Day 50 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Hats off to my old friend and former longtime LACBC staffer and volunteer Colin Bogart, who has organized a bike donation program for victims of the Eaton Fire for Pasadena nonprofit Day One.
According to the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, the nonprofit is working with the Bicycle Kitchen, the Bike Oven, the Bikerowave, and the Long Beach Bicycle Co-op to collect and repair the bikes, along with local bike shops including Around the Cycle, Pasadena Cyclery, and Trek Pasadena.
The organization has received requests for over 300 bicycles.
So if you have a bike you don’t need, or can help in some other way, drop it off at Day One’s Pasadena office at 175. N. Euclid Ave from 9:30am to 5:30pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, or by special arrangement 626/657.8744 or colin@godayone.org.
Remarkably, Damian channeled the trauma of the crash that cost him a leg, and nearly his life, into the creation of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone to fight for safer streets and an end to hit-and-run.
And no, the driver was never found.
Yesterday marked the 12th anniversary of Damian's hit-and-run that almost killed him.
More proof New York’s congestion pricing is working, even as Trump vows to kill it.
Your quality of life is improving in $9 increments. With decongestion pricing:
♥️ 55% drop in crashes ♥️ 51% drop in crash injuries ♥️ 14% drop in daily vehicles (Jan 2025) ♥️ 10-30% drop in river crossing travel times ♥️ 34% drop in morning commute travel time https://t.co/fBbb3nxVhspic.twitter.com/g1sNXw7sSV
Seriously? A writer for the Boston Globeinvestigates who has the right to public space on the streets, after a mayoral candidate calls for hitting pause on building bike lanes, and can only manage to conclude that bike lanes are the third rail of Boston politics. Even though the law is clear that bike riders have a right to the road, and well-designed bike lanes improve safety for all road users.
As we noted the other day, some people are criticizing a new demonstration bike lane in Santa Clarita, complaining that the flexible plastic bollards separating it from motor vehicles are a form of visual blight, but even the president of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition sympathized with the outcry over the “aesthetic unattractiveness.”
State
Calbike is hosting a webinar this Thursday to discuss creative approaches to funding active transportation infrastructure, as the usual sources threaten to dry up.
SAFE founder Damian Kevitt criticized the city’s Vision Zero program, intended to eliminate traffic deaths, as “an abysmal failure.”
“We aren’t even remotely doing [Vision Zero], so let’s stop trying to fool everyone by saying that we are.” He emphasized SAFE doesn’t oppose Vision Zero, but urges the city to step up and take its program more seriously.
“We need to yell and yell loud and don’t stop yelling… for safer roads” Kevitt urged, leading the assembled crowd in chanting, “Mayor Bass, where’s your plan?”
Maybe if we all sign the petition up at the top, we could do that yelling where she might actually hear us.
The speakers included state legislators and C-30 Congressional candidates Assemblymember Laura Friedman and State Senator Anthony Portantino, as well as Councilmember Nithya Raman.
A handful of elected officials joined the rally. Assemblymember Laura Friedman recounted her long struggles to pass much-needed legislation to allow cities to cap speed limits and to install automated speed enforcement. “Let’s slow people down,” Friedman urged, “let’s take back our streets!”
State Senator Anthony Portantino urged attendees to “turn tears… and pain… and tragedy… into action” for safer streets. L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman spoke about her success in implementing bikeways, funding for bus shelters, and more. Raman urged treating the “staggering rise in deaths” as the “public heath crisis that it is.”
Take a few minutes to read the whole thing. Because far too many people are dying on our streets, and the city isn’t doing anywhere near enough to stop it.
But at least one councilmember gets it.
336 people were killed by cars last year. That’s 336 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, partners, and friends. And for every person lost forever, there are many more whose lives are forever altered by severe injury, trauma, or the loss or injury of a loved one. pic.twitter.com/s3xqWqgDP7
I am starting this report with a question that anyone reading this must think about:
How many more Angelenos need to die before we, as a collective city, start treating traffic violence with the urgency it deserves?
In January 2023, Streets Are For Everyone produced its first report, Dying on the Streets of Los Angeles, looking at traffic violence trends, the numbers behind them, and other statistics related to traffic violence in Los Angeles.
The numbers were disturbing. They showed that what was being done to address traffic violence was clearly not working and needed a significant change in action, level of funding, and dedication if our elected officials truly intended to save lives on the roads of Los Angeles. The report laid out four broad steps that needed to be taken. In short, these were:
Cut the bureaucracy by declaring a state of emergency related to traffic violence.
Reestablish Vision Zero with accountability, transparency, and PURPOSE.
Prioritize lives over the right to speed.
Get real about the magnitude of the problem by funding road safety improvements at a level that might start to make a difference.
