Tag Archive for CD12

Whistleblower demoted in Caltrans scandal, CD12 CM John Lee faces ethics charges, and LA Bike Fest this Saturday

October 4, 2023 / / 3 comments

Maybe things haven’t changed at Caltrans after all.

As we mentioned a few weeks back, Jeanie Ward-Waller, deputy director of planning and modal programs at state highway agency, was unceremoniously transferred from her position last month.

In other words, demoted.

The reason, according to a new report from Politico, is that she stood up against a plan to circumvent environmental rules on Sacramento-area road construction projects, announcing her intention to file a whistleblower complaint.

Caltrans’ chief deputy director, Michael Keever, notified Ward-Waller on Sept. 14 that she would be terminated from her role Oct. 4 and placed on administrative leave until then. In a letter seen by POLITICO, he offered her the option of returning to her previous role at the agency or one administrative level above that.

The former policy director for the California Bicycle Coalition, aka Calbike, had worked at the agency since 2017. She was promoted to her most recent position three years ago by former Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin, who is now serving as state Secretary of Transportation.

Apparently, even that was not enough to protect her when she spoke out against the agency circumventing its own rules, as well as state climate regulations.

Ward-Waller said in an interview — her first since her termination — that she had objected to two construction projects on Highway 80 because, she said, Caltrans’ state and federal permits improperly understated their environmental impacts…

Ward-Waller alleged that Caltrans improperly described the first project as “pavement rehabilitation” when it will actually widen the road to accommodate new lanes. Because of that, she said, it’s illegally using state funds that are intended only for road maintenance, not widening.

She also said the projects should have been considered as one and that by “piecemealing” them into two, Caltrans was able to streamline permitting for the first project, avoiding a full evaluation of alternatives under the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Ironically, the news broke just one day before California Clean Air Day.

Maybe it’s time for Caltrans to clear the air about their own failure to live up to their clean air goals. And stop punishing high-ranking employees for standing up to them over it.

………

About damn time.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows there has been a cloud hanging over CD12 Councilmember John Lee ever since his role in the Mitch Englander bribery scandal came to light.

Now the Los Angeles Ethic Committee is accusing him of failing to disclose gifts he received in excess of the allowed limits in 2016 and 2017, when he was the top aide to the disgraced and now convicted former councilmember.

He also stands accused of misusing his city position, and aiding and abetting his old boss in misusing his council seat.

The only question is what took so long. Okay, that’s the second question.

The first is why he never faced criminal charges for his role in the bribery scandal; smart money says he turned on Englander, and earned a free pass by working with the FBI to provide key evidence in the case.

According to the LA Times,

The accusations arise from Lee’s time as chief of staff to Englander, who pleaded guilty in 2020 to lying to federal investigators when he was caught in a pay-to-play corruption investigation. Lee, referred to as City Staffer B in the federal indictment, was on the now-infamous trip to Las Vegas when Englander received an envelope with $10,000 in a casino bathroom. The trip, we learned from the Ethics Commission’s accusation, was to celebrate Lee’s pending move from City Hall to the private sector.

On that trip, according to the accusation, a developer and a businessperson put Lee up in a hotel suite, gave him $1,000 in casino chips (which, Lee told investigators, he lost playing baccarat), wined and dined him, and spent $34,000 on bottle service at a nightclub. The value of the trip far exceeded the $470 gift limit for city officials.

Lee did not include the trip or gifts on his disclosure forms when he left city service that month. After the FBI contacted Englander around Sept. 1, 2017, as part of its investigation, Englander sent two $422 checks to the businessperson, one from himself, the other from Lee, for “Vegas expenses.” The checks were backdated to Aug. 4 to make it appear that Englander and Lee had reimbursed the businessperson before the FBI inquiry, according to the accusation.

Unfortunately, the most the Ethics Committee can do is issue a fine, which will amount to a relative slap on the wrist, no matter the amount.

And it’s unlikely Lee will have the integrity to step down, regardless of whether that’s the right thing to do after skating on criminal charges.

I can’t speak for you, but after five councilmembers convicted, charged or implicated in corruption scandals over the last few years, I’m beginning to lose faith in our city leaders.

Okay, that’s a lie.

I lost faith in them a long damn time ago.

Maybe we just need to show up with a cargo bike full of unmarked bills to finally get some action on safer streets around here.

………

BikeLA, the advocacy group formerly known as the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, is hosting their annual Bike Fest this Saturday at the Highland Park Brewery in DTLA’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Here’s how they describe the event.

LA Bike Fest is BikeLA’s 2nd Annual Fundraiser and Celebration of bike-minded people from daily commuters to weekend warriors and everyone in between. A Pedal-Powered Party where attendees are encouraged to ride to and from LA Bike Fest via the healthiest, happiest, most sustainable, and equitable transportation available – THE BICYCLE. Taking place on Saturday, October 7 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Highland Park Brewery, a hop, skip and roll from the Chinatown Metro station, the event is open to all ages, but you must be 21+ to be served beer. The $25pp ticket (purchased in advance; $35 at the door if capacity allows) includes free bike valet (along with minor bike repairs), one beer or non-alcoholic drink, a commemorative BikeLA bandana, music, 360°photo booth, an online silent auction, and a fully supported group bike ride to the venue.

Join fellow BikeLA supporters, local chapter members, elected officials, with the shared desire to transform Los Angeles into a better place to live and bicycle. In addition, BikeLA’s 2023 Spoke Award Honorees will be honored during LA Bike Fest: Laura Friedman, Assemblymember, 44th District, a leading advocate for making California a more bikeable region for everyone; Sunset4All, a community-led vision to create 3.2 miles of pedestrian improvements, protected bike lanes, safer access to schools, transit upgrades, and more; and Tafarai Bayne, Chief Strategist, CicLAvia, a Los Angeles native who has worked on urban development and planning issues for 23 years, emphasizing the dynamics impacting working-class communities. Bike LA’s honorees are passionate, dedicated, and collaborative in making Los Angeles a more bikeable region for everyone.

Highland Park Brewery will have a bar in a designated area where additional beer can be purchased as well as offering a special menu (including a vegan option) available for purchase. This year’s silent auction will be online this year. For those who can’t make it to the event but want to show support, can still bid on a wide variety of awesome auction items. The auction is set to tentatively launch on September 29th. Visit https://www.la-bike.org or sign up for email announcements HERE.

Ticket proceeds and additional donations help raise crucial funds to support BikeLA’ advocacy and programming to make Los Angeles more bikeable for everyone.

Unfortunately, the 2 pm cutoff means I won’t be able to attend due to another commitment.

But hopefully you can make it, and quaff a nice Festbier or two for me.

………

Here’s your chance to tell Redondo Beach you’d rather see protected bike lanes on Manhattan Beach Blvd, instead of the thin painted lines the plan currently calls for.

I mean, you would, wouldn’t you?

………

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

Statistics are a dangerous thing in the wrong hands. No, even if 75% of people killed while riding bicycles weren’t wearing a helmet, that doesn’t mean 75% of bicycling fatalities were due to not wearing one. And even that stat is highly debatable.

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

A 24-year old Los Angeles man was busted for riding a bicycle while under the influence. And yes, that’s a thing in California.

Police in New York are still looking for a hit-and-run bicyclist who slammed into a 59-year old woman last month, while riding salmon in a bike lane on a bikeshare ebike; the victim remains in a coma two weeks later.

Several women have complained of being frightened and harassed by male bicyclists in London’s Richmond Park, who mistakenly assume they aren’t permitted to drive on streets that are otherwise closed to motorists. Seriously, don’t do that. No matter how right you may think you are.

………

Local 

The aforementioned LA Times asks if Los Angeles could follow San Francisco’s lead in banning right turns on red lights, which could go a long way towards preventing crashes with bike riders and pedestrians.

The former Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills continues its surprising bike-friendly turnaround, announcing plans to install bike lanes on Beverly Blvd between Santa Monica Blvd and Doheny Drive.

Pasadena public school students will be walking to class today to mark National Walk and Roll to School Day, as well as the state’s Clean Air Day. Which probably isn’t what they’ll be breathing as they walk to school along the Rose City’s busy streets.

