You’ve got to be kidding.
KNBC-4 ran a story on Friday about the horrible, terrible, unbearable delays caused by a traffic calming project on Fletcher Road in Glassell Park.
Never mind that it hasn’t even been built yet.
Citing unnamed residents opposed to the project, they then proceed to talk to just one, who is up in arms — not over the project itself — but simply over the start of construction, claiming to have “road diet refugee post traumatic stress disorder”* after having fled from Rowena Avenue following that successful road diet.
Only to find that her drive to her kid’s school is now inhibited by the very start of a project designed to improve safety so maybe her kids won’t have to be driven to school.
This is how a local resident in the area, who prefers not to be named, explained the non-controversy to me.
The Fletcher Streetcape project (a plan first initiated in 2006, by then-Councilmember Garcetti) includes bike lanes, new crosswalks, new curb ramps, benches, 70 trees and a landscaped median in the one mile corridor. A woman who claims to have moved to Glassell Park/Mt. Washington, away from Silver Lake because of the road diet there, was angry when she noticed construction had begun on this project last week.
She posted a rant titled ‘road rage’ on social media site Next-Door about how she had only seen one cyclist in her ten years of driving there, how all cyclists on that street are just headed to the LA River, how she was a cyclist in NYC for 20 years but that she would never ride in LA… she even went so far as to say that the notorious Avenues gang is active in this area, and she worries the DOT didn’t take this into account.
Basically, she was able to incite lots of hate which prompted over 100 replies, some of which agreed with her and some which pointed out for all her complaints about supposed “congestion,” the goal is safety.
The irony is that she moved out of Silver Lake because of the road diet, but now drives back there daily to take her kid to school. And of course, she ignores the fact that the street she was using as a speedway is home to two schools.
KNBC is undoubtedly patting themselves on the back for getting this “controversy” out there, when they should be hanging their heads in shame for taking such a negative view of such a badly needed project to improve safety for everyone, not just people on bicycles.
Maybe next time they could wait until it’s finished before pushing any more complaints out onto the public.
*Not a recognized psychiatric disorder
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If you were assaulted by an SUV driver while riding at the intersection of Lucille and Griffith Park Blvd, contact weshigh, who may have a photo of the vehicle; he says the same driver nearly ran over him and his wife as they walked in a crosswalk.
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There’s a new leader in the Vuelta, as the Tour of Spain is now being led by a Spaniard. Riders competing in the race call it insanely hard, as the projected leaders fear showing their hand too soon.
Many riders may be more concerned about securing a contract for next year than winning the next stage.
And Frank Schleck won the equivalent of $2.23 million from his former team after he was dumped 11 months into a one year doping ban.
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Local
The LACBC is hiring a full-time Development Director and an Organizing Director.
LA Bike Dad looks at the moments of serendipity that only come from riding a bicycle.
A Manhattan Beach author is riding cross-country to gather stories for a book exploring the emotional and psychological impact cancer has on a variety of people.
Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson recommends daytime riding lights in his own inimitable style.
West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals bikeshare has its official grand opening tomorrow.
Orange 20 welcomes the return of the New Urbanism Film Festival this October.
State
Over 3,500 San Diego cyclists take part in the annual Bike the Bay over the Coronado Bridge.
A San Marcos street in a former industrial area has been reborn as a 1/3 mile complete street with broad sidewalks, bike lanes, angled parking and new landscaping fronting the area’s new apartment buildings.
Santa Clara bike riders could lose a popular bike and pedestrian bridge originally built by Intel as a temporary bridge over a gully two decades ago.
Sad news from Sacramento, as a 92-year old bike rider was killed when he allegedly veered out of the bike lane; friends remember him as a fun loving, giving man who didn’t let his age get in the way of what he loved doing.
National
Access Magazine looks at how improving safety and providing better access for bike riders could encourage more people to ride.
The leading candidate to operate Seattle’s struggling bikeshare system proposes converting to an all-electric bike fleet to encourage riding in the hilly city.
Indiana cyclists have to contend with angry and impatient motorists. Then again, New Zealand is no bargain, either.
Brooklyn’s bicycling culture is not enough to protect cyclists on the streets of New York’s most bike-friendly borough.
There’s a special place in hell for the thief who stole a truck filled with $37,000 worth of bikes and parts from the Wounded Warrior Project in Pittsburgh.
Ann Holton, the wife of Virginia Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, is one of us; she formed a bike club for neighborhood women called Mother Bikers. Then again, Kaine is one of us, too.
International
A new study shows moderate walking or biking can cut the risk of cardiac death by 50% for people over 65.
A Brit cyclist rides 65 miles a day to combat the effects of PTSD.
A Scottish writer says Great Britain’s domination of Olympic cycling is great, but won’t improve safety on the country’s roads.
An Edinburgh man circled the world in 12 months on a singlespeed bike; surprisingly, he found Iran the most welcoming country on his trip.
Be grateful you only have to take off your shoes to go through airport security. An Indian paracyclist says he was humiliated when he was forced to take off his prosthetic leg.
Caught on video: An Aussie cop knocks a 13-year old boy off his bike after the boy swore at the officers when they told him to get off the road.
Just days after a Japanese driver killed a pedestrian while playing Pokémon GO, a cyclist was killed as a driver was distracted by charging his cellphone after running the battery down playing the game.
Finally…
Most bicycles hardly ever burst into flames. Not only is bicycling the new golf, it’s the new real estate agent, as well.
And why bother with selfies and helmet cams when you can film your next offroad descent by drone?
