Just a few quick notes before we break for the holiday weekend.
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So much for peak driving, as driving hit record levels, with Americans putting in more miles on the road 2015 than ever before.
Along with it comes a 7.7% jump in traffic fatalities, with bicycling fatalities up 13%, and pedestrian deaths climbing 10%.
But the increase wasn’t just because of the record driving levels. The rate of traffic fatalities also increased to 1.12 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up from 1.08 the year before.
A genuine nationwide commitment to Vision Zero can’t come soon enough.
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If you’ve ever ridden LA’s Forest Lawn Drive, you know what a challenge it can be to navigate the crumbling road surface.
Cyclist Craig White has started a petition calling on Councilmember David Ryu to fix the roadway to make it safe for people on bicycles.
It’s well worth taking a few moments to sign.
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Metro is looking for people to ride in Thursday’s kickoff event for the Grand Opening of the Metro Bike Share at Grand Park in DTLA on Thursday.
Metro Bike Share is launching with up to 65 stations and 1000 bicycles in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) on July 7, 2016!
Join Metro, the City of Los Angeles and the Downtown community in a celebration at Grand Park with music, snacks, and a chance to be the first to test ride the new bikes for free!
The Metro Bike Share Launch and Ride-Off Event will culminate with a bike ride to experience a new way to see DTLA.
To sign up for the ride-off, select your preferred station destination from the ticket options provided. You’ll be assigned a bike and asked to sign a waiver as a part of the registration process. Please note: Sign ups are first come first served, so don’t miss out. Don’t forget to bring your helmet!
If you are interested in leading a ride group, please email us at marketing@bikeshare.metro.net. Ride leaders get a special Metro Bike Share gift for helping out!
Remember this is a ride-off, so make sure to pick a station close to where you want to end up! We recommend arriving to the event by Metro Rail, bus, or by walking. Plan your trip at Metro.net or use the transit setting on your preferred map application.
Launch Party schedule:
- 11-11:30am – Check-in
- 11:30am – Celebration
- 12pm – Press Conference
- 12:30pm – Ride-off
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Nice piece from Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman, as she stops to help a young man patch his tube, only to discover it wasn’t fixable.
Fortunately, though, he was, as he tells her about the metal rod in his back after recovering from being hit by a car six months earlier.
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Sad news from Chicago, as a woman was killed riding one of the city’s Divvy bikeshare bikes, in what is believed to be the first bikeshare fatality in the US.
Thanks to Steve Herbert for the heads-up.
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Long-time reader Fred Davis forwards an excerpt from former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s book Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution discussing the fight for bike lanes, and the inevitable bikelash that followed.
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The Guardian traces a cycling path through literature.
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A suspected bike thief was caught on video in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore.
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My formerly sled dog-racing brother, now living in Colorado, forwards news of an Aspen area bike trail being closed due to too much adorableness.
A rider took a photo of three mountain lion kittens on the side of the trail. Which means that mama was undoubtedly nearby somewhere. And not likely to look kindly on anyone getting too close to her brood.
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Have a great 4th of July weekend.
But don’t forget that holiday weekends mean more drunk and stoned drivers on the road. And more people more focused on finding a parking space than looking for bicycles in front of them.
So ride safely and defensively this weekend. I want to see you all back here on Tuesday.
