January 8, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that there will be an all-hands-on-deck meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing the Northvale gap in the new Expo bikeway.
After neighborhood NIMBY’s in the upscale Cheviot Hills neighborhood failed to stop the train, they turned their attention halting the bike path, expressing fear that bike-riding burglars and two-wheeled peeping Toms would soon terrorize the area.
Which is only a slight exaggeration.
Meanwhile, funding dried up amid disputes over where to locate the path, and where — or if —there should be access to the neighborhood.
Linton writes that Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has made it his life’s mission to keep bikes off Westwood Blvd, is working to close the gap in what would be the only continuous bikeway from Downtown to the Beach.
There will undoubtedly be many people opposing the bike path going through their neighborhood, so as he notes, if you live, work, bike, or breathe in this part of West Los Angeles, you need to be there to voice your support.
It takes place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, 2920 Overland Ave.
………
Clearly, hit-and-run is a worldwide problem.
A New Hampshire cyclist was lucky to escape with bruises when he was hit by a driver who sped away; police later arrested the suspect for hit-and-run, as well being a felon in possession of an unlicensed gun.
A British man faces “substantial” jail time for driving away after killing a cyclist while speeding at over twice the 30 mph limit.
The founder of Culver City was one of us. Before coming to California, Harry Culver rode in 53-day, 4,120 mile bike race ending at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Caltrans buys an Encinitas strawberry field to convert it into a park and ride and freeway access ramp, as well as community gardens and open space; the facility will include bike lockers and a bike lane that connects to bike paths planned for the area. Maybe they should call it a bike and ride.
San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood gets a road diet and buffered bike lanes to improve safety after a close vote by the neighborhood planning committee.
Next time you’re in Morro Bay, check out the new bike park that opened over the holidays.
A Seattle radio host continues his anti-bike rants, this time saying if officials really care about bike safety, they should ban bike riders from going through a parking lot they’re legally entitled to use, since a protected bike lane will be built nearby. It’s not safety he’s concerned about; it’s really about the money and lost parking spaces for a bike lane he opposes.
Vermont considers a bill that would require right-turning drivers to yield to bikes, and allow motorists to cross a yellow line to pass a bicycle.
Bike riding in New Zealand is getting safer as it gets more popular.
The mayor of Taipei will ride his bike 21 hours tomorrow to promote the Velo-City Global Conference to be held in his city next month.
Finally…
How does someone fail to see a stopped bus before crashing your bike into it? When a bus company driving instructor says running over cyclists is a public service, you’ve got to wonder what he’s teaching his students.
It was already illegal for bike riders, as well as drivers, to use headphones or earpieces in both ears; the new law only removes some loopholes by prohibiting any kind of earpiece on or in both ears, whether or not they’re actually in use.
Similarly, bikes were already covered under the existing requirement for slow moving vehicles to pull over to allow others to pass. The only change is explicitly adding the word bicycles to the law.
(Or maybe not; see correction below.)
However, the law only applies on two-lane roadways when five or more vehicles are trapped behind and unable to pass; if cars can safely go around, the law doesn’t apply. And you’re not required to pull over until it’s safe to do so.
You also don’t have to move over for speeding drivers if you’re riding at or near the speed limit.
The problem is most of the news stories fail to give adequate context or explain the limitations of the law, or point out that nothing has changed other than adding bicycles to the wording.
Which means we’re likely to see a jump in angry drivers demanding that bike riders get the hell out of their way, regardless of how many lanes there are or whether they can actually go around.
According to Serge, not only has the story been blown out of proportion, it isn’t even a story to begin with. And he should know, since he provided the wording that was adopted, without changes, by the legislature.
See if you can spot it anywhere in the revised law.
21656.
On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, any vehicle proceeding upon the highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time, behind which five or more vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the nearest place designated as a turnout by signs erected by the authority having jurisdiction over the highway, or wherever sufficient area for a safe turnout exists, in order to permit the vehicles following it to proceed.
I apologize for my error. Unfortunately, with all the madness over the holidays, personal and otherwise, I’m not sure where I got the information I used; regardless, it’s my fault for relying on a single source rather than verifying what I was told.
