I’ve been battling low blood sugar for over four hours now, as I’ve struggled to finish today’s post. Despite my best efforts, I’ve finally reached the point where I have to throw in the towel.
Unfortunately, I’ve only gotten about halfway through today’s news, so let’s just call this Morning Links lite.
And we’ll catch up with the rest tomorrow.
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In today’s photo, Patrick Pascal sends proof that DTLA’s Olive Street bike lane is becoming a reality, looking south from 8th Street.
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This may be the most important video you see today.
Or maybe this year.
Tuesday evening, LA’s Velo Club La Grange hosted a two hour online discussion of racism, and what it’s like to be a Black bicyclist in the City of Angels.
This is how they describe it.
On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, Velo Club La Grange hosted a virtual Town Hall where a number of local Black cyclists shared their perspective and experiences and engaged in an interactive question and answer session. We invite you to watch this critically important conversation.
But that doesn’t begin to do it justice.
The panelists — a group of successful Black professionals — didn’t say anything I haven’t heard before from other people.
Yet hearing so many variations of the same hateful story, calmly told by so many people, was absolutely devastating.
Seriously, block out some time, and watch it. It may change the way you view race forever.
All of the organization’s “athletic supporters” are encouraged to ride on their own and raise some money for the cause. For more info and a lot more locker room jokes, please visit their website: https://t.co/7YqlnWUF9U
— Orange County Bicycle Coalition (@OCbike) July 8, 2020
It had become clear in recent months that the Feds had Huizar in their sights, after a string of lower-level aides and go-betweens copped pleas that clearly implicated him.
Huizar, who was largely responsible for the bike-friendly Complete Streets makeover of Downtown Los Angeles in recent years, was charged under the RICO act for running a corrupt enterprise.
His arrest, along with the conviction of former San Fernando Valley Councilmember Mitch Englander, raises questions of whether anyone else was involved, and who else the Feds could be looking at.
The remaining city councilmembers voted unanimously to suspend Huizar from the council after his arrest; he was urged to resign before his term ends at the end of the year so Councilmember-elect Kevin de Leon can take over the seat.
Let’s hope de Leon turns out to be as much of a supporter of bicycles and Complete Streets as Huizar has been.
Speaking of DTLA, it looks like Olive Street is about to get an upgrade.
While a bus lane is still under consideration with @metrolosangeles, LADOT crews began marking the street last night for a bike lane upgrade with striping soon to follow. Here’s a look of what the street will look like once implementation is complete. pic.twitter.com/DyUcemToSX
You might want to avoid Laguna Niguel’s Camino Capistrano for awhile.
Construction Alert! Camino Capistrano in Laguna Niguel will be impacted through August. OCBC has expressed concerns about the design of this project and has offered suggestions to improve it. Be careful! @bikinginlapic.twitter.com/3hdHHgktSk
— Orange County Bicycle Coalition (@OCbike) June 23, 2020
Retired Belarusian pro Kanstantsin Siutsou got a four year ban for doping; the former Giro stage winner failed a test for EPO two years ago. Like that ban will really sting since he doesn’t compete anymore; it’s like firing someone two years after he quit. But hey, the doping era is over, right?
I continue to be surprised by the unexpected donations that have been coming in to support this site lately. Thanks to Carlos A and Bernard B for their generous donations to keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way every day.
And note to Bernard — You’re welcome!
Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
The driver was reportedly traveling at least 75 mph — over twice the legal speed limit — while swerving around cars and onto the wrong side of the roadway in the moments leading up to the crash, and just missing a woman riding her bike.
The scooter rider, who has not been publicly identified, wasn’t so lucky; two other people were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Fortunately, the newly reopened restaurant hadn’t begun its lunch service yet, or the situation could have been much worse.
This is exactly the problem many people have been warning against for weeks, myself included, as Los Angeles has failed to take any significant action to slow traffic on streets lightened by the coronavirus pandemic.
While traffic has seen a significant uptick in recent weeks, there still aren’t enough vehicles on the streets to slow people who can’t seem to keep their foot off the gas pedal.
Other cities around the world have taken advantage of the lighter traffic to reduce road capacity, carving out additional space to walk or ride bikes in an effort to slow traffic and provide safe alternatives to driving.
Yet LA has done nothing more significant than change the timing of some traffic lights.
Now an innocent person is dead because of it.
Thanks to John Damman for the heads-up.
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Speaking of who we share the roads with, an Eagle Rock driver can’t seem to grasp the concept of Slow Streets.