A Los Angeles man has been booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and felony assault for knocking a woman off her ebike and strangling her on Santa Monica’s Main Street after yelling incoherently, for no apparent reason.

 

State

A Leucadia woman is calling for a law mandating helmets for ebike riders, after her 69-year old husband suffered a fractured skull when he hit a curb and went over his handlebars just two blocks from their home; he remains in a coma weeks after the crash. Although to be fair, the same thing could happen hitting a curb on a regular bike. 

Solano Beach is just the latest SoCal city to adopt an ordinance cracking down on scofflaw ebike riders, though it sounds like all they’re doing is recommitting to enforcing existing regulations, while creating a diversion program for ticketed bicyclists.

This is who we share the road with. A San Francisco woman is in critical condition after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street and tossed into the path of a driverless cab, which came to a complete stop on top of her leg, pinning her underneath.

Sacramento is planning to slow traffic by installing a number of speed bumps throughout the city, in an effort to improve safety on the city’s deadly streets.

 

National

A 73-year old Wisconsin man faces charges for driving under the influence after hitting a nine-year old boy riding a bike with his two brothers; the boy faces a long road to recovery after waking up in the hospital, and asking if he was dreaming. A crowdfunding campaign to help pay his medical expenses has raised nearly half of the modest $9,000 goal. Drinking may be a disease, but getting behind the wheel afterwards is a choice — a very bad one.

Chicago hit-and-run victims call for better protection for bike riders on the city’s streets.

Tragic news from Florida, where a high school senior was killed by a 78-year old school bus driver just as he was arriving at school on his bike, and was left crossed by the driver as she pulled into the school parking lot; a crowdfunding campaign for the victim’s family has raised over $19,000 of the $20,000 goal. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive — especially a vehicle that large and full of children. 

 

International

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. After a bike rider was killed in a right hook by the driver of a cement truck, officials announced the intersection in downtown Hamilton, Ontario will undergo a review to improve safety. You can probably count on one hand the number of times that’s happened after any crash in Los Angeles. And have enough fingers left over to let them know what you think about it.

A Manchester, England city councilor is feeling the heat after a bike rider was injured by a stoned driver on the same section of roadway where two other bicyclists were killed last year, after he was responsible for having a protected bike lane ripped out in 2021.

An English man credits the doctors who were riding behind him with saving his life when he suffered a heart attack during a charity ride.

Leading British cyclists fire back over the Conservative government’s plan to restore automotive hegemony to the country’s poor, put-upon motorists, arguing that everyone should feel safe enough to choose walking or biking, and that every person on a bike frees up space for people who actually need to drive.

Good idea. Instead of just installing ghost bikes at the site of fatal crashes, advocates in the UK left a half dozen on the steps of the county hall to represent the six people killed on county roads so far this year — and to make sure officials and the press actually saw them.

A $29 million road improvement project in the UK may have to be redone over fears that bicyclists riding on the segregated bike lane could crash into pedestrians using the narrow sidewalk, which is less than three feet wide in places.

Belgian bicyclists may soon be able to take the motorcycle license exam on their ebikes.

Students at Kenya’s Moi University are ditching East Africa’s traditional low-powered motorcycles known as boda-bodas for bicycles, describing them as more convenient on campus and better for the environment.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling highlights the “astonishing, heroic story” of Ayesha McGowan, as she successfully achieving her “wildly ambitious” goal to become the first Black American woman in the pro peloton. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Velo highlights seven rising stars to watch in next year’s women’s WorldTour rookie class.

Thirty-nine-year old Frenchman François Pervis failed in his attempt to become the fastest person on two wheels last month, when he fell 3.1 mph short of the 89.39 mph record for the fastest human-powered vehicle; his previous attempt last year nearly left him paralyzed after crashing at 80 mph.

It looks like the nascent National Cycling League will survive for a second season after signing a number of cyclists to contracts, including L39ion of Los Angeles rider Tyler Williams, who will ride for the Miami Nights. Apparently, pro sports have officially run out of good team names. 

 

Finally…

Who needs a tent when you can tow a trailer behind your bike? Probably not the best idea to engage in a shootout with cops trying to stop you for blowing through a stop sign.

And it’s not too late to get this for my birthday.

No, really.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LA Times tells state to speed up slowing drivers down, Streets For All goes all in on ads, and 5 riders run down Down Under

February 20, 2020 / / Comments Off on LA Times tells state to speed up slowing drivers down, Streets For All goes all in on ads, and 5 riders run down Down Under

I seem to be apologizing a lot this week.

Sorry for the downtime on this site yesterday morning, and thank you to everyone who notified me about the 502 error; unfortunately, I wasn’t able to access the backside of this site, either.

It turned out to be a large scale glitch that took down a number of sites across the internet. But everything’s back to normal now.

Hopefully, it will stay that way.

And let me apologize to everyone who sent me links the past few days. I’ve lost track of most of them, and I’m way too tired to track them all down now.

So allow me to just offer a general and generic thank you to everyone who contributed something for your help, which I genuinely appreciate.

………

They get it.

In recent years, the LA Times editorial board has taken strong stands in favor of safer streets and alternative transportation.

Yesterday was no exception, as the paper complained about the state slow-walking efforts to slow motor vehicle traffic. And called on California to finally get rid of the deadly 85th percentile state speed limit law, calling it “outdated, absurd and downright dangerous.”

The problem stems from a decades-old state law that essentially requires cities to set speed limits based on how fast people are already driving on that stretch of road, regardless of whether that speed is safe or whether the street has a history of wrecks. It was adopted more than 60 years agoto prevent cities from setting speed traps, or arbitrarily low speed limits aimed at sticking drivers with pricey tickets…

The more common and unintended consequence of the 85th percentile rule is what’s known as speed creep. Higher speed limits encourage motorists to drive faster, which in turn prompts higher speed limits. That’s what happened on Zelzah Avenue in L.A.

It’s not surprising, then, that the task force has recommended giving cities more flexibility to set lower speed limits, particularly on streets with lots of injury crashes or an abundance of pedestrians and cyclists. Research shows that speed limits do affect drivers’ behavior, and even modest reductions in speed can save lives. A pedestrian or cyclist hit by a vehicle traveling 35 miles per hour has a 68% chance of survival. A person hit by vehicle traveling at 40 mph — just 5 mph faster — has only a 35% chance of survival.

They conclude this way.

None of these steps will be easy; Californians have fiercely resisted safety-promoting reforms that might slow their commutes. But at the very least, lawmakers should get rid of a system that forces cities to give in to speeders before cracking down on them.

Amen, brothers and sisters.

………

Here’s something that’s been missing from Los Angeles for far too long.

LA nonprofit Streets For All has produced YouTube ads supporting safe streets candidates in the upcoming March 3rd election.

The short ads endorse CD4’s Sarah Kate Levy and Loraine Lundquist in CD12, while taking well-deserved shots at incumbents David Ryu and John Lee.

While there’s an argument to be made against independent groups getting involved in local political races, until campaign finance laws are reformed to remove outside influence and expenditures, it’s vital to get our side out there, too.

And yes, I’ll be casting my vote for Sarah Kate Levy during the early voting period next week.

Meanwhile, Bike the Vote LA lists their endorsements in the coming election, including Levy and Lundquist, as well as Calbike’s endorsements for the state legislature.

………

Horrible news from Australia, where five bicyclists have been injured, two critically, when they were run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver while riding in a clearly marked bike lane.

A 28-year old man has been arrested for the crime after police discovered his blood-splattered SUV.

He faces numerous charges, including multiple counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm; dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and adversely affected by an intoxicating substance; and failing to remain at the scene and render assistance.

The question is whether he was just too drunk and/or stoned to control his damn vehicle, or if this was a deliberate attempt to run down as many riders as he could.

………

A meeting will be held in NoHo this afternoon to discuss the ill-advised widening of Magnolia Blvd, which contradicts LA’s Vision Zero and climate action plans, and all that is holy.

