Tag Archive for Failure to launch

Effed-up ebike voucher program returns May 29th, and driver on trial for murder for DUI death of 12-year old OC boy

May 12, 2025 / / No comments
Day 132 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Happy Bike Week!

Not to mention UN Global Road Safety Week.

On the left is the window applicants for the last round of California ebike incentives saw after it was cancelled when program administrators CARB and Pedal Ahead once again failed to meet the demand.

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Here we go again.

For whatever it’s worth, the California Ebike Incentive Program is coming back yet again for their next fuckup abject failure round of ebike incentives at the end of this month, while doubling the deliberately throttled amount of funding available.

Which isn’t the same as making all of the remaining nearly $30 million in remaining funding available, which is what they should be doing — if they had hired someone who actually had the necessary expertise and bandwidth to administer it.

Regardless, here’s the full text of the email announcing their do-over for the second round.

Dear Subscriber,

Thank you for your continued interest in the California E-Bike Incentive Project.

The California E-Bike Incentive Project will relaunch the second application window on May 29, 2025. This window will include additional funding, up to $2 million, in incentive vouchers. To date, the project has awarded more than $2 million to applicants across California.

We are dedicated to providing a more streamlined application process, and we’ve ensured the website is prepared to handle the large volume of traffic generated by this program.

We apologize for the technical issues we experienced in the initial launch and appreciate your patience as we prepare for the second application window.

~ California E-Bike Incentive Project Team

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Heartbreaking testimony in a Costa Mesa courtroom, where 64-year old Long Beach resident Richard David Lavalle is being tried for murder, after killing a 12-year old bike-riding boy in 2020 while allegedly on meth.

The father of Noel Bascon testified that he and his son were biking together in Costa Mesa around 5 pm on December 6th, and that he had “triple checked” the lights and reflectors on his son’s bike before they rode home on the sidewalk.

He waved his arms in an effort to flag Lavalle down when he saw the driver barreling down at them as they were in a crosswalk, but only heard a loud bang behind him as Lavelle allegedly ran the stop sign and slammed into his son at up to 50 mph, throwing the boy about 120 feet through the air.

Noel died after being taken to the hospital.

Lavalle faces a second-degree murder charge because he had previously been convicted of DUI in San Diego County in 2013, trigging a Watson notice informing him he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.

This case could be a third strike for Lavelle after two previous convictions for robbery, triggering an automatic life sentence.

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Once again, a car in the wrong hands became a weapon on mass destruction.

A 30-year old repeat DUI driver was arrested after he unexpectedly swerved into a group of four bike riders in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Two of the victims were transported to local hospitals in critical condition. One died the same day, and the second four days later.

It was the driver’s third offense for driving under the influence of a controlled substance, yet he was somehow still allowed to operate a high-powered, multi-to vehicle. .

Yet another example of officials keeping a dangerous driver on the road until they kill someone.

Literally.

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Bloomberg questions the rise in New York traffic violence, with pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists all seeing rising injury rates the past three years, despite the city’s decade long Vision Zero efforts.

However, pedestrian deaths have fallen a whopping 45% over the most recent ten year period.

Which is a sign that Vision Zero is in fact working in the city, since the point of the program is accepting that people will make mistakes and crashes will happen, so roadways should be designed to ensure those mistakes don’t become fatal.

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Join the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition for a tour of the city’s planned greenways this Saturday, with Councilmembers Jason Lyon and the estimable Rick Cole.

Join us! Pasadena has plans to add traffic calming to four neighborhood streets to make them safer for everyone, including people driving, walking, and biking. This ride will tour some of the planned greenways with two city council members and a member of Pasadena DOT staff to discuss the project.

— Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (@pasadenacsc.bsky.social) 2025-05-11T20:12:41.631Z

Speaking of Rick Cole, the former Los Angeles assistant mayor and Santa Monica city manger will host a public forum on Biking to a Sustainable Pasadena on Tuesday, May 20th, along with Becky Hartung from Pasadena’s Transportation Advisory Commission, Caltech LIGO Lab Senior Scientist Jonah Kanner, and Brandon Lamar, Vice Chair of the Pasadena Rental Housing Board.

