Tag Archive for Caltrans

PCH public workshops back on the table, support bike lanes on Vermont Ave, and pedestrian safety expo next month

March 25, 2025 / / One comment
Day 84 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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SoCal’s killer highway is back on the table.

Caltrans has rescheduled the public workshops to consider the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study to improve safety on the deadly roadway, which remains one of the state’s most popular riding routes, despite a glaring lack of safe infrastructure.

The previously scheduled meetings were postponed due to the Palisades Fire.

Here’s what their press release says.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FOR THE PCH MASTER PLAN FEASIBILITY STUDY

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Malibu invite the public to the Round Three workshops for the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study on April 9 (in-person), April 16 (virtual) and May 12 (virtual). The first three public workshops in July 2024 (Round One) gathered input from residents, businesses and other stakeholders to identify safety priorities for the highway. Based on that input, Caltrans held three more workshops on Aug. 28, Sept. 12 and Oct. 23, 2024 (Round Two), focused on presenting and soliciting feedback on design alternatives and other recommendations to improve safety on PCH. Following Round Two, Caltrans developed a draft of the Study that it will present during the upcoming workshops (Round Three). At the Wednesday, April 9, meeting, Caltrans will formally release the Study to the public and begin the 60-day public review period.

The upcoming workshops will also cover two PCH pavement rehabilitation projects in the cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Malibu, which aim to extend the pavement service life and improve ride quality for motorists on PCH from Santa Monica to the Los Angeles/Ventura County line. Community members are invited to participate in these workshops to learn about the latest updates and provide input.

For more information, please visit the project website or e-mail: 07-pchmpfs@publicinput.com.

Click here to register for the April meeting, or here for the May workshop.

Photo from the Caltrans press release.

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Streets For All is calling for support for bike lanes on Vermont Ave at Thursday’s Metro board meeting.

Something that’s required under Measure HLA as part of the city’s mobility plan when the street is re-striped to install bus lanes, even if Metro’s lawyers don’t seem to agree.

On Thursday the Metro board has an item on its agenda (Item 9) to approve the LPA (locally preferred alternative) for the Vermont Bus Rapid Transit Project.

Vermont Ave has more bus riders than any other street in LA County, and we think BRT on this street is one of the highest impact transit projects in the region. We are incredibly supportive of the project.

However, Vermont is also one of the most dangerous streets in LA with nearly 50 people killed in the last decade. Despite this, Metro has aggressively pushed back on implementing Measure HLA‘s required bike lanes as part of the Vermont BRT project.

If the bike lanes don’t go in during this project, when Metro is doing the expensive work (curb ramps, repaving, etc.), then the City of Los Angeles will be fully responsible for implementing them at a later time, entirely on its own dime.

At a time when both road deaths and the City’s budget deficit are at a record high, we cannot afford to not implement the bike lanes as part of this project.

Click the link for tips on how to help.

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LA Public Health is hosting a pedestrian safety expo in Roosevelt Park on Friday, April 11th.

And yes, it matters, because we’re all pedestrians at some point (click here if the tweet/xeet doesn’t embed).

https://twitter.com/heybikela/status/1904350768951673220

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

No bias here. A right-wing group called for a DOGE-style crackdown on “unethical” British bicycling and walking advocacy group Sustrans, and its “taxpayer-funded, deeply unpopular, and undemocratic restrictions on motorists.” Um, sure. Because nothing is more unethical than taking an inch of road space from overly entitled drivers. 

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

A 49-year old man was killed as he exited his double-parked car and was struck by New York food delivery rider on an ebike who reportedly blew through a stop sign.

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Local  

No news is good news, right?

 

State

San Diego public TV and radio station KBPS examines the city’s new draft Street Design Manual, which calls for narrower lanes and more options for protected bike lanes, but still allows slip lanes and right turns on red.

Downtown Temecula will get a trio of new green bike lanes, replacing the current white-striped lanes to make them more visible.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a 59-year old man was killed when he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle. And no, ABC10, he did not “collide with” the car, someone driving a car crashed into him — as the story itself says in the second paragraph, contradicting the headline and lede. 

 

National

Around 70 Portlanders rode in support of a Palestinian paracycling team 7,000 miles away.

Denver is releasing the year’s first round of ebike vouchers, offering $450 off a standard ebike or $1,400 for an adaptive ebike. Meanwhile, California has only managed to release a single extremely throttled round of vouchers, limiting it to just a tiny fraction of the demand. 

About “100 real-life human beings” turned out for a Chicago bike ride to call for replacing parking spaces with a protected bike lane on an Uptown street.

Untapped New York introduces the bicycling advocates who are keeping up the good fight for better bike infrastructure, despite Trump’s freeze on federal funding.

Philadelphia bike riders are happy to see plans call for a protected bike lane on a bridge over the Schuylkill River, but don’t like the two-way design that doesn’t line up with existing bike lanes on either side.

Speaking of Philly, a bike lane placed in the middle of a neighborhood sidewalk is drawing mixed reactions. So let me simplify this: Sidewalk level bike lanes good, bike lanes in the middle of the sidewalk bad.

 

International

Momentum offers a beginners guide to getting started with bike commuting.

A new British study shows the safety in numbers hypothesis even applies to e-scooters, finding the presence of e-scooters appears to result in a 20 percent reduction in the risk of bicycling collisions.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 20-year old man will spend just 13 years behind bars for murdering a 34-year old father-to-be, in what began as an effort to retrieve a stolen ebike, and escalated to a series of threatening emails and roadside arguments before the killer stabbed the victim to death; two other men who were with the killer at the time of the stabbing were arrested, but not charged.

You still have time to make it to Liège, Belgium for Bike Week.

 

Competitive Cycling

UCI’s Track Cycling League bit the dust, killed by an apparent lack of interest after just five events in four years; it will be replaced by a new Track World Cup.

Double Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard is back to gentle training after suffering a concussion earlier this month when he crashed during Paris-Nice.

Thirty-nine-year old Los Angeles-based former pro and current author Phil Gaimon will be honored with the Legends Award at next month’s Redlands Bicycle Classic, a race he won in 2012 and 2015.

 

Finally….

Start bike commuting, and say goodbye to road rage. Your next ebike could be a boat, or a camper. Or both.

And that feeling when you think you could do a better job of restructuring the government than Elon Musk, and offer your services as a bike-making outsider.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

The air you breathe sucks, congestion pricing creates a biketopia, and flushing money down induced-demand toilet

March 12, 2025 / / No comments
Day 71 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

You can blame my internet provider for going down around midnight.

Or you can blame a virus so nice I caught it twice, which made me hope it didn’t come back so I could go back to bed. 

Good times. 

Photo by Khunkorn Laowisit from Pexels. 

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No surprise here.

A new study says most of the world’s population breathes dirty air, with just 17% of the world’s cities meeting pollution guidelines.

Although studies have been split on whether bicyclists breathe cleaner air than people stuck in cars, or whether we suck in more smog than drivers do.

And no, it’s not comforting to learn just how bad the air in cars really is, whether or not ours is better.

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They get it.

Wired says New York’s congestion pricing shows that if you want build a biketopia, just make it harder to drive, as fewer cars make it easier to ride a bicycle.

“Even in this unusually cold winter, we’re seeing more people biking since congestion pricing took effect,” says Ken Podziba, president and CEO of the advocacy nonprofit Bike New York. “But the real excitement will come with warmer weather, as we witness a dramatic shift—fewer cars and more bikes filling the city streets.”

To Podziba’s point, what might happen when the temperature ticks up? Will Manhattan suddenly look like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, or Oslo, the latter two of which recently joined the trend of centering bicycle transport in their urban design? And if ridership skyrockets, will the city take the lead from its legion of bike riders and implement more and safer means for people to traverse the city via bike?

Let’s hope so.

And let’s hope Los Angeles is paying attention.

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Caltrans continues to flush money down the induced-demand toilet, with a $779 million construction project to “reduce traffic congestion while speeding up travel times” on the 91 Freeway.

But as we’ve seen with other highway projects, like the failed $1 billion project to reconfigure the 405 Freeway over the Sepulveda Pass that only resulted in more congestion, it’s more likely to have the opposite effect while making the deadly highway even deadlier.

Yet they continue to fund projects like this, despite requirements for Complete Streets and aligning highway projects with the state’s clean air goals.

Did I mention it will also make air quality even worse?

But at least this one will include sidewalk improvements and bike lanes. Although they could have just skipped the whole highway thing and spent the money on bike lanes and sidewalks throughout Orange County instead.

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LADOT wants your input this evening on a plan to extend the LA River bike path about a mile west through Griffith Park.

I mean, what’s not to like?

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I don’t know if this is a commentary on the sad state of the bike business, or the sad state of American health insurance.

Or both.

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

The bikelash is spreading, as the formerly bike-friendly mayor of Boston says she’s going to review and rip out some of the city’s bus and bike lanes.