Or maybe just that they don’t belong to people in cars.
Driver in gold sedan honked and shouted “not a bike zone, I called the city about this!” before forcing their way through. The success of Slow Streets shouldn’t be measured by angry, misinformed people that call the city but instead by the happy families using the street. pic.twitter.com/alo8nMPVw8
They may be responsible for similar attacks in Culver City and Marina del Rey.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Sexual Assault Section at LAPD’s Operation West Bureau, 213/473-0447.
Because no one should have to put up with this crap.
Period.
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Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Patrick Pascal forwards a series of photos showing that the more things change, the more they stay the same on DTLA’s 7th Street, where the newly protected and buffered bike lanes are still nothing more than parking lanes for Downtown’s entitled drivers.
Photos by Patrick Pascal.
He also notes that the cop shown here spends a lot of time on the street. But never seems to ticket anyone on four wheels.
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A new video prepared for the NACTO’s Bike Share and Cities for Cycling Roundtable talks with disabled people to show they ride bikes, too — and need to be taken into account when infrastructure plans are considered.
Frequent BikinginLA contributor Megan Lynch is one of the riders they talk with; you’ll find her around the three-minute mark.
She stresses that, in addition to her comments in the video, bike parking needs to accommodate less traditional bicycle designs used by handicapped riders, including recumbents, ebikes and adaptive bikes.
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Gravel Bike California offers a video guide to one of the best climbs in Los Angeles.
Thanks to CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew for the link.
Would someone please tell the Fountain Valley Fire Department that a bike helmet isn’t the best way to prevent head injuries and death? It’s a lot better to ride safely and defensively, and avoid crashes in the first place; helmets should always been seen as the last resort when all else fails. Not the first.
A coalition of Connecticut organizations, businesses and individuals have called the state’s electric car rebate program inequitable because it only applies to electric cars, arguing it should offer rebates on more affordable ebikes, as well.
Police in New Jersey’s Long Beach remind residents and visitors that traffic safety is a shared responsibility. Which is true, unfortunately, since no one can seem to get the people in the big, deadly machines to behave.
A London TV presenter is encouraged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proclamation of a golden age of cycling and decides to give it a try, but finds the experience terrifying.
The Guardianexamines one of the UK’s toughest bike rides, the 79-year old Cape Wrath Challenge, on eleven miles of single track through Scotland’s windswept moors to a craggy Victorian lighthouse.
June 16, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LADOT drops DTLA bike lanes in favor of parking, Pomona thinks bike lanes are for kids, and LAFD on bikes
One quick note.
I renewed my annual membership in the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition last night.
With the LACBC facing financial difficulties stemming from the coronavirus crisis, as well as major financial mismanagement by the previous executive director, who shall forevermore go unnamed here, it’s more important than ever to join or renew your membership.
Or just make a donation to keep the LACBC fighting for your right to ride safely on our streets.
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I have a confession to make.
Ever since the company my wife works for — correction, worked for — shut down for the coronavirus lockdown, never to return, I haven’t been able to dig into the details on bike projects the way I’d like.
As much as I enjoy having her around, I miss those nine hours or so to myself everyday to gets things done.
Fortunately, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton is here to take up the slack.
But what I didn’t realize was that those bike lanes are only planned for just over half of the 1.3 mile project.
As Joe explains it,
Overall this is a good project. It’s a worthwhile improvement over what is out there today.
I did get a little frustrated about bike lanes on these streets. The city is adding left-side bike lanes (a one-way street best practice – like bike lanes on Spring and Main Streets) but only on about 0.7-mile of the overall 1.3-mile project – just over half the project. The issue is parking – there are two blocks of on-street parking that would need to be removed. While I personally would favor removing that parking, I understand it’s not easy politically.
I am still frustrated though that the city is basically throwing out 7 blocks of bike lanes because just 2 blocks are difficult. I wrote a letter to try to get the city to do the remaining 5 easy blocks of bike lane – which would connect Pershing Square with the downtown library.
That’s right.
LADOT, which is supposedly tasked with implementing the mobility plan, bike plan, Vision Zero, and the mayor’s Green New Deal plan to dramatically reduce driving in the city, is skipping a full seven blocks of bike lanes in favor of two lousy blocks of car parking.
In Downtown Los Angeles, no less, which UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup describes as having more parking per acre than any other city.
No, anywhere.
Which pretty much tells you where people on bicycles rate in the city’s transportation hierarchy these days.
