Tag Archive for Huntington Beach

Another bike rider critically injured on PCH in Orange County, and Caltrans proposes bike lanes on PCH in Long Beach

October 29, 2025 / / No comments
Day 302 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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At least the driver stuck around this time.

City News Service is reporting that yet another person was critically injured riding a bicycle on PCH in Orange County Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred around 8:30 am yesterday on northbound PCH near Fernleaf Ave in Newport Beach. Unfortunately, there’s no word on the identity or current condition of the victim, or how the crash occurred.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

This comes just eight days after an allegedly stoned driver killed a popular pastor on PCH in Huntington Beach, and seriously injured two other people riding bikes with him.

Let’s hope the victim recovers quickly.

Photo by Artyom Kulakov from Pexels.

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SoCal’s killer highway may finally be getting a little safer.

At least in Long Beach.

Caltrans is proposing a lane reduction on PCH, from the city’s traffic circle to the Los Angeles River, reducing it from the current seven lanes to five, while installing protected bike lanes.

There are two designs on the table to improve safety on the city’s most dangerous roadway.

A public workshop will be held this evening to discuss the options. There is also an online survey for the next month, or you can email 99335@publicinput.com. Or the chronically offline can call 855/925-2801, Project Code: 11835.

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Lime is offering free ebike and e-scooter rides to the polls for Election Day next Tuesday, matching Metro’s free Election Day rides.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A New York funeral home is calling on the city to rip out new protected bike lanes it says interferes with their hearses, in an apparent attempt to drum up new business.

No bias here. An English council supplied a newspaper with a quote saying bicyclists were disrupting funerals and riding through mourners to save 30 seconds using an unofficial shortcut, even though the initial press release simply said the cut-through was being used by bicyclists, pedestrians and scooter riders.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 50-year old British man pled guilty to manslaughter for killing 91-year old man in a crash while riding an ebike on the sidewalk, as the man was putting out his garbage cans. Although once again, there’s no word on whether he was on a ped-assist bike, or an electric motorbike. 

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Local 

The Culver City council approved a proposal to move forward with research and design work for new bike lanes on Sepulveda Blvd, despite one councilmember arguing for saving parking since he owns a market on the corridor; the city hopes to finish the work before the 2028 Olympics.

Nearly 900 people turned out for the 8th annual Halloween-themed Finish the Ride and Finish the Run in Santa Clarita over the weekend.

Harrison Ford may be 83, but he still looks like he could drop most of us, as he rides on the beach bike path. Okay, maybe just me, but still. 

 

State

San Francisco Streetsblog examines new first & last mile bicycle connections for a North Berkeley transit station, calling it great bike infrastructure that needs more concrete.

The new shuttle service that replaced the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on weekdays began operations on Monday, with riders loading their bicycles into a cheap-ass open air industrial trailer before climbing into a van to get to the other side; operators expect to carry just a few people and bikes at a time. Proving once again that making bicycling exceptionally inconvenient somehow reduces ridership.

 

National

No surprise here, as People For Bikes says a study of 500 cities shows that more people buy bicycles in areas with safe and accessible places to ride. But they also want to know why people aren’t buying more bikes if they’re riding more.

Bloomberg City Lab says US companies are refurbishing secondhand ebikes in an effort to create a market for used ebikes and lower the barriers to ebike ownership.

A Las Vegas TV station says police are investigating e-scooter and ebike deaths, citing a rise in fatality rates with four and two, respectively. Even though they only started tracking them this year, and have no idea how many people were killed on them in any previous year.

Chicago bike riders are combating ICE raids by riding around the city buying out tamale stands so the workers can go home, then distributing the food to people in need.

A 25-year old New York man was killed when he was doored by a driver while riding a bikeshare bike — yet the driver hasn’t been charged due to an “ongoing investigation,” despite a state law requiring motor vehicle occupants to only open their doors when it’s safe to do so. We have the same law here in California, which should mean drivers are automatically at fault in virtually any dooring, but too often doesn’t.

