Tag Archive for Cheviot Hills

Hope for Expo bike path despite entitled NIMBYs, LA needs safer streets not more signs, and South Bay tries to rein in ebikes

November 27, 2023 / / One comment

Welcome to the 9th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

We’re off to a rip-roaring start as we begin Day 4, ahead of last year’s record pace by nearly $450 after just three days. 

So before you settle down to Cyber Monday shopping, take a moment to join the 23 people who have already opened their hearts and wallets to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

And please join me in thanking everyone who’s given so far for their kindness and generosity in supporting this site. 

Thanks to James L, David R, Eric L, Arthur B, Stephen T, Scott R, John C, Joni Y, André V, Glenn C, Jordan G, Michael G, David M, Joseph R, Michael S, Mark J, Stephen M, Patrick M, Steven F, Steven S, Brian N, Robs M, and Smiling Corgis. 

Let’s hope tomorrow’s list is just as long. So donate today!

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Writing for Streetsblog, longtime lawyer, bike advocate and Cheviot Hills resident Jonathan Weiss tells a prototypical LA horror story about entitled NIMBYs blocking the Expo Line bike path.

Weiss writes how wealthy Cheviot Hills residents successfully fought the installation of the Expo Bike Path after unsuccessfully fighting the Expo Line train, resulting in the notorious Northvale Gap that has forced bike riders and walkers to use difficult bypass routes.

And how they’ve used means both legal and otherwise to deter outsiders from besmirching their neighborhood.

But there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel, after ten long years.

As for finally closing the Northvale Gap, I am cautiously optimistic now that Katy Yaroslavsky is the Los Angeles City Councilwoman for Cheviot Hills. She is pro-active-transportation and is also on the Metro board. Already, her office has obtained additional funds from Metro to close the Northvale Gap. Her staff regularly meets with relevant departments (LADOT, Engineering, City Attorney) to solve problems. The latest (2022) fact sheet available through LADOT’s “Exposition Bike Path (Northvale Segment)” website says “Construction is anticipated to begin Spring 2024.” The Council Office expects construction to start some time in 2024.

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In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Streets For All founder Michael Schneider says the city needs safe streets, not more signs warning drivers to “watch your speed.”

The official responses to proven traffic hazards are woefully inadequate — mere gestures, if even that.

In 2021, after Monique Muñoz was killed on Olympic Boulevard at Overland Avenue by a driver going more than 100 miles per hour, the city placed a “Watch your speed” sign, politely asking drivers to slow down. Unfortunately, in the over two years that have passed, the city has yet to meaningfully redesign Olympic Boulevard to prevent a crash like this from happening again.

People don’t drive based on signage. They drive based on the design of the street. In the case of Olympic Boulevard in West Los Angeles, the design screams “wide open highway,” a lot like the Pacific Coast Highway. Hazardous as this is to all people (including drivers), it is most dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists.

Take a few minutes from your busy Cyber Monday to read the whole thing, because, as Schneider concludes, “The problem is carnage in the streets, and we know the solutions.”

Indeed we do.

We just need leaders with the courage to implement them, which seems to be sadly lacking in this town.

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Speaking of the LA Times, the paper observes the proliferation of ebikes in California’s coastal cities, as South Bay cities struggle to rein riders in.

And as we’ve seen, several have over-reacted with draconian, and possibly illegal, restrictions. Hello, Manhattan Beach.

Meanwhile, Clean Technica gets it, pleading with officials not to turn ebikes into a regulatory nightmare.

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CicLAvia looks forward to their final event of the year, as the nation’s most successful ongoing open streets festival finds its way to South LA this weekend.

The route runs from historic Central Ave to iconic Leimert Park, with culturally rich MLK Jr. Blvd in between.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to miss this one, much to my regret, due to other obligations.

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The Cyber Monday sales are coming in fast and furious, with as Cycling Weekly rounds up bicycling deals, including up 40% off at REI and up to 50% off at Competitive Cyclist, as well as deals on bikewear and novelty jerseys.

Meanwhile, Wired says you can now get a Specialized ebike for as little as two grand.

Which would normally give us another opportunity to chide California for the interminable delay in launching the state’s ebike rebate program, but screw it.

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Of course Bill Nye the Science Guy is one of us.

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A German TV network reports on the influx of migrants flowing into Finland across the border with Russia, many on bicycles supplied by the Russians.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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GCN tackles the ultimate question of who is the fastest, staging a drag race pitting a roadie against a mountain biker, BMX rider and a track cyclist.