………

A UK website questions whether police have given up on bike thefts, saying many riders are putting off buying expensive bikes for fear of having them stolen.

Case in point, a bike thief uses an axle grinder to slice through a lock, stealing a bike on a crowded street in broad daylight.

Then threatens a bystander with it when he objects.

https://twitter.com/jonestowncoffee/status/1230104852908462081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1230104852908462081&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F271349-shocking-vid-bike-thief-threatens-bystander-angle-grinder-fuglsang-starts-2020

………

The source of those nonstandard, and likely legally unenforceable, Dismount Bikes signs in the construction zones on Wilshire Blvd has been revealed.

In case you want to order some of your own. Maybe someone could convert them to Drivers Dismount, instead.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. And on. 

A road raging Miami-area driver was caught on video brake checking a bike-riding couple and trying to run them off the road, screaming that they aren’t allowed on the street; naturally, the local police don’t seem to care.

Sometimes, though, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Washington burglar was busted just five minutes after raiding a restaurant freezer while making his getaway by bike. Although it does make you wonder if maybe he was just hungry.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton says just eight days into the mayor’s “Decade of Action” on climate change, the closure of the Jefferson Blvd bike lanes has left the city’s bike infrastructure worse off than it was last week.

Pasadena News Now allows the four candidates for the city’s mayor to make their case; all but one ignore transportation, except to complain about traffic. The fourth, Major Williams, gets points for wanting to get cars off the street — but what the hell are “motorized walkway paths?”

 

State

Bicycling says NBA Hall of Famer — and UCLA legend — Bill Walton is a huge cyclist, riding the streets of San Diego when he’s not broadcasting basketball games or engaged in multi-day tours.

Santa Barbara sheriff’s investigators are asking anyone with information or video regarding the allegedly drunken hit-and-run that took the lives of Mary Jane Becerra Corral and Adolfo Corral on a Goleta bike path to contact them; their accused killer, Eric Mauricio Ramirez-Aguilar, remains in custody on $1 million bond.

San Francisco’s mayor proposes congestion pricing and charging for metered parking on nights and weekends to reduce traffic in the congested downtown area.

An architecture and design site talks with the urban planner behind San Francisco’s newly carfree Market Street. Meanwhile, a San Jose columnist says closing streets there would have major benefits.

 

National

Seventy-seven-year old Harrison Ford is one of us. And wants you to know he doesn’t ride an ebike.

Peloton wants to swap your Flywheel in-home cycling bike for a “like new” Peloton, after the former lost a patent infringement suit to the latter. You might want to think twice about an Echelon stationary bike, too.

A Golden, Colorado bike thief made off from a bike shop with an $8,000 bicycle after leaving a stolen ID and credit card as security to take it on a test ride, and never came back.

After kids bike was stolen, a Colorado cop followed tracks in the snow to find it, along with another stolen kids bike, as well as the homeless addict who admitted taking them.

A Buffalo, Wyoming website tells the convoluted tale of why there were bike tire tracks in the snow one recent morning, after a rancher remembered he left his pickup in town following a late night visit to a “parts store.”

Nice piece from VeloNews, as a Marine lieutenant colonel describes how he started bicycling to recover after he was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan, and fell in love with the Dirty Kanza gravel race.

A Texas county commissioner pledged $7.4 million to build 3,000 acres of greenspace along Houston’s bayous, along with 150 miles of connected hiking and bicycling trails.

Cincinnati is moving forward with plans to create an additional 176 miles of bike lanes.

New York’s ped-assist bikeshare ebikes are back, after a redesign to prevent the brakes from locking and tossing riders over the handlebars.

New York City met its goal of 20 miles of protected bike lanes last year, and commits to 30 miles this year. That compares to LA’s firm commitment to maybe build a mile or two if it doesn’t, you know, inconvenience anyone.

Former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says car crashes are an epidemic, but one we can solve. But autonomous cars aren’t the answer.

This is who we share the road with. A West Virginia woman admits to distracted driving after killing a man riding a bike, saying she never saw the victim until she heard the thud because she was too busy looking at her phone.

An 88-year old DC crossing guard is a hero, holding his ground against a speeding driver and sacrificing his own life to save two children. Thanks to Orange House for the heads-up.

Kindhearted Virginia firefighters started a crowdfunding page for a man with Down syndrome after the custom three-wheeled bike he relies on for transportation was stolen; the site has raised over $1,600 in two days.

The Department of DIY strikes in the Big Easy, as a carnival krewe posts their own handmade signs urging drivers to watch out for bike riders during the upcoming Mardi Gras season.

Over 500 people are expected to turn out for a 51-mile bike ride commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March of 1965.

 

International

A new report says e-scooters are just as safe as bicycles, and drivers are the real problem. But better regulation is necessary.

Cycling News considers the counterintuitive benefits of slapping wider tires on your skinny tire bike.

Now you, too, can own your very own badly named online bicycle accessory site.

A group of bicyclists ride 285 miles across Nicaragua in three days.

A proposal to require licenses and insurance for bicyclists in British Columbia is met with decidedly mixed reviews.

Despite the overwhelming success of London’s bicycling superhighways, merchants in the city’s Holland Park district fear it will cost them business — once again mistaking passing cars for paying customers.

This is who we share the roads with, too. A 75-year old London rabbi offered to help a woman park her Jag, and somehow confused the brake and gas pedals, crashing into two pedestrians before plowing into a pharmacy. Yes, the news is two years old; British privacy rules prevent releasing details on cases like this before they go to trial.

A man in the UK was driving at twice the legal alcohol limit when he hit a traffic island. So naturally, he blamed a bike rider for the crash.

British rock group Glass Animals makes a comeback 18 months after drummer Joe Seaward suffered a serious head injury when he was hit by a truck driver while riding his bike in Dublin.

A South African “adventure enthusiast, businesswoman and entrepreneur” describes how taking up bicycling twelve years ago has opened up her world.

Now that’s a beautiful bike. A Japanese student designed and built a handcrafted bespoke bike, melding traditional kitsuregoshi woodwork with a modern bicycle.

A Christian group has kicked off a campaign to provide 2,500 bicycles to pastors in Asia at a cost of $110 apiece.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews talks with American cycling legend Davis Phinney.

🎶 Hello muddah, hello faddah, busted for burglary, in Granada. 🎶 Former TdF stage winner Juan Miguel Mercado was arrested on suspicion of leading a violent burglary gang in Granada, Spain. Scroll way down, or read the original story en español. And anyone too young to get the musical reference can catch up here. 

 

Finally…

When you’re skipping school to ride your bike and carrying a little weed and a gun in your pants, make sure you have something in there to keep it in place. Your next ride could be on car tires.

And when you’re bunny hopping a canal, don’t miss.

https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1229875235979132928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1229875235979132928&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F271349-shocking-vid-bike-thief-threatens-bystander-angle-grinder-fuglsang-starts-2020

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

Punishment pass brush-by, CD12 transportation forum, and forget coronavirus — cars are the health crisis

February 4, 2020 / / 5 comments

This is what a real punishment pass looks like.

Allyson Vought, the LA Bicycling Advisory Committee representative for Council District 15, forwarded this video to me yesterday.

It’s hard to see from the rear-facing cam, but the driver actually brushes her as he — let’s assume it’s a he — passes as closely as physically possible without actually sending her to the ER.

Or worse.

Which makes it hit-and-run. Not to mention assault with a deadly weapon.

And yes, she reported it to the police; what, if anything, they’ll do about it remains to be seen.

 

But one thing is clear.

In most cases like this, the driver would simply claim he didn’t see the person on the bike. That won’t work here, since he blared on the horn as he passed, indicating he not only saw her, but wanted her to get the hell out of his way.

And that makes it intentional.

………

If you live, work or ride in the San Fernando Valley’s 12th Council District, cancel your plans for tomorrow and attend this transportation town hall instead.

And yes, it’s that important.

Although something tells me regressive short-term incumbent John Lee may skip this one.

………

A new Chinese study confirms what we already knew. If you want to get fatter and out of shape, just get a car.

Which means the real health crisis isn’t coronavirus. It’s driving.

