Tag Archive for Critical Mass

New bill requires speed governors on new California cars, LAPD Chief blames traffic victims, and LA bike deaths jump 41%

January 25, 2024 / / Comments Off on New bill requires speed governors on new California cars, LAPD Chief blames traffic victims, and LA bike deaths jump 41%
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding a public meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass to hear the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

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San Francisco state Senator Scott Weiner introduced two bills to improve traffic safety, including requiring speed governors on all new cars, and side guards on trucks.

Here’s how Calbike, which sponsored the bills, explains them.

Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced the Speeding and Fatality Emergency Reduction on California Streets (SAFER California Streets) Package, Senate Bills 960 & 961, a first-in-the-nation effort to make California roads safe and accessible to all users. Senate Bill 961 requires changes to vehicles directly, including a first-in-the-nation requirement that all new vehicles sold in California install speed governors, smart devices that automatically limit the vehicle’s speed to 10 miles above the legal limit. SB 961 also requires side underride guards on trucks, to reduce the risk of cars and bikes being pulled underneath the truck during a crash.

Senate Bill 960 requires that Caltrans, the state transportation agency, make physical improvements like new crosswalks and curb extensions on state-owned surface streets to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, the disability community, and transit users.

These changes are a head-on attempt to tackle vehicle fatalities, which are surging across the U.S.—and especially in California—amid a rise in reckless driving since the onset of the pandemic. A recent report from TRIP, a national transportation research group, found that traffic fatalities in California have increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022, compared to 19% for the U.S. overall. In 2022, 4,400 Californians died in car crashes.

The speed governing requirement is probably unlikely to pass in its present form, as it will undoubted face stiff opposition from organizations defending California drivers’ God-given right to speed.

But it could be one of the biggest steps the state could take to ensure drivers follow speed laws, and save lives.

Sort of, anyway. Since it would still let them speed by the same 10 mph over the limit that most California drivers do now, anyway.

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Outgoing LAPD Chief Michael Moore caused an uproar by blaming the victims for the city’s climbing traffic deaths, placing responsibility on pedestrians for crossing streets outside of crosswalks, and bicyclists for riding on streets without bike lanes and not wearing reflective gear.

Not on, say, drivers for speeding or driving distracted or under the influence, or just generally not managing to avoid hitting other people. Or on his own officers for failing to enforce traffic laws.

Schmuck.

His misguided criticisms hardly explain LA’s rapid jump in bicycling deaths, since bike riders seem no less likely to use bike lanes or wear hi-viz and reflective gear than they were just three years ago.

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Meanwhile, Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, is looking for volunteers to promote Saturday’s die-in at LA City Hall at tomorrow’s Critical Mass Ride.

SAFE is holding a Protest for safe streets on Saturday, January 27th, on the steps of City Hall in order to demand LA City leaders do something effective about safety in our roads. Our goal is to have at least 330 people in attendance to represent each life lost to traffic violence in 2023.

We will be at the LA Critical Mass ride on Friday, January 26th, to let the cycling community know about the protest and enlist their help. We need volunteers to join us and make our protest as big and loud as possible!

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Metro wants your input on how to reduce traffic.

Traffic Reduction Study (TRS) Survey closes Jan 31, 2024 
TRS is looking at how we can manage demand to reduce traffic through congestion pricing, and make it easier for everyone to travel, regardless of how they choose to travel. Following the conclusion of the survey, Metro staff will take the time necessary to assess and evaluate the feedback received countywide to include in the study’s technical analysis. We appreciate your assistance in helping us understand what your priorities and concerns are about traffic. Please take the survey here.

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I hope you weren’t planning to ride Orange County’s Mariposa Bridge anytime soon.

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That’s more like it.

An Arizona tow truck driver got 17 years behind bars for plowing into a group bike ride, killing one woman and injuring five other people, despite playing the universal Get Out Of Jail Free card by claiming the sun was in his eyes. Although part of that sentence is for the kiddie porn cops found on his phone.

A 19-year old New Mexico man got a little more than seven years for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a 63-year old man riding a bicycle, after prosecutors dropped an additional seven years from his sentence in a plea deal.

And the Florida drawbridge operator who walked with seven years probation for failing to check if anyone was on the bridge before opening it, killing a woman walking her bike across it at the time, could be headed for nine years behind bars after failing a urine test required as a condition of her probation.

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More proof that brilliant writers ride bikes.

I mean, besides me.

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It took me about two seconds to find the bike with no rider, for whatever that’s worth.

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It’s now 35 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 30 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

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

A British bicycling organization says the country’s addiction to ever bigger cars is driving bike riders off the roads, as car widths increase an average of one centimeter a year — a little less than half an inch.

A London bike rider filmed a motorist driving blissfully the wrong way down a bike lane, as bicyclists dodged out of his way.

 

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

New York’s self-appointed sidewalk vigilante has made over 5,000 documented reports to the city’s 311 systems, thanks to a personally-programmed camera aimed to capture people illegally riding bikes on the sidewalk.

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Local 

The Los Angeles Times suggests 13 out-of-the-mainstream bike shops to help discover the city’s thriving bicycle culture. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the link, who says his go-to shop Safety Cycle should have made the list, too.

Hollywood Progressive profiles Leon Comerre’s breathtaking 1903 painting Cycling at Vesinet.

 

State

A writer for Streetsblog says the California Transportation Commission needs to hit pause on highway projects to address the state’s massive budget shortfall, arguing that putting a potentially problematic $200 million highway expansion on hold was a step in the right direction.

Sad news from Livermore, where a 58-year old man died when he went over his handlebars after apparently suffering a mechanical problem with his bike.

San Francisco celebrity chef, restaurateur and philanthropist Chris Cosentino is one of us, riding his bike to help manage his mental health.

The City by the Bay is proposing a $9 million settlement after an infamous roadway bump resulting from a botched water pipe repair left a bike rider with life altering injuries; four other people have sued for under a million each for injuries suffered hitting the bump with their bikes. Which raises the obvious question of why not just fix the damn thing after the first person got hurt?

 

National

Oregon truckers are complaining that road diets and buffered bike lanes are making traffic lanes too narrow for their bigass trucks. Which is a better argument for making the trucks smaller than reducing bike lane buffers.

Separated bike lanes in Austin, Texas are paved with terra-cotta, making them more resistant to wear, and red instead of the usual green.

Streetsblog criticizes New York Mayor Eric Adams for once again failing to even mention bus or bike lanes in his annual State of the City address, in contrast to his vocal support as a candidate. But he does feel the need to regulate ebikes, proposing a new Department of Sustainable Delivery to regulate micro-mobility.

A DC website offers a step-by-step playbook for starting your own family biking group.

A Richmond, Virginia bike shop reopened after an unexplained closure left customers without the bikes they had ordered or had repaired, resulting in at least one customer lawsuit, as well as a suit filed by Giant Bicycles over an unpaid $144,000 tab.

 

International

A tech site says Europe’s bike industry is hitting bumps as the bicycling craze cools. Although other recent reports have suggested the opposite.

In a bizarre case, a British woman took her own life after learning her estranged husband had been riding a bicycle with another woman. Which hardly counts as infidelity, unless maybe they were sharing the same bike seat.

Travel site Lonely Planet explains how to plan a family bike trip around France’s Lake Annecy.