No surprise here. A Toronto advocacy group has filed a lawsuit to keep Ontario’s anti-bike leaders from ripping out that city’s bike lanes.

No bias here. An Edinburgh, Scotland newspaper mistook a TikTok video of a bicyclist as the real thing, with the audio overlaid with British comedian Dom Joly’s Angry Cyclist routine, yelling about people in bike lanes. And elephants.

No bias here, either. After an Irish bike rider reported a punishment pass, a cop told him he was breaking the law by not riding in the bike lane, even though that is only required on a small number of streets.

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

A news site lists the rules of the road for riding in France — and what it will cost you if you break them.

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Local  

The rich get richer, as bike-friendly Santa Monica unveiled new curb-protected bike lanes and crosswalks on 26th Street leading to and from the Expo, uh, E Line’s Bergamot Station.

South El Monte celebrated the opening of the San Gabriel Valley’s first curb-level protected bike lane.

 

State

Circulate San Diego submitted letters in support of grant applications for a trio of bike and infrastructure projects.

Palo Alto’s city council voted unanimously to make two “popular but polarizing” carfree streets that way permanently.

San Francisco Streetsblog says a new protected intersection is a great project with a big flaw, since bicyclists will no longer be able to ride directly across the street.

Santa Rosa released the city’s draft active transportation plan, calling for buffered and protected bike lanes, new sidewalks and better crosswalks. But as we’ve learned the hard way, plans like that mean nothing without funding and political support.

 

National

National Geographic takes a look at the cross-country Great American Rail-Trail, and says start with the “epic sections” already open in Washington State.

The trial of teen driver Jesus Ayala for the thrill-kill murder of retired Bell, California police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst as he rode a bike in Las Vegas has been delayed until September.

This is who we share the road with. A Vermont cop, who really should have known better, was watching YouTube when he killed a man riding a bicycle while driving his patrol car, then kept going before apparently thinking better of it and turning around. Maybe he just wanted to finish the video first. Thanks to Todd Munson for the heads-up. 

Cambridge, Massachusetts is opening a lottery system for vouchers giving low-income residents up to $3,000 for a standard bicycle, ebike or cargo bike.

That’s more like it. A Philadelphia woman was sentenced to up to 15 years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a 32-year old “avid cyclist,” and her boyfriend sentenced to one-to-two years for helping her cover it up.

 

International

Find your passport and start packing for next month’s London Tweed Ride, which Momentum calls “the quirkiest bicycle tour on the planet.”

Seriously? The head of the British Mansfield Town soccer team says he really doesn’t care about the backlash to forward Lucas Akins starting a match just hours after pleading guilty to killing a man riding a bicycle.

Talk about doing it the hard way. A father of four in the UK says he’s going to ride 280 miles while fasting during the month of Ramadan to raise money for charity.

Britain’s governing body for bicycling announced a “bold” plan to get more people riding bikes and cement the country’s status as a bicycling nation, while safety experts complained about the plan’s failure to address the dangers faced by people on bicycles.

A Conservative MP in the UK calls for mandatory bike bells on every bicycle. Even though your voice works much better, and doesn’t require taking your hands off your drops. Assuming you have them, of course.  

A German website says Bremen has become one of the country’s best cities for bicycling.

A South African website lists five of the world’s most beautiful bike rides. And for once, PCH from San Francisco south deservedly makes the list. 

 

Finally….

Los Angeles bike riders may have to deal with bad roads, but we hardly ever have to contend freezing and thawing conditions. Part Congressional campaign worker, part accused bike thief.

And how one person learned to stop worrying and love flat tires.

No, really.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

New bill requires quick-build bikeways on CA highways, turns out swearing is damn good for you, and mind the bridge gap

March 5, 2025 / / No comments
Day 64 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Maybe there’s hope for Caltrans yet.

That’s because a new bill introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who represents a sprawling district stretching from Santa Monica to Glendale, would require the agency to develop quick-build bike lane and intersection projects on state highways.

Streetsblog defines a quick build project as a “temporary, easily adjustable infrastructure improvement that can be installed rapidly using readily available materials,” installed as a pilot project to gauge community feedback, or as a temporary placeholder for a larger, more permanent project.

The point of the bill, AB 891, is to get something on the street quickly while reducing planning and engineering costs, rather than waiting years to go through the usual process that moves with the speed of a snail stuck in molasses.

According to Streetsblog,

Santa Monica has made use of quick-build projects on local streets in recent years. Some examples: the plastic-bollard parking protected bike lane on Broadway in 2023,  a series of Safe Routes to School’s Projects also in 2023, and the city is planning to use quick build for the East Pico Safety Project.

One example of a state highway that would benefit from this legislation is the Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1. Following a high-profile fatal crash in 2023, the City of Malibu has worked with the state to change the character of the highway which currently features high speed limits, beautiful views of the ocean and mountains and high volumes of bicycle traffic.

We can only hope.

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Good news for all of us who struggle to control our language after getting cut off by a driver, or yet another too-close pass.

And by us, I mean me.

Because new research shows that swearing can increase hypoalgesia, aka improve your tolerance for pain.

Foul language has also been shown to improve physical strength, improve memory, bolster social bonds, and ease the pain of rejection.

So go the hell ahead and swear up a mother-effing blue streak.

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Finish The Ride is going back to the beach to finish the job they started.

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Clear your schedule this Sunday for the first ever Cargopalooza.

Weather looking good. Bring the family along the LA River Bike Path Sunday for our first Cargopalooza!@bikinginla.bsky.social @streetsforall.org @streetsblogla.bsky.social gravelbikecalifornia.com/cargopalooza…

— CiclaValley (@ciclavalley.bsky.social) 2025-03-05T00:08:44.173Z

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Yeah, this British ad kinda gets the point across.

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

Bloomington, Indiana wants bike riders to stop not stopping, as the city council votes to re-install stop signs along a protected bike path, after they were removed because bicyclists complained about losing their momentum having to repeatedly stop while riding up and down hills. And because there was no reason to have them there in the first place, let alone the second place. Thanks to Ben Fulton for the heads-up. 

An Irish bike advocacy group highlights the anti-bike lies, exaggerations, misinformation and disinformation that local leaders take all too seriously.

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Local  

Pasadena explains California’s new Daylighting Law that prevents parking within 20 feet of an intersection, but doesn’t say when the city will begin enforcement.

Pasadena’s iconic Colorado Street Bridge will close to cars for a one-night party on July 19th, but you’ll need a ticket to take part.

 

State

San Diego will take advantage of a 2022 state law addressing “speed creep” due to the deadly 85th Percentile Law by reducing speed limits on 17 road segments.

 

National

A writer for Bicycling says modern bike computers can tell you everything but what time it is. This time you can read it on MSN if the magazine blocks you.

US bikemakers say if you want a bargain on a new bicycle, buy it now before Trump’s tariffs take hold.

Your next bicycling sunglasses could have a built-in dashcam and AI-powered heads-up display.

A Nebraska man traveled 400 miles to testify in support of a bill to stiffen penalties for drivers who kill bicyclists, after the drunk driver who killed his 76-year old father got off with a lousy year behind bars and a thousand dollar fine.

Georgia legislators apparently put more value on the wallets of drivers than the lives of school kids, as they push to ban speed cameras in school zones.

 

International

Canada’s National Observer say ebike sales are booming, and the country’s cities and laws need to catch up or squander the opportunity.

A new report says one out of every ten Lime bikes on London streets has bad brakes, which could be just a tad inconvenient.

A professional football, uh, soccer player for England’s third tier Mansfield Town appeared in court to plead guilty to killing a 33-year old man riding a bicycle by “careless or inconsiderate driving,” which has a maximum five-year sentence, then started a match for his team team just hours later.

Women now make up a quarter of the membership of Cycling UK, the country’s national bicycling nonprofit.

Residents of the Netherlands bought 858,000 new bicycles last year, a drop of 7% over the year before, while nearly half were ebikes.

A European environmental website profiles Olso, Norway’s cargo bicyclist, who traded his delivery truck for a box cargo bike.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website says you need a mountain bike to improve your riding skills.

 

Finally….

Your next e-foldie could fit in a suitcase. Who wouldn’t want purple bike brakes — or a Grateful Dead ebike, for that matter?

And that’s one way to open a gate.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Altadena gets post-fire Bicycle Friendly Community mention, CA car-dependency, and a bizarre anti-bike blvd rant

January 29, 2025 / / 4 comments
Day 29 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Well, that was fun. 

We ended up taking the corgi to the vet yesterday for emergency treatment, after we pulled a grape stem out of her mouth Monday night.

That’s because grapes are highly toxic for dogs; even a single grape can be fatal a dog many times her size.

Five hours, $1200 and a shit ton of fluids later, she came back home with a clean bill of health, aside from a little inflammation that should resolve in a few days.  

