Tag Archive for bike lanes

LA bike rider victim of BB gun driveby, LACBC rebrands as Bike LA, and East Side Riders Thanksgiving giveaway

November 7, 2022 / / 2 comments

Let’s hope you took advantage of that extra hour over the weekend to catch up on your sleep. 

Or maybe your bike just a little longer. 

Just remember that the time change seems to have a deleterious effect on people’s driving abilities. 

So ride defensively and with a little more caution for the next few days. And make sure you’ve got a set of lights with you if you plan on riding late in the day. 

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels.

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Let’s start with a couple of recent Reddit posts.

First up is a rider who’s tired of fixing flats due to the ubiquitous broken glass coating LA bike lanes.

Rant: I think the constant glass on the road is really messing with my life
byu/marsandsaturn inLosAngeles

Let’s deal with the obvious first.

If you’re still riding in LA without quality puncture-resistant tires, you should get some. I used to suffer flats three or four times a month before switching to Gatorskins, dropping to one or two a year afterwards.

Second, most streets in the City of Angels should be swept on a weekly basis. So if the streets you ride remain covered with glass and other tire threatening detritus — or the bike lanes never seem to get cleaned at all — use the 311 app to complain to the Bureau of Street Services.

More important, however, is this post forwarded by Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.

Shot at on my bike path today
byu/MonkeyParadiso inBikeLA

Once again, let’s start with the obvious.

This is a crime.

If this happens to you, you should immediately called the police and report it as a shooting. This is no less a driveby than if they had used a handgun, and should be prosecuted as such.

Even if prosecutors conclude there isn’t enough evidence to bring charges, it could establish a pattern of behavior in case they do it again. That’s what led to the conviction of Dr. Christopher Thompson in the infamous Mandeville Canyon brake check case.

Second, this would make a strong case under LA’s bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance, which allows a claim of $1,000 or triple the actual damages, whichever is higher.

The law also allows for attorney’s fees, although you’d be hard-pressed to find one who will take such a small case.

But you can file it yourself in small claims court.

One way or another, the shooters shouldn’t be allowed to get away it, or they’ll just do it again to someone else.

And next time, the victim may not be so lucky.

Thanks to HowTheWestWS for forwarding the first post.

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About damn time.

It’s been six long years since I served on the board of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

And one question that continually came up during board meetings was a proposal to rebrand the LACBC using the then popular hashtag #BikeLA. But there were always holdouts who weren’t sold on the idea, or thought it wasn’t the right time for one reason or another.

Evidently, support finally aligned in recent weeks, as the organization announced their new branding as Bike LA at Saturday’s Bike Fest.

Not only is it a simpler and more self-explanatory name, but it gives the group a much-needed opportunity for a fresh start after a few very difficult years.

Thanks to Ravener for the tip.

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Another reminder, if we needed it, that the East Side Riders Bike Club is about a lot more than just bikes.

And do a hell of a lot of good in, and for, the community.

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This is who we share the road with.

Every driver on the road is armed and dangerous, whether or not they have a weapon in the car.

Because their car is a weapon.

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A new video attempts to answer the question of why does riding a bicycle feel so damn good?

Meanwhile, frequent contributor Victor Bale recommends this podcast about the introduction of the safety bicycle, if you’re looking for a good listen.

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

No bias here. British residents blasted their local leaders after a new bike lane opened — blocked by lampposts in both directions.

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

Georgia police busted a man who attempted to escape the cops by fleeing through a Taco Bell lot to avoid being arrested; they caught up to him when he crashed his bike into a curb.

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Local

Good2Go Bikes, a joint project from Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and Pedal Movement, launched recently in the Rancho San Pedro public housing development to provide low-income residents with access to low-cost ebike and e-cargo bike rentals.

The Signal looks at SAFE founder Damian Kevitt and the Santa Clarita Finish The Ride and Finish The Run Halloween events to raise money for bike safety.

 

State 

A 79-year old San Diego man was seriously injured when he somehow lost control and fell off his bike in Sorrento Valley.

 

National

A Las Vegas bike rider was killed, and another critically injured, in a drunken, serial hit-and-run that ultimately involved ten vehicles, and left another seven people injured — including four people from Alhambra.

Arkansas is planning a 500-mile bike path along the historic Butterfield Stage Route connecting Jefferson City, Missouri and Fort Smith, Arkansas.

New York bicyclists ride to the rescue to close the gaps in the city’s composting program by using teenage microhaulers to collect and transport refuse the city doesn’t; in ten years, just one such business diverted nearly a million pounds of food waste from landfills, turning it into 427,000 pounds of compost.

New York firefighters rescued a woman who was dangling outside a 20th floor window to escape a fire apparently started by an ebike battery.

No surprise here. DC business owners and a relative handful of residents have brought out the torches and pitchforks over a proposal for a 2.7-mile bike lane, apparently failing to grasp the concept that bike lanes are good for business, as well as property values. Thanks again to Victor Bale.

 

International

A pair of studies refute the accepted wisdom that micromobility doesn’t reduce car travel and emissions, showing that banning e-scooters after dark increased travel times, and that the most recent generation of e-scooters reduce emissions 70% over the lifetime of the scooters.

Bike Radar talks with four people who say their lives have been transformed by ebikes; the site also argues that ebikes could solve a number of problems, including car dependency and transport poverty, but only with “better infrastructure, updated attitudes and government backing.”

So why not hitch an e-trailer to your ebike?

A new Dutch company has opened new low-cost a London bicycle subscription service, identified by a single blue tire, complete with an antitheft guarantee.

A new 250-mile, coast-to-coast Scottish bike path scheduled to open next year promises to add millions of pounds to the local economy.

A hard-hitting piece from a British columnist, who says he prepares for war every time he rides his bike, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Although he could spend a lot less time insisting he’s not one of THOSE cyclists.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 74-year old driver got just two and a half years for killing one bike rider and seriously injuring another, while blaming the victims for failing to ride single file and “bumping” onto his car. He also failed to mention his recent stroke when renewing his license.

Unbelievable. An Irish railroad worker won an unfair dismissal claim for the equivalent of nearly $4,000 after the railroad fired him, claiming he couldn’t perform his duties — because he was in prison after plowing into a group of women bicyclists while driving at four times the legal alcohol limit, leaving two women with life-changing injuries. Thanks again to Victor Bale.

Two-hundred-fifty people turned out to honor a Berlin bike rider who was killed when she was run over by a truck driver.

Tens of thousands of bike riders enjoyed a carfree afternoon on a ten-lane Dubai freeway.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard says he’s “just not bothered” by all the pressure and attention that comes with winning cycling’s premier event, and looks forward to defending his title next year.

 

Finally…

Racing Penny Farthings in Prague. That feeling when you steal a bike, but can’t remember where you left it.

And apparently, bike commuting on the marathon course is a no-no.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

New Central LA bike lanes and proposals for CD1, Move Culver City bike use jumps 1/3, and Metro urged to junk new fares

November 3, 2022 / / One comment

Fun thing about diabetes. 

High blood sugar makes you sleep. But so does low blood sugar. 

And cycling between the two, like I did Tuesday, can knock you out for hours, regardless of whether you’re trying to write something. 

Which is why you didn’t see anything here yesterday. 

But we’ll more than make up for it today.

………

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers a long list of actionable transportation ideas for incoming CD1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, including busways, bike lanes and pedestrian improvements.

Hernandez leadership promises a sea change in the district, where the councilmember she defeated, “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo, earned his sobriquet by blocking virtually every major safety improvement and bike lane in the district, including deadly North Figueroa.

Meanwhile, Linton also offers updates on a handful of new bike lanes in Central Los Angeles, including:

  • Sixth Street Bridge connection in Skid Row and the Arts District
  • Ramirez Street/Center Street/Santa Fe Ave in the Arts District
  • Avenue 19 in Lincoln Heights

He also points out the missed opportunity on North Spring Street in Chinatown, where the street, which is scheduled for a bike lane in the city’s mobility plan, was recently resurfaced.

Sans bike lane, of course.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1587664862607380481

As Linton points out, this is exactly why we need the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal, which is scheduled for a public vote in 2024.

The proposal would force the city to build out the mobility plan whenever a section of street contained in the plan is resurfaced.

Meanwhile, the city’s alternative proposal, which is based on Healthy Streets but likely to lack the enforcement mechanism of the ballot measure, is due back for a vote of the city council in the next few weeks.

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Culver City has crunched the numbers on the 1.3-mile Move Culver City complete streets project along Culver and Washington Blvds.

And the results have been impressive, to say the least.

  • 52% jump in bus ridership
  • 32% increase in bicycling
  • 18% climb in walking
  • Nearly double (92%) micromobility trips

Maybe that will encourage Los Angeles to give it a try.

