March 13, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Freezing federal bike lane funding to Make America Drive Again, and bipartisan active transportation safety bill introduced
Day 72 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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The good news is, it turns out I don’t have the same virus I had before, after all.
The bad news is, I’ve got Covid instead, after carefully avoiding it for the first five years of the pandemic.
Those efforts were a centerpiece of previous DOT secretary Buttigieg’s strategy to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, from which he allocated billions of dollars in discretionary grants to sustainable and equitable modes — but now that Duffy and Trump are holding the reins, they’ve signaled that they’ll use the same programs to vastly expand America’s consumption of fossil fuels instead.
Because really, what could be the downside to Making America Drive Again?
I mean, aside from more traffic deaths and serious injuries, more congestion, worse smog, and the utter destruction of our planet.
The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act would expand federal funding for local governments to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
This legislation is named in honor of Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, the American diplomat and mother who was killed while riding her bicycle in Maryland, just two weeks after being evacuated from Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
But as much as I appreciate the gesture, the bill’s chances in the current political climate make a snowball in hell look pretty good.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Oh, okay then. Boston’s mayor says she removed the plastic posts “protecting” some of the city’s bike lanes because they kept getting run over by drivers and looked awful. And yes, drivers seemed to take that as an open invitation to drive in the bike lanes.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. An Oregon pickup driver walked without a single day behind bars for killing a woman riding a bike with her son; he originally faced 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000, but an overly lenient DA and judge gave him a Get Out of Jail Free card, despite his long history of speeding.
“Dozens” of New Yorkers, led by a state Assembly member, demonstrated in support of a law that would require ebikes to carry license plates and be registered with the DMV. Although you’d think a legislator could get more people to turn out if they actually cared about it. And unless there were more people than you can see in the photo, that ain’t dozens.
March 6, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Why don’t Angelenos with a “passion” for transit and bikes just move, and AZ man busted for threatening 3-day bike tour
Day 65 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
And especially when it seems like things will never change, thanks to our risk-averse and overly car-friendly leadership.
So I’m genuinely curious—why do people who are really passionate about transit and biking stay in LA instead of moving somewhere that already supports that lifestyle? Cities like NYC, SF, Portland, or even international places like Amsterdam or Tokyo offer great transit and biking infrastructure without needing massive overhauls.
Is it optimism that LA will change? Other factors like work, family, or weather? What makes the fight worth it?
Um, maybe because we live here?
I get that it’s frustrating.
I feel like Don Quixote tilting at windmills most of the time. And Sisyphus the rest.
But Los Angeles can change. This used to be the most transit-rich city in the country, thanks to the Red and Yellow Lines. And it can be again.
Clearly, they’re taking it seriously in the wake of the Show Low massacre, when a pickup driver intentionally slammed into people participating in a master’s race — then made a U-turn and threatened to do it again, before police shot him and took him into custody.
And taking it seriously exactly what they should do.
Momentum looks at the Toronto business owners who are shooting themselves in the foot by suing to rip out one of the city’s most popular bike lanes, assuming that most of their customers arrive by car. Never mind that bike lanes have been repeatedly shown to create the kind of bike and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods that benefit local businesses.
Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman considers the legacy of redlining, saying the late Nipsey Hussle “understood cities better than you, so why didn’t you know who he was?” Personally, I knew of him as a community activist and business owner for some time before his murder, but had never actually heard his music.
A Culver City writer says they’re obsessed with bike commuting, and the five-to-six mile ride is the perfect way to end a working day. Except the city has already ripped out some of the bike lanes that makes it so enjoyable.
Even the state college in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown is bike-friendly, as Colorado State University is honored as one of the nation’s first Accredited Transportation Demand Management Organizations, in recognition of their “commitment to innovation, efficiency and providing advanced mobility solutions.”
March 5, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on New bill requires quick-build bikeways on CA highways, turns out swearing is damn good for you, and mind the bridge gap
Day 64 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Maybe there’s hope for Caltrans yet.
That’s because a new bill introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who represents a sprawling district stretching from Santa Monica to Glendale, would require the agency to develop quick-build bike lane and intersection projects on state highways.
Streetsblog defines a quick build project as a “temporary, easily adjustable infrastructure improvement that can be installed rapidly using readily available materials,” installed as a pilot project to gauge community feedback, or as a temporary placeholder for a larger, more permanent project.