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

Hartford, Connecticut is considering a proposal to freeze bike lane construction in favor of preserving parking spaces, once again favoring driver convenience over human lives.

No bias here. The Daily Mail decries the “gangs of brazen teenage riders” “terrorizing” the good people of London and “causing rush-hour chaos with their reckless stunts.” And illustrates it with an extremely misleading graph that makes it look like bicyclists have killed up to 800 pedestrians each year.

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

An 18-year old Louisiana drug addict used his bike ride home from work to make up a story for his dad about being robbed to explain why he was broke; 25 years later, the Black man sentenced to prison because of his lie finally got out — and the two men became unlikely friends.

An 80-year old woman was killed when she reportedly stepped out in front of a man taking part in Manchester, England’s 124-mile Tour de Manc fundraising ride, as he was passing a slower rider.

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Local 

Sad news from Long Beach, where a man riding an e-scooter in a crosswalk was killed when he was struck by a 19-year old driver who allegedly ran a red light, and may have been speeding.

 

State

Calbike looks at the recent California court case that established that cities are required to maintain the safety of their streets. Someone please tell LA Mayor Bass, whose new budget would slash street maintenance.

They get it. The Times of San Diego endorses AB 981, which would establish a a pilot program requiring that drivers convicted of excessive speeding, reckless driving or dangerously showing off install Intelligent Speed Assist technology to prevent them from exceeding the posted speed limit, as DMV statistics show that 75% of drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to drive anyway.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Students and parents in Menlo Park are mourning a beloved, longtime teacher and high school coach who was killed by the driver of a garbage truck while riding his bike to school in Atherton.

 

National

An Arizona mother is demanding justice after her son survived serving in the 101st Airborne Division in the Middle East after 9/11, only to come home and be killed by a red light-running, unlicensed driver while riding his ebike — yet somehow, the case remains under review by the DA’s office after seven months.

Tragic news from Colorado, where a 76-year old Durango man died two weeks after falling off his bike trying to avoid a loose dog on a river bike path.

A 68-year ofd Texas man was fatally shot while riding his bike, he was discovered lying unconscious on the shoulder of the roadway.

Heartbreaking news from Indiana, where a four-year old boy was killed, and two other people injured, when a speeding driver in a Dodge Charger ran a red light and slammed into the bicycle his father was riding and the trailer the boy was in, before continuing on to strike another car, and fleeing on foot.

This is the cost of traffic violence, too. A 68-year old Catholic priest living in a Massachusetts retreat was killed by an 85-year old driver while riding his bicycle. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive, and how do we get elderly drivers off the road before it’s too late. 

 

International

Momentum considers the best bicycle festivals worth traveling for in the coming year, from the original Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, to London’s World Naked Bike Ride.

British bicyclists say a proposal to paint the city’s “invisible” bike lanes red to keep drivers and pedestrians out is just “putting lipstick on a pig.”

No surprise here, as a new survey shows the danger and fear of sharing the road with drivers is the biggest reason why more Irish people don’t ride bikes.

Polish bicyclist Pawel Małaszko is on the final leg of his journey from the shores of the Arabian Sea to the being the first ever to ride a bike to Pakistan’s K2 base camp.

A group of US soldiers deployed to Kuwait are building camaraderie by forming a bike club, riding their bikes in the desert heat in military fatigues and orange vests.

Wired visits the “beautifully appointed bicycles” at the “best bike shop in the world” in Tokyo, Japan; meanwhile, Cyclist also visits Japan, calling it the “world’s most particular cycling culture.”

They get it. Officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia reduced speed limits near schools to the equivalent of just 18 mph, arguing that reducing vehicle speeds even one kilometer per hour can reduce the risk of death by 5%.

 

Competitive Cycling

Maybe Albania isn’t the best place to start of bike race, as the Giro d’Italia was almost upended — literally — when the peloton was charged by a road-raging mountain goat; Kiwi cyclist Dion Smith was forced to use moves he didn’t know he had to avoid being knocked off his bike.

In non-goat news, Denmark’s Mads Petersen reclaimed the Giro’s pink leader’s jersey Sunday by winning his second stage, giving him two of the first three stages.