In yet another example of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a 19-year old man pled guilty to killing a popular New Orleans bartender, by slamming into his bike without braking, then fleeing without stopping or slowing down — and still had a .7 BAC and coke in his system when he was finally tested 12 hours later; a TV station later found multiple alleged reckless driving crashes on his record, including allegedly crashing his car while doing 100 mph with a car full of teens.

 

International

What took so long? Look has finally introduced the first mass-produced clipless pedals with built-in lights that are visible up to 1 kilometer away, or slightly less than 2/3 of a mile.

To the shock of absolutely no one, a new London study finds near misses of bicyclists happen most often at rush hour and on streets without safe infrastructure. Because that’s when streets are busiest, and where they’re most dangerous.

Multi-modal bike commuters are afraid to lockup their bikes at a South London train station, in a neighborhood — excuse me, neighbourhood — termed a “hotbed of thieves.” Which makes sense, since the cops said they won’t investigate if people leave their bikes parked at a train station more than two hours.

Eleven British bicyclists have now been attacked by axe-wielding, mo-ped riding bike thieves.

Two-thirds of the bike lanes in Thessaloniki, Greece are considered high or very high risk due to a lack of protective barriers.

In a bizarre case, a Kenyan cop was fatally electrocuted while using the department’s electric car wash machine to clean his personal bicycle.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you ride over 3,500 miles a year, and still fall off your bike at red lights. Or when you end up in the hospital after going over your handlebars — but your lipstick is still perfect.

And repurposing one bicycling meme to reference another.

Thanks to Taco the Cat for the heads-up. 

— Kevin (@kevinsteinley.bsky.social) 2025-10-26T16:53:32.327Z

 

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Accused PCH hit-and-run killer faces just 5 years, LA rejects HLA appeals without hearing, and LA not carfree best or worst

October 24, 2025 / / One comment
Day 297 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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We’ve learned a lot more about the man killed by a hit-and-run driver on PCH in Huntington Beach Monday morning.

The Daily Pilot reports a ghost bike has already been installed at the crash site for 45-year old Eric John Williams, a pastor and youth counselor who founded a Garden Grove church with his wife in 2011.

I’ve updated my story to reflect all the new details, so you can read about it here.

But in brief, the alleged driver, Amber Calderon, was arraigned on Wednesday, and we learned more about the condition of the other victims.

So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll quote myself this one time.

Calderon was charged with one felony count of hit and run causing permanent injury or death, and two felony counts of hit and run with injury.

Thanks to California’s lax hit-and-run laws, she faces a maximum sentence of 5 years and four months, according to the DA’s office. She did not enter a plea, and the hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 13 in the West Justice Center in Westminster…

The DA’s office says the other two victims, who should not be overlooked in the anger and grief over Williams death, suffered serious injuries “including spinal fractures, broken ribs, a broken ankle, as well as cuts and bruises.”

Calderon’s charges could be changed based on her toxicology report, which is still pending.

But 64 months hardly seems like justice for killing one person and severely injuring two others, then just driving away.

Compare that to a Florida hit-and-run driver who faces up to 30 years behind bars after accepting a plea for fleeing the scene of a fatal crash that took the life of someone on a bicycle.

Maybe something in between would be nice.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

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Longtime LA bike advocate Joe Linton writes that Los Angeles is dealing with appeals over projects that should be governed by Measure HLA exactly the way we expected.

By rejecting them.

Now the city is responding to #MeasureHLA appeals – with rejection letters (three so far that I am aware of). Here's my rejection letter for bike lanes on Ohio Ave: labikas.wordpress.com/wp-content/u…

— Joe Linton (@lintonjoe.bsky.social) 2025-10-21T03:19:19.259Z

Linton writes that LADOT has begun sending out rejection letters, despite the lack of a hearing before the Board of Public Works, as required by the city’s HLA ordinance.

Evidently, our president isn’t the only one who doesn’t feel constrained by the rules.

Or maybe the city is just bored of Public Works.

Linton writes that the city’s rejection an appeal over a missing crosswalk at Western & Marathon is emblematic of their actions so far.

GM Rubio-Cornejo appears to have missed the point raised in the appeal: that the resurfacing – though mostly on Marathon Street – also overlapped with part of Western Avenue. See the overlap outlined in yellow in the above photo. The area where the crosswalk goes – along Western – was repaved.