………

We mentioned last week that Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson bassist Juan Alderete was in a coma after suffering a serious brain injury when he went over the handlebars on his bicycle.

Now a crowdfunding page has been established to help pay his medical expenses, raising over $50,000 of the $250,000 goal in just two days.

Alderete suffered a diffuse axonal injury, despite wearing a helmet; several studies have suggested that bike helmets can contribute to, rather than prevent, that kind of injury.

………

Congratulations to Culver City, which voted to protect the lives of children walking or biking to school, after a years-long struggle to improve safety.

………

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

What an effing waste. A Fresno man is dead because a man riding a bike took offense to his support of the 49ers during Sunday’s Super Bowl, and shot him with a homemade zip gun; police found him hiding in a nearby homeless camp.

………

Local

The LA Kings teamed with the Bikes for Kids Foundation to donate new bicycles and helmets to all 65 third grade students at Compton charter school.

 

State

No bias here. The San Francisco Chronicle highlights the suffering of Bay Area teachers, whose lives would be just dandy if it wasn’t for that darn bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Because apparently, there was no traffic on the bridge before they installed the bike lane as an alternative to driving. And induced demand isn’t a thing.

About damn time. San Francisco’s port authority finally decides that allowing restaurant valets to block bike lanes in the city’s Embarcadero is a bad thing. Which should have been done after a popular pedicab driver was killed two years ago.

In LA, we have to fight to get bike lanes anywhere; in San Francisco, the question is whether Valencia Street should get protected bike lanes or ban cars entirely.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where a woman riding her bike was killed by a heartless coward who fled the scene after Sunday’s crash.

A couple hundred people decided to skip the Super Bowl and ride a NorCal century instead, a Chico tradition since 1981.

 

National

Yes, ebikes are beginning to infiltrate gran fondos and group rides. I’ve heard of at least one popular group ride that’s been struggling with the issue of whether to allow ebikes for a couple years now.

Seriously, what does it mean when cold and snowy Denver has a Winter Bike to Work Day coming up next week — on Valentines Day, no less — and warm, sunny Los Angeles doesn’t even have one?

A Minnesota professor is trying to improve bike safety by designing a $500 smart bicycle with the sort of $80,000 LIDAR and sensors found on a self-driving car.

After gutting a bill mandating helmet use for bike-riding children, the Indiana legislature revives it to allow a state public safety fund to purchase and distribute helmets to kids. Proving that there are other ways to encourage helmet use besides fining people who ride with bare heads. Hint: The same thing works for bike lights, too.

Speaking of Indiana, an attorney from the state offers tips on what to do before and after getting hit by a car, including always riding with one or more cams on your bike. And if there’s any question why, see the video at the top of this page.

Maybe LA could take a tip from Memphis, which is conducting lane reconfigurations — aka road diets — on six streets to improve safety in the city formerly named the worst bike city in America. Meanwhile Los Angeles, which currently holds that dubious distinction, is currently planning exactly zero.

A New Orleans op-ed makes the case that the city’s docked bikeshare system is a form of public art.

Decatur, Georgia faces a bikelash after a three-year effort to improve bicycle safety and walkability in the Atlanta suburb. Kind of like every other place that’s tried to take an inch of roadway from motorists.

Miami bike advocates call for protected bike lanes instead of a painted green lane on a popular causeway where a woman was killed last year, complaining that the city has done nothing to improve safety following her death.

 

International

Even in bike-friendly Europe, nearly 20,000 people lost their lives riding bicycles in 28 EU countries in the nine years from 2010 to 2018.

Evidently, the best way for an ordinary Brit to get on American talk show is to buy a stolen bike and track down the owner.

A British man won’t be driving for the next year, after deliberately running a bike rider off the road for the imagined crime of not using a bike lane.

Evidently, the only thing that stinks in Limburg, Belgium is the cheese. Because anyone on a bike can ride along the city’s architectural artworks through a lake and over a forest, past sights including a 19th-century castle and an open-air museum.

According to a German expert, the top two-wheeled trends in Deutschland are ebikes, custom bikes and gravel bikes. Or if you really want to be on trend, just build a custom gravel ebike.

This is who we share the roads with. Horrible news from Australia, where an alleged drunk driver faces 20 charges after jumping the curb and killing four young children, and seriously injuring another; three of those killed were from a single family.

 

Competitive Cycling

The incomparable Katie “F’n” Compton looks to the future after her 4th place finish at the ‘cross world’s.

Dutch pro Jakob Fuglsang says he ain’t done nothing wrong, despite reports he’s been hanging out with Lance’s preferred doping doc, and the good doc asserts he’s never been convicted of anything. Which is not the same as never being implicated.

Cycling Tips reminisces about the chaotic 2005 Sun Tour, which marked the start of Simon Gerrans rise as a pro, but nearly marked the end of the then 53-year old stage race, which is still going strong.

 

Finally…

Apparently, golf cart drivers are just like any other drivers. How to create traffic jams on Google Maps with a little red wagon full of cellphones.

And if a Tesla Cyberbike doesn’t exist, just build your own. Thanks to Mike Cane for the link.

 

 

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

CA bike deaths set 25-year high, bicycling cop pays dangerous driver a visit, and bike video captures Kobe crash conditions

January 29, 2020 / / Comments Off on CA bike deaths set 25-year high, bicycling cop pays dangerous driver a visit, and bike video captures Kobe crash conditions

Yes, they really are killing us out there.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that California bicycling fatalities are the highest they’ve been in 25 years.

The NHTSA analyzed the data for the state, and found more bicyclists died in traffic collisions in the years from 2016 through 2018 than any other three-year period since Bill Clinton took office.

And that’s a long damn time ago.

Needless to say, LA County once again led the way for the entire state, with an average of 35 deaths per year in that same three year period, compared to a little less than 25 per year from 2006 to 2008.

Also needless to say, the best way to stop people from dying on the streets is to lower the damn speed limits.

Which would require repeal of the deadly 85th Percentile Law, and legalization of speed cams to enforce it.

And that can’t happen soon enough.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

………

A bike-riding LAPD cop describes going to visit a reckless driver who nearly ran down a pair of bicyclists at Ohio and Veteran in Westwood.*

And for a change, it has a happy ending. Well worth a short six minutes of your day.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the heads-up.

*Exactly where I used to ride both coming and going at least three or four times a week before we moved to Hollywood.

………

Apparently, Mr. Rynew has been a very busy boy, filming the first bike video connected to the helicopter crash that killed nine people, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter.

Then stumbling on the Coaster Bike Challenge.

………

Streetsblog is hosting a Transportation Town hall in CD12 next month; both regressive incumbent John Lee and progressive challenger Loraine Lundquist have been invited, but only Lundquist has confirmed so far.

………

Once again, the Marines have decided to some military stuff on Camp Pendleton — like helicopter operations, according to the base — which will mean shutting down the bike path for the week of February 10th.

However, people on bikes are allowed to ride I-5 through the base, while cursing the Marines for forcing them out there.

Thanks to Robert Leone for the tip.

………

Every bike event should be held in a craft brewery. And every bike path should lead to one.

Just saying.

………

Robert Leone also forwards opportunities for San Diego bike riders to get more involved, courtesy of the San Diego Bicycle Coalition.

This Tuesday, January 28th from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at our office downtown (300 15th St. San Diego, CA 92101) we will have a presentation from Susan Baldwin on Measure A. She will highlight the importance of smart growth and how crucial this is for the San Diego region. Learn more here. We invite you to join us and learn more so that you may make informed decisions when you vote.

This Wednesday, January 29th at 6pm the Draft Active Transportation Plan (ATP) for the City of Chula Vista will be presented at a specially scheduled Safety Commission Meeting in the Council Chambers. Click here for the agenda. Click here for the Draft ATP. The address is 276 Fourth Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91910.

Next Monday, February 3rd, 2020 at 2pm the City Council members from the City of San Diego will vote on the Budget Priority Memos they each submitted Friday, January 10, 2020 to the Mayor’s office. Click here to see what they submitted. If you would like to attend and speak, please join us. There will be a lot of people who plan to attend with their requests. The more we can speak up for cyclists the better!