We can hope, right?

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Metro’s Community Advisory Council urges the Metro board to reject the proposal to “simplify” the fare structure, which is really just a massive rate increase for many, if not most, transit users.

Never mind that it’s the opposite of the fare-free transit they promised to study.

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Whittier Blvd’s Esquina Bicycle Shop is hosting a vigil ride for fallen bicyclist Sergio Cordova tonight.

Cordova was killed in a collision at the west entrance to the new 6th Street Bridge last Wednesday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkeBLvHvrY7/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Cordova’s funeral expenses has raised over $9,500 of the revised $15,000 goal. 

Thanks to Susannah L for the heads-up.

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The LACBC looks forward to Saturday’s Bike Fest, which has replaced the River Ride as the bike nonprofit’s largest fundraiser.

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Did someone say handcycling?

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Streets For All will host another virtual happy hour on Wednesday, featuring Glendale Councilmember Ara Najarian.

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Apparently, robots are no more likely to stop after a crash than human drivers are.

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Why settle for a mere bicycle, when you could have had an early velomobile prototype?

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

No bias here. An Arizona letter writer suggests charging anyone over 16 a $150 annual fee to register a bicycle, with a licensing fee for the rider that oddly declines with age. Because licensing and vehicle registration has worked so well to keep motorists in line, evidently.

No bias here, either. One in three Brits wants bikes banned entirely from public roads, while seven in ten think bike riders would be required to carry liability insurance. Apparently because it costs so much to hose our blood off their hoods.

An English man suffered a broken jaw when someone ran up from behind and knocked him off his bicycle. Although in this case, the attack may have had more to do with the fancy dress he was wearing.

A UK TV show promises to explore road rage directed at people on bikes, but looks at the dangers bike riders face on the road, instead, with a hint of anti-bike bias thrown in.

And especially no bias here, where an Estonian city councillor says he was forced to crash his car into a “verbally and physically aggressive” bike rider in self-defense. Twice.

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

An Illinois man faces charges for fleeing from police while armed with a flare gun modified to fire shotgun shells.

In a bizarre case, police report a New York man was fatally shot in a driveby while riding his bike on the way to shoot someone else.

A North Carolina bike rider is facing charges after attacking three men with a machete, for no apparent reason.

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Local

Metro will host a virtual community meeting one week from today to discuss the first bus-only lane in the San Fernando Valley, on Sepulveda Blvd.

Glendale approves plans for a lane reduction and bike lanes on La Crescenta Ave, between Montrose Ave and Verdugo Road.

A Santa Monica Redditor asks if there’s an increase in the frequency of “needlessly loud” motor vehicles. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, hell yes. Then again, I live in Hollywood, so my perception may be a tad skewed. Thanks to How The West WS for the link. 

Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle used to be one of us, racing his bicycle towards the sound of gunfire as he worked to reduce gang violence.

 

State 

San Diego is paying out a total of $420,000 to two women who were seriously injured in separate incidents when their ebikes hit the city’s broken pavement.

A San Francisco salmon cyclist questions why the insurance company for the distracted driver who hit her won’t pay for her injuries or damaged bike; a local paper patiently explains the concept of comparative negligence, and says, in effect, get a lawyer.

A new $2.4 million clean air grant could lead to hundreds of new San Francisco EV charging stations, as well as a fleet of ebike for food delivery workers.

Completing our San Francisco trifecta, a local website presents opposing op-ed urging voters to save both the carfree JFK Drive and Great Highway, and arguing that closing them to motor vehicles was a big mistake.

 

National

Surly’s latest cargo bike goes electric.

At last, an e-foldie for everyone with fond memories of their little red wagon.

A new report looks at the ten US cities where bike commuting is growing the fastest. Hint: LA ain’t one of ’em.

A crowdfunding campaign is raising money to publish a new book on Jobst Brandt, author of The Bicycle Wheel and inventor of the bike computer and slick bike tires.

A 68-year old Utah driver was formally charged with ignoring a highway flagman and slamming her car into a pair of competitors in the cycling portion of an Ironman triathlon — yet somehow wasn’t charged with DUI, despite admitting getting stoned earlier.

Billings, Montana is looking for an artist in residence to beautify a local bike path. Although if you have hire someone to beautify it, you probably made it too ugly to begin with.

After a San Antonio, Texas man stole a bike from Target by threatening to use pepper spay on an employee who tried to stop him, he waited nearly six weeks before turning himself in, for reasons only he knows.

A Wisconsin student paper examines why Madison consistently ranks among the nation’s most bikeable cities, where it has comfortably resided for decades.

After a Kentucky Walmart worker had his bike stolen, kindhearted customers not only gave him a ride to work, but went into the store and bought him a new one.

A new lawsuit blames an Atlantic City cop for killing a 63-year old bike rider by cutting him off while driving without lights or siren.

Three years after a highly contentious lane reduction in Alexandria, Virginia, a new report shows it’s led to less traffic while cutting crashes nearly in half.

A 17-year old Virginia driver faces charges for fleeing the scene after a street racing crash that left a bike-riding man with multiple broken bones.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a deadly driver on the streets until it’s too late. A Virginia man struck and killed a man riding his bike across the street, 11 years after he was arrested for his third DUI for killing a bike-riding woman. But at least he was apparently sober this time.

 

International

Road.cc recommends the year’s best front and rear bike lights.

The new Swytch ebike conversion kit features a pocket-sized battery that promises a nine-mile boost.

Who needs carbon fiber when you can lower your carbon footprint through F1-inspired BioFiber.

Bike Radar offers advice on how to keep bicycling from being a pain in the foot.

Treehugger talks with Toronto’s bike mayor, concluding every city needs one. Which is a reminder than LA still doesn’t have a bike mayor. 

Montreal announced plans for 124 miles of new bike lanes and ten bike highways, to accommodate a 20% increase in ridership.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a gas truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a 22-year old woman riding her bike, despite admitting to carless driving and covering the truck’s side camera with his coat.

 

Competitive Cycling

A California teenager just months out of high school spurns an opportunity to sign with a Spanish development team, and decides he’d rather race on gravel, instead.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be “almost as ridiculous as the truck that inspired it.” That feeling when 29″ wheels just aren’t big enough.

And now, you can take your last trip by bike, too.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

No Steve, it’s not a bike lane to nowhere; drivers yell at LA bike rider; and big Transportation Comm meeting tomorrow

October 31, 2022 / / 2 comments

No bias here.

The LA Times’ Steve Lopez writes about a $2 million bike lane to nowhere that the Los Angeles LGBT Center was forced to build by the city’s dysfunctional rules.

Except the short curb cut isn’t a bike lane, and probably never will be.

A short half-block long, it took about 18 months to complete and cost roughly $2 million, and yet it is not marked as a bike lane and does not connect to one.

“It’s a bike lane to nowhere,” said Stephen Burn, general manager of building services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which was required to complete and pay for the project as a condition of approval.

Burn apologized for calling it a stupid waste of time and money that delayed the opening of badly needed supportive housing and social services, but no apology was necessary. He said he honestly wanted to pull his hair out at times when dealing with various government agencies, and after he shared the details, I wanted to pull my hair out.

And needless to say, the story is already being used by bike lane opponents.

But longtime advocate Alissa Walker clarifies that, regardless of what Burn was told, the added space was created for cars as the result of a longstanding city policy.

So yes, as Lopez points out, it’s a perfect example of LA’s dysfunctional government in action. But seriously, it’s not our fault this time.

If only Lopez had looked at the lack of safe bike lanes leading up to the new 6th Street Bridge, instead.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

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A Redditor complains about the dangers of riding on LA streets. And the anger they experience every time they ride.

I’ve been biking more to get out of the house, exercise, and just enjoy the city. But literally each time I’ve gone into the street a driver has yelled at me!

I try to avoid riding in the streets, but the bike lanes are few and far in between and aren’t that much better. You often have trash cans in the bike lanes, people leaving their car doors open, random debris, and when you don’t have to deal with that you still have cars speeding past you with the closest thing protecting you being a thin line of paint that couldn’t even stop an ant from crossing it! I don’t even have to get into how bumpy and packed the sidewalks can be.

So when I do get in the streets it’s because that is unfortunately the best route. Yet no matter how much I ride on the shoulder, check behind, in front, on the sides, above me, etc… I always have a driver either honking or yelling at me for going too slow.

I’m worried that someone might get really angry with me one day and try and run me off the road…

I’m just frustrated and wish biking in this city was safer. We have the perfect weather to bike in. Why isn’t L.A a bikeable city?

Why, indeed?

Thanks to HowTheWestWS for the heads-up.