Guess how many of those items city leaders actually checked off? No, really, we’ll wait.
And once again, take a few minutes to read the whole thing.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
You can smell the bullshit a mile away when bike lanes are rejected in the name of safety, as they were in one upstate New York town, although the real reason seems to be preserving parking spaces. Because we all know that human lives are less important than personal convenience.
Miss Manners confronts drama on the bike trail, as a man’s riding companions give him the cold shoulder for taking too long to chat with friends in another group, delaying their group ride.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. A 32-year old man with 19 previous traffic citations agreed to plead guilty to killing 32-year old BMX champ Nathan “Nate” Miller, after prosecutors agreed to a sentence of probation or just one year in prison. Congratulations to Nevada officials on keeping him on the road until he actually killed someone, then letting him loose to do it again.
The allegedly stoned driver who killed two brothers riding with their kids in the annual Spring Tour of St. George bicycle ride escaped with a pair of third-degree vehicular homicide convictions when the jury returned a split verdict; the woman claimed she was shitting on herself as she drove, and didn’t notice the men riding their bikes on the side of the road.
Nashville star Zach Bryan is one of us, riding a tandem with his girlfriend in Amsterdam while high on ‘shrooms and blasting the late Warren Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns and Money on endless repeat. I confess to two out of the three, though how much of that applies to you is entirely a matter of your own personal habits.
New York Magazineconsiders MIPS helmets, and whether you need one. Unlike MIPS, regular bike helmets are designed to prevent fractures, not traumatic brain injuries. So the short answer is yes, if you’re going to wear one at all.
This is the cost of traffic violence. The 68-year old founder of a UK arts and health charity was killed when his bike was rear-ended by a 19-year old driver; he was described as a gifted pianist, talented mathematician, bridge builder and visionary leader.
June 9, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike
Anyone who has tried to walk or bike Alameda Street south of Union Station in DTLA knows it’s just this side of a traffic choked living hell.
The options range from closing or moving offramps and widening sidewalks, to converting Arcadia Street to a pedestrian walkway and capping the 101 Freeway to create a new park.
Let’s hope our officials have the courage and foresight to make the choice that will most dramatically remake Downtown Los Angeles.
This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Finish The Ride, which began when Damian Kevitt invited the public to join him in finishing the Griffith Park ride that was interrupted by a hit-and-run driver, who has never been caught.
More than 2,000 “cyclists, runners, walkers, challenged athletes, veterans, first responders, civic and community leaders, and safe streets advocates from across Southern California” are expected to turn out to demand safer streets for everyone.
This year’s event has been divided into two parts, with Finish The Run on Saturday, and Finish The Ride on Sunday.
You’ll also have a chance to meet two highly qualified candidates to replace Adam Schiff in California’s 30th Congressional District, in Laura Friedman and Anthony Portantino.
I’ll let the folks at Finish The Ride take it from here.
Finish The Ride (www.FinishTheRide.org) was founded in the aftermath of a vicious hit-and-run crime in 2013 that saw cyclist Damian Kevitt lose his leg after being dragged under a car from the streets of Griffith Park onto and down Interstate 5 for nearly a quarter mile. A year later, Kevitt was accompanied by hundreds of cyclists, street safety advocates, and community leaders as part of a campaign to raise awareness of an epidemic of hit-and-run crimes in Los Angeles.
Last year participants in Finish The Ride and Finish The Run demanded that Griffith Park be made safer for the tens of thousands who use it weekly for recreation and exercise. As a result, only a couple of months later, a section of Griffith Park Drive was transformed from a road into a closed pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path, and 4 million dollars of funding was approved for additional safety renovations across the park.
According to a report by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), the City of Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities last year, most of them pedestrians, and tens of thousands more seriously injured. The primary factor in all these collisions was reckless speeding. SAFE has been involved in a massive state-wide campaign to educate about and advocate for the need to reign in reckless speeding to save lives. Part of this campaign has demanded that legislators pass AB 645, a pilot program that would allow the limited use of speed safety cameras in school zones and on the most dangerous roads in 6 cities across the state. Over 1800 have signed a petition to demand that legislators support AB 645. As a result of this campaign, AB 645 just passed the Assembly with overwhelming support (58 to 7).
This year’s Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event brings together people from all walks to continue the call to demand that roads be made safer and reckless speeding be addressed as the public health crisis that it is.
Finish The Ride and Finish The Run is now in its 10th year and will be held over two days – runners and walkers on Saturday and cyclists on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be the usual 5K/10K run/walk and half-marathon run. On Sunday will be the usual 15-mile, 25-mile, 35-mile, and 50 miles rides. New additions to this year’s event are the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council 1K Kids Run and a Puppy Run on Saturday and the Bahati Foundation Metric Century on Sunday.
