October 20, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Ped superhero Peatónito studies LA Vision Zero fail; Slow Streets win at LA Council, and bike rider busted for Metro murder
I’ve never been one for the whole superhero genre, preferring to find heroes in real life.
But I make an exception for Mexico City’s caped protector of pedestrians, the legendary Peatónito.
Nowadays it feels like we can all use a hero or shero. So we’re happy to introduce Peatónito! He comes to us from Mexico City, where he began his masked work saving lives and slowing traffic. And Peatónito has traveled beyond, from NYC to Los Angeles, fighting against the crime of poorly designed streets & sidewalks and reckless driving through creative public demonstrations and street theater.
This summer, Los Angeles Walks partnered with the crime fighter as we trained future generations of peatónitos and organized for safe street changes. He finished his training at UCLA’s Institute of Transportaiton Studies, where he penned a pedestrian manifesto (or his graduate capstone paper) titled The Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles: How to Empower Communities to Plan and Implement Pedestrian Road Safety Infrastructure.
• Walking in a non-white census tract increases the probability of being killed or severely injured by a motor vehicle in Los Angeles (Figure 1). Black people are only 8% of the population, but 20% of all pedestrian fatalities. Meanwhile, median income, vulnerable age (children and older adults), and the number of cars in a household do not have a statistically significant relationship with pedestrian road safety.
• City council members are responsive to residents’ demands and threats opposing pedestrian-focused traffic safety. Even when other city agencies and LADOT support these improvements, the city council has more power over deciding the outcome of road safety infrastructure plans. Consequently, there is a need to balance this power dynamic.
• Affluent, car-oriented residents tend to have stronger influence over council members, who prioritize their concerns over those of underserved people. This power dynamic in LA permits small groups of noisy stakeholders to hijack a conversation; they manipulate the narrative to make it seem convenient for everyone. It is vital to give more power to the people that fight for safe streets, whose voices
“The pedestrian is nobody in this city, he has been forgotten by authorities and our own citizenry. The curious and paradoxical thing is that we are all pedestrians at some moment. As such, we have forgotten ourselves.” – Peatónito
Here’s how Los Angeles Walks succinctly sums up Peatónito’s recommendations.
• The City must recommit and strengthen the Vision Zero program, a city-wide initiative to reduce traffic fatalities to ZERO by 2025.
• The City budget should adequately fund and staff all of Vision Zero’s goals, including the Dignity Infused Community Engagement (DICE) project.
• The state should get rid of the 85th percentile rule, a state rule that requires speed to be set at the average of ongoing traffic, which has led to what many call “speed creep.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Let’s hope he sticks around. LA pedestrians — and bike riders — could really use our own superhero.
Speaking of which, it looks like people won out over cars in the City of Angels for a change.
The City of LA Transportation Committee just approved a motion to make current slow streets more permanent using better materials (metal posts/signs) and limiting speeds to 15mph or less. Thank you @MikeBoninLA for your leadership on this issue. Now let’s find $ to make new ones!
BIKE RECOVERY: "We found a post on OfferUp selling the bike and went and retrieved it using the original receipt and serial number. Individuals using Bike Index alerted me that it was for sale." pic.twitter.com/RGKAN40tt1
Meanwhile, it’s nice to see a community organization pressing the candidates for LA’s 10th Council District about their stands on active transportation.
A Toronto letter writer complains that few of the city’s bike riders wear helmets, despite a mandatory helmet law. Although the headline writer deserves to get their knuckles rapped for saying “Bike lanes are only good if cyclists wear a helmet,” which is factually incorrect, and has nothing to do with what the writer wrote.
The race moto rider Julian Alaphilippe crashed into in the Tour of Flanders says he can’t help feeling guilty about the crash. Although the people who really deserve the blame are the ones who allow motorcycles near cyclists in the peloton to begin with.
October 19, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Driver busted for Hawthorne hit-and-run, 16 LA-area bike riders shot by police, and bike-riding woman murders Metro worker
A couple quick notes before we start.
Today is the last day to register to vote before next month’s presidential and city council elections, along with a number of other important federal, state and local offices. Not to mention a massive number of California state propositions.