A 41-year old Sydney, Australia man says people make fun of him because he never learned to drive, but he’s better off riding a bike and taking transit when necessary. And so’s the planet.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mathieu van der Poel’s remarkable ten race unbeaten streak to start the ‘cross season finally came to an end, with a fifth-place finish in the Benidorm World Cup.

Canadian Cycling Magazine takes a deep dive into the relatively recent history of motor doping, including an unconfirmed accusation against American Sepp Kuss.

 

Finally…

Don’t look so surprised if you get popped for biking under the influence. The Bike Share Batman fights evildoers by stealing back stolen bikeshare bikes.

And why would you need more than one wheel to check out of a hotel, anyway?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Louisiana city bans walking and biking at night, and ten months and counting for LA city Healthy Streets alternative

July 5, 2023 / / One comment

I sometimes use myself as the poster boy for diabetes, warning about the dangers of diabetes and the need to monitor yourself if you’re at risk. 

Now AARP is offering a list of “sneaky” signs of diabetes, from mood swings to chronic yeast infections, blurred vision and unexplained weight loss.

The latter of which was how I knew I had it before I was diagnosed, when I dropped from a muscular 200 pounds to a scrawny 150 in a matter of months. 

So use the two or three minutes out of your day it will take to read it. 

Because you don’t want this shit. 

Seriously. 

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Unbelievable.

In an effort to control crime, a Louisiana town has banned biking and walking from 11 pm to 4 am.

That’s right. The city of Kaplan has installed a permanent curfew on anyone using the streets without a motor vehicle for most of the night, while leaving enforcement to the discretion of individual officers.

According to the local police chief, the ban is intended to stop burglary and drug dealing.

Because as everyone knows, no one ever uses a car to commit those crimes.

Hardy told News 10 the curfew is to stop people from walking into others’ yards and stealing. In addition, police want to control the drug activity that occurs at night.

“The chief noticed a big influx of bicycle traffic during the night and people walking around,” Kaplan Mayor Mike Kloesel said. “It’s not usually a good thing when that happens. So in order to prevent any issues and problems, the chief asked the council to institute a curfew. They agreed.”

In other words, when people start walking at night, or gathering together on their bikes, the chief thinks criminal activity is afoot.

But as others have pointed in response to this article, the ban is likely targeted at young people with a little extra melanin content.

Whether it is actually legal is up to debate. The courts have held curfews to be legal throughout American history.

But one targeting just some people who can’t afford a motor vehicle, or choose to use their own legs to get around, seems highly questionable.

And a lot will depend on the actual enforcement.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

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Promises made, promises…broken.

Unfortunately, in one of Elon Musk’s latest boneheaded moves apparently aimed at destroying Twitter, the company is now blocking people from seeing tweets without a Twitter account. 

So I’m going back to using a screenshot of tweets, with a link back to the original. 

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Los Angeles saw a massive turnout for Friday’s Critical Mass.

Unfortunately, the video isn’t available on another site, so you may be out of luck if you don’t have a Twitter account.

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Don’t forget Saturday’s Ice Cream Social and Family-Friendly Bike Ride sponsored by Sunset For All and BikeLA, nee Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, at Pazzo Gelato on Sunset Blvd.

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Good idea.

The good people at Bike Talk work hard to bring you all the latest LA-area bike news. And they deserve your support.

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Oceanside bike lawyer — and BikinginLA sponsor — Richard Duquette talks ebike instruction, safety and insurance on the Bike Fitness Coaching YouTube channel.

In both English and Español, no less.

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

Nothing to see here. A Portland man organized a small protest against the city’s bike network by parking their cars in a bike lane. And kept an unholstered gun on his center console when a bike rider tried to talk to him about it.

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

Bikes get the blame, even when no one is riding them, as a loose bike was blamed for causing a four-car crash on an Utah highway.

A 64-year old Singaporean bicyclist faces charges from climbing onto a bus and beating the 73-year old driver for passing too close to him. Seriously, we’ve all been tempted, but violence is never the answer.

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Local 

Metro is now capping daily and weekly fares, which could end up saving you money if you have a complicated commute. Or not.

The LAPD is investigating after a 38-year old man was shot by an unknown assailant while riding his bicycle in Sun Valley on Friday.

State Senator and Congressional candidate Anthony Portantino hosted a Glendale bicycle safety event last week in collaboration with Walk ‘n Rollers, the Automobile Club of Southern California and Glendale Community Services & Parks.

 

State

Still no word on when California’s ebike rebate program will launch.

There was good news from Ventura, where an eight-year-old boy was found safe after he disappeared while riding his bike on Sunday; he was returned to his family after being found on the bike path next to the 33 Freeway with another boy, who had also been reported missing.

Sad news from Shasta County, where a 38-year old woman riding a bike was killed in a collision, when an elderly driver rear-ended her after drifting onto the shoulder of the road Monday night; the CHP said neither drugs of alcohol were factors in the collision. Then maybe they can explain why the driver couldn’t keep his car on the road, and why he shouldn’t be charged for that.

 

National

Wheel Tales still has space available for a guided bike tour through Oregon’s Cascade Mountains departing July 16th, including an ascent over McKenzie Pass.

That feeling when you come eyeball-to-eyeball with a bear while mountain biking on a Utah trail.

Heartbreaking story from Utah, where a man killed a bike ride in a hit-and-run, then killed himself as the cops closed in.

Colorado Public Radio offers advice on how to start riding in the state, “even if you’ve felt excluded before.”

The Daily Beast introduces guerrilla bike activists installing their own DIY bike infrastructure on Chicago streets. Let’s hope it stays on the ground longer than similar efforts in Los Angeles, which usually get removed by city officials within days. 

A Minnesota man found himself riding solo around the world at just 17-years old when his riding companion ran out of money and patience after a few months of riding through Europe; now he’s on his way home after two years and 20 countries.

This is who we share the road with. A Kentucky man was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide for the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, while allegedly driving with a suspended license, under the influence and with an open container in his pickup.

Vermont’s governor is one of us, as he plans to ride the entire length of a new 93-mile rail-to-trail conversion the first day it opens.

Heartbreaking news from Philadelphia, where a kid’s bike can be seen abandoned on the sidewalk following one of the country’s latest mass shootings, which killed five people and injured two others, although it’s not clear if the bike belonged to any of the victims.

 

International

Your next ebike could be a Beamer.

Mark your calendar for September 21st, when the international Partnership for Active Travel and Health, aka PATH, hosts an online symposium on Walking and Cycling: Effective Actions Essential to Reaching the Climate Goals; they’re also looking for organizations who want to highlight their efforts.

Momentum Magazine recommends 21 ways to keep you motivated to keep riding.

Bike Radar explains everything you need to know about concussions. Which you’ll probably suffer if you keep riding, if you haven’t already. Lord knows I’ve had a few. 

He gets it. A writer for Cyclist says there’s no excuse for badly designed bike kits.

Nothing to see here. A bike lane along the Vancouver seawall was overcrowded with bicyclists over the weekend, after the city ripped out bike lanes through the park that would have provided an alternative to the congested bikeway.

A British woman says she told off the “scumbags” who stole her daughter’s bike, tracking them down herself and grabbing it back after police reportedly refused to help.