Spain’s Mikel Landa was knocked out of the race in a nasty stage one crash, before being loaded into an ambulance in a neck brace after suffering a broken vertebrae.

Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering won the Vuelta Femenina, aka woman’s Vuelta, for the second consecutive year, cementing her victory by winning the final stage on Saturday,

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Italy’s Vittoria Bussi set a new hour record — for the third time, no less — covering 50.455km, or 31.351miles, in just 60 minutes at the Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes, Mexico; that compares to 56.792km, or 25.289, miles for the men’s hour record.

Seriously? The junior Liège-Bastogne-Liège was decided by a motorcycle cop who carelessly swerved into the path of Belgium’s Leander De Gendt during the final sprint, forcing De Gent to duck inside to avoid a crash, and giving the win to British teen Harry Hudson.

Bike Radar examines how Bianchi’s iconic celeste bikes have maintained their winning colors for 125 years.

 

Finally…

One day you’re a distinguished college professor, the next you’re known as the town’s naked cyclist.  Why choose between riding a bike and playing soccer when you can do both?

And if you had Radar Love on your bike riding radar today, here you go.

Remember that song Radar Love by Golden Earring, about driving too fast? Well, here they are.

— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) 2025-05-11T18:37:36.072Z

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Officials stonewall on ebike voucher fiasco, and CA Supreme Court rules cities are obligated to maintain safe streets

May 5, 2025 / / No comments
Day 125 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Once again, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff McDonald is on the story of the massive California Ebike Voucher Program fiasco.

And he sounds as frustrated with all the stonewalling as we are.

State officials have not explained why the enrollment program keeps crashing. Instead, a department spokesperson acknowledged the errors and said the board is committed to figuring out what went wrong and doing a more effective job going forward…

A San Diego charity called Pedal Ahead won the state e-bike contract in 2022. The entity was founded by former political consultant and FBI informant Edward Clancy, who also set up a for-profit company with the same name.

No one from Pedal Ahead responded to requests for comment…

Clancy, who left Pedal Ahead last year, has not replied to multiple requests for comment since the civil and criminal investigations were disclosed. His successor, Scott Anderson, also has not responded to requests.

Aside from all the “no comment” comments, McDonald’s story is probably the best insight we’re going to get into what the hell is going on with this clown show, at least for now.

And there’s no word on when — or honestly, if — we’ll get a redo on the 2nd application window, which suddenly slammed shut on everyone who had somehow managed to get through the crashed website into the application waiting room.

As I said last week, at least part of the problem was opening the window for just one hour, then encouraging everyone to apply early — virtually ensuring they would overwhelm the apparently meager servers and crash the system.

And yes, McDonald had the excellent good taste to quote yours truly.

But you’ll have to read the story to get my take.

Thank you to CARB and Pedal Ahead for allowing me to dig out my favorite fail photo one more time.

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In a big win for bike riders, the California Supreme Court found that cities have a legal responsibility to maintain safe streets, ruling that they can’t rely on liability waivers to avoid responsibility for dangerous road conditions.

The case involved cyclist Ty Whitehead, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a charity training ride after hitting a large, obscured pothole on Skyline Boulevard in Oakland. Although Whitehead had signed a release form as part of the event, the Court ruled that such waivers cannot excuse a city from its statutory duty to maintain safe public roads. The Court unanimously found that exempting cities from liability in these cases violates California Civil Code section 1668, which prohibits contracts that waive responsibility for a violation of the law…

The ruling clarifies that municipal liability cannot be sidestepped through fine print and reaffirms that cyclists are entitled to the same legal protections as any other road user. It is especially significant at a time when more Californians are choosing bicycles for health, transportation, and environmental reasons.

That means that if you hit a pothole or crack in the road, or if safety markings are worn or missing, the city could be legally responsible for any injuries, even with a liability waiver.

And I know some damn good lawyers if you ever need one.

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Speaking of potholes, Streets For All urges you to take action to fight the Mayor’s disaster of a budget.

And don’t get me started on the pitted and cracked hellscape that is Fairfax Ave.

