Tag Archive for Camarillo

Rancho Palos Verdes tries to ban ebikes, ebike looting follows Mountain Fire, and protected bike lanes south of the border

November 11, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 49 days until LA fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Happy Veterans Day to everyone who has served our country at home and abroad!

Get out for a good ride today to celebrate. And thank you.

Photo from Lime Micromobility.

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Rancho Palos Verdes extends its usual unwelcome mat for bicyclists to e-bike riders, with new restrictions and fines to make you feel as unwanted as possible.

Of course, the Daily Breeze feels compelled to hide the story behind their paywall for subscribers only, so they evidently don’t want you to know about it.

However, this excerpt from the article suggests that they intend to ban ebikes entirely from city streets and sidewalks; the last part is legal, the first not so much.

Expanded e-bike restrictions

The city council recently expanded the ordinance to ban e-bikes on city streets and sidewalks, while allowing them on bicycle paths.

California state law allows bicycles on any street where cars are allowed, and ebikes are allowed under state law. So unless they’re planning to ban cars from city streets, they can’t ban ebikes, either.

But it could mean going to court to fight a ticket and convince a judge if you want to challenge it.

Thanks to Jim Lyle for the heads-up.

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A worker on a Camarillo landscaping crew was arrested for looting an ebike Friday in the wake of the Mountain Fire.

After a homeowner parked his ebike in his driveway to check on his property, he returned to find the bike missing. He confronted a landscaping crew working in the area, and one of the men admitted to taking the bike, and gave it back to him.

The homeowner reported the incident to the police the next day, resulting in Ramon Avila Pacheco being booked on suspicion of looting in an evacuation order area.

Apparently, returning the ebike had no effect on the charge.

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Streets For All founder Michael Schneider visits Mexico City, and discovers what Los Angeles could do with a little more political will.

Okay, a lot more.

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MSNBC political commentator Chris Hayes is one of us, too. Thanks to Glenn with 2 Ns for the heads-up. 

Best way to commute before a big night.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) 2024-11-05T22:24:25.118Z

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It’s now 327 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 41 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.   

Seriously? The Marin County Supervisors are backing what the local newspaper calls a “bike-lane experiment,” which amounts to ripping out the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge four days a week, on a trial basis. Although it’s questionable whether they could do it without a CEQA review on anything but a trial basis. 

That’s more like it. Thousands of people on bicycles jammed the streets to protest the removal of Toronto bike lanes, which were ordered taken out by the anti-bike provincial government. Maybe someday, we’ll be able to get a turnout like that here in Los Angeles. Click through if the video below appears truncated on your screen, like it is on mine.

Thousands turn out for protest to save bike lanes
byu/ICanGetLoudTooWTF intoronto

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Local  

Streetsblog looks at new bike lanes and safety improvements around the city, stretching from DTLA to Leimert Park and the San Fernando Valley.

Metro Bike wants to know what you think; complete the survey and you could win a raffle prize.

An op-ed writer in the Los Angeles Times says he thought he had his bike commute down, until a bike-riding German man pointed out the obvious flaw in his route, which needlessly bypassed the beachfront bike path.

Sally Struthers is one of us, as the 77-year old former All in the Family star went for a casual bike ride in Los Angeles last week; a London paper uncharitably calls her “unrecognizable,” yet somehow the paparazzi managed to spot her.

 

State

Calbike says budget cuts have left California’s Active Transportation Program in dire straits, leaving just $100 million on hand, enough to fund just 4% of the $2.5 billion in requests.

Just days after a Victorville man was killed by a driver while riding his bike, another person riding a bicycle was critically injured by a pickup driver Friday evening; unfortunately, there’s no information about the victim at this time.

Good news from the Bay Area, where Prop K is leading with 54% of the vote, although it’s still too early to call; the ballot measure would permanently close San Francisco’s Upper Great Highway to motor vehicles and turn it into a linear park, bikeway and walkway.

 

National

No surprise here, as a new buffered bike lane in Bellingham, Washington is popular with bicyclists, and hated by motorists; ridership increased a third, while motor vehicle use on the street dropped by 14%. Which sounds like a win-win to me. 

Tragic news from Utah, where a county employee was killed when he rode his ebike off the side of the road during the ceremonial opening of a paved bike trail.

Former President Bush — that’s W, not his late dad — held his annual mountain bike ride for veterans on his sprawling Texas ranch.