Good times. 

So you’ll excuse me if I’m a little distracted and emotionally frazzled while I work on this tonight. 

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Great timing. No, really.

The League of American Bicyclists, aka the Bike League, announced their latest list of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities yesterday, along with eight Honorable Mentions.

And only one of those was in Southern California.

Altadena.

Yes, that Altadena. The one that was left devastated and largely destroyed by the Eaton Fire earlier this month.

The city earned an Honorable Mention citation in their first attempt, in recognition of its efforts to improve safety and bikeability on their streets.

Of course, an honorable mention is like a pat on the head saying nice try, but keep working at it, even as much of the city will need to be rebuild from the ground up.

Meanwhile, Cheyenne, Wyoming was named a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community, something that would have been unthinkable back in the day, when I feared for my life dodging pickups and cowboy Cadillacs the few times I had the temerity to even try riding north from my Colorado hometown.

Then again, Los Angeles has been a Bronze Level BFC for over a dozen years, so that may not be saying much.

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No surprise here. Okay, maybe a little.

A new report from auto-parts retailer Motointegrator finds that California is the most car-dependent state, and New Jersey the least, based on the number of motor vehicles compared to how many could be expected given the relative population.

Santa Ana was the most car-dependent city, not just in California but nationwide, followed by ostensibly bike-friendly Long Beach and Chula Vista in San Diego County, with Riverside and Anaheim coming in at 5th and 6th, respectively.

Although the only real surprise is that Los Angeles somehow didn’t make the top ten.

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Um, okay.

A writer from Redwood City, California went on a rant against bicycle boulevards and taking the lane.

And, um, fire trucks. Or something.

He somehow conflates bicycle boulevards, aka neighborhood greenways, with bike routes and sharrows, insisting that actual bike lanes are always preferable.

“Bicycle Boulevards” are one big part of the Big Bikeway Bluff. That is what city managers do when they update the marketing material about “Transportation, Children, and Youth” but accidentally forget to do the real thing. As far as bicycle con-jobs go, “Bicycle Boulevards” play one league above “Bike Routes”, “Slow Streets”, and “Sharrows”. And mainly because the name has a nicer ring to it. “Boulevard” sounds like a quiet, tree-lined street without air pollution. Portland calls the same thing “Neighborhood Greenway” to play with the tree theme as well. I have to admit, it is a very clever and sophisticated con, and it runs very deep. It is running for over 40 years now and counting.

But in the end, all these different names stand for the exact same result: no bike lanes for children, no space for older citizens, and no safety for people with disabilities. Instead, they are just mixed in with 4,000 lbs. vehicles on 30 mph, car-lined streets. So the big question still remains: could “sharing the road” ever be made safe?

Except bicycle boulevards are usually considered a big step above bike lanes, and a key component in a low-stress bike network by giving bicycle priority over motor vehicles.

Yes, the streets are shared, but they are usually designed to physically slow drivers, and often include diverters to prevent drivers from going more than a few blocks without turning, while allowing bicyclists to pass through.

He goes on to accuse the Bike League of offering a false promise of safety by advising bicyclists to take the lane and dress like a clown.

No, literally.

And yet it’s US bicycle advocacy groups – like The League of American Bicyclists(LAB) – that will tell people on bicycles that they are safe as long as they follow these rules:

  • Ride like a vehicle
  • “Take The Lane”
  • Dress like a Clown
  • Always wear a bicycle helmet

Statistically, this kind of advice is killing several hundred Americans each year. And since any real bicycle advocacy group will recognize this as bad advice, we can say something seems very off with LAB. Organizations like these have money, people and resources to develop better policies. In fact, much better information is available for free through many research projects done by different universities.

Granted, it’s been a minute since I’ve been involved with the Bike League, but my understanding from their Bicycle Friendly Communities program is that they are big proponents of bike lanes, and especially protected bike lanes, as well as other safe bicycle infrastructure.

And yes, that includes bike boulevards.

Taking the lane is a strategy for when that bike infrastructure isn’t available, and riders are forced to mix it up with motor vehicles.

That’s opposed to riding in the door zone or hugging the curb like a gutter bunny, encouraging drivers to squeeze by in an unsafe manner. Taking the lane simply forces them to move left to go around you.

Never mind that the number of bicyclists killed while taking the lane pales compared to riders killed at intersections.

Then there’s this.

In case of emergencies, fire departments would use their fire trucks as a way to block off the street. Basically, the fire trucks are “Taking the Lane” to secure the firefighters and others. In the transportation world there is nothing bigger, brighter, and more visible than a bright yellow or red fire truck with its flashing lights on. And yet, in 2019, an estimated 2,500 vehicles crashed into these “blockers” that are “taking the lane” to protect fire crews. That is 6.8 crashes daily or 16% of all fire truck collisions. Tesla’s vehicles seem to have an especially bad relationship with fire engines. They constantly run into them. Who would want children riding in front of such technology?…

So if “Taking the Lane” and “Sharing The Road” are demolishing 2,500 parked fire trucks and countless more emergency vehicles, why would any city manager in San Mateo County assume this to be safe for children? Why would any respectable bicycle coalition recommend “sharing the road” experiments?

Well, if you put it that way.

No, there’s nothing to guarantee that drivers will see you in the road directly in front of them, no matter how garish your outfit. And yes, too many drivers can’t manage to avoid people, objects and vehicles in the roadway.

But the point of taking the lane and wearing bright or reflective clothing — or using ultra-bright lights — is to improve your chances of being seen, and force drivers to go around you.

It’s not preferable to having safe bike infrastructure, however, and only the most passionate John Forester disciples would argue otherwise.

And no, sharrows and bike routes are not safe infrastructure, and can actually increase the risk for riders, while too many painted bike lanes offer little better protection.

And don’t get me started on LADOT’s favored little white plastic car-tickler bendie posts.

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Caltrans announced they are postponing the release of the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study due to the recent fires along the highway.

In light of the recent fires and the ongoing recovery efforts, we have temporarily postponed the release of the draft Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Master Plan Feasibility Study and the 45-day public comment period. The Round Three Community Workshop to present the draft Study’s key findings will also be postponed.

Our hearts are with the residents of Malibu and all those affected during this challenging time. Please be assured that our District is actively collaborating with the City of Malibu to determine the most appropriate time to restart the Study’s engagement activities. We encourage you to continue providing comments through the project’s portal site, as we will monitor it closely. Your input is invaluable to us.

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Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette is co-sponsoring next month’s Tri Club San Diego February Duathlon, and urging people with better legs than me to sign up for the trail run sandwiched around a 10.5-mile bike race.

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

A Phoenix, Arizona man says he was intentionally run down by a road-raging driver after he slapped the man’s truck to alert him to his presence following an overly close pass. Too many drivers somehow consider touching any part of their car, for any reason, as akin to spitting in their face. Just another example of Driver Derangement Syndrome.

A Toronto website examines how a few miles of bike lanes on the city’s deadly Bloor Street turned into a battlefield in the war against bikes; one local pub even distributed t-shirts reading “Fuck Bike Lanes.” Because evidently, people who ride bikes in bike lanes prefer pubs that go out of their way to make them feel unwelcome. 

England’s Norfolk County scrapped plans for a short bikeway connecting two quiet, bikeable streets over complaints about “anti-social” bicycling behavior, forcing riders onto a dangerous, traffic-choked street in an apparent attempt to thin the herd.

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Local  

No shock here, as traffic fatalities exceed murders in the City of Angels for the second consecutive year; the sort-of-good news is that traffic deaths last year dropped 12.5% over 2023, to a still obscene 302 people killed on the mean streets of LA.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that newly released documents show Forest Lawn Cemetery argued against safety improvements on deadly Forest Lawn Drive because they “have not observed substantial bicycle use” on it. Because people will usually rush out to ride streets where they don’t feel safe. And where they aren’t. Right?

Streetsblog looks at the progress for the coming Sixth Street PARC (Park, Arts, River & Connectivity) Project under the monumental — and somewhat lightless — Sixth Street Viaduct over the Los Angeles River.

The Santa Monica Daily Press announced the voting categories for their Most Loved competition, including the city’s best bike shop; you can find the rules and how to vote here.

 

State

It will now cost you twice as much to park at a meter in San Diego. Unless you ride a bicycle, in which case you can park for free.

Danville is looking for two new members for the city’s Bicycle Advisory Commission, after councilmembers tossed a couple well-known bicycle advocates out on their asses over “personality differences,” which appears to translate to getting on a councilmember’s nerves for advocating a little too strongly.

 

National

Now you, too, can be a bike influencer.

Bike Mag recommends ten gifts your mountain-biking Valentine will love more than chocolate.