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Streets For All is asking you to support for several proposals at Tuesday’s meeting of the LA City Council Transportation Committee.

  • Sunset4All’s efforts to build a 2-way protected bike lane on Sunset Blvd;
  • A protected bike lane on Riverside Drive and Stadium Way;
  • Encouraging the newly-legal installation of cameras on Metro buses;
  • Expanding LADOT’s budget and staffing for the Slow Streets program.

Sunset4All explains how to participate in the meeting.

The Sunset4All item is back on the transportation agenda for this Tuesday (11/1) at 3 PM. If you haven’t voiced your support please write in and or attend the virtual meeting.

Item #3 (22-1072) – Sunset4All To call dial 669-254-5252, meeting code 161 750 5079, #, #, and then hit *9 to raise your hand. Here are Talking Points. If you’re not able to call in, then use the links below to make public comment on the council file in advance at the buttons below.

Make Public Comment on the Council File

Send an Email to CD 13 to Support the Motion

Thanks to Keith Johnson for the tip.

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When you cast your vote in CD5, maybe consider who actually cares enough to show up.

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Horrible news from Ohio, where a popular local bicyclist lost a leg when she was mauled by dogs.

A reminder that you could end up with more than just a simple bite on the leg from that dog that chases you whenever you ride by.

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A new amphibious ebike claims to be the future. Although I’m not sure how much latent demand there is for a combination ebike, boat and built-in camper.

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

Someone sabotaged a Seattle bike path by spreading screws across it. Although someone else came up with a brilliant way to clean up the mess.

A writer for Daily Kos complains “dumbasses working in public health and espousing concern for future generations fired me over bringing a bicycle into their national meeting” at a Tacoma, Washington convention center.

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

A rideout of up to a couple hundred teens on bikes took over the streets of Boston, before allegedly stealing $350 of merchandise from a 7-11.

Toronto police are looking for a bike-riding suspect who followed a young woman and sexually assaulted her twice after she got off a bus.

If you’re going to rudely shove a wheelie-popping bike rider out of your way, try not to follow the move with a faceplant.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkLzV2EO60z/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c9cbdc5e-dc53-4d6f-afa9-07fb1097f1e9

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Local

Save this one for future reference. Streets For All founder Michael Schneider lists the common complaints we’ve all heard from people opposed to bike lanes, and details effective arguments to overcome them.

Patch reports a bike rider was rushed to a trauma center after they were struck by the driver of an RV at PCH and Coastline Drive in Malibu Sunday afternoon.

This is who we share the courtrooms with. A woman received a more than $4 million judgement after she was struck by a driver while walking in a Santa Monica crosswalk four years ago, suffering permanent injuries; the defense shamefully argued she threw herself in front of the car in a suicide attempt — which might have been more credible if the driver was doing more than 25 mph. Thanks to Andrew Goldstein for the link.

 

State 

Carlsbad is focusing on schools and collision hotspots to improve safety for standard bicycle and ebike riders after declaring a local emergency.

This is who we share the road with. A 68-year old woman is fighting for her life after she was run down by a hit-and-run driver while pushing her three-year old grandson in a San Jose crosswalk; the boy is recovering from his injuries. Thanks again to Victor Bale.

Sentencing was postponed for a Fairfield man who was convicted of second-degree murder and hit-and-run in the death of a 52-year-old man riding a bicycle last October; he faces 15 to life on the murder count, and two to four years for fleeing the scene.

Sonoma County is investing half a million in climate resilience funds in building new bikes.

Sad news from Sacramento County, where a woman riding a bike was killed in a collision in North Highlands early Sunday afternoon.

 

National

NBC News reports on the spreading use of speed cams, and the rise of road raging drivers who don’t like getting caught breaking the law.

A diabetic journalist says he lost 40 pounds and brought his blood sugar down to a sub-diabetic level within eight months after taking up bicycling — and has kept it off and under control for the four years since. If only it was that easy for all of us.

A Portland woman says stop telling her to be safe when she rides a bike, and learn how to drive safely around bike riders, instead.

A 68-year old Utah woman could face multiple charges after she ignored a flagger and crashed into two people competing in the cycling portion of the St. George Ironman triathlon, resulting in serious injuries to both; she failed a roadside drug test, and admitted using marijuana before the crash.

The new advisory bike lanes are now open in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown.

Sounds familiar. Oklahoma bike and walking advocates say the city isn’t doing enough to improve safety. Sort of like a certain megalopolis we could name.

A nine-year old Michigan boy is raising the alarm and warning his neighbors after his dream bike was stolen.

That’s more like it. A 65-year old Ohio man was sentenced to a mandatory 14 years behind bars, with the possibility of another four years, for the hit-and-run death of a 13-year old boy; he claimed the damage to his truck was from hitting a mailbox, and that he only ran over the boy’s bike after someone else knocked the kid off it.

NPR looks at the rising rate of ebike battery fires in New York, blaming the problem on the use of refurbished batteries and mismatched chargers.

Philly bike riders turned out for a Día de los Muertos, while calling for safer streets.

HuffPost says Pennsylvania Republicans are taking a bill to permit safer bike lanes hostage in an effort to strip Philadelphia’s progressive DA of his powers.

A Birmingham, Alabama man faces multiple charges for a one-man crime spree that included a fatal shooting, carjacking and a hit-and-run that killed someone on a bicycle — all in just one hour.

 

International

The bike boom isn’t over, even if it’s lost a little steam, as Shimano says demand is still above pre-pandemic levels despite signs things are cooling down.

Vancouver bike riders are calling on the city to reverse plans to remove a bike lane from a park and return the roadway to pass-through commuters, although a planned protest ride was called off due to an atmospheric river.

A London man was somehow able to get his bike back after it was stolen by three muggers in a London park, despite suffering head and face injuries in the attack.

A British cop who co-founded a program to place undercover cops on bikes to catch careless drivers who pass people on bikes too closely now rides to relieve arthritis pain that threatened his career.

A UK safety expect calls it “a bit daft” for bicyclists to ride in the middle of the traffic lane, despite recently changes to the country’s Highway Code allowing them to do just that, when there’s a perfectly good bike lane they could be using. Of course, the problem is that the “perfectly good” bike lane usually isn’t.

Paris may be making great strides in becoming a biking city, but someone should tell the local cops, who are stopping bike riders and insisting they should wear reflective clothing in anticipation of the fall time change.

Writing for Travel + Leisure, a woman suggests that biking through Sicily is the best way to discover small towns, delicious food and local culture.

The rise of bicycle taxis in eastern Zambia is creating business opportunities for young people, while allowing passengers to ride for a fraction of the cost of a regular taxi.

There’s a special place in hell for a Philippine man who faces a charge of “frustrated homicide,” after repeatedly stabbing a neighbor using a knife disguised as a ballpoint pen in a dispute that began with a bicycle blocking his path.

Melbourne, Australia bike riders were left feeling deflated when the local government passed a one-year pause on building bike lanes; The Guardian asks if it’s a bikelash, or just plain old NIMBYism.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard won his second Tour de France of the year, outsprinting his competitors to win the Tour de France Singapore Criterium on Sunday, after winning the three-week Grand Tour earlier this year.

French magazine Vélo lists the finalists for the prestigious 2022 Vélo d’Or award, including, for the first time, a separate category for women cyclists. And no Americans made the short list, of course.

Former Paris-Roubaix champ Sonny Colbrelli is reluctantly calling it a career after he collapsed with a heart attack moments after finishing the opening stage of March’s Volta a Catalunya.

Cycling Tips looks back on the legacy of Brian Robinson, whose Tour de France stage wins set the stage for decades of British cycling success.

Dan Martin, the only Irish cyclist to win a stage in all three of Grand Tours, reflects on “crashing for a living, doping, retirement and writing a book through 100 hours of Whatsapp voicenotes.”

 

Finally…

Your next bike could have ABS brakes, for the low, low price of just eleven grand. When witches ride bikes instead of brooms.

And I think I’ve found my next bike.

Or at least the bikemaker, anyway.

Thanks to Norm Bradwell for the tip. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Possible serious injury crash in Malibu, LADOT and BSS work together at last, and battered Finneas is one of us

October 28, 2022 / / Comments Off on Possible serious injury crash in Malibu, LADOT and BSS work together at last, and battered Finneas is one of us

This doesn’t sound good.

The LA County Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station announced a two-hour closure of a roughly half-mile section of PCH in Malibu.

The section from Heathercliff to Bonsall was shut down after the driver of a vehicle transport carrier hit someone riding a bicycle yesterday afternoon.

Closing the entire roadway in both directions for a crash investigation suggests  the victim may have suffered serious, potentially life-threatening injuries; police usually don’t close the road entirely unless there’s a death or possibly fatal injuries.