The point of the bill, AB 891, is to get something on the street quickly while reducing planning and engineering costs, rather than waiting years to go through the usual process that moves with the speed of a snail stuck in molasses.
One example of a state highway that would benefit from this legislation is the Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1. Following a high-profile fatal crash in 2023, the City of Malibu has worked with the state to change the character of the highway which currently features high speed limits, beautiful views of the ocean and mountains and high volumes of bicycle traffic.
We can only hope.
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Good news for all of us who struggle to control our language after getting cut off by a driver, or yet another too-close pass.
Clear your schedule this Sunday for the first ever Cargopalooza.
Weather looking good. Bring the family along the LA River Bike Path Sunday for our first Cargopalooza!@bikinginla.bsky.social @streetsforall.org @streetsblogla.bsky.social gravelbikecalifornia.com/cargopalooza…
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Bloomington, Indiana wants bike riders to stop not stopping, as the city council votes to re-install stop signs along a protected bike path, after they were removed because bicyclists complained about losing their momentum having to repeatedly stop while riding up and down hills. And because there was no reason to have them there in the first place, let alone the second place. Thanks to Ben Fulton for the heads-up.
But they announced proposed amendments to the draft implementation plan, including making projects subject to review and input from the fire and police departments, which is fine as long as they don’t get a veto.
Their input could be useful, as long as the process is how to make projects work, rather than how to water them down. Or kill them.
And let’s not forget that other city’s have invested in compact emergency vehicles to negate the complaint that bike lanes restrict emergency responses. Or that’s LA’s preferred plastic cat-tickler bendie-posts are very easy to drive over with cars, let along bigass firetrucks.
Two other proposed amendments could be more helpful.
First, the draft requires an appeals process for anyone who alleges the city is out of compliance with HLA, but the amendment would make that process optional.
The second would allow the city to expand the scope of grant-funded projects to comply with HLA, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the funding.
So mark your calendar for February 26th, when the committees are scheduled for their next joint meeting. And hopefully, they’ll actually get around to discussing it this time.
And acceptance grows once the bikeways are in place, when people can enjoy the tangible benefits they provide.
The study stresses the importance of highlighting the benefits of active travel initiatives, such as reduced emissions, better air quality and public health, and improving safety for vulnerable road users.
However, it also warns against a paternal attitude in explaining the benefits, which risk alienating some people.
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Another new study, this time from Switzerland, uses an algorithm to show where to place bike lanes to design an ebike-friendly city, with minimal impact on other travel modes.
The study concludes the best methods design street networks that present the best trade-off between car accessibility and bikeability, providing both lower travel times for motorists and lower perceived bicycle travel times.
Which gives me an excuse to explain that donations made to the national ASPCA — you know, the one with the ostensibly heart-tugging ads showing all those suffering animals — can go anywhere in the country.
So if you want to help dogs, cats and other animals here in Los Angeles — including pets displaced by the recent Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires — make your donation directly to the spcaLA so your money stays here.
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Local
Seriously? The Signal reports someone riding an ebike was injured when they were struck by a vehicle in Canyon Country. Except the article doesn’t even mention whether the vehicle even had a driver, while the headline positions it as an ebike collision, as if the rider hit another ebike, or maybe a tree, rather than getting run down by a motorist.
Officials in the Coachella Valley are discussing how to improve safety on deadly Highway 74, aka the Ortega Highway, after a man was killed in a big rig crash, including the possibility of banning bicycles in certain areas. Which could be illegal, since California law says bikes can only be prohibited on limited access highways when there is an alternate route available — which doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Cycling Weekly also rates the best and most portable bike locks, including their top choice that “literally turns angle grinder-cutting discs to dust,” while weighing just 2.8 pounds.
Day 28 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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The good news is, I don’t seem to have suffered any lasting effects from that knock on the head.
The bad, our corgi ate a grape off the ground, which are highly toxic for dogs, before we could stop her. Although the poison control center tells us up to three grapes “should” be okay for a dog her size.
So now we’re facing 48 hours of watchful waiting looking for any sign of toxicity.
Good times.
Like I said yesterday, it’s just one damn thing after another these days.
