48-year old mountain biker and adventure sports guide posted a photo to Instagram after ascending to 9,500 feet around 7 pm, but wasn’t heard from again until his body was found around 1 am.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tadej Pogačar claimed his 20th Tour de France stage victory on the famed Hautacam, redeeming himself after losing to Jonas Vingegaard on the mountain three years ago, and reclaiming the yellow jersey with a more than three-and-a-half minute lead over second place Vingegaard.

The Tour de France peloton paused for one minute before Thursday’s 12th stage and applauded in honor of Samuele Privitera, the 19-year-old Italian cyclist who died after hitting a speed bump while descending and losing control of his bike during the first stage of Italy’s Tour of Valle D’Aosta.

Apparently, it’s okay to drop Tadej Pogačar when he’s peeing, but not after a crash.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website takes their eyes off the peloton, and looks to the sidelines to examine the stars who have graced the Tour de France over the last 45 years.

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Cofidis cycling team has been targeted by bike thieves, this time the women’s squad competing at the Baloise Ladies Tour; the team isn’t saying how many bikes were taken or what they are worth.

Over 120 volunteers turned out in response to an urgent social media plea by the organizers of the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike National Championships in Roanoke, Virginia, after only a fraction of the expected race marshals showed up on the first day.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be an adult tricycle. This is your brain, this is your brain on cars.

And I’ve ridden with a few short cranks, myself. But you can’t always pick your riding companions.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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