………

It may not have been easy, but Bicycling once again proves there’s no such thing as a theft-proof bike lock.

Then again, as one cop put it, all you really have to do it make easier for a potential thief to steal someone else’s bike instead.

………

The Hollywood Reporter reviews the latest Lance Armstrong documentary, which premiered at Sundance in advance of its airing on ESPN.

But this pretty well sums up what you need to know.

Every word he says in the documentary feels either lawyered to death or endlessly rehearsed over countless solitary bike rides…because he’s still halfway between victimhood and martyrdom in his own mind.

Touché.

To paraphrase an old country song, how can we miss him if he won’t go away?

………

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

A road raging New Mexico driver faces a well-deserved four and a half years behind bars after he was convicted of shifting his vehicle into reverse and backing into a group of senior bike riders he’d just passed, after exchanging words with them. Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl of Bike Santa Fe for the link.

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

A Wisconsin father hopes a $10,000 reward will lead to the two people riding bicycles who stabbed his son to death in an apparently random attack last September, then disappeared without a trace.

A Florida bike rider faces charges for pulling out a hammer and attacking a driver who almost hit him, after the driver told him he’d been watching out for cars, not people on bicycles. I’ve practiced nonviolence since I was a teenager, but I’d still be tempted to take a swing at him myself for that.

………

Local

Bike West LA, Bike Culver City and the Central NBA/Sunset4All will host the second annual Mobility Mixer tomorrow night at the Bike Shop California on Motor Ave in West LA.

ULCA’s Daily Bruin reports Wheels sit-down scooters will soon come with an attached helmet. Somehow I doubt those hygienic liners they promise to provide will keep people from sharing their scalp critters, though.

Ride Around Pomona and Pomona Valley Bike Coalition will hop in the wayback machine for a 1950’s themed casual ride through, yes, Pomona.

 

State

Give it up, scofflaw scooterists. Lime will soon know if you’re riding on the sidewalk illegally. Now if they can just figure out how to tell when they’re parked blocking the sidewalk.

Speaking of scooters, San Diego just voted to ban them from the city’s boardwalks.

This is who we share the bike paths with. A 70-year old Santa Cruz woman was busted for her third DUI after driving the wrong way on a local bike path. Just one more example of government officials keeping dangerous drivers on the roads. Or bike paths. 

Streetsblog says the Bay Area suburb of Fremont will soon have the area’s best curb-protected bike lanes. And definitely puts to shame anything we have down here.

 

National

Bike Snob breaks down and admits that some bike do have souls.

CityLab offers its predictions for the scooter industry.

Bicycling talks bike baskets, and lists the ones they recommend. But which is the best one for toting a corgi?

Forbes says much of the initial information about the killing of bike rider Elaine Herzberg by a self-driving Uber car in Tempe AZ was wrong, including the myth that she “came out of nowhere.”

A Texas TV station corrects a letter writer, saying runners and walkers are required to face oncoming traffic, but bike riders are forbidden from riding salmon.

Seriously, what good is a bike box if the cops won’t keep drivers out of it? The Chicago Tribune wants to know.

Congratulations to New York, which came out on top with the least impact in a ranking of the climate impact of 100 metropolitan regions, followed by the Bay Area. Los Angeles ranked a surprisingly good 34, scoring high for bike use — no, really — and transit, but losing significant points for vehicle miles traveled.

Mourners released balloons on Tuesday in honor of Deondrick Rudd, the Louisiana bike rider who was killed by street racing brothers last weekend; Rudd was preparing to propose to his girlfriend on Valentines Day. Don’t do that. Mylar balloons can short power lines, causing fires and blackouts, while latex balloons pose a risk to birds and wildlife once they come back down. And they always come back down. 

 

International

Unlike some bicycling magazines and sites we could mention, Road.cc apparently recognizes that not every bike rider has wads of money falling out of their Rapha, recommending five roadies under the equivalent of $390, as well as ten of the best affordable bike shorts.

A Montreal website says the city’s Vision Zero program is revolutionizing the way people think about Montreal’s streets. That compares favorably with Los Angeles, which is revolutionizing the way a Vision Zero plan can gather dust on the shelf.

An English writer stumbles on his stolen bike, and swears his way into getting it back.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a truck driver gets off with a measly eight months behind bars for killing a woman riding a bike while talking to his wife using a handsfree cellphone, despite blinding glare from the wet road.

An Irish paper breaks down where the country’s political parties stand on bicycling issues. All of which show more support for bikes than both of America’s two major political parties.

Paris offers yet another incentive to get people out of their cars, reimbursing residents up to the equivalent of $660 for buying an ebike or cargo bike.

Damn. A Bali mob beat a man to death over an accusation that he’d stolen a bike helmet; police have been unable to confirm the theft, let alone who did it.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews tells the tale of how Primož Roglič, aka he whose name must be copied and pasted, made the unusual leap from ski jumping to the top of the cycling world.

A writer for Cycling Tips struggles to find hope in the hopeless at the Tour Down Under — or as he calls it, the brushfire tour.

Cycling’s governing body has pulled the plug on China’s Tour of Hainan next month due to fears over the new coronavirus.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to make your bank robbery getaway by bicycle, maybe try something a tad more nimble than a cruiser bike. If you want to go unnoticed after shoving 30 purloined cellphones into your pants, maybe spandex bike shorts aren’t the best choice. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for that one.

And if you think a dangerous pass is a good idea, this British cop has some advice for you.

https://twitter.com/Broadsword999/status/1222201211077697538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1222201211077697538&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F270685-road-cop-tells-close-pass-driver-hand-licence-video-journo-stumbles-across-his

 

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

Morning Links: Charges for Escondido hit-and-run driver, fight for Reseda bike lanes, and bikes beat lemmings in cars

December 5, 2019 / / 2 comments

I depend on your support to help keep this site going, bringing you all the best bike news from around the corner, and around the the world. 

And to keep the foster corgi in kibble. 

So stop what you’re doing, and donate to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today. 

We’ll wait. 

……….

Forty-one-year old Jamison Connor pled not guilty yesterday to charges unrelated to the death of an Escondido bike rider last month.

Connor, who is accused in the hit-and-run death of Kevin Lentz as he was riding with a group of fellow mountain bikers, was arrested for parole violations and multiple other charges just five days after the alleged head-on hit on Lentz.

Police arrested Connor on Thanksgiving Day as he was apparently driving drunk and stoned, with a loaded gun and a bag of meth in his pickup — along with his four-year old son.

According to TV station 7 San Diego, Connor faces 16 felony counts, along with three misdemeanors.

Connor faces one count of each of the following charges: child cruelty resulting in injury or death, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of an unlisted handgun, carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a concealed weapon with a prior conviction, having a concealed weapon in a vehicle with a prior conviction, possession of a controlled substance while armed, use of controlled substance while possessing a firearm, crime against a person or property while having a previous conviction for drugs, DUI for alcohol or drugs, DUI for alcohol and drugs, and violating probation, according to (Escondido Police Department).

He also faces three counts of crime against a person or property while having a previous conviction for narcotics and four counts of possessing ammo while prohibited, according to EPD.

And that lengthy list doesn’t even include charges for killing Lentz and fleeing the scene.

If he’s lucky, he may see that kid again someday.

………

Streetsblog takes a look at car-centric, anti-safety Councilmember John Lee’s attempt to rip out LA’s first Great Streets project — and first protected bike lanes — noting that he’s calling for a totally subjective public opinion survey, rather than an actual study of the safety and effectiveness.

Meanwhile, Keep Rowena Safe tells you where to send your comments if you’re ready to fight back.

And the LACBC shares the message they sent to members and supporters in Lee’s district.

………

Speaking of the LACBC, don’t miss their annual open house tonight. It’s free for members; if you’re not one yet, you can sign up at the door.

https://twitter.com/lacbc/status/1202369510931451907

I plan to be there to help them honor my friend, site sponsor and former fellow board member Jim Pocrass, so be sure to say hi.

………

Robert Leone forwards news of another closure of Camp Pendleton to people on bicycles next week.

