Tag Archive for Cal Poly Pomona

“Roadkill” Cedillo claims he supports safe bike lanes, popular Cal Poly ride returns, and riding with one hand free for drivers

March 11, 2022 / / 2 comments

Turns out CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo is just misunderstood.

At least, that’s what he says.

A concerned resident reached out to the councilmember, who earned the sobriquet Roadkill Gil for his opposition to street safety projects, to ask what he has against bike lanes.

This is the eye opening response they got.

Hi there! We are not against bike lanes. We support safe bike lanes and public safety is a top priority for us. When putting in bike lanes, we want to make sure that we are taking into consideration the safety of vehicular traffic as well as pedestrian traffic so that cyclists can cycle safely. For example, I’ve been advocating for the LA River Bike Path, a bike path that is able to connect from one end to another, safely, along the River on the Arroyo.

This from the councilmember who made cancelling the shovel-ready lane reduction on deadly North Figueroa one of his firsts acts in office, after holding a series of sham public meetings where the outcome was largely predetermined.

And after he pledged his support for it when he was asking for our votes

That was followed by Cedillo’s vote against approving the city’s Mobility Plan 2035, including a motion to have virtually every pending bike lane in his district removed from the plan.

His was one of just two votes against the plan, the other coming pseudo-environmentalist Paul Koretz. Even though many of the immigrants in his district that he claims to champions rely on bicycles as their sole source of transportation.

Never mind all the kids who need to get to and from school without getting killed.

He also teamed with CD13’s Mitch O’Farrell to kill another shovel-ready road diet on Temple Street, in the wake of the disastrous rollout of the Play del Rey lane reductions.

And we recently learned that Cedillo was responsible for blocking the previously approved bike lanes on the Spring Street Bridge. Which were replaced with six-foot painted shoulders on each side, where the bike lanes could have easily gone.

That’s a lot of unsafe bike lanes he courageously halted to protect our safety, and all those poor, suffering drivers.

But at least he supports the LA River bike path. Which, coincidently, moves bike riders off the road and doesn’t inconvenience people in the big, dangerous machines in any way.

But clearly, he’s just been misunderstood in his many efforts to keep us safe by keeping us off the streets.

I mean, he said so himself.

Or someone in his office did. It’s hard to say just who’s on the other end of an electronic conversation.

And he certainly wouldn’t lie to get our votes as he runs for re-election.

Again, that is.

………

Our friend Michael Wagner, author of East LA County’s indispensable CLR Effect, dropped a line to let us know Cal Poly Pomona’s popular Town and Gown Ride will be returning March 25th, after a two-year pandemic layoff.

………

GCN offers a brief lesson on five skills every bike rider should know. Riding one-handed is particularly important so you can use the other one to gesture at drivers.

………

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

More anti-bike sabotage, as someone apparently left dozens of tacks strewn across a London foot tunnel used by bike riders.

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

Police in Sacramento are looking for a bike rider who slapped three women on the ass in separate sexual assaults on two local college campuses; police believe it may be the same man in all three attacks, though two victims described a cruiser bike, while the other said it was a BMX. As we’ve said before, that’s not a prank, it’s not flirting and it’s not funny. It’s a crime.

Tragic news from New York, where a Brooklyn woman has died, five days after she was struck by a man riding an ebike while crossing the with her husband; the bike rider has been charge with possession of a controlled substance, but not for the crash itself. Yet.

Pennsylvania police are looking for the bike-riding man who broke into a number of storage units; no word on whether he actually took anything.

………

Local

Just five more days to offer your input on plans for the Ventura-Cahuenga Blvd corridor; comments close Tuesday.

Beverly Press talks with CD5 city council candidate Scott Epstein, the former chair of the Mid City West neighborhood council, about his commitment to help the homeless and make streets more bike and pedestrian friendly. I’ve known Epstein for over a decade, and he’s definitely the bike-friendly voice we need after an unlucky 13 years of Paul Koretz.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The LAPD is looking for the hit-and-run driver who killed a hero father who saw the speeding car coming and pushed his wife and child out of the way before taking the impact himself.

 

State 

Orange County Bicycle Coalition ED points bike riders to Cycling Savvy’s online course to learn how to ride safely.

Santa Maria has received a $2.5 million state grant to repave and beautify the Battles Road pedestrian and bike path corridor, while adding art along the pathway.

 

National

Former NBA star Shawn Bradley says he didn’t know if he was going to die as he lay sprawled on the pavement, after being rear-ended by a driver while riding his bike near his St. George, Utah home; the crash left him alive but paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Police in Daytona, Florida have arrested a suspect in the throat-slashing murders of a married couple as they rode their bicycles home last weekend; no motive for the murders was announced.

 

International

Cycling News offers advice on how to build your dream bike on a budget.

Former Talking Heads frontman and bicycle evangelist David Byrne lists his five favorite cities for bicycling. Needless to say, Los Angeles ain’t one of them

A Belfast, Northern Ireland bike shop owner is selling stickers to support Ukraine and raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.

A London writer says if you want to make women feel safer, start by improving safety for bike-riding women.

Wales says 20 is plenty, committing to dropping speed limits to 20 mph next year on residential streets, as well as roadways with a lot of pedestrians.

After police concluded an English man was killed when he rode bicycle into a tree, a top lawyer insists he was the victim of a too-close pass, while his boss said called him an expert cyclist, and said the idea that he simply lost control of his bike while taking a swig from his water bottle just isn’t credible.

The European Cyclists Federation says bicycling is becoming the new normal across the continent.