The rejection of Western/Marathon is one of at least a half-dozen similar rejections. I haven’t had time to post them all here, but most are similar to Western/Marathon. An appellant requested the city add missing crosswalks on a PED street, and LADOT GM Rubio-Cornejo rejected the request, without it even going to a hearing of the Board of Public Works, which is where the city HLA ordinance states that appeals will be decided.

There are dozens of HLA appeals already filed – more than a dozen from me. Most of them are still waiting for any kind of city response. If you’re interested in filing a Measure HLA appeal, see my instructions.

The city’s attitude seems to be, “So sue us.”

Linton already has, filing suit over Metro’s rejection of bike lanes on the Vermont Ave corridor during their work to install bus lanes, even though they’re contained in the city’s Mobility Plan.

Metro’s argument is that as a city ordinance, HLA doesn’t apply to them as a county agency. Even though the work is being done on a city street, in junction with the city.

Something tells me Linton’s won’t be the last HLA lawsuit.

Especially at this rate.

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More clickbait city ratings, this time from a storage website, which ranks the best and worst car-optional cities in the US.

Surprisingly, Los Angeles doesn’t make either one, but Santa Clarita and Lancaster both check in at the Bad Place, at #7 and #20.

Not surprisingly, no Southern California city appears in the Good Place. In fact, San Francisco is the only California city to make the list of the most car-optional cities, at #12.

And if a site pimping storage facilities and equipment doesn’t know all there is to know about living without a car, who does?

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Cal State Northridge will host their third annual Bike Fest a week from Sunday.

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Nice to know there are no serious crimes that need the attention of Glendale cops, or anything.

Not to mention that sidewalk riding would be legal in all of California if not for Governor Newsom’s almighty veto pen.

Today I witnessed #GlendalePD 🛑 a POC for riding on the sidewalk. They must be that bored to enforce one of the dumbest local laws. #BikeLÁ #BikeSFV #BikeCA @bikinginla.bsky.social @bikelanesla.bsky.social @streetsblogla.bsky.social @calbike.bsky.social @biketalk.bsky.socialw3w.co/rabble.bleak…

— Eddie the Lazor (@eddiethelazor.bsky.social) 2025-10-22T15:24:42.301Z

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

An Arizona man known locally as Bicycle Barry after he gave up driving for health reasons is now battling an ankle infection that could cost him his leg, ten months after he was nearly killed by a road-raging driver. Never mind that driving is so normalized that merely giving up your car is enough to earn you a bicycle sobriquet.

No bias here. A London train station draws complaints from commuters when a newly unveiled bike hub is only accessible by carrying your bike up and down a flight of stairs.

No bias here, either. An Irish city counselor says nobody wants bike lanes and no one uses the ones they’ve already got, anyway; local bike riders beg to disagree.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Chicago man is blaming the cops for a $3,000 ambulance bill after he was struck by a young woman riding an ebike as he was getting out of his car, complaining that they let her go without a citation. Although the fact that they didn’t cite her just might suggest she wasn’t at fault.

Police are on the lookout for a 53-year old inmate who escaped from the Henderson County, Kentucky jail by simply riding off on a bicycle he had been repairing with two other inmates.

A Singaporean website examines the online debate after a video goes viral of a teenage bicyclist who failed to apologize after crashing into an elderly woman walking on a bike path.

An Australian mom is calling for stricter regulation of ebikes, a year after her toddler daughter was run down by someone riding one.

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Local 

Streets For All wants you to take LADOT’s survey about the Westwood Safety and Mobility Project, and urge them to install protected bike lanes all the way down to National Blvd, rather than stopping at the Expo station. Although it’s kind of pathetic that we’re still fighting this same battle after more than a dozen years. 

LA’s new bike-trailer street sweeper custom built for the Hollywood Blvd bike lanes was powered by Olympic hopeful cyclist Kayla Hankins. At least for the official unveiling, anyway. 

Lime is introducing pedal-free throttle-controlled LimeGlider bikes to the streets of LA. Because honestly, what could go wrong?

