Seriously, if you haven’t already, get out and vote. And remember to Bike the Vote while you’re at it.
Aside from Streets For All, there’s not a lot of guidance on who to vote for, unfortunately. But you can get a little help from Calmatters and LAist on who and what the candidates and issues are, while Streetsblog recommends other sources for endorsements.
Metro and LADOT transit are both free to help you get to the polls today.
Once again, our spokescorgi urges you to vote early and often.
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He gets it.
Writing for Golden State, former Los Angeles Times Opinion editor Paul Thornton, who wisely opted out when Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong gutted and neutered the section, writes about the public safety crisis you barely heard about in the LA mayor’s race.
That’s right.
Your right to bike, walk or drive on the streets of Los Angeles, and get home again in one piece.
Hundreds of people are killed on the streets of Los Angeles every year. But you barely heard about it during the mayoral primary.
I’m not referring to criminal homicides, which last year dipped to their lowest tally in 60 years, but an even deadlier menace.
Drivers and their cars kill a lot of people in this city. You’d think someone running to unseat an incumbent would mention this: L.A.’s streets have never been more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians than under Mayor Karen Bass.
Because for the third straight year, traffic deaths outnumbered murders in the City of Angels, the latter which have continue to fall, despite perceptions fueled by the news media.
And the former are far worse now than when the city adopted, and promptly ignored, Vision Zero a decade ago.
This public safety discordance played out conspicuously at the most high-profile candidate forums. The May 6 NBC debate opened with a jarring montage set to scary music that showed (no joke!) hooded marauders, shotgun-wielding cops and people saying things like “I don’t sleep well at night at all.” The ensuing exchange between Bass and her main challengers, Spencer Pratt and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, featured memorable utterances on trash, “super meth” (which may or may not exist) and the “thousands” of moms who’ve talked to Pratt about not feeling safe.
But not one of the candidates mentioned the hazard that Angelenos have good reason to worry about: Getting killed by a speeding vehicle while driving to work, walking to the park or out for a relaxing bike ride.
Streets Are For Everyone and People’s Vision Zero have been pressing city officials to declare a traffic violence state of emergency in Los Angeles, and are preparing to send a letter to that effect when they get it up to 1,000 signatures.
Wait, you have signed it, right?
But even with that, and the failure of Vision Zero and former Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Green New Deal — let alone the coming World Cup and ’28 LA Olympics — no one is even talking about the lack of action improving city streets.
Or paving them.
That’s what led to the passage of Measure HLA two years ago, when two-thirds of city voters mandated that the city build out the already-approved Mobility Plan.
And you know how that went.
Instead of complying with the law by following the Mobility Plan when a significant amount of work is done on any city street, they simply stopped almost all street work.
Then the city invented the term “large asphalt repair” to get around complying with the law, as well as the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Meanwhile, the condition of our roads continues to get worse.
Again, according to Thornton,
Long Beach, Santa Monica, Glendale and other cities rooted in the same car culture as L.A. are at least trying to address the problem by adding infrastructure to protect cyclists and pedestrians from bigger, faster and deadlier vehicles. South Pasadena is re-working Huntington Drive, one of its most dangerous roads, and South El Monte has made numerous upgrades in the last few years to protect non-drivers.
Yet Angelenos wait for the progress they overwhelmingly demanded in 2024.
Apparently, we’ll continue to wait.
Unless we all demand that whoever makes it to the November runoff addresses the issue.
The first step is signing that letter.
The next is attending candidate forums, debates and open houses, and not letting them leave until they tell you exactly what they intend to do to bring traffic deaths and serious injuries down, too.
If you haven’t yet, donate to Golden State today to support local, independent news.
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A new bipartisan omnibus bike bill sponsored by the co-chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus, California Democrat Mike Thompson and Florida Republican Vern Buchanan, hopes to improve and expand bicycling in the US.
According to the Fairfield CA Daily Republic, HR 9041 The America Bikes Act,
- Improves cyclist safety by expanding access to federal funding for local governments to improve roadway safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. It would help local, regional, and tribal governments to fund safety action plans and infrastructure projects aimed at preventing roadway fatalities and serious injuries. It makes bike safety education a standard part of youth learning nationwide and expands access to funding for on-bicycle education to elementary and secondary school students.
- Encourages more people to bike by improving access to programs that help kids safely bike and walk to school. It expands biking and walking infrastructure on federal lands. It reauthorizes federal funding for communities to plan, design and build walking and biking infrastructure. It expands incentives so more Americans switch to bicycle commuting. It creates a grant program to connect biking and transit stations, including supporting bike parking at transit stations and expansion of bikeshare programs.