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

No bias here. Georgetown historian Thomas Zimmer writes on Mastodon that certain members of the far right are promoting “aggressive anti-bikeism” as part of their political agenda, even though bicycling is far less socialist than the massive public subsidies paid for cars. Unfortunately, I can’t embed his post, but you can read this thread and other Mastodon posts without having an account with the social media company; thanks again to Megan Lynch for the link. 

Britain’s Daily Mail offers a panicked assessment of the “staggering 10,000 cyclists” delivering fast food across Scotland’s cities and towns, saying they pose a threat to pedestrians and even cars by flouting ­traffic regulations and riding on sidewalks. Never mind that an additional 10,000 people driving cars to make fast food deliveries would pose an greater risk to everyone.

London’s former police chief calls for forcing bike riders to wear numbered license plates to “stop so many cyclists being a danger on London’s streets.” Meanwhile, a writer for conservative The Spectator wisely asks what good would requiring bicyclists to wear numbered plates actually do?

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Local 

Writing for CityLab, Alex Contreras argues that LA should have used the I-10 closure as an opportunity to rethink the freeway and apply the same sense of urgency to get people out of their cars.

West Hollywood will team with the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition to host a WeHo Mobility Popup on Santa Monica Blvd tonight, giving away free bike lights on a first-come, first-served basis for people with bicycles, along with other complimentary giveaways for everyone.

 

State

No surprise here, as California ranks among the country’s deadliest states for bicyclists, ranking 4th nationwide in the percentage of bicyclists killed compared to total traffic deaths.

An assistant US Attorney in San Diego says a form of blood cancer knocked him off his bike, but not for long.

In a rare occurrence, someone was killed in a bicycling crash, and it wasn’t the person on two wheels. A driver in San Gregorio was killed when he struck a bicyclist riding on the shoulder, then went off the road and struck a tree; compounding the tragedy, the bike rider was hospitalized with what was described as severe injuries.

San Francisco advocates say the city is prime real estate for undoing one of the country’s most glaring urban infrastructure mistakes and building cities around people instead of cars.

Sad news from Lodi, where a 56-year old homeless man was killed riding his bike after allegedly swerving head-on in front of a 19-year old driver; investigators blamed the victim for possibly being stoned

 

National

A pair of kindhearted Pocatello, Idaho business owners gave a new bicycle to a man described as a local fixture for riding his bike around the city, after his bike was stolen.

New York’s high court extended prohibitions against illegal search and seizure to bicyclists, ruling that people on bicycles should have the same protections as people in cars, and require that police have probable cause to conduct a search.

Bloomberg’s CityLab talks with the mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey about the steps the city has taken to improve street safety, which has resulted in no traffic deaths for the past six years. And proves that Vision Zero is achievable — if our leaders actually give a damn, and have the political will to make the tough choices.

 

International

Rouleur says ‘cross will make you a more powerful bicyclist.

Momentum offers the top ten reasons to bike to work in the winter. Reason #1 should be that you live in Los Angeles. Or anywhere else in sunny Southern California. 

The mayor of Manchester, England defends plans for a new segregated bike path alongside a major highway, as vandals steal orange construction cones in what the mayor describes as “systemic theft,” arguing that we can’t live in a world where cars “have got all the road.”

The owner of an independent Dublin, Ireland bike shop describes how his business was trashed and looted by right-wing rioters angry over immigration and a stabbing.

The Guardian examines the culture of bicycling on the cobbles and countryside of Flanders.

National Geographic describes how to plan a design-focused bicycling tour of Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city.

The Philippines’ Iloilo City hosted roughly 3,000 bike riders for a three-day celebration of all things bicycle.

A British TV star is once again criticizing a 108-mile New Zealand bike path that runs across property and a restaurant he owns, citing a number of safety concerns for bike riders on the trail, although he has long fought its mere existence on his property.

Hats off to 39-year old Kiwi paracyclist Hannah Pascoe, who became the first blind bicyclist to ride the full 1,000-mile length of New Zealand.

 

Competitive Cycling

Jeffrey Rusk forwards news that four California paracyclists were among the 15 Americans competing for Team USA at the 2023 Parpan American Games in Santiago, Chile last week — including his girlfriend Jenna Rollman, who brought home bronze in Road Mixed H Womens Class Time Trial, among several other American medalists.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could have a 19-gear string drive groupset. Why ride a mere bicycle, when you can pedal a Star Wars speeder, instead?