 

International

Momentum offers the complete guide to cargo bikes, calling them the next big thing.

Momentum also highlights eight of the leading bike advocacy groups on both sides of the border; the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Santa Barbara’s Bici Centro make the cut, but none of the Los Angeles-based organizations did.

More proof that bicycles make the best emergency vehicles, as two men share a bike to get through floodwaters left behind by Hurricane Rafael in western Cuba.

Bike-friendly Canadian cities to consider if you’re already packing your bags to leave the US after last week’s election.

A London writer said she’s swearing off the Tube, aka the city’s subway system, after ebiking to work for a month, and pledges to never go back.

A golfer took an epic 47-day, 1,700-mile bike ride around Ireland to play golf and raise the equivalent of nearly $8,000 for a cancer charity.

Dutch ebike maker Stella is just the latest casualty in the bike industry.

Cycling Weekly explores how a bike trail along the former border between East and West Germany helped rewrite the history of the Berlin Wall.

A South African bicycle mayor is evangelizing bike riders in a Cape Town township, and throughout the city.

Hong Kong discovers that cracking down on illegal ebikes could spark a crisis for the city’s food delivery services.

Speaking of stories hidden behind paywalls, Kaifeng, China learned to be careful what they wish for when they encouraged night-time bike riding, and the streets became gridlocked with bicycles. Seriously, if the photo is legit, we’re talking wall-to-wall bikes. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Record-holding sprinter Mark Cavendish called it a career with a win in Singapore’s Tour de France Criterium; Cav raced wearing bib number 35, the record-setting number of Tour de France stage wins he set this year.

 

Finally…

No, fleeing police on a bicycle is not “driving away.” Your next ebike could have a sidecar.

And it could be a throwback to the original bicycles made by the Dodge brothers, before they got into the car biz.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Woman riding bicycle killed in Camarillo collision, almost no details available — except what she wasn’t wearing

September 6, 2024 / / Comments Off on Woman riding bicycle killed in Camarillo collision, almost no details available — except what she wasn’t wearing

A woman was killed riding her bike in Camarillo Friday afternoon.

But all we know about her right now is what wasn’t on her head.

According to the Ventura County Star, the victim was struck by the driver of cargo van shortly before 2:10 pm, at the intersection of Adolfo and Santa Rosa roads.

She was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now. No word on how the crash occurred, or who may have been at fault.

Only that sheriff’s deputies thought it was important to mention that the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, wasn’t wearing a helmet. Which only matters if she died of a head injury, or if the crash might have somehow been survivable with one.

This is at least the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

58-year old bike rider killed in Camarillo hit-and-run during police chase Saturday; medical examiner says it’s an “oopsie”

July 31, 2024 / / 7 comments

You’ve got to be kidding.

A man riding a bicycle was killed by an armed robber fleeing from police in Camarillo on Saturday — something which could reasonably be expected to result in a murder charge.

Except the Ventura County medical examiner said it was just an “oopsie.”

You know, big harm, no foul.

While this site was down for the last few days, news broke that the victim was killed, and several other people injured in a separate collision, when they were struck by the robber as he tried to escape the cops in an SUV shortly after 4 pm.

Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies began chasing the alleged robber, identified as 21-year-old Makare Toliver of Lancaster, and his partner after they reportedly stole a gun from a man at the Good Nite Inn on Ventura Boulevard.

Toliver initially yielded to the cops after pausing at a gas station, before taking off again and running down the victim as he rode on Central Ave between Beardsley Road and Santa Clara Ave.

The victim, later identified as 58-year old Ventura resident Robert Pierret, died after being taken to a local hospital.

There’s no word at this time on just how the crash occurred.

Toliver continued without stopping until he crashed into another car, injuring a number of people in that car, and was arrested at gunpoint along with another man.

Fortunately, none of those victims were seriously injured.

Toliver was booked on suspicion of armed robbery, as well as evasion of law enforcement and second-degree murder.

However, the murder charge was dropped after the medical examiner inexplicably ruled Pierret’s death an accident, explaining that traffic deaths are usually considered accidents “unless there is some unusual circumstance.”

Apparently, killing someone while evading police after robbing someone is perfectly normal in Ventura County.

Instead, Toliver was charged with two counts of second degree robbery, evading an officer causing death, fleeing the scene of an accident aausing death, grand theft of a firearm, and assault with a semi-automatic firearm, along with a whopping 21 special allegations.