A Hermosa Beach bike rider is looking for the hit-and-run driver who left him with a broken arm in Rolling Hills Estates on Christmas Eve; unfortunately, there’s not much of a description to go on.
Then again, not even ghost bikes are safe from hit-and-run drivers; this one was at the site where Reynaldo Barajas was killed in Oxnard.
Photos courtesy of Danny Gamboa
………
While we were gone, the Internet blew up over this video of bicyclists behaving badly on the popular Nichols Canyon Ride.
If you want my take, just don’t ride like a jerk. Ever.
Period.
………
Ride faster. A new British study shows that slower bicyclists are more likely to be in a collision; people who ride at eight mph or less are three times more likely to get hit by a car than those who ride 12 mph or faster.
A powerful Australian ad uses a purposely misaligned bicycle as a metaphor to demonstrate what it’s like to have MS.
………
Local
The LA Times’ Christopher Hawkins calls for converting the end of the 2 Freeway into an elevated park and solar arrays, along with a bikeway offering spectacular views. Meanwhile, an OpEd in the Times calls for closing a stretch of Hollywood Blvd at Hollywood and Highland to cars to create a much needed pedestrian plaza. Yes, to both.
A San Antonio website offers an in-depth analysis of the road conditions that led to a $5.8 million judgment the death of an Indian Wells bicyclist, concluding that 94% of traffic fatalities in the city are due to poor road design. And says the solution is slower speeds resulting from narrowing lanes and building more intersections.
The Jewish Journal takes an “epic” 29-mile bike ride from Ventura to Santa Barbara. Epic being a relative term; your epic ride might be someone else’s easy day. Or vice versa.
Also from San Jose, a man calls for bikes to be banned on a local highway; cyclists say they aren’t the problem, while a columnist fails to grasp that we all pay for the roads, whether or not we drive a car.
A Sacramento cyclist gets his stolen cargo bike back a week after it disappeared, after another rider spotted the distinctive bicycle across the river.
A bighearted Napa man sets out “karma kits” with tubes, air pump, energy bars and trash bags along popular riding trails for cyclists in need.
National
City Lab lists 10 traffic myths that should have gone away in 2015, but didn’t, including that bikeways slow traffic and drivers pay for the roads. See San Jose above.
The NFL is discovering what we already know. If you really want to get in shape, ride a bike; evidently, it works for the other kind of football, too.
Okay, it’s a little late for New Year’s, but it still helps to know how to ride with a hangover. Which is one of those key cycling skills every imbibing bike rider should master.
A noncom officer with the Oregon National Guard during the week, rising pro cyclist on the weekend.
Evidently, streets are no-fun zones limited to transport only, so bicyclists need to ride sedately. And after a whopping 125 London cyclists are convicted of blowing stops — in a city of 8.5 million — the same paper calls it a crackdown on “bully boys on bikes.” No, seriously.
The BBC traces the British bike boom back to the 2005 London subway bombing; over two million people in the country ride at least once a week.
Once again, someone has sabotaged an English bike path; a man riding with his toddler in a trailer was nearly garroted by a wire strung at neck height across the trail. Acts like this aren’t pranks — they’re deliberate attempts to seriously injure or intimidate riders to frighten them off trails they’re legally entitled to use.
The best way to promote bicycling in Abu Dhabi — or anywhere else, for that matter — is to teach it in schools and instill a passion for riding in families.
Try not to fall off your bike while riding Down Under when you’re four sheets to the wind, or over six times the legal limit. And try to keep breathing, while you’re at it.
Who needs an e-bike when your car’s rear wheel can convert to an electric unicycle? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em; if someone steals your bike for the third time, just go out and steal a replacement.
And despite what the press says, having an erection in public while wearing spandex makes you an exhibitionist, not a cyclist. But maybe he really did have a banana in his pocket.
………
Thanks to Mark Jones for making 2015’s last donation to BikinginLA. While the Holiday Fund Drive is over, you can still contribute anytime.
The hunt is still on for the bicyclist who left the scene after colliding with an elderly man on Glendale Blvd last month.