Saturday, 10 June 2023 – Finish The Run
(1200 runners and walkers expected)
Time: 7:30 AM Griffith Park Half-Marathon starts
8 AM Finish the Run Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Who: Asm Laura Friedman
Councilmember Nithya Raman
Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride/Finish The Run and Streets Are For Everyone
Cindi Enamorado, sister of Raymond Olivares, who lost his life in February 2023 at the hands of a driver engaged in street racing.
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Sunday, 11 June 2023 – Finish The Ride
(800 cyclists expected)
Time: 7 AM Olympic Silver Medalist Nelson Nails leads the Bahati Foundation Metric Century and Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride
8 AM Finish the Ride Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Who: Senator Anthony Portantino
Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone
Curtis Townsend Sr., who lost his wife, Trina Newman-Townsend, in a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2022.
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Seen on the street: A WGA writer bikes the strike.
David Drexler shares video showing the full length of the new Mark Bixby bike/ped path on the International Gateway Bridge, taken on last month’s opening day.
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Gravel Bike California accepts the challenge of biking the Desert X biennial art installation across the “vast & sandy” Coachella Valley in a single day.
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A UC Davis bike rider is on the hunt for a hit-and-run e-cart driver.
And yes, it’s legally hit-and-run if you just cause someone to fall, even without making contact.
Ocean City, New Jersey tabled plans to ban ebikes from the city’s boardwalk, instead creating a committee to study the issue. If they’re anything like Los Angeles, having a committee study something means no one will ever hear about it again.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate program on July 1st, with rebates up to $1,000 for city residents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles hasn’t even discussed any program to get motor vehicles off the streets, with ebikes or otherwise.
Laguna Beach is requiring students to complete an ebike safety course in exchange for a permit to park their bike on campus. Which is a great way to discourage bike commuting, and force people without permits back into cars.
Colorado officially announced their new program to provide ebike rebates for residents earning less than 80% to 100% of their county’s median income. Just the latest city, state or province to provide ebike rebates before California’s vastly underfunded, fomerly-first-in-the-nation program gets off the ground — which should finally happen soon.
Huh? A Columbus, Ohio TV station says many people are priced out of bicycling by the high cost of bikes, even while mentioning a nonprofit shop that sells refurbished bikes for around a hundred bucks. Seriously, cost should never be a barrier to bicycling, when there are countless options for low cost bikes. Or even free ones like the one above.
April 10, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Protest calls for safer streets, more on death of masters track cycling champ, and not guilty plea in San Pedro hit-and-run
Mora’s injury is far from the first to happen on the one-mile stretch of Whittier Boulevard between South Boyle Avenue and South Lorena Street. According to the Transportation Injury Mapping System, between 2013 and 2022 there were 225 crashes resulting in injury or death.
“Enough is enough,” said Damian Kevitt, the founder of the non-profit organization Streets are for Everyone. “People need to slow down.”
Kevitt went on to add that local residents have been pleading for safety improvements at the crosswalk for years, including safety cameras and other security devices.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s KRON-4 reports there were calls to pass AB-645, which would legalize speed cams around schools and dangerous streets.
Like in Boyle Heights, where the traffic fatality rate is 53 percent higher than the overall city, with more traffic deaths than any other L.A. neighborhood over the past five years.
The 51-year old Montoya had just picked up a meal from a food when he was allegedly run down by Lockhart’s speeding car. Police arrested Montoya five days after the crash, based on tips from the public.
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In case you ever wondered why those plastic car-tickler bendy posts aren’t protection.
Mobility lanes that are separated from automobile lanes with delineators (a.k.a. flex posts) offer no significant collision protection for a vulnerable road user.
A new video refutes the myth that no one uses New York’s bike lanes, with 321 people on bikes passing through a single intersection in a single half hour during rush hour, compared to a little more than 500 motor vehicles.
And it notes that no one rode salmon, despite the city’s reputation for wrong-way bicyclists.
Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.
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North Carolina Public Television offers a feature on Charlotte CyclingSavvy Instructor Pamela Murray, calling her a local bike hero.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
No bias here. A London website reports that bicycling trip segments have tripled in the city over the past 20 years — but then goes on to question whether concerns about road safety, “though perfectly right and proper,” have taken undue precedence, and been overly influenced by campaigners and “misplaced public opinion.”
No bias here, either. London’s Daily Mail tries to stir up controversy by sharing photos of 19 bike riders rolling through a floating bus stop as passengers are getting on or off. Buried in the story is the fact it took place over five hours at multiple locations, along with the fact that the bus stops are new and it will take everyone time to adjust to them.