He pled not guilty Tuesday to all charges.

The other man, also from Lancaster, was released on bail without formal charges.

This is at least the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware this year in Ventura County.

Eleven of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Pierret and his loved ones.

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

75-year old Camarillo man dies after falling off his ebike on Friday

November 9, 2023 / / Comments Off on 75-year old Camarillo man dies after falling off his ebike on Friday

It’s not getting any better out there.

But at least this time, there wasn’t a driver involved.

According to Santa Barbara TV station KEYT, an elderly man died after crashing his ebike in Camarillo last Friday.

The victim, identified only as a 75-year old Camarillo resident, was riding north on Crestview Ave, just south of Avenida de Aprisa, just before 9 am when he reportedly lost control of his bicycle and fell into the street, suffering life-threatening injuries.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he died sometime later.

The Camarillo Police Department reports he was wearing a helmet. However, they didn’t say whether he suffered a head injury, which is the only reason that would be relevant.

Anyone with information is urged to call Camarillo Police Traffic Investigator Anthony Zacarias at 805/388-5126.

This is at least the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and just the second that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

He’s also the second SoCal bike rider to die in a solo fall in the last week.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Camarillo hit-and-run driver, more on Governors’ bike safety study, and a bicycle bike workstand

August 25, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Camarillo hit-and-run driver, more on Governors’ bike safety study, and a bicycle bike workstand

Another day, another heartless hit-and-run coward.

Camarillo police are searching for the driver who fled the scene after rear-ending a man riding his bike on Lewis Road near Dawson Drive early Sunday morning, leaving the victim with major injuries.

Unfortunately, there’s no description of the hit-and-run driver or suspect vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Senior Deputy Sam Dominguez at 805/388-5146.

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More on the new study we mentioned yesterday from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The report called for better infrastructure, enforcement and education, along with better training for in state and local bike laws for police.

The study was also just the latest to name Florida as the most dangerous state to ride a bike.

Meanwhile, the next time someone criticizes Vision Zero without understanding what they’re talking about, you can point them to this newly updated Policy Platform from the Los Angeles Vision Zero Alliance.

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Now this is a creative solution.

A British bike mechanic adapted his bicycle into a mobile workstand to create the ultimate fully mobile bike repair shop.

 

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Mark your calendar for the 2017 South Bay Cycling Awards, aka Wanky Awards, at the Strand Brewing Company in Torrance on October 14th.

Cycling in the South Bay has a list of this year’s nominees, as well as past winners.

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Cycling Weekly offers highlights of Thursday’s stage 6 of the Vuelta, where American Tejay van Garderen remained in the GC hunt, despite suffering a pair of crashes.

An Aussie Olympic track cyclist was arrested and charged with six counts of selling ecstacy; Jack Bobridge had retired from racing last year after winning silver in team pursuit in the 2012 and 2016 games.

Russia’s anti-doping agency has banned marathon cyclist Alexei Medvedev for two years for using performance enhancing drugs. But seriously, the doping era is over, right?

And a special congratulations to eight-year old Taylor Rungaitis; the Simi Valley 3rd grader is now a world champion after winning her age group at the UCI 2017 BMX World Challenge in Rock Hill SC.

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Local

CiclaValley looks forward to those promised bicycling improvements to 7th Street in DTLA. As does pretty much anyone else who has the misfortune of riding it.

If you’re going to have a heart attack while riding your bike, do it in front of a Pasadena fire station.

Hermosa Beach approved its first comprehensive planning document in 36 years, calling for a citywide network of bike lanes and mixed-use development in the downtown area.

Sad to see Long Beach’s Seafarer chapel go; it will be torn down next week to make way for an off-ramp and bike path for the new bridge being built to replace the aging Gerald Desmond bridge.

The Downey Bicycle Coalition is hosting an Art Party Ride this Saturday.

 

State

A bicyclist and a motorcyclist were both critically injured in San Diego yesterday morning when the bike rider reportedly crossed over the path of the motorcyclist to make a left against the light.

A 38-year old San Bernardino man was arrested as the so-called “Bicycle Bandit,” accused of riding his bicycle to set eight fires in an Bernardino and Highland, including a brush fire that burned 700 acres.

Ventura County officials are drawing plans for a three-mile bike lane on a stretch of Potrero Road through Hidden Valley that’s popular with cyclists.