That’s the gist of the following email I received from LAPD Det. Felix Padilla on Monday.
On October 15, 2015, around 8:20 am, Levon Avetisyan, 77 years old and a resident of Los Angeles, was crossing Glendale Blvd just north of 1st Street when he was struck by a bicyclist riding northbound on Glendale Blvd. Mr. Avetisyan suffered severe head trauma and was taken to LAC+USC Medical Center by paramedics from LAFD. He was later transported to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. Despite lifesaving efforts, Mr. Avetisyan succumbed to his injuries on November 1, 2015. The unknown bicyclist left the area before he was identified by police. The investigation is being conducted as a hit and run, however, I believe the bicyclist had no other option other than to leave once the scene was cleared by the paramedics.
The bicyclist was described as a male, White, in his 40’s and was attired with a cycling jersey and shorts. Anyone with information concerning the bicyclist is asked to contact the LAPD Central Traffic Division Detectives at (213) 833-3713 or Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at (213) 833-3746. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).
Padilla notes that the collision appears to be an unfortunate accident, and the rider involved is not likely to face charges.
However, the police still need to talk to him, and the family of the victim is asking the bicyclist involved to come forward.
So if you’re the rider in question, contact the police. Or if you know who it was, urge him to come forward so this case can be resolved, and Avetisyan’s family get the peace and closure they need.
It’s the right thing to do.
………
Yet another bicyclist has been critically injured by a heartless hit-and-run driver.
Bystanders reportedly moved construction barricades to protect him until help arrived.
………
Bicyclists aren’t the only two-wheeled riders endangered by road raging drivers, as a San Diego-area woman is charged with second degree murder for running down a motorcyclist she’d argued with while driving on a freeway.
………
If we can build self-driving cars, it shouldn’t be that hard to develop a system to detect cyclists and keep car doors from opening until the rider has passed to prevent doorings.
No one really wanted those buffered bike lanes on Vineland, which were supposed to give riders safe alternative route on a quiet street, instead of the long-promised bike lanes on Lankershim that were killed by former Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Well, so much for that.
Writing on LinkedIn, urban planner Nathan S. Holmes says we’ve allowed the media to frame the LA Mobility Plan incorrectly; it’s not bikes vs. cars, but rather, all about choices.
Celebrate Small Business Saturday this weekend with pop-up protected bike lanes, bike rides led by the LACBC and Calbike’s Charlie Gandy, and all-day events along Venice Blvd in Mar Vista. Unlike some of his fellow councilmembers, the Westside’s Mike Bonin clearly takes the mayor’s Great Streets program seriously.
Join the LACBC and pro cyclist Phil Gaimon in cleaning up Mulholland Drive between Runyon Canyon and the 101 Freeway on December 12th; there’s a free cookie from Sweetsalt Food Shop in it for you.
State
Irvine residents remember Kevin Jiang, the nine-year old boy killed while riding his bike Friday afternoon; they urge drivers to slow down.
San Francisco will transform half of a busy four-lane street into bike lanes and pedestrians pathways. The mere suggestion of which would undoubtedly cause rioting and lawsuits down here.
A Berkeley cyclist became collateral damage when two women fled from police following an earlier collision; fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be too badly banged up.
National
The new federal transportation budget not only keeps the popular TIGER grants that have helped build bike and pedestrian projects across the US, but expands it by $100 million.
This could come in handy. A handlebar-mounted external battery will recharge your USB headlight, cam or other electronic devices if they go dead while you ride.
After Grand Junction CO officials cited costs in turning down hosting a stage of next year’s USA Pro Challenge, local residents pitch in $63,000, and counting, out of their own pockets. Speaking of which, my formerly sled dog-runningAlaskan brother will be moving to Grand Junction next month, for reasons that escape me.
Chicago’s Deaf Velo Alliance shows hearing loss doesn’t have to be a hindrance to bicycling.
Bike collisions and fatalities have gone up in Mexico City, even as it works to become friendlier for cyclists. It’s possible that increased ridership could have something to do with it, however.