Pirelli bike tires will now be made in Italy once again. .

 

Competitive Cycling

There may be hope for American cycling, after all. Quinn Simmons captured the climber’s jersey after a long attack on stage 4 of the Tirreno-Adriatico, hours after Brandon McNulty and Matteo Jorgenson finished first and third, respectively, on Thursday’s stage of the Paris-Nice race, making it a rare hat trick for the next-gen Americans.

Speaking of American cyclists, 36-year old Alison Tetrick pens a love letter to her bike, thanking it for an amazing ride over the past decade and a half.

Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel likes to go fast in his car, too, losing his drivers’ license for three weeks after getting caught going nearly twice the speed limit.

Egan Bernal continues to recover from the training crash that nearly left him paralyzed.

 

Finally…

Your last mountain bike could have had a gearbox.

And higher gas prices are just an attempt to force drivers to give up their gas guzzlers in favor of electric cars.

Or maybe ebikes.

………

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

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

Morning Links: Bike deaths up in US, lawsuit filed in death of Newport Beach boy, and bike lanes coming to Cal Poly

August 24, 2017 / / One comment

A new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows bicycling fatalities rose 12.2% in 2015, climbing faster than the overall increase in traffic deaths.

However, that could be due to the continuing rise in bike ridership.

Without placing the figures in context, it’s impossible to know if bicycling is actually becoming more dangerous, or if overall safety is improving as the rate of deaths per million cyclists or miles traveled may be decreasing.

Your guess is as good as theirs.

In other findings from the study, which was funded by State Farm insurance —

  • One-third of Americans surveyed reported riding a bicycle in the last year.
  • Drivers had been drinking in 12% of fatal bike crashes, while 22% of the victims had alcohol in their systems. Which is not the same as saying they were intoxicated.
  • Distracted driving was blamed for just 76 out of the 818 bicyclists killed nationwide. However, that’s likely to be a dramatic undercount, since police need a warrant to check phones after a crash. And seldom ask for one.
  • More than half of the victims weren’t wearing a helmet. Although there’s no information on whether those victims suffered a fatal head injury, or if their injuries could have been survivable with or without a helmet.
  • Intersections are no longer the most dangerous place to ride; 72% of deaths occurred on the roadway, rather than at an intersection.
  • Roughly half of all bicycling deaths occurred at night, even though 80% of all bike rides take place during daylight hours.
  • The average age of bicycling victims was 45.

………

The parents of eight-year old Brock McCann have filed a lawsuit in the death of their son.

The third grade student was killed by the driver of a garbage truck as he rode his bike home from school in Newport Beach last year.

Video allegedly shows the driver never looked to his right as he turned from a cul-de-sac, and that he rolled through a crosswalk without stopping.

McCann’s parents are suing the driver, as well as the city trash hauler he worked for.

………

Boyonabike’s John Lloyd sends photographic proof that the formerly auto-centric Cal Poly Pomona really is installing the promised protected bike lanes on Kellogg Drive.

Photo by John Lloyd

The school received a lot a well-deserved criticism for failing to improve safety following the death of Ivan Aguilar four years ago.

It’s nice to see that this year’s students will finally find the campus more welcoming for those who don’t come by car.

………

In today’s spoiler-free Vuelta report, someone won his first Grand Tour stage, while someone else wore the leader’s jersey. No word on whether either was kissed by a podium boy.

Italian olive oil maker Colavita is pulling out of bike racing after 15 year of team sponsorship.

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Local

A ride will be held this Saturday to explore the new protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, which have been only slightly less controversial than the lane reductions in Playa del Rey.

Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s deputies patrolling on bicycles made four drug busts Tuesday evening, as the bikes allowed them to ride in undetected.

Santa Monica’s two-mile COAST ciclovía will return on October 1st.

 

State

A new report shows overall emissions of toxic and greenhouse gasses are going down in California, while transportation emissions are going up. Which means the state and local governments need to do more to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

The Watsonville driver sentenced to eleven years behind bars for the death of a bicyclist was high on Valium and methadone at the time of the crash, and fell asleep during the investigation.

A new bicycle master plan promises to improve safety in Stockton, where 70% of streets are rated high stress. Of course, even the best plan is nothing more than lines on a map until they actually put paint on the ground, which seems to be a step too far for most cities.

More details on the off-duty Modesto police officer who was killed riding his bicycle on Tuesday. The driver was arrested for DUI, and could face a murder charge after a previous conviction for drunk driving in 2014.

 

National

A Seattle weekly says safety in numbers resulting from an increase in bikeshare riders could do more than bike helmets to improve safety. Meanwhile, a sports website tries out Seattle’s new Ofo dockless bikeshare, which could be coming to SoCal soon.

After an Oregon woman sideswiped a bike rider, she demanded $200 to pay for the damage to her car, then fled when the rider, who is traveling cross country to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s, suggested calling the police.

A Chicago letter writer urges bicyclists to follow the rules like she does when she drives. Because apparently, she’s the only driver who never speeds, always comes to a full stop at stop signs, and never makes an unsafe lane change or drives distracted.

Illinois becomes the sixth state to follow California’s lead and adopt a three-tiered system to classify ebikes.

Life is cheap in Michigan, where a stoned driver walked with one year of probation after killing a bike rider, who reportedly “came out of nowhere” to crash into her car.

A Maine court rules that authorities don’t have to prove what a distracted driver was doing at the time of a crash, saying they can presume distraction based on the driver’s behavior.

Tolls could double on a Miami causeway to pay for a fully separated bike lane and other improvements on one of the city’s most popular and scenic cycling routes. Which might improve safety, but won’t win any friends with drivers.