Also, my apologies to everyone who tipped me to news stories over the weekend; with a few exceptions, I’ve somehow managed to lose track of who sent what.
But please accept my thanks anyway. I always appreciate the help, even if my feeble brain fails me from time to time.
Meanwhile, the now-15 year old victim remains in a coma with major head trauma, as well as a broken leg, arm and feet, more than two weeks after the crash.
Yet despite the horrific harm she allegedly caused, Delgadillo will face a maximum of just four years behind bars for felony hit-and-run under California law.
Maybe someday we’ll get our elected leaders to take this crime seriously.
An investigative report from the LA Times reveals that 16 bike riders have been shot by police or sheriff’s deputies in LA County over the past 15 years for what started out as simple traffic violations.
Eleven of those were killed.
The Times identified 16 cases since 2005 where a stop for bike violations in Los Angeles County resulted in a police shooting, according to interviews and a review of public records from the district attorney, coroner and various court cases. Most of the stops occurred in communities made up largely of Black and Latino residents. In 11 incidents, including Kizzee’s, the bicyclists — all male and Black or Latino — were killed.
Among those 16 cases, violations ranged from riding on the sidewalk to biking without a light or on the wrong side of the road. In 11 cases, authorities said they found a firearm. In one shooting, deputies found an airsoft gun they said looked like a semiautomatic handgun.
It’s an important read, because constantly having to worry about getting stopped by the cops for biking while Black or brown is bad enough.
But something is seriously wrong when people of color also have to worry about getting the death penalty for a simple traffic violation.
Thanks to everyone who sent this one to my attention.
@bikinginla Slow Streets II Make public comment in advance or if you're able, call into the meeting. At 1:15pm on Monday call 669-254-5252 use Meeting ID No. 161 750 5079 then press #, # again when prompted for participant ID. Once admitted, press *9 to request to speak.
Public radio station KPFK is in deep financial danger, and could take the popular Bike Talk program down with it without your help.
Bike Talk's radio host, KPFK, 90.7, is in trouble. We'd like to show Bike Twitter's support with even one of your dollars. Please click here: https://t.co/mP1rFn2ate
Bicycling and SRAM will examine the issues facing people who have been swept under the rug for far too long.
Join us on Wednesday, October 21st at 12 ET for Cycling at the Intersections, a virtual event in partnership with @SRAMroad. We will be discussing the experiences of Black trans, femme, women, and non-binary cyclists. Register here: https://t.co/NAZbVMLDaipic.twitter.com/VqimpXKysR
There’s a special place in hell for a Montana man who was charged with a sex crime involving an 11-year old girl, after he was previously charged with intentionally running down a man on a bicycle, claiming it was his bike. Although you’d think if it was really his bike, he wouldn’t want to run it over with his car.
You don’t need to speak Spanish to get that maybe this driver should pay attention to the road instead of complaining about people on two wheels.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A 19-year old New York man could face a murder charge after a group of bike-riding teens argued with a 79-year man before pushing him to the ground; the victim died later after being rushed to a hospital. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough.
A 67-year old Australian man recovering from open heart surgery was left bloodied and banged up after he was hit from behind by a bike rider while walking on a pedestrian bridge. Yet another reminder to alway ride with extra caution around pedestrians. Not only are people unpredictable, but they’re the only ones out there more vulnerable than we are.
A 49-year old San Diego man suffered a broken leg and broken ribs when a motorcyclist slammed into a group of bike riders in the city’s Pacific Beach neighborhood; the motorcyclist walked away with road rash.
Great French hope Julian Alaphilippe broke his hand in two places when he became just the latest cyclist to crash into a race moto in the Tour of Flanders. Once again, there is no excuse for allowing motorcycles in the peloton. Keep them in front of the cyclists or well behind, for everyone sake.
And maybe people don’t really love their cars after all.