French bikemaker Cycles Peugeot, which hasn’t been associated with the carmaker for more than a century, has unveiled a new line of “digital” ebikes ranging from a futuristic urban commuter to a long-tail cargo bike, and a front bucket bike. But as for what makes them digital, I don’t have a clue.

Good idea. French children between six and eleven years old can get a “bicycle passport” showing their proficiency on a bicycle, after completing a course offered by the country’s government.

Bike “activists” are paving the way for a safer, less polluted and more bike-friendly Milan, Italy.

Pink is one of us, as the singer went on a 20-mile family bike ride through Austria’s Wachau Valley.

 

Competitive Cycling

Saturday’s first stage of the Tour de France left fans seeing double, as twins Adam and Simon Yates outsprinted the peloton to take first and second for their respective teams.

Dutch fan favorite Fabio Jakobsen escaped a crash near the finish of Tuesday’s 4th stage of the Tour de France with nothing more than massive road rash, even if his bike suffered a fatal injury; Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen won the stage, while Britain’s Adam Yates held onto the yellow jersey.

CNN reports the riders are approaching the Tour with more caution than usual following the death of Gino Mäder on the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse.

2015 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal got busted for littering, with a $500 fine and 25-point penalty for tossing “something” away outside of the designated refuse zone.

Cyclist calls for the return of the combination jersey for the best overall rider at the Tour de France.

Forty-year old Dutch great Annemiek van Vleuten continues to hold the pink leader’s jersey in Italy’s Giro Donne, as chief competitor Elisa Longo Borghini flew off the road on a tricky descent Tuesday.

Forty-three-year old Goa, India cyclist Sundaram Narayanan won the self-supported Trans Am Bike Race, completing 4,225 miles across the US in 25 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes.

Great road cycling courses were announced for the Paris Olympics, which will start and end at the Eiffel Tower, while men and women will complete on the same 20-mile time trial course through the streets of the city.

American paracyclist David Berling has sued the International Paralympic Committee, alleging it has failed to act on allegations of widespread unfair classification, in which competitors lie about the extent of their disabilities to improve their chances of winning.

Tragic news from British Columbia, where a mountain biker was killed during a provincial cup race on Sunday.

The National Track Cycling Championships are coming to the Velo Sports Center in Carson this weekend. It’s too late to register online, but you can register in person the day before each event.

 

Finally…

Now you’ll have to watch out for drivers coming from left, right, front and back — and above. Always wear hi-vis and a helmet when you ride the ferry.

And who among us hasn’t ridden a bicycle standing on the seat and handlebars with a flatscreen TV on your head?

@murield107

#Only in New York #Brooklyn #fyp 45′ TV on his head #riding bike #fyp #StrongNeck

♬ original sound – Muriel D

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Funds pour in to improve safety on dangerous Sunset & Santa Monica, and new Burbank protected bike lane

June 29, 2021 / / Comments Off on Funds pour in to improve safety on dangerous Sunset & Santa Monica, and new Burbank protected bike lane

Let’s start with an update on Thursday’s lead story.

Sunset4All has raised nearly $7,000 of the $25,000 goal towards LA’s first public/private partnership to force encourage city officials to build protected bike lanes and other safety improvements on Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards, through East Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Echo Park.

Every donation is being matched dollar for dollar this week, so that $7,000 really represents $14,000 to help keep bike riders safe on a dangerous corridor that’s way down on the city’s priority list.

So if you’ve got a few extra bucks, open your wallet and give what you can.

Because if this is successful, this kind of public/private partnership could come to your neighborhood next. And help improve safety where you ride.

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Burbank’s Hollywood Way is now graced by a new partially curb-protected bike lane.

https://twitter.com/pjrocks/status/1409702511179563012

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Video of the Nairobi Critical Mass proves that bicycling really is a worldwide phenomenon.

Thanks to Stormin’ Norman for forwarding the video.

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That feeling when a cough lozenge makes up for forgetting your bike’s front thru-axle that somehow caused a flat to your rear tire.

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Local

Streets For All is hosting another of their virtual happy hours, this time talking with UCLA distinguished professor and parking meister Donald Shoup on July 14th.

A couple dozen people turned out Saturday to ride in support of union organizing efforts for the workers who serve the Metro Bike program, which is operated for Metro by Bicycle Transit Systems.

KCRW looks at the volunteers behind Koreatown’s Bicycle Meals, who ride to feed the area’s homeless people.

 

State

A 33-year old San Diego man broke his ankle when he was right hooked by a bus driver, after coming off the sidewalk into the crosswalk.

Santa Barbara-adjacent Goleta wants to hear from you about whether they should invest in a bikeshare system. Which can and should be answered with a resounding yes.

Sad news from Hayward, where police are looking for the hit-and-run pickup driver who killed a 55-year old man riding a bike.

Legendary bike mechanic John Stein is hanging up his wrench after more than four decades serving Redding bike riders.

 

National

A new Kickstarter project promises to let you check your tire pressure with a swipe of your smartphone. As long as you don’t mind a big round bulb on your valve stems.

Even Las Cruces, New Mexico has installed popup bike lanes in an effort to get people safely outside while they study how to improve bike and pedestrian safety throughout the city. Unlike a certain megalopolis to the west, with roughly 40 times the population.

A Western Colorado bike shop just gave a $10,000 check to a shelter for homeless teens; the shop resells donated bike and gives the proceeds to the shelter, while donating some bikes to homeless kids.

An Evansville, Indiana community college partnered with a local school district to give away 280 bicycles, along with locks and helmets; the annual program has given away over 3,500 bikes over the last 15 years.

Cambridge, Massachusetts shelved plans for nearly five miles of separated bike lanes after local residents chose the convenience of streetside parking over the safety of people on two wheels.

The New York Times offers a reluctant rider’s guide to bicycling.

Life is cheap in Pennsylvania, where an unlicensed drunk driver got just two to four years behind bars for killing the rider of a motorized bicycle in a left cross collision.

After years of watching the Tour de France together, it became more than just a bike race last year when a man’s DC-based father was dying.

After tomorrow, Virginia bike riders will finally be able to legally ride side-by-side, while drivers will be required to change lanes to pass them if the road doesn’t allow for a minimum three-foot passing distance.

An 1,186-mile bike ride from Fredericksburg, Virginia to Miami as teenagers in the ’70s helped bond three friends for 50 years.

 

International

Pink Bike looks at the year’s best mountain bike helmets.

Treehugger takes a look at the how and why of traffic calming.

An English woman is honoring her dying husband’s last wish by selling his prized bicycles to raise the equivalent of $6,200 for the cancer ward that cared for him.

Scottish bicycling deaths surged to a seven-year high as roads emptied and bicycling boomed during the pandemic.

Seoul, Korea will test child bike riders and provide a safe cycling certification, which provides a discount on the city’s bikeshare system.

A Singapore-based artist takes a zen-based look at bicycling.

Bicyclists in Hong Kong celebrate California’s lowrider bicycle culture.

 

Competitive Cycling

Once again, the third stage of the Tour de France was marred by crashes, which took down Caleb Ewing, Peter Sagan and Primož Roglič, who lost significant time on the leaders.

Geraint Thomas somehow finished the stage after a team doctor popped his separated shoulder back into place, while Robrt Gesink was forced to abandon the race; Mark Cavendish was lucky to avoid injury in a crash that trashed his bike.

Yet another crash may have knocked 27-year old Australian cyclist Jack Haig out of the Tokyo Olympics later this month.