Like several steps below cars. And maybe a step or two above road kill.
He suggests emailing city officials to politely request that they install additional bike lanes, at least on the five blocks where it doesn’t require the removal of parking spaces, and wouldn’t inconvenience anyone.
And he even provides a sample letter, while stressing that you should put it in your own words.
Email addresses:
councilmember.huizar@lacity.org
mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org
seleta.reynolds@lacity.org
and bcc Joe Linton at linton.joe@gmail.com)
Sample letter:
Honorable Councilmember Huizar, Mayor Garcetti, and General Manager Reynolds –
I write to you in support of adding bus and bike lanes to the greatest extent possible on 5th and 6th Streets downtown.
BSS is repaving these streets starting June 15th. LADOT announced that bus lanes will be added from Figueroa to Central, and left-side bike lanes will be added from Spring to Central.
Thank you all for your role in bringing much needed bus lanes, which will improve transit, air quality, equity, and quality of life for Angelenos.
Thank you all for the needed bike lanes, which will improve safety and health. I urge you though to extend the bike lanes further than the current announced length. It appears that LADOT is skipping seven blocks (Figueroa to Spring) of bike lanes to preserve two blocks (Hill to Spring) of parking.
At a minimum, the city should install a left-side bike lane for the missing five blocks – from Hill to Figueroa – where there is sufficient space and no parking removal necessary. Adding this bike lane would keep cyclists safer, as well as keeping us out of the bus lane, making the bus lane more effective.
Sincerely,
[name]
[street address]
I’ll send my email later today. And I hope you will, too.
Because there’s no reason our safety should take a backseat to a parked car.
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Apparently, bike lanes are for kids in Pomona. Or at least, they now come under the Youth Services budget.
Library funding, landscape maintenance, and park facility maintenance now being counted as part of the "youth services" budget pic.twitter.com/HK6WTIyOeo
— henryfung@onewilshire.la/bsky (@calwatch) June 16, 2020
Thanks to Eric Griswold for the heads-up.
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Who needs a firetruck or paramedic unit when you’ve got bicycles?
The Sonoma bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run a couple weeks ago has been identified as a 35-year old Romanian entrepreneur, who was killed when a passing pickup driver struck him in the head with the truck’s wing mirror; the damaged truck was found a few miles away, but the driver still hasn’t been arrested.
“When you have that many riders, it’s going to be unruly. I wouldn’t say rowdy,” said Vasquez.
Never mind that unruly ride violated every semblance of California’s Covid-19 lockdown rules.
Which currently prohibits groups of more than ten. Let alone the few hundred bike riders it drew from all over the state.
And never mind that they couldn’t do a better job of spreading the disease if they tried.
If only one of the riders had a symptom-free case of coronavirus without knowing it, they could have shared it with dozens of others on the ride, who would then take it home to their family and friends.
Not to mention putting innocent bystanders at risk along every inch of the ride route.
Irresponsible doesn’t begin to cover it.
According to the LA bicyclist — who I won’t name, even though the story does — the mass ride was sponsored by a group called Keep it Rolling.
Maybe they’ll think before they roll out again.
So maybe they next time we read or hear about them, it will be because they got it right.
The new protected bike lanes on 7th Street in DTLA have turned into one more example of free curbside parking for any drivers willing to squeeze through the bollards.
Just like what happened after every other protected bike lane in Downtown Los Angeles was opened.
Which makes you wonder why LADOT apparently hasn’t learned anything from the experience.
Although maybe someone should teach him how to fix a flat.
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Here’s your chance to sort-of ride with the world’s best — and only — all type 1 diabetic cycling team.
But only if you’re diabetic, too.
Do you dream of racing with the world’s top cyclists? We’re looking for young, active, elite cyclists with diabetes to take part in our 2020 virtual Talent ID Camp. For more info go to our website click the “Join” tab, follow the Talent ID link and fill out the application form. pic.twitter.com/iEWDmqZh3a
— Team Novo Nordisk (@teamnovonordisk) May 19, 2020
Chris Froome is threatening to jump ship midseason, leaving Ineos for a rival team after being overshadowed in recent years by fellow Tour de France winners Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal. Although it’s hard to call it midseason if there haven’t been any races.
A special thanks to Los Angeles Bicycle Attorneys Josh and Paul Cohen of Cohen Law Partners for renewing their sponsorship for the coming year.
They join title sponsors Pocrass & De Los Reyes in renewing their support, despite these troubling economic times.
It’s their sponsorship that allows me to do what I do, and bring you the latest and best bike news on a daily basis.