Chicago Streetsblog remembers a local artist and bike advocate who literally flipped his way through life on his handmade chopped bicycle with a circular roll bar attached, allowing him to roll over on the roadway; Arthur Travis Duffey, better known as “Flip Bike Travis,” was 54 when he died in San Diego last year after a long battle with cancer.

A Pittsburgh news site examines the Dirty Dozen bike race, featuring a baker’s dozen of the city’s steepest hills, even though this year’s race isn’t scheduled until October.

 

International

Road.cc’s ebiketips rates the year’s best e-cargo bikes, from kid-hauling bucket bikes to an e-longtail.

If you build it, they will come. A new report says a ten-month old protected bikeway through the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland has increased bike riding rates, while making people feel safer, cutting pollution and boosting local businesses

The British government finally followed through on threats promises to pass a law against dangerous bicyclists by adding ten new laws concerning bike riders, including “cycling on a road dangerously” and “cycling on a road without due care and attention,” as well as belatedly requiring bike lights after dark.

Momentum looks at Bergen, Norway’s new Fyllingsdalen, the world’s longest bicycle tunnel actually built for bikes, which runs under a mountain dividing the city.

A Polish adventurer is making plans to ride a fat bike across Mongolia’s frigid Gobi Desert next month, covering 870 miles from the Altai region in Western Mongolia to Sainshand in the East, in temperatures that can exceed -20° Fahrenheit.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Marco “Randy” Osborne and Scotland’s Ella Conolly won the Pro Men’s and Women’s categories in the four day Andes Pacifico enduro race through the Nuble region of Chile; the race is a blind event, meaning the competitors see the course for the first time as it unfolds in front of them.

Ireland’s 28-year old Megan Armitage proved it’s possible to go from beginner to Olympic cyclist in just three years, after her partner, Australian pro rider Cyrus Monk, challenged her while watching the road cycling in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Your next bicycle could be made entirely of recycled ocean plastic. Your next bike bell could be an AirTag-equivalent anti-theft bike tracker.

And these bike race fans are really getting out of control.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

High hoods increase risk from speeding, drivers know dangers but do it anyway, and PCH Feasibility workshop postponed

December 11, 2024 / / Comments Off on High hoods increase risk from speeding, drivers know dangers but do it anyway, and PCH Feasibility workshop postponed
Just 20 short days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet not one city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 
Then again, it’s hard to make much progress when they failed to fund it, did next to nothing and never took it seriously.

………

It’s Day 13 of the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to James T for his generous, if somewhat lonely, donation to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming to your way every day.

So don’t wait — donate now! 

Meanwhile, I’ve been battling some sort of respiratory virus this week. Fortunately, I’ve been vaxxed up the yin-yang against every virus known to man, and some that haven’t been discovered yet. 

………

They’re finally starting to get it.

NPR reported yesterday that a new study from the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examining real-world crashes showed that higher speeds are worse for pedestrians, regardless of vehicle height, but those risks are amplified for vehicles with taller front ends.

The IHHS concluded the risk of a serious injury or a fatality increased as the speed in a crash went up, and went up much faster for taller vehicles than it did for shorter vehicles.

Which is exactly what bike and pedestrian safety advocates have been saying for some time.

According to NPR,

It’s the latest study to find that taller vehicles are more dangerous for pedestrians. The majority of vehicles sold in the U.S. are SUVs and light trucks with higher front ends that are often 40 inches or taller, and safety advocates say that’s one reason why pedestrian fatalities nationwide are up more than 75% since reaching their lowest point in 2009. Our fondness for larger vehicles prompted Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, to introduce a bill that would require federal safety standards for hood height, as she told NPR in August…

Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have taken steps, too. In September, the agency proposed crafting rules for vehicle design to minimize the risk of pedestrian head injuries, among other things. Those design changes would be a good step, says Jessica Cicchino at IIHS. But she’d like to see changes to roads, too, starting with lower speed limits.

Let’s hope that progress continues under the incoming presidential administration.

But I wouldn’t count on it.

………

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

According to AAA, most people who responded to a recent survey agreed that behaviors such as speeding or driving while impaired are very or extremely dangerous.

But many of those same motorists admitted to engaging in these behaviors at least once in the 30 days prior to responding to the survey.

And even safe drivers had the same disregard for potential consequences of their actions as their riskier counterparts.

Which suggests that maybe there’s no such thing as a safe driver.

Present company excepted, of course.

………

Caltrans announced that tonight’s public workshop to discuss the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study has been postponed due to Malibu’s 3,000+ acre Franklin Fire.

We would like to inform you that the workshop regarding the Pacific Coast Highway Master Plan Feasibility Study scheduled for Wednesday, December 11th, 2024, has been postponed due to the ongoing fires in the region.  The safety of all participants is our top priority, and we believe this decision is in the best interest of the public and everyone involved.

We will be scheduling a meeting to discuss the workshop content at a later date, which will be communicated to you as soon as it’s determined.

On a side note, we’d also like to share that the Draft Pacific Coast Highway Master Plan Feasibility Study document for public comment is nearing completion and will be posted in our Caltrans Engagement Portal soon.  We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

Thank you for your continued support and please stay safe.

Meanwhile, PCH is closed between Tuna Canyon Road to Kanan Dume Road as a result of the fire, while Malibu Canyon Road is closed from Mulholland Drive to PCH, and Topanga Canyon Blvd is closed to all but local traffic.

And remember that highly toxic smoke can and will travel anywhere downwind of the fire, so use caution riding along the coast for the foreseeable future.

A simple rule of thumb is if you smell smoke, don’t ride.

Period.

………

‘Tis the season.

Road.cc recommends “very last minute” Christmas gift ideas for the bicyclist in your life. And yes, it’s okay to buy something for yourself and hide it in a drawer until after the holidays, just in case you don’t find it under your tree or Chanukah bush, as the case may be.

Bicycling Australia offers a Christmas gift guide to their favorite bike things.

Boise, Idaho’s Boise Bike Project will answer requests from 630 area kids for their free dream bicycle this Saturday.

Outcast emcee Big Boi gave $750 bicycles to Atlanta middle school students for the second year in a row. But you’ll have to settle for reading the caption and the first couple paragraphs, because the rest of the story is locked behind a paywall.

………

It’s now 356 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 42 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

The program is finally scheduled to launch December 18th, so get your application in.

No, really.

………

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

Six people have now been pushed off their bicycles by masked attackers on mo-peds in Bristol, England; a woman was also sexually assaulted by three men sharing a mo-ped.

………

………

Local  

Los Angeles Public Press says there’s a glaring lack of bike lanes in Southeast Los Angeles, but local residents are working to change that.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry says the California Transportation Commission has capitulated, and will now include Complete Streets requirements to guidelines for the state’s largest highway funding program.

A San Francisco Redditor says the city’s protected bike lanes are better in theory than practice, because what passes for protection doesn’t keep drivers from parking in them. Although things aren’t much better down this way, either. 

 

National

Bicycling commits bike blasphemy, saying there’s more to life than just riding a bicycle. But most of the story is hidden behind their paywall, so you’re out of luck if the magazine blocks you. 

Seattle Department of Transportation Director — and former LA Streets Services head — Greg Spotts announced his resignation after a little more than two years on the job, in order to find work closer to his mother and father, which could be difficult since they live on opposite coasts. But maybe this is a chance for Los Angeles to get back someone they never should have let get away in the first place.

People For Bikes named Michigan’s Mackinac Island the world’s most bicycle friendly city, scoring a 99 or better out of a possible 100 point in four categories. Although it’s not hard to be bike friendly on an island where cars are banned.

A wider sidewalk could have saved the life of a Boston bike rider, according to the leader of a safety advocacy group; the project had been approved, but construction wasn’t scheduled to begin until two weeks after the man’s death.

A new study from Connecticut’s Hartford Hospital is looking for older bike riders who have passed out while actively riding their bikes, then remained unconscious for several minutes, with no defensive injuries.

A Streetsblog New York op-ed says the city council’s proposal to register ebikes is “impossible to enforce, unnecessary and won’t even work,” while another post called it a Trojan Horse that would fuel anti-immigrant policing.

 

International

I want to be like her when I grow up. A 70-year old Bolivian woman conquered Bolivia’s “Death Road,” making her the oldest-ever competitor in the country’s 37-mile Skyrace, which she had helped found.

Taking a page from Culver City’s playbook, city officials in Bristol, England swear bicyclists will be just as happy with bus lanes as they would have been with bike lanes. Although in Culver City, we already had bike lanes until they ripped them out and replaced them with bus lanes.

 

Competitive Cycling

As we noted yesterday, this is your chance to buy a bike that’s been under your favorite cyclist’s butt during a Grand Tour or some other race.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can ride your mountain bike on an elevated monorail line. That feeling when you get busted at the airport for the crime of having a Garmin in your bag.