A new coalition of Westwood Village and UCLA groups unveiled the new Westwood Connected campaign, which calls for a rail stop on the UCLA campus, pedestrian improvements, and protected bike lanes on Galey and Wilshire, as well as the long fought for bike lanes on Westwood Blvd. And it actually has a chance now that anti-bike lane former Councilmember Paul Koretz is gone.
Prolific character actor Michael Lerner passed away over the weekend at 81; the Oscar-nominated performer appeared in films ranging from Barton Fink, Elf and The Candidate, to Harlem Nights and Eight Men Out. Although the highlight of his career was undoubtedly playing a bicycle salesman in The Brady Bunch.
The CHP reports a man riding a bicycle in Oakhurst made a suicide swerve Saturday afternoon, striking the side of a large pickup as he allegedly began to make a U-turn. Which is probably bullshit; most alleged suicide swerves are likely the result of overly close passes, rather than careless bicyclists.
Fortunetalks with Forward health systems CEO Adrian Aoun, who rides his bike for mental clarity, calling it his meditation. I’ve long considered bicycling to be a moving meditation, allowing you to get out of your head and become one with the world around you.
January 24, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CicLAvia releases calendar of 8 events across LA, more from Saturday’s City Hall Die-In, and LA hip hop history bike tour
April 15: Mid-City Meets Pico Union presented by Metro
May 21: CicLAmini – Watts presented by Metro
June 18: South LA – Vermont Ave presented by Metro
August 20: Koreatown Meets Hollywood presented by Metro
September 17: CicLAmini – North Hollywood
October 15: Heart of LA presented by Metro
December 3: South LA – Leimert Park Meets Historic South Central presented by Metro
The group also announced an additional event on February 10th, when Los Angeles Ale Works will release their new seek-la-VEE-ah West Coast India Pale Ale at a CicLAvia season launch party and fundraiser at Ivy Station Complex, Culver City, during the 5-10 pm Night Market.
So now you can drink CicLAvia while you ride, walk, scoot, skate or roll it.
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As we mentioned yesterday, Saturday’s die-in at Los Angeles City Hall, hosted by a long list of advocacy groups, protested the worst year on LA streets in recent memory, with 312 people needlessly killed in the City of Angels.
Although you’d think this city would have made more than enough angels by now, since even one death from traffic violence is one too many.
Here are just a few faces and images from the day.
Organizers distributed 312 white flowers to symbolize the 312 lives needlessly lost to traffic violence.
Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) Founder Damian Kevitt, holding the three flowers on the left, led the day’s events.
From center to right, California Assembly Member Laura Friedman, LA Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, state Senator Anthony Portantino, and Streets For All’s Michael Schneider; my new friend Max reclines at lower right
Participants lay still for 312 seconds of silence in honor of the 312 lives needlessly lost
California Assembly Member Laura Friedman, LA Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, state Senator Anthony Portantino stand above Damian Kevitt at the mic
Although apparently, you can also do the tours by car, if you insist.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A New York columnist says the city could make a fortune just fining bicyclists for moving and equipment violations, including riding backwards — which is physically impossible — and insists that ebikes somehow aren’t bicycles. Just wait until someone tells him about cars and the things their operators do, including driving backwards. And I suppose electric cars aren’t real cars, either.
No bias here, too. A British Columbia man who claims to be a bike rider blasts what he calls the city’s most disruptive protected bike lanes, blames “woke” politicians for them, and claims no one ever uses them. So a columnist went out in the middle of the day and counted 13 bicyclists in just ten minutes.
Axiosexamines the ever-expanding American pickup truck, which has continued to increase in size, power and capacity over the past four decades, even as buyers use it more for shopping and dropping the kids off at soccer practice, and less for hauling anything but ass. And which presents ever increasing danger to anyone outside of them.
Streetsblog reports that more children under 18 were killed on New York streets last year than any other time since Vision Zero was adopted 2015; the site also reports the NYPD is a lot better at solving hit-and-runs in white neighborhoods than in communities of color.
Police in Charlottesville, Virginia say charges against a driver in a fatal crash will depend on whether the victim was riding his bike across the street or walking it; one means the victim was operating a vehicle and had to obey the rules of the road, while the other makes him a pedestrian who the driver had to yield to. Yet either way, the victim is still dead and the driver still killed him.
Seriously? Key West, Florida has put a proposed ebike ban on hold in hopes the state will take action. Because the risks posed by ebikes are so much greater than the ones from cars, evidently.
Sad news from the UK, where the two bike riders killed by a hit-and-run driver we mentioned yesterday turned out to be a father riding with his 16-year old son; the 37-year old alleged driver was arrested after abandoning his car.