Without their support — and yes, yours — this site would not be possible, at least in its present form.
Now saddle up, because we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
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Let’s start in Santa Monica, where good things are happening.
And not so good.
On the plus side, David Drexler sends word that the city has taken advantage of the slow traffic during the coronavirus shutdown to install parking protected bike lanes on a short section of Broadway.
Look at this, a gift to cyclists from Santa Monica. They took advantage of the low corona traffic to redo Broadway thus far from 20th Street west a few blocks. They moved the parking away from the curb and replaced it with a very protected bike lane on both sides. These photos were a taken at 19th and Broadway. Not sure how far they will extend it. It goes from 20th to the Santa Monica food coop right now, then the old green lane picks up there.
The picture of the G on the ground is probably where they will pain green.
It makes cycling much safer in those lanes than the ones next to traffic, I feel. Hope they do more.
Advocacy group Santa Monica Spoke joins with other organizations to warn that excessive cuts to the transportation department could imperil the safety of vulnerable road users, as well as any post-pandemic economic recovery.
Santa Monica’s economy depends on a functioning transportation network that safely moves people, goods and services. Current proposed budget cuts will be destructive to transportation work, will disable basic functions, and slow our safe recovery from this pandemic. Transportation staff, infrastructure and services are classified as essential government functions* and perform vital functions that literally keep our community running safely. These cuts will damage safety and the very fabric of services and programs that we depend on living in Santa Monica…
These essential life saving functions are under threat with extreme plans to cut over half of the City Transportation and Mobility Division compared to 20-40% across other departments. While we can only imagine the stress and burden of decisions weighing on City Council, this level of cuts would severely impact basic public safety and infrastructure operation functions, wounding our city’s ability to rebound fiscally from the COVID-19 crisis. It is imperative to be strategic. We must consider the holistic dynamic relationships, dependencies and functions that contribute to safety, economic stability and regrowth. While the City suffers catastrophic shortfalls, we should not use a sledgehammer where a scalpel is needed to balance new budgets. Council needs to take time to cut costs strategically, while maintaining essential staff that would facilitate a safe and secure path to economic recovery and resilience.
As part of the cutbacks, Santa Monica plans to cut all bike, pedestrian and Vision Zero funding for the next year.
Which means those Broadway protected bike lanes may be the last we’ll see for awhile.
And the proposed cuts are more than just a scratch.
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Evidently, Vision Zero isn’t completely dead in the City of Angels.
Just badly wounded.
7th street is getting some new and exciting safety and mobility improvements. Come learn more at a virtual workshop on May 6 at 5:30 pm. Register here: https://t.co/J0AFy1URcqpic.twitter.com/oRun0D1gbJ
— LADOT Livable Streets (@LADOTlivable) May 2, 2020
And about damn time, since the existing bike lane is largely unrideable much of the time, and usually serves as nothing more than free parking in front of the Bloc shopping mall.
And the only rule governing traffic on 7th seems to be to aim for the soft, squishy people instead of the cold, hard cars.
Anyone who’s ridden for awhile can tell you it’s not always the bike rider’s fault in a situation like that; people are unpredictable, and can step out into the street without looking for someone on a bicycle.
But it’s always our obligation to ride carefully around pedestrians, because they’re the only ones more vulnerable than we are. And be prepared to stop or swerve to avoid crashing into someone.
Especially if you’re riding on a sidewalk.
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This working from home thing might just catch on after all.
Yes, May is Bike Month, even if everything has been cancelled and too many cities won’t give an inch on the streets during the coronavirus pandemic. Including Los Angeles.
When a Nova Scotia nursing home worker went to pick up her bike after having it repaired, the shop surprised her with a new bicycle to thank her for her work on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle.
Tragic news from India, where a couple were killed in a collision along with two other people, after a kindhearted truck driver offered them a lift after riding 250 miles because they couldn’t find any other form of transportation.
February 13, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Huizar calls for carfree Broadway in DTLA, Arroyo Seco Bike Path finally open, and studies support bus and bike lanes
Breaking news: KNBC-4 reported that a bike rider was critically injured last night in a collision at Hollywood Blvd and McCadden Place. However, video from the scene appears to show the victim may have been seated on a Wheels scooter rather than a bicycle.
Unfortunately, nothing has been posted online yet.