 

International

Los Angeles isn’t the only city facing an angry bikelash. A Vancouver man has started a petition to rip out protected bike lanes on a bridge eight years after they were installed, arguing that the 7,000 riders who use them each day during the summer months aren’t enough to justify the impact on traffic.

Caught on video: Dozens of young British bike riders swarm the streets, pulling wheelies and circling around the roadway in front of drivers, in the latest fad sweeping that’s been sweeping America’s East Coast as well as the UK.

Caught on video too: A London man uses his bikeshare bike to defend himself after a man lunges at him with a knife when he was asked to move aside so they could pass.

A British fixie rider faces up to two years behind bars after he was acquitted of manslaughter in the death of a mother of two kids when he crashed his brakeless bike into her, but was convicted under an obscure 1861 law that forbids “causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.” And yes, it’s illegal to ride brakeless in the UK.

Nice story from Wales, where an eleven-year old boy rode a bicycle for the first time after being fitted with two mechanical hands.

Wednesday marked the 104th anniversary of a Russian bicyclist completing his round-the-world ride in Harbin, China; sadly, he died three years later in World War I.

An Indian man has ridden over 11,000 miles through 12 Indian states to fight gender-based violence and injustice.

An Aussie website asks if cyclists are fair game in Australia. It’s a hard-hitting piece, and very difficult to read in places. But well worth the effort — especially since you’ll see exactly the same attitudes expressed by LA drivers.

 

Finally…

Next time, try to time your breakaway so the drawbridge rises after you go past. Who needs tires when you’ve got soles?

And riding to the right is right, except when it’s wrong.

 

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

Morning Links: Auto-centric Cal Poly becoming bike friendly, and more events to wrap up LA Bike Month

May 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Auto-centric Cal Poly becoming bike friendly, and more events to wrap up LA Bike Month

Good news from Cal Poly Pomona, for a change.

CPP professor Boyonabike! provides a wrap-up of Bike Week at the traditionally auto-centric and bike-unfriendly university. And reports that things are finally beginning to change.

The university’s new President, Dr. Soraya Coley, has been supportive of efforts to encourage alternative transportation (the previous campus president once threatened to ban bikes from campus). The campus installed new bus shelters last summer and this year we’ll be getting new bike racks and bike repair stands at several locations on campus.  Even bigger changes may be just around the corner, however.

This year the president created a new campus Transportation Advisory Committee that will take a more holistic approach to mobility, and next year’s update of the Campus Master Plan could provide a blueprint for a more bike- and transit-friendly campus.  Better transit connectivity to campus and discount student transit passes will be a priority, but it is in bike infrastructure that we may see some of the most sweeping changes.  I still can’t believe I’m writing these words, but the President recently approved installation of protected bike lanes on a stretch of Kellogg Drive that is being realigned to accommodate new student housing. Yes, you read that right.  By September 2017 there should be protected bike lanes and improved intersections on a roadway where a cyclist was killed by a distracted driver a few years ago.

That would be the best possible memorial to fallen cyclist Ivan Aguilar, to transform the university he never got to graduate from into one where no one else needs to fear for their lives, however they choose to travel.

My apologies to John Lloyd and everyone at Cal Poly; I meant to include this one last night, but lost it as I struggled to get yesterday’s post online despite a balky, and since replaced, trackpad.

………

These are the people we share the roads with.

A drunk, speeding Corvette driver gets six years for running down a 77-year old Oregon man as he rode his bicycle in a bike lane; a lawsuit is proceeding against the six bars that allowed him to achieve a BAC three and a half times the legal limit. A previous DUI (or DUII in Oregon) was dismissed after he completed a diversion program, which obviously didn’t take.

A Michigan woman faces up to five years behind bars for doing coke before running down a bike rider.

And Michigan driver was high on heroin when he fled the scene after killing a 61-year old man riding his bike on the shoulder of the roadway.

Clearly, more has to be done to keep drunk and drugged drivers off the roads. Especially if they’ve already been arrested — not merely convicted — for driving under the influence.

………

Pasadena Now recaps the hometown finish of America’s only WorldTour race.

After finishing second in her first road race, a Roseville cyclist serves as a “human shield” — otherwise known as a domestique — in the women’s tour of California.

Cycling Weekly looks at the Cima Coppi, the intense climb up the famed Stelvio — the highest point of the Giro d’Italia — named after one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Estonian cyclist Tanel Kangert is out for the season after breaking his arm and shoulder after falling in the Giro; he was the leader of the Astana team, which lost Michele Scarponi earlier this year when he was killed in a collision while training.

………

Local

The Spoke Bicycle Café along the LA River bike path in Frogtown has re-opened, after re-imagining itself as a full service restaurant.

Make your plans for the final event of LA’s Bike Month, with Metro’s Bike Night at Union Station this Friday.

Black Kids on Bikes will host the BKOB Memorial Ride 2017 this Sunday

Mark your calendar for the LA Mural Ride in Northeast LA on June 3rd.

 

State

Three hundred chefs rode three hundred miles in three days to raise funds for No Kids Hungry.

An Orange County church has built 100 bicycles for needy families.

Coronado will reduce fines for bike riders in hopes of encouraging police to write more tickets; officers sometime are reluctant to ticket bicyclists if they think the high fines aren’t justified by the offense.

An apparent road-raging driver pleads not guilty to murdering a Barstow bike rider after exchanging words with him.

Watsonville holds its first open streets event, hopefully pointing the way to a more bike friendly future.

