Tag Archive for ebike vouchers

Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai try to kill Forest Lawn Dr improvements, and CARB claims ebike voucher fail went as planned

December 20, 2024 / / No comments
Just 11 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

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Just six five days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Samer S for a generous donation to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite screen every morning.

This year’s fund drive has seen 54 people give anything from $5 to $500. And trust me, I appreciate every dime, because I know how hard it can be to donate when money is tight.

Especially this time of year.

But if you haven’t given yet, you’re almost out of time. So just stop what you’re doing and give now, already! 

Meanwhile, today’s photo shows the corgi’s natural reaction to today’s headline.

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A pair of local cemeteries are trying to bury a plan to improve safety on Forest Lawn Drive, apparently in hopes of burying the rest of us.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports on the conflict over the deadly street, most of which is inside Griffith Park. And which shouldn’t really be a conflict at all.

Quite a few cyclists use Forest Lawn to get to car-free roads inside Griffith Park. It’s one of the flattest routes from the East San Fernando Valley to central parts of Los Angeles. Some cyclists avoid Forest Lawn because of speeding car traffic there.

Many drivers use Forest Lawn Drive to cut through the park to get on and off the 134 Freeway. Though the posted speed limits are 40-45 mph, drivers often exceed 50 mph on a road with limited visibility due to curves. Predictably, this situation results in crashes, injuries, and deaths.

According to the city Transportation Department (LADOT), from 2013 to 2023 Forest Lawn Drive saw 83 crashes, including three deaths/serious injuries. In December 2022, a driver was crushed to death (and another hospitalized) in a two-car crash in front of Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Yet for the cemeteries and their supporters, that’s no big deal. I guess when you have thousands of bodies already, what’s a few more?

Never mind all the close calls people have experienced that haven’t resulted in actual collisions. Which is why I stopped using the street, regardless of whether I was driving or riding.

According to Linton, commenters at a pair of recent public meetings, including a representative of the cemeteries, voiced concerns about a lack a lack of data from the city, and creating a permanent traffic disaster.

Even though the city had gone back to the drawing board after the initial designs were presented, conducting more traffic studies and watering down the project.

And even though the city had just presented their data, which showed that the project, which would reduce the current two lanes in each direction with one lane each way, along with bike lanes and a center turn lane, would have no noticeable effect on traffic times.

You can guess what the reaction was, often prefaced with “no one is against biking,” or the evergreen “I’m a cyclist myself.”

As Linton relates,

(Forest Lawn Memorial Parks CEO Darin) Drabing termed the city’s safety improvements “unbelievable,” “unfathomable,” “unnecessary,” and “punishing.” “I just find it unfathomable that we would have to take away fifty percent of the traffic flow in order to… make [bike lanes] more prominent and more secure.” (Note the LADOT does not anticipate taking away any of the traffic flow, but expects that reducing four lanes to three will easily accommodate existing and anticipated traffic.)

Mount Sinai’s Randy Schwab noted that he was in “total agreement” with Drabing. He spoke of “traffic accidents” occurring there “on a blind curve” but then reiterated his opposition to planned safety measures. “Bicycle activity is relatively low” on Forest Lawn Drive and, according to Schwab, “to reduce the traffic by cars by fifty percent” would be “catastrophic” and result in “back up throughout the area.”

Maybe someone could explain to them that a) the project is intended to improve safety for all road users, not just add bike lanes; and b) maybe the reason that “bicycle activity is relatively low” is that people just don’t feel safe riding there.

At the end of one of the meetings, Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council voted 14-3 to oppose the project.

Which isn’t saying much, of you’ve ever attended one of their meetings.

I have, and vowed never to go back after the rude reception I received, particularly from the head of the NC, who runs it like her own fiefdom.

Fortunately, the Neighborhood Council is merely an advisory board, and the final decision rests with CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, who generally supports bikeways.

But money talks. And in Los Angeles, it too often screams, especially when huge corporations like Forest Lawn get involved.

So if you ride, drive or walk along Forest Lawn Drive — or would like to, if the damn thing felt any safer — take a few minutes to read Linton’s full article, and voice your support for the project on LADOT’s survey form.

Because we’re all going to end up someplace like Forest Lawn or Mount Sinai eventually.

But most of us would like to put that off as long as possible.

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No surprise here.

The California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, says the launch of the state’s ebike voucher program went exactly as expected.

Sadly, most of us would probably agree.

That’s true whether you were one of the estimated 100,000 people left frustrated when they tried to apply, or what’s probably an even larger group who decided in advance that it just wasn’t worth the effort, expecting the launch to go pretty much the way it did.

Count me in the latter group.

The only real surprise is that the demand didn’t crash the website, which I would have bet on.