A Windsor, Ontario letter writer complains about “useless” bike lanes, since he thinks bicycles belong on the sidewalk. Although I’m sure most pedestrians would beg to differ.
A British delivery driver gets 44 months in prison for hiding his diabetes from his employer; he killed a bicyclist when he blacked out after his blood sugar crashed.
Caught on video: A London rider gets left hooked — the equivalent of a right hook on this side of the Atlantic — when he undertakes a cab. If you’re looking to assign blame, I vote for both; the cab driver should have checked his blind spot before turning, but the rider should have held up until he knew what the driver was going to do.
Brompton wants your 15-second videos of unexplored parts of your city, to be judged by Brit filmmaker Guy Ritchie, among others.
Alberto Contador says he gets that his signature gun gesture might not be appropriate at next year’s Tour de France in light of the Paris attacks. Meanwhile, the manager of the women’s Canyon/SRAM team says women’s cycling is stronger than ever.
A new Italian e-bike comes with built-in GPS anti-theft system so you always know where your bike is, even if it rides off without you.
An Aussie writer considers the effect of topography on bicycle mode share, suggesting that bicycling is successful in Copenhagen because it’s so flat.
Finally…
Evidently, if you choose to ride in a traffic lane at the same speed as the relatively light traffic around you, you’re a cockroach on wheels. That’s one way to compete with the internet — an LBS that serves a good beer while you wait.
November 23, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Serious sentence for a serious crime, memorial for 9-year old victim, and blame drivers, not bikes
They continue to take traffic crime seriously in Orange County.
An unlicensed drunk driver got 18 years — yes, years, not months — for fleeing the scene after killing an elderly woman and injuring her blind grandson as they stood in a Santa Ana bike lane to observe fireworks on the 4th of July in 2013.
When she was arrested two hours later, Kelly Michele Wolfe had a blood alcohol level of .31, nearly four times the legal limit.
Now she’s going to have a very long time to sober up.
Maybe someone should tell the LA DA this is what can happen when you don’t bargain away all the serious charges.
He was a recent Chinese immigrant whose parents had come here looking for a better life.
Instead, they lost a son to this country’s deadly streets.
………
Great piece from Boyonabike, who says we should “tell car companies to take cynical marketing gimmicks like ‘Volvo Life Paint’ and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”
Because, he says, the real problem is dangerous and distracted drivers, a lack of safe infrastructure, and a “car culture that sells cars on TV by overt appeals to fantasies of speed and danger”
The editor of USC’s Daily Trojan says bikeshare has the potential to revolutionize transit in Los Angeles if anyone actually uses it, while a writer for the Los Angeles News Group questions if people will pay $3.50 a trip to ride a bike.
Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Rick Risemberg offers advice on how to winterize your riding to prepare for El Niño and what passes for winter in the City of Angels.
Santa Clarita wants your opinion on the city’s off-street biking trails.
Great news from Arizona, as former US Representative Gabby Giffords takes her recumbent on a 40 mile ride less than five years after her near-fatal shooting.
Evidently, a Colorado letter writer really hates bike lanes; he condemns any government official who puts more than 20 cents into bike lane construction to suffer an eternity of spilling hot coffee in their laps while driving.
A discussion of installing crosstown bike lanes in New York’s Upper East Side draws little opposition, even if one community board member says bicyclists’ lawlessness has resulted in a “complete and total Armageddon.” Not to exaggerate or anything.
A Philadelphia magazine explores the challenges of being African American in white suburbia, including a troubling story of black teenagers just out for a bike ride.
London’s Cycling Commissioner says banning large trucks during rush hour won’t save as many lives as making trucks safer and building protected bike lanes. He also called a reporter a liar over claims bike riders weren’t using one of the city’s new cycle superhighways.
London plans to close a busy and dangerous junction in the heart of the city to motor vehicles for at least five years to improve safety and “all round congeniality,” while making more room for bikes and pedestrians.
Two Brit bike thieves have been jailed for a long running con; they’d leave a laptop bag as security for taking a bike for a test ride, which turned out to hold nothing but books when they didn’t return. They’d gotten away with 23 bikes worth $93,000 before they were caught.