Francois Auroux was clutching the large oil paintings on his bicycle as he escaped the fire, which began three weeks ago today, when he encountered Kovacik doing a live remote broadcast.
Kovacik offered to hold the paintings for him — which ironically included Man on a Bicycle by Greek artist Alekos Fassianos — promising to return them at a later date, as the falling ash and embers surrounded them.
The two men met again Thursday as Kovacik kept his promise and returned the paintings, which is all that Auroux has left of his home of 39 years, other than the bicycle he escaped on.
However, lost in that story is another, more important story.
Because as residents struggled to get out with their belongings packed in their cars on the gridlocked streets, Auroux was able to quickly pedal to safety.
Yes, he had to leave most of his things behind, and struggled to ride with the awkward artwork. But he was able to get out when many others couldn’t.
I’ve been told by a number of people, including some who barely escaped other major fires in the state, that no one would ever use a bicycle to flee a raging wildfire.
Yet Auroux did, as did several other people who have lived to tell the tale.
A bicycle may not be the best way to take everything with you. But when you have to get out fast, it may be your best choice.
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Last week, we mentioned that Berkley is looking for feedback on the city’s 2017 bike plan, as they prepare to develop a new one. And asked the obvious question, in light of LA’s failure to build out its plan, of just how much of the old plan was actually built.
But for a change, we actually got an answer. In the comment below, we heard from our old friend Christopher Kidd, who is in now charge of the project.
Ted – thank you so much for picking up coverage of the Berkeley Bike Plan Update! I’m serving as the project manager for the update.
Since the old Plan’s adoption in 2017, the City of Berkeley has implemented almost 11 miles of network facilities (include 3.5 miles of separated bikeways) and upgraded 20 intersection crossings on the low-stress network.
More than that, the City has in queue 4-5 more miles of Bicycle Boulevards going into construction in the next 24 months.
And while we’re on the subject, congratulations to Kidd on being named to the board of the California Bicycle Coalition, aka Calbike. He brings a passionate, and very knowledgeable, voice for bike and traffic safety.
Which means we should be in good hands.
And Berkeley, too.
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Streetsblog posts a lengthy thread of public record documents showing Forest Lawn’s efforts to drum up business by fighting bike lanes on dangerous and deadly Forest Lawn Drive.
Received some L.A. City public records today regarding the mortuaries' fight against Forest Lawn Drive safety improvements – a thread. See background at SBLA coverage in December la.streetsblog.org/2024/12/19/c…
The host of the LA in a Minute podcast talks with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider about whether Los Angeles can really become bike and transit friendly.
Ready or Not, L.A. Bike Lanes are Coming!
I sit down with @schneider of Streets For All to debate whether L.A. can REALLY become a transit friendly city:https://t.co/Iro9FSfMwF
If we could get smoking out of bars we can make safe places to ride a bike. Check this out @bikelaneuprising.bsky.social @bikelanesla.bsky.social @bikinginla.bsky.social
A prewar photo of an early British bicycle, and the man who built it.
Cool is right.
A.L. Whale, 82, riding his 'boneshaker' bicycle with iron wheels. He built the bicycle himself in 1871; it was believed to be the second such machine built in England.Tewkesbury, UK16 May 1935
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
The condition of a Eureka bike rider is unknown, after the bicyclist was the victim of an apparent intentional hit-and-run as a woman in a minivan ran them down, backed over the victim’s bicycle, then fled the scene before causing a number of other crashes; she was finally stopped when two men open the minivan’s doors and pulled her out, holding her for the police. Although it took until the last paragraphs before the story even mentioned that the seemingly sentient minivan actually had someone behind the wheel.
Um, okay. An Indianapolis man faces charges for pushing a 14-year old boy off his “motorized” bike and threatening to kill him if he didn’t stop riding it in the street — never mind that the man was infamous in the neighborhood for yelling at kids to stop riding on the sidewalk, too. Which raises the question of where the hell did he want them to ride.
The good residents of Birmingham, England seem to be fed up with “inconsiderate and dangerous” bicycling and skateboarding, as the city prepares a new public space protection order to address the numerous “near misses and accidents that cause alarm and distress to pedestrians.”