Let’s hope that’s wrong in this case and they’re okay, whoever it is.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

………

Maybe the Healthy Streets LA initiative is having an impact already.

LADOT unveiled the first of what they’re calling their new BLAST program, starting with the newly completed protected bike lanes on San Vicente.

If you can call a flimsy plastic bollard protection.

The program marks a new effort to coordinate operations of the Bureau of Street Services with LADOT, which both bike and government advocates have been demanding for years, if not decades.

It appears to mimic Healthy Streets LA by implementing bikeway projects as streets are resurfaced, though it lacks the initiative’s enforcement mechanism to require implementation after resurfacing.

It also doesn’t necessarily follow the city’s mobility plan, let alone the 2010 bike plan.

Streetsblog also notes that these projects will happen after termed-out LA Mayor Eric Garcetti leaves office at the end of this year, after overseeing a dramatic drop in implementing bike lanes.

Just one more reason so many of Garcetti’s former supporters will be happy to see him go.

Myself included.

………

Turns out singer, songwriter and producer — and Billie Eilish brother — Finneas is one of us.

Although, as usual, we only learned about it after he crashed his ebike and pulled a major endo, shattering his elbow and collarbone.

But he insists he’ll be back in time for his sister’s show at the Forum in December.

………

Gravel Bike California takes a ride up Mt. Lowe Road in the Angeles National Forest.

………

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

No bias here. A Berkeley letter writer trots out the usual town versus gown conflict, complaining that a new bike lane supported by university students will kill local businesses, to the detriment of longtime residents. Never mind that studies show bike lanes are good for business, even if they require removing parking spaces. And chances are, the university was there long before she lived there, and will be there long after she’s gone.

No bias here., either. New York’s MTA says they need to see proof that bike riders will use bikeways on city bridges before they’re willing to build them. Which is nearly impossible to demonstrate when riding a bike on most bridges is dangerous and illegal.

A New York bike rider captures what it looks like — and sounds like — to get hit by a red light-running driver while recording other red light-running drivers. And gets left lying in the street afterwards.

And a road raging driver in a $230,000 Bentley subjected BBC host Jeremy Vine and a couple other bicyclists to punishment passes, and called Vine him a dick, when Vine called him on it.

https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1585159290137956352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1585159290137956352%7Ctwgr%5E3392dffb763723f955cc091df3cfd6d7a9fb248d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-27-october-2022-296887

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

Police in Gloucester, England are looking for a man who fled by bike after robbing a local shop armed with a crowbar.

A British man who fled by bicycle after fatally stabbing another man, and attempting to flee the country disguised as a woman, has been sentenced to just seven years behind bars.

………

Local

Malibu-based fat tire e-bikemaker SONDORS is the first US ebike brand to file an IPO, although the prospectus reveals the company has shown a loss for the last two years, and may not be able to meet its financial obligations if it can’t secure adequate funding.

 

State 

Here’s your chance to name San Diego’s new mini bike lane sweeper. And yes, Sweepie McSweepface is probably taken.

Um, no. A 62-year old Poway man was seriously injured when a driver crashed into his bike; sheriff’s investigators said the rising sun could have been in the driver’s eyes — even though the crash was nearly an hour after sunrise.

Sad news from Los Banos, where a 19-year old woman was killed when her bike was rear-ended by a motorist, allegedly while riding after dark without lights or reflectors.

More bad news, this time from San Mateo County, where an 80-year old retired Stanford water polo coach was killed when he crashed his bike into a street sweeper parked on the side of the road Tuesday afternoon.

San Jose reached a 25-year high for pedestrian deaths, with 29 people killed walking the city’s streets; no word on how many of the 54 people overall killed in traffic collisions were riding bikes.

An Oakland website asks candidates for mayor how they would improve street safety, after 11 people were killed on city streets this summer; one councilmember is calling for increased police enforcement — despite his own DUI arrest — and turned down funds for a seven-mile bikeway.

 

National

A new study examines disparities in bikeshare use among lower-income residents and people of color in three US city, examining why they use the services less than wealthier and whiter residents.

Bike USA is recalling their Punisher adult bicycle helmets for failing to meet the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s standards for positional stability and impact attenuation.

An Oklahoma man was sentenced to ten years behind bars for the shooting death of a man riding a bicycle; he was driving the car when the victim was shot by another man, who was sentenced to life last week.

Misdemeanor charges have been filed against a white Milwaukee man who was caught on video grabbing a young Black man by the neck after accusing him of stealing his friend’s bikes; the 25-year old victim reportedly has the mental capacity of a five-year old. Although it appears the man may have been right about the stolen bikes.

A new 58-mile greenway will allow bike riders to travel from West Michigan, through Indiana to Chicago without setting a wheel on the roadway.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who could flee the scene after killing a 13-year old Ohio kid riding his bike; a suspect is on trial for hit-and-run and vehicular homicide, as well as possessing coke when he was arrested the next day.

Kindhearted cops in New York’s Hudson Valley bought a new bike for a teenage boy after his was stolen.

New York will develop a comprehensive Greenway masterplan for the city’s bike and pedestrian infrastructure for the first time in three decades.

A Franciscan brother has founded a campaign to get Queens bike riders to use lights after dark — and stay off the sidewalk and stop for red lights — after returning home to care for his Jewish mother.

Momentum offers a biking guide for your next trip to the Big Easy.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A Louisiana woman pled guilty to negligent homicide in the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man — eight years after killing a 15-year old boy as he was riding his bike. Just another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. Again.

Miami is lowering the speed limit on the city’s deadly Rickenbacker Causeway to improve safety for bike riders, after several fatal crashes in recent years. Although lowering the limit just 5 mph, from 45 mph to 40 mph, may not make as big a difference as they might hope. Particularly when so many drivers ignore it anyway. 

There’s something seriously wrong when a Florida man still rides a bike at 82 year old, only to be killed by an SUV driver.

 

International

Off-road.cc explains the meaning of singletrack.

Cycling Weekly addresses five textbook mistakes to avoid when you take your riding inside.

Don’t mind me. I’ll just be applying for this assistant bike shop manager job in Edinburgh. You know, the one in Scotland.

A bike rider in England’s Surrey County calls it the worst place in the world to ride a bike. Meanwhile, riders in cities around the world are shouting “Hold my beer!” 

British officials were warned last year that removing plastic bollards from a bike lane would leave it in a substandard condition; now two bike riders have been killed in separate incidents in the past six months.

 

Competitive Cycling

The route for next year’s Tour de France was announced yesterday; Rouleur says it’s all about the mountains.

The 2023 women’s Tour will feature eight stages, including a finish atop the legendary Tourmalet.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you call the cops on your own 14-year old sister for stealing your son’s bike. Or when your relationship can survive BMX racing, but not reality TV.

And you won’t be hearing alleged Hitler aficionado Ye, nee Kanye, in Peloton classes anytime soon.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Streets For All skips mayoral race, CD5 candidates talk bike lanes, and Biden calls for racist councilmembers to quit

October 12, 2022 / / Comments Off on Streets For All skips mayoral race, CD5 candidates talk bike lanes, and Biden calls for racist councilmembers to quit

Streets For All has released their final endorsements for next month’s 2022 general election.

But surprisingly, without a pick in the mayoral race.

Among their endorsements in Los Angeles County, they anointed the following candidates,

  • Congress CA-34, David Kim
  • LA City Controller, Kenneth Mejia
  • LA CD5, Katy Young Yaroslavsky
  • LA CD11, Erin Darling
  • LA CD13, Hugo Soto-Martinez
  • LA County Supervisor District 3, Lindsey Horvath

The Los Angeles County transportation PAC also makes endorsements for council races in Burbank, Culver City, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Monterey Park, as several local state Senate and Assembly races.

Here is how they explained their decision not to endorse either candidate in the mayor’s race.

We would love to have made a strong endorsement for Mayor, as Los Angeles desperately needs strong environmental and transportation leadership. And while both candidates answered our questionnaire and had some good things to say, neither seemed to show the boldness or courage of conviction needed for our city to truly change. Both candidates displayed a lack of vision for the future of transportation in Los Angeles, which is frightening considering the Mayor has a place on the Metro Board, as well as multiple appointments.

Read all candidate questionnaires here →

………

Speaking of Yaroslavsky, both she and Sam Yebri, her opponent in CD5, support protected bike lanes in the district, although Yebri seems to be a little less enthusiastic about it.

Here’s how they addressed the issue in a recent debate, as reported by the Larchmont Buzz.

Do you support the installation of more protected bike lanes and, if so, where?