Sacramento held an open streets event Sunday on what would normally be one of the city’s busiest streets.

 

National

People For Bikes says that connecting bikeway networks is going to be harder now that cities have built the easy “low-hanging fruit,” but worth it. Or you could do it the Los Angeles way and give up, calling the difficult ones merely “aspirational.”

A business website considers how Trek became a $1 billion global business.

Once again, the cops just don’t get it, blaming the victim of a right hook for trying undertake a right-turning driver during a Tennessee Ironman race.

The Department of DIY strikes again, as Boston bike advocates take safety messaging into their own hands, with an assist from former LA resident Bikeyface — and Matt Damon. Needless to say, the city took the signs down within hours.

A Syracuse NY cycling and speed skating coach has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with girl under 15 years old. There’s a special place in hell for people like that. And hopefully, a place behind bars for a very long time.

A DC cycling instructor offers advice on how to navigate city streets with confidence.

The war on bikes continues, as two cyclists participating in an Alabama Gran Fondo were shot at with a pellet gun, injuring one. Meanwhile, the mythical war on cars remains just that.

Once again, kind-hearted cops replace a bicycle for kid after his was stolen, this time in Georgia.

A drunk Florida driver was busted for barreling 62 mph down the road while weaving in and out of a bike path.

 

International

Mexico City becomes the latest city to elect a bike mayor. Meanwhile, Los Angeles doesn’t even have an official bike neighborhood councilmember.

Winnipeg is importing the Netherlands bike culture along with 140 single speed Dutch bikes.

Bike advocates question whether Montreal is doing enough to remain one of North America’s most bike-friendly cities.

A Conservative candidate for Parliament says she wouldn’t feel safe riding in Birmingham, England either.

Riding a bikeshare bike home from the local pub after downing a few pints in Bristol, England could get you a fine up to £2,500 — the equivalent of over $3,200.

City Lab looks at bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid’s efforts to revive Britain’s forgotten bikeway network.

Not surprisingly, a new French study shows drivers who bike are more likely to spot a bicyclist on the roadway — and less likely to run into one.

Both the cycling and motor racing worlds were in mourning today, as word broke that former MotoGP champ Nicky Hayden passed away five days after he was hit by a driver as he rode his bike in Italy. There’s something seriously wrong when a man can race a motorcycle at over 200 mph, but isn’t safe riding a bicycle.

A Philippine graduate student finds deeper meaning in learning to ride a bike for the first time.

 

Finally…

Honestly, who among us hasn’t ridden through the Tuscan countryside with a full security detail?Even Mafiosos ride bikes, though they don’t always make it home, either.

And a Brazilian cyclist gives a whole new meaning to rescuing a kittie.

 

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

A brief list of must reads for a perfect LA day

September 23, 2013 / / One comment

Just a quick note on a quiet news day in the bike world, as only a handful of stories stand out as must-reads this gorgeous Monday morning.

Over the weekend, London’s Telegraph newspaper offered an exceptionally one-sided newspaper report of people in the UK countryside complaining about those damn Wiggo-wannabe Lycra Louts ruining their peaceful roadways — without bothering to speak to a single cyclist, suggesting there is only one side worth considering in this multi-sided story. Fortunately, their competition at the Guardian skillfully deconstructs the anti-bike bias in the story, in typically polite English fashion.

There have been countless stories in recent years looking at why and how the Dutch have set the world standard for designing streets around the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. The Boston Globe offers one of the best examinations I’ve yet seen, with an eye on how we can do it here. And throws in a look at laws holding drivers automatically at fault in a collision with a vulnerable road user; the only way we’ll ever stop the careless carnage on our roads is to adopt a modified of that here.

The Times discovers LA’s ovary gang sign flashing, fem bike centric Ovarian Psycho Cycles Brigade. But as Streetsblog’s Damien Newton points out, can’t bring itself to use the word “clitoral,” as in the recent Clitoral Mass ride.

After months of saying there was nothing they could do to improve safety on campus following the death of bike riding student Ivan Aguilar, Cal Poly Pomona breaks down and does the right thing, re-striping a major campus artery to restrict the use of cars on campus.

Finally, in case you missed it, DTLA’s Spring Street green bike lane ceased to exist over the weekend, with predictable results, even though the now-colorless, rough-riding buffered bike lane remains. LADOT promises the new, less garish — and presumably, less noticeable — treatment will be down in time for CicLAvia in two weeks.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

Christine Dahab sentencing Friday, LA City Council takes up hit-and-run reform, Gardena police sued

July 26, 2013 / / 3 comments

Just a couple quick notes to wrap up a busy and exhausting day.

First up, a comment from Renee Andreassen sends word that Christine Dahab, the allegedly drunk and distracted driver who plowed into 13 bicyclists on a late night ride in Culver City in 2011, will be sentenced on Friday.

Christine Dahab, who hit 13 bicyclists June 2011 will be sentenced Friday July 26, 2013 at 
West District
Airport Courthouse,
 11701 South La Cienega Blvd.
 Los Angeles, CA 90045
 Dept D

I hope all of the victims will come to give their victim impact statements. 
I would appreciate any assistance this website can get out to those impacted by this horrible event

Dahab pleaded no contest to all charges last April, apparently including DUI causing injury and DWI with a BAC over .08 causing injury.

She was sentenced to a 90-day evaluation period in state prison pending final sentencing. So she’s already spent more time behind bars than most drivers do even in fatal collisions. And could face a lot more.

I have other obligations Friday, so if anyone attends the sentencing, please let us know how it turns out.

………

Hit-and-run rears its ugly head once again in L.A. But this time, they may actually do something about it.

