Day 303 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Time served isn’t enough.
The bicycling community is being urged to turn out next week, when an Orange County driver with a long criminal record goes on trial for murder.
In this case, for fatally running down a man riding a bicycle, while — allegedly — under the influence of multiple drugs, so high he reportedly didn’t even know where he was after the crash.
And after signing a Watson notice following a previous DUI conviction, acknowledging that he could be charged with murder if he ever killed someone while driving under the influence anytime in the future.
And he did. Allegedly.
Thirty-seven-year old Los Angeles resident Zachary Thomas Haralson has been behind bars since his arrest in September, 2022, accused of killing 72-year old Jeff Rosenthal in Laguna Hills.
According to the Orange County Superior Court, Haralson is charged with felony counts of murder, hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, and driving on a suspended license. Death being the “permanent and serious injury” in this case.
He has pled not guilty to all charges.
Haralson has been arrested at least ten other times since 2014, on charges including drug possession, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, burglary, grand theft, and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent — something most of us would call car theft.
Here’s what Bicycle Club of Irvine posted about the case.
Oct 27th update from Barbara Rosenthal (Ed: Jeff’s widow). “Just letting you all know – The trial for Jeff’s murderer, Zachary Haralson, is tentatively scheduled to begin on Nov 7th. The court informed me that there will be 2-3 days of “housekeeping” (I.e., motions, jury selection, etc) before my family, friends and I are suggested to participate. If you can/want to attend some of it, check with me or the following website: OCCOURTS.org
Case # is 22HF1631.
It will be held at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. You don’t need to come, but I wanted you to have the info. Let’s give Mr. Haralson a looooong vacation and keep him off the roads!
Please spread the word to BCI members.
Anyone will be able to access the website with just the case #. It’s finally happening!!!”The perpetrator has been incarcerated since killing Jeff and he deserves more than time served. Family and community outrage will help extend his punishment.
Another BCI post tells more about Jeff Rosenthal, how the crash happened, and the family he left behind.
So does this letter from his best friend, Orange County bike lawyer Ed Rubinstein, which was posted on this site shortly after Rosenthal’s death, before we learned his identity.
Thank you for your reporting, but I cannot let the rider who was killed remain anonymous. He was my best friend.
I do not have any information on how or why the crash happened, but I do know the wonderful human being whose life was snuffed out too soon. His name was Jeff Rosenthal. He was 72 years old, retired, and he had just celebrated his 41st anniversary with his wife Barbara. Jeff, like me, originally was from Long Island, NY. He was an experienced cyclist who used to ride over 7000 miles per year until he reduced the frequency of his rides slightly as he recently got back into surfing. He rode with the Bicycle Club of Irvine where we met about 10 years ago. He was my best friend, the witness at my wedding and we rode together no less than weekly. Jeff had a quick wit and was always smiling. He was the friend you could always count on to help, but he never wanted to bother others. He was out riding Friday morning. He butt dialed me that morning. He told me he had a flat. and I offered to pick him up as it was hot outside. He said he was almost home, and would call me if he needed any help. I wish he had accepted my offer. I now suspect I was the last person with whom he talked to that day. I am gutted and the world has lost someone precious.
My guess is this will be a relatively quick trial once they seat a jury, so make plans to attend if you can. With such an extensive criminal record, Haralson shouldn’t have been out on the streets, let alone behind the wheel.
Let’s hope he doesn’t see either one for a very long time.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.
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So much for that.
It looks like the long-promised second round of California’s Ebike Incentive Program is dead on arrival.
Because the program itself is now DOA, murdered by the overly car-centric California Air Resources Board.
According to Calbike, all the remaining funding has been shifted into getting people to keep driving, in ostensibly cleaner cars.
Because no car is really clean.
CARB’s decision to absorb the remaining funding from the E-Bike Incentive Project into Clean Cars 4 All is a telling political moment—one that mistakes “cleaner cars” for genuine progress. It’s easier to imagine replacing every gas car with an electric one than to imagine a California where people can move freely without cars at all. But the latter is what true climate leadership requires. The E-Bike Incentive Project wasn’t flawless, but it represented a rare, tangible step toward that future: a policy backed by funding that helped Californians drive less, not just differently. Reversing it is a step backward for the state and a disservice to the people who believed in it…
The state is taking the wrong lessons from the turbulence of the EBIP roll out; the overwhelming demand makes clear this is a popular program that people want. Tens of thousands of Californians lined up for each round of the e-bike incentives, waiting hours online for a chance at a modest voucher. Their wants and needs are clear and simple – a new, affordable, economical way to get to work, to school, to the grocery store without being locked into the cost and burden of car ownership.
Ending that opportunity now ignores that clear demand and walks back hard-won progress toward a more livable, affordable, and sustainable California.
This is a perfect example of the sheer and utter incompetency CARB has shown in mismanaging the program since its inception.
I don’t know about you, but I plan on emailing my state representatives before this day is over; you can find yours here if you’re as mad as I am.