Yebri said bike infrastructure is an important long-term planning issue (citing the example of the 80,000 cars that pass through Westwood Village every day), but that it’s critical to plan projects such as bike lanes in partnership with Metro and local residents…which he will do.  Yebri also noted that he’s been hearing a lot of complaints about a new bike lane that just opened on San Vicente Blvd., because residents say they weren’t consulted before it was installed.  He also said he would like to revisit the Uplift Melrose project that was dropped last year after resident complaints, but with better community outreach and input, because we desperately do need to upgrade our transportation infrastructure.

Yaroslavsky said Los Angeles should be one of the great bike cities in the world, because it’s mostly flat, the weather’s great, and most things are within a reasonable distance of each other. She said she supports a broadly connected bike infrastructure, and that we should start with first/last mile areas near transit, and then connect the system outward to our various neighborhoods.  She said both Sixth Street and San Vicente Blvd. would be good places to plan bike lanes – in partnership with those communities – and that improving bikeability is important for both the climate and public safety.  Yaroslavsky also noted that her husband and kids all love to ride bikes, but right now they have to load their bikes into a car to drive to safe bike paths, and “that’s crazy; that’s nuts.”  So when it comes to improving bike infrastructure, Yaroslavsky said, “I’m here for this.”

………

More on the latest scandal rocking City Hall.

President Biden joined the calls for Nury Martinez, Keven De León and “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo to resign; Martinez took a leave of absence from the city council rather than face her accusers.

The LA Times says the meeting between three Hispanic councilmembers and a labor leader that led to accusations of racism may have been ugly, but it probably wasn’t illegal.

Times‘ columnist Steve Lopez says CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin’s tearful address to the city council in the wake of the racist comments directed towards his Black toddler son was the best thing to come out of City Hall in ages.

………

Streetsblog is hosting a return to the annual in-person Streetsie awards tonight, with a free reception honoring L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell.

Reserve your tickets here.

………

Angela Lansbury was one of us, appearing as a bike-riding, crime solving mystery writer for 12 seasons of Murder, She Wrote.

The actress died yesterday at 96, after a nearly 80-year career.

………

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

A Pittsburgh bike advocate recounts the crash that left her with a brain bleed and a two-year recovery from a shattered jaw, after she was struck by a driver while riding on a street the city had refused to improve, despite the urging of local residents. Along with the ticket she got for running a red light after the police took the word of the only witness — the driver who ran her down.

An English man was strangled with his own bike helmet strap by a road raging drunk driver “dressed like a Blues Brother,” after he was intentionally doored.

You’ve got to be kidding. Life is cheap in Ireland, where a cab driver walked with a suspended sentence for deliberately driving into a man on a bike — twice — while blaming the victim for verbally abusing him and undertaking his taxi.

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

YouTube road safety advocate CyclingMikey is accused of deliberately jumping onto the hood of an SUV so he could claim a celebrity agent crashed into his bike.

………

Local

Streetsblog offers photos and an open thread from Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia.

A retired LAPD lieutenant is fighting the same battle too many other bike riders have faced, after the DA’s office bargained away the charges against the hit-and-run driver who left him seriously injured as he rode his bike in Agoura, reducing it to a misdemeanor, even after the victim agreed to probation if the driver pled guilty to a felony.

Long Beach’s Artesia Blvd will get a Complete Streets makeover, including protected bike lanes, with the 3.2-mile, $36.2 million Artesia Great Boulevard Project.

 

State 

Calbike recounts the wins — and losses — for bikes and active transportation in the just-ended legislative session.

A motorcyclist pled not guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges in the August crash that took life of 68-year old Brad Allen Catcott during a police pursuit at Carlsbad State Beach in August; Eric Burns is currently being held without bail pending trial.

Congratulations to San Diego’s Barrio Logan, which has been named the world’s sixth coolest neighborhood; Colonia Americana in Guadalajara, Mexico, ranked first.

This is who we share the road with. A 74-year old woman mistook her car’s gas pedal for the brake and plowed into a Rialto market, sending herself and seven other people to the hospital. Just one more example of keeping an elderly driver on the road until it’s too late.

 

National

Forget self-driving cars. Bloomberg makes the case for why Apple should build an ebike, instead, saying it would be the company’s most revolutionary product since the iPhone.

A US military health website recommends safety tips for bike riders, several of which are actually mandatory for military personnel.

WaPo examines a popular Portland bike bus.

Houston authorities are looking for the hit-and-run driver that crashed into a man who lost control of his bicycle during a Pride Ride, then ran over him again while fleeing the scene, killing him.

Dual knee replacements get an Arkansas monk back on his bike.

A Chicago project is giving free bikes to Black trans people in need.

Meet the worst bike lanes in St. Paul, Minnesota. To which Los Angeles says, hold my beer. 

A Minnesota man faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide for running a stop sign and killing an eight-year old girl while he was high on meth. Allegedly.

A survivor of the horrific Michigan crash that killed two people on a Make-A-Wish fundraising ride recounts the crash and its long, painful aftermath, urging  drivers to slow down and be patient; the alleged drunk driver faces ten charges, including a pair of fatal DUI that could put her away for 15 years each.

No bias here. After an Indiana University student was killed by an alleged speeding drunk driver as he was riding a scooter in the bike lane, the City of Bloomington naturally responded by restricting…scooters. No, really.

 

International

Cycling Weekly lists the best Amazon Prime Day deals on bicycles and accessories in the US and the UK, while the upscale Robb Report recommends the Hurley single-speed urban ebike.

An ecology website examines a program to get women on bicycles in Guazapa, El Salvador, whose motto translates to “without a bicycle there is no planet.”

Leading bicycling researchers Ralph Buehler and John Pucher examine how London responded to the pandemic by expanding bikeways and low-traffic neighborhoods, the equivalent of US Slow Streets. A sad reminder of what Los Angeles could have done with better leadership.

A British driver gets six years for killing a bike commuter with a runaway trailer he’d stolen just minutes earlier. But will only serve another year after accounting for time served in jail and house arrest.

No surprise here, as a new German study shows popup bike lanes not only increased ridership but improved air quality, while decreasing riders exposure to nitrogen dioxide.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Tips talks with two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, who says it’s the losses that drive him, including this year’s Tour.

Sad news, as Paralympic medallist George Peasgood is in neuro critical care after falling off his bike in a freak accident.

Who says you need a gravel bike? This year’s gravel world champ won on a road bike. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A competitor in the the 2022 Ironman World Championship in Kona proves you can be fast and have fun on fat knobby tires, too.

LA’s Phil Gaimon will now have to reclaim a number of his KOMs, courtesy of semi-retired British cyclist Tom Pidcock.

 

Finally…

That feeling when bike lanes are used as a wedge issue. Your next bike could be made of magnesium.

And when you’re supposed to pretend two of America’s three greatest cyclists weren’t.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

This is who we share the road with, new 1st Street bike lane in DTLA, and call to end freeway widening in LA County

September 30, 2022 / / Comments Off on This is who we share the road with, new 1st Street bike lane in DTLA, and call to end freeway widening in LA County

Let’s start with a quick look at who we share the road with.

A hit-and-run driver was arrested by police after he killed a man and his three dogs walking in Downtown Los Angeles early yesterday, then crashed into several parked cars trying to flee; police used a stun gun and baton to take the man down.

And a 20-year old woman faces 25 to life after allegedly using her car to kill a Cypress man she thought was trying to run over a cat; she thoughtfully recorded the confrontation on her cellphone, in case prosecutors needed more evidence to put her away. No word on whether the cat escaped with all nine lives intact.

………

Another new bike lane in DTLA.

Now if they’d just put a few in the rest of the city.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1575700094510280705

………

Seriously, someone tell Metro and Caltrans to take the hint, already. And stop wasting billions on induced demand-inducing freeway projects.

………

More news from Gavin Newsom’s veto pen, as he signs a bill requiring bike parking in new multifamily construction, but vetoes a bill requiring the state to put its climate change money where its mouth is.

………

Just a reminder that there are still good people in the world.

Although it’s also a reminder not to post videos online that start or end where you live.

https://twitter.com/clarkstbikelane/status/1575669587663761408

………

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

Life is cheap in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where killing a woman and injuring another bike rider as they took part in a fundraising ride only merits a lousy ticket for a bad lane change. Although that’s still more than the driver would get in some other places.

Police are looking for the bike rider who viciously attacked a disabled London man while threatening to kill him, after the driver tried to let him know he was behind him. As we’ve said before, violence is always wrong. But something tells me there’s another side to this story.

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

Police in Eugene, Oregon busted a man with an outstanding warrant after he went over his handlebars while trying to flee the cops on his bicycle.

The New York man who killed Gone Girl and Cocktail actress Lisa Banes faces one to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to running her down with his moped.