Or when you need advice from a car company on what bikes to buy to start riding with your family.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Discussing bicycle-based recycling, and Caltrans addresses equity while CTC rushes to avoid new Complete Streets law

October 23, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 68 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

Photo courtesy of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

………

Let’s start with news of a November EPA webinar to discuss a Mexican bicycle-based recycling program.

Something we could easily do here.

EPA webinar: Recyclables Collection Using Source-Reduced Vehicles

On November 13th at 9 am PT, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is offering a free webinar on recyclables collection in México, using bicycles. The webinar will feature an overview of ‘source-reduced’ vehicles, followed by presentations from Hermosillo-based Biciclando and México City-based Bike Recycling MX.  Register here.

Thanks to André Villaseñor for the heads-up. 

………

California’s two transportation agencies seem to be taking different approaches to the state’s new Complete Streets law.

Streetsblog accuses the California Transportation Commission of trying to rush through new highway funding guidelines before a new state law goes into effect, so they can avoid having to adhere to it.

On the other hand, Caltrans has created a new equity tool in an effort to avoid the highway building mistakes of the past, which bulldozed low income neighborhoods and ignored the needs of anyone not inside a motor vehicle.

………

A writer for Slate looks at CicLAvia and sees a vision of what Los Angeles could be, suggesting the city follow the Parisian model of building carfree facilities for the 2028 Olympics, then converting them to daily use afterwards.

Which would require a lot more foresight than we’ve seen from city leaders so far.

But still.

………

It’s now 308 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. An English police department is criticized for stoking culture war by staging the poorly named Operation LYCRA targeting scofflaw bike riders.

In the wake of a Parisian bike rider allegedly murdered by a road-raging driver, Cycling Weekly writes that cars can be weapons, as any bike rider can tell you. Or as I learned the hard way courtesy of my own road-rager, cars are bigger than me, and they hurt. 

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

Singaporeans are incensed after a couple spandex-clad bicyclists are caught on video having a conversation while riding in a bus lane, as a bus follows slowly behind them.

………

Local  

Metro is providing free bus, train and Metro Bike rides on Election Day, making it even easier to bike the vote.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton looks at the debate over a lane reduction and bike lanes on Fountain Ave that’s currently roiling the contest for city council.

 

State

Calbike is holding a fall sale on their bicycling merch.

A Huntington Beach teenager was cited after recklessly riding an illegal ebike through the town while disregarding all traffic laws. And once again, a news outlet confuses an electric motorcycle with an electric bicycle.

A 64-year old man was seriously injured after losing control of his ebike in San Diego’s Balboa Park, with injuries ranging from a fractured pelvis, facial bones, clavicle and ribs to a brain bleed; fortunately, none were considered life-threatening.

He gets it. A Petaluma father says bike lanes increase freedom for everyone, whether it’s to school or the supermarket.

Sad news from Napa Valley, where a 45-year old man was killed striking a curb on his bike after drinking, and hitting his head on utility box.

 

National

A Seattle writer says ebikes aren’t cheating and nothing to be jealous about, because they’re the future of bicycling.

Dallas city leaders are inviting bicyclists to their annual ride to City Hall with today. Which serves as yet another reminder that bike-riding Los Angeles Mayor Bass has done absolutely nothing to reach out to the bicycling community since taking office.

A Chicago council committee advanced a bill that would cut the default maximum speed limit from 30 mph to 25 MPH. Which isn’t exactly “20 is plenty,” but it’s a start. 

This is who we share the road with. A speeding New York driver caused a chain reaction crash that injured 17 people, and left a couple crumpled SUVs on a historic bike path; fortunately, none of the injuries were serious. But tell me again about that bike rider you saw run a stop sign. 

DC’s Friendly Heights is about to get a pair of friendly protected bike lanes.

 

International

Momentum writes in praise of riding slow and leaving the spandex at home.

While the premier of Ontario wants to limit bike lanes to side streets, the CBC looks at studies from around the world to conclude that bike lanes actually ease congestion and reduce emissions. And are good businesses. And don’t get me started on the difference between the British Commonwealth and US meanings of “table” something.

The charity responsible for operating London’s Royal Parks is requesting legislation allowing the prosecution of bicyclists who exceed the park’s 20 mph speed limit.

A British bicyclist wonders whether it’s time to stop reporting traffic crimes to the police, since they just ignore it, anyway.

Momentum takes a look inside the massive Parisian bike parking garage at the even more massive Gare du Nord rail station, as the city is rapidly becoming a dream city for bicyclists.

Road.cc says the myth about Chinese carbon wheels being weaker than other wheels is exactly that.

 

Competitive Cycling

Why bother buying UCI-approved frames for your cycling team, when you can just slap some UCI inspection stickers on a bunch of Chinese knockoffs? You can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

No surprise here, as multi-disciplinarian Mathieu van der Poel was named the Dutch cyclist of the year Monday night, while Marianne Vos won for an exceptional tenth time.

Cyclinguptodate considers whether American cycling has ever recovered from Lance. Nope.

 

Finally…

Why ride the roads when you can pedal the rails? When you’re carrying a glass pipe with meth on your bike, put a damn light on it — and when that’s only meth “residue,” get yourself a good lawyer.

And you might get your next driving ticket from an ebike-riding cop.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Compromise offer on WeHo streets, Caltrans promises bike lanes in San Pedro, and LA failing us on speed cams

October 18, 2024 / / One comment
Just 73 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

I am now officially a non-driver.

Yesterday morning, I went to the DMV to trade my driver’s license for a non-driving ID.

Between my medical issues and the meds I’m on, I simply don’t belong behind the wheel. And I probably never will.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I’ve held onto my license despite not driving for the past several years, just in case I needed it at some point. 

But it’s just not worth the risk I could pose to others. 

I only wish more people would realize that. 

………

In a surprisingly reasonable op-ed, West Hollywood city council candidate Larry Block, who has opposed bike projects in the past — especially in front of his Santa Monica Blvd store — offers a compromise on his opposition to removing parking for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave in the largely residential Mid-City area.

Or as he puts it, a little argy-bargy, a term that should be familiar to fans of cycling announcer Phil Liggett.

Bike lane supporters need to recognize the daily needs of disabled residents, emergency vehicles, delivery trucks, and basic services. Bike supporters must understand that residents need access to their driveways, and services like city garbage trucks and emergency vehicles need space to do their jobs. We can’t take away that access in favor of a ‘build it, they will come’ mentality’. Residents also need to accept that many people can’t afford a car, and keeping WeHo vibrant means making room for bikes and other ways to get around. Their safety matters, too, and it’s our responsibility to do what we can.

While there’s a lot we could take issue with there — like how ebikes ca serve as mobility devices for handicapped people, and the myth of bike lanes slowing emergency vehicles — Block goes on to call for developing a master plan to improve safety and livability in WeHo’s Mid-City area.

We should focus on creating a Mid-City Master Plan while working on the Fountain Ave. Streetscape and Bike Lane project. Instead of just arguing about bike lanes, we need to shift the conversation to mid-city livability and make Fountain Ave. improvements part of the bigger plan.

There’s a livability and safety problem on Fountain Ave., and we need to look at the big picture. Let’s discuss a Mid-City Master Plan that incorporates the needs of all residents. But for now, after several accidents on Fountain Ave. in recent weeks, our top priority should be making Fountain safe today.

If this is the approach a bike lane opponent — or possibly former opponent — is willing to take, there may be hope for WeHo yet.

………

As a followup to Tuesday’s piece about an apparent violation of Measure HLA along Western Avenue and 1st Street in San Pedro, Ken Shima forwards a screenshot from CD15 Councilmember Tim McOsker saying the current striping is just a temporary measure, and bike lanes really are coming.

But from Caltrans, not Los Angeles.

As Joe Linton clarified in a comment to Tuesday’s post, HLA applies to “any paving project or other modification,” other than limited work like “restriping of the road without making other improvements, routine pothole repair, utility cuts, or emergency repairs.”

Which would mean it should apply here.

However, as a state agency, I’m not sure if Caltrans is required to abide by HLA, unlike Metro or the City of LA. But it’s definitely something to keep an eye on, to make sure those promised bike lanes really do go in.

Regardless of who is responsible for them.

Meanwhile, Linton visits the new bike/walk path along San Pedro’s Front Street from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to just west of Pacific Ave.

………

San Francisco has selected the vendor for the city’s speed cam pilot program, with 33 cams expected to be fully operational by early 2025.

Compare that with Los Angeles, which hasn’t.

Here’s what a press release from Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, had to say on the subject.

“While Los Angeles continues to ignore the problem, San Francisco takes speeding seriously. I commend San Francisco for taking this significant step towards making its citizens safer. Through their selection process, the city has done the hard work and set the stage for other cities to follow,” said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone. “Los Angeles and the other pilot cities have no excuse for bureaucratic feet-dragging that is risking people’s lives.”