A British woman is left with a broken hip after a collision with a sidewalk-riding bicyclist. But if he just rode off without stopping, how do they know he had a foreign accent?
Japanese police are looking for a man who smacked a woman in the head with a blunt object after her clothes somehow got caught in his bike when he rode up behind her.
Finally…
Evidently, it’s okay to steal a bike from a celebrity restaurant as long as you’re a hunk with washboard abs. If you’re going to use a bike as your getaway vehicle after robbing a bank, wearing a cycling cap sets the right stylistic tone.
Thanks to Wes High and Matthew Robertson for their donations to support this site. Thanks to their generosity, the first ever Biking in LA Holiday Fund Drive is now up to, uh, three contributions!
The victim of Thursday’s dooring in the hospital; she is not being identified at this time since I have not been in direct contact with her family.
A woman was seriously injured in a hit-and-run dooring while riding on the western edge of the West Adams district.
According to reports, the collision occurred near the intersection of La Cienega Blvd and Fairfax Ave, between West Jefferson and Washington Blvds around 10 pm Thursday night.
The driver stayed long enough to pull the victim out of the street, but took off after nearby valets called 911.
Her husband arrived on the scene while the suspects were still there, but they lied to him by saying the driver had already left the scene. He identifies the car only as a blue sedan with a license plate starting with H20.
I’m not sure if the police have been contacted yet. So if you may have seen the incident or have any information, email me at the address on the About page, and I’ll forward it to the appropriate people.
Dooring is always the fault of the driver or passenger; CVC 22517 requires anyone opening a door into traffic to wait until it’s safe to do so and can be done without interfering with traffic.
Let’s spread the news and see if we can catch these guys.
Update: I’m told the victim suffered a partially collapsed lung, broken clavicle and required multiple staples for a head wound; she was in surgery as this is being written.
A gofundme account established to help defray medical expenses has raised $6,000 of a requested $10,000 in just three hours; she’ll need a lot more than that to pay for hospitalization and surgery.
Thanks to Kyle Murray for providing information in this case.
Sheriff’s deputies have little information on the car or the driver, and no details were released on how the wreck occurred.
Anyone with information is urged asked to call the Lakewood Station’s Traffic Office at 562/623-3500.
This is the 67th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 27th in Los Angeles County. Twelve of those have been victims of hit-and-runs, as have nine of the deaths in LA County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Bradley Miller and his family.
Sadly, the 77-year old Echo Park man injured in a collision with a bicyclist has died.
The Eastsider reports Levon Avetisyan was crossing Glendale Blvd on his way to Echo Park Lake on October 15th, when he was hit by a rider described only as a white man in his 40s. He was hospitalized in grave condition with severe head trauma, and passed away on Sunday.
While police have described this case as a hit-and-run, the rider initially did the right thing by remaining at the scene until paramedics arrived. However, he left before police arrived, without leaving his name or contact information.
It’s possible the rider may not have realized he needed to stay, just like he would in any other injury collision.
If you know this person, tell him to contact a lawyer, then come forward by calling LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives at 213-833-3713.
Or more precisely, the arrest of the suspect has finally been announced.
Thirty-five year old Ruben Wharton Vanegas was killed after he reportedly got into an argument with the driver of an SUV on October 15th. A witness reported that the driver pushed him off his bike, then threatened to run over him, before doing exactly that.
Word broke today that police had actually arrested 32-year old Andrew Williams just four days after the fatal argument; he was held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Williams was scheduled to be arraigned on charges of murder and felony hit-and-run yesterday, but the hearing was put off until November 20th. He faces 25 years to life if convicted on all charges.
Why there was no public announcement of the arrest until now is unclear.
……….
The breaking news overshadowed Wednesday’s guest post from LA BAC member Jonathan Weiss discussing when it’s legal to ride two or more abreast, and why.
It’s a must read for anyone who rides with friends or in a group. Not to mention law enforcement officers at every level, since the law is often misinterpreted and cyclists too often ticketed for something that is legal under California law.
……….