It was a split verdict in the trial of two men charged with robbing Mark Cavendish and his family at knifepoint in a brutal 2021 home invasion; one of the defendants was found not guilty, while 31-year-old Romario Henry was convicted on two robbery counts. A third man had previously pleaded guilty, while two others remain at large. As usual, read the story on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
May 3, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Happy LA Bike Month, Los Angeles Vision Zero fail, and Damian Kevitt calls for support for school zone speed cam bill
My apologies for Friday’s unexcused absence.
Just another of the many and varied joys of diabetes, a cruel disease that can take you from feeling okay to passing out in a matter of minutes, for no apparent reason.
And yet another reminder to get yourself checked if you’re at risk, and do whatever it takes to avoid getting it. Because you don’t want this shit.
Despite — or maybe because of — an up to 70% drop in traffic fatalities, roadway deaths declined just 3% in Los Angeles last year, thanks at least in part to a dramatic jump in speeding as empty streets encouraged drivers to use a heavy right foot.
Based on preliminary data reported by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, 238 people died in collisions last year, compared to 246 in 2019 — a decrease of about 3%.
That slight dip pales in comparison to how sharply car travel fell in greater L.A. and beyond in the early months of the pandemic. Schools closed, many workers stopped commuting to their offices, and local and state stay-at-home orders drastically limited the places and activities we could drive to in our cars.
In mid-to-late March 2020, daily vehicle traffic fell as much as 70%. Last April saw traffic volumes decrease by 30% to 50% compared to the start of the year. Daily driving has been increasing since that historic plummet, but still remain below typical levels, according to city traffic data.
And despite a drop last year, bike and pedestrian deaths are still up over the five years since LA adopted Vision Zero in 2015.
Which isn’t the way it’s supposed to work.
The basic philosophy behind Vision Zero is that humans will make mistakes on the road and crashes will happen, but by redesigning streets to reduce speeding and better protect vulnerable road users, those crashes don’t have to cause severe injuries and deaths. But as the data has shown in recent years, L.A.’s current approach is not working…
While fewer people were killed and seriously injured in crashes overall last year, not all L.A. communities experienced less traffic violence. According to preliminary data compiled by LADOT:
The number of pedestrians killed by drivers fell about 12% overall, but increased in some neighborhoods
Slightly fewer cyclists were killed last year (15, compared to 19 in 2019)
The number of motorcyclists killed in crashes jumped about 45%
Motor vehicle occupant deaths were nearly unchanged
Pandemic or not, it’s clear that LADOT’s piecemeal approach to reducing traffic deaths isn’t working.
And it isn’t Vision Zero, by any definition.
The basic philosophy behind Vision Zero is that humans will make mistakes on the road and crashes will happen, but by redesigning streets to reduce speeding and better protect vulnerable road users, those crashes don’t have to cause severe injuries and deaths. But as the data has shown in recent years, L.A.’s current approach is not working.
It’s long past time Los Angeles stopped talking about Vision Zero, and got off its collective ass and did something about it.
Because I’m every bit as tired of writing about fallen bicyclists as you are reading about it. And don’t get me started on all the other people needlessly killed on our streets.
For any doubters out there, yes, ending traffic deaths is possible. If — and only if — we have the political will to make it happen.
Speaking of LAist, just like their parent public radio station KPCC, they survive on public donations.
SAFE founder and Executive Director Damian Kevitt, who lost a leg — and nearly his life — to a hit-and-run driver who was never caught, makes a heartfelt plea to fight for SB 733, which would allow automated speed cams in school zones.
Sadly, California is one of the only nine states that expressly forbids speed safety cameras in school zones. This tool has been available since 1987 and is unquestionably effective. Data in cities across the country, such as New York, Seattle, and Chicago, show that speed safety cameras reduce traffic injuries and fatalities and change driver behavior. More importantly, there are already thousands of schools across the country that currently use speed safety cameras to protect kids, teachers, and parents.
The common sense bill, which would only impact people breaking the law and endangering innocent kids and adults, has been severely watered down by Senate Transportation Committee Chair Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat misrepresenting Long Beach, at least in this case.
As currently written after it was butchered in committee, the law would only allow a pilot project in four schools out of more that 20,000 in the state.
As Kevitt writes,
This is an insult to victims of traffic violence and the coalition of support, especially given the immediate problem and widespread, documented effective use of speed safety cameras across the country.
One of the harder things I have had to do is tell victims of traffic violence — who were emotionally prepared to testify in committee — that this lifesaving bill wouldn’t make it through committee due to political forces that are hard to explain. Why would police unions work to fill a bill that so obviously would help save lives? It is heartbreaking.
But we will pick ourselves up and gain strength. The voices of traffic violence will not be silenced. Safety advocates will not accept that denial of the science. Equity groups will demand accountability. And, in the end, we will save lives.