- Brings bike manufacturing back to our shores by creating incentives to manufacture bikes in the United States.
Good luck with that last one.
But it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Although I don’t have a lot of faith in anything getting out of this Congress. Or an administration that has already doubled down on highway funding.
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Sad news from San Luis Obispo County, where a 64-year old Long Beach resident was identified as the victim killed by a driver while riding his bicycle near Edna Valley last month.
Gregory Koch died following the May 20th collision at Orcutt and Tiffany Ranch roads.
There’s still no word on how the crash occurred, nor any mention of his death in the Long Beach media.
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If you need a good laugh, Metro Bike Share says they’re ready for the World Cup.
Which they may be.
As long as tens of thousands of foreign visitors, who may or may not even know English, don’t mind mixing it up with LA’s famously patient drivers, who never, ever touch their horns or force someone off the road if they impede their progress for even a millisecond.
Because we’re still waiting on all those bus and bike lanes we were promised to get ready for those foreign visitors.
So have fun, sportsball fans.
Rent a bike, and just ride to the venue, restaurant or bar of your choice.
After all, getting there is half the fun, right?
And surviving it is the other half.
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Megan forwards news that Sacramento is facing the same problems with ebikes and e-motos you’re seeing just about everywhere else.
Even though it’s only the later that’s really the problem.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Outrage in Toronto, as multiple cops are shown on video tackling a bike rider and holding him down, for the apparent crime of rolling a stop sign — even though provincial law prohibits using force to stop someone for a routine traffic infraction “unless the circumstances present an immediate and serious threat to public safety.” Which is like cops ramming and handcuffing a motorist for turning right on a red arrow.
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Local
WeHo Times reports that Blake Ackerman’s ghost bike disappeared from its location at Fountain and Gardner Street sometime Saturday night; no word on who took it or why. I noticed it was missing Sunday afternoon; not seeing it there hurt almost as much as watching it being placed last July.
Four Master of Public Administration (MPA) students from USC’s Price School were recognized for their work advising CD11 Councilmember Traci Park on how to make part of Washington Blvd safer for bicycle riders.
State
The Hustle takes a look at California’s 50-year old Santana Cycles — just “30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles” — as it tries almost singlehandedly to prop up the tandem industry in the US.
Fontana police warn parents about the dangers of kids riding ebikes and e-motorcycles, especially when fleeing from police. So if you’re an adult on an electric motorbike, go ahead and flee, evidently.
National
Velo considers the year’s best road bikes, but kindly hides most of the prices to avoid scaring the crap out of us; fortunately, Road.cc has more affordable options for under the equivalent of two grand.
A Minnesota radio station says yes, bicyclists are legally allowed to roll a stop sign in the state, if the intersection is clear.
An “avid cyclist” took up bicycling at age 30 at the urging of his bike-commuting wife, and now bikes to work at the US Department of Justice, while leading DC’s Jew on Bikes.
International
Momentum offers tips on how to have your best summer ever on two wheels. Although it would be pretty damn hard to beat when I was ten or so and riding my bike all over town.
No bias here. Canada’s CTV News offers everything you need to know for a safe bicycling season, from an ABC check to the 2V1 helmet fitting method. Although there’s no mention of bike lanes, lane sharing or how to ride around inattentive drivers, or anything else that would actually help you, you know, stay safe.
London maps out the city’s most dangerous intersections for bicyclists, as injuries climb to their highest level in eight year, even though bicycling deaths are down.
British bicyclists mostly support the country’s first “cycle street,” though at least one considers the $3.2 million bikeway a “bleedin’ waste of money.”
Sad news from France’s Loire Valley, where 54-year old gravel influencer Stéphane Goyard was killed by a driver while competing in the “Défi200” event at the country’s Nature is Bike festival, just hours after posting his last video to Instagram.
The Türkiye Cycling Federation will mark World Bicycle Day with coordinated bike rides throughout the country formerly known as Turkey. Or as World Bicycle Day is known in Los Angeles, Wednesday.
Speaking of Türkiye, a 32-year old Italian man has reached the northwestern part of the country on his way from Milan to Tokyo by bicycle. Although that last part of the ride could get a little damp.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling Weekly lists all eight cycling greats who have won all three Grand Tours, starting with France’s Jacques Anquetil in the late ’50s and early ’60s.
Finally…
That feeling when you turn your bike ride across the country into an audiobook and record album 25 year later. Or when you make history by winning a Grand Tour with hairy legs.
And when you’re carrying meth in your mouth while riding an ebike, put a working headlight on it, already.
The bike, that is. Not the meth.
Or your mouth.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