At the start of 2024, the Chief of Police and Mayor of Los Angeles announced that there were a staggering 336 traffic fatalities, the highest in almost 50 years and more traffic fatalities in 2023 than homicides. Across the state, 35% of fatalities are speeding-related, with over 1,500 speeding-related fatalities in 2021. Traffic violence in Los Angeles continues to get worse, and there is insufficient effort being put into implementing sensible solutions to save lives.

Yep.

That pretty much sums it up.

It took years of fighting in the state legislature to finally pound out a compromise allowing Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale to try a speed cam pilot program, along with three NorCal cities, including San Francisco. That was later amended to allow speed cams on PCH in Malibu, as well.

But all of that appears to be wasted on the City of Angels, which seems to be moving with all due non-haste at its usual glacial pace.

Mayor Bass has often said that she was elected to solve the city’s homelessness crisis.

Too bad that’s the only crisis she seems to think she was elected to address.

………

It’s now 303 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. The anti-bike OB-Rag writes that San Diego officials are “quietly picking our pockets” with things like a $155,000 bike counter, which amounts to a rounding error on the city’s $104.6 million streets budget. Let alone the SANDAG’s $1.3 billion — yes, with a B — highway budget.

No bias here, either. A 76-year old Baltimore man died weeks after a driver pulled out of a sidewalk and cut him off while riding on the sidewalk, but the local press somehow blames the victim for crashing into the car. And waits until the penultimate sentence to mention the car even had a driver.

He gets it. An Ottawa, Ontario columnist says Premier Doug Ford’s plan to give the provincial legislature final say over bike lanes is all about politics, not safety or traffic flow, while the mayor of Waterloo says Ford is stepping directly into municipal jurisdiction.

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

A 22-year old Novato man faces a felony hit-and-run charge for fleeing the scene after after crashing his bicycle into an eight-year old boy; fortunately, the kid was hospitalized with minor to moderate injuries. Which raises the question of why a felony charge was filed, which under state law on only applies in cases resulting in serious injuries. 

………

Local  

Pepperdine remembered the four sorority sisters killed by an alleged speeding driver on PCH a year ago, as they were walking from their car to a party; their accused killer was reportedly doing 104 mph in a 45 mph zone. But hey, about those speed cams.

 

State

Congrats to the Costa Mesa Police Department for busting a thief who made off with a family’s e-cargo bike; the department has already returned it to the owner.

 

National

CNN considers the best bike lights, settling on a pair from Cygolite.

Annapurna’s scenic bicycling adventure game Ghost Bike is getting a makeover, and will re-emerge next year as Wheel World, with a lighter design to make it more fun to play. Because ghost bikes may be a lot of things, but fun ain’t one of them. 

Parents, classmates and the Littleton, Colorado community came together to call for safer streets, a year after a seventh-grade boy was killed riding his bike to middle school. Yet another reminder that the time to fight for safer streets if before it’s too late, not after. 

A Tulsa, Oklahoma TV station responds to the state’s appalling NHTSA ranking as the nation’s 6th deadliest state for bike riders by examining safety concerns for bicyclists. Meanwhile, in 6th ranked California <crickets>.

A writer for Business Insider takes a 330-mile bikepacking trip from Pittsburgh to Maryland, and says she’d absolutely do it again, despite the challenges.

Prosecutors have added a murder charge to the long list of charges against the alleged drunken and speeding hit-and-run driver who killed a beloved young doctor out for a bike ride; he was allegedly driving over twice the speed limit with a BAC double the legal limit.

Roanoke, Virginia shows how it should be done, installing multiple temporary bike lanes to encourage people to ride their bikes to the city’s largest outdoor fest. Now they just need to make them permanent.

 

International

Momentum rates the six best foldies currently on the market.

A writer for Bike Radar takes a six-day, 400-mile bike tour along South Korea’s “stunning” Four Rivers route from Seoul to Busan.

A cop in New South Wales, Australia faces charges for dangerous driving for a crash that killed a 16-year old boy riding a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

One of the brightest American cycling prospects, 21-year old Boulder, Colorado resident Jared Scott, walked away from his burgeoning European pro career to become a professional DJ.

A Welsh Continental cycling team learns the hard way the dangers of relying on a bikemaker’s promise that their frames will meet UCI standards.

 

Finally…

How to not pull an endo on your mountain bike. Making a Pashley the star of Swan Lake.

And seriously, who doesn’t need a sidecar for your ebike? Or a corgi car, in my case.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Get ready for Clean Air pontificating today, and written test waived for elderly California drivers – for better or worse

October 2, 2024 / / 6 comments
Just 89 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

……..

Happy California Clean Air Day.

That joyful day when all the elected officials and bureaucrats who blocked active street and transit projects and approved highway expansions will bend over backwards to tell us all just how important clean air is.

Then again, those of us who have been biking, walking and using transit have actually been doing something about it all along.

Today you can do something about it for free on virtually any SoCal transit system, Metro included.

And yes, bicycling and walking are still free. At least for now.

https://twitter.com/metrolosangeles/status/1840891052364087321

Meanwhile, it’s also National Week Without Driving, and SoCal Transit Week.

And Metro Bike will wrap things up with a Clean Air Day Joy Ride through DTLA on Saturday, which isn’t Clean Air Day.

But close enough, I guess.

Top image from Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay.

………

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez celebrates that California drivers over 70 will no longer have to deal with “irritating technical glitches, confusing options and maddeningly irrelevant test questions” by having to take a written test to renew their driver’s licenses.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

It’s not like traffic laws have changed in the 50 or 60 years since they first started to drive.

Or last year, even.

I understand the inconvenience, and the fear of losing the driver’s license someone has depended on for so many years in our car-dependent society.

But I also understand the risk posed by people who don’t have a working knowledge of current traffic laws. Like understanding that bike riders are allowed to take the lane on most right lanes in the state, for instance.

Or that some older people shouldn’t be driving at all anymore.

Myself, included.

Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated story, a British woman has become the oldest person convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in that country, at the tender age of 96.

Because we all know drivers, like fine wine, just get better as they age.

Right?

………

A new Calbike report is calling out Caltrans for its repeated failure to build Complete Streets, in violation of their own policies.

Here’s what the organization says about the report, titled Incomplete Streets: Aligning Policy with Practice at Caltrans.

The report details where Caltrans has succeeded in adding elements for people biking, walking, and taking transit when it repairs state roadways that serve as local streets. But the findings also detail, for the first time, evidence of where Caltrans falls short, using data to show pattern and practice at the agency and case studies to illustrate how district staffers downgrade and leave out infrastructure people biking and walking on Caltrans projects.

It should make for a good light read for these long autumn nights.

………

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton takes an up-close look at the new modular curbs on the Main Street protected bike lane in DTLA, expressing hope they can quickly be expanded throughout the city.

Close-up photo of the modular curbs on Main Street at Spring by Streetsblog’s Joe Linton

While they aren’t bulky enough to keep all drivers out of the bike lane, as Linton notes, they could be enough to discourage more people from parking and driving in them.

And they beat the hell out of the usual plastic car-tickler bendy-posts LADOT seems so enamored with.

Let’s hope they try them out on other bike lanes, as well.

Because they could prove to be a fast and relatively inexpensive solution to LA’s painful lack of curb-protected lanes, in a city that doesn’t seem to know the meaning of quick-build.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A Greenfield, California man will spend the next 30 years to life behind bars for intentionally killing a random pedestrian, after leading police on a chase through Monterey County in a stolen car.

Twenty-seven-year old Paulo Cesar Alcaraz Ortiz tried and failed to run down several other people on the street, in the mistaken belief that it would cause the police to stop chasing him.

That is, until he successfully ran down and ran over Guadalupe Garcia with the hot car on his second attempt, after chasing Garcia through a field.

………

A New York photographer captures what Streetsblog calls “the unexpected beauty of the Williamsburg Bridge’s less-than-perfect design.”

I just call it a damn good shot.

………

It’s now 287 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And an even 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. A transportation policy analyst from the libertarian Reason Foundation calls out the failure of Complete Streets in California and Vision Zero Los Angeles, years after their passage, while failing to note that neither one has been adequately funded or implemented — as evidenced by a new law requiring Caltrans to implement their own damn Complete Streets policy.

Bedford, England has banned bicyclists from riding through the city centre, uh, center, in response to bike riders “flying through” and endangering pedestrians — but they’re also fining people for getting off and walking their bikes.

Two British men have been sentenced to a well-deserved 14-and-a-half years each after police arrested them for deliberately running down a pedestrian — and discovered video on one’s phone showing them intentionally running down someone on a bicycle days earlier.

………

Local  

Streetsblog visits the new bike lanes on hilly Avenue 51 and Townsend Ave in Eagle Rock and Highland Park, calling them a “worthwhile modest step toward safer, more multimodal streets.” Although they only have sharrows on the downhill side. 