The sad part is we can’t expect them to make any changes, because the launch went off as designed.

So they will continue to dribble out the remaining $35 million in funding just a few million at a time, throttling applications because the group hired to manage the vouchers apparently can’t handle the demand.

To call this a failure is being kind.

But it’s also a success, because this is exactly what they intended.

Meanwhile, Electrek points out that even with advance preparation, it was almost impossible to complete the voucher application in the allotted time.

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Yep.

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We’ve linked to this story before. But we’ll do it again, because he nails the real problem.

As long as you keep a clean driving record in California, you won’t have to take another driver’s test for decades, if ever.

Which means many, if not most, drivers on our streets have never been tested on recent law changes, and may not be familiar with them or modern street treatments.

So drivers end up confused by something that is only new to them. And too often, local officials respond by reversing the changes, rather than educating the drivers.

Keeping the roadway, and the people on it, just as dangerous as ever.

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Gravel Bike California rockets around the hills of Whittier.

And if you might even get to see a recruitment ad for the CIA first, like I did.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the heads-up. 

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‘Tis the season.

Victorville’s Doris Davies Memorial Bicycle Giveaway distributed over 150 bicycles to children from nearly two dozen elementary schools, for the 21st consecutive year.

An Oakland bike club donated nearly $66,000 to a local food bank.

A local men’s service organization in Navasota, Texas is hosting its third annual Bike and Electric Scooter giveaway this weekend, with plans to distribute over 1,000 bikes and scooters to kids. And no, I never heard of Navasota, either. 

University of Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond is just the latest college or port athlete to join chicken joint Raising Cane’s to distribute 100 bicycles to children with the local Boys and Girls Club.

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

Congratulations, Irvine and San Diego. You’ve been singled out for having some of the worst bike lanes in America right now — San Diego twice, thank you.

Police in Bristol, England arrested three teenaged boys for a string of mo-ped attacks that resulted in a number of bicyclists being pushed off their bikes, as well as the assault of a woman.

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Local  

Pasadena unveiled its revised City Bicycle Plan at a public meeting yesterday, after a city council committee rejected the previous draft, telling city staff to come up with something more ambitious in the wake of recent deaths; the city also announced plans for a study session on a plan to improve North Lake Avenue.

 

State

Police in San Luis Obispo arrested a 44-year old Bend, Oregon woman for the the July 23rd hit-and-run that killed an 87-year old man riding a bicycle, and injured a 74-year old rider; she had previously been arrested for a second crash that occurred minutes later, while driving at over four times the legal alcohol limit.

Palo Alto begins streetscape improvements to California Ave that could eventually lead to a carfree shopping district.

San Francisco Streetsblog remembers “another person killed by traffic engineers and politicians,” arguing that if there isn’t enough money to make a traffic project safe for everyone, there isn’t enough money to build it, period.

 

National

Iconic mountain bikemaker Rocky Mountain is the latest in a rapidly growing line of bikemakers to restructure in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy.

Pink Bike announces their nominees for value bike of the year.

Cycling Weekly offers its best suggestions for keeping yourself, your bike and your friends dry during wet season, saying there’s no suck thing as bad weather, only unsuitable fenders. They clearly haven’t ridden through some of the downpours I have, then.

Streetsblog Chicago provides a virtual ride along the city’s new raised bike lane.

 

International

Momentum considers whether ebikes are up to the challenge of riding through winter weather in the frozen North. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, probably better than most of the people riding them. 

Cyclist rates and reviews the year’s best roadies. No, the bikes themselves, not the people on them. 

Core 77 considers “radical bike-related designs” spotted this year. Some of which stretch “bike-related” to the breaking point. 

Fuming British residents slam “eco-vandalism” after ten trees were removed for a new bike lane, “all for the odd cyclist.” I freely admit to being more than a little odd, but…oh, they meant it the other way. Never mind.

 

Competitive Cycling

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website looks back at the past road racing season, terming 2024 the year of the crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you want your toddler to saddle up on a “little red rocket” of a balance bike. Or when you feel the need to debunk a viral glow-in-the-dark bike path image.

And who among us hasn’t ridden in this exact manner?

Some of us more than once.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA ebike incentive launch just this side of a total shitshow, and Hollywood Blvd may be safer but business owners hate it

December 19, 2024 / / One comment
Just 12 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

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Just seven six days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Stephen C and Todd T for their generous donations to bring you all the best bike news and advocacy from around the corner, and around the world.

Time is rapidly running out to support this year’s fund drive. So just stop what you’re doing and give now! 

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The California Ebike Incentive Program actually launched yesterday, so we can finally stop our failure to launch countdown, after nearly a full year since it’s previously promised launch date, and three-and-a-half years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law.