A photographer for Peloton captured a gripping image of Ewing on the ground, surrounded by teammates.

The manager of French cycling team Groupama-FDJ calls for rule changes to prevent the sort of chaotic, crash-ridden stage finales seen Monday’s stage before someone gets killed.

Cyclist looks back at what may have been the Tour’s toughest stage ever, marked by a legendary ride by Lucien Buysse nearly 100 years ago.

SoCal’s own Coryn Rivera will represent the US in a grueling ride up Mt. Fuji in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Red Bull profiles French 2019 world downhill mountain bike champ Myriam Nicole.

 

Finally…

Who needs streets to evade the cops, when you can drive on a bike path? Your next retro chic ebike could do its own shifting.

And who really needs hubs, anyway?

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Thanks to Michael W for his annual donation to help support this site, and keep SoCal’s best bike news winging your way every morning. 

Donations are always welcome, regardless of size or reason. 

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

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

Morning Links: LA driver entitlement and assholery, Critical Mass stopped by H’wood LAPD, and stupid bicyclist tricks

July 19, 2019 / / 2 comments

I may have witnessed the high water mark of driver entitlement and assholery yesterday.

A paramedic unit came up our narrow street yesterday with red lights and siren blazing, then came to a halt in front of the building next door, blocking the entire roadway.

An Uber driver came up the street and stopped behind them. After a few seconds, he started blaring on his horn for them to get the hell out of his way.

Then wisely shifted into reverse and made a fast three-point turn to go the other way when an angry LA firefighter got out of the truck and started walking back towards his car.

He nearly left skid marks going around the corner to get away — and probably on his seat, too.

And was barely out of sight before the paramedic unit took off again, this time with someone aboard.

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A reader says Hollywood LAPD officers brought up memories of the bad old days, before former Chief Beck improved relations with the bike community.

In June, Critical Mass got pulled over. In front of the McDonald’s at Hollywood & Highland. No need to go into the history of previous Mass/LAPD interaction at this exact location, right?

We were eastbound on Hollywood Blvd, and Brian, who drives the lead support vehicle, had remained stopped through a green interval. The ride was pretty big (yay summer vacation!), and this stop was to allow the stragglers huffing uphill to catch up. As soon as Brian proceeded across the intersection, BOOM, lights & sirens. Brian pulled over to the curb, so the whole ride stopped, too. In the intersection.

I was five bikes over, on the left of the leftmost lane, so I couldn’t hear the exchange, but I saw Brian staying calm and presenting his driver’s license. Altogether four LAPD cruisers responded, one of which whipped eastbound down the westbound lane of H’wood, closer to my left elbow than I liked.

After a few minutes, the ride marshals herded us forward, and we stopped again on Hollywood at Normandie. Because our AirBnB was nearby, this is where my bf & I ditched, but not before asking the SAG vehicle guys for an update. Apparently, Brian wasn’t cited. And nobody had their phones stomped into confetti by jackbooted thugs this time. I look forward to getting more details next Friday.

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If you’re trying to flee from the police on a cruiser bike, try to pull off a bunny hop without face planting at the end.

Or getting Tased.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0DtbrCl3Jk/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

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Local

LA cyclist Justine Williams says actually, Los Angeles is a great city for bicycling; last year’s dual men’s national crit and road cycling champ is the co-founder of the Legion of Los Angeles cycling team made up of mostly black and Hispanic riders from South LA.

The Long Beach Post says no, car insurance premiums will not rise $50 to $75 a month along the post-road diet Broadway corridor — despite what a somewhat truth-challenged city council candidate claimed.

 

State

San Diego business owners complain that the loss of parking spaces on 30th Street to make room for protected bike lanes will put them out of business. Because apparently, bike riders don’t shop or spend money, and customers only come by cars and prefer smoggy, traffic-choked shopping districts.

San Francisco supervisors vote to tame traffic by closing a busy street for one block, while installing protected bike lanes in other sections. Meanwhile, LA officials lack the courage to take the obvious step of turning Hollywood & Highland into a pedestrian plaza.

A man was found dead next to his bike on a Calistoga road at 4 am yesterday, with injuries consistent with getting hit by a motorist; he was identified as a 28-year old Pittsburgh PA man staying in Santa Rosa. We’ve said it before. In cases like this, the driver should face a murder charge for making a conscious decision to let another person die alone in the street, rather than stopping to offer aid and call for help.

 

National

Popular Mechanics says yes, there really is a rust-proof bicycle. And no, it wasn’t the Walmart Huffy.

A beginning mountain biker learns that riding a bike isn’t just like riding a bike.

Seattle will fork out over $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit from a bike rider who nearly died after catching a tire in a streetcar track and falling under a bus.

A Seattle bike rider calls for protected bike lanes after getting squeezed off the road when a semi driver cut into the narrow painted bike lane he was riding in. Although it’s never a good idea to undertake a big truck, whether or not you’re in a separate lane. And especially not when he’s got his flashers on.

A Utah bike lawyer says the easiest way to avoid getting hit by a driver is to ride on quiet, slow-speed streets. Which is easier said than done in most cities, where bike riders are forced to mix cars to get nearly anywhere. And even that won’t prevent all collisions.

Denver bicyclists are mourning the death of a popular bicycle activist, pedicab driver and bike shop worker, who was killed by a reckless driver in the city’s first bicycling death of the year.

Bike riders, skateboarders and e-scooter riders will now be required to get off and walk on the street in front of Coors Field when the Colorado Rockies baseball team is playing.

A Colorado town considers removing an eight-year old provision requiring bike riders to dismount when entering a crosswalk.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Wisconsin man celebrated his 80th birthday by hitting 80,000 lifetime miles on his bike. Although I left the 80,000 mile mark in my rearview mirror a long damn time ago.

The people of Detroit have spoken, and they want more bike lanes and sidewalks.

Once again, a bike rider has been killed by crashing into an apparently driverless truck, this time in Michigan.

Gothamist offers a good piece on New York bike etiquette, including the need to put vulnerable pedestrians first. Which should go without saying, but too often doesn’t.

No bias here. Police in Pennsylvania are investigating to see if charges are warranted against the road-raging driver caught on bike cam stopping his car to get out and swear at a group of bike riders — but the police chief would rather focus on how bike riders have to obey the law, too.

Juli Briskman, the bike rider who was fired for famously flipping off the president’s motorcade, is now running for county supervisor in Virginia.

 

International

You’ve got to be kidding. A Vancouver criminal defense attorney attempts to justify an $81 fine a careless driver received for killing a bike rider in a dooring, saying the driver merely forgot to check his blindspot before opening the door and nothing he did showed a disregard for life or safety. Except maybe failing to check his blindspot before opening his door and killing another person. Yeah, except that.

A Toronto councillor and deputy mayor is facing a backlash for exulting online over killing an attempt to restore a bike lane that had been removed several years ago — even though collisions doubled after the lanes were taken out.

 

Competitive Cycling

Eurosport looks back to when French cyclist Eugène Christophe donned the first yellow jersey in the Tour de France one hundred years ago today.

Britain’s Chris Froome has won the Vuelta a España. No, not this year’s, the 2011 Vuelta, after Spain’s Juan José Cobo was disqualified for doping eight years after the fact.

The mysterious case of the missing TdF brake and gear cables.