From the blog of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition:

The Public Safety Committee will hear the LAPD report on Friday, July 26th at 8:30 AM in City Hall Room 1010.  Please join LACBC in requesting that the City take a leadership role to fix state law to increase penalties for hit-and-run.  You can also write the committee members at councilmember.englander@lacity.org, councildistrict15@lacity.org, councilmember.bonin@lacity.org, and councilmember.ofarrell@lacity.org.

No matter how you parse the numbers — and the LAPD has been roundly criticized for attempting to put the best face on a dismal record — the city ranks at or near the top among major cities for cowardly drivers refusing to take responsibility for their actions behind the wheel.

Fortunately, the department appears to be taking the problem seriously. And they seem to have been listening to me, with recommendations including:

  • Automatic license consequences — hopefully including revocation
  • Possible hold or forfeiture of the vehicle used in the crime
  • More significant consequences, including tougher penalty enhancements
  • Limit civil compromises
  • Extend the statute of limitations for hit-and-runs that result in death or serious injury

………

Not surprisingly, Gardena police are being sued for civil rights violations and excessive force in the shooting death of Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino, who was killed by police while trying to help recover his brother’s stolen bicycle.

Diaz-Zeferino reportedly ran up to police as they held guns on two of his friends, shouting in English that they weren’t the thieves, but were trying to help find the bike.

And that’s when they shot him eight times, including twice in the back. As well as hitting one of his friends, resulting in permanent injuries.

Not that they overreacted or anything.

………

Finally, the arraignment for Gonzalo Aranguiz Salazar, the driver accused in the death of Cal Poly Pomona bike rider Ivan Aguilar, has been postponed until September.

Salazar faces a single misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. The relatively light charge may reflect the fact that was reportedly Aguilar riding against traffic, as many students do in that location, due to a lack of safe bicycling infrastructure.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway to make much-needed bike and pedestrian safety improvements on campus.

Hopefully before someone else gets killed.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Law Enforcement, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Charge filed in death of bike-riding Cal Poly Pomona student Ivan Aguilar; is the university really at fault?

May 30, 2013 / / 11 comments

A bike-riding college student is dead.

The driver who took his life faces a relative slap on the wrist.

And the campus where he was killed appears to be doing little or nothing to protect cyclists on campus.

Instead, Cal Poly Pomona seems to be hiding behind California’s devastating 85th Percentile Law to justify plans to raise speed limits on campus, making it even more dangerous for anyone on foot or two wheels.

Or at least, that was the gist of a Twitter conversation I had with representatives of the school Wednesday morning.

The outpouring of grief that followed the death of Cal Poly Pomona student and cyclist Ivan Aguilar should have spurred immediate action to tame what is reportedly dangerously out of control traffic on campus, where numerous students have reported feeling unsafe walking or biking.

Yet four months later, no changes have been made to protect students and faculty — not even on the street where Aguilar lost his life. And none are currently planned.

In fact, the school’s new 2013 traffic study doesn’t even include the words bicycle, bicyclist or pedestrian, according to a story by Beau Yarbrough in the Daily Bulletin.

Kind of makes it hard to make meaningful improvements when nothing is considered except speeding motor vehicle traffic flow.

Although to be fair, they have talked about bikes.

Key word being, talked.

But traffic plans that don’t even consider non-motorized transportation show just how out of touch campus leaders are. And how far the school has to go to make it safe for anyone, let alone everyone, whether on two feet, two wheels or four.

Apparently, those students are right to be afraid.

Especially when the death of a popular and promising young man leads to nothing more serious than a misdemeanor charge with a maximum penalty of just one year in county jail.

According to the Daily Bulletin, CPP Civil Engineering student Gonzalo Aranguiz Salazar will face a charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.

In other words, pretty much the mildest charge authorities could file under the circumstances, while still holding someone accountable for the death.

Is that justice?

I have no idea.

I’ve yet to see any description from any source of how the collision occurred. No word whatsoever on how fast the driver was going, or if he broke any traffic laws leading up to the impact with Aguilar.

Apparently, it’s on a need to know basis.  And no one with knowledge of the investigation seems to think you or I need to know.

We’re just expected to accept that the charges are fair and appropriate given the top secret circumstances.

Sort of like we’re supposed to trust that campus administrators have the safety of their students at heart, on a campus that does not include a single inch of bicycling infrastructure.

Beverly Hills, meet your collegiate counterpart.

In all honesty, I’m not sure Salazar is the one who should be facing charges.

But you can’t charge a college with living in the auto-centric past and favoring motorists at the expense of every other road user. As much as it may be deserved.

But something tells me Cal Poly Pomona won’t make the list of bicycle-friendly universities anytime soon.

Update: Gottobike forwards a quote from American bike racer Ted King that seems oddly appropriate to this discussion:

It is impossible to find solutions when you’re busy making excuses.

And Boyonabike reminds me of something I let slide from the Daily Bulletin story about the Salazar charge, and shouldn’t have. 

The story quotes Megan Chaney, director of Clinical Programs and Experiential Learning and Associate Professor of Law at the University of La Verne College of Law, explaining why a misdemeanor charge may be appropriate in this case.

“A lot of time when somebody plows into somebody in a crosswalk or an intersection, it’s just an accident,” Chaney said Wednesday. “We put the onus, the responsibility on the driver, not the pedestrian, unless they’ve done something really horrible….”

“You’re allowed to look at the radio; that’s why you’ve got a radio. You drop your water bottle and look down to pick it up,” she said. “You really weren’t acting with any sort of criminal culpability. “

That’s the problem.