A carfree Angeleno examines the promise of a carfree LA Olympics, even if Mayor Karen Bass walked it back just days later. Speaking of Bass, word is she bet the mayor of Toronto she’d ride a bike wearing a Blue Jays jersey if the Dodgers lose the World Series. Which I’m pretty sure is the first time she’s mentioned riding one since she was elected. 

Culver City officially cut the ribbon to open the Robertson Boulevard Complete Street project, complete with the bike lanes that make it that way.

Malibu marked two full years since the tragic deaths of four Pepperdine sorority sisters on PCH, victims of SoCal’s killer highway, as well as a speeding driver; a crowdfunding campaign is raising money to install a permanent memorial.

 

State

Everyone seems impressed with the first bike from Irvine-based Rivian’s new ebike spinoff, with Robb Report praising its whopping 100-mile range, while a writer for Outside calls it the most impressive bike he’s ridden all year, Velo says it’s absolutely wild — in a good way, and Singletracks writes it’s a full-suspension ebike “unlike any other you’ve seen.”

While everyone else was focused on Rivian’s new ebike, Gear Patrol asks if their new spinoff just invented the perfect bike helmet.

Seriously, it takes a major schmuck to take off after hitting a 12-year old kid riding a bicycle in El Cajon.

Mountain Bike Action looks back on the early days of downhill BMX racing in Corona, all the way back in 1975.

Volunteers with the Kern River Bike Patrol ride the popular bike path to aid bicyclists in need.

Despite a recent report showing Stockton’s bike fatality rate was six-times the national average as of 2023, recent safety improvements have brought that down to zero this year. More proof that bike deaths can be eliminated, if cities are willing to spend the money and do the work. Looking at you, Los Angeles.

 

National

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Peter Flax, who writes for Bicycling about nine “badass” women who’ve raised millions for cancer research, calling them “the fiercest sisterhood in cycling.” Unfortunately, though, the story is hidden behind their paywall for members only. 

No surprise here, as the US bicycle industry is waking up to Trump’s “crushing” 50% tariffs on aluminum, with one bike shop owner comparing it to “screaming into the void.”

If you have a Favoto bike helmet, the Consumer Products Safety Commission says stop wearing it, cut the straps and toss it in the trash, because the helmets “violate the positional stability, certification and labeling requirements of the mandatory safety standard for bicycle helmets.”

Portland, Oregon bike riders demanded the city council either “approve or improve” a settlement negotiated with the city to resolve a lawsuit that alleged that the Portland Bureau of Transportation has violated a state law requiring the construction of bicycling facilities on major projects.

A Lubbock, Texas bike rider was lucky to escape without injuries, along with her dog, when she was struck by a sheriff’s deputy in an unmarked car; naturally, the person on the bike got the blame, and a citation. Because cops are never at fault, right?

Tulsa, Oklahoma firefighters honored a local teenager for helping to save the life of a friend after a mountain biking crash.

The mayor of Kansas City is proposing a ban on right turns on red in a school zone during school hours — a week too late for a nine-year old girl killed by a driver while riding her bike to school.

The same goes for an Illinois mayor’s call for safe streets and protected crossings, but only after a 13-year old boy was killed by a semi driver while riding his bicycle.

Good idea. A Cambridge, Massachusetts bike safety group works year-round to help bike-friendly politicians win local elections.

Florida now has its first glowing bike path, with the 4.4-mile, 12-foot wide bike path on Okaloosa Island giving off a blue glow at night, thanks to paving with bioluminescent rock.

 

International

An adventure site takes a deep dive into how adventure bicycling could benefit your mental health.

Sixty-six-year old Jean Louis, the only bicyclist named Sportsman of the Year for the Caribbean isle of Saint Lucia, was killed by a driver while riding in Ontario, Canada.

They get it. Momentum says Ontario, Canada’s plan to ban bike lanes is proof that “stupid is as stupid does.”

Yet another study, this time from an English university, shows that physical barriers separating bicyclists from drivers and pedestrians is key to safer streets.

A 20-something man in Oxford, England was stabbed in an unprovoked attack while riding on a bike path, after two men approached him and started an altercation, leaving on e-motorbikes afterwards.