Now if they could just a) get their collective shit together, and b) at least make some effort to meet the demand.

I’m told this was the typical experience for people attempting to apply for an ebike voucher.

1) Attempt to login at exactly 6 pm

2) When that fails, attempt to login again, and again

3) Keep trying to login until you finally get in

4) Get a message saying you are in a very long line to apply

This message was received by someone attempting to apply at exactly 6:30 pm and 23 seconds.

That was followed by,

5. Attempt to login again an hour later

6. Get the following message when they finally let you in

So far, everyone I’ve heard from has had a similar experience. And I’ve yet to hear from, or even about, anyone who actually got a voucher.

Though I’m sure there has to be someone, somewhere.

Seriously, though we’ve been predicting this for months, if not years.

The initial funding of a paltry $3 million is ridiculously low for a state of 38 million people, even when limiting applications to lower-income residents, ensuring that demand would far exceed the available funds.

And outside administrator Queue-it appeared to throttle the application process, ensuring that only a handful of people fortunate to get in on the first or second try would even get a chance to apply.

I’m told the problem may have stemmed from Queue-it launching the program a few minutes early, so that people who attempted to log in at 6 pm had already been blocked by those fortunate few who coincidentally tried to login ahead of time.

Unless, of course, those people somehow knew the window would open before 6 pm. But that would be cheating, right?

At lease the website didn’t crash, as has happened in other states.

Let’s be honest, though.

This program, as now established, is just an underfunded joke.

Funding for California’s electric car rebate program has likely now exceeded $1.5 billion — yes, with a B — fueling sales of over 600,000 vehicles.

Not around 1,500, which is how many ebike incentives were predicted to be funded in the first round.

And without the interminable three-month between application windows faced by ebike buyers.

While those EVs are much cleaner than gas-powered cars, they are still cars. They take up just as much space, and pose just as much risk to others as any other car, while contributing the same amount of particulate pollution from brake, tire and roadway wear.

Ebikes don’t.

Ebikes can easily replace car trips of up to ten miles – which represents the overwhelming majority of motor vehicle trips — while removing nearly one car for every ebike pressed into service.

Ebikes are also much cleaner than even zero-emission vehicles, requiring significantly less energy to operate, and contributing almost no wear and tear to the road surface.

And ped-assist ebikes work to improve the health of the user, unlike motor vehicles, which reduce life expectancies with every mile driven.

Never mind that limiting ebike rebates to lower-income residents is counterproductive in a state with more cars than people. Or that Pedal Ahead, the group administering the program for the California Air Resources Board, is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the state DOJ.

Other cities and states have tied vouchers to a commitment to replace or reduce motor vehicle usage, making them more efficient at replacing motor vehicles than California’s misguided approach of only funding ebikes for people who may not be able to afford a car in the first place.

But at least the launch wasn’t a total shitshow.

So there’s that.

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Early indications are that the lane reduction and protected bike lanes on east Hollywood Boulevard are improving safety, according to councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.

But as usual, that’s not good enough for local business owners, who complain that their apparently nearsighted customers can’t see their stores, since they now have to park a few feet from the curb.

Sure, that makes sense.

They also complain that drivers have to wait while other cars park, and that fewer lanes cause traffic to slow down.

Which is kinda the point, yes.

Although that would seem to benefit local businesses by making their businesses more apparent to drivers who would otherwise speed past, just like they did before.

And God forbid that they would want to enjoy the benefits that other cities have seen, as more walkable and bikeable business corridors usually see increased sales over the long run.

But that would require a little patience, which seems to be sadly lacking these days.

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Um, sure.

John Franklin, author of Britsh bicycling skills manual Cyclecraft — and the country’s answer to Effective Cycling author John Forrester — says bicycling on the country’s roads is “very safe,” while calling for “less exaggeration of danger” facing bicyclists.

Meanwhile, South Bay-based LA bike writer Peter Flax says the books offer useful information for experienced bicyclists. “But as far as offering a philosophy or policy prescription that can grow participation and make cities safer, they are complete dogshit.”

Which is just one of many reasons I strongly recommend his new book, which is perfect for holiday giving.

Even if you’re giving it to yourself.

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Sadly, no surprise here.

Ghost bikes make drivers uncomfortable, which is exactly the point, reminding them to drive safely because the cost could be another human life.

And they make city officials uncomfortable, because they offer a stark reminder of their failure to build streets that protect the lives of their residents.

So while they may offer some silly excuse like ghost bikes are unsightly, or get in the way — as if officially sanctioned objects like homeowner trashcans don’t — the real real reason can be found in their red faces, sweaty brows and tight collars.

Although you’d think someone like Claremont resident Donna Orange would deserve better.

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‘Tis the season.