………

Local

South Pasadena will observe the annual Walk or Bike to School Day on Wednesday.

 

State 

The Orange County Transportation Authority is urging people to walk, bike, use transit, share a ride or work from home during next week’s Rideshare Week.

Police in Carlsbad are asking for witnesses to the ebike crash that left a 61-year old woman with serious injuries; it’s not clear if she was the victim of a hit-and-run or a solo crash.

Goleta will host a public meeting Tuesday to discuss the San Jose Creek Bike Path Project.

Sad news from Redwood City, where a man was killed when a semi driver crossed the double yellow line and hit his bicycle head-on; the driver was arrested on a charge of involuntary manslaughter with gross negligence.

San Francisco bicyclists are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Critical Mass tonight.

Richmond’s Rich City Rides is as important to the East Bay Community as the East Side Riders are down here. Right now, they’re 13% of the way to their $10,000 fundraising goal to keep giving away free bicycles and bike repair to people in need. Just in case you have a little extra money lying around.

 

National

Bicycling looks at the best bike shorts with pockets to stash your essentials. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Forbes examines whether you can get a DUI on a bicycle. Short answer, in California, yes. In other states, it depends.

Vision Zero is failing in Seattle, where traffic deaths continue to climb despite the commitment to end them by 2030.

A Spokane writer visits the Netherlands to examine how the western Washington city could elevate itself to the ranks of bike friendly cities like Copenhagen, Mexico City and Portland. All of which would work just as well in Los Angeles.

Salt Lake City’s efforts to get more people on two wheels is paying off, with a 19% jump in bike commuting rates over the past two years.

Just one day after pledging to rip out the city’s only protected bike lane — and hours after a protest from bike riders — the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska says the bike lane will stay in place until construction begins on a planned streetcar.

Slate examines why Houston cops would say a quiet residential street “isn’t safe for pedestrians or people riding bikes” after an eight-year old boy was killed doing just that.

That’s more like it. A 44-year old Peoria, Illinois woman has been sentenced to 22 years behind bars for the drunken, hit-and-run crash that killed a ten-year old boy riding an ebike.

The Boston Globe says bike riders and runners are turning to gravel trails as a safe refuge from aggressive drivers. Or it could just be because it’s fun. Or both, maybe.

New York’s attorney general took a few minutes off from suing the Trump Organization to warn New Yorkers about the dangers of improperly charging ebike batteries.

Great idea. A New York City council member has proposed a bounty for reporting a blocked bike or sidewalk; the program would pay a reward equalling 25% of the $175 fine.

New Jersey is establishing a committee to create a statewide Vision Zero program. First step is to actually fund the damn thing, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

 

International

Road.cc considers the pros and cons of using a single bike helmet across various bicycling disciplines.

Litelok claims their new lightweight, axel grinder-resistant U-lock is five times more theft proof than the best performing locks currently on the market.

Edmonton, Alberta is investing $170 million to build 62 miles of new bike lanes. Although some people think the money could be better spent on other things.

A new Dutch ebike promises to last forever, with a modular design that allows you to swap out parts as they become worn or obsolete.

A 34-year old man is riding over 18,000 miles from Thiruvananthapuram, India to London, passing through 35 countries in 450 days.

Bicycles have taken over the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, as other forms of transportation become impractical or prohibitively expensive.

Bike advocates in Jerusalem are seeing progress in making the ancient, hilly city more welcoming to people on two wheels.

Your next Chinese ped-assist bicycle could be powered with hydrogen instead of electricity.

 

Finally…

The first Harley-Davidson had pedals. Now you, too, can own your very own Bugatti urban bike for a mere $75,000 or so.

And a reminder that refrigerators don’t belong in bike lanes any more than cars do.

https://twitter.com/wildbell/status/1575520496111603712

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Sierra Madre removes bike lane for parking, LA County safety meeting Friday, and 7th Street bike lanes taking shape

September 8, 2022 / / Comments Off on Sierra Madre removes bike lane for parking, LA County safety meeting Friday, and 7th Street bike lanes taking shape

Let’s start today by amplifying a message sent by our old friend John Lloyd to the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition.

If you know anyone who lives, attends school, works, or bikes in Sierra Madre please help spread the word that the city has removed a portion of the bike lane on eastbound Sierra Madre Blvd. between Grove and Lima, so they could replace parallel parking with angled parking in front of the public library. Mind you the library has ample parking in a lot behind the building, but it’s a few more steps to the front door. They also already have handicapped parking spaces right in front along the library driveway. The city has replaced the bike lane with sharrows that now require a stressful merge into the travel lane with 35mph traffic when the bike lane abruptly ends, and creates an additional hazard from drivers backing out of the angled parking. This creates a danger for drivers and particularly for cyclists. The city has thus created a hazardous and stressful situation for people on bikes. They have traded safety for a couple of unnecessary parking spaces.

I will be giving public comment and asking the city to RESTORE THE LIBRARY BIKE LANE at next week’s city council meeting. I would love it if folks could help spread the word if you know anyone who cares about this issue. They need to know this isn’t okay. Public comments are at the beginning of the meeting and are limited to 3 min each.

  • Where: Sierra Madre City Hall 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
  • When: Tuesday, Sept. 13, 5:30 PM.

By removing the bike lanes, not only has the city increased the risk for people on bicycles, but they’ve also assumed full liability for any bike rider who gets injured there, from this day forward.

Whether or not they intended to.

And I know some damn good lawyers who would be more than happy to make that painfully clear to them.

………

Join Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell to discuss street safety in LA County tomorrow night.

………

The long awaited 7th Street protected bike lanes are finally taking shape in DTLA.

………

The National Safety Council is kicking off a series of Roadway Safety webinars next Tuesday, starting with the author of There Are No Accidents.

………

Legendary Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart was one of us, as he talks with the only actor who could ever upstage him, the equally legendary Lauren Bacall.

Or at least he knew the value of posing with a bike and a beautiful woman for a good publicity photo.

https://twitter.com/bicicletasokan/status/1567603722276028416

………

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

A New Orleans city councilmember responds to the usual complaints from motorists about a new protected bike lane by proposing to make it more dangerous, while a representative of the firefighter’s union is apparently unaware that big, heavy firetrucks are capable of driving over flimsy plastic car-tickler bendy posts.

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

After a cobra bit an Indian man as he was working in the fields, he killed the offending snake by biting it back — then rode his bike home with the dead snake draped over his shoulders.

………

Local

Two men reportedly broke into the Raleigh New Company Store in Santa Monica on Monday, stealing six bicycles and e-mountain bikes retailing for approximately $5,000 each; a day earlier, police arrested a 60-year old man for the theft of multiple ebikes locked together near the beach, including one with the AirTag that led to his capture.

South Bay letter writers argue over ebikes, infrastructure and bicycle education in response to a fallen 13-year old ebike rider, with predictable results — including the mistaken comment that ebikes are motorcycles, and require a drivers license. Only throttle-controlled bikes and ebikes capable of traveling over 28 mph require a motorcycle license and helmet.

 

State 

A Cardiff man is still looking for answers, 43 years after a bike rider found his murdered twin brother’s lifeless body on the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach, on what would have been their 15th birthday.

Streetsblog says San Jose has lost its way, retreating to victim blaming and shared responsibility in the face of rising traffic deaths, rather than expanding the bold, Dutch-style, quick-build infrastructure the city pioneered just a few years earlier.

Sad news from Northern California, where a mountain biker was found dead 200 feet below the Downieville Downhill Trail outside of Downieville; the victim’s wife had contacted the local sheriff’s department when he didn’t return home from his ride.

 

National

NACTO, aka the National Association of City Transportation, calls for reforming bike law to decriminalize urban bicycling, after finding current laws disproportionately punish people of color.

Gear Patrol considers the year’s best gravel bikes.

If you’re having trouble unloading your used Peloton bike, it could be because you’re competing with the company’s own efforts to dump their bikes.

It took less than ten minutes for Denver residents to claim the city’s latest round of ebike rebates, as data shows the program really is replacing some car trips.

A Denver couple learns the hard way that insurance companies may bizarrely conclude that ebikes aren’t bicycles, so they don’t have to pay for them.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a 16-year old autistic Texas boy’s bike, but hats off to the bighearted strangers who bought him a new one.

Kansas City bicyclists feared a section of the city’s Longview Lake loop long before a popular father of ten was killed riding his bike there last month.

A retired nurse was killed by an on-duty Burbank, Illinois cop who ran down her bicycle; the officer was placed on administrative duty while the case is under review.

New York’s Central Park Raccoons gather for impromptu nighttime races on anything with two wheels, ebikes excluded.