Britain’s Liberal Democrats political party is urging the country’s National Crime Agency to set up a bait bike unit to catch bike thieves. No American political party has even mentioned bike theft since cars took over the roads. 

The 25-year old Ukrainian Bike Project is still building bicycles for “residents, service workers, educators, ministry leaders and the military,” despite the three-year old Russian invasion.

In a surprising move, a Russian court released French ultracyclist Sofiane Sehili, who was busted for an illegal border crossing while trying to set a new record for the fastest endurance ride from Lisbon to Vladivostok; he was released after being fined 50,000 rubles — the equivalent of $612.

 

Competitive Cycling

A New Zealand researcher says pro-cycling crashes may be dangerous, but slower bicycles aren’t the solution.

 

Finally…

Your next saddle could support each butt cheek separately, and rock with every peddle stroke. Who needs a naked bike ride when you’ve got a two-wheeled second line?

And if you’re riding your bike with outstanding warrants, try not to get hit by a driver while crossing the street.

Or better yet, just don’t cross against the light.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Update: One man killed, two others severely injured by alleged drugged, hit-and-run driver on PCH in Huntington Beach

October 20, 2025 / / 7 comments

This is not how any of us wanted to start the week.

Because once again, a motor vehicle has become a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands, killing one man and severely injuring two others.

And once again, on PCH in Huntington Beach.

According to multiple sources, the victims were run down, apparently from behind, while riding in the bike lane on southbound PCH just north of Newland Street around 6:45 this morning.

That would put it in the vicinity of Lifeguard Station 13.

Police arrived to find the victims strewn in the traffic lane, their shattered bicycles on the side of the road.

One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene; he has not been publicly identified at this time.

However, KTLA-5 reported on air that the victims were members of a Long Beach bike club.

The driver fled the scene, but was arrested after stopping on the side of the road about half-a-mile away. Given the damage to the victims and their bikes, it’s likely her 2006 Mercedes E-Class wasn’t in drivable condition.

Police identified her as 43-year old Long Beach resident Amber Calderon, who was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, gross vehicular manslaughter, felony DUI and possession of narcotics.

If she has a previous DUI on her record, those charges would likely be upgraded to murder.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash. However, under California law, DUI can be considered a contributing factor, but not the proximate cause of any collision.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team of the Huntington Beach Police Department at 714/536-5670.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Drivers have fled the scene in 16 of those SoCal crashes, or one out of every three fatal crashes involving someone on a bicycle since the first of the year.

Update: The victim who died at the scene has been identified as 45-year old Garden Grove resident Eric John Williams.

There’s still no word on the identities or condition of the other victims.

Update 2: We have more information about the victims, thanks to a crowdfunding page for Eric Williams’ family, and a press release from the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

I’ll just let his family tell the story.

Our family is heartbroken. On October 20th, our brother-in-law Eric Williams — a devoted husband, father of four, and beloved pastor — was tragically killed while cycling in Huntington Beach. We’re doing everything we can to surround our sister Robyn and the kids with love and stability, and so many have asked how they can help. This fund has been created to support them through the days ahead.

Eric was a Godly man with a heart for Jesus and for people. He spent his life serving others — first as a youth and teaching pastor at Seaside Community Church, and later as the founder of Community Church of West Garden Grove. He was kind, funny, and steady in his faith, always lifting others up.

He and Robyn had just celebrated 20 years of marriage. Their children — Julia (high school freshman), Jeanette (6th grade), Alice (4th grade), and little James (3 years old) — were his greatest joy.

As of this writing, the crowdfunding campaign has raised an amazing $266,964 in less than three days.

Meanwhile, the driver, Amber Kristine Calderon, was arraigned in Santa Ana on Wednesday.

Calderon was charged with one felony count of hit and run causing permanent injury or death, and two felony counts of hit and run with injury.

Thanks to California’s lax hit-and-run laws, she faces a maximum sentence of 5 years and four months, according to the DA’s office. She did not enter a plea, and the hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 13 in the West Justice Center in Westminster.

Yes, that’s all.

Although the charges and possible jail time could change, depending on the results of her toxicology report.