A recovering addict says he’ll never get the chance to thank the officer who arrested him in 2014 for changing his life by treating him like a human being, after the off-duty Modesto police sergeant was killed riding his bicycle Tuesday evening.

San Francisco bicyclists threaten to boycott businesses who demanded that a new bikeshare station be removed because the businesses weren’t consulted before it was installed.

San Francisco riders criticize plans for a protected bike lane that ignores the mixing zones at intersections.

Volunteers with the Petaluma Police Department fix up unclaimed bicycles and donate them to local nonprofit organizations.

 

National

A coming bike industry report says ebikes are the industry’s fasted growing category, older Americans account for 1/3 of all new bicyclists, Latinos ride more than any other racial group and low-income people ride more than anyone else. So much for the myth of the rich, elite cyclists.

Portland completes a 9-mile, $4.5 million bikeway through the city, although it frequently jogs to side streets to preserve street parking in commercial districts. So even in bike friendly Portland, they prefer parking spaces to customers on bicycles. Even though the former can be converted to much better uses.

Oregon police arrested the woman who fled the scene after demanding the bike rider she hit pay for the damages to her car. But not until she returned to the scene of the crime, crashed into a tree and ran over her passenger.

The kickers for the Oregon State University football team are two of us, riding the streets of Corvallis on their new tandem bicycle. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

How to explore Chicago on a bikeshare bike.

Heartwarming story from Minnesota, where a five-year old girl born with no arms rides a bicycle for the first time thanks to a custom-made prosthetic device.

Michigan police have identified the hit-and-run driver who killed a bike-riding nun, but no charges have been filed yet. The suspect was found after filing a false police report that he had hit a deer.

NIMBY Massachusetts homeowners literally say Not In My Back Yard to a proposed bike path.

An 84-year old man recalls winning a 1949 boy’s bike race in Valdosta GA after a picture of his victory unexpectedly appears in the local paper.

 

International

A Canadian bike rider has his journey across the country halted when someone stole his locked bike and all his gear in front of a Winnipeg Walmart; however, local residents have been contributing to replace it.

The husband of the London woman killed by a brakeless fixie rider calls for changes in the law to treat bike riders like motorists when someone is killed or injured by a cyclist. Someone should tell him most killer drivers walk away with just a light caress on the wrist.

A London bike courier explains why he rides brakeless. And why he’ll probably put one on his bike now.

The co-host of the Good Morning Britain TV show blew up at a bicycling advocate on yesterday’s show when he wasn’t satisfied with the answers to his questions. Meanwhile, a man on another show blasted a bicycle advocate for saying only a minority of riders break the law, while calling for all bicyclists to be registered.

An Australian driver claimed he was blinded by the sun when he plowed into a dozen cyclists while making a U-turn, injuring five riders, one critically. So why couldn’t he see the riders before he made his turn? Or if he was already blinded, why the hell would he make a U-turn when he can’t see where he was going?

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to steal a police bike minutes after being released on a shoplifting charge. Seriously, don’t stab your bike-riding former partner in crime in the butt just because he wants to go straight.

And that’s one sketchy DIY ebike.

But this one looks like a blast.

Literally.

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

Rider killed in collision with SUV in Camarillo Saturday (Updated)

June 12, 2011 / / 8 comments

Last night, I saw a brief notice from the Ventura Star that a cyclist had been injured in a collision in Camarillo on Saturday afternoon.

This morning, the worst fears were confirmed when the story changed to report that the rider had died at a local medical center.

No details are available at this time, other than the collision with an SUV occurred around 1:15 pm at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Freedom Park Drive.

This is the third cycling death reported so far this year in Ventura County, and the 31st in Southern California.

Thanks to DC for the tip.

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Update: the cyclist has been identified as 76-year old John H. Dillingham Jr. of Camarillo.

According to the Star, Dillingham was attempting to turn onto Freedom Park Drive from Pleasant Valley Road when when he was hit by a car driven by 63-year old Eva Labrador of Oxnard. Yet the paper also says he “accidently” veered into the eastbound lane in front of Labrador’s SUV; she was reportedly driving at 55 mph and unable to avoid him.

Unfortunately, the story does not explain which direction Dillingham was riding, or what the speed limit is on that stretch of roadway. Reading between the lines, it sounds as if he was riding east on the shoulder of the road, and moved into the traffic lane to make his turn; however, that is pure supposition based on the minimal description and the satellite photo of the scene.