And when you disagree with the law, just change it.

Or chop it down, anyway.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Northvale Gap can kicked down the road, missing OK bike riders possibly found, and hope for safety once Roadkill Gil resigns

October 17, 2022 / / One comment

LADOT appears to be kicking the Northvale Gap can down the road once again.

Writing for Streetsblog, Jonathan Weiss reports the city transportation agency says construction on closing the gap along the E Line, nee Expo Line, through Cheviot Hills will now begin in 2024, after most recently promising to start this year.

This comes a full decade after the Westside train line, and the rest of the bikeway accompanying it, opened.

The city decided to skip the section along Northvale Road after litigious residents rose up in arms over fears that bike-riding burglars would utilize the path to make off with their big screen TVs and other valuables.

So instead of riding safely and comfortably in a channel behind their homes, bicyclists riding the Expo path are forced to take the steep hill in front of them, while the city forks out tens of millions more over what it would have cost to have closed the gap when the train line opened.

How that improves security, or anything else, for the handful of overly entitled homeowners along the street is beyond me.

Rendering of Northvale Gap Expo Line path from LADOT, courtesy of LA Streetsblog. 

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Heartbreaking news from Oklahoma, where four unidentified male bodies were pulled out of a river outside of the small town of Okmulgee on Friday, five days after four friends disappeared shortly after setting out on a bike ride Sunday evening.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up. 

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The sooner “Roadkill” Gil resigns, the sooner we can start seeing the safety improvements he’s blocked for the past nine years.

Although he seems to be dragging his feet.

Speaking of Eunisses Hernandez, it couldn’t hurt to get some bus, bike and pedestrian supporters on her staff, if you’re looking for work.

https://twitter.com/EunissesH/status/1581382822778273792

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A reminder that LADOT wants to talk bikeways in Del Rey tomorrow.

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Today’s common theme is ebikes.

Bicycling offers a guide to everything you need to know to start commuting by ebike, but were afraid to ask. Short version: Get an ebike, start commuting. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

The magazine also offers tips on riding an ebike in the rain, insisting you can do it safely with a few simple precautions. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

Marketplace says the popularity of ebikes is soaring, but not everyone is convinced — including host Kai Ryssdal.

And a government technology site says ebikes are gaining momentum as a solution for climate change and traffic congestion.

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

A teenage driver was arrested for ramming a bike rider outside Dublin, Ireland, apparently intentionally, in an assault that was stupidly recorded and posted online.

A British driver was fined a total of 451 pounds — the equivalent of $506 — for a breathtakingly close call after he ran a red light and nearly slammed into a boy crossing on his bike.

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

A Michigan man faces charges for robbing a business before making his escape by bicycle; police tracked the suspect to his home a few hours later.

Police in Ithaca NY are looking for a bike-riding man who pointed a gun at a motorist, for no apparent reason.

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Local

KTLA-5’s Sam Rubin and Eric Spillman completed last week’s Bike MS: Bay to Bay charity ride from Irvine to San Diego Bay. Although I’m not sure just what Bay they’re referring to in landlocked Irvine.

The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to include the Arroyo Link in a request for Metro funding after the cancellation of a planned grade separation for the Metro L Line, aka Gold Line; it would create a multi-use path for walking, biking and jogging from Old Pasadena to the Arroyo Seco along the route of the partially built, 1899 elevated bikeway.

 

State 

San Diego’s bicycle-themed Rouleur Brewing Company won gold in Denver’s annual Great American Beer Festival for their Domestique Blonde Ale in the “Belgian-style Ale or French-style Ale” category; 11 other San Diego-area breweries were also honored.

San Francisco follows New York’s lead in exploring bounties to report drivers blocking bike lanes. If they’d do that here in LA, we could all retire comfortably.

 

National

Even Car & Driver questions whether it’s time to reverse the national “Right on Red” trend of the 1970s, as DC bans the procedure to protect bike riders and pedestrians.

Outside reviews ten plus-sized mountain bike shorts for men and women.

Milwaukee residents were outraged by video of a white man grabbing a Black teen by the throat while holding his bicycle to prevent him from leaving, accusing the kid’s friends of stealing a bike from the man’s friend’s yard. No word on how he knew they were the right kids, or that the teen had anything to do with it.