Take your gravel bike for a run on the 185-mile long Chesapeake & Ohio Cana pathl through DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

A Mississippi man faces murder charges for shooting his cousin following a heated argument over a fight between their sons about an allegedly stolen bicycle. We’ve said it before — no bicycle is worth taking a life. or losing one.

Tampa Bay bicyclists say the local infrastructure may not be great, but it could be worse.

 

International

An Ontario, Canada First Nation man faces multiple charges in the alleged DUI death of two women as they were riding their bikes on the first nation this past June.

The World Wide Web Foundation is hosting a two-part ride from Oxford, England to CERN in Geneva to raise funds and call attention to their mission to make the internet safe, trusted and empowering for everyone, with the first three-day stage from Oxford to Paris this week; you can donate here. Thanks to Glenn Crider for the heads-up.

A Dutch expat was acquitted of killing a 56-year old pedestrian in the UK after he asked the court why bike riders couldn’t ride 30 mph if drivers are allowed to, concluding that the 23 mph he was actually riding at was an appropriate speed.

Olympic track cycling gold medalist Katie Archibald paid an emotional tribute to her partner Rob Wardell, as the 36-year old Scottish mountain bike champ was laid to rest following his fatal heart attack last month.

 

Competitive Cycling

Colombian Rigoberto Urán claimed Wednesday’s stage 17 of the Vuelta, while Remco Evenepoel was virtually assured of victory when three-time defending champ Primož Roglič withdrew following his hard crash near the finish line of Tuesday’s stage.

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini jumped to an early 23 second lead in the five stage Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta after the opening time trial, with Demi Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten close behind.

Cycling News introduces New Zealand’s Corbin Strong, calling the neo-pro the surprise leader of the Tour of Britain.

There’s more than one way to cheat, as a 73-year old man was busted for motor doping at a French hillclimb; officials became suspicious when he finished just three minutes behind his much younger competitors.

VeloNews talks with gravel champ and freshman race director Amanda Nauman as she prepares to launch the inaugural Mammoth Tuff in California’s Eastern Sierras next weekend.

 

Finally…

Your kid’s next balance bike could be sculpted from wood, with an uncomfortable looking bench for a seat. That feeling when Stupid Bike Night isn’t, but it is intentionally weird.

And using your bicycle to break down the door of a mom and pop smoke shop is not an approved use for it.

Then again, ripping your arm open crawling inside isn’t the best idea, either.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Banning gas cars doesn’t solve car problem, bike lanes on Ventura Blvd, and CA bans parking minimums near transit

August 30, 2022 / / 3 comments

She gets it.

Texas A&M assistant urban planning professor and California native Tara Goddard offers her thoughts on California’s move away from gas-powered vehicles.

But even if you could wave a technological magic wand and solve those problems with EVs today, a bigger concern is whether this focus on personal electric vehicles will monopolize public resources that would be much better spent in other ways: namely, on investments in frequent, reliable public transportation between and within cities and towns, better walking and bicycling infrastructure, and land uses that remove the need to depend on vehicles – however they are powered – for every trip.

The problem with a transportation system that depends heavily on private automobiles is that, even if those automobiles no longer emit the same level of greenhouse gasses, they will continue to contribute to unsustainable and sprawling land use patterns, as well as the longer distances and travel times that are bad for us as individuals and communities.

Meanwhile, readers of The Los Angeles Times say while banning gas cars is great, electric cars are still cars, and car dependency is awful.

………

We could soon see bike lanes on one of the San Fernando Valley’s most iconic streets.

………

LA bike riders have complained about the bike lanes on Venice Blvd for years, ever since they first went in.

And the city hasn’t shown any sign of fixing them yet.

………

The California Senate passed Burbank Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s AB 2097 to eliminate parking minimums near public transit.

Now the question is whether Governor Newsom will sign it.

https://twitter.com/cafedujord/status/1564432960308203520

………

Streetsblog reports LADOT will host a meeting tomorrow to discuss a planned makeover of Venice Blvd on the Westside.

Wednesday 8/31 – From 6:30-8 p.m., LADOT will host a virtual Venice Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project Workshop. On L.A.’s westside, the city is planning new bus lanes (between Inglewood Boulevard and Culver Boulevard) and new protected bike lanes (coupled with existing protected bike lane stretches, the protection would extend from Lincoln Boulevard to La Cienega Boulevard.) Sign up for the virtual workshop at LADOT Zoom page. Also give feedback via LADOT’s online survey. Find Spanish language links also at LADOT’s project page.

………

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

Good question. A London woman asks why some people hate bike riders so much, saying she’s been spat at, abused and run off the road.

Anti-bike sabotage continues in the UK, as someone scattered thumbtacks in an already pretty minimal bike lane.

https://twitter.com/CyclingLawLDN/status/1564152130210086914

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

Green Bay, Wisconsin police are on the lookout for a knife-wielding robber who fled by bicycle after robbing a Quick Mart.

A British Columbia man calls on a hit-and-run bike rider to turn himself in, after the fat tire bicyclist caught the leash of the man’s small dog, crushing it to death and leaving his wife with facial abrasions and a broken nose. Granted, the guy was a jerk and should have stuck around. But allowing your dog run loosely alongside your bike is a recipe for disaster. 

………

Local

Black Lives Matter supporters marched in South LA to demand justice for Dijon Kizzee, who was shot by sheriff’s deputies while running away and after dropping his gun, in what began as a traffic stop for riding salmon, and quickly escalated.

LAist offers an updated guide to biking in the City of Angels. And yes, it’s okay to shed a tear for the bikeshare systems that have bitten the dust.

South Bay bike riders lit up the night with the eighth annual Glow Ride for CF, a sub-seven mile fundraiser to battle cyclist fibrosis founded by a woman who died of the disease after a double lung transplant in 2018.

 

State 

Sad news from Kern County, where a 67-year old man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a truck driver in Wasco Sunday night.

San Francisco Streetsblog says cities need to make protected bike lanes and intersections the default, arguing that continuing to blow off physically protected bike lanes is tantamount to murder.

 

National

No surprise here, as not everyone is a fan of Reno, Nevada’s new popup bike lane network; motorists are driving in the bike lanes, while a business owner complains his sales are down 30% due to the loss of parking. And of course that’s the only possible reason for the decrease in sales, not inflation, higher interest rates or any of the other multitude of problem besetting consumers these days.

They get it. A Wisconsin community radio station talks with local advocates while concluding that streets are for everyone.

A Louisville, Kentucky TV station answers why bike riders don’t need a license to ride in traffic lanes. And with the help of the Bike League, gets it mostly right.

While California continues to delay plans for a fully funded and approved ebike rebate program, Vermont quietly unveiled the nation’s first ebike rebate plan, offering point-of-sale rebates up to $400 on ped-assist ebikes.

She gets it. A Cambridge, Massachusetts letter writer makes a lengthy case in support bike lanes and safe streets, arguing that they benefit everyone, including businesses.

A bicycle stolen in South Carolina was recovered over a thousand miles away in Vermont, thanks to Bike Index’s nationwide stolen bike database. One more reminder to register your bike for free today. 

The father of the US diplomat killed riding her bike in Bethesda, Maryland calls for safety improvements, saying cities need to do more than paint lines and bike symbols on the road.

 

International

A Scottish brewing CEO took a bad fall and shattered his collarbone, after assuring shareholders there was nothing intense or challenging about the mountain bike run he was taking them on, in a forrest his firm bought to preserve for the planet.

Nearly 9,000 people on bicycles took over a German autobahn to call for safer streets on Sunday.

NPR reports many Sri Lankans have turned to their bikes in the face of massive fuel shortages; one man reported his employer bought him a bike to ensure he could get to work. Maybe we need to try that here, since high gas prices didn’t make a dent in driving.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Irish champ Imogen Cotter returned to bike racing in Belgium Sunday, seven months after she was hit head-on by a driver passing another vehicle while she was training in Italy.

Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley concedes that the Vuelta podium may be out of reach, after a steady flow of gradual losses in the early stages.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you think ebikes are cheating, and you like it.

And how about a little unicycle dream to send you on your way?

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1564346859812012037

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

August 24, 2022 / / Comments Off on Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

Before we get started, my brother the former Iditarod mushing and bike-riding adventurer is off on another cross-country bike tour.

He left yesterday on the Trans-America trail, taking it from Western Colorado to the Atlantic Coast. 

I’ll try to keep you posted when he shares details of his trip. 

………

I doubt it will surprise anyone that bikeway implementation in Los Angeles fell last year.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports the LADOT showed a total of just 39.1 miles of new or upgraded bikeways for the most recent fiscal year that just ended, down from 52.5 the previous year.