Meanwhile, the street safety PAC applauds CD5 Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky for supporting the ongoing call to reopen the gate blocking bicycle access to the Los Angeles National Cemetery, which would allow bike riders to safely avoid deadly Wilshire Blvd near the 405.

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This site has long supported Bike Talk and their work to give a voice to bike riders here in Los Angeles, and throughout the US.

Here’s your chance to support them, too — and get a great bonus in return.

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

New York bicyclists will now risk a criminal summons requiring them to appear in court for minor offenses like running a stop light or stop sign, as the city naturally responds to the jump in traffic violence by blaming the victims. Thanks to Robert Karwasky for the heads-up. 

No surprise here, as British commenters blame the victim for not riding in the bike lane, after a van driver honked his horn and clipped the man with his wing mirror in a brutal punishment pass.

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Local 

Crosstown says walking in Los Angeles is becoming increasingly deadlier, with 39 pedestrians killed on the streets and sidewalks of LA through April 12th of this year, up 50% from a decade ago — and they point the finger, as so many others have, at the city’s failure to fully implement Vision Zero.

Last year was also the deadliest on record for animals in the City of Angels, according to Crosstown.

The Sierra Club says the bicycling community — and Los Angeles-based ex-pro cyclist Phil Gaimon in particular — is becoming some of the most passionate protectors of our public lands; Gaimon is also the host of the Worst Retirement Ever YouTube series and the annual Phil’s Cookie Fondo in the Santa Monica Mountains.

 

State

San Diego residents are encouraged to ride somewhere, anywhere on May 15th for Bike Anywhere Day.

A San Diego security cam captured a man and woman stealing a pair of bicycles worth a combined $27,000 from a well-known figure in the city’s bicycling community. Although I can think of a lot better things to do on a date.

Sad news from Visalia, where a 53-year old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

More tariff news, as a Visalia couple started a custom ebike business with bikes from Australia, but made with parts from China — which subjects them to a whopping 170% tariff that went into effect after they placed their order.

A San Francisco website introduces the city’s “anti-profit” community bike shop.

 

National

Momentum lists the top ten bicycling cities in the US, according to figures from Strava. And despite everything, Los Angeles actually made the list at #9, with an average commute of 9.5 miles. So much for all those people who say no one would ever bike more than three miles to work, if at all.

National Public Radio looks at Portland’s monthly bike commuting tradition of breakfast on the bridges.

Portland bicyclists came out for a ride to celebrate Star Wars Day, aka May the 4th, many dressed in the appropriate costumes.

Over 1,100 people were left disappointed when the annual L’Etape Las Vegas by Tour de France was cancelled due to heavy rain and unsafe road conditions.

The attorney for a 13-year-old New Mexico boy convicted in the thrill-kill death of a bike-riding man while driving a stolen car says he hopes the boy will be reformed during his time behind bars; the boy received the maximum penalty for a juvenile, sentenced to remain behind bars unto he turns 21.

Colorado-based mountain bikemaker Revel Bikes could soon rise from the dead, following hints of new ownership less than a month after they went belly-up.

Local Queens residents turned out to protest plans to ban bikes from the boardwalk in New York’s Rockaway Beach.

A New York newsletter examines what’s being done to protect bike riders and pedestrians, after a recent rash of traffic deaths.

A whopping 30,000 people took over the streets of New York for New York’s 47th annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour, possibly the world’s largest charity ride.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The popular and influential synthwave artist known as “Starcadian” was killed in a dooring in New York; 44-year old George Smaragdis slammed into the door of a Mercedes when the driver flung it open, then fell under a delivery box truck. And no, I don’t know what synthwave is, either.

Now the trees are out to get us, too, as a Pennsylvania bike rider learned the hard way.

Sad news from North Carolina, where an 18-year-old Mormon missionary was killed, and another rider injured, when they were struck by a driver who literally ran away from the crash.

 

International

Road.cc reviews a $332 anti-axel grinder bike lock, but somehow doesn’t bother to test whether it actually resists one.

Awful news from Wales, where a woman was somehow entrapped by and impaled on her bicycle after falling on a coastal bike path.