Over a hundred New Yorkers turned out for a bike tour of Harlem to demand a protected bike lane on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd to provide “Black and Brown people…safe passage to Central Park.”

A nonprofit and a local distributing company teamed up to give new bicycles to the entire first grade class at a Baltimore elementary school.

A South Carolina Uber driver faces a lawsuit for killing a man on a bicycle while he was checking the company’s app on his phone; he faces a charge of careless driving for somehow failing to see the rider decked out in a reflective vest, with front and rear lights on his bike, as he rode right in front of him.

A Florida man faces an attempted murder charge for shooting at, but apparently not hitting, another man in a dispute over bike parts outside a convenience store. As we’ve said before, no bike is worth a life. And especially not bike parts.

 

International

Road.cc examines the differences between gravel and endurance bikes.

Cycling Weekly explains everything you need to know before buying your first gravel bike, followed by five gravel bike upgrades to help you go faster and/or farther.

A delivery rider was attacked with a knife by a teen bike rider in a dispute that began when their bikes collided on a London bike path.

The Peak highlights six of the world’s most scenic bike trails, including the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through the US and Canada, although they rank a Vietnamese trail as number one.

Olivia Williams is one of us, as the British actor rides her bike in London while she prepares to portray the new Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles in new season of The Crown.

An 82-year old English man says he’d rather go to prison than pay a £100 fine — the equivalent of $112 — after he was ticketed for riding a bike through the town center, just as he has for over 40 years.

She gets it. A Belfast, Northern Ireland columnist says vilifying bike riders is dangerous and irresponsible, and it’s selfish for drivers to complain about someone on a bicycle slowing them down. I like her already.

Irish families are reportedly distraught over plans to put a bike lane through a Dublin cemetery. Although something tells me the residents won’t object.

Bloomberg examines the decades-long campaign to reclaim the streets of Amsterdam for people on two wheels. Thanks to Victor Bale for the link.

Brussels’ Minister of Mobility, Public Works and Road Safety says death threats won’t stop her from implementing the city’s plan to reduce motor vehicle traffic by nearly 25%, while improving streets for people on two wheels or on foot.

The Associated Press of Pakistan offers a great photo of a man with his bicycle loaded down with a massive bundle of sticks.

 

Competitive Cycling

Road.cc talks with French road race and time trial champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who’s looking forward to next year after suffering a stroke on the eve of last month’s world championships.

American Nielson Powless got his first win of the year in his final race of the year, as his EF Education-EasyPost team took the top two spots at the Japan Cup.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can buy a brand new Porsche for just $11,750. Your next GMC could be a VanMoof. Or maybe vice versa.

And more proof you can carry — or tow — anything on a bike.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Morning Links: No Expo Line bike path in Cheviot Hills anytime soon, and Griffith heirs fight park trail closure

May 2, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: No Expo Line bike path in Cheviot Hills anytime soon, and Griffith heirs fight park trail closure

Don’t hold your breath if you’re waiting for completion of the Trousdale Gap in the Expo bike path through Cheviot Hills; Metro reports construction isn’t due to be finished until 2021.

A lengthy gap was left in the path due to threatened lawsuits from wealthy homeowners in the area, who were convinced bike riding thieves would use the pathway to ride off with their silverware and flatscreen TVs. Metro concluded it was easier to avoid dealing with them and the engineering issues, and just skip that section.

Now it will take much longer to close the gap, and at a significantly higher cost.

Thanks to Henry Fung for the link.

Correction: I mistakenly wrote the path would be finished in 2017, rather that the actual 2021. My apologies for the mistake. 

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The heirs to the Griffith in Griffith Park say not so fast to the city’s closure of the closest hiking trail to the Hollywood sign, joining in a lawsuit to keep the trail open.

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California’s proposed Idaho Stop Law is currently awaiting a vote in the Assembly Transportation Committee, where it faces opposition from law enforcement and automobile groups.

The bill’s author says the current widespread civil disobedience demonstrated by riders blowing stop signs is an indication the law either needs to be changed or enforcement needs to be stepped up.

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The LA Weekly chimed in about Joe Bray-Ali Monday, describing what they termed his campaign’s strange downfall, and saying his Facebook mea culpa was more of a public meltdown.

Meanwhile, a blogger reports overhearing Cedillo campaign staffers at the next table discussing campaign tactics awhile back, and concluding they needed to attack Bray-Ali, since Cedillo was too unlikeable and had too many negatives. Which they have clearly done.