Ever wonder why so many people, especially cable news anchors, say “Americans have a love affair with automobiles” or some variation of the phrase? A little-known 1961 NBC special starring Groucho Marx had something to do with it. Learn more in episode 50: https://t.co/GJ6Hi2DPvMpic.twitter.com/ilJZONALFL
October 8, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hit-and-run driver crashes twice in 15 minutes, Union Station virtual open house tonight, and a relic of 1930’s planning
The #LinkUnionStationProject (LinkUS) is hosting a virtual public scoping and open house to discuss the transformation of Los Angeles Union Station (#LAUS) into a modern transit and mobility hub on October 8. More information below! https://t.co/eLpPvNdjuf
Austin, Texas is closing down its Healthy Streets program to provide safe, low-traffic areas for walking, running and bicycling during the coronavirus crisis. Apparently, the pandemic must be over down there, unlike everywhere else.
Good point. A Canadian letter writer complains that it’s apparently wrong to hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but perfectly okay if that person’s on a bike. And if the law is so confusing that even a cop gets it wrong, maybe it needs to be changed.
Maybe they should hold a bake sale. The Canadian capital says they know where they need to make safety improvements to protect bike riders, but don’t have the money to do it.
October 7, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike-riding boy injured in Hawthorne hit-and-run, car ID’d in Palos Verdes bike crash, and driver busted in NY assault
If only our elected leaders had the political courage to actually do something.
But they don’t, and we don’t, because it might inconvenience impatient drivers just a little.
Thanks to Sindy for the heads-up.
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If you’re the driver who hit a bike rider in Palos Verdes yesterday, she’s got your number.
No, literally.
The cyclist managed to stay upright and continued cycling along PV Dr West. The driver of the black car that cut him off took a hike with a woman and a dog. I took a zoomed pix of the driver. Stopped to get the license plate on my way out. @bikinginla Help me find the cyclist pic.twitter.com/BnalUfUGUY
Lime wants to help you scoot to the polls next month.
Lime, the global leader in micromobility, today announced it will provide free e-scooter rides on Election Day, November 3, in an effort to reduce transportation barriers to voting, such as cost, lack of car ownership or COVID-19-related fears over public transit in cities throughout the country. Riders will be able to use the promotional code LIMETOPOLLS2020 to receive two free rides up to 30 minutes on Election Day.
“This is the most important election of our lives,” said Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime. “Healthcare, climate change and the future of so many cities we serve are on the ballot in 2020. At Lime, we’re focused on doing all we can to register voters, ease access to polls, and encourage our riders to vote.”
Offering free rides to the polls is just once part of Lime’s Roll Call initiative to increase participation in this election. The company has partnered with When We All Vote to promote voter registration to riders via email and within the Lime app. They have also joined Power the Polls to encourage riders to become Poll Workers and ElectionDay.org to provide employees with time to cast their vote on or before November 3.
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GCN explains how to remove and fit bike wheels, calling it an essential skill.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.
A road raging Portland driver took offense to a bike rider’s request to drive a little better because they both have a right to the road, firing two shots at the person on the bike. And apparently missed, fortunately.
An 18-year old British driver walked with community service despite spitting at a pedestrian, throwing soda at a female jogger then tossing the bottle at 15-year old boy, knocking him off his bike, and hurling an egg at a passerby during a six-month “spate of violence” after passing his driver’s test. But other than that, he was a prince, right?
Huntington Beach has followed Long Beach’s lead in attempting to ban bike chop shops by prohibiting the repair and sales of bikes and bike parts on city property(scroll down). Good intention, but that means you’d be breaking the law if you stop in a park or sidewalk to fix a flat or dropped chain.
Bicycling offers tips on how to save big on Amazon Prime Day. Although it looks like you’re on your own if you get blocked out by the magazine’s draconian paywall this time.
For once, it wasn’t a race moto that injured a cyclist in yesterday’s Giro — it was a low-flying helicopter that blew debris onto the course, resulting in serious injuries to Italy’s Luca Wackermann, including a possible fractured vertebrae.
The victim, who was not publicly identified or described in any way, apparently died at the scene. Meanwhile, the driver fled the scene; no word on whether the police have any information to go on.
There’s also no word on how the collision occurred.