The DA’s office says the other two victims, who should not be overlooked in the anger and grief over Williams death, suffered serious injuries “including spinal fractures, broken ribs, a broken ankle, as well as cuts and bruises.”

The press release also provides more information on how Calderon was taken into custody.

Despite having significant damage to her hood, windshield, front bumper and losing her passenger side mirror at the site of the collision, Calderon is accused of driving on a flat tire for another 2/3 of a mile to a beach parking lot at Magnolia Street and driving past the parking kiosk without paying.

A parking attendant flagged her down before a witness to the crash blocked Calderon in with his vehicle and told the parking attendant not to let her leave because she had just hit three bicyclists. The parking attendant radioed for the California State Parks Police to respond.

Calderon was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run resulting in death or injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony driving under the influence causing death or injury, and possession of a hard drug with a prior conviction. Toxicology results are still pending.

My News LA reports that Calderon has previous convictions for misdemeanor petty theft, felony sale or transport of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor burglary.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Eric John Williams and the other victims and their loved ones. And best wishes for a full and fast recovery for the survivors. 

Thanks to Michael, Zachary, James Johnson, Jeffrey, Mike and William for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Update: 20-year old surfer Kolby Aipa dies three days after Huntington Beach ebike crash; grandson of legendary “surf royalty”

August 6, 2025 / / 6 comments

As if the news hasn’t been bad enough lately, now we’re learning that the grandson of a surf legend has died following an ebike crash.

According to the Daily Pilot, the victim, identified as 20-year old Huntington Beach resident Kolby Aipa, died three days after he was struck by a car that had been towing him on PCH.

The crash occurred around 10:08 p.m. Saturday night, near Seapoint Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach.

Aipa was taken to UCI Medical Center suffering from critical injuries, where he was placed on life support. His family’s business posted online that he died Tuesday afternoon.

Surfer writes that Aipa was heir to “surf royalty,” the grandson of legendary surfer, board shaper and surfing coach Ben Aipa, a member of both the Surfing Walk of Fame and Surfers’ Hall of Fame. He was the inventor of the groundbreaking Sting surfboard design.

According to the magazine,

Following in his strong surfing lineage, Kolby was an up-and-coming surfer himself. He was sponsored by the clothing brand AVVA, Dakine, Cobian footwear, and others. He was a member of the Huntington Beach Board Riders club…

A memorial paddle-out for Kolby is being planned; stay tuned for more information.

There’s no word on why Aipa was being towed by a car, which was driven by people he knew. However, it’s possible that his ebike battery had died, and he was being towed rather than pedaling a heavy bike.

Or it could have just been an ill-advised stunt.

According to a crowdfunding campaign in his honor,

Kolby always had a way with touching the lives of whoever he met. His acts of kindness and caring was his gift of Aloha to friends and strangers alike. To everyone that reads this…pass his Aloha on. So, how Kolby treated you, treat others in that same way…

In this you are continuing his legacy of Aloha.

As of this writing, the campaign has raised nearly $69,000 of the $75,000 goal.

This is at least the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the just the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Update: According to My News LA, Aipa was holding onto a Toyota Tacoma pickup being driven south on PCH — a practice known as skitching — when the driver somehow lost control of the truck, leading to their collision.

There should be no need to point out how dangerous that can be. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kolby Aipa and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

New report spells out LA’s Vision Zero fail, and bike riders injured by drivers in South LA and Huntington Beach hit-and-runs

April 16, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 106 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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No surprise here.

In a report that really shouldn’t surprise anyone, a new city audit has shown that LA’s Vision Zero program has failed miserably in ending traffic deaths by this year.

A detailed report conducted by consulting company KPMG, along with a separate LADOT analysis from Fehr & Peers, concludes that “the level of enthusiasm at City Hall” for Vision Zero has decreased since the program was launched, according to public radio station and website LAist.

In fact, half of the program’s 56 “actions and strategies” that were supposed to have been completed five years were still unfinished at the start of last year.

And probably still are.

According to LAist,

“Some of the reasons cited include the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered and scaling issues,” the audit said.

Never mind the city council’s failure to adequately fund the program, as well as efforts by councilmembers to block needed projects in their own districts.