And yes, that includes sharrows and bike routes, as well as protected bike lanes, bike paths and painted bike lanes.

Linton reports that implementation of bikeways fell precipitously under outgoing Mayor and erstwhile almost ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

Although Garcetti doesn’t shoulder all the blame.

Under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, bike facility implementation peaked at 200+ new bikeway lane-miles annually. Since Mayor Eric Garcetti took office in 2013, implementation has fallen dramatically. Under Garcetti-appointed city Transportation Department (LADOT) General Manager Seleta Reynolds, new bikeway mileage has been dismal, hovering between 10 and 52 miles annually for the past seven years.

It’s not all Garcetti and Reynolds’ fault, as their modest efforts have been blocked by many city councilmembers: Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz, Curren Price, David Ryu, Mitch O’Farrell, and Paul Krekorian have all vetoed planned bikeway projects in their districts.

I got pushback when I declared on twitter that last year’s total was a fail, as Linton and others pointed out that the figures for last year included some high-quality installations.

Which is fair.

Under Villaraigosa, the city focused on what they referred to as the low-hanging fruit, where installation of a bike lane didn’t require removing parking or a traffic lane.

And while the city remains averse to doing anything to annoy or inconvenience people in cars, they have built more protected bike lanes and cycle tracks in recent years.

Not enough, but still.

And not enough are truly protected, as the city too often pretends that car-tickler plastic bendy posts offer some form of protection from motorists, who can simply drive over them at will.

Hopefully, a new mayor and city council will increase funding to LADOT to hire more bike-focused engineers, and wipe the dust off the city’s Vision Zero and mobility plans.

We can hope, right?

………

Calbike is urging everyone to call their state senators to urge them to vote for AB 1713, the latest attempt to pass a Stop-as-Yield law.

Streetsblog says we’re this close to getting the right to treat stop signs as yield signs, and that the bill addresses Governor Newsom’s complaint that led him to veto the previous version by limiting the law to riders over 18.

………

They get it.

Carlsbad has responded to the recent deaths of two bike riders and a jump in ebike injuries by declaring a state of emergency, allowing the city to take immediate action to improve safety for bicyclists.

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Dr. Grace Peng has done the hard part for you, developing talking points for this afternoon’s workshop to discuss the California ebike rebate program.

………

Belgian pro Wout Van Aert goes Hollywood, making a brief appearance in a Red Bull video featuring F1 racer Max Verstappen.

………

GCN considers why bicycle license plates are a terrible idea.

Because they are.

………

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

A Chicago father accuses a hit-and-run driver of intentionally striking him and his daughter as they were biking home from school, not far from where a three-year old girl was killed earlier this year.

The Spanish driver who killed two people and seriously injured three others when he rammed a group of bike riders, possibly intentionally, is being held without bail pending trial, as police investigate him for possible murder charges; he has a long record of traffic safety violations, as well a violence against women.

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

New York police are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider, following the death of a pedestrian, who died days after the bicyclist collided with him while the victim was crossing a Manhattan street.

………

Local

KCRW looks at the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, which is being considered by the city council today, asking if the city can finally be friendlier to transit users and pedestrians. Because the measure’s not just about bikes, regardless of some perceptions.

The LA Times celebrates the closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park, and questions what other streets should be closed next. Like Hollywood Blvd, which is long overdue for a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland.

Good idea. A UCLA professor has created a new app enabling people to easily organize group bike rides to create safety in numbers for bike commuters.

Streetsblog talks with Los Angeles-based comedian George Coffey, who is turning Metro’s foibles into fodder for jokes.

Active SGV continues to live up to its name, as they continue to be one of the most active advocacy groups in the LA area; the group is bringing Slow Streets and open streets to the San Gabriel Valley, with a number of demonstration projects to show the value of traffic circles, outdoor dining, and bike lanes.

 

State 

Thirty-six-year old Kenneth Alexander Heimlich was convicted of going on a two-city crime rampage in Orange County in June, including pushing a bike rider into traffic and repeatedly stomping his head for no reason as they waited at a bus stop.

A 63-year old San Diego man was the victim of a hit-and-run when a driver turned in front of his bike, in a crash caught on security cam — even if the local TV station can’t be bothered to include it. Or even link to it. Schmucks.

Life is cheap in Lafayette, where the driver who killed 86-year old Joe Shami, better known as The Legend of Mount Diablo, walked without a single day behind bars; Lori Everett got a lousy one year probation and 100 hours of community service, while her victim got the death penalty.

A Davis writer says bicycle etiquette begins with being considerate.

 

National

The New York Times takes a look at the rise in traffic deaths, which disproportionately affect Black, Latino and low-income families.

A new study shows Blacks are overrepresented in bike and pedestrian deaths; the study also shows drivers of pickups and SUVs accounted for 38% of bike riders and pedestrians killed on the roads, despite being involved in just 20% of the crashes.

Marketplace says high-tech speed governors are gaining traction with safety advocates, even though carmakers hate the idea.

A six-year old Minneapolis girl was collateral damage in a shootout between two men when she was shot in the leg as she was riding her bike.

Heartbreaking news from Minnesota, where a pickup driver was arrested for vehicular homicide for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Reservation.

Bighearted former Indiana University basketball player and Head Coach Dan Dakich and his wife gave away 31 bikes to kids in need earlier this month, as they work year round to ensure that every kid can have a bicycle.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A North Carolina driver walked without a single day behind bars after copping to a plea deal for probation in the DUI death of a bike rider. Which sends a clear message to other drivers that it’s perfectly okay to get drunk, get behind the wheel and kill someone.

 

International

Road.cc considers the carbon footprint of your bike, which may be more than you think.

Newspaper readers in Hertfordshire, England like a government proposal to regulate bicyclists by requiring a numbered license plate and liability insurance to catch riders who totally ignore the rules. Even though that isn’t likely to happen, numbered plates or not.

Welsh bicyclists are ignoring government warnings to stay off the world’s longest and highest aqueduct; officials insist the 126-foot high structure isn’t wide enough to accommodate both people on foot and on two wheels.

Tragic news from Scotland, where champion mountain biker Rab Wardell died in his sleep in his Glasgow home, just two days after winning the elite men’s title at the Scottish MTB XC Championships; he was just 37.

A new study shows that Lisbon, Portugal’s bike paths reproduce the city’s social inequities, with people in working class neighborhoods having less access to them than residents of wealthy neighborhoods.

The first ever, ten-day Tour De Maccabi bike race and adventure tour will take Jewish bike riders rom Krakow, Poland through Slovakia and Hungary, before ending in front of Europe’s largest synagogue in Budapest

 

Competitive Cycling

As predicted, the first day back in Spain shook up the standings in the Vuelta, as three-time defending champ Primož Roglič stormed to victory in what The Guardian termed a “stunning effort,” taking the leader’s red jersey in the process; American Sepp Kuss is in second place, 13 seconds back.

The Mountain Bike World Championships begins today in Les Gets, France.

USA Cycling named the US men’s and women’s road cycling and time trial teams, with L39ION of Los Angeles cyclist Skylar Schneider the lone domestic competitor to make the team.

 

Finally…

Blame bikes for the demise of religion and a rise in women smokers.

And face it, he’s got a point.

https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1562125196689129474

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Update: 69-year old man killed crashing his bike into parked truck in Irvine bike lane; 11th SoCal bike death this month

August 23, 2022 / / One comment

Someone please make it stop.

For the 11th time in 22 days, a person riding a bicycle has been killed on the mean streets of Southern California.

This time in Irvine.

According to My News LA, the victim was riding on Alton Parkway between Technology Drive and Mauchly when he ran into the back of a landscaping truck parked on the side of the road at 7:25 this morning.

The victim, identified only as a 69-year old man, died at the scene.

The location places the crash east of Technology Drive, where I’m told that the truck was parked in a marked bike lane.

California law prohibits parking in a bike lane, although it makes an exception for public or private utility trucks — but only if there are warning devices displayed on the truck.

There’s no mention of whether the truck had its flashers on, or displayed warning cones or some other safety warning behind the vehicle.

It’s not as unusual as it might seem to ram into the back of a parked vehicle. There have been several cases in recent years, both here and around the US, where riders appeared to be focused on the road directly in front of their wheel, rather than on the roadway ahead, and ran into an obstacle directly in front of them.

It’s also possible that a passing car could have blocked him from leaving the bike lane, and he might not have been able to stop in time. Or he could have suffered some sort of medical emergency.

Unfortunately, only the victim knows what really happened.

Anyone with information is urged to call Irvine Police Detective Robert Solis at 949/724-7024.

This is at least the 61st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 69-year old Lake Forest resident James Henry McKane. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for James Henry McKane and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Bill Sellin and Lois for the heads-up.

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