He urges you, and all of us, to call or email Gonzalez’s office to express your outrage, and demand this life-saving tool to protect innocent lives.
I’m planning to do it later today. I hope you’ll join me
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I’ve been remiss in not mentioning the LACBC’s virtual LA Rivers Challenge, which replaces their popular LA River Ride, as the world still struggles to shake off the pandemic.
Join us the entire month of June for a virtual challenge in place of the LA River Ride. 2020 was supposed to mark 20 years of River Ride, but we had to put our beloved event on hold due to the pandemic. We’re making up for it in 2021 by inviting you to 30 days of riding, walking and running the historic waterways of Los Angeles!
The LA Rivers challenge is all about doing the mileage goal that is best for you. Select the goal that excites you, tests your abilities, or that you can do with your family. There is a distance for everyone to ride, walk or run.
Opening March 15th, registration is just $40, but follow up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for exclusive discounts. You also have the opportunity to support healthy, sustainable and equitable streets by choosing to fundraise for LACBC while meeting your mileage goals. You can earn great prizes at key fundraising milestones and will qualify for The 2021 LA Rivers Challenge Drawing to win one of our grand prizes TBA! Whatever your contribution, you will be supporting the work of LACBC, as we try to make Los Angeles a safer and more inclusive place to ride, walk and run.
A woman was released from the hospital late last night after a motorist — angered by "yuppies with dogs" along Logan Boulevard — jumped a curb and rammed her at a birthday picnic after allegedly yelling an anti-Asian comment at her friend, witnesses say https://t.co/Lv0y5dOwNV
It’s no surprise that we can’t manage to do anything about man shootings, when we still can’t even do anything about stopping people from using their car as a multi-ton weapon of mass destruction.
We need to change the law here in California, where police are currently prohibited from ticketing drivers or charging them with misdemeanors unless they actually witness the infraction.
And no, witnessing it on video doesn’t count, for some strange reason.
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GCN offers advice on how to find good riding routes when you’re new to the area.
And GCN considers one of bicycling’s most vital questions, and one of the last remaining forms of legal doping.
And thanks to Vyki Englert for spotting the LAFD logo on their panniers.
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Nothing sexier than someone on a bike.
Okay, maybe the right someone.
It's hard to think of a long-forgotten actor who has a better catalog of bike riding shots than Yvette Mimieux. I wish I knew how to bare-foot smolder on a bike. pic.twitter.com/71viaQrzg2
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.
Someone sabotaged a beginners bike trail in Scotland with obstacles including tree branches, and fence posts with rusted razor wire, which could seriously injure an unsuspecting rider. Or worse.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A British man was lucky to walk with a suspended sentence after he was busted with the equivalent of over $2,700 worth of amphetamines when police stopped him as he rode his bicycle with a bloody face; no word on how his face got that way.
New York mayoral hopeful Eric Adams pledges to build another 300 miles of protected bike lanes in the city during his first four years, if he’s elected, an annual rate nearly three times the 28 miles installed last year. Let’s get the candidates for mayor in next year’s LA election to make a similar pledge. And hold them to it.
Former Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams is one of us, as she goes for a London bike ride in a see-through top while filming a new six-part bio-series based on a memoir from Sex Pistols bassist Steve Jones. Sorry guys, they blurred that part out.
Cycling Newsalso examines the omertà in women’s pro cycling, where virtually no one is talking about the shameful poverty wages — or no wages at all — paid to riders below the WorldTour level.
April 19, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hundreds turn out in Hollywood for Sunday’s Finish the Ride
Sometimes it’s better to let the pictures tell the story.
So here are a few images and random thoughts from the start of Sunday’s Finish the Ride.
Despite the early morning start, hundreds of people turned out in Hollywood to join the fight against the epidemic of hit-and-run.
People of every description came together to ride, roll, walk or run; two LAPD officers even ran the 10k route in full uniform.
State Assemblymember Richard Bloom: “You have a right to feel safe on the road.”
Nice to see new LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds and Executive Officer Bruce Gillman front row center, a sign that the city is finally taking hit-and-run seriously.
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell: “Damien, you’re changing the world.”
Councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Mitch Englander worked together to pass a standing reward program for hit-and-runs, saying hit-and-run “is a huge moral problem.”
LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds: “We should not accept hit-and-run as a natural consequence of just trying to get around.”
Surrounded by a sea of bikes, two women waited for their chance to skate the route.
Not all the participants were human. Even a dog knows leaving someone lying injured and bleeding in the street — or worse — is inhuman.
The ride marshals gathered before the start to discuss the routes and how to keep the participants safe on streets that were shared with cars.