Cycling Tips looks at the bizarre departure of Australian Rohan Dennis from this year’s Tour de France; Dennis got off his bike at a feed zone in the middle of Thursday’s stage, and simply walked away with no explanation.

Outside wants to introduce you to seven rookie riders in this year’s Tour de France, including two women competing in today’s token Le Course circuit race.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to peddle a hot bike, try not to sell it to a pair of cops in an unmarked car. Now you, too, can own your very own slightly used 15-person beer bike for a mere ten grand.

And if you want to ride your bike to the moon, you’d better get started, already.

 

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

No justice for a victim of road rage; hit-and-run victims urged join Damien Kevitt at Critical Mass next week

February 19, 2014 / / 16 comments
Evidently, tire tracks aren't sufficient proof of getting run over.

Evidently, tire tracks aren’t sufficient proof of getting run over.

Just a couple quick notes this morning.

First up, a painful reminder that justice for cyclists remains elusive, even here in relatively enlightened and bronze-level bike friendly Los Angeles.

You may recall last September we told the story of a bike rider who was harassed by a driver while riding home from work in Chatsworth.

He reported being passed in a dangerous manner, then repeatedly honked and yelled at after passing the car while it was stopped in traffic. When the rider paused to ask what the driver’s problem was, he was told bikes aren’t allowed in the street and threatened with a call to the police.

If only the driver had, he might have been quickly corrected and properly chastised. Instead, he got out of his car and physically threatened the cyclist. Then things got worse.

After that, he got back in his car and honked awhile longer. I was trying to explain to him my rights as a cyclist but he would not listen to me. He then drove slowly forward, making contact and slightly pushing my bike. I yelled at him, then he just nailed the gas. He knocked me to the ground and ran over my bike and right leg, then had to stop because there were two cars in front of him at the light.

As I got up, he got out of his car and told me that I am an asshole and I’m the reason people hate cyclists. I took the pic of him and his car about that time.

Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured, although it left him with leg pain that lingers today.

Unfortunately, it also left him with emotional scars caused by yet another failure of the justice system to take an assault with a deadly weapon seriously, when that weapon is a car and the victim is on a bike — despite having two witnesses to the attack.

I got this email from him last night.

I was just told today that the LAPD decided not to charge the driver who ran me over with any crime.  This news came as a extreme shock, to think that a driver can honk and yell at a cyclist then intentionally run him over, get out of his car, call that cyclist names then speed off, and not be charged with any crime.  It just makes me feel like I’m going to die riding a bike in LA and no one will care.  I trusted our system.  It has failed me and it has failed every cyclist in Los Angeles.  I don’t know if you care to update the story or ask anyone why he wasn’t charged; I’m told lack of evidence. But I had 2 witnesses, I had a smashed front wheel of my bike and badly bruised leg ankle and foot as well as tire tracks across my leg.  I was barely able to walk for 3 weeks and still to this day I have pain in my ankle and right foot. I’m just in so much shock right now.

Shocked is a good word for it.

Appalled, disgusted and mad as hell would be appropriate responses, as well.

He was clearly injured, he had physical proof of a collision and witnesses who could attest that the driver got out of his car and threatened him.

Yet somehow, that isn’t sufficient to file charges — even though I’ve been told by police that simply getting out of a motor vehicle is sufficient for a charge of assault in a situation like this

I can’t explain it. Except as a reminder of the bad old days when bike riders knew we couldn’t count on the LAPD for protection on the streets, let alone justice.

I thought we’d left those days behind as the cycling community established a better relationship with the police. But maybe I was wrong.

Meanwhile, I’ve strongly urged the victim to contact a lawyer to discuss filing a civil suit under LA’s still-untested bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance.

He would seem to have an ideal case.

And the best part is, he wouldn’t have to count on the police to lift a finger.

………

By now, you probably know the name Damian Kevitt.

He’s the man who riding his bike with his wife near Griffith Park exactly a year ago this week when a van driver stuck in traffic made an illegal U-turn, hitting his bike in the process.

If the driver had simply stopped, Kevitt might have suffered minor injuries. Instead, he floored it, dragging the trapped cyclist 600 feet onto the 5 Freeway before he was finally dislodged in front of high-speed traffic as the van sped away.

Fortunately, he landed near a doctor and an off-duty paramedic who were able to tend to him until paramedics arrived; otherwise, the outcome of this crime might have been much different.

As it was, Kevitt was among the most critically injured riders I’ve ever heard of who somehow survived their collisions.

And not only survived, but thrived.

A year later, Kevitt is back on his bike, an artificial leg replacing the one lost in the collision. And he’s inviting every cyclist to join with him on April 27th to Finish the Ride.

The easy, 12-mile ride will benefit the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. But more importantly, will allow us to honor the courage of an amazing man, while calling attention to the epidemic of hit-and-runs.

In addition, Kevitt is planning to hold a vigil in front of City Hall during the Critical Mass ride next Friday, February 28th. As part of that, he’s inviting anyone who has been the victim of a hit-and-run, as well as the families of those who have been lost to hit-and-run, to join him in calling for a stop to the crime, and justice for those who have been victimized by it.

If you’d like to join him — and I would strongly encourage it if you can — email him at damiankevitt@FinishTheRide.com, or leave a message at 206/495-3116.

As for justice, the heartless bastard who nearly took Kevitt’s life is still out there somewhere.

Despite a $25,000 reward.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Law Enforcement, Legal Cases, Road Rage / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Does “Bike-friendly” Long Beach intentionally stomp on cyclists’ civil rights?

January 20, 2011 / / 6 comments

Long Beach has long proclaimed its intention to be America’s most bike friendly city.

And under the guidance of mobility coordinator Charlie Gandy, it’s gone far beyond any other city in Southern California in terms of building bicycle infrastructure and promoting cycling.

So it’s disappointing to find out that their bike-friendly attitude doesn’t extend to all cyclists. Or recognize the most basic rights guaranteed to all Americans.

As you may recall, controversy developed in October when the Long Beach police staged a heavy-handed crackdown on the city’s first official Critical Mass ride.

Police are accused of waving cyclists through a stop sign, then ticketing riders who obeyed their apparent instructions. They also attempted to enforce a bicycle licensing law that violates state law, which limits penalties for failing to license a bike to a maximum of $10 — and prohibits ticketing any riders from outside their jurisdiction for failing to register their bikes with Long Beach.

In addition, the police decided, with no apparent legal authority, that fixed gear bikes without separate brakes violate the state law requiring bikes be able to make one wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement — a standard most fixies can easily meet.

And the police enforced those so-called violations by seizing the bikes of the riders involved — again, without any apparent legal authority.

Now, a new story from the Long Beach Post reveals just how far the city is willing to go to violate the civil rights of American citizens, simply because they travel on two wheels and have chosen to practice their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly under the banner of Critical Mass.

According to the Post, despite official denials from the city, the organizers of the ride attempted to get a permit in advance, which Long Beach officials failed to issue. Yet they were found in violation of a requirement that any group of 75 or more is required to get a Special Events Permit — even though that law was legally unenforceable because parts of it had been declared unconstitutional.

Long Beach City Manager Patrick West — a serious cyclist for 18 years — chillingly explains that the city is in fact targeting Critical Mass, and that any other ride, by any other name, would not face the same heavy-handed enforcement.