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s son Pax was involved in another bike crash last week when he “barreled” his BMX into the side of car in Los Feliz, six months after he was seriously injured crashing his ebike. Although it’s unclear from the description if he crashed into the side of the car, or if he was doored by the occupants.
No bias here. A San Diego letter writer, and the former chair of the City Heights Planning Committee, complains about the neighborhood’s empty bike lanes, describing them as “miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles,” while a road project goes unfinished. Never mind that bike lanes are far cheaper and easier to install than road work, and significantly more efficient. Or that drivers still enjoy the lion’s share of the streets.
Over 200 people turned out for a memorial bike ride to honor an Albuquerque, New Mexico bike advocate and city worker, after he was killed by a hit-and-run driver last week. I can’t recall 200 people ever turning out to honor any fallen bicyclist here in Los Angeles, or any other bike-related cause, even though we have nearly six times as many people.
New York has opened its trade-in program for delivery riders to take uncertified e-bikes, mopeds and their dangerous batteries off the streets, and replace them with safer, certified ebikes.
In yet another mass casualty event, six members of the German national cycling team — including former European U23 champ Tobias Buck-Gramcko and World Championship bronze medalists Benjamin Boos and Bruno Kessler — were injured, some seriously, when they were run down by an 89-year old man while on a training ride; fortunately, none of the injuries were life threatening. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive, and how the hell can we know before something like this happens.
The mother of 16-year old SoCal pro mountain biker Cash Shaleen says he’s home from the hospital and slowly healing, though sill unable to walk, after he was struck by the driver of an off-road vehicle while he was working on his own in Glamis, California, last month, badly compressing his spine.
Once again, bicyclists have been the victims of anti-bike attack, as a Wellington, New Zealand man was lucky to escape with just a flat tire after someone tossed tacks onto a number of bikeways around the city; as a recent chemo patient, he had to rely on the kindness of strangers to change his tube. Several other people took to social media to report similar attacks, which have been going on since last month.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
It turns out the French ebike rider we mentioned yesterday who pled guilty to causing the death of a 51-year old man riding a regular bicycle in Yorkshire, England was actually riding an electric motorcycle, which explains the confusion over the charges. Which is why we need to find another term to distinguish between ped-assist ebikes, and electric mo-peds and motorcycles.
New Streetsblog California editor Damien Newton introduces himself, and says his approach to the site will be a little more “bloggy.” While former editor Melanie Curry will be missed, the site couldn’t be in better hands than Damien, who brought Streetsblog to California in the first place as the founder of Streetsblog Los Angeles.
Berkeley is asking for feedback on the city’s 2017 bike plan, as they prepare to update it later this year; the city has identified ten key projects for the new plan. Although the real question is how much of the old plan was actually built, to give some idea of how seriously to take the new one.
San Francisco introduced a new bike plan calling for improvements to 385 routes or street segments. Unlike Los Angeles, they actually dust theirs off from time to time. Never mind that LA’s bike plan hasn’t been updated since 2010, unless you count councilmembers removing key streets from the plan before it was subsumed into the new mobility plan in 2016.
An Irish minister cancelled plans for a major cut to the Value Added Tax for bicycles over fears that retailers might pocket the savings instead of passing them on to bike buyers. In the simplest terms, VAT is like a sales tax that is built into the retail price, rather than adding it on afterwards; the advantage is that the price you see is the price you pay.
December 17, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CA ebike incentive program launches tomorrow — no, really — and El Segundo bike lanes leave something lacking
Just 14 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb.
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it.
Thanks to Terese E for her generous, if somewhat lonely, donation keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way from around the corner, and around the world.
But time is rapidly running out for this year’s fund drive. So what are you waiting for?
Let’s just hope they’re up to the task and have everything ready for the launch after this interminable delay.
We’re counting down the days to our official application launch on December 18, 2024 at 6pm PST — just a few days away!
To help you get ready, here’s a quick checklist of documents you’ll need to have ready when you apply. Documents need to be in a digital format to be uploaded. Digital file types include, but are not limited to PDF files, scans, JPEG or PNG file formats.
Proof of California Residency – California Driver’s License, AB 60 License, or California ID card. The document must be current/valid and issued by the California DMV. If the address on the identification is not up to date, this is a listof documents you can submit.