Speaking of Wales, a 35-year old man completed a ride halfway around the world, covering over 14 months, 26 countries and 16,250 miles from Cardiff to Australia’s New South Wales.

An English mayor is riding 300 miles from St. Neots in Cambridgeshire, England to St. Neot in Cornwall, Wales, in hopes of repairing a 1,000-year old rift between the two identically named towns that began with the theft of the saint’s bones from the Welsh church.

Inmates at a London prison are being schooled as bicycle mechanics, giving a new hope for the future for “bikes and blokes with a past.”

A Parisian woman finds her place amid the bicycling ghosts from the past. Meanwhile, National Geographic explains how to tour the City of Lights from a bicycle seat like a local. But it will cost you your email to read it.

Sad news from Northern Italy, where a 31-year old top level amateur cyclist died after losing control on a descent and crashing into a wall during the Granfondo di Bergamo.

A writer for Travel + Leisure claims to have found Europe’s most peaceful summer adventure by riding 160 miles through the 20,000 islands of the Finland archipelago.

A European website examines the things you can and can’t do while riding in Spain, where the rain falls mostly on the plain. Or so I’ve heard.

A newspaper in Malta says flimsy painted bike lanes are the wrong way to protect bike riders, but protected and/or elevated bike lanes are the right way.

That feeling when you ride 560 miles across a Kazakh lake without setting foot on dry land. Or wheels, for that matter.

 

Competitive Cycling

The women’s Vuelta a España, aka La Vuelta Femenina, kicked off Sunday with a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona. But it nearly didn’t, amid the chaos caused by a delayed UCI inspection, when the Movistar Team showed up late and only one of the two judges was available, forcing two Visma-Lease a Bike riders to miss the start.

Road.cc makes the argument for why UCI should allow F1-style bicycles designed just for pro cyclists, and not built for or sold to the general public.

One of the best things about bicycling is when you pick you a stray bike rider along the way — alike falling in with Jonas Vingegaard on a training ride.

A new book tells the story of the legendary French cyclist Jacques Anquetil, aka “Monsieur Chrono,” the first man to win all three Grand Tours and the first five-time winner of the Tour de France.

American cycling legend Bobby Julich says your local crit is what draws new cycling fans into the sport.

 

Finally…

Why cats land on their feet, and your bike doesn’t fall over when you ride. We may have to watch out for LA drivers who dart out of side streets, but at least we don’t have to worry t-boning a darting deer.

And that feeling when your dog sticks the landing, too.

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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.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA ebike voucher program sets next failure to launch deadline, and Times calls out fear-mongering over Measure HLA

February 23, 2024 / / One comment
Just 312 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Only 19 signatures to go to reach 1,000! 

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Good news, maybe.

But don’t hold your breath.

San Diego’s inewsource reports that the next soon-to-be-missed deadline for California’s moribund ebike rebate program is now scheduled for sometime this spring.

That comes after self-imposed deadlines of January 1st, 2023, and the significantly more vague deadlines of second quarter, 2023, then last fall, which is the most recently missed deadline.

Not that we weren’t all expecting it to launch in 2022, after it passed the state legislature and was signed into law all the way back in those heady pandemic days of 2021.

So if anyone feels like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, you’re in good company.

The story begins with a focus on San Diego nonprofit Pedal Ahead, which has been tasked with operating the program for the California Air Resources Board.

The nonprofit plans to operate a similar program statewide under a $10 million grant it received from the California Air Resources Board, or CARB. But roughly a year after its originally planned launch date, the program has yet to officially start.

CARB spokesperson Lys Mendez told inewsource that the state’s E-Bike Incentive Project is now expected to begin in the spring, as officials need more time for “infrastructure building” — essentially, making sure Pedal Ahead runs smoothly statewide. That includes organizing with e-bike retailers and community groups that can help get the word out and educate the public about the program, she said.

In other words, the same bullshit they’ve been feeding us for the last year.

The only real news in the story is that the soft launch that was supposed to take place last year actually did happen, despite the complete and total news blackout up to this point.