The College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona is hosting a reception to honor famed alternative transportation advocate Gil Penalosa in DTLA on Tuesday the 17th.
This free after-hours reception/mixer is a great opportunity to meet Guillermo “Gil” Penalosa, the founder and chairman of 8-80 Cities, previously served as the commissioner of parks, sport and recreation in Bogotá, Colombia, leading a team that designed and built more than 200 parks and opened 50-plus miles of car-free city roads for biking, walking, running and skating. His team is responsible for initiating the “new Ciclovia” — a program internationally recognized and emulated — which sees 1 million people walk, run, skate and bicycle along 121 kilometers of Bogotá’s city roads every Sunday.
The event will be held at Diego Cardoso Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. More details and tickets are available here.
Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman says there needs to be a larger discussion of the issues affecting mobility in lower-income communities than just how they fit into a bike-specific box.
BikeSGV calls for bike riders to turn out at a community open house next Tuesday in support of a proposed bike park at the site of the former Puente Hills landfill.
Bicyclists present the results of a Lodi bike summit on how to make the city a cycling destination. Maybe John Fogerty wouldn’t mind being stuck in Lodi again then.
SFist complains that San Francisco police are once again blaming the victim in a fatal bike collision, while refusing to release video that could shed light on the crash; police say the victim should have been riding in a non-existent bike lane.
More bad news from the Sacramento area, as a bike rider was killed in a collision on Wednesday.
National
Writing for Bicycling Retailer, Rick Vosper looks at the culture of fear that inevitably blames the bike rider, and makes bicycling look more dangerous than it is.
Bike Snob Eben Weiss makes the case for replacing the word accident with the more accurate crash, saying the former is just a cop-out.
The Honolulu city council considers a proposal requiring any future bike lanes to be approved by the full council, following complaints over the city’s first protected bike lane.
Dallas advocates say the city needs more bike lanes to thrive; it currently has just 41.5 miles of bike lanes, compared to nearly 12,000 miles of lanes for motorized traffic.
Bicycling rates skyrocket after Detroit installs 150 miles of new bike lanes. Soon they’ll object to bike lanes by saying LA is no Detroit.
Actress Keri Russell is one of us, as she and boyfriend/costar Matthew Rhys ride through Brooklyn on his and hers Linus bikes.
A Miami man goes on trial for killing two cyclists while fleeing from the police following a botched car burglary.
In a first in North America, Calgary unveiled an entire network of protected bike lanes at once following five years of effort and community engagement; ridership is up 300% on one key corridor.
Ottawa city counselors compromise on a proposal to limit ghost bikes and other roadside memorials, approving a six-month limit rather than the three months recommended by city staff. Although they sort of make up for it with plans for a protected bike lane that takes advantage of barriers protecting the US Embassy.
Cycling Weekly offers up eleven bike maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them. I’m sometimes guilty of number seven, but only until noticing my brakes don’t work the first time I try to stop.
A writer for the UK’s Telegraph says cyclists other than himself are stupid and thoughtless, and giving us all a bad name. Yes, we should all obey the law and ride safely; many, if not most, of us do. But enough with the “I’m okay, you suck” BS.
City Lab looks at the success of the UK’s 20’s Plenty movement; nearly 25% of the country’s population now lives in communities where the speed limit has been lowered to 20 mph.
An Irish cyclist was wearing a helmet and had lights front, back and on his backpack, and a jury still absolves the truck driver who killed him, while calling for reflective wear for cyclists. Evidently, it’s not enough to light yourself up like a Christmas tree anymore.
The Netherlands presents the Tour de France with a bill for over $150,000 after allegedly getting stiffed for hosting the start of this year’s race.
A far reaching Turkish regulation is designed to encourage bicycling rather than public transport, ensuring that bikeways go onto streets with a topography suitable for riding, and connect with public transport.
November 4, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: Arrest made in Expo Park road rage attack; driver charged with murder, hit-and-run
Evidently, it was a secret.
In a surprise announcement, My News LA reports a suspect in last month’s fatal road rage assault near Exposition Park is under arrest — and has been since four days after the October 15th incident.