As a society, we’ve chosen not to hold drivers responsible for all but the most extreme actions behind the wheel. The collisions that result from carelessness, distraction or relatively minor violations of the law are excused as mere accidents, and left for the insurance companies to deal with, with little or no consequences for the drivers involved.

And that’s why we continue to have 30,000 +/- deaths on American streets each year.

It may be the current legal standard. 

But actions that result in the death or serious injuries of others should never be accepted. Or excused. Motor vehicles are, by their very nature, dangerous machines, and their operators can and should be expected to use the same caution behind the wheel that we expect from those involved in any other hazardous situation.

When life is taken more seriously than simple convenience on our streets, then — and only then — will anyone be safe on our streets.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Maybe Cal Poly Pomona doesn’t care how many students die if they get to raise the speed limits

May 29, 2013 / / 8 comments

Evidently one dead cyclist isn’t enough, as a new Cal Poly Pomona traffic study completely ignores bike and pedestrian safety.

In fact, the study — released under a Freedom of Information request — actually urges raising speed limits for motor vehicles, rather than doing anything to encourage non-motorized transportation. Or protect the lives and safety of those who bravely choose to use it in spite of the campus administration’s apparent disregard for anyone who travels on less than four wheels.

According to an article in the Daily News,

The words “bicycle,” “bicyclist” and “pedestrian” do not appear anywhere in the 2013 traffic study document.

It’s the same story with the 2006-2007 traffic study, which was released a year after student Matthew Myers was struck and killed in a crosswalk on Kellogg Drive, a tenth of a mile west of University Drive, across from Parking Lot F-9…

The article quotes the university’s Executive Director of Public Affairs as saying people just don’t understand how difficult it is to add speed bumps or bike lanes on campus, saying a simple bike lane on Kellogg Drive would cause traffic to back up onto I-10.

Right.

Give me a brush and a bucket of paint, and I’ll show them just how easy it is.

It’s shameful when a major university, which is supposed to be dedicated to critical thinking, can’t manage to look past their own dangerously outdated auto-centric windshield perspective to develop safety solutions that would benefit everyone on, arriving to or leaving campus.

And then manages to talk out of both sides of their mouths by promising to improve bike and pedestrian safety while proposing to place students and staff even more at the mercy of motor vehicles by to increasing speeds on campus and refusing to lift a finger to calm traffic.

Seriously, if I was a parent, I would think twice about sending my child to a school that evidently doesn’t give a damn about the safety of their students. Especially the ones who choose not to travel by motor vehicle.

There are plenty of other California colleges and universities that do.

Maybe the students and faculty need to stop calling for improved safety. And demand a school administration that gets it, instead.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

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On the first day of New York’s new bike share program, a writer for the self-proclaimed supportive but failure-fearing Daily News seems to like it, while another suggests the city will probably survive — even if the program doesn’t include helmets. Meanwhile, the frequently anti-bike New York Post gleefully announced the first Citi Bike bicycle theft occurred before the bike could even be installed. A protester claims Paris would never put a bike share station in front of the Louvre, but a photo proves him wrong. A writer for London’s Guardian says the clumsy Mikes Bikes just make him want a less clumsy one of his own. And the Times calls it a tie in four races across town.

The program is even popular with the city’s candidates for mayor, who have fallen over themselves in criticizing Bloomberg’s efforts to increase cycling facilities. And two days in, calamity has yet to strike.

The world hasn’t come to an end, either.

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An Indiegogo campaign has two weeks left to raise $3000 to send an eight-member foster family to CicLAvia.

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Local cyclist Weshigh captures a dangerous driver on video, as the jerk — which seems to be the mildest word appropriate to the situation — passes a small group of cyclists on their right using the parking lane, then flips them off as he drives away. Before getting stuck in traffic, that is, allowing them to capture his license number.

Maybe it’s just me, but I swear I can hear lawyers lining up to try out L.A.’s still untested cyclist anti-harassment ordinance.

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The next in an endless series of community meetings to discuss planned bike lanes in Northeast L.A. takes place on Monday, June 3rd. Despite the hysteria over bike lanes in NELA., the fire department isn’t concerned. A business owner says parking is the real problem in Eagle Rock, not bike lanes. The top 22 bike stories so far in 2013; L.A. checks in at #19. Boyonabike — quoted in the Daily News article that kicks off today’s post — examines the recent LACBC panel discussion I participated in, along with the Bike Safe guide it promoted. Glendale could see $57 million in improvements, including new bicycle facilities throughout the city. Learn to ride safely in Long Beach this Sunday. Long Beach plans to separate bike riders and pedestrians on the beach bike path, which oddly brings opposition from beach advocates.

The Inland Empire checks in as the nation’s 6th most deadly areas for cyclists and pedestrians. Get $5000 to design and build an artistic bike rack, as Palm Springs works to become bike friendlier. While L.A. worries about protecting Hollywood locations instead of cyclists, San Diego riders get their fourth green bike lane in just weeks, including this good looking lane on Montezuma Road; thanks to Monet Diamonte for the heads-up. A series of bike corrals is coming to Coronado. A Fresno bike trail with get an underpass beneath a busy street, a year too late to save a seven-year old bike rider. Meanwhile, a 19-year old Fresno State student is killed in a collision with a big rig, while the battle over Fresno bike lanes goes on. NorCal’s MonkeyLectric ups their game with the programmable Monkey Light Pro wheel light system; I’m a big fan of their earlier, non-programmable Mini Monkey Light, which offers a fun, playful way to not get run over at night.