“Long Beach has been a leader in [developing] bike infrastructure. When a group goes out there to violate traffic laws, it brings more [negative] attention to the money that we’re spending on infrastructure, and angers the average motorist.

“If it’s a Critical Mass ride,” West continued, “you can expect our police department to be there to to monitor that. A Critical Mass ride is something that is going to attract the attention of our police department to prevent cyclists from, you know, to maintain the vehicle code. And I’m just speaking of Critical Mass. I’m not speaking about any other ride in Long Beach at all, whenever, where-ever, whoever. I’m speaking about a Critical Mass ride.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that called selective enforcement?

His words were born out by another crackdown on a Christmas ride intended to raise funds to help cyclists fight the tickets from the October crackdown. Suspecting it was actually a super-secret Critical Mass ride under another name, the police arrived in force and halted the ride before it could even begin.

According to City Manager Patrick West, “we suspected that the second [ride] was a Critical Mass ride and, in hindsight, it was clear to us that it was not a Critical Mass ride. We communicated that to the group, then I talked to Jerome Podgajski [founder of MashLBC.com-ed] and I apologized.

“The second ride involved many of the same individuals,” said West, “and, at the end of the day, it turned out that no one had any intention of creating a Critical Mass ride, so we would have supported that ride. We’re learning as we go along, and we’re talking to event organizers to just be careful about billing things as a Critical Mass ride because we’re very very conscientious of that group.”

In other words, better to apologize afterwards than get the facts right first. And it’s okay to violate the rights of one group, as long as you support other groups who may do the same things, but under a different name.

The writer, Sander Wolff, got the perspective of a local attorney about the first incident:

I asked attorney Robert Thomas Hayes Link, Esq., who grew up in Long Beach, what he thought of the incident. “As described by (cyclist) Gerry Campos, the supposedly bicycle-friendly City of Long Beach, by way of the conduct of the Long Beach Police Department, would seem to have arranged for a sting operation designed to discourage future cycling awareness activities within its borders. Whether the City managed this in a fashion that shields them from civil rights liability remains to be seen.”

Read the full article.

It clearly drives home the fact that Long Beach may see itself as bike friendly.

But a bike-friendly attitude goes far beyond mere paint on the street.

Unless and until the city begins to observe the requirements of the California Vehicle Code — which supersedes city ordinances — and interprets the law in a fair and legal manner, treating all cyclists equally under the law, it will continue to put to lie their self-proclaimed vision as the country’s leading bike city.

And continue to be a city that cyclists  — Critical or otherwise — might be better off avoiding.

……..

Let me make one thing clear. I’m not a fan of Critical Mass; I tend to believe, like LB City Manager West, that it only serves to anger people who might otherwise support us.

But I am a big fan of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And I cannot support any person, city, jurisdiction or authority that willfully ignores the law to violate the rights of any cyclist.

As Emma Lazarus said, until we are all free, none of us is free.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law / Tags: , , , , ,

Apparently, bicycling’s own Bull Connor is alive and well and living in Long Beach

November 2, 2010 / / 14 comments

In case you’re still wondering why you need to vote today, consider this.

Even in the most bike-friendly city in Southern California, a seemingly out-of-control police department can engage in a heavy-handed crackdown on cyclists.

Not only did the Long Beach police department halt the city’s first Critical Mass ride for lack of a permit — raising questions over the rider’s First Amendment right to free association and freedom of assembly — they seized up to 40 bikes with no apparent legal basis.

Or at least, no police officer I’ve spoken with was aware of any law that would allow a mass seizure of legally owned bikes.

Maybe they have a different set of laws down there.

One of the reasons for the seizure cited in the Times article was a lack of brakes on 11 of the bikes. Yet the standard under state law only requires that the operator must be able to make one wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement — a standard that most fixies can easily meet.

Any guesses whether the officers made the riders try to skid their bikes before taking them?

Yeah, I don’t think so either.

The article also says that bikes must be registered with the city and inspected by the fire department. Yet under state law, such local licensing requirements can only be enforced against city residents, and cannot be applied to anyone who lives in a different jurisdiction or is just riding through the city.

And the law only allows for a maximum fine of $10 for not having a license. Nothing in the law allows for the seizure of a bike for not having a license — even for local residents.

The official statement from the city, which goes to great lengths to remind everyone what a cycling Nirvana Long Beach is — or rather, was prior to Friday — says 21 bikes were impounded, and over 70 citations issued. It also claims the riders chose not to get a permit, even though the Times story reports that they attempted to get a permit for the past two months.

And even though that pesky little First Amendment seems to make a permit unnecessary. Does Long Beach plan to crack down on any group of riders who happen to gather together for a ride?

Or only the ones that call themselves Critical Mass?

As more details come to light, the words of Police Chief Jim McDonnell sound even more chilling than they did over the weekend:

“The group known as Critical Mass travels from city to city and as a matter of practice engages in dangerous conduct, violating every rule of the road and endangering the public.” said Police Chief Jim McDonnell. “We take bicycle safety seriously in Long Beach and will not stand by idly while any person or group acts with blatant disregard for safety of the residents of our community.”

If you’ve been reading this for awhile, you may know that I’ve never been a fan of Critical Mass. And I’m the first to agree that police have every right to write up cyclists for legitimate violations such as running stop signs and not having lights after dark.

On the other hand, I’m even less a fan of police officers who seem to operate under their own version of the law. If this is how the “most bicycle friendly city in America” treats cyclists, God help the rest of us.

I thought this kind of policing went out of style with Bull Connor in the ‘60s.

But clearly, not everyone agrees.

.………

More information about the memorial ride for Jim Laing, the cyclist who was killed by an alleged drunk hit-and-run driver on October 23rd.

The ride is tentatively scheduled to begin at 8 am on Saturday, November 20th, at the Agoura Bicycle John’s at Kanan Road and East Thousand Oaks Blvd, and will pass by the site where he was killed on Agoura Road. It will be short, and slow to moderate pace, so it should be something anyone can feel comfortable participating in.

The early start may make it difficult for me to get out there in time for the ride, but I’m going to do my best to be there.

Because we need remember all those cyclists who have died needlessly on our streets, and let their loved ones know we share their grief.

And make it clear that too damn many of us have died already.

Thanks to Dave Mace for the information.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Fear mongering at its finest, events & weekend links

September 25, 2010 / / 10 comments

Seriously, they should know better.

On KABC Channel-7’s 5 pm Friday news broadcast, they teased a report on the then-upcoming L.A. Critical Mass by urging viewers to find out “what police are doing to keep it from becoming violent.”

So let me get this straight.

After a week of police and cycling community leader’s efforts to get CM riders to stay on the right side of road, not block intersections and stop for stop signals, the take away for one of the city’s leading news stations was that the LAPD was concerned about the ride becoming violent.

And with one 5 second tease, they managed to plant the suggestion that L.A. cyclists are aggressive thugs hell bent on rioting and/or assaulting innocent motorists.

So the next time a motorist cuts you off or runs you off the road, just remember he’s only acting in pre-emptive self-defense.

And you have KABC to thank for that.

The actual news report — which wasn’t available online as of midnight — was only slightly less biased, focusing on asking drivers if it was okay for cyclists to block intersections. And goading them into a negative response when most didn’t seem too concerned about it.