Since its inception in 2008 my Bringing Back Broadway initiative has successfully revitalized the historic corridor in DTLA. To further enhance the economic development of the area, I have introduced a motion asking for a study to look into the feasibility of a car-free Broadway. pic.twitter.com/RhMOcYEBFK
This comes after years of efforts to revitalize the corridor, including a road diet that cut the number of traffic lanes in half, and reopening or repurposing many of the street’s grand theaters.
Note to KCBS-2: Despite the headline in the above link, the proposed ban is on cars and trucks, not feet.
Good news, L.A. cyclists: Nearly 13 months after the Arroyo Seco bike path was closed due to damage from a major storm, the city completed repairs and the bikeway has been fully reopened. Here's what took so long: https://t.co/0g9cs1zCCdpic.twitter.com/tgUMNOc1kl
Deaths caused by motor vehicles and the people who drive them.
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Some things are universal. And definitely worth 35 seconds out of your day.
“Get a car, loser!” (presumably so you can be stuck in the same traffic gridlock I’m adding to) Sketch from 2019 Icelandic Lampoon show HT @ruvsjonvarp. As @bjornteits points out, the only thing unrealistic “is the fact that there are 2 people in the car.” pic.twitter.com/HcJqntz5FF
A must-read from Curbed, which argues that public meetings are broken and offers advice for how to fix them. Anyone who’s been shouted down by traffic safety deniers and NIMBYs in recent years knows just how broken the current system is.
Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says recent Los Angeles transplant LeBron James is the new hero of bikeshare and bike lanes, saying children need access to bikes and safe places to ride them. Rumor has it he also plays basketball here in LA. LeBron, that is, not Weiss.
A Colorado CEO plans to ride a bike barefoot across the US, from Disneyland in Anaheim to Disney World in Orlando, to call attention to human trafficking; it’s the first known attempt by anyone to pedal barefoot across the country.
November 26, 2019 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Missing bollards in DTLA, LA Walks celebrates, and new LA River bridge unofficially opens
It’s a light news day as we lead into the actual holiday season. As opposed to the one that started shortly before Halloween.
So let’s all remember to ride safely and defensively the next few days.
And try to keep it that way.
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Eric Solomon sends word that Los Angeles officials appear to be doing their best to make the protected bike lanes on Spring Street in DTLA a little less safe.
I noticed that some of the bollards on the Spring Street Bike lane have been removed from the edge of intersections, allowing cars turning left to cut through the bike lane rather than make their turn from the middle of the intersection.
After all, you wouldn’t want to inconvenience motorists a little just to improve safety for people who aren’t encased in a few tons of glass and steel.
Right?
Update: Solomon reports today that the bollards have been replaced.
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Los Angeles Walks will honor leading walking advocates at their annual soirée next month, with tickets starting at $150.
Still more sad news from Northern California, where a homeless man was killed when he was struck by several drivers while riding on a freeway in Richmond; at least one of the drivers fled the scene. As with other similar cases recently, there’s no explanation for why he was riding there.
A Sonoma columnist says the $20 million it took to build a new protected pedestrian and bicycle lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was money well spent to fight climate change.
A Buddhist “Monk on a Bike” is riding westward across the US after riding across the country in the opposite direction last year, in an effort to connect with the spirit of America and call attention to Alzheimer’s disease, which recently took his father’s life.
The ebike revolution is passing by Northern Ireland because the country has failed to reclassify them like the rest of the UK did; current law classifies them as mo-peds instead of bikes, requiring additional tax, insurance and a license.
Outsidetakes a deep dive into the story of Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan, the American bike tourists on an around the world journey who were murdered by terrorists in Tajikistan two years ago, after 369 days on the road. The pair have been posthumously, and unfairly, ridiculed in some quarters for their positive outlook and faith in humanity.
After an Australian drunk driver ran down a bike rider, instead of checking on the victim or calling the Down Under equivalent of 911, he stood next to his car and texted his sister to call a good lawyer; he apparently found one, since the judge sentenced him to just three years behind bars.
Police in Missoula MT are carrying bike lights in their patrol cars so they can give bike riders without them a free set — and a ticket. We tried to get LAPD to do that for years, but with a warning instead of a ticket. But couldn’t find a deep enough pocket to pay for them.
Wichita, Kansas considers adding a bike valet program for a new minor league ballpark currently under constriction. Which the Dodgers should have done years ago. And the Kings. And the Galaxy. And the LAFC. And the Lakers. And the Clippers. And the Rams. And the San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles…
When you’re a high-ranking Delhi official, and can’t drive because of the city’s even and odd traffic days, just ride your bicycle.