Proof of Income Eligibility – Provide documents to verify that your annual gross household income is at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The easiest form to submit is a Federal Tax Transcript, easily downloaded or requested by mail from: tax records and transcripts. If you don’t file taxes, refer to this list of acceptable documents.
Taking a few minutes now to gather these documents will help streamline your application so you’re all set to apply as soon as the window opens.
WHAT CAN I DO NOW TO GET READY?
With just a few days until the launch of our electric bike incentives, let’s make sure you’re prepared.
Here’s what you need to focus on:
1) Check your eligibility – Click HERE to learn more about eligibility.
2) Watch our how-to apply video – Click HERE to watch our step by step application process video.
3) Prepare your income verification documents – Click HERE to learn more about income verification.
4) Have your current/valid California ID ready and ensure your ID is up to date to avoid any delays.
5) Watch our 2 online training videos – Click the links below to watch our training videos prior to applying.
6) Check out our FAQ’s – Click HERE to review our FAQ page.
A 35-year old man in Boca Raton, Florida faces charges for killing a 41-year old man riding a bicycle, seven hours after he took Adderall, Vyvanse and Gabapentin, despite telling investigators he’s in rehab.
And just moments after he passed another man riding in the same bike lane “so closely (the bike rider) could touch the vehicle.”
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Once again, a UK bike lane has been intentionally sabotaged by “anti-bike psychos” who covered it with caltrops, a multi-spiked weapon dating back to the Roman era, resulting in crashes that caused at least one victim to suffer hearing loss; adding insult to literal injury, victims complained that Scottish police just “didn’t give a shit” when informed of the crime. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
A Colorado woman pled guilty to tampering with evidence for deleting a text proving she was driving while distracted when she killed a ten-year old boy riding a bicycle; she’s also being tried this week on a second misdemeanor charge, careless driving resulting in death. The crash occurred just an easy nine mile ride from where I grew up.
According to a new lawsuit, a “deeply religious” business owner is dead because a driver high on “Galaxy Gas,” aka nitrous oxide, killed him in a collision as he rode his ebike on an Atlanta sidewalk; the driver bought a canister of the gas labeled for food and beverage use only at a local smoke shop an hour earlier, and allegedly drove around doing “whippets” to get high.
December 9, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike riding becomes urban culture war, LA world’s 14th best city, and CA Active Transportation requests dwarf funding`
Just 22 short days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
But not one LA city leader seems to give a damn about it.
Thanks to Eric L, Andre V, Mary D, Robert K, Kathleen S, Jordan G, Liam W, James B, Robert L and John G for their generous donations over the weekend to keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
It’s hard to ride a bicycle to work on a regular basis, and not turn into a bike advocate. People want to be safe, and riding a bicycle for transportation currently comes with significant risks. But, years ago, even with critical mass movements, the world naked bike ride, and similar political actions, the bicycle vs. car debate had a tone similar to other civic debates. There were wins, there were losses, and a very slow, glacially slow, movement forward.
Something changed. Maybe there have been too many wins of late for some, but the fight for safe cycling infrastructure to protect bicycles is reaching a fever pitch.
There have been attacks on those campaigning for safe cycling. The rhetoric is unbearably predictable. In Montreal, often see as North America’s most European city with a progressive take on cycling and cycling infrastructure, thumbtacks were thrown onto bike lanes to get a rather stark point across.
Then again, these days it seems like everything is turning into a culture war.
After a series of recent centennials, including that of the Hollywood Sign and Warner Bros. Studios, L.A.’s focus is now on its “Decade of Sport.” The Memorial Coliseum and the newly built SoFi Stadium will host a slate of global events, from the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028, making L.A. the first U.S. city to host the Olympics three times.
The city of storytelling, already ranking #12 in our Lovability index, will only endear itself even more. Cultural investment is equally ambitious. The Hammer Museum reopened with expanded gallery space, while the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is captivating visitors with film history. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is reopening its east campus with 110,000 square feet of new gallery space, and the Natural History Museum’s NHM Commons and the Getty’s PST ART series are also contributing to the booming arts scene (and #10 Culture subcategory ranking).
Transportation efficiency is equally prioritized. The new $1.7-billion Regional Connector Transit Project offers direct rail travel across the county, and LAX’s $30-billion overhaul includes a people mover train and the world’s largest car rental facility. An even bolder move is the high-speed rail project Brightline West, connecting L.A. and Las Vegas by 2028.