I have no idea what they said after the ride, or if they even covered it at all on the 11 pm news, since I decided to opt for a little less fear mongering with my nightly news. And switched to KNBC Channel 4, who said it turned out to be a smooth ride, after all.

And evidently, one without violence.

Despite what some other channels might have implied.

Update: Thanks to Aaron for providing a link to KABC’s 11 pm story on Critical Mass; to their credit, it was a much better report than their earlier efforts to frighten the driving public.

………

LADOT Bike Blog interviews two of the driving — or in this case, non-driving — forces behind the upcoming CicLAvia on 10/10/10.

And the L.A. Weekly makes clear that their days as a credible alternative publication are long past, as they demonstrate a surprising windshield bias against the upcoming CicLAvia. As a number of the comments point out, an event held on secondary streets — on a Sunday, no less — is highly unlikely to contribute to the city’s gridlock, despite the Weekly’s exceptionally negative take on it.

Maybe fear mongering is contagious.

………

Jure Robič, five-time winner of the ultra-endurance Race Across America, was killed in a collision with a car on Friday while on a training ride in his native Slovenia. The 45-year old rider was the winner of this year’s RAAM, as well as other ultra-endurance events and a holder of the world 24-hour endurance record. Thanks to Zeke for the heads-up.

Meanwhile, Riverside County officials released the name of the rider killed in Wildomar on Wednesday; 53-year old Lake Elsinore resident Peter Anthony Zupan died at the scene after being hit by a pickup while crossing Mission Trail.

And still no official confirmation on the rider who died after a collision on Mulholland Highway and Cornell Road in Agoura Hills last weekend.

………

In upcoming events:

Bike Talk airs Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Volunteers are needed for the Glendale bike count on Saturday the 25th.

The annual Abbot Kinney Festival takes place on Abbot Kinney Blvd between Venice Blvd and Main Street this Sunday; expect massive crowds and scarce parking, so take advantage of the bike valet.

Hearings for the proposed bike plan are scheduled for September 25, 29, 30 and October 2, with a noontime Webinar scheduled for Wednesday the 29th.

The second Folk Art Bike Ride rolls on Sunday, October 3rd at 12:30 pm, starting and ending at the Craft and Folk Art Museum at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. The easy, 6.5 mile route stops at several restaurants, galleries and cultural centers along the way; the first one got rave reviews, so don’t miss this one.

The Long Beach Green Port Fest takes place on Saturday, October 2, with bike valet and guided rides to the event departing every 45 minutes, as well as a guided pre-event bike tour beginning at 9 am.

Visit the Events page for more upcoming happenings, including CicLAvia and Santa Monica’s ciclovía on 10/10/10 and Tour da Fat on Oct. 23rd.

………

Gary says ridership is up 11% in Santa Monica, but bike collisions are up 78% — even though other cities tend to show a corresponding decrease as more people ride bikes. Tim Robbins bikes through Venice. Must be some kind of trend — Berkeley police crack down on stop sign running cyclists, Boston cracks down on rule breakers and Park City police let a stop-sign running rider off with a warning. Forgiving distracted drivers won’t keep anyone safe. Bike Snob says it’s okay to keep riding in the off-season. Salem OR removes a traffic lane to improve congestion. Independence MO bans harassment of cyclists, runners, pedestrians and roadway wheelchair users. It’s not the press who oppose the first Critical Mass in Aurora IL, it’s other riders. Kentucky authorities are looking for a driver intentionally targeting cyclists with his pickup truck. A Flying Pigeon spotting in Boston. An arrest has been made in the murder of a DC cyclist last month; the shooter — just 16-years old at the time — shot Eric Foreman as he rode by, then walked over and shot him twice more after he fell from his bike. Five reasons why your neighborhood cyclist hates you. A Google contest donates $1 million for a recumbent operated monorail system; Reuters says there must have been 149,996 stupid ideas if that was one of the five winning suggestions. The Department of DIY Toronto branch strikes again, graphically asking where’s our bike lane? Fixie-riding cyclists introduce polo vélo to Parisiens. Evidently, Barclay’s isn’t winning many friends for sponsoring London’s bike share program. Cycling England, the agency behind the Bikeability program to teach British children to ride safely, is rumored to be on the chopping block; instead of cutting it, how about exporting it? A promising young Belize cyclist is killed in an apparent hit-from-behind collision.

Finally, courtesy of our Kiwi correspondent the Trickster, comes a two part video tour of Australia’s World Championships course hosted by Robbie McEwen. And Aussie police tell cyclists not to run red lights or ride four abreast — even if they are training for next week’s World Championships.

Think they’ll enforce that during the race, too?

………

In case you were wondering what was in that big box last week...

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

LAPD warns riders to kick it or ticket at tonight’s Critical Mass

September 24, 2010 / / 4 comments

Lately, Critical Mass has become the face of L.A. cycling for many Angelenos.

And like so many L.A. faces, it’s time to have a little work done.

Following the incident earlier this year in which an LAPD officer appeared to kick a passing cyclist, a ride that had largely passed under the radar has been front and center, as the LAPD has worked with cyclists to avoid any similar incidents.

But even with a police escort, some riders have still taken the concept of organized anarchy to the extreme, including swarming drivers on the wrong side of the street. And causing local residents to complain to the LAPD and other government officials.

And while it wasn’t a CM ride, last week’s incident at the Ralphs on Lincoln Blvd — with cyclists riding through the aisles of the market — didn’t help.

As a result, police and leaders of the cycling community are calling on Critical Mass riders to cool it. And obey the minimal rules they expect riders to observe on tonight’s ride, such as:

  • Don’t run red lights or stop signs
  • Don’t ride on the wrong side of the yellow line
  • Don’t block intersections so that cross traffic can’t pass

That’s it.

No mass crackdown, no hard rules to enforce rigid regulations.

Just three simple don’ts. But riders who don’t observe them risk getting a ticket — or even face arrest if the police feel the violation warrants it.

Of course, the LAPD does have a few other simple requests, like avoiding various violations big and small that they’ve addressed in the past — and which should go without saying — including:

  • Vandalism
  • Thefts
  • Assaults
  • Criminal Threats
  • Drinking in Public
  • Smoking/using illicit substances
  • Driving/Riding under the influence
  • Participants under the age of 18 must wear a helmet
  • Participants should have necessary lighting equipment
  • All bikes must have brakes or otherwise comply with the braking requirements

Now go out and have fun.

But just remember, as Carlos Morales, founder of the Eastside Bike Club said, we need to police ourselves, or the police will do it for us.

………

More on Thursday’s press conference to formally announce CicLAvia from blogdowntown and KABC-7. The Daily News says streets may close for on 10/10/10; what part of closing streets for CicLAvia don’t they get? This is what ciclovía looks like in Bogotá, Colombia.