This is how a representative of the base described it.

Due to military operations bicycle access will be closed on Old Pacific Highway from San Onofre State Park to the Las Pulgas gate entrance. Bicyclists may ride on the I-5 shoulder during the indicated days of the Old Pacific Highway closure.

Closure time: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM

When: Daily, from December 9-13

………

Turns out our means of transportation is far more efficient than anything else.  Including those mice and lemmings in cars.

Thanks to Yves Dawtur for the heads-up.

………

Los Angeles ranks a surprising 14th on a list of international cities most ready for the coming mobility revolution; LA is one of the top three American cities, behind New York and San Francisco.

Singapore topped the list, followed by Amsterdam, London and Shanghai.

………

That much-loathed Peloton ad is turning into a disaster for the company, costing it $1.5 billion — yes, with a b — in market value.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pShKu2icEYw

The New York Times says the ad is being called sexist and dystopian, while Reuters says it’s being mocked as sexist.

Even advertising industry bible AdAge called out the “commercial’s bizarre vibe,” while a psychologist called it a complete male fantasy.

But the company says it’s not their fault, it’s yours for misunderstanding what they were trying to say.

As someone who has stuck his feet in his mouth so many times I now wear favored socks, I can safely say when everyone thinks you got it wrong, chances are it’s your fault.

Not theirs.

………

‘Tis the Season.

Over one hundred Tennessee kids asked for a bike through the county’s Angel Tree program; thanks to the Salvation Army and a local bike charity, they’ll all get one for Christmas.

………

Sometimes its’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 17-year old Hawaiian boy will be tried as an adult in the death of an 85-year old woman, who fell and hit her head when he rode his bike up as she walked with her husband and snatched her purse.

………

Local

This is the last week to offer your comments on a proposal to close the eight-mile gap in the LA River bike path through DTLA.

Congratulations to Santa Clarita for being named a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community.

 

State

A San Diego letter writer says give the new bike lanes time to catch on, already.

Mountain View has prohibited parking RVs in bike lanes; the ACLU finds that “disturbing.” Yes, people who live in RVs need a place to park them, but bike lanes have no value, and offer limited safety, if no one can actually ride in them.

A Newark CA truck driver isn’t a fan of the Idaho Stop because bike riders blow through red lights and stop signs anyway; others say the real problem is the people in cars doing it. Or maybe everyone.

 

National

A homeless Maui man was given a “last chance” probation for attacking a bike commuter with a broomstick, just six days after he was released from prison.

Portland will now require larger buildings to include a bike room. Even though bike thieves love them; if they’re not monitored 24/7, it’s just an invitation to steal multiple bikes at once.

Over half of the dockless Lime and Jump ebikes in Seattle’s bikeshare system are unrentable.

An allegedly stoned 17-year old girl was cited on a juvenile manslaughter charge for killing a 76-year old man who was riding his bike on the sidewalk.

More on New York’s decision to start replacing delivery trucks with ped-assist ebikes.

A New Orleans magazine says people are dying of indifference in the city, as officials, cops and the news media ignore the problem of reckless drivers.

Police in Pensacola FL are pulling over bicyclists without lights — not to ticket them, but to give them a free set.

 

International

Just in time for the holidays, Cycling News takes a look at the best saddle packs, while Bike Radar lists the best “affordable” stocking stuffers for bicyclists. Because really, who doesn’t want bum butter in their stocking?

Bike riders in the Canadian capital complain that the city’s new Vision Zero plan is really just a Vision 20, calling for a 20% reduction in traffic deaths each year.

Tragic news from the UK. Yesterday we questioned what kind of heartless coward could run down a pregnant woman riding a bicycle and leave her bleeding in the streets; today we learned just who is accused of the crime — and that the victim’s baby died.

The family of a Polish man killed by a 17-year old Maltese driver while riding his bike have forgiven him, as he appeals his four-year prison sentence and lifetime driving ban.

A Bangladeshi op-ed says bicycling should be encouraged in the capital city, despite roads that are ill-equipped for people on bicycles.

The future is cloudy for Cambodia’s nascent bicycle industry; a German website talks with workers it calls exploited.

Honda engineers seriously studied the effects of a collapsible bicycle frame on head injuries after getting hit by a car. And not, say, making the cars safer instead.

 

Finally…

What does it mean when a bike hub replaces a former brothel? And even a broom knows drivers should stay out of the bike lane.

………

Thanks to Hamid V and Ryan D for their generous donations to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Your support for this site helps keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

 

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

Morning Links: Vote for Loraine Lundquist in CD12 today, more kindhearted people, and kick leads to shove in the UK

August 13, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Vote for Loraine Lundquist in CD12 today, more kindhearted people, and kick leads to shove in the UK
It’s Election Day in the Northwest San Fernando Valley, and there’s a stark differences between candidates.

As in, one is very bike, transit and environment friendly, and endorsed by both the LA Times and Bike the Vote LA.

And one isn’t. Which is pretty much all you need to know about the race.

So if you live in LA’s 12th Council District, get your ass out there and cast a vote for Loraine Lundquist today.

Because this one is too important to sit out.

………

Kindhearted people seems to be the theme of the week.

More kindhearted cops, this time from my hometown, where police dug deep to buy a young couple a new tandem bike, after the one they got as wedding present was stolen, but too damaged to fix once police recovered it.

The Chicago Bears carried on a 15-year tradition by giving bicycles they used to get around during training camp to veterans and teenagers in need.

A London woman is looking for the kindhearted man who bought her a bicycle when she was a child refugee in the Netherlands back in the ’90s.

………

When kick leads to shove. And kick. And shove…

https://twitter.com/Yorkshire_G/status/1160888113239117825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1160888113239117825&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F265397-most-bizarre-road-rage-video-ever-defo-cheekiest-gb-men-be-2-riders-down-worlds

………

Local

No surprise here, as traffic collisions increased in the first full month after a road diet was installed on Broadway in Long Beach. Anytime there’s a major change to a roadway, you can expect an initial increase in collisions as drivers adjust to the new configuration. Which is why with most pilot projects, the data is only considered meaningful after they’ve been in place for awhile.

 

State

A San Diego woman somehow blames the bike riders she doesn’t see using bike lanes for the actions of dangerous drivers.

He gets it. San Jose traffic columnist Mr. Roadshow says delivery drivers and gardeners aren’t allowed to park in bike lanes with no parking signs. But the best solution is to install more protected bike lanes.

A San Francisco bicyclist joins up with a high-powered micromobility crowd on a scooter that tops out around 50 mph, and decides he’ll stick with human power.

Instead of fixing the roads, Sonoma County is appealing a court verdict awarding $1.9 million to a woman who suffered serious injuries when her bike hit a pothole, arguing it was her responsibility to avoid it. But it was their responsibility to ensure it wasn’t there in the first place.

 

National

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says we need more bike-friendly airports, saying riding to your flight is the ultimate in smugness.

Outside considers ten unusual bikepacking items that are worth the extra weight.

An Alaska blogger says you’re more likely to be killed riding your bike than in a mass shooting or by a serial killer, pointing out “there’s an El Paso every 11 days, a Dayton every five days. And no one gives a shit.” Ouch.

Let’s not get too specific, guys. A pedestrian in Salt Lake City suffered a serious head injury when she collided with someone on a bicycle. Or she could have been the person on the bike, and there may have been a car involved. Or not.

A Houston thief decided to trade down, leaving his bicycle behind when he stole a Chevy Tahoe after the driver left it running with the keys inside.

Life is cheap in Missouri, where man killed a bike rider while doing 93 mph in a 35 mph zone. And somehow ends up with a whole 100 days in jail.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for the pro-Pence bikelash to roll in after America’s favorite seven-time ex-Tour de France champ claimed he blew the doors off the Vice President on a Nantucket bike path. Evidently, they failed to notice Lance’s tongue planted firmly in cheek.

A Connecticut bike rider was injured in collision with a bear; the scofflaw Smokey wannabe was reportedly wearing dark colors, had no license or insurance, and fled the scene after the crash. Seriously, bears should be required to wear hi-viz, be tested, licensed and insured, and wear numbered plates on their massive butts if they’re going to use our roads.