Twenty San Diego elementary students got new bicycles courtesy of the San Diego Unified Police Department.

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

A San Diego letter writer wants the city to charge bicyclists for annual bike licenses to pay for all the bike lanes he claims no one uses, because apparently, our taxes somehow don’t pay for them like his does.

A Toronto news outlet considers the burning question of why does Ontario Premier Doug Ford hate bike lanes so much, as he carries on the legacy of his late bike-hating, crack-smoking brother, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

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Local  

Streets For All asks you to email Metro to demand that the Vermont Ave Bus Rapid Transit project comply with the recently passes Measure HLA, with is now law in the city of Los Angeles.

Longtime Los Angeles Times writer and editor Shelby Grad relates how he transformed from a bike lane pessimist to falling in love with those little strips of striped asphalt. Hint: It didn’t happen here.

Momentum profiles Santa Monica film editor Caro Vilain, whose viral pro-cycling videos are “fueling a fun-filled cycling revolution.”

 

State

This is who we share the road with. A police chase has once again taken the life of an innocent victim, this time in Fullerton, where a driver fleeing from the cops caused a multi-vehicle pileup, killing a woman in her 60s; this was the suspect’s second crash of the chase, which really should have convinced pursuing cops to break it off and track him by other means just a tad less risky to the public.

San Francisco has paid out $40 million over the past five years to settle 151 claims from pedestrians run over by city workers, with dozens still outstanding.

 

National

Smart Cities Dive considers the two men charged with ripping up Biden’s bike, rail and EV friendly transportation policies, and implementing Donald Trump’s vision for how we’ll get around.

New legislation expected to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by Biden could mean an end to exploding ebike batteries by setting safety standards for them. Or maybe not, since that was part of the bipartisan budget deal Trump blew up at the last minute yesterday.

Oregon is investing $330,000 to reduce motor vehicle use in underserved communities.

A Colorado Congressman has introduced a bill to require automatic emergency braking systems on all new passenger vehicles, capable of detecting bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, regardless of skin tone, clothing color or protective gear; the bill is named in honor of 17-year old US national team member Magnus White, who was killed by a driver while on a training ride last year.

A Pittsburgh attorney is teaching kids leadership skills by taking them on bicycling adventures through other states that they might never see on their own.

New York cops caused their own police chase crash when a suspected drug dealer fleeing from police slammed into a man riding a bicycle, before ditching the car several blocks away.

Florida thieves are targeting online bicycle sellers by arranging meetings for a test ride, then taking off without paying for the bikes.

It’s back behind bars for a former Florida bridgetender convicted of failing to look before opening a drawbridge while a woman was walking across it, causing her to fall to her death; she will now serve ten years for violating her probation for the original conviction by smoking cannabis to help her sleep. Then again, I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I caused that, either. 

 

International

Historic cycling brand GT Bicycles is temporarily ceasing operations, significantly reducing staffing and liquidating existing merchandise as parent company Pon Holdings announces a major restructuring; a Bike Radar columnist says the company’s death would be a tragic loss for bicycling.

A Toronto collision sent two pedestrians and a man riding a bicycle to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, after they were collateral damage in a multi-vehicle crash. Once again pointing out the danger motor vehicles and the people who drive them pose to everyone around them.

Nice gesture, as bicyclists in Brighton, England greeted workers with a cake, mince pies and alcohol-free Prosecco to thank them for building a new protected bike lane. Although why they would then punish them with mince pies is beyond me. 

An Irish family ditched the car and fell in love with their new cargo bike, going so far as to decorate it for holidays, and worrying when they have to lock it up somewhere.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Belgium, where Belgian cycling legend Rik Van Looy died two days before his 91st birthday; Van Looy was known as the King of the Monuments after becoming the first cyclist to win all five single-day Monuments in the same year, as well as being a two-time world champ with a remarkable 371 total wins.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your potential pro career depends on always having the wind at your back. Your old bike parts could be somebody’s new Christmas ornaments.

And no, those new bollards aren’t there to stop people from driving golf carts in the bike lanes.

That’s just an added benefit.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA ebike incentive program launches tomorrow — no, really — and El Segundo bike lanes leave something lacking

December 17, 2024 / / No comments
Just 14 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb. 
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it. 

………

Just eight days left in the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Terese E for her generous, if somewhat lonely, donation keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way from around the corner, and around the world. 

But time is rapidly running out for this year’s fund drive. So what are you waiting for?

Stop what you’re doing and give now! 

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It’s now 362 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 42 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

The California Ebike Incentive Program is finally scheduled to launch tomorrow, so get your application in. They offer these tips to get ready, for better or worse.

Let’s just hope they’re up to the task and have everything ready for the launch after this interminable delay.