Call it a win for the Department of DIY, as Los Angeles makes the guerrilla crosswalks at Council and Westmoreland in Koreatown permanent, a year after they were surreptitiously striped by Crosswalks LA.

West Hollywood is hosting a mobility expo in Plummer Park this Saturday.

Um, okay. An Indian American entrepreneur, as opposed to an American Indian entrepreneur, has launched the “revolutionary” CaliBike ebike brand in Corona, bizarrely positioning it as the perfect last-mile complement to the coming Brightline West high speed rail line between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga. Because it’s just too revolutionary for regular trains, I guess.

 

State

Don’t plan on driving — or riding — all the way on California’s iconic coastline Highway 1 until next year at the earliest.

Orange County will invest $55 million in improved street lighting to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The California State Universities Board of Trustees has signed off on a proposal for a new bridge on Fenton Ave over the San Diego River, providing car, bike and pedestrian access to Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley.

A Fresno man in his ’60s was hospitalized with major injuries when he was hit by a car, which apparently didn’t have a driver, after “riding his bike into traffic.” Which could mean almost anything, or absolutely nothing. 

Sacramento safety advocates are calling for armadillo traffic dividers to be installed in intersections to stop automotive sideshows.

 

National

Streetsblog says maybe it’s time to stop calling bike lanes “bike lanes,” arguing that a rebrand is in order since they “can slow dangerous car traffic, give walkers more space to move, and save lives across all modes by getting would-be drivers into the saddle instead.”

Bicycling looks forward to sales on some of their favorite bike products ahead of next week’s Amazon Prime Days. Which probably isn’t paywalled because they likely get a piece of any clickthrough sales, but you can read it on AOL, anyway. 

The NTSB finally got around to issuing its report on the Goodyear, Arizona mass casualty crash that killed two bicyclists and injured 14 others, blaming driver Pedro Quintana-Lujan’s “diminished state of alertness, likely due to fatigue;” he faces just 11 misdemeanor charges, despite having a “small amount” of THC in his system at the time of the crash.

Bighearted staffers at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota coffeeshop pitched in to give a new ebike to dishwasher at the restaurant, after the bicycle he rode to and from work every day broke down — again.

They get it. Chicago Streetsblog tells a local website that merchants claiming a new bike lane could put them out of business is not a legitimate news story worthy of investigation, any more  than the news item “Merchants say Bigfoot exists.”

Next City asks if low-cost, self-charging ebike libraries can bring newfound mobility to low-income communities in Massachusetts.

Rochester, New York’s Larry the Bike Man donated hundreds of refurbished bicycles to local kids, as the local paper says “everyday heroes don’t always wear capes.” Indeed.

The New York Times wraps up their short-lived Street Wars newsletter by noting the constant state of change on the city’s streets, observing that new battles over traffic and radical solutions mean they won’t always be like this, for better or worse.

Talk about bad luck. A North Carolina bike shop owner got hammered by Hurricane Helene, 19 years after she was chased out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

 

International

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has installed green bike boxes at an intersection where a killed in a right hook by the driver of a cement truck last year. Proving once again that commonsense safety improvements usually only come after it’s too late. 

Scottish bicyclists have proclaimed a local zig-zagging bike lane the world’s worst. We should invite them to ride with us here in SoCal sometime.

A columnist for The Guardian considers the lesson’s learned falling off a Lime Bike on the streets of London, conceding her initial impression was correct, that “they are a young hoodlum’s game, not an old hoodlum’s game.”

Men’s Health talks with Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, founder of London’s Black Unity Bike Ride, who says people “hear and feel our joy coming through” before they even see them. Which pretty much sums up what bicycling is all about. 

Another UK bicycle company has gone belly-up, after the major distributor behind the Orro Bikes brand filed the equivalent of bankruptcy, and sent workers home without last month’s pay.

 

Competitive Cycling

No one seems to have seen the crash that killed 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer during the junior women’s road world championships last week, and no cameras captured her riding off the rain-slicked roadway; in fact, her body wasn’t found for over an hour after she crashed, once people finally realized she never crossed the finish line.

The greatest cyclist of all time says Tadej Pogačar is the real goat, arguing that Pogačar has now topped anything Eddy Merckx did himself.

 

Finally…

Your Everesting record is now obsolete. We may have to deal with aggressive LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about rampaging escaped rhinos — even if the victim was on a motorcycle, but still.

And the late, great Kris Kristofferson was one of us, too.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Governor signs Caltrans Complete Streets bill, kills car excess speed alarms; and pledge to ride or walk for Clean Air

September 30, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 91 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Governor Newsom finally got around to signing SB 960 on Friday, aka the Complete Streets Bill, which will require Caltrans to actually follow their own Complete Streets policies.

But as the governor giveth, he also taketh away.

Newsom failed to sign SB 961, which would have required all new cars to give an audible alarm when drivers exceeded the speed limit by more than 10 mph; his action is the equivalent of a veto, but without actually have to wield his veto pen.

While groups like Calbike, Streets For All and Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) fought to get him to sign it, SB 961 was much-watered down from the original bill, which would have required speed limiting technology to actively prevent drivers from speeding more than ten miles over the limit.

It also raised the question of why exceeding the limit by 10 mph was apparently acceptable, when exceeding it by any amount is against the law.

But maybe we can try again in a few years, with a different governor and a stronger bill.

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This Wednesday is California Clean Air Day, when the Coalition For Clean Air is asking you to pledge to take transit, shop local, or take other actions to benefit the air we all share.

Although something tells me they’d be happy if you just leave your car at home and ride your bike or walk that day.

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The new Hollywood Blvd bike lanes have been popular so far, but clearly not everyone is giving them rave reviews.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1839732645150003465

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Walk Bike Glendale invites you to join them on a bike tour to examine new safety improvements in the city this Saturday.

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It’s now 285 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

London’s Metropolitan Police told bike riders not to bother submitting bike cam video of dangerous and illegal drivers, saying they’re much too busy to do anything about it — but don’t confront the driver who just almost killed you.

Sir David Attenborough — yes, the world-famous British broadcaster, biologist, writer and historian — wrote to an 11-year-old boy advising him on how to stop construction of a protected bike lane, and save 26 trees on the chopping block.

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

Heartbreaking news from Santa Cruz, where an 82-year old woman was killed when she was hit by an 80-year old man riding an ebike on the shoulder of a roadway early Friday morning; the elderly man on the bike was also hospitalized for his injuries.

A British man was sentenced to a well-deserved five years and four months behind bars for punching a 78-year old man who complained that he was riding his bike on the sidewalk, killing him, before trying to flee the scene.

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Local  

This is who we share the road with. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer pled not guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter for killing a 47-year old man walking in an Alhambra crosswalk, while making an ill-advised left turn in his car. Yet somehow, we have to learn about it from a newspaper in the UK?

 

State

Bakersfield is asking for public input on the city’s new Active Transportation Plan to craft a long-term vision for pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

San Francisco’s crookedest street is also one of the city’s deadliest.

Kindhearted Sacramento cops recovered an ebike that was stolen from a 14-year-old boy on his birthday, and returned it to him, along with a birthday cake.

 

National

In a surprising story, US News & World Report recommends the year’s seven best bikes for women. No, it’s not the bikes that’s surprising, it’s the fact that the magazine is still a thing. 

A Denver writer describes what it was like to spend 14 days riding the Colorado Trail, a 549-mile mountain bike route stretching from Denver to Durango.

Chicago bicyclists are frustrated over rising crime rates. Sort of like people who ride bikes just about everywhere. 

The New York Times tells a questioner that yes, a co-op building can ban their ebike, and no, that’s not housing discrimination, even if they use it to take their kid to the doctor.

 

International

A London charity is working to reduce Britain’s prison population by teaching ex-cons to repair bicycles, in hopes of cutting the recidivism rate.

 

Competitive Cycling

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Tadej Pogačar won the men’s road world championship, becoming the first male cyclist in 37 years to win the Tour de France, Giro and worlds in the same year.

American Chloé Dygert fell just short of victory in the women’s road race, finishing just behind Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky in a mass sprint; her silver goes with the bronze she won in last week’s time trial. Meanwhile, the Netherlands was kept off the women’s worlds podium for the first time in a decade.

There was heartbreaking news from worlds, though, after 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer died, one day after crashing her bike on rain-slicked roads in the junior women’s road race on Friday; still, her family bravely requested that the championships go on as scheduled. However, there’s still no word from UCI on what actually happened, as the president of cycling’s governing body said “You don’t ride a bike to die.”

A writer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation calls Furrer’s death “another example of the failings and risk of the peloton.”

In more bad news, the Dutch Cycling Association announced the death of 24-year old Bas van Belle, a rider for the Wielerploeg Groot Amsterdam cycling team, and the older brother of WorldTour pro Loe van Belle; no word on how he died.