Finish the Ride founder Damian Kevitt joins the assembled riders for the start of the 50-mile ride; it was only two years ago that he lost his leg in a horrific hit-and-run.
Kevitt sets off to lead the ride, just as he has lead the fight against hit-and-run since recovering from his life-threatening injuries; the driver who fled the scene after dragging him onto a freeway onramp has never been found.
Here I am baptizing Damian Kevitt. Or maybe just helping him cool off.
Sometimes it’s not all about riding a bike.
We stopped by the LA Marathon Sunday morning to cheer on the runners, including Finish the Ride’s Damian Kevitt, who decided to run the race while he was still in his hospital bed after losing a leg in a horrific hit-and-run — and almost losing the other one.
Just two years later, he achieved what few would have thought possible at the time.
I’m told Kevitt finished the race roughly seven hours after the start, despite one missing leg and a painful, surgically repaired ankle on the other.
Damian Kevitt resumes his run to Santa Monica on a missing leg and a painful, surgically repaired ankle.
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Meanwhile, I was also pleased to see LA Fire Department paramedics ride — yes, ride — to the rescue of a runner in need.
Bike-born paramedics help an injured runner after riding to the rescue.
He was also in possession of several other expensive bicycles that are presumed to be stolen, according to police.
So if you were the victim of a Westside bike theft, contact Culver City Police Detective Raya at 310-253-6318 or tobias.raya@culvercity.org to see if one of those very expensive bikes was yours.
Thanks to David and George Wolfberg for the heads-up.
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Evidently, a mandatory helmet law for adult bike riders doesn’t go far enough. Now you need a mouth guard, too; full body armor and bubble wrap remain optional. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.
Meanwhile, a new study of Sweden’s law requiring helmets for children shows it hasn’t reduced head injuries, but has resulted in a drop in ridership among school children.
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Caught on video: A cyclist defies gravity to ride across the nearly sheer face of a Moab, Utah cliff.
Now that’s what I call a tough commute.
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Local
Good news from DTLA, as 7th Street is due to get an eight-block makeover paid for by Korean Air, which is developing the massive new Wilshire Grand project. All three options include bike lanes; personally, I’m all in on version three, which includes protected lanes.
Thanks to efforts by the Chumash Indian tribe, the Solvang Century was intended to produce zero waste. Other than all those air cartridges, unpatched tubes, and energy gel containers cyclists always seem to leave in their wake, of course. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link. And thanks to Charles for catching a number of errors in this link.
The latest roadblock to a proposed Palo Alto bike bridge may have feathers.
The directors responsible for managing the Golden Gate Bride want to reserve the right to charge bike riders and pedestrians a toll to cross the bridge. But isn’t that what trolls do?
Marin County officials consider lowering the speed limit for cyclists on a multi-use path to just 10 mph, bicyclists could also be required to ride single file.
A hero bike rider runs across a Petaluma parking lot to catch a purse thief; even more impressive, he returned to find strangers guarding his bike and laptop.
National
No bias here, as a misleading headline says Oregon bikes may be able to run red lights; you have to read to story to discover the proposed law only allows riders to go through a light if it doesn’t change.
Must be nice. Minnesota’s bike lobby enjoys support from political candidates, as well as in the halls of government.
An Ohio bike rider is charged with inducing panic after riding around a barricade and having to be recused from rising flood waters. But how exactly did that cause screaming hordes to run away?
Massachusetts bicyclists ask the state legislature to ban motorists from blocking bikeways; that’s already illegal here, but seldom, if ever, enforced.
International
Lost in the uproar over the recent CIRC report on professional doping cycling is the news that women riders are being exploited, both financially and sexually.
An Ottawa cyclist describes the joy he gets from riding in the city; a sentiment most of us can probably relate to.
London’s Telegraph says Lance has been offered a deal to reduce his lifetime ban — if he comes clean. So that the lifetime ban isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
A teenage Scot cyclist pleads guilty to dangerous cycling for hitting a couple on a tandem after running a red light while pulling a wheelie.
I thought I’d heard every possible excuse for hit-and-run; evidently, I was wrong. No matter how inviting the trail might be, it’s probably not the best idea to mountain bike on a marine base without permission.
And the day construction to build a green bike lane in Monterey Country was completed, plans are announced to rip the lane out and widen the road. But can someone explain how it could take nine months and $2.2 million just to paint a bike lane?
He may have lost a leg, but clearly, his heart is fully intact.
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An open house will be held this Saturday to discuss the complete street makeover of Western Avenue through San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes; opposition is anticipated to bike lanes planned for the street so bicyclists are encouraged to attend.
Bike the Vote LA hosts an organizing meeting this coming Monday, March 16th. The new group has taken the lead in getting Los Angeles-area bike riders involved in this year’s election process.