We’re counting down the days to our official application launch on December 18, 2024 at 6pm PST — just a few days away!

To help you get ready, here’s a quick checklist of documents you’ll need to have ready when you apply. Documents need to be in a digital format to be uploaded. Digital file types include, but are not limited to PDF files, scans, JPEG or PNG file formats.

  1. Proof of California Residency – California Driver’s License, AB 60 License, or California ID card. The document must be current/valid and issued by the California DMV. If the address on the identification is not up to date, this is a listof documents you can submit.
  2. Proof of Income Eligibility – Provide documents to verify that your annual gross household income is at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The easiest form to submit is a Federal Tax Transcript, easily downloaded or requested by mail from: tax records and transcripts. If you don’t file taxes, refer to this list of acceptable documents.

Taking a few minutes now to gather these documents will help streamline your application so you’re all set to apply as soon as the window opens.

WHAT CAN I DO NOW TO GET READY?

With just a few days ​until the launch of our electric bike incentives, let’s make sure you’re prepared.

Here’s what you need to focus on:

1) Check your eligibility – Click HERE to learn more about eligibility.

2) Watch our how-to apply video – Click HERE to watch our step by step application process video.

3) Prepare your income verification documents – Click HERE to learn more about income verification.

4) Have your current/valid California ID ready and ensure your ID is up to date to avoid any delays.

5) Watch our 2 online training videos – Click the links below to watch our training videos prior to applying.

6) Check out our FAQ’s – Click HERE to review our FAQ page.

For more information, please visit our website ebikeincentives.org.

Let me know how it goes if you apply.

Because to be honest, I’ve kinda lost interest in the whole damn thing.

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South Bay Forward reports El Segundo has striped new bikes on the city’s newly resurfaced streets.

But the news apparently ain’t pretty.

You can submit your own feedback here.

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Seriously, how whacked out does someone have to be to hit a person riding bicycle hard enough to throw him 65 feet through the air, and have no idea they did it — even though the victim’s bike was still embedded in the bumper of the driver’s car?

A 35-year old man in Boca Raton, Florida faces charges for killing a 41-year old man riding a bicycle, seven hours after he took Adderall, Vyvanse and Gabapentin, despite telling investigators he’s in rehab.

And just moments after he passed another man riding in the same bike lane “so closely (the bike rider) could touch the vehicle.”

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‘Tis the season.

America’s Got Talent host Terry Crews, a former linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles, teamed with current members of the team to give new bicycles to hundreds of students at Compton’s McNair Elementary School.

A San Jose nonprofit founded by a surgical nurse has given away over 50,000 bicycles over two decades.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels took part in a DC bike giveaway, where the Raising Cane’s restaurant chain gave away 100 bikes to kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Over 400 donated bicycles are sitting in a North Carolina Salvation Army warehouse waiting for families to come get their free bike.

A Miami car dealer gave dozens of “gently used” bicycles donated by community members to children from the local Boys & Girls Clubs, for the 42nd straight year.

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

Once again, a UK bike lane has been intentionally sabotaged by “anti-bike psychos” who covered it with caltrops, a multi-spiked weapon dating back to the Roman era, resulting in crashes that caused at least one victim to suffer hearing loss; adding insult to literal injury, victims complained that Scottish police just “didn’t give a shit” when informed of the crime. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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Local  

Don’t forget tonight’s virtual meeting of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council to discuss the proposed protected bike lanes on deadly Forest Lawn Drive — or at least what passes for protection here in Los Angeles. The project is opposed by Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries, in an apparent attempt to drum up more business.

 

State

PeopleForBikes announced the ten winners of their 2024 Industry Community Grants, including ten grand each going to Calbike, Rich City Rides and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition.

Velo recommends five winter bicycling destinations where you can leave your thermal clothes behind, including San Diego and Palm Springs.

Bike Magazine calls Natural State a must-see mountain biking movie; the film premiered in San Luis Obispo earlier this month.

 

National

America Walks has opened applications for their Community Change Grants program to provide mini-grants to organizations working to make walking — and apparently, bicycling — safer and more inviting; one recent grant went to a program to assess pedestrian and bicycle safety in Aptos.

A writer for Cycling Weekly discusses what he learned riding his fixie 100 miles through Arizona’s Sonoran Desert; he calls the bike the best $400 he ever spent.

A Colorado woman pled guilty to tampering with evidence for deleting a text proving she was driving while distracted when she killed a ten-year old boy riding a bicycle; she’s also being tried this week on a second misdemeanor charge, careless driving resulting in death. The crash occurred just an easy nine mile ride from where I grew up.

That’s more like it. A 51-year old Pennsylvania man will spend up to 17 years behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that killed a 31-year old father as he was riding a bicycle.