Without political support and lack of communication from council members about the program, Vision Zero becomes less effective, the audit said…

The audit also pointed out that the city overly focused on infrastructure and engineering, to the detriment of public education and regular monitoring of the program’s progress.

To put it mildly.

In fact, traffic fatalities jumped 26% in 2024 compared to when then-Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the program sitting outdoors behind his bigass desk.

According to UC Berkeley transportation safety researcher Matthew Raifman, traffic fatalities in Los Angeles have gone up faster than the national average, with more bike and pedestrian deaths than the other four most populated US cities.

And yes, that includes New York, which has over twice the population.

All of which is exactly what we warned about since the inception of Vision Zero in Los Angeles, when the city conducted an extensive round of public meetings to gather input — and proceeded to ignore the findings, coming up with a plan that left nearly all of it out.

Then addressed the program with the previously mentioned lack of funding and a failure of political will, compounded by a lack of buy-in from, and coordination between, the city’s many siloed departments and agencies.

The report calls for a recommitment to Vision Zero in Los Angeles, while offering a long, long list of recommendations to halt injuries and deaths from traffic violence.

But recommitment isn’t necessary. What is necessary is actually committing to it for the first time, because city leaders never did.

The LADOT report from Fehr & Peers includes an updated listing of the city’s High Injury Network, which is now called Priority Intersections and Corridors, for some unknown reason.

At least we know this report was sent directly to Mayor Karen Bass.

Although whether she’ll actually read it and act on it — or whether it will get buried under countless other priorities, from rebuilding after the Palisades Fire to the city’s massive budget shortfall — remains to be determined.

I wouldn’t hold your breath.

But as they say, hope springs eternal.

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The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who crashed into a 15-year old boy as he rode his bike to school on a South LA sidewalk last week, in a collision caught on video.

Sebastian Carrillo was riding along Nadeau Street near Croesus Ave when the driver made a right turn directly into him, either turning short into a driveway or intentionally hitting him, as his father says it looks like attempted murder to him.

Carrillo was lucky to escape with a concussion, as well as cuts, bumps and bruises that required stitches. And no, he doesn’t appear to have been wearing a helmet, even though that’s required for anyone under 18.

The suspect vehicle is described as a newer black BMW, possibly a 2025, with front end damage from the crash.

The City of Los Angeles offers a standing $5,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting injuries.

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Huntington Beach police are looking for their own felony hit-and-run driver, after a man in a minivan left someone riding a bicycle lying in the roadway with “significant” injuries last month.

The victim was reportedly struck by a Hispanic man between 20 and 30 years old, while riding near Arnett Drive and Irby Lane around 11 pm on Saturday, March 29th.

The suspect vehicle is described as a possible Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey, metallic gray, silver or blue, with likely damage to the bumper, hood and windshield.

The license plate may have the characters 7, T, A and E, though not necessarily in that order.

Anyone was information was urged to call Huntington Beach Traffic Investigator V. Rattanchandani at 714/536-5231, or anonymously to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

But unlike Los Angeles, Huntington Beach doesn’t offer a standing reward for hit-and-run drivers.

………

Today marks the 3rd Anniversary of the hit and run that killed Andrew Jelmert in Griffith Park as he trained for the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride.

Yet three years later, Los Angeles has still not started a series of fully funded and shovel-ready safety improvements in the park, including a massive traffic calming project on Crystal Springs Drive where Jelmert was killed by a speeding driver, even though that construction was supposed to start last summer.

Streets Are For Everyone will be hosting a remembrance event, advocacy ride and protest this Saturday to call attention to the dangers on the road, as well as the needless red tape holding up the desperately needed work.

As we’ve said before, cars don’t belong in parks. And we certainly don’t need a roadway used by drivers traveling at highway speeds to bypass traffic on the nearby freeway.

………

Good for him.

A New Jersey judge tossed out a defense argument that the blood alcohol content of the hockey-playing Gaudreau brothers contributed to their own deaths.