Although that comment about transportation efficiency may come as a surprise to anyone who spends more time on our streets than on the rails.
Meanwhile, San Francisco came in at two notches higher than Los Angeles at 12th, while San Diego was 44th, and San Jose 62nd.
London topped the list, while New York was the top American city just one notch lower.
Of course, that high ranking probably came before Los Angeles kicked Gotham’s butt twice in two different sports this fall.
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No surprise here, as funding requests for California’s Active Transportation Program far outstripped available funding.
That works out to enough state funds on hand for just 3.4% of the requests. A number that seems especially minuscule when compared to the $15.3 billion Caltrans budget, making it equivalent to a lousy rounding error for highway funding.
But at least LA County received its share of funding, with projects in Pomona, Inglewood and Rancho Dominguez totaling $35.6 million.
On the other hand, the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino received exactly nothing.
“I love my bike. My bike is everything to me. My bike is my gym, my church, and my wheelchair. My bike is everything that I believe in going on in the Biosphere. It’s science, it’s technology, it’s the future, engineering, metallurgy – you name it, it’s right there in my bike. My bike is the most important and valuable thing that I have,” remarked Wallton, per epicrides.
The program is finally scheduled to launch December 18th, so get your application in.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A bike counter shows one of the Toronto bike lanes Ontario premier Doug Ford wants to rip out saw 308 bike riders on Thursday — despite freezing temperatures and snow on the ground. Thanks to Donna Samoyloff for the heads-up.
A Toronto bike advocate says video of an ambulance driver using one of the city’s bike lanes to get around traffic proves the importance of keeping them, despite the plans of the Ontario provincial leaders
Bicyclists in Bristol, England are being randomly attacked by masked assailants on mopeds who are pushing them off their bicycles, then laughing as they ride off; at least one victim suffered a broken collarbone.
If you were hoping to ride a mountain bike or a ped-assist ebike on Marin County’s Mt. Tamalpais, you may have to make other plans, after a judge extended a temporary injunction preventing the Marin Municipal Water District from opening the gates.
Police in the Las Vegas area reminded drivers to pass safely, three months after bicycling deaths topped last year’s total; cops cited 84 drivers for violating the state’s safe passing law in just three hours on Thursday.
Sixty-seven-year old 1984 Women’s Tour de France champ Marianne Martin, the only American to win the grueling 675-mile race, talked with a Denver TV station about the challenges in recovering from a life-threatening solo bike crash that left her with a collapsed lung, 12 broken ribs, fractured clavicle, broken scapula and road rash, after losing control on a steep descent.
Thanks to Ken S, Bonnie W, Mark J, Kent S and Mari L for their generous donations to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy your way every day.
San Jose, San Francisco, Glendale, and Oakland have publicly announced which locations they are considering for the cameras, while the ‘Bu has begun developing a policy and impact report, as required by law.
But is anyone really surprised that Los Angeles doesn’t appear to have done a damn thing so far?
And stop smirking, Long Beach, because you’re in the same sinking boat with us.
Making matters worse, the proposal for the program originated right here in LA as part of our Vision Zero program. You know, back when we actually had a Vision Zero program.
Maybe someday, our current elected leaders with actually give a damn about protecting human lives, at least as much as our previous leaders.
You know, the ones who were great at announcing new programs, without ever actually implementing them.
And the closer homes were to a bike lane, the greater the increase, as people were willing to pay more to live close to a bicycle network.
Which could be the best argument yet to overcome the built-in resistance of homeowners to any changes to the local streets in their neighborhood — or to the loss of trees or parking spaces.
As in, “Yes, ma’am, you may have to start using your driveway for its intended purpose, but your home will probably be worth more.”
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An Oregon man expressed his displeasure after a judge dismissed charges against the DEA agent who killed his wife of 27 years as she rode her bicycle — while wearing a hi-viz vest, and with multiple flashers on her bike — accusing the agent of “playing Russian roulette with his vehicle pointed at the public.”
His comments came in response to the judge’s bizarre conclusion that the agent “reasonably” believed he could safely run a stop sign while pursuing a suspect at 12 mph over the posted speed limit, without lights and siren.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
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‘Tis the season.