The Franklin, Tennessee police department locks the barn door after the horses escape, conducting a DUI operation in honor of a 54-year old man killed by a drunken Ft. Campbell soldier while the victim was riding his bike.

According to a new lawsuit, a “deeply religious” business owner is dead because a driver high on “Galaxy Gas,” aka nitrous oxide, killed him in a collision as he rode his ebike on an Atlanta sidewalk; the driver bought a canister of the gas labeled for food and beverage use only at a local smoke shop an hour earlier, and allegedly drove around doing “whippets” to get high.

 

International

Momentum explores the top 15 family-friendly North American bicycling routes and destinations from Alberta, Canada to the Florida Everglades.

A British Columbia letter writer says the city’s multi-use paths are great for recreation, but not so much for bike commuting, and the bike lanes aren’t much better.

 

Competitive Cycling

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website asks if there should be a salary cap for pro cycling, after Tadej Pogačar got a $2.3 million raise that increased his annual pay to $8.3 million. Although that pales in comparison to Shohei Ohtani’s $70 a year — let alone Cristiano Ronaldo’s $200 million in on-field earnings.

Aleix Espargaro took an early retirement from Gran Prix motorcycle racing to join a professional cycling team, just not as a cyclist; he’ll serve as an ambassador for Lidl-Trek team.

Cycling West recaps last weekend’s US national ‘cross championships.

 

Finally…

Nothing like a fully functional, and yes, rideable, steel framed bike too small for a corgi — and named Big Boy, of course. Colnago wants you to wear their clothes off the bike, too, as long as you have $890 to spend on a polo shirt.

And that feeling when your bike stunt garners a round of applause from the ladies who lunch.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Charlie Brown ready to kick ball as CA ebike voucher launch announced — again, and PCH Master Plan meeting next week

December 4, 2024 / / No comments
Just 27 short days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 
But not one LA city leader seems to give a damn about it.
Or if they do, they’re not saying anything. 

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It’s Day 6 of the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

So join me in thanking Beverly F, James L, Mitchell G, Walter L and Lionel M for their generous donations to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

So what are you waiting for? Stop what you’re doing and donate now!

It’s okay, we’ll wait. 

………

That chill you just felt was hell freezing over.

Streetsblog reports the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, will finally launch the state’s long delayed ebike voucher program in just two weeks.

No, really, Charlie Brown. Go ahead and kick the football.

According to Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry, the program is now scheduled to launch on December 18th — 42 months after it was approved by the legislature, and almost exactly one year after the last promised launch date (see below).

Seriously, Charlie Brown, we won’t move it this time.

The income-qualified program is scheduled to go live at 6 pm on the 18th, and continue until all the vouchers have been claimed. Which will probably happen almost instantly, given the pent-up demand in a state of nearly 39 million.

According to Curry,

Eligible applicants must be at least 18 years old, with an income of 300 percent of the federal poverty level or less. That means, for example, a one-person household cannot make more than $45,180, and a four-person household no more than $93,600. More information on eligibility can be found here.

Applicants are encouraged to look at the Implementation Manual provided by CARB and ensure they have the proper documents ready to submit once applications go live. Income eligibility must be proven via any of the documents listed on page 16 of the manual (such as tax forms). Although the website encourages people to create a log-in now, before the launch window, it’s not clear how to do so.

Considering how well this program has been run up to this point — including choosing a program under criminal investigation by the state to manage it — they will undoubtedly clarify the process soon.

Right, Charlie Brown? Charlie Brown?

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It’s now 349 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 42 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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Caltrans is hosting yet another in-person community workshop to discuss the feasibility of safety changes on SoCal’s killer highway through the ‘Bu.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Malibu invite you to the 7th public workshop for the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Master Plan Feasibility Study.

The first three public workshops (Round One) gathered input from residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to identify safety priorities for the highway. Based on that input, the 4th, 5th, and 6th workshops (Round Two) focused on presenting and soliciting feedback on design alternatives and other recommendations to improve safety on PCH. Following Round Two, Caltrans developed a draft of the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study. The upcoming 7th workshop (Round Three) will present the draft Study’s key findings and release the document for a 30-day public review period.

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It’s the last CicLAvia of the year.

Five miles of Sherman Way will be closed this Sunday from Lindley to Shoup for your riding, scooting, rolling and walking pleasure.

Or rather, closed to motor vehicles, and open to people.

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Don’t forget tomorrow’s public meeting to consider installing what passes for protected bike lanes in LA on Forest Lawn Drive.

You know, so you don’t become one of Forest Lawn’s customers.

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Metro is hosting a series of public meetings to gather input on the “transformative” Metro Vermont Transit Corridor Project.

  • Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab, 1025 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007.
  • Monday, December 9, 2024 from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM at Crenshaw Christian Center, 7901 Vermont Av, Los Angeles, CA 90044
  • Wednesday, December 11, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM, virtual via Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/MetroVTC1211.
  • Wednesday, December 11, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at LA City College Student Union, Room A, 798 N. Heliotrope Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90029.
  • Monday, December 16, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, virtual via Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/MetroVTC1216.

Which means it’s your chance to tell them the busway improvements are great, but they need to do more to protect people on bicycles.

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Works for me.

A Toronto advocacy group has hired to lawyer to explore their options, as a new provincial law allows Premier Doug Ford to overrule local officials and rip out popular bike lanes.

Meanwhile, a Hamilton, Ontario bike lane installed after a bike-riding kindergarten teacher was killed is among the 16 bike lanes being considered for removal under a new law sponsored by provincial leader Doug Ford, which removes local oversight of bike lanes.

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

Derbyshire Police arrested a 23-year-old man for murder in Mansfield, England, accused of being the driver who deliberately rammed two people riding an ebike off the road, killing a young mother and resulting in the man with her losing his leg below the knee.

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

Police in Wiltshire, England are looking for a man riding a bicycle who punctured another man in the face, apparently with a screwdriver, for no apparent reason. Or at least none the bothered to tell us.

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Local  

Glendale wants to know what you think about citywide traffic and mobility, which means it’s your chance to weigh in on how the city can protect your own safety. Meanwhile, dueling petitions call for “terminating” and preserving the temporary quick-build concrete barrier-protected bike lanes installed on the city’s Brand Blvd back in May.

Santa Clarita will install a pilot protected bike and pedestrian path on Orchard Village Road in the next few weeks.

This is who we share the road with. An LA County Sheriff’s deputy was canned after he was arrested in Long Beach for crashing into a wall and injuring the passenger in his car, while driving at nearly twice the legal alcohol limit.

 

State

They get it. The Santa Cruz Sentinel says California’s new daylighting law will improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians. It should be good for drivers, too. 

Oakland is delaying the promised cycle track it previously expedited following the death of a four-year old girl who was killed by a driver while riding with her father.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick wants to know if Caltrans engineers are intentionally trying to kill bicyclists with their design for the new Vallejo diverging diamond deathtrap interchange. I’d put my money on old fashioned motorhead incompetency. 

Sad news from Rohnert Park, where 69-year old bicycling booster and local cycling team manager Phil Heiman died in a freak accident, after swallowing a bee while warming up for a bike race; a 45-mile “scone ride” will be held in his honor this Friday.

 

National

Slate examines why it’s so darn hard to stop driving, finding that people tend to get stuck in their habits until something happens to make them find a better alternative. Gas shortage, anyone?

Outside named All Bodies on Bikes cofounder Marley Blonsky one of their 2024 Outsiders of the Year for her work to make bicycling more inclusive for riders of all sizes, one group ride at a time; another choice was Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay, the first Black rider to win a stage at the Tour de France.

Electrek looks at the best ebikes, scooters and accessories they saw at the recent Micromobility America show, including hydrogen-powered bikes and a tricycle bucket ebike.

Apparently, not even national parks are safe from hit-and-run drivers, as a 70-year old Hawaiian man was severely injured in a hit-and-run while riding his bike inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The rich get richer, as bike and pedestrian friendly Tucson, Arizona gets more protected bike lanes in the downtown area.

Good idea. An Arizona foundation created by the father of a fallen bicyclist is working with software engineering faculty and students at Arizona State University to develop a “dashcam” for bikes, which attaches to your handlebars and connects to your cellphone to record the license number, images and data of any car that comes too close to your bike.

The Ukrainian immigrant charged with killing 17-year old national team cyclist Magnus White in Colorado last year will face trial in March, after the planned December trial date was delayed due to the absence of a key witness; Yeva Smilianska is charged with reckless vehicular homicide.

A 79-year old Ohio writer says “ebikes are a good choice for many aging riders who still have decent balance, reflexes and vision.” Sounds about right to me.

A 56-year old Texas woman was found a day after she was separated from her husband while riding in a state park; she abandoned her bike after suffering a flat, wandered five miles in a circle before ending up back in the same spot she left her bike, then walked with it until she stumbled on a ranger station 20 miles from where she was last seen.

A former employee of a Richmond, Virginia TV station is trying to find the Good Samaritan who helped him while he was unconscious following a mountain bike crash 16 long years ago, calling for help and even returning his bike to his workplace.

 

International

Momentum selects seven of the best new bike routes around the world to check out in the coming year, including New York’s Empire State Trail and The Great American Rail-Trail, a 3,700-mile continuous trail from Washington, D.C., to Washington State that’s still in the works.

