LA takes a big step forward, as Northridge gets the city’s first parking protected bike lane.
The new Reseda Blvd bike lane uses the parking lane, and the cars in them, to form a protective barrier between bikes and motor vehicle traffic on the busy street. Even if some drivers don’t seem to get the idea.
The sidewalk got a makeover, too.
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The man accused of shooting and killing a developmentally disabled San Diego bike rider just for the hell of it has pled guilty to first degree murder.
Twenty-two-year old Humberto Emanuel Galvez leaned out of a car window and shot Jordan Hickey with a shotgun as Hickey was just blocks from his home as he rode home from visiting his girlfriend four years ago.
Galvez will be sentenced to life without parole for the shooting; by pleading guilty, he took a possible death sentence off the table.
His partner in the crime, 24-year old Juan Ignacio Gomez, also faces life without parole after being convicted last week.
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Local
Routing bike riders onto alternate back streets that don’t form a complete grid isn’t the right answer, a lesson CiclaValley says ostensibly bike-friendly CD4 candidate Carolyn Ramsay needs to learn.
Flying Pigeon explains why the upcoming school board election should matter to you, whether or not you have kids.
KPCC correctly notes that LA’s incomplete bike network makes it impossible to cross the city using designated bikeways. Although they could have found a more current map.
Good ideas are contagious. The success of CicLAvia prompts Glendale to consider their own ciclovía on Brand Blvd this September.
State
A 13-year old bike rider suffers non-life threatening injuries when he’s apparently right hooked by the driver of a car.
Build it, and they will come in droves. Buffered bike lanes in San Diego result in a 347% increase in ridership since 2012.
Former baseball great Curt Schilling joins with other San Diego residents to help replace the 18 custom bikes stolen from wounded vets; so far, they’ve raised $25,000 to replace bikes valued at $45,000.
San Diego cyclists will gather on April 19th for the second annual 35.5-mile memorial ride to honor long-time cyclist and bike advocate Gordy Shields. We’re still waiting for LA to do something, anything, to memorialize our own Alex Baum after his passing.
Plans for a 48-mile bike path through the Coachella Valley could be jeopardized as Rancho Mirage threatens to pull its support.
San Francisco’s bike share program could expand from the current 700 bikes to 7,000 bikes in cities throughout the Bay Area.
A San Francisco bike theft victim gets his $7,000 ebike back when the built-in GPS pinpoints its location.
Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who plowed into three SF cyclists, seriously injuring one, as she fled after rear-ending a car and before hitting another one.
National
I want one. Or maybe two. Trek’s Bontrager line introduces a new tail light designed for daytime use, said to be brighter than a car taillight and visible for over a mile away.
A Harvard study says police are still using outdated collision report forms, missing out on vital data that could help prevent bike collisions; Los Angeles cyclists have been asking the LAPD to improve their forms for years.
Despite complaints, a Portland road diet slows drivers an average of just one minute per trip.
Nice story. A 12-year old boy in my hometown who was born without arms will soon be able to ride a bike for the first time, thanks to the efforts of his new friend.
A Milwaukee writer says it’s not riding a bike that’s hazardous to your health.
A Minnesota public library is introducing The Book Bike, a bicycle-towed trailer designed to bring books to local kids.
Even the Motor City is getting its first parking-protected bike lane.
Some people just don’t get it. A Syracuse paper says parking is more important than bike lanes, even though getting more people on bikes could reduce the need for it.
A New Yorker who helped paint the city’s first ghost bike says he’ll keep building them until they aren’t needed anymore.
The Baltimore bishop accused in the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider has pled not guilty; she faces trial on June 4th. So much for confession being good for the soul.
New Orleans cyclists turn to social media to track down suspected bike thieves.
No bias here, as a Florida rider died after being doored, yet the local press blames him for running into it. Note to Tampa Bay Times: If someone dies of his injuries, they were life threatening, even if they didn’t appear that way at first.
International
Montreal cyclists say the city has a long way to go to improve safety; a new bike path could have only been designed by someone who doesn’t ride.
A two-year old Brit boy is the proud owner of perhaps the world’s only penny farthing balance bike.
Paris plans to double the size of its bike lane network to over 860 miles in the next five years, including protected bike lanes on the Champs Elysees and other major avenues. Seriously, if they can do it there…
VeloNews looks at Easter Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
At least Mercedes AMG didn’t build yet another high-end racing bike, like so many other car makers dabbling in bicycling. They built a mountain bike instead.
Bystanders join together to lift a car off a Chinese cyclist when she’s pinned underneath following a collision. For some reason, though, they illustrated the story with a photo from CicLAvia, and a caption about LA’s planned bike share program.
Finally…
Someone stole the new sign asking people to stop pooping on an Illinois bike path; to be honest, given the opportunity, I might have taken it myself. When you’re wanted on two outstanding warrants and carrying nine packets of heroin on your bike, put a damn bell on your bike if that’s what the law requires.
And yes, biking under the influence is illegal in California, as a San Raphael rider blows twice the legal limit after blowing a stop sign.
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Please accept my best wishes for a happy Passover, a happy Easter, or just a damn fine weekend, whatever you may observe.