In other words, pretty much all we know is that it happened, and someone died.
Which is pretty damn shameful.
The TV story reports investigators are looking for witnesses, but once again, they don’t tell anyone how they can come forward if they know anything.
This is at least the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Ventura County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.
A bad weekend for SoCal bike riders continued to get worse Saturday morning.
Just one day after people were killed riding their bikes in Lancaster and San Diego, a woman apparently lost her life while riding in Carson, thanks to a heartless hit-and-run driver.
She was not publicly identified; the only description was an initial call of a female down.
There’s no word on how the crash happened, and no description of the suspect or the vehicle used to commit the crime.
As we’ve noted far too many times before, there is simply no excuse, ever, to flee the scene following a crash. The driver should face a murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim bleeding in the street if an autopsy shows she might have survived if she’d gotten help sooner.
But probably won’t.
This is at least the 43rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eleventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
September 24, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Strava data shows LA bike rate double last year’s; and gun charges yes, but nothing for driving through Pasadena protesters
According to Strava data, bicycle use in bike-unfriendly Los Angeles nearly doubled in May, jumping 93% over this time last year.
Among the six U.S. cities for which Strava provided data, Houston and Los Angeles, two sprawling metropolises where just .5% and 1% of the respective populations biked to work in pre-pandemic times, stand out. In Houston, the total volume of cycling trips in Houston was 138% higher in May 2020 than in May 2019. In Los Angeles, the jump was 93%. Unlike their peers, these two places also saw cycling increases in April, the first full month of widespread stay-at-home order and economic shutdowns.
Never mind that Strava is still used by a subset of bike riders, meaning the actual numbers could be even higher, as the LACBC’s Eli Akira Kaufman points out.
Eli Akira Kaufman, the executive director of the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, said the data also likely leaves out many of the essential workers he’s observed hopping on bikes instead of the bus, which could mean that the numbers are even higher than what the Strava data shows. Now his thoughts are towards the future. Cities like Houston and L.A., with their thousands of miles of car-oriented streets, have their work cut out building protected bike lanes and other infrastructure to encourage cycling even after the pandemic ends
“How do we keep the riding coming?” he said. “That’s the question now.”
The obvious answer to that is to provide a safe, convenient and connected network of bikeways that allows riders to traverse the city, and their own neighborhoods.
This is who we share the roads with, protest edition.
A San Marino man who drove through a group of peaceful Pasadena protestors last month has been charged with conspiracy to transport firearms across state lines, as well as making a false statement to police.
During a search of Hung’s truck, police found a loaded semiautomatic handgun, multiple high-capacity magazines loaded with ammunition, an 18-inch machete, $3,200 in cash, a long metal pipe and a megaphone, according to the affidavit.
Evidently, endangering innocent people with a motor vehicle is just dandy, though.
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This is who we share the roads with, hit-and-run edition.
Take public transport, walk or cycle and thus set an example for more space in the city.
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It’s not everyday a hospital ad is worth sharing.
At City of Hope, we are driven to deliver world-class cancer care. We’re committed to pioneering research and lifesaving clinical trials for tenacious patients like Jim Murphy, who rode his bike to and from treatments and still rides today. pic.twitter.com/LojY9fSy5Y
An Aussie man faces charges for pushing a friend in a shopping cart into a group of bicyclists traveling at over 25 mph, taking out a number of riders. The man, who had been drinking for a dozen hours, claims his actions weren’t deliberate and he just lost control of the cart, despite how it looks on security cam video.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
In a tragic story from Milwaukee, a 54-year old man was fatally gunned down by a bike rider in a dispute over a traffic “mishap.” There is no excuse for violence, especially at the risk of someone’s life. Just suck it up and ride away, already.
They get it, too. Miami is planning to permanently ban cars from the city’s beachfront Ocean Drive, while prioritizing pedestrians first in the city’s entertainment district, followed by bicyclists and transit, with personal vehicles last.
Talk about not getting it. A Philippine city is considering a proposal to mandate helmets and reflectorized vests for bike riders, as well as limiting riders to carrying minimal loads, since “bicycles are not designed to carry much cargo.” Which would come as a hell of a surprise to many bike commuters and cargo bike owners.
