Blocked bike lanes are bad enough.
Now BAC Vice Chair Glenn Bailey sends a photo showing that even if you manage to get where you’re going, there may be nowhere to park your bike once you get there.
Even if there are bike racks in front.
Yes, everyone has to be somewhere. And I have genuine sympathy for anyone forced to live on the streets, for whatever reason.
But city officials wouldn’t permit anyone to pile up their belongings in the street if it meant no one could park there. And they shouldn’t tolerate anyone blocking all the bike parking, either.
Maybe we need a new law to prohibit anyone from blocking bike racks in such a way that bicycles can’t use them.
But then we’d have to find someone willing to enforce it.
……..
A blogger concludes that protected bike lanes don’t belong on major LA streets because it’s unsafe for children to breath the air there.
Never mind that the overwhelming majority of riders using major arteries will be adult bike commuters, or that children aren’t likely to be on them long enough to have any significant impact on their health.
The beauty of the 2010 LA bike plan, which has been subsumed into the Mobility Plan currently nearing adoption by the city, is that it was designed with bike-friendly streets on quiet neighborhood byways ideal for children and families, as well as bike lanes on major streets for bike commuters and shoppers.
Yes, all our bikeways should be safe for anyone of any age.
But arguing against bike lanes on major arteries because breathing the air is unsafe for kids is just a straw man for someone who doesn’t want bike lanes taking up space his car could be using.
And never mind that the air inside their parents’ car could be worse than the air outside it.
……..
Bradley Wiggins did it, smashing the hour record on Sunday. He beat the existing record, set just last month, by six laps, or just under a mile. And after setting the record, he still had enough strength left to lift his bike over his head in celebration.
Although I wonder if anyone inspected his bike to make sure he didn’t have a hidden motor on it.
……..
Local
Mind your Ps and Qs in SaMo this week, as the SMPD conducts another Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operation today, as well as on Wednesday and Friday.
A bike rider was injured in an apparent collision on PCH in Malibu Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Jeffrey for the heads-up.
Long Beach successfully celebrates its first ciclovía. Although Metro, which sponsored the event, somehow decided that was the perfect day to do maintenance work on the Blue Line leading to it.
The man who supervised the design of Long Beach’s beachfront bike path has passed away at 86.
State
San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood is getting protected bike lanes over the objections of some local business owners. Except where they’re needed most, of course.
A Bay Area driver drips with sarcasm after observing a bike rider stop at a stop sign. Anyone who says they’ve never seen a cyclist stop at a stop sign isn’t paying attention.
A 23-year old San Francisco cyclist was killed in a collision with a police car; he was on his way home from a bike polo match.
Napa officials are wisely following the route bike riders and pedestrians already take, and building a pathway there under a major highway.
Firefighters rescue a bike rider after she apparently rode off a trail into a Modesto canal; she’s in critical condition after being unresponsive for 40 minutes.
Sacramento residents raise nearly $11,000 for a popular chef who was left for dead by a hit-and-run driver while riding home from his restaurant. And they’re not done.
National
A bike rider in my hometown is dead after a driver apparently fell asleep behind the wheel, then woke up to see a truck pulling a boat in front of him. So naturally, he swerved into the bike lane and hit the cyclist, instead.
A Wisconsin driver faces a negligent homicide charge for somehow killing two cyclists, even though they were riding on the shoulder of the roadway separated by rumble strips.
Chicago has opened an elevated rail-to-trail bike and pedestrian parkway similar to New York’s popular High Line park.
A former men’s Iron Man champ returns to competition in Missouri. But this time as a woman, two years after her sex reassignment surgery.
Due to a quirk in the law, a Kentucky driver was allowed behind the wheel despite nine — yes, nine — previous DUIs; he now faces a murder charge for killing a cyclist while allegedly driving drunk yet again. Drunk driving should have a lifetime limit of two strikes and you’re out; a third offense should land the driver behind bars. Period.
It turns out that three-foot passing laws aren’t unenforceable after all, as Chattanooga police develop an ultrasound device that measures exactly how close a car comes to a bike.
In what may be the smartest cross-country tour yet, a group of Harvard and MIT students are riding across the US to get kids interested in science.
New York’s Citi Bikes are getting a makeover, courtesy of famed bike maker Ben Serotta.
Homes near Atlanta bikeways are becoming prime real estate.
A professor at Louisiana State University was killed as she walked her bike after it broke down.
International
Good news for Wolfpack Hustle, as bike racing’s governing body stops punishing pro racers who participate in unsanctioned events.
A Vancouver cyclist is looking for the Good Samaritan driver who pulled her out of traffic after a solo fall knocked her out.
Turns out that London’s bicycle superhighways almost didn’t happen. So maybe there’s hope for us yet.
A Brit non-profit is getting people on bikes by selling recycled bicycles.
Bicycling is under attack Down Under, as an anti-bike government minister forces the removal of a busy protected bike lane in Sydney, apparently because it replaced on-street parking five years before.
A Kiwi cyclist survives being dragged over 60 feet and trapped under an SUV.
Finally…
A Brit Bedlington Terrier rides a tricycle, even if he can’t pedal. Don’t buy your next bike, just print it. And a forlorn Irish rider writes a love letter to his stolen bike.
……..
Thanks for a generous donation to help support this site from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