New York police “plan to throw the book” at an 18-year old muscle car driver who sped through a red light, causing the crash that killed a man on his bike who was waiting at the stop light. Unfortunately, given the limits of New York traffic laws, it may be a very small book. The driver’s defense should be that he was driving his Dodge Charger exactly the way Dodge says he should in their commercials.

Faded paint means some NYC bike lanes exist only on paper and in memory.

A New York project is preparing bike riders to act as bicycling rescue workers in the event of an emergency.

Great idea. A new Pittsburgh program encourages businesses to keep bike tools and patches on hand, and let bike riders use the restrooms and fill up their water bottles.

A Charleston SC columnist says bicyclists tick him off when he drives, but “you’d have to be President Donald Trump to be insensitive to the human carnage that’s taking place.”

 

International

A 30-year old BMX rider was killed when he fell off the Vancouver sea wall while attempting a stunt.

Seriously? A British jury let a truck driver off the hook for killing a bike rider in the equivalent of a right hook — even though the victim was doing everything right, and captured the crash on his bike cam.

Lots of people ride the length of Great Britain these days. But not many do it riding Penny Farthings.

An Irish paper says forget the expression that bicycling is the new golf; bike riding rates now exceed golf participation by more than two-to-one on the Emerald Isle. And it doesn’t have to be expensive.

A new $1,500 aluminum bike from a Swedish bikemaker is being made from old Nespresso coffee pods to send a message about the need to recycle.

A well-meaning New Zealand woman apparently makes a habit of telling bicyclists to wear their helmets because a family friend died while skitching — in 1929, when bike helmets didn’t exist. Although skitching was just as dangerous and foolish as it is now.

A 67-year old Japanese bike rider was killed, and a 27-year old man seriously injured, when a salmon driver slammed into their bicycles on a Tokyo highway; once police found the driver, he said he had no memory of the crash.

 

Competitive Cycling

Britain’s Geraint Thomas and France’s Julian Alaphilippe are the top names competing in this month’s four-day Deutschland Tour. Raise your hand if you didn’t even know there was a Deutschland Tour. And yes, my hand’s pointing to the sky. 

Italian cyclist Domenico Pozzovivo will miss the Vuelta after he became the latest pro cyclist to be hit by a driver while training, breaking his arm and leg. 

 

Finally…

If you’re going to steal a family’s bicycle after delivering their Amazon order, try to make sure you’re not on candid camera. Secure your bike with a 14-pound, angle-grinder proof kettle bell.

And yes, if the law says you have to wear a helmet, you have to wear a helmet.

Even if you’re the president of Russia.

 

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

Morning Links: Golden age of bike ads, LA Times endorses bike-friendly Lundquist in CD12, and the war on bikes goes on

July 22, 2019 / / One comment

Ad Age celebrates a classic ad for a 1970 Sears banana-seated chopper bike.

Unfortunately, while the type’s too small to read, the photo at the bottom shows the days of “pink it and shrink it” started early.

And throw in a handlebar basket while you’re at it.

Because girls, unlike boys, actually want to carry stuff, evidently.

Photo from Ad Age story; unfortunately, that it’s full size.

………

The LA Times has endorsed university professor and climate activist Loraine Lundquist in the special election for LA’s 12th Council District in the San Fernando Valley.

She won the endorsement of Bike the Vote LA, as well. Which is good enough for me.

………

Cycling in the South Bay spends a day celebrating with South LA’s East Side Riders, and discovers just how diverse the LA bicycling community is.

After almost forty years of competitive cycling, it’s eye-opening to start understanding how diverse and complex the fabric of our cycling community is, so far beyond the “race around in your underwear” scene. It’s easy to fixate on your own backyard and the Big Group Ride, but hanging out with people who are using bikes as a way to change lives is pretty danged rewarding.

Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

………

At least she pulled over, anyway.

………

CiclaValley finds a unique way to see LA.

………

Most cyclists wait until after the race to sign autographs.

https://twitter.com/Peter_SagFan/status/1152938822201741312

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Even when the riders are naked.

Evidently aroused to anger by the sight of human flesh, someone whipped out a paintball gun and started shooting at participants in the St. Louis edition of the World Naked Bike Ride.

Two young Ohio men face misdemeanor assault charges for throwing a water bottle at a bike rider, after the attack was caught on a truck driver’s dashcam video; one of the men admitted to the assault, saying they were just being stupid.

State police in Cambridge MA didn’t get the memo on that city’s naked ride, turning a peaceful afterparty into a near riot that resulted in the arrest of one person.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever shot a 13-year old New Orleans boy in the leg in a drive-by as he was riding his bike.

A British man got two years behind bars for brake checking, then deliberately driving into a man on a bike, for the crime of shaking his head at the motorist’s crappy driving.

But sometimes it’s the people on bikes behaving badly.

A bike-raging London man used his bicycle as a weapon to attack a London cab driver and the car’s occupants.

………

Local

An op-ed in the LA Times says e-scooters could just be an attempt by big tech to colonize our public spaces.

A survivor of the 2003 Santa Monica farmer’s market crash that killed 10 people and injured 63 others says cars will always be weapons, but we can and should make open spaces safer.

Jeff Goldblum is one of us, too. Maybe.

 

State

Rancho Mirage unveils its plans to improve bike and pedestrian safety.

The bizarrely contentious CV Link bikeway circling the Coachella Valley is expected to grow by another 15 miles next year.

It took Ventura firefighters 40 minutes to bring a brush fire under control after it was started by sparks from a motorized bike.

A sharp-eyed Sacramento pawn shop employee gets the credit for recovering an adaptive tandem stolen from a nonverbal special needs man.

 

National

Will ebikes save the bike industry?

Bicycling readers offer tips on surviving summer’s hottest bike rides, including bringing along a nylon stocking to fill with ice to cool off. Which would also come in handy if you decide to rob a bank on the way home.

Delta Airlines drops its $150 flat fee to fly with your bike. Sort of.

Tucson AZ tries flexible plastic delineators to keep drivers out of bike lanes. Which don’t do a lot of good when people can just drive over them.

Campus police at the University of Utah accidentally run down a woman accused of stealing a bicycle.

Arkansas’ Walton brothers, heirs to the massive Walmart fortune, want to turn Bentonville into a ski town for bicycles.

In a story that should have run over a month ago, a writer for the Daily Beast explores the area around Indianapolis and the irony of riding a bike to the Indy 500.

‘Tis the season. No, really. An Akron, Ohio group celebrates Christmas in July by giving away bicycles to kids in need.

Instead of just preaching about fire and brimstone, a Rochester NY pastor rode his bicycle over police cars and through a wall of flame. Although it helps when your previous job was with the circus.

A seven-year old Bronx girl just got a new bicycle. And a new arm to ride it with, after losing her’s to a misdiagnosed flesh eating bacteria.

A Staten Island columnist says New York Council Speaker Corey Johnson won’t get his vote for mayor as long as he keeps talking about reducing car culture and bike and pedestrian deaths, when some of those dead people might have done something to contribute to it.

Brooklyn readers are happy to blame the victims for New York’s rising bicycle death rates, accusing the city’s “entitled snobs” of having a vendetta against cars and trucks.

Critics accuse New York Mayor and presidential candidate Bill de Blasio of being afraid of the street fights that keep the city from achieving its Vision Zero goals.

New York bike deaths are soaring, while police are writing fewer tickets for blocking bike lanes.

A New York writer plays pinball with cars as a cab-dodging, tip-chasing Postmates delivery rider. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the link.

Good piece from Gothamist detailing how to win the fight to get bike lanes in your neighborhood.

A Florida woman faces a DUI manslaughter charge for jumping the curb and killing a 17-month old girl as her parents rode their bikes on the sidewalk after police found cocaine, fentanyl and other drugs in her system; the child’s father remains in critical condition.

 

International

Forbes talks with an aerodynamicist who builds fatter, but faster and more aero wheels, while Wired examines the “incredible” technology behind this year’s Tour de France bikes.