How not to buy a bike in seven steps. So much for contrition, as Lance still hasn’t said “I’m sorry” to the people he bullied or for the lives he ruined. An Everett WA writer says watch out for passer-aggressive motorists. Your guide to riding in Colorado; even I only did some of these rides when I lived there. Despite a significant decline in Colorado traffic fatalities, cycling deaths are going the wrong way — up 44% since 2002. Denver bike thieves are caught on camera. Signup begins for Chicago’s upcoming bike share. Boston researchers find helmet laws reduce deaths and injuries for riders under 16 by 20%, but fail to consider possible reductions in ridership levels that could more than account for their findings; oddly, though, it appears you actually have to wear one before it does any good. One of my favorite bike bloggers is now the proud owner of a new Boston bike shop. Florida’s governor shoots down a planned 275-mile cross-state bike and pedestrian trail.

Mexican TV shames people for driving in the bike lane; I wish someone would do that here. A Canadian writer points the finger at those murderous, spandex-clad cyclists speeding down the bike path; yes, you and I are apparently the root of all evil. Or maybe it’s just me. A British Columbia bike rider apparently collides with a pedestrian before fatally falling in front of a bus. A Victoria writer says the road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but it doesn’t have bike lanes. An Ontario driver gets 4-1/2 years for killing a cyclist while binging on coke. A Toronto bike commuter rants after a close call while riding. Top Gear’s frequent anti-bike ranter Jeremy Clarkson has become one of us, but still can’t resist a few digs. A London study shows free parking is less important than most retailers think. A quick-thinking London cyclist saves a toddler from drowning in the Thames. Police suspect a Brit fixie rider of bike theft because he wasn’t wearing Lycra. Another favorite sometimes bike blogger explains why Scot cyclists pedaled on Parliament. Biking in Britain is actually safer than you might think. Ten lessons from this year’s Giro, including the indisputable fact that 2013 winner Vincenzo Nibali is a badass. A careless Kiwi driver crashes into a kids bike safety class.

Finally, if you’re already facing a life sentence for having three strikes under Louisiana’s habitual offender law, don’t ride on the sidewalk with marijuana in your shoe and coke in your hat. Although I have to admit, that’s about the flimsiest excuse for a probable-cause pat down I’ve ever heard.

And an 11-year old astutely observes “When you drive, the Earth smokes.”

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

Update — 21-year old bicyclist killed on campus of Cal Poly Pomona

February 28, 2013 / / 13 comments

News is just coming in that a bike rider was killed early this afternoon while riding on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.

According to the San Bernardino County Sun, the 21-year old student was riding north on Kellogg Drive near South Campus Drive around 1 pm when he was struck by a southbound motorist; the victim has not been publicly identified pending notification of next of kin. The driver is also a student at the university.

The victim was transferred to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

No other details are available at this time.

However, judging by the photograph that accompanies the article, it looks as though the victim may have been riding against traffic, as the skid marks and debris appear to be confined to the southbound lane.

This is the sixth bike rider killed in Southern California this year, and the third in Los Angeles County. That compares with 10 deaths in SoCal this time last year.

My sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family.

Update: The Cal Poly Pomona student newspaper has identified the victim as 21-year old communications student and Pomona resident Ivan Arturo Aguilar, putting the time of the collision at 12:45 pm.

“I think the whole campus is in mourning,” said Director of Public Affairs Uyen Mai. “Ivan was only 21 years old and was full of potential. It certainly feels like a tragic loss of life and we imagine his family and friends are going through an excruciating time. We want to share our deepest sympathies with his family and friends during this time.”

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

Counseling is available for witnesses, as well as any other faculty, students or staff disturbed by the collision. The Polycentric website lists times for Friday. 

Meanwhile, CPP professor and bike blogger Boyonabike foresaw something like this, writing just last week about the very same street where today’s collision occurred. He calls for bike lanes, as well as road diets and stop signs — and greater enforcement — on the campus’ three main access roads.

In addition to bike lanes, other traffic calming strategies should be employed, insofar as many drivers reach speeds upwards of 45 mph on these roads (the posted speed limits are lower, but there is little traffic speed enforcement on these roads, and the wide lanes and lack of stop signs implicitly encourage speeding).  Near collisions are a regular occurrence, as I witnessed one recent weekday when a car traveling an estimated 40-plus mph nearly missed another car making a left turn in its path (see photo below).  The high speeds understandably deter people from bicycling on these roads, despite the fact that they are the most convenient routes to the main campus.

The full post is worth reading — especially by campus administrators, who could have done something to prevent this tragedy.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late for Aguilar. 

Maybe now they’ll listen, and do something to improve safety for everyone on campus before it happens again.

We can hope, anyway.

Update 2: Friends of Aguilar have set up a memorial Facebook page offering a number of photos, while a another remembers him as a good guy who was always there for his friends. 

CLR Effect notes that a memorial ride and ghost bike installation has been scheduled for next Thursday, March 7th — one week from the day and time Aguilar was killed — starting at 11:30 am.

Update 3: The Daily News remembers Aguilar as a role model who lit up a room when entered. 

Update 4: I’ve added a notation above that Ivan Aguilar was a resident of Pomona; I’m told his family is from Azuza. KNBC-4 reports on the grief felt by his friends and fellow students.

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

Malibu PCH workshop tonight, hats off to Cal Poly planner, and psych test for road rager Louis Mraz

April 4, 2012 / / Comments Off on Malibu PCH workshop tonight, hats off to Cal Poly planner, and psych test for road rager Louis Mraz

There’s still time to make it to Malibu for this evening’s public workshop to discuss the Bike Route Improvements Project along PCH through the west part of the ‘Bu.