It probably wasn’t just beginner’s luck. An 18-year old woman from my bike-friendly Colorado hometown won the collegiate national championship in the 500 meter time trial at the USA Cycling National Collegiate Track Championship earlier this month; it was Rita Fedewa’s first-ever college cycling race, in a discipline she’s only trained in for seven months after switching from BMX, making her the first-ever national champion for her tiny Catholic university.

 

Finally…

Here’s your chance to be a motor-doping spy for UCI. And nothing like riding your bike wearing fairy wings to save a historic theater.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Garden Grove mom fears for gravely injured 5-year old hit-and-run victim, and Caltrans discusses PCH safety feasibility

July 10, 2024 / / Comments Off on Garden Grove mom fears for gravely injured 5-year old hit-and-run victim, and Caltrans discusses PCH safety feasibility
Just 174 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

My apologies, again. 

On top of everything else I’ve been dealing with lately, I’ve had a major flare-up in my diabetic neuropathy, which knocked me on my ass Monday night. Or maybe it was just everything I took trying to control it. 

Also, let me know if you’re interested in filling in for me when I’m out of commission next month, whether you’d like to pen a single post, or take over this site a day or two.

Anything goes, as long as it’s related to bicycles or traffic safety. 

Just email me at the address on the About page if you’re interested in volunteering. 

And thanks to tomexploresla for today’s graphics.

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Graphic by tomexploresla

The news from Garden Grove is getting worse.

On Monday, we discussed the allegedly drunken hit-and-run that took out an entire family in Garden Grove Sunday evening, as the parents were towing their children in child seats and bike trailers.

The crash left the father and two kids critically injured, while hospitalizing the mom and her eight-month old baby.

Now the mother is reporting that, while the father and one child are showing some signs of improvement, their five-year old son, Jacob Ramirez, suffered significant brain damage in the crash, and may not survive his injuries.

A witness followed the driver as he attempted to flee, and police arrested the driver, identified as 29-year-old Santa Ana resident Ceferino Ramos.

A crowdfunding campaign for the family has raised nearly $33,000 of the $100,000 goal.

Although there are also reports that someone created a fake crowdfunding page in the family’s name, demonstrating once again that there are no limits to just how low some people will go to scam others.

………

Caltrans is hosting a series of public meetings, starting tomorrow, to discuss the feasibility of improving safety on deadly PCH through Malibu.

Although the only thing that will really improve safety would be converting the highway into a slow-speed Main Street designed to serve the local community and all road users, rather than pass-through commuters.

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San Diego announced the official opening of the re-imagined Pershing Drive, transforming the previous car sewer into a tamed street with a fully separated, two-way bikeway stretching from North Park to Downtown.

The street was an auto-centric hellhole when I lived down there four decades ago. And something tells me it didn’t get any better since. So this should be a huge improvement.

Meanwhile, the two-year old closure of popular two-lane shortcut Bachman Place will extend for yet another year, before eventually reopening with “bikeway enhancements” connecting the Mission Valley and Hillcrest neighborhoods.

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Streets For All is urging you to attend one of a series of public meetings, including today in Pico Rivera and tomorrow in El Monte, to tell Caltrans to stop flushing our hard-earned tax money down the toilet, and cancel induced demand-inducing plans to widen the 605 Freeway.

It’s long past time to drive a stake through this proposal that somehow keeps rising from the dead, and spend the money on transit, bike and pedestrian projects, instead.

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Megan Lynch forwards video of a woman harassing a New York food delivery rider for the crime of wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh around his neck, calling him a terrorist and blocking his bike with her car.

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It’s now 202 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica is accepting applications for approximately 90 vouchers worth up to $2,000 toward the purchase of ebikes or bicycles, along with safety equipment including helmets, locks and lights for income-qualified residents.

And Salt Lake City has launched their own program, providing up to $1,300 off the purchase of a new ebike, depending on the model and the buyer’s income level.

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

That’s more like it. Pennsylvania prosecutors have thrown the book at a road-raging 57-year old Mechanicsburg PA man who deliberately rammed a bike rider and tried to run them off the road, charging him with attempted aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and other offenses.

Anti-bike agitators are spreading “factually incorrect and negative” rumors suggesting trees will be chopped down to make room for what will eventually be the UK’s biggest bike lane.

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

A 55-year old man in Oxford, England is on trial for “wantonly or furiously” bicycling for killing an 81-year old woman, who died in the hospital days after they collided on a pathway.

Bike riders in Bournemouth, England are coming under criticism for riding recklessly and weaving around pedestrians on a beachfront pathway.

More bad behavior in Wales, where young bicyclists are accused of causing serious damage to a nature preserve by building their own cycle track and mountain bike jumps.

There’s even bad behavior from the Tour de France, where Belgian cyclist Victor Campenaerts was observed peeing into an empty water bottle, and throwing the piss-filled bottle into a field.

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Local 

Streetsblog reports city officials are beginning planning work on closing Wilshire Blvd between Alvarado and Carondelet Streets to reconnect the two sides of severed MacArthur Park. While they’re at it, why don’t they just close the whole damn thing from the Pacific to DTLA?

The author of Bike Seattle received an epiphany on a visit to Long Beach, when he realized Seattle could use bikeshare docks to daylight intersection, like Long Beach’s “wonderful” legacy bikeshare system.

 

State

A Santa Barbara writer says something has to be done about young ebike riders throughout the city, complaining that juvenile riders don’t have the training to operated motorized bicycles. Although as we’ve discussed lately, it’s not clear if he’s talking about teens riding ped-assist bicycles, or throttle-controlled electric motorbikes.

Caltrans will install seven miles of new bike lanes on Palo Alto’s El Camino Real. Now someone tell them to do PCH next.

San Francisco residents got out the torches and pitchforks at a community meeting to discuss a proposed bike network in the North Beach neighborhood, fearing it could be another Valencia Street.

A San Francisco website suggests what while doorings are down in the city, a recent death highlights a neighborhood divide, as safety improvements have skipped some areas populated by people of color.

 

National

Forbes vets the best electric foldies.

Bicycling suggests that bikemakers should offer more lightweight bikes for heavyweight riders who outweigh pro cyclists. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you. 

A Denver TV station is raising funds for a makeover of a young boy’s room for when he gets out of the hospital after crushing his voice box when he crashed his bicycle.

Michigan’s carfree Mackinac Island will finally get its first speed limit — for bicycles and ebikes.

Police in Troy, New York have some ‘splaining to do, after a man they were chasing drowned in the Hudson River while attempting to flee on his bicycle.

A New Jersey woman faces charges for the drunken crash that killed a 44-year old man when she slammed into his bike while driving on the shoulder of the roadway to pass another car on the right, with her three-year old in the back of the car.

The family of a 65-year old Louisiana man want answers after he was killed in a collision with an off-duty sheriff’s deputy while riding his bicycle at 1:30 am, in a strange neighborhood 20 miles from home — and want to know why he was supposedly riding in the roadway when there was a freshly paved, fully separated bike path right next to it.

 

International

An automotive website examines which carmakers have also made bicycles, like a mid-2000s “Hummer” foldie, for instance.

Cycling Weekly considers whether tossing the booze will make you a better bicyclist.

Velo reports on their favorite bicycles from the recent Eurobike trade show, including a seriously weird gravel bike.

Toronto bicyclists are getting a new protected bike lane on one of the city’s deadliest corridors.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole eight bicycles worth the equivalent of over $33,000 from a Salisbury, England gravel fest.

This is who we share the road with. A British man will spend 17 years behind bars for killing a baby and her aunt when he slammed into their car, minutes after posting a photo showing himself driving 141 mph with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit; he’ll also face a well-deserved 21-year driving ban once he’s released.

An English website says Bremen, Germany ranks as one of the world’s best cities for bicycling, thanks to visionary leaders who invented the bike lane in the 1970s. Except to quote Gershwin, it ain’t necessarily so.

Berlin is testing a new cycle track built beneath an overhead subway to accommodate future growth. But aren’t subways supposed to be underground?

 

Competitive Cycling

Russia’s Aleksandr Vaslov is out of the Tour de France after breaking his ankle when he veered off the road near the end on Sunday’s stage — shattering his bike in the process — yet somehow finished the stage anyway, despite being clearly disoriented.

Good news from Provo, Utah, where surgeons successfully reattached the right arm of California-based cyclist Ryan Jastrab, after he virtually severed it near the shoulder by catching a metal barricade as he was rounding one of the final turns on the last lap of the Salt Lake Criterium.

Bicycling reports the popular Life Time Crusher in the Tushar gravel race has been cancelled for this year due to wildfires in Utah. This time, you can read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

You can carry just about anything on a bicycle — even 34 pounds of purloined barbecued brisket. Why settle for a cellphone mount when you can mount a ham radio on it, instead?

And that feeling when the mountain lion that attacked you while you were riding was actually just someone’s angry kitty.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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