It is important to remember is that, unless the police have other witnesses, the only description of how the collision unfolded could be coming from the driver.

Unfortunately, Dillingham isn’t around to defend his actions or explain his version of events. 

My condolences to his family and friends.

Update: TQ reports that Dillingham was riding with a friend, so hopefully the investigators are getting both sides of the story. And Will Campbell does what I didn’t, checking Google’s street view to discover a speed limit sign indicating the limit near the park is 50 mph.

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

Champion triathlete Jordan Rapp survives a near-fatal hit-and-run to compete again

November 20, 2010 / / Comments Off on Champion triathlete Jordan Rapp survives a near-fatal hit-and-run to compete again

On November 22nd, 2009, Jordan Rapp set a course record in winning the Ford Ironman Arizona triathlon.

Four months later, he was nearly killed in a horrifying Camarillo hit-and-run, suffering two severed jugular veins, losing over two liters of blood and shattering his face, collarbone and shoulder when he broadsided a truck that turned into the path of his bike. Authorities believe the suspect in the case, Marco Garcia-Ortiz, may have fled to Mexico.

This Sunday he’ll defend his championship in Tempe, Arizona.

And the man who saved his life will be watching.

Update: Rapp not only completed the race today, he nearly made the podium by finishing fourth — capping an amazing comeback over the past eight months. I may just have a new hero.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

The hit-and-run epidemic spreads west; a champion triathlete is seriously injured in Camarillo

March 24, 2010 / / 3 comments

A champion triathlete was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in near CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo Tuesday night.

According to CHP officials, the incident occurred as Jordan Rapp was riding north on Lewis Road near University Drive when an unknown vehicle made a left turn directly in front of him. The driver fled after Rapp collided with the left side of the vehicle, shattering a window.

When he failed to return home, his wife called the Ventura County Sherriff’s department to report him missing, where dispatchers made the connection with the hit-and-run.

Rapp is the reigning Subaru Ironman Canada and Ironman Arizona champion, as well as the winner of the Vancouver International Half-Ironman and Coronado’s Superseal triathlon, and was scheduled to compete in the 70.3 Oceanside triathlon this weekend. He also worked with World Bicycle Relief, raising $22,541 to provide bikes for school children in Zambia.

He remains sedated on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, with significant blood loss, contusions and lacerations about the head and neck, and numerous fractures including a broken clavicle and scapula. However, Slowtwitch.com reports that his brain function is normal, with no indication of nerve or spinal cord injury.

Authorities are looking for a vehicle with a shattered left window and possible damage to the left side; they suspect the driver could have been a worker leaving a nearby farm which closed minutes earlier. Anyone with information is asked to call CHP Lt. Casey Cronin at 805/477-4100

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Newly returned bike blogger Gary Kavanaugh of Gary Rides Bikes fame discusses the benefits of Cash Out Parking at StreetSummit. Damien Newton writes an open letter to an apparently bike-challenged Avatar star. The Times writes about Kristina Ripatti, the former LAPD officer paralyzed in an on-duty shooting, who’s planning to compete in the relay section of this year’s Race Across America. Dodger owner — at least until the divorce settlement — and L.A. Marathon meister Frank McCourt plans a world-class L.A. bike race this November. Channel 7 discovers Bicycle Kitchen. You can’t believe every sign you see, especially in bike-unfriendly Sausalito. The San Francisco Examiner says a green bike lane could improve safety. A 73-year old Modesto cyclist was killed in a hit-from-behind collision after signaling for a left turn on Monday. Bill Murray rides a bike, at least when he’s in Austin. Another term that needs to die a rapid death: freak accident. Tucson considers licensing bikes. More on springtime cycling in Yellowstone. Ski Town USA could soon be a bike town. Brooklyn worshipers park semi-legally in the bike lane during services. Yet another car manufacturer decides they understand bike design better than the bike designers. If you only go by government accident statistics, the roads no one would ride look like the best roads for cycling. Maybe painting wider lines on bike lanes would make them safer. In a classic case of windshield perspective, an Australian paper reports that a driver was shocked after sideswiping a bike rider; imagine how the cyclist felt.

Finally, an Oklahoma man is convicted of stealing medical equipment and posing as an off-duty fireman in the aftermath of a tragic collision, in which a drunk hit-and-run driver ran down three cyclists, killing two. And yes, he did attempt to render aid to at least one of the victims.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,
 
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