Thirty-two-year old Andrew Williams was scheduled to be arraigned today on felony counts of murder and hit-and-run in the death of 35-year old Ruben Wharton Vanegas, who had not been previously identified.
That confirms an earlier witness report that Williams had been arguing with Vanegas, and had threatened to run him over before doing exactly that.
Williams has apparently been in jail the past 16 days in lieu of $1 million bond. He faces 25 to life upon conviction, according to the site.
The victim was left in the street suffering from a severe head wound; he’s still hospitalized in grave condition two weeks after the collision.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives at 213/833-3713.
Seriously, bike riders have the same obligation to stick around following a wreck as drivers, both legally and morally.
So do it, already.
………
The LA City Council is planning to unadopt the Mobility Plan, less than three months after they passed it.
And supposedly, that’s a good thing.
Confused? You should be.
Apparently the problem stems from three minor changes the council made before adopting the plan, which only served to give greater attention to things that were already in it, according to Steetsblog’s Joe Linton.
However, because they didn’t follow the correct process in amending the plan, they may have given Fix the City, the self-appointed guardians of LA’s auto-centric past, grounds to sue and possibly get the entire plan thrown out in court. Or at least tie it up for years while lawyers fight over every comma and period.
So to head them off, a group of LA’s more progressive councilmembers have put forth a motion to rescind the plan, then re-adopt it sans amendments. Which should remove the basis for the lawsuit suit.
We’ll see.
Meanwhile, you never know what roadblocks anti-bike Councilmember Gil Cedillo and pseudo-environmentalist Paul Koretz will attempt to throw out in order to derail what should be easy passage.
And new Councilmember David Ryu remains a cypher after promising to re-evaluate everything predecessor Tom LaBonge had done, then following in his footsteps by attempting to have certain streets, including the long-promised 4th Street bikeway, removed from the plan.
………
Still more big hearts out there.
A group of Veterans Administration employees pitched in to buy a homeless Kansas vet a new bike, after he returned a lost wallet with $400 inside that had been dropped from a female vet’s wheelchair.
And nice move from Specialized, as they replace the bike Dallas a woman was riding when a driver went through a red light and hit her; however, she’s still not able to ride nearly two months later.
………
A few quick events this weekend.
Thousand Oaks is holding their first Open Streets event today with Spokes in the Oaks from 10 am to 3 pm. Thanks to Pedego 101 for the heads-up.
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton takes the LAPD and Clear Channel to task for those horrible pseudo-public safety billboards; he quotes the BAC’s Jeff Jacobberger as saying that using an anti-bike and traffic safety member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council as a spokesperson for the campaign is like “using Bill Cosby as the face of a campaign against sexual assault.”
The Orange County Register’s Honk columnist corrects himself, saying it is legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in some cities.
A San Diego cop was stabbed trying to stop a suspected bike thief; fortunately, he’s expected to make a full recovery. This is why you always want to be careful trying to stop a thief, even a cop can get seriously injured.
Milpitas police somehow blame a teenage bike rider for getting hit by a car, even though he was riding in the crosswalk and had pressed for the crossing light.
This year’s Tour de Fat, which once again bypassed the City of Angels, has raised over $4 million for local non-profits over its 16-year history.
A Minneapolis website complains about pathletes, those athletic cyclists who rudely blow past other riders on a bike path. That may be my new favorite term.
A Michigan official wants tickets torn up for church goers who parked in a new bike lane, and he wants the lane itself removed. Although based on the photo, it looks like a pretty crappy half-gutter bike lane anyway.
A Cleveland editorial board discusses how bikes and cars can safely share the road, while a Pittsburgh letter writer says the solution isn’t to make our streets safer, but to get all those darn bikes off them.
Tampa FL is the latest city to sign on to Vision Zero, at least for bicyclists and pedestrians. The city is also attempting to ensure its planned bikeshare system isn’t just for the rich.
I mean, their hearts are in the right place. And it’s nice to see an outdoor advertising company give back to the city, after decades of ignoring every law on the books regarding their business.
Or anyone with any experience in advertising, for that matter.