Authorities in Kuala Lumpur threatened to use a law intended to assure parents supervise their children to prosecute those whose kids are ride basikal lajak, bicycles illegally modified with no brakes and chopped handlebars that allow riders to take the “superman” position. Note to Malay Mail — removing the frame might make a bike just a tad difficult to ride.
If you really want to sell your “well-established premium bike shop,” it might help to mention where it is. First there is a bike lane, then there is not bike lane, then there is.
And no, the middle of a sidewalk isn’t the right place to park your scooter. A bike lane isn’t, either.
While I support the goals of the strike, I expect to take a couple days off next week to spend time with my brother once he arrives on his 4,000-plus mile tour of the western US.
I’ll also be observing my birthday on Tuesday, even though it’s going to be a sad one without the Corgi.
I just don’t want to risk going three or four days in a row without posting anything. So call me a scab, but I’ll be crossing the virtual picket lines tomorrow.
And if you want to give me something for my birthday, I’m registered with Don’t Get Your Ass Run Over On A Bike.
Seriously, ride carefully out there. I don’t want to have to write about you, or anyone else, unless it’s good news.
Capisce?
Photo of Maria Sipin shamelessly stolen from Alice Awards website; see next item.
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Let’s start out today with a pair of my favorite ex-LA advocates.
The Alice Awards celebrate our transportation heroes who continue to fight for safe and convenient walking, biking, and transit.
And here’s what they had to say about Sipin.
Maria Sipin will receive the Emerging Leader award. She is a transportation planner at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In addition to her work at ODOT, Maria works for the community via several venues, and she participates in The Street Trust’s Women Bike Program.
Maria is in her fifth year as a board member for the non-profit People for Mobility Justice based in Southern California and is a certified cycling trainer by the League of American Bicyclists.
Maria is active in working for the community on transportation projects and activism supporting the needs and rights of low-income communities of color, teen health, and LGBTQ youth of color.
I’ll add that she’s also one of the nicest, most upbeat and indefatigable people I’ve had the pleasure to work with.
So I hope you’ll join me in congratulating Maria Sipin.
She deserves this one.
Thanks to Alan Thompson for the heads-up.
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We may finally get a bike path from Griffith Park to Long Beach.
As long as you’re willing to wait another six to eight years. And if Metro can find a spare $158 million or so under their cushions.
Which, if you’ve ever tried to ride it, is a major pain in the ass right now.
The good news is, Metro already has $365 million in Measure M funding to pay for it.
The bad news, depending on the option they choose, it could run as little as $329 million, or as much as $523 million.
And won’t be finished until 2026 at best.
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Is anyone really shocked that new census data shows single occupancy driving is down throughout the US — but not in auto-centric Los Angeles?
Of the largest commuting cities, several trends stand out: Most saw a decline in share of people driving alone, with major exceptions of Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, Philadelphia, and San Diego. pic.twitter.com/n2gcIuJJFq
It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in with Long Beach expats and professional bike tourists The Path Less Pedaled, who take bicycling and painting excursion to Washington’s San Juan Islands.
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You still have time to be entered to win free Cycliq bike cams just for reporting obstructed bike lanes.
And no, for those of us who live in Los Angeles, “all of them” is not acceptable.
I tried that already.
Every bike lane obstruction and unsafe lane conditions submitted to the https://t.co/Xr1ub3SxTo database this month will enter you to win a complete @Cycliq kit (front camera, back camera and 2 SD cards).
Biking and walking advocates in San Francisco offer their suggestions on how to stop people in cars from killing people. They can start with reducing speed limits and installing speed cameras, as the story suggests, then block cellphone signals in moving cars — all of which would require changes to state law. Then move on to reducing the number of cars on the street.
Speaking of which, San Francisco is considering banning cars from some neighborhoods to address safety concerns. A similar proposal in Los Angeles would probably result in NIMBYs and traffic safety deniers rioting in the streets.
Men’s Healthranks the 100 fittest cities in the US. Shockingly, car-centric Los Angeles checks in at #16, while San Francisco tops the list, with San Diego and San Jose close behind.
The rate of regular bike riding in New York appears to have dropped by 5% over the last two years, even though it’s increasing in Manhattan and bikeshare memberships are up. However, a lack of infrastructure in the outer boroughs and this year’s rash of bicycling deaths could be contributing factors.
A British man is happy to get his stolen bike back, even though he had to pay the equivalent of $45 to a man who claimed he bought it; several accessories were missing, but they did fix his flat tire.