But as inewsource previously reported, Pedal Ahead suffered from low participation when it launched its San Diego program in 2020, with just a fraction of local participants logging enough miles to keep their bikes — and some reporting far fewer miles than what’s required, or none at all. The program also didn’t use an income requirement, allowing people who didn’t qualify as low income to receive a bike.

Despite that, Pedal Ahead beat two other applicants to administer the state program, with CARB citing the nonprofit’s “proven, on-the-ground experience” in San Diego.

Some money has been spent ahead of the program officially opening statewide. A preliminary “soft launch” is already happening in San Diego, the East Bay in Northern California, Fresno and in tribal communities, Mendez said. In those locations, she said the state is “currently testing key aspects” of the program.

Some, as in a quarter of the original $10 million in state funding has already gone to overhead, leaving just $7.5 million available for rebates.

Of that, $5 million is reserved for the lowest income applicants, with just $2.5 million for everyone else who qualifies with an income less than 300% of the federal poverty level.

Never mind that I would have qualified if the program had launched on time a year ago, and won’t now.

So I hope someone enjoys riding my ebike.

Maybe I can get Tern to sponsor me with one of these, instead. It could happen.

The other news in the story is that even after the moribund program finally crawls its way through the earth to launch, like Dracula after dark, it could take a full three months to be approved for a voucher once you apply.

Residents must also be at least 18 years old to apply for a voucher to get a free e-bike from a program-selected retailer, such as a local bike shop. Participants will need to own the e-bike for at least a year and complete surveys about the experience.

The approval process may take up to three months.

Yes, three months.

And if that’s not a sign of the sheer incompetency behind this program, I don’t know what is.

Frankly, I’m ready to give up on the whole damn thing and ask my state legislators to fire both CARB and Pedal Ahead, and start over from scratch.

Because the thing that other cities and states have seemed to find so easy to do — get ebike rebate programs up and running through multiple rounds of funding — seems to be impossible here.

Meanwhile, if Tasha Boerner’s AB 2234 passes, even adults will be required to pass an online test in order to be able to legally buy one, let alone actually ride it, if they don’t already have a driver’s license.

Because living in poverty isn’t humbling enough, evidently.

Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up.

………

They get it.

The Los Angeles Times writes that all the fear-mongering over Measure HLA — the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure — ignores that what’s really scary is LA’s deadly streets.

According to the paper, some of the city’s most powerful officials have been trying to sabotage the measure, rather than actually doing something to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from traffic violence.

Never mind actually eliminating them, which was supposed to happen by next year. But won’t.

But even though the projects have been on the books for years, last week the city’s top budget official released a questionable new $3.1-billion estimate for the plan, while the union that represents city firefighters claimed that making the streets safer will slow emergency response times.

It’s fear-mongering designed to scare Angelenos into voting against the measure. But what’s really frightening is that L.A. leaders could have started building a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly sustainable city years ago and perhaps averted some of the recent deaths. They had the blueprint to make streets safer but didn’t make it a priority. That’s why Measure HLA is necessary.

It’s worth reading the whole thing to see just how much your life is — or more accurately, isn’t — worth to many of those leading this city.

Let alone the people responsible for saving it.

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Bike Long Beach will host a murals and coffee ride tomorrow, to avoid conflicting with Sunday’s CicLAvia, along with a virtual monthly meeting on Monday.

Bike Long Beach Feb Meeting

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Don’t forget Saturday’s 46th Annual LA Chinatown bike ride tomorrow, and Sunday’s Melrose Ave CicLAvia.

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It’s now 64 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

No bias here. Streetsblog says Oakland complains about a lack of resources to build bike lanes, but they somehow had the resources to rip one out along the city’s Embarcadero.

Britain’s CyclingMikey, scorned among the motoring crowd for recording scofflaw drivers with his bike cam, says bicyclists “are seen as the cockroaches of the road.” Well, tell us something we don’t know.

Berlin’s rightwing mayor is fulfilling a campaign promise to make more room for cars by ripping out bike lanes. Which is more proof that we’re never more than one election from losing all the gains we make.

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

Apparently, someone has our back, but not in a good way. After a 19-year old driver hit a bike rider in San Antonio, Texas, someone opened fire, riddling the car with bullets.