More proof that life is cheap in the UK, where a 75-year old double-decker bus driver walked without a day behind bars for fleeing the scene after crashing into a 13-year old boy riding his bike, but at least he won’t be able to drive again until he’s 76. If you want to know why no one is safe on the streets, this is a good place to start.

A pair of British university educators examine why being located near a bicycle network can boost home property values. Something that holds true on this side of the Atlantic, too. 

A UK cancer charity is sponsoring a fundraising ride along the grueling 724 mile Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route, riding each of the nine stages a day before the pros to raise money to fight cancer.

 

Competitive Cycling

Apparently, not even the world’s best cyclists are safe from careless drivers, as two-time Olympic and 2024 Vuelta champ Remco Evenepoel suffered a broken shoulder blade, hand and rib, along with bruised lungs and a dislocated collarbone when he was doored by the driver of a postal van while on a training ride in Belgium; witnesses say he was “completely hunched over and extremely pale” after the crash.

The head of New Zealand’s national cycling teams apologized to her family for the “appalling” treatment cyclist Olivia Podmore endured as part of the country’s national team, leading to her suspected suicide in 2021 just one day after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, after she was left off the team.

 

Finally…

If the city won’t change the signs to prevent parking in a bike lane, just change ’em yourself. When you’re already drunk and riding your bike with an open bottle of purloined wine, it’s not the best idea to threaten to bite the cops busting you.

And that feeling when your final wish for one last bike ride depends on whether the funeral home can find a tandem hearse.

Not that, you’d be feeling anything at that point. But still.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Oceanside hosts Rail Trail meeting, and Streets For All says California ebike vouchers are coming (no, really)

September 11, 2024 / / Comments Off on Oceanside hosts Rail Trail meeting, and Streets For All says California ebike vouchers are coming (no, really)
Just 111 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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It’s a light news day, so let’s get right to it.

And yes, my shoulder is grateful for that. 

Apropos of nothing, today’s image is an AI corgi on a bicycle.

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Oceanside is hosting a public meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing a vital gap in San Diego County’s Coastal Rail Trail.

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It’s now 265 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Streets For All insists the vouchers are coming soon, so let’s hope they know something we don’t.

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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 60-something English man was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his bike on Monday. Yet the local press just blames the “horsebox”  — aka horse trailer on this side of the pond — for striking him, without even mentioning there was probably a driver towing it.

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Local 

Culver City-based Walk ‘n Rollers will host their family-friendly Fall Festival bike safety event this Sunday in the Culver City Middle School Parking Lot.

Burbank is now offering free bike racks to local businesses to install in the public right-of-way.

 

State

Sad news from San Jose, where a man was killed by a driver while riding his bike near a freeway onramp.

In a story originally blockaded by the San Francisco Chronicle’s draconian paywall, Waymo alleges a bike rider made intentional contact with one of their automated robotaxis, and deliberately fell over afterwards. Or the rider could have put his hand out to avoid getting hit, and fell over as a result. Just saying. 

 

National

Electrek says yes, bike riders should roll stop signs.

Cycling News explains the many, many different flavors of road bikes.

A new study published in Nature examines the possibility of automated computer analysis of near-miss collision studies, opening the door to real-time AI data analysis.

Seattle learned the hard way to improve streetcar crossings, after paying out a total of $5.75 million to settle with two bicyclists who were injured when their tires got stuck in the tracks.

The mayor of Las Cruces, New Mexico will host a bike ride with local residents on Saturday. Something our bike-riding mayor still hasn’t done. And probably won’t.

Residents in their hometown were shocked by the deaths of the hockey playing Gaudreau brothers, killed by an alleged drunk driver — who grew up in the same New Jersey county — the night before their sister’s wedding.

 

International

The UK is testing out AI-controlled traffic lights that give priority to people on bicycles to create a green wave bike route.

Sixty people set off on a 390-mile ride from the UK to Paris to remember 18 members of an English rugby club who were killed in a 1975 plane crash near the French city, including eight children and four grandchildren of the crash victims.

Dublin, Ireland is installing new traffic signals with flashing arrows to give bike riders priority over drivers for making left turns, the equivalent of our right turns.

Momentum rides France’s La Régalante, a new 170-mile bike route weaving through the historic Marches de Bretagne from Mont-Saint-Michel to Nantes, saying it offers “a seamless blend of adventure, culture, and natural beauty.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo explains Sepp Kuss’ unexpected vanishing act from the Vuelta top ten.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the former cyclist in your advertorial really stretches the meaning of former. Who needs to get published in a poetry magazine when you can deliver them directly by bicycle?

And if you’re going to bet that no one is using a new protected bike lane, be ready to put your money where your mouth is.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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