A Costa Rican hit-and-run driver has been released from jail on a staycation house arrest as he appeals a seven-year sentence for killing four bike riders in a single crash.

A Toronto paper says Vancouver’s recent success shows that if you want to increase bicycling rates, you need an actual network of protected bike lanes — and the political leadership to do it. Which is where Los Angeles invariably fails.

A Toronto columnist says the city is just spinning its wheels on its bike plan, arguing that if it really is a cycling city, it’s a dysfunctional and bumpy one.

More proof evil often only stands out in retrospect, as English bicycling groups cozied up to Germany’s Hitler Youth in the years leading up to WWII.

Um, no. UK police give a DIY motorized bike rider a stern warning after discovering his gas tank was held on to the crossbar with string.

A British parliament member suffers minor injuries when she’s struck by a driver while riding her bike outside parliament.

Brussels, Belgium, described as one of the most car-choked, polluted and bike hostile cities in Europe, is putting the brakes on cars and lowering speed limits to encourage greener transportation options.

Just like Amsterdam wasn’t always Amsterdam, Dutch city Delft wasn’t always the bike-friendly city you see today. On the other hand, Los Angeles is still Los Angeles. Which isn’t necessary a good thing. 

A Philippine aboriginal tribe makes ornate, hand-carved gravity-powered wooden bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

It’s looking like Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe will be wearing yellow in Paris next weekend, after finishing second on the legendary Tourmalet climb that many observers expected him to crack on.

Rapidly riding Dutch cyclist Wout van Aert will be out for the next two months after suffering a deep cut crashing during the in the Tour de France time trial; he’s hoping to be back on his bike in time for ‘cross season.

Cycling Weekly wonders why the yellow jersey is one of the most iconic symbols in sports on its one hundredth anniversary.

Outside says ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis still has a lot to say. The question is, given his track record, can we believe any of it?

The first American to win the Tour de France wasn’t LeMond, Lance or Landis. Or a man, for that matter.

The Los Angeles Daily News offers photos from this weekend’s 58th annual Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, won by Cory Williams on the men’s side and Coryn Rivera on the women’s.

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to landscape your new bike park with poison ivy. Furnish your home in recycled bikeshare bikes.

And if you’re riding your bike with an outstanding warrant and a long, long list of priors, put a damn light on it.

Seriously.

 

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

Morning Links: Not so bikeable Los Angeles, Times endorses Lundquist in CD12, and dodging distracted bicyclists

May 7, 2019 / / 3 comments

The latest rankings of America’s most bikeable places are out.

And this year, my Colorado hometown only ranks second, behind nearby Boulder CO, and one spot above Eugene OR.

Somehow, I’m sure they’ll get over it.

People for Bikes, the nonprofit bike industry-sponsored advocacy group the compiled the rankings, explained their methodology this way.

To compile the data, PeopleForBikes crunched Census figures, analysis from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, plus the group’s own analysis of city planning information, maps, and surveys from community members in cities.

“We focused this year’s efforts on engaging more cities to improve accuracy of ratings,” PeopleForBikes director of research Jennifer Boldry said in a statement. “Better accuracy provides a more valuable tool that helps cities benchmark, set goals and measure progress.”

The list changes year to year to account for traffic injury rates, ridership figures and public investment in creating bike lanes and other infrastructure.

Bikeable Santa Monica was the highest rated SoCal city, checking in with an eight-way tie for 11th with a 3.1 overall score; a group that also included Santa Barbara.

San Diego was a notch behind at 3.0, while Ventura and Goleta both scored a 2.9.

And where did the not-so-bikeable City of Fallen Angels rank?

Over 180 notches below the leaders, with a lousy 1.7. And as CiclaValley points out, a significant drop from last year’s 2.6.

Not that we’re going the wrong way or anything.

But who knows?

Maybe if LA’s leaders get serious about Vision Zero and building out the mobility plan, and lose their irrational fear of angering the NIMBY traffic safety denying segment of LA’s driving public, we might work our way back up to 1.9 — or maybe even a 2.0 — in no time.

It could happen.

On the other hand, at least we’re not Detroit.

………

The LA Times endorses astrophysicist Loraine Lundquist for LA City Council in CD12 to replace Mitch Englander, who decided he didn’t want the job anymore; she also got an A rating from Bike the Vote LA.

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It may not be the holiday season, but generosity still carries the day.

A player for the Denver Broncos donated 70 bicycles to kids at a Denver elementary school, in hopes it will help the develop healthy habits for a lifetime.

A former foster mom continues to provide new bicycles, locks and helmets to Ohio foster kids through her Bike Mom charity, providing more than 11,000 bikes over the past 11 years.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Florida bike rider was injured when he ran into a fishing line that had been strung across a path, slicing his throat.

Two 16-year old Japanese boys face attempted murder charges for stringing a rope across a roadway, seriously injuring a 79-year old woman on a scooter.

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Local

A transit site says LA Metro is hosting a host of LA Bike Month events.

Santa Monica police with run one of their periodic bike and pedestrian safety enforcement days this Friday. And this time, they’re throwing scooter violations in the mix, as well. So ride to the letter of the law as long as you’re in the city.

The tenth annual Tour of Long Beach will roll this Saturday to benefit kids suffering from cancer. Meanwhile, the city is stepping up Visio Zero efforts after 31 people were killed in traffic collisions in Long Beach last year.

 

State

Vallejo police released body camera footage of a police officer shooting and killing a black man for the crime of riding a bicycle without a headlight, after the bike rider allegedly grabbed the cop’s flashlight during a struggle.

 

National

No surprise here. A pair of new studies conclude that the way the news media reports on bicycle crashes reflects a subtle bias that helps shift blame to the victim.

Following the introduction of their high-end mountain and gravel bikes, Walmart is jumping into the road market with a $2,300+ road bike available only online. Although if they had a better sense of humor, they would call it L’Viathon.

Amazon’s Waymo self-driving cars may have finally learned to recognize people on bicycles.

Common sense has carried the day in Oregon, where the legislature has passed a bill to overturn a bizarre court ruling, making it clear that bike lanes extend through intersections, even if the paint doesn’t.

He gets it. A Washington traffic columnist says bicyclists might be safer if they didn’t have to stop at stop signs.

Famed framebuilder Roland Della Santa was found dead in his Reno home on Saturday; he was 72.

A Nevada public radio station asks whether bike riders are safe on the state’s streets.

Sad news from Utah, where an 11-year old Rwandan refugee died just hours after she was placed in a foster home; she was allowed to ride her bike without supervision, despite knot knowing the area, and was killed in a collision.

A 60-year old Kansas man is given a free car so he doesn’t have to bike to work anymore. Which doesn’t sound like a happy ending from here.

New York’s presumptive presidential candidate mayor is urged to forget his quixotic quest to become president, and refocus on the city’s Vision Zero problems.

This is why you always ride carefully around pedestrians. A New York woman has died weeks after she was struck by an alleged red light running bike rider.

Over 200 bike riders turned out to form the funeral procession for a beloved New Jersey bike shop owner whose goal was to save the world with bicycles.

 

International

Your next ebike could make its own electricity.

A Dutch intern living and biking in Vancouver says maybe Amsterdam isn’t the best model to follow due to rage, chaos and clashes in the biking mecca.

A Canadian woman tries biking to work, and finds it wasn’t as easy as it seems.

Residents of a Montreal suburb are threatening to move because of plans to replace parking spaces with a bike lane.

A new Scottish study shows that active commuting can cut your risk of heart disease and early death, whether or not you’re overweight.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list. An eight-day self-guided bike tour from Venice to Croatia.

China’s 29th International Bike Fair kicked off in Shanghai on Monday.

 

Finally…

Even sunglass-wearing dogs have to deal with bike theft. Don’t get mad and bust out the windows of a bike lane-blocking school bus with your U-lock — especially since we all have to pay to get that shit fixed.

And those damn distracted drivers…uh, bicyclists.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the video. 

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Thanks to Matthew R and Theodore F for their generous donations to help support this site.

Donations of any amount are always welcome. And appreciated. 

 

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