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Local 

The Beverly Press says Measure HLA could pave the future for mobility in Los Angeles.

 

State

Calbike calls on California to divest from wasteful, induced demand-inducing highway projects, and invest in Complete Streets and the state’s transportation future.

Calbike also introduced a slate of 16 bills they’re backing for the current legislative session, including bills that would mandate Complete Streets following Caltrans resurfacing projects, similar to Measure HLA, as well as mandating motor vehicle speed limiters and truck sideguards.

An Orange County mother has made it her mission to preach ebike safety in the face of rising ebike injury rates. Although I’ve yet to see a study that shows ebike injury rates in relation to ebike ridership, without which claims of rising or worsening injuries are merely anecdotal.

San Diego will pay nearly $3 million to the family of Hossein Samadi, who was killed in a 2020 collision with a city truck parked in a bike lane Carmel Valley Road without warning cones or flashers.

San Francisco Streetsblog attempts to cut through the latest misinformation regarding the city’s Valencia Street centerline bike lane.

Bike Magazine examines how Davis became “Bike City, USA.”

 

National

Vehicle-to-everything technology, aka V2X, rears its ugly head once again, as a writer for Streetsblog says we could improve safety for bicyclists by allowing cars and bikes to talk to one another. As long as you’re willing to wear a transponder every time you ride, or be held accountable anytime you don’t.

Velo marks Black History Month with a look at eight groups making bicycling more inclusive across the US.

NPR reports bike helmet use declined almost 6% each year for the last five years, while ebike head injuries saw a 49-fold increase, with just 44% of injured ebike riders wearing helmets. Although as noted above, those numbers are virtually meaningless without a comparison to increasing ebike ridership rates, and comparing helmet use by ebike riders who suffered head trauma with similarly injured riders of regular bikes.

An Oʻahu bike club uses two wheels to explore Honolulu’s Kalihi Valley, one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.

This is why you let the police handle it. A Portland woman was nearly killed when she went with friends to a homeless camp to help recover a stolen bicycle, and was shot by a man with a high-powered air rifle.

Denver opened a new $14 million, 1.5-mile protected bike lane that bike riders have been waiting on for more than eight years.

Cleveland’s Vision Zero program is called into question after 550 people were struck by drivers while walking or biking in the city.

The husband of fallen US diplomat and bicyclist Sarah Debbink Langenkamp says littering can get you up to five years behind bars in Maryland, but the driver who right hooked his wife with a 50,000 pound truck walked with a traffic ticket that carried a lousy $2,000 and 150 hours of community service.

 

International

More on the “clever policing” that London cops used to bust a $165,000 bike theft ring by using a bait bike. Something that remains off-limits for the LAPD, over misplaced fears of entrapment, thanks to a singularly uninformed opinion from former City Attorney Mike Feuer, who wants to be my next Congress Person; yeah, good luck with that. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the link. 

Meanwhile, bikejacking victims call for more cops around London’s Regent’s Park, where gangs of moped-riding thieves are reportedly targeting a list of high-end bicycles, including Pinarello, Bianchi, S-Works and Brompton, which are then shipped to Russia to evade sanctions.

A British letter writer says excuse me, but 1 million bicyclists a year, 2,739 cyclists every day and 114 an hour does not a low number using a bike lane make.

Paris is now officially the most bike-friendly city in France.

Over a quarter of Belgians rode an ebike last year, as electric bicycles continue to gain in popularity. That’s a figure we may never see here, as long as officials continue to drag their feet on an underfunded rebate program, and fight against safer, more livable streets.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling site looks forward to this year’s trends in bicycle fashions. Which are pretty much the same as last year, and every other year.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cyclist Adam Yates was forced to retire from the UAE Tour following a concussion protocol fail, when he continued riding after a crash, until he radioed the crew to ask what happened since he didn’t remember anything.

A writer for Cycling Weekly knows just how it feels when Phil Gaimon steals your hard-won KOM.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you get hit with a bicycle during a pro wrestling street fight. Or when even an Aggie understands we’re second-class road users.

And presenting the driver psychology course for bicycling safety.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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