Cyclists trying to get to that soon-to-be improved bike route by fighting their way through the east part of PCH are still on their own.

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A Cal Poly Pomona student has received a national fellowship for her research paper on Evaluating Demand for Bicycle Facilities in Community-Based Bicycle Planning, with an emphasis on minority and low-income communities.

Her work showed that bike use is higher in areas with household incomes less than $30,000 and commute times of less than 15 minutes. And that communities should target their efforts where there is both the greatest need and highest potential for increased usage.

Congratulations to Edna Cruz. Sounds like she’s got a great future in planning.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

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Following the death of San Diego cyclist David Ortiz — and the inexplicably inaccurate statements from the police — San Diego bicyclists will ride in his honor on Wednesday afternoon. And protest the unnecessarily dangerous conditions on the street where he was killed.

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Maybe he’s just nuts.

Road raging driver Louis Mraz, convicted of intentionally running down cyclist Winona Wacker in Highland Park, has been ordered to have a 90-day mental health evaluation before he’s sentenced; sentencing has been moved to June 29th.

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I love this piece from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on complaints about the new PA four-foot passing law. For a change, the writer clearly gets it when it comes to comparing the threat posed by cyclists and motorists.

I’ll point out here that I ride a bicycle from time to time, but almost never in traffic. It’s not because I’m scared to death of being mowed down by a careless, lawbreaking bicyclist.

Definitely worth the click.

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The first ticket for violating Pennsylvania’s new four-foot passing law comes just 15 hours after it goes into effect; hats off to the bus driver who blocked traffic to keep a hit-and-run driver from fleeing after he failed to give a rider four feet by running over his ass.

On the other hand, there are few things more ridiculous than comments from law enforcement that three — or in this case, four — foot passing distance is unenforceable unless there’s an actual collision.

A cop may not be able to to tell when a car is passing a cyclist at 2’8” instead of a full three feet. But any cop who can’t tell the difference between a foot or two and a yard or more has got serious problems.

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Damien Newton says the distracted driving zombies just aren’t going to cut it. More great photos from the recent Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer hill climbing stage race. LADOT wants your input on how to make Yucca Street bicycle friendly. The Real Rydaz are hosting a ride through South L.A. on July 1st, even if money and Metro is keeping CicLAvia from venturing there. Metro wants you to promise, cross your heart, that you’ll ride during Bike to Work Week next month. LADOT attempts to address an ongoing problem with a new campaign urging people to keep their trash bins out of the bike lanes. The newly issued Request for Proposals to reconstruct Santa Monica Blvd through the biking black hole of Beverly Hills includes instructions to consider bike lanes in both directions; it’s a start, anyway. Meanwhile, Beverly Hills announces public workshops for their upcoming Bike Route Pilot project; personally, I’d like to see separated cycle tracks on Rodeo Drive. Kick off the month-long lead-up to the BikeFest Tour of Long Beach with a free bike tune-up and tricycle races at Miller’s Children Hospital starting at Wednesday.

A Newport Beach cyclist is injured in a dooring; thanks to David Huntsman for the tip. Our neighbor to the south completes another 1.8 mile segment of what will eventually be a 24 mile bikeway around the San Diego Bay. Bike San Diego’s Sam Ollinger recaps day two of last month’s National Bike Summit. Visalia cyclists get their first sharrows, and unlike other cities I could name (cough: Los Angeles), an explanation of what they are. A San Francisco cyclist is severely beaten and robbed in an early morning attack. My favorite reality TV show are the L.A. police car chases that air intermittently on our local stations; now Cyclelicious offers proof that bicyclists can get in on the fun, too — even at 60 mph.

Ten things you need for a long-distance bike tour, starting with, yes, a bike. A new Albuquerque bike and pedestrian bridge will let cyclists cross I-25, while providing easy access to a strip club. Eight Denver cyclists are ticketed and their bikes impounded during the city’s first Critical Mass in four year. North Dakota cyclists push for bike lanes on a main street. The Springfield Cyclist calls your attention to the guy who didn’t crash in the Tour of Flanders. Chicago cyclists just want more police to enforce traffic laws — and stop parking in the bike lanes. Attention planning types, the bicycling director position for the city of Boston is about to open up; if they decide they don’t need an actual planner, let me know. That 90-year old New York trike rider is just a youngster compared to a couple riders here on the left coast. Louisiana considers legalizing sidewalk riding.

Toronto cyclists vow to fight the removal of existing bike lanes. A British bike rider complains about the lack of women in a bike company’s marketing brochure; seems to be a problem with a lot of companies that should know better. Helmet cams are bringing justice to UK streets. York city leaders step up to make their streets less safe for cyclists. England’s 125-year old Raleigh bicycle company is about to go Dutch. Edinburgh starts a new campaign to get cyclists in bike boxes, and keep drivers out. Germany wins the women’s world team sprint title, setting a new world’s record twice in the process. A badly broken collarbone has pro cyclist Fabian Cancellara down but not out, at least not for long. After being stripped of his title, and apparent time off for good behavior, ex-2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador plans to race in this year’s Vuelta. Oddly, the Tour of the Basque Country goes nowhere near Bakersfield; Spain’s Samuel Sanchez leads after three stages. An Aussie scientist gets 10 years for deliberately running down his bike-riding boss.

Finally, Good busts nine bike myths; then again, there’s at least that many reasons why you shouldn’t ride to work, right?

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Legal Cases, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,
 
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