Cycling Weekly offers this year’s Cycling Christmas Gift Guide for the bike rider in your life. And yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to give yourself the perfect gift this year.
Start the New Year right, or at least the Lunar New Year, with the 47th Annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker, offering a wide range of runs, bike rides and other assorted activities to ring in the Year of the Snake.
Streetsblog takes The San Francisco Standard to task for suggesting that Vision Zero is some sort of unachievable utopian fantasy, arguing that other places have reduced traffic deaths to zero, even if San Francisco hasn’t done enough to get there. Actually, Vision Zero is a utopian fantasy as long as cities adopt it without implementing it, somehow expecting traffic deaths to magically go down. And yes, I’m looking at you, Los Angeles.
Snopestracks down the truth about an apocryphal story of a 66-year old Swedish man who earned the nickname “Grandpa Steel” when he won an 1,100-mile bike race, despite being denied entry because he missed 40-year old age limit by a mere 26 years. And finds that yes, an elderly man actually was given the nickname “Stålfarfar,” — or “Steel Grandfather” in English — after finishing first in the 1951 Sverigeloppet race, despite being told he couldn’t compete because of his age. But he was 65, not 66, and wasn’t actually the winner, because you can’t win a race you haven’t entered.
Cycling Up To Date questions whether anything can be done to prevent collisions on training rides, after Remco Evenepoel joined the rapidly growing club of pro cyclists who’ve suffered nasty crashes. I mean, aside from building safer streets, requiring automotive warning and active braking systems, and getting drivers to put down their phones and pay attention to the road in front of them, that is.
November 25, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Teen bike rider murdered in deliberate hit-and-run, Canadian bike lane madness, and assess bike/ped safety in your town
Just 35 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
But so far, no LA city leader has even mentioned the impending deadline. Let alone done anything about it.
The boy was part of a group of around 40 kids who got into some sort of altercation with a road-raging driver while riding south Figueroa Street, just above Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, allegedly breaking the car’s mirror.
The teens rode through a gap in the fence surrounding BMO Stadium in an effort to get away from the driver. But the driver followed them into the parking lot and slammed into the victim, then fled afterwards.
The victim died at the scene.
To make this horrific, needless tragedy even worse — if that is even possible — the boy reportedly had nothing to do with the dispute on the roadway, making him an entirely innocent victim.
So far, teenaged victim has not been publicly named.
There is also no description of the driver or suspect vehicle, other than a four-door sedan, with a broken side mirror and likely front-end damage.
The CHP is investigating the killing, since it took place on state property. Anyone with information is urged to call the their Southern Division Major Crimes Unit at 323/644-9550, or the Los Angeles Communication Center at 323/259-3200.
Let’s hope they find this murderous jerk soon, and get him off the roads.
And a former Winnipeg city counselor and Canadian cabinet member called for halting new bike lanes, arguing that “Bike lanes have become more symbolic than functional, and symbolism is not enough to justify millions in spending.”
Never mind that bike lanes have repeatedly been shown to boost local businesses and property values while improving safety and livability for everyone.
Which should more than justify the relatively small amount to build new bike lanes, here, there or anywhere.
Be on the lookout for a stolen trailer full of hot bike gear taken from Culver City’s Walk ‘n Rollers.
Not to mention the lowlife schmuck who made off with it.
@bikinginla please share: STOLEN THIS AM near culver city- trailer belonging to @WalkAndRollers, a nonprofit that goes around the county teaching kids how to ride bikes safely. the trailer contains the essentials: bikes, helmets, edu materials https://t.co/DXR9Dc3Hn3
According to the former head of the Federal Highway Administration, barrier-protected bike lanes are a “proven safety countermeasure” that has been shown to reduce crashes “an average of exactly 49 percent on four-lane, undivided collector and local roads” in an urban area, and they have reams of federally compiled data to back it up.
Bicycling offers advice on how to safely do an Idaho Stop. But you’ll need a subscription to read the story, because this one doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else.
That’s more like it. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called for banning SUVs from the city, warning that they could become weapons against other citizens. Even if the conservative London Telegraph takes great pains to point out that she’s a Socialist — capital S — which has nothing to do with banning SUVs