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The Dana Point Times provides photos from Sunday’s Dana Point Grand Prix, along with a complete list of winners.

The Redlands Daily Facts offers a preview of this week’s 33rd annual Redlands Bicycle Classic.

Chad Young, the 21-year old cyclist killed during a descent in New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila was studying mechanical engineering at a Colorado college.

A new competition for the best descender in the Giro d’Italia is met with criticism from the pro ranks for needlessly increasing risk in the race that starts on Friday, particularly in light of Young’s death.

The Amgen Tour of California will bring world class athletes to Southern California; a writer for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune calls it a big money maker for the region.

A rider for Team Sky gets a six week ban for racist language directed at a French cyclist during a race last week.

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Local

The LACBC urges the city to save lives by investing in Vision Zero, calling traffic violence the greatest health problem facing children in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the city will host a Vision Zero open house in Southeast LA tonight.

Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman looks at USC’s plans to boot a popular bike mechanic from campus, after offering to move him to an isolated spot with no street access.

A Reddit user reports having a pair of bicycles stolen from a Burbank balcony. Another reminder that your bike isn’t safe just because it’s above ground or in a garage; they need to be securely locked to something solid, even if they’re out of view.

A member of the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition calls on the city to adopt a more ambitious Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan. And actually implement it this time.

Santa Monica’s GoSaMo campaign is reportedly a success as it moves into a second year of encouraging residents to travel by bus, train, bike or on foot.

The SCV News digs into their bag of clichés to say safety is a two-way street for bicyclists and motorists during Bicycle Safety Month. Then illustrates the story with a motorcycle, of course.

 

State

Proposed new rules for California’s medical marijuana industry bizarrely ban bicycle deliveries, requiring all transportation or marijuana to be done by motor vehicles with a human driver.

Five bicycles worth a total of $30,000 were stolen from a Costa Mesa bike shop during a burglary.

Laguna Beach hosts Orange County’s largest Bike Rodeo and Safety Expo to help keep bike riders safe; the city credits their safety efforts for the lack of bicycle fatalities last year.

Two dozen riders left Santa Barbara on Sunday for the four-day Ride On for Red Nose Day ride to Las Vegas; as of this writing, it had raised over $79,000 to help end child poverty.

A kindhearted San Luis Obispo physician bought 82 bikes from the annual Cal Poly bicycle auction, and donates them to the sheriff’s department to refurbish and give to local kids for the holidays.

The San Francisco Weekly says the city’s Vision Zero failed this weekend, as two pedestrians and a man on a bicycle were killed in collisions.

Despite the weekend’s setback, San Francisco is moving forward with Vision Zero, voting on plans to install a two-block protected bike lane on Market Street tomorrow. Meanwhile, bike safety advocates form a human chain next to one bike lane to call attention to the need for protected lanes.

 

National

People for Bikes issued their annual report.

Surprisingly, the new stop gap budget agreement reached in Congress retains funding for the popular TIGER grants, as well as increasing funding for the National Park Service.

A Las Vegas bike shop owner is planning a 1,400-mile ride around the state to kickoff his run — or maybe ride — for the GOP nomination for governor.

Ohio bike riders can go through red lights that don’t function; drivers, not so fast.

A Buffalo NY writer tackles his first double century.

A group of Pennsylvania kids go viral after riding their bikes near Trump’s big weekend rally with a handwritten sign reading “Fuck Trump.”

 

International

A Canadian bike group says mandating bicycle helmets would do more harm then good.

A British bike rider suffered a broken nose and two black eyes when he was pushed off his bike by the passenger of a passing car.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 81-year old man teamed with a ten-year old boy for a 110-mile ride through Wales to raise funds for a hospice.

A British study confirms what we already knew, saying the courts fail bicyclists when it comes to prosecuting dangerous drivers, who are likely to be allowed to stay on the roads to do it again to someone else.

A renowned Swiss climber was killed in a mountaineering accident near Mount Everest; in 2015, he ascended all 82 peaks over 13,100 feet in 62 days, travelling by foot, bike and paraglider.

A man from Nepal stopped in Qatar on his around the world bike tour, the 55th country he’s visited despite losing a leg to polio as a child.

 

Finally…

Apparently, dangerous drivers don’t respect cops on bikes, either. Nothing like a hopefully gentle push from behind when you get tired.

And don’t piss off your girlfriend, or she might give away your bike.