Kickstand Kids will host a Family Bike Event in Fullerton on Sunday, April 12th to raise funds to buy bikes for the children of New Alternatives. They’re asking for donations of kids and adult bikes, as well as helmets or other gear in good shape; contact daniswid@gmail.com, or donate online through their GoFundMe site.
Don’t forget LA Bike Week starting May 11th through 15th, including the annual Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital on Tuesday the 12th.
The Eastside Bike Club celebrates Bike Month with their annual Dodgertown Bike Ride on Saturday, May 16th, riding from El Sereno to take in a game at Dodger Stadium.
And the 15th annual LA River Ride rolls on Sunday, June 28th; the River Ride just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
UCLA’s Daily Bruin calls on the Westwood Neighborhood Council to approve the much-needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd; the new Remove Nothing plan would do exactly that, adding bike lanes to the busy street without removing a single lane or parking space. So what’s the problem?
The LAPD explains the story behind that Tweet we linked to earlier in the week about a Newton division officer pitching in to help replace a 4th grader’s stolen bike.
Glendale police respond to a fatal hit-and-run by targeting traffic violations, including headphone wearing and sidewalk riding cyclists.
State
The Bike League has issued a report card showing why California has jumped into the top 10 bike friendly states, and what we still need to work on. Personally, I’d much rather see modified strict liability, placing greater responsibility for avoiding a collision on the larger and more dangerous vehicle, than the vulnerable user law they suggest.
A San Francisco TV station’s People Behaving Badly segment looks at brazen bike thieves in the city’s Bayview District.
A Sausalito councilwoman wants to limit the number of rental bikes allowed into the city; evidently, all those rental cars, and non-rental cars, are okay, though.
National
A cabal of elder engineers is apparently dedicated to stamping out what they perceive as deviant bikeway designs.
New York police are looking for a cyclist who wacked a motorist with his U-lock during a dispute. Seriously, no matter what the other guys says or does, never resort to violence.
New York’s MTA isn’t even interested in testing a rear wheel guard that could prevent cyclists and pedestrians from being crushed under the rear wheels of a bus.
Atlanta police apparently aren’t interested when a driver A) leaves the scene after hitting a bike rider, and B) pulls a gun and threatens to kill the cyclist after the rider follows him home to talk about it.
A 39-year old British soldier with early-onset Alzheimer’s embarks on a nearly 10,000 mile ride around the US and Canada.
London’s Evening Standard says the city’s new 20 mph speed limit will save lives, and drivers will just have to deal with it.
Scottish cyclists call for a version of Strict Liability, which assumes drivers are at fault in any collision with cyclists or pedestrians; thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.
A new Dutch bike shakes its handlebars to warn of potential danger from the front, and its seat to warn of danger coming from behind. With our traffic, it could become the worlds first publicly rideable vibrator.
Caught on video: Bike racing becomes a full-contact sport — as if it wasn’t already — as a spectator grabs the handlebars of Australian rider Loren Rowney during a race in the Netherlands, resulting in a major endo and a broken collarbone as she sprints for the finish.
German carbon wheel and frame maker Lightweight combines with Audi to create the latest overpriced, high-tech racing bike from a carmaker dabbling in bikes.
KTLA-5 profiles Finish the Ride’s Damian Kevitt as he prepares to run the LA Marathon this Sunday, despite losing his leg to a hit-and-run driver just two years ago.
Flying Pigeon discovers signs of hope in the form of bike racks adorning the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills. Unfortunately, none are within walking distance of the many doctors I see in the city.
The president of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce says the city must choose between a bikeable, walkable and livable future or a return to the dangerous plans of the past at the city’s Planning Commission meeting on Thursday the 18th.
State
KNBC-4 looks at the ill-advised legislation to require all California bike riders to wear a helmet, while a new Tumblr site offers photos of people on bikes who would become criminals under the law. Just to be clear: I never ride without a helmet, but they are not the bicycling equivalent of seat belts or air bags; bike helmets are designed to protect against low speed falls, not high speed collisions; mandating their use in all situations will do more harm than good.
A Portland bike thief is in custody after a friend of the victim spotted the purloined bike. Meanwhile, a Port Angeles WA bike thief reportedly said nothing as he pointed a gun at his intended victim; then again, I’d think the gun spoke volumes.
Now that’s more like it. Chattanooga police start efforts to improve bicycle safety — including a radar and camera equipped bike to catch drivers violating the three-foot passing law.
Cycling legend Jeannie Longo was not among the French athletes killed in a tragic helicopter collision that took the lives of ten of her countrymen in Argentina Monday.
And one of my life’s goals has always been to get a speeding ticket on my bike; a British rider succeeded, doing more than twice the 20 mph speed limit in a London park.
