Newsom signed this one, anyway.
LAist reports speed cams could be coming to Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale after Governor Newsom signed a bill authorizing a pilot program in the three cities, as well as three cities in Northern California.
However, the program will be limited to streets in “school zones, highway segments most prone to injuries, and areas identified by local authorities as having high volumes of speeders and street racing.”
The pilot program continues California’s insistence on reinventing the wheel, since speed cams have already proven successful in 200 communities in 21 other states, including New York City, Chicago and DC.
Coming soon to LA: speed cameras
All our bills were so important this year, but this one was my personal favorite. It will save lives.
Thank you @LauraFriedmanCA for your persistence, @GavinNewsom for your signature, and our partners @walksf and @StreetsR4Every1. https://t.co/dTLEMGZo5L
— Michael Schneider (@schneider) October 14, 2023
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You knew the recent Hamas massacre in Israel wouldn’t spare the bicycling community.
According to Marca, the heartless violence took the lives of an entire family of triathletes, and at least four mountain bikers were killed on their way to a training ride.
Another group of bike riders survived by hiding under bushes for hours to escape the attack.
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Yes, please.
The US Department of Justice is suing eBay for selling more than 343,000 illegal “rolling coal” pollution devices through the platform, illegally enabling drivers to modify emissions controls on their cars and trucks — and bury bike riders and pedestrians in a cloud of exhaust smoke.
The platform could face a well-deserved $5,580 fine for each devise sold under the Clean Air Act, for a total of nearly $2 billion.
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This is the future bike riders want.
Cutest rider today. She was really cruising and her pigtails bounced as she pedaled https://t.co/lVQJzw5GO3
— Dr Grace Peng (@gspeng) October 16, 2023
Meanwhile, as today’s top photo demonstrates, the countless full bike racks at Sunday’s CicLAvia offered more proof that bikes mean business, with bars, restaurants and cafes jammed with happy participants.
Along with more than a few corgis.
And this one definitely won the most creative award at Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia.
Although the LAPD responded to the end of Sunday’s CicLAvia with an illegal order telling bike riders to get off the street.
LAPD is so car brained, they think you can’t ride a bike on the street outside of an open street event.
Maybe it’d be easier if half of their vehicles weren’t driving on the wrong side of the road 🙃. pic.twitter.com/2LSm5ObCFM
— Mobility For Who (@MobilityForWho) October 16, 2023
Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.
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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 former British city counselor accused local advocates of planning a “deeply distasteful” protest ride to demand safe streets in the wake of two recent bicycling deaths, saying it would put people off bicycling.
No bias here, either. Business owners in a UK city protested what they called a “totally crazy, ridiculous” plan to remove a whole two — yes, two — parking spaces to make room for eight bikeshare bikes.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A 73-year old man in the UK walked without a day in jail for crashing his bicycle into a pedestrian, leaving the 88-year old victim fighting for his life; the man thought he could ride safely even though he was left partially sighted after a stroke.
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Local
This is who we share the road with. A Long Beach driver killed one woman and injured six other people when he drove into pedestrians and cars at Shoreline Drive and Aquarium Way Saturday evening.
State
An Orange County man was busted after completing a transportation theft trifecta, first stealing a car, followed by a bicycle, before being arrested while wearing the car owner’s shoes.
A Victorville woman was critically injured when her bicycle was struck by a motorcyclist while crossing a busy roadway Friday afternoon.
UC Santa Barbara Police recovered 18 purloined bicycles after busting an accused prolific bike thief.
A Bakersfield man suffered major injuries when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike, and left lying in the roadway Saturday evening.
Sad news from San Francisco, where bicyclist was killed in a collision while riding on a freeway; no word on why the rider was on the Interstate highway.
National
CleanTechnica calls ebikes a less-polluting option for commutes and errands as part of the new normal, while Momentum offers advice on what you need to know before buying one.
Gravel has officially gone mainstream, as CNN rates the year’s 12 best gravel bikes.
Gear Junkie offers tips on selecting the right bicycle helmet for the way you ride.
Hundreds of Las Vegas bicyclists turned out for the 10th Annual Ride to Remember, in honor of bike racer Pete Makowski, who was killed by a gravel truck driver while on a training ride in 2013, and all bike-riding victims of traffic violence.
Kindhearted Tucson, Arizona volunteers put together 1,200 bikes to donate to underserved kids.
A new Denver program is using heart rate data to identify bicycling danger zones before anyone gets hurt.
Life is cheap is Wisconsin, where a woman got just 18 months behind bars for killing a 29-year old man riding a bicycle, while driving at nearly twice the legal alcohol limit and nearly twice the posted speed limit.
Cincinnati Bengals punter Drue Christian stayed in shape by delivering meals for DoorDash on his bicycle during the off-season, then started buying meals himself and giving them to people in need.
Family members continue to call for justice two years after Pittsburgh police tased a homeless man up to ten times, even though he didn’t pose a threat to them or anyone else, just because he rode a bicycle that appeared to be abandoned around the block before returning it; the city has already paid an $8 million settlement in the case, but no officers have been charged in his death.
A South Carolina letter writer has a complaint bike riders everywhere can relate to, asking people to stop leaving yard waste and other trash in bike lanes.
International
Major bicycling brands, including Schwalbe, Rudy Project and Trek, are becoming more environmentally conscious and reducing their carbon footprint.
A Vancouver nonprofit calculates that switching from a car to a bicycle could save commuters over $9,000 a year.
Yes, please. A new Google Maps feature will allow London bike riders to consider current traffic conditions and the availability of high-quality cycling infrastructure in planning their route. Hopefully, that will roll out here in the US if it proves successful there.
The Daily Mail complains that a Scottish ebike loan program has cost the country the equivalent of over $600,000, as people have purchased ebikes but failed to repay the cost.
A pair of British bike riders were the victims of a bikejacking by moped-riding muggers, who pulled up to them at a red light and ordered them off their bicycles.
A British man’s beloved bicycle was stolen outside his local pub, after it had taken him 22,500 miles around the world in just 430 days.
A Kenyon writer says it’s imperative that the country combine high-capacity buses and bicycling to “significantly reduce urban carbon emissions and foster cleaner, healthier cities for all.”
Police in South Australia said they have arrested the state’s infamous “Bicycle Bandit,” after DNA led them to a 73-year old man who allegedly robbed at least ten banks over a ten-year period beginning in 2004, using a bicycle as his primary getaway vehicle.
Competitive Cycling
Dutch pro Milan Vader won his first WorldTour race at China’s Tour of Guangxi, a year after a bad crash during a Basque Country race last year left him in an induced coma with his spine fractured in eleven places, and doubts of ever riding again.
French cyclist Typhaine Laurance is walking away from pro cycling, retiring at just 25 due to the sports low pay; she was forced to continue living with her parents while earning the equivalent of just over $1,000 a month.
Conservative media was up in arms after two transgender cyclists took home gold and silver at a women’s ‘cross race in Chicago.
Finally…
Sometimes the best approach to slowing drivers is a mangled bike and a pair of legs sticking out of the hedge. Apparently, bike shorts aren’t used for bicycling anymore, even though they still are, except when they’re not.
And just blame Google Maps if you end up riding on a highway where bikes are banned.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