………

Councilmember Greig Smith revises his anti-bike resolution to allow neighborhood councils to review all street projects. No more need to lock your bike to City Hall’s front railing; oh, and the Mayor took some serious bike action at Metro, as well. Bike plan hearings begin this weekend. Photos from last weekend’s Vuelta de la BiciDigna. Why can’t some bike shops tell their Presta from their Schrader? Ride bikes, do good and drink beer at Tour de Fat, coming to L.A. next month. A San Rafael driver is charged after critically injuring a cyclist in a hit-and-run and driving off with the rider still on his hood. A Florida cyclist watches from behind the wheel as a rider gets hit by a car. In a truly tragic event, a Pennsylvania man paralyzed in a 1993 cycling accident is killed riding a hand bike he was given just last weekend when he veered into the path of an ambulance. Sag Harbor NY students organize a bike train for a safe route to school. An NYC paper supports separated bike lanes, but calls on fast cyclists to slow down, while a writer says more bikes means slower bikes. Upright riders have an anti-Critical Mass attitude. A Jacksonville FL man pleads guilty to stabbing two cyclists in a Memorial Day road rage attack. The death of a Maryland Senate candidate brings attention to a loophole in local traffic laws. The epitome of jerk-hood, as a Kansas City police dash cam catches three men stealing a bike, as police, paramedics and firemen tend to its wounded owner laying in the street after being hit by a car. Three cyclists have now pulled out of India’s Commonwealth Games because of health concerns and worries over accommodations. A preview of next month’s World Championships, while an Aussie academic says let Landis speak. More on the antique tricycle stolen from an English bike charity over the weekend along with more modern bikes and computer equipment. Brits say cycling is cool, but those who do it are miserable and lazy; well, only when we’re not on our bikes. London Mayor BoJo wants helmets for the city’s new bike share program after two riders are hospitalized with injuries. Excerpts from the new Cyclopedia. Former pro racer Mario Cipollini unveils his new bike; very sexy looking, but comfortable? Not so much.

Finally, the view from China suggests L.A. is going to become a bike-friendly city, saying “the city of Los Angeles will try every means possible to encourage its residents to ride bikes instead of driving cars.”

The view from L.A. says we’re — finally — off to a nice start, but we’ve got a very long way to go.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

The incredible disappearing sharrows, part two

September 23, 2010 / / Comments Off on The incredible disappearing sharrows, part two

Now you see them, now you don’t.

Just days after sharrows magically reappeared in Westwood — after being covered up in a massive failure of communication between two city agencies — it’s happened again.

Only this time, it’s a good thing.

According to an email I received on Wednesday, Torrance joined the recent rush to put sharrows on the streets this month — to the delight and disappointment of local cyclists.

Delight, because shared lane markings have proven exceptionally popular with many bike riders, indicating to drivers that we have a right to the road.

And to the lane.

Nice try, but this is just so wrong in so many ways.

Disappointment, because the markings were placed in entirely the wrong location — in the bike lane and well out of the traffic lane. And worse, they indicated that cyclists should ride directly in the door zone, rather than positioning riders outside it, as the marking are intended to do.

Maybe someone in the city’s Public Works Department saw the pretty bike and chevron design in another nearby town, and thought they’d look lovely on the streets of their own town. Or maybe they just wanted to be trendy, like everyone else here in SoCal, and didn’t want to get left off the sharrow express.

Problem is, they clearly didn’t research the hows and whys and — most importantly — wheres before they put paint on the street.

I’ll let my correspondent take it from here, quoting from the email he sent to the Public Works Department just last Saturday, with a copy sent to the city’s mayor.

Shared Lane Markings (aka “sharrows”) have been incorrectly installed on streets in the City of Torrance.

According to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Shared Lane Markings are not to be used in designated bicycle lanes and, on streets with parallel parking, should be placed at least 11 feet from the curb.

The recently installed “sharrows” on Torrance Blvd (in designated bicycle lanes) and those on Anza Avenue (less than 11 feet from the curb and in the “door zone”) are nonconforming, exposing the city to possible liability should a bicycle rider be injured.

While the City of Torrance is to be applauded for its bicycle friendly efforts, the use of Shared Lane Markings should be in accordance with the MUTCD.

Under that black paint lies an unlamented misplaced and swiftly removed sharrow.

The response was surprisingly swift.

When he went out for his ride on Wednesday, he passed one of the locations where sharrows had been placed on Torrance Blvd.

And he was surprised to see that the offending pavement markings had already been painted over,  just five days —and only three business days — following his email. Evidently, it doesn’t hurt to copy the mayor’s office when you complain.

As he put it:

Better no sharrows than ones in the door zone.

………

As if people didn’t already think most cyclists are law-breaking scum.

The LAPD hosted a news conference Wednesday evening to announce that, despite improved relations with the cycling community, there are certain biking behaviors that just won’t be tolerated.

Like corking intersections. Riding on the wrong side of the road. Or swarming a grocery store parking lot, drinking beer and smoking pot, and riding bikes through the aisles of the store, scattering shoppers in your wake.

As Brent wrote in an email Wednesday,

…it’s like the new “skateboarding” — hanging out with your friends, skateboard in one hand, joint in the other. But it sure does tar the rest of us just trying to get to our destination by bicycle.

Leaders of the local bike community are working to ensure it doesn’t happen again at Critical Mass this Friday. And the police will be on hand to make damn sure it doesn’t.

Tolerance only goes so far.

And patience has clearly run out.

………

Damien Newton breaks the news that Rita Robinson may be leaving her position as LADOT General Manager to take a high-level position with the county. Interesting timing, as it comes at the same time that New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, a graduate of Occidental College, is rumored to be having trouble with her new, less-bike-friendly boss.

Maybe this is Mayor Villaraigosa’s opportunity to demonstrate that he really is the bike community’s new BFF, and bring her back home to L.A.

………

LADOT Bike Blog sums up its excellent series on where you can and can’t ride on the sidewalk in L.A. County. And concludes by saying it just shows there’s still work to be done.

If bicycles are supposed to be considered vehicles with responsibilities and rights equal to automobiles, like CVC 21200 states, then bicyclists deserve to have rules for their operation that are at least as uniform as the rules for operating an automobile.

The LA County Sidewalk Riding series proves, if nothing else, that we’ve still got a ways to go in that regard.

………

Villaraigosa offers Angelenos a personal invitation to attend CicLAvia on 10/10/10. Gary says when someone steals your bike, you can always rollerblade. Here’s what you can look forward to at next month’s Tour da Fat. A Fresno mother pleads for justice in the hit-and-run death of her son. Bike lawyer Bob Mionske discusses liability for road hazards, saying you may not be at fault for that fall; something you might want to remember, considering we have the 2nd worst roads in the U.S. The search continues for the schmuck driver who fled the scene after hitting two cyclists in rapid succession in Portland. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood looks back on Tuesday’s Distracted Driving Summit, saying distraction-related crashes are 100% preventable. A reputed Lance Armstrong accuser testifies before the Grand Jury investigating him here in L.A.; is it truth or sour grapes? Top young pro Taylor Phinney blows off Lance and signs with BMC. How to ride in a paceline. If you want to get away with murder, use a car instead of a gun. Canadian TV asks if enough cyclists use Vancouver’s new bike lanes to justify their existence, while a writer says the city’s cyclists are their own worst enemies. An English cyclist was five times over the legal drunk driving limit when he was killed in a collision. A British rider asks for advice on how to make her longer bike commute more fun. A rare, 130-year old tricycle is stolen from a Brit bike charity. Researchers say traffic jams are caused by a combination of aggressive and/or timid drivers; link courtesy of @Metro Library. A different approach to Budapest’s Critical Mass works better than expected.

Finally, the inevitable far-right backlash begins against Wednesday’s Car-Free Day; evidently, it’s another left-wing plot, just like bike sharing.

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