 

 

Category: Bike Access, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us

January 8, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us

Someone you know needs a new bicycle. Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.

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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that there will be an all-hands-on-deck meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing the Northvale gap in the new Expo bikeway.

After neighborhood NIMBY’s in the upscale Cheviot Hills neighborhood failed to stop the train, they turned their attention halting the bike path, expressing fear that bike-riding burglars and two-wheeled peeping Toms would soon terrorize the area.

Which is only a slight exaggeration.

Meanwhile, funding dried up amid disputes over where to locate the path, and where — or if —there should be access to the neighborhood.

Linton writes that Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has made it his life’s mission to keep bikes off Westwood Blvd, is working to close the gap in what would be the only continuous bikeway from Downtown to the Beach.

There will undoubtedly be many people opposing the bike path going through their neighborhood, so as he notes, if you live, work, bike, or breathe in this part of West Los Angeles, you need to be there to voice your support.

It takes place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, 2920 Overland Ave.

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Clearly, hit-and-run is a worldwide problem.

A New Hampshire cyclist was lucky to escape with bruises when he was hit by a driver who sped away; police later arrested the suspect for hit-and-run, as well being a felon in possession of an unlicensed gun.

A British man faces “substantial” jail time for driving away after killing a cyclist while speeding at over twice the 30 mph limit.

And an Indian driver is under arrest for fleeing the scene after running down a man who was riding home from work.

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Local

CICLE will host a learning to ride class for adults on the 17th.

The founder of Culver City was one of us. Before coming to California, Harry Culver rode in 53-day, 4,120 mile bike race ending at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Long Beach begins work to improve access for bikes and the disabled at Alamitos Beach.

 

State

Calbike poses six detailed questions about the governor’s new budget, and says he stalls on climate change.

Caltrans buys an Encinitas strawberry field to convert it into a park and ride and freeway access ramp, as well as community gardens and open space; the facility will include bike lockers and a bike lane that connects to bike paths planned for the area. Maybe they should call it a bike and ride.

San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood gets a road diet and buffered bike lanes to improve safety after a close vote by the neighborhood planning committee.

Next time you’re in Morro Bay, check out the new bike park that opened over the holidays.

Fresno will shut down a freeway for a day and turn it over to bicycles for the California Classic century ride.

Sad news from Vacaville, as a woman died of injuries she suffered in a collision while riding her bike last month.

 

National

The co-chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus – yes, there is one — introduce a rare bi-partisan bill to allow communities more flexibility to use federal funds for bikeshare programs.

Fast Company looks at the nation’s five best bike lanes.

Nike sponsors Portland’s new Biketown bikeshare program.

A Seattle radio host continues his anti-bike rants, this time saying if officials really care about bike safety, they should ban bike riders from going through a parking lot they’re legally entitled to use, since a protected bike lane will be built nearby. It’s not safety he’s concerned about; it’s really about the money and lost parking spaces for a bike lane he opposes.

Vermont considers a bill that would require right-turning drivers to yield to bikes, and allow motorists to cross a yellow line to pass a bicycle.

North Carolina cyclists say a proposal requiring them to ride on the right half travel lane will increase the risk of serious crashes.

A trio of brothers followed the course of the infamous Sherman’s March to the Sea in the Civil War, riding 340 miles from Atlanta to Savannah. Hopefully they didn’t slash and burn along the way.

 

International

A Vancouver cyclist was killed in a bizarre accident when he was hit by a piece of trash tossed by a dumpster diver.

The founders of Vancouver’s Modacity write in praise of slow cycling, saying the slower a city’s bicyclists ride, the more mature its bike culture.

A Toronto paper questions whether Vision Zero can succeed in the auto-centric city.

No surprise here. Bikes were the most stolen items in Britain last year.

Cycling Weekly looks at the Cannibal as the legendary Belgian cyclist turns 70.

Riding through the coastlines, deserts and mountains of Spain’s Andalusia region.

Bicycling is booming in Mumbai.

Bike riding in New Zealand is getting safer as it gets more popular.

The mayor of Taipei will ride his bike 21 hours tomorrow to promote the Velo-City Global Conference to be held in his city next month.

 

Finally…

How does someone fail to see a stopped bus before crashing your bike into it? When a bus company driving instructor says running over cyclists is a public service, you’ve got to wonder what he’s teaching his students.

And a five-year old rides to the rescue in his pajamas.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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