The only reason I’m not doing it tonight is because I can’t trust myself not to say what I really think, in the language it deserves.
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Streetsblog USA takes a look at how Los Angeles can replicate the bike boom spurred by the 2024 Paris Olympics, focusing on the efforts of a group called Festive Trail.
And no, I never heard of them, either.
One answer is to combine community, philanthropy, and partnerships — co-aligning the once-in-a-generation investment during the 2028 Games with long-term goals of building the next LA. A project that embodies this ethos is the Festival Trail, a community-driven initiative for interconnected, non-vehicular corridors connecting the dispersed neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
The Trail route aims to connect major venues of the 2028 Games along current and planned transit connections, helping Angelenos safely move around the city car-free during the Games and for years after. Though the vision is bold, the Festival Trail is rooted in a strategic idea: closing a few key gaps in the network can open up Los Angeles in a big way…
In addition to building physical connections, the Festival Trail aims to shift the culture of bike ridership and car-free transportation more broadly in Los Angeles through public space activations. Festival Trail is partnered closely with CicLAvia on Open Streets events, citywide celebrations where Angelenos can walk and bike along streets temporarily closed to cars and reimagine what LA could feel like if it were designed for people.
It’s worth a read.
Although I might be more inspired if I hadn’t just watched the Dodgers tank their second game in a row.
But transforming this auto-centric city is, to put it mildly, an Olympian task. Especially since we have a city administration that’s already doing everything they can to tank Measure HLA.
That comes after years of city officials tanking Vision Zero, the Green New Deal, Mobility Plan 2035 and the 2010 Bike Plan. Which is exemplified by that fact that the Vision Zero website hasn’t even been updated in two-and-a-half years.
Never mind that traffic deaths are now far higher than they were when Vision Zero was adopted ten years ago. Or that the graphic on the top of this page says traffic deaths were supposed to have been ended here 303 days ago.
But maybe, just maybe, if Festive Trails cooperates with the groups that have been working on this for years, like Streets For All, Streets Are For Everyone and BikeLA, and somehow manage get Los Angeles 2028 on board, they might actually have enough leverage to get something done here.
We can hope.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
New homeowners in an Ohio development are furious because they paid a premium for privacy, but failed to notice plans for a bike path in the conservancy land behind their homes, which was in motion before the homes were even built.
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Local
A reminder that the 4th annual Cal State Northridge Bike Festival takes place from 10 am to 2 pm this Sunday, with club rides beginning at 8 am.
State
Stanton became the latest Orange County city to crack down on ebike riders, approving a list of ebike violations that are already against state law, except for a 5 mph speed limit on sidewalks, and a 20 mph limit on city streets — which is blatantly illegal unless drivers are limited to the same speed.
San Marcos is also cracking down on ebikes, banning their use for riders under 12.
San Diego area triathletes just can’t win, coping with SoCal drivers in the streets, and great white sharks in the waters off La Jolla.
National
Seattle is painting 200 new “bike and scooter corrals” on the streets in an effort to rein in dockless bikeshare and e-scooter rentals. Maybe someone should explain to them what a bike corral really is, because this ain’t it. And they’re a great way to get more people to ride.
People in Iowa Amish communities are trading in their horses and buggies for ebikes.
A pair of liberal and conservative Minnesota legislators prove it’s possible to bridge our political divide if you ride bikes together.
No bias here. Police in Pennsylvania blamed a 16-year old boy for riding his ebike into the path of an oncoming van — after redacting an earlier statement that the driver was speeding, insisting the driver’s speed didn’t matter because the boy was at fault. Even though the kid likely based his decision to cross the street on the assumption the driver wasn’t speeding, and therefore had enough time to do it.
This is how you do it. Arlington, Virginia officially opened a new $11 million Complete Streets project near the Pentagon that will eventually connect to an upcoming bike/ped bridge across the Potomac River, as well as another pedestrian bridge leading to Reagan National Airport.
International
Bike Radar offers advice on what to do if your head hits the ground, saying bicyclists are more cavalier about concussions than other athletes. Based on my experience, you regain consciousness wearing an oxygen mask, ride in an ambulance with lights and siren, and spend some quality time in the ICU. But what do I know?
Speaking of murder, a London woman is accused of using her Range Rover as a weapon to run down and kill a man riding an ebike following a high-speed chase, then hiring a man to run down her ex-boyfriend as he rode one — all because of a bad breakup.
Momentum says Antwerp, Belgium is an “effortlessly cool” city best toured by bicycle. Then again, every city is best toured by bicycle, if the city makes it safe and practical. And yes, I’m looking at you, Los Angeles.
Competitive Cycling
Speaking of concussions, Italian cyclist Filippo Baroncini is back on his bike, just two months after he was placed in an induced coma following a crash in the Tour of Poland.
Finally…
Nothing like setting a new Guinness record for hopping across ten car roofs on a single bike wheel in just one minute, when you’re still way too young to drink one.
And if Tamale, Ghana is as tasty and bike-friendly as it sounds, I’m moving there.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