Flores is the minivan driver who allegedly slammed into a 66-year old bike rider near the city’s airport last month, leaving the victim with a life-threatening head injury.
In actions captured on video, he allegedly got out of his van, along with a passenger identified as 50-year old Jessica Bailey, examined the victim lying in the roadway, then calmly removed his bike from under their van and drove away.
They were captured in Kern County less than two weeks later.
There’s no word on whether Bailey is in custody, or if she will face any charges.
And no word on the identity or condition of the victim.
There are several stories from other news outlets, like this one, but they’re all virtually identical. Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.
And how the environmentally friendly project was killed by a single LA councilmember, acting on behalf of a notorious NIMBY group.
Just after the Mid City West meeting, the NIMBYs sprang into action. They viewed Uplift Melrose as a threat to the sacred space of vehicles in this city, and were outraged that a project would even be considered that would rellocate space from cars for a bike lane. Those bike lane thieves, trying to take away sacred car space! And while the project was so much more than a bike lane — it was wider sidewalks, new trees, raised crosswalks, new lighting… all they could see was the bike lane.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An American marine biologist in the Philippines with a bad case of windshield bias questions why road space is being given to bike riders when motor vehicles bring in much more “revinue” for the government. He may be many things, but an environmentalist clearly ain’t one of them, regardless of what the headline says.
Washington state is adopting the Idaho Stop Law next month, allowing bike riders to treat stops as yields — but not treat red lights like stop signs, as is legal in Idaho.
This is how it works in other places. Austin, Texas is going to make permanent a popup bike lane installed during the coronavirus crisis after it proved successful. Unfortunately, unlike countless other cities around the world, auto-centric Los Angeles never bothered to install any temporary bike lanes during the lockdown period to begin with.
The victim was riding on the sharrows near the intersection of India and West Washington streets when he was apparently run down from behind, suffering a life-threatening head injury.
The vehicle is described as a blue or gray 2005 Dodge Caravan, with Georgia license plates, number RRJ7004.
Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
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Show this one to everyone who insists bike lanes will keep emergency vehicles from getting through.
An ambulance in London today demonstrating that protected cycle infrastructure can be helpful for emergency services. Unlike cars sitting in a jam, people on bikes using the lane were able to easily move out of the way for it pic.twitter.com/XT2e5sSAH9
Then there’s this, from right here in the LA area.
Biking home yesterday, a white woman shouted at me and reached into her bag. She pulled out hash browns, ripped open the package and threw them one at a time at me. 2020 means wondering if she went after me for being Asian or riding a bike? Also relieved hash browns, not bullets
Streets LA — nee Bureau of Street Services — will host a virtual open house to discuss the proposed Uplift Melrose project this Wednesday; the plans include expanded sidewalks, better landscaping and LA’s first dutch-style curb level protected bike lane. Take a few minutes to attend if you can, because the usual NIMBYs and bike haters undoubtedly will.
A Sacramento bike rider was lucky to walk away after riding his bike out in front of oncoming traffic and getting drilled by a car traveling at an estimated 50 mph; remarkably, his bike appeared to be relatively okay, too.
Chicago police finally get around to returning dozens of bicycles that were confiscated during Black Lives Matter protests in July. Never mind that the seizures are of questionable legality; it’s unlikely they could confiscate a motor vehicle under the same circumstances.
A Tennessee columnist says wear your bike helmet, already, crediting a helmet for why one bike rider survived, and the lack of one for why another one died. He’s got a point. But let’s not forget that bike helmets should always be the last resort when all else fails — not the first.
Speaking of Tennessee, a man in the state lost 100 pounds riding an ebike; for readers in the UK, that’s over seven stone. Just one more reminder that ped-assist ebikes offer genuine exercise, just like regular bikes.
Um, no. Cycling Weekly tells you what to wear for year-round bike commutes. Spandex is fine if that’s what you want to wear. But despite what they show, bike riders around the world somehow manage to get to work and back without a stitch of bikewear.