The billboards, which will be posted in English, Spanish and Korean, politely ask drivers to obey the rules of the road and stick around after a collision because it might save a life.
Copied from KPCC website
Sure, that’s really going to motivate someone who just ran down a pedestrian after downing a few too many.
No moral authority. No threat of consequences. And not a hint at LA’s hit-and-run reward system, which pays up to $50,000 for information leading to the conviction of runaway drivers.
Let alone the state’s new Yellow Alert system, which could mean countless more eyes on the street looking for suspect vehicles.
No offense, but I’ve seen harder-hitting ads asking toddlers to switch diaper brands. And don’t get me started on the art direction, which looks like it was done on a PC in someone’s basement.
Hit-and-run is a serious problem, with serious consequences for the victims.
And we seriously deserve something better than this.
………
Police have finally identified a suspect (scroll down) in the hit-and-run death of Irma “Yolanda” Espinoza-Lugo as she crossed North Figueroa on September 18th.
They’ve asked the public to be on the lookout for William Armando Portales, described as a 49-year old Hispanic male, 5’ 6” tall and weighing 165 pounds.
And yes, there’s a $50,000 reward for anyone who helps bring him to justice.
………
I haven’t gotten involved in the My LA 2050 Challenge Grant Challenge on here, simply because there are so many projects that deserve your support.
It seems like a waste to make them battle it out for public votes, when the goal should be to find funding for as many as possible.
However, one of the more interesting proposals is one to build a bike and pedestrian bridge over Ballona Creek at McConnell Ave, which would help make the bike path a more viable commuter link connecting Culver City with Playa Vista.
Voting ends Tuesday, November 3rd.
………
Local
Not many artists get a chance to work in asphalt. LADOT is looking for an artist to provide creative thinking to help reduce traffic deaths; the position will pay $20,000 over two years. Which is about $20,000 more than most LA artists make.
The LA City Council approved a pilot program allowing people to lock their bikes to parking meters in Westwood Village and on some major streets. Assuming the world doesn’t end, it will hopefully spread throughout the city.
There’s only one thing worse than being stopped by the CHP for riding your bike on the 101 Freeway — having them call your mom to pick you up.
Caltrans will be teaming with SCAG and UCLA to host the 2015 California Transportation Planning Conference at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in DTLA this December; advance registration is a mere $400 unless you can manage to form a non-profit or get adopted by a tribal government before then.
Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare program — without the quotation marks, please — is set to officially open in two weeks.
Formerly auto-centric Indianapolis reclaims its soul by transforming into a bikeable, walkable city. Just five years ago, they had one mile of bike lanes; today they have 90 miles of designated bikeways, including an 18-mile rails-to-trails conversion.
A New York physician reports on a study that shows the severity of bicycling injuries appears to go up after bike lanes are installed, contradicting previous studies; however, he stresses that bike lanes are still beneficial.
Seriously? The Philadelphia Enquirer enquires as to why low-income people use the city’s bikeshare program less than wealthier people. Maybe because they can’t afford it and don’t have credit cards?
A Baltimore bike shop joins REI’s #OptOutside movement in deciding to close on Black Friday. Let me know if any LA bike shops join in; I’ll be happy to promote your shop that weekend.
An Alabama writer asks why white people like Birmingham’s new e-bike bikeshare system so much, in a city that is 73% black.
International
British Columbia’s state insurance agency insists on blaming the victim in a bicycling fatality, even though the driver has been charged with driving under the influence, negligence and hit-and-run. The company first claimed the cyclist was drunk or high, then settled on claims that his brakes were bad, that he failed to ride far enough right, and didn’t warn the driver before the driver hit him.
A British bike safety group calls for allowing bike riders to make the equivalent of a right turn on a red light.
Nice obituary for 86-year old Scottish cyclist Ian Steel, who won the 1951 Tour of Britain, as well as becoming the unwelcome winner of the Eastern Bloc’s equivalent to the Tour de France in the middle of the Cold War.
It’s a painfully small world, as the wife of a New Zealand cyclist happens upon the scene just after her husband is hit by a car driven by a man who knows him.
