Caltrans is finally taking steps to tame SoCal’s killer highway.
Maybe.
The state transportation agency, which has responsibility for deadly Pacific Coast Highway, announced tentative plans to stripe bike lanes on a 16-mile stretch of PCH, from Malibu Lagoon to the Ventura County Line.
However, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press, Malibu officials complained about what they called vague plans, which could include the removal of over 2,000 roadside parking spaces.
And the state Coastal Commission might have something to say about it, since their rules prohibit the removal of beach access parking, while requiring some form of mitigation.
Never mind that the Malibu mayor’s primary concern seemed to be whether bicyclists would be ticketed for riding in the traffic lanes instead of the bike lane.
So much for the city’s flirtation with accommodating people on bicycles in recent years.
Maybe he should be asking why the state agency insists on having a major highway run through the heart of the coastal city, instead of turning it into a Complete Street Main Street to serve the needs of all residents and road users, rather than primarily benefitting cut-through commuter traffic.
And yes, CVC 21208 requires bicyclists to use the bike lane if they’re riding slower than the speed of traffic.
The plans call for a painted, Class II bike lane, although bike riders called for a buffer zone next to any remaining parking, as well as next to traffic speeding by at — or often above — the 50 to 55 mph speed limit.
Someone also asked why the bike lane was planned for the west side of the city, rather than the east side where it’s needed more.
Good question.
Thanks to Austin Brown for the heads-up.
………
This is who we share the road with.
A 23-year old Long Beach man faces up to 45 years behind bars after he was convicted of three counts each of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for killing an entire family on Halloween night in 2019.
Carlo Adrian Navarro was just 20 years old when he drunkenly drove onto the sidewalk, striking a mother and father, and their three-year old son, as they were walking home from trick or treating.
He’ll be sentenced in September.
With a little luck he could be out by the time he’s 50.
………
As we mentioned yesterday, Los Angeles has closed a roughly one-mile section of Griffith Park Drive in Griffith Park to cars, at least for now.
The pilot closure comes in response to drivers using the park as a cut-through route to avoid freeway traffic, putting bike riders, pedestrians and other park users at risk.
Streetsblog reports it’s part of a multi-phase effort to fast track safety improvements to the park.
SAFE, aka Streets Are For Everyone, the traffic safety organization founded by Finish the Ride’s Damian Kevitt, hosted a ride on Saturday attended by hundreds of bike riders to mark the closure.
Lionel Mares shared his photos from the ride.
SAFE and Finish the Ride Founder Damian Kevitt
LACBC Executive Director Eli Akira Kaufman, Streets For All founder Michael Schneider, and California State Senator Anthony Portantino
………
Claremont Cyclist / CLR Effect author Michael Wagner sends us a photo from the July Ride Around Pomona, saying the long line of broken bollards doesn’t instill much confidence in the ability of drivers around the Cal Poly campus.
If your kid goes there, you might want to call just to make sure they’re okay.
………
Streetfilms says Emeryville, California mayor John Bauters is the biking mayor your city needs.
Especially if your city is Los Angeles.
Never mind that Bauters sports Peter Flax’s Sharrows Are Bullshit t-shirt.
………
British tennis pro Cameron Norrie is one of us.
Respect to Cameron Norrie – the last Brit still in the running – who has been cycling to @Wimbledon He said: “It’s nice to beat the traffic and it’s a good warm up.” #ActiveTravel pic.twitter.com/jnWxIxbGox
— Active Travel England (@activetraveleng) July 5, 2022
………
Stephen Hallet forwards this context-free photo he ran across recently.
Something tells me there’s a story there. Albeit a painful one.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No surprise here. Texas officials dramatically undercharged a driver who intentionally drove onto the wrong side of the road, instead of the felony assault with a deadly weapon the crime calls for.
UPDATE: Robert Glenn, seen here using his two-ton Jeep to target a cyclist pedaling home from work, is now charged with misdemeanor reckless driving. Police say Glenn was mad the cyclist was in the roadway
Story: https://t.co/2xHHsF2xrI
pic.twitter.com/hLOjOsTQ3u— Jay R. Jordan (@jayrjordan) July 5, 2022
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Houston man made his getaway by bicycle after robbing a Burger King with a gun pointed at a worker’s head.
………
Local
Metro has begun construction on the Rail to Rail Active Transportation Project, a 5.5-mile shared use path connecting the A (Blue) Line and the upcoming K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line through Inglewood and South Los Angeles.
The Fullerton Observer offers photos from that city’s 4th of July holiday bike parade.
State
There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who fled after striking a 13-year-old bike rider in Merced County, leaving the boy hospitalized with minor injuries.
National
Accessory maker Knog is introducing a waterproof, Apple-compatible “super loud bike alarm and highly accurate bike finder.”
Road Bike Rider offers advice for long-distance riding with “at least some measure of comfort.”
A Portland man faces multiple charges for a racially biased attack on a bike-riding man and his five-year old daughter, after yelling slurs based on their Japanese ancestry while repeatedly punching the father in the head, as well as punching the little girl in her bike helmet. There’s not a pit deep enough for a jerk like that.
Denver is renewing its ebike rebate program after an initial rush depleted the funds in a matter of days. Meanwhile, California’s ebike rebate program continues to tread water waiting for the people in charge to get their shit together.
Chicago Streetsblog complains that People For Bikes ranks the city well below “car-centric, bicycle-sparse metropolises like Houston and Los Angeles” in their annual ranking of bike-friendly cities.
Gotham gets mini street sweepers to clean the city’s protected bike lanes.
International
Alleged killer Kaitlin Armstrong reportedly fled the US using her sister’s passport, and had a receipt for plastic surgery when she was arrested in Costa Rica last week; she faces a first degree murder charge for the fatal shooting of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson.
Apparently, hit-and-run isn’t just an American problem, as drivers have fled in over 1,500 crashes in the last three and a half years in England’s West Midlands, including 28 fatal crashes.
A new Polish study suggests male bike riders should stand on their pedals every ten minutes to avoid genital damage that can lead to erectile disfunction and fertility problems.
Cairo, Egypt is unveiling a 45 dock, 500 bike bikeshare system to fight climate change while providing an alternative to the city’s crushing traffic.
Competitive Cycling
Wout van Aert won Tuesday’s stage four of the Tour de France to extend his hold on the yellow jersey; Red Bull profiles the Belgian ‘cross champ as he turns his attention to road cycling.
The annual 2,700-mile Tour Divide is becoming even more extreme, as climate change-driven wildfires, flooding and extreme drought conditions pushed competitors to the edge.
The inaugural Life Time Grand Prix moves on to Beaver, Utah this weekend with the 70-mile, mixed terrain Crusher in the Tushar race, featuring “60 handpicked WorldTour roadies, gravel pros, track world champions and MTB Olympians” competing for a $250,000 purse.
Finally…
If you’re going to use an excavator to break into a bike shop, make sure you can get the bikes out past the rubble afterwards.
And who doesn’t need a little monkey-faced Wednesday weirdness?
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