The judge agreed the issue was moot under New Jersey criminal law, and upheld all of the charges against “allegedly drunken and enraged driver” Sean Higgins, including two counts each of manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

Witnesses to the crash told police that the brothers were riding their bikes single file on the side of the road when Higgins allegedly passed two other vehicles on the right, with two wheels on the grass verge, and slammed into their bikes from behind, killing them both.

Higgins faces a up to 70 years behind bars if he’s convicted on all counts; his lawyers have already rejected a plea of 35 years.

………

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.   

Authorities in Windsor, Ontario threw the book at a road-raging bike rider, filing a ten-count indictment against the 41-year old man for allegedly following a car full of people after an argument, damaging three vehicles belonging to them, then threatening them with a weapon when they confronted him.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton spots a new bike lane on Bonnie Brae Street in Westlake, as well as partially-protected bike lanes being installed on Mission Road in Boyle Heights.

 

State

Encinitas bicyclists may be breathing a sigh of relief, after the city’s traffic commissioner proposed replacing the concrete barriers protecting a bike lane on the Coast Highway with a wider, painted bike lane, after 19 recorded bicycle crashes from running into the barriers, including one death.

Police in San Diego are asking for the public’s help in identifying the drivers of two cars who struck a man riding an ebike, and left him in the street to die; they’re looking for a white car, possibly a 2015 to 2023 Dodge Charger with black-and-yellow license plates, and another car that could have been a Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan with a black or tinted glass-topped roof.

Forty Ontario kids got new bikes and helmets courtesy of Los Angeles Kings affiliate hockey team The Ontario Reign, as well as other local businesses and organizations.

Riverside County has jumped on the anti-ebike bandwagon, giving preliminary approval to an ordinance restricting where they can be ridden.

Velo looks at all the new and unreleased gravel bikes from last week’s Sea Otter Classic.

San Raphael is beginning the process of developing a new bike and pedestrian plan to cover the next five to ten years. Let’s just hope they don’t have to go to the voters to force the city to implement it, like a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

 

National

Police in Oregon arrested a third suspect in the death of a Hood River man who was run down trying to stop the suspects from stealing his bicycle.

Life is cheap in Idaho, where a gravel truck driver was sentenced to just 150 days behind bars after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter, for killing a 14-year old boy as he was standing next to his bicycle on the shoulder of the roadway.

A Wisconsin man is riding his bike from Los Angeles to Denver to promote organ donations, as well as meet the two-and-a-half year old girl who received part of his own liver.

The driver who killed a Philadelphia pediatrician as she rode her bike to work at a children’s hospital pled guilty to vehicular homicide, DUI and involuntary manslaughter, among other charges; he swerved into the bike lane she was riding in while driving at twice the legal alcohol limit.

A Georgia state legislator pled guilty to reduced charges after prosecutors dropped multiple DUI charges for hitting a person riding in a bike lane;  he was originally charged with driving under the influence of both alcohol and multiple drugs.

 

International

Momentum explains what a road diet is, and why cities should embrace it — starting with improving safety for all road users.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a careless driver walked without a day behind bars for breaking a woman’s leg in two places as she rode her bike, after the judge sentenced him to community service and took away his license for a whole year.

Students at a Serbian university formed a bicycle inside a heart using their own bodies to show support for Serbian students who rode their bikes to Strasbourg, France to plead for support from European Union leaders for greater freedom in their country,

 

Competitive Cycling

Double Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel is returning to racing this Friday at Belgium’s Brabantse Pijl, after he suffered serious injuries when he was doored by a postal worker while on a December training ride.

Cyclist considers which men’s WorldTour teams are in danger of relegation when the current UCI points cycle comes to a close in a few months.

The spectator who hit Mathieu van der Poel with a water bottle during last week’s Paris-Roubaix said he had too much to drink, he’s really sorry and ashamed, and will take full legal responsibility.

 

Finally…

There may be hope for people who hate presta valves. If at first you do succeed in stealing an ebike from a department store, don’t try, try again.

And if your ex has a new boyfriend, don’t ride your bike over to shoot him. Or maybe don’t shoot him at all, regardless of how you get there.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

51-year old Costa Mesa woman killed by accused DUI hit-and-run driver; driver held on 2nd degree murder charge

September 30, 2024 / / 2 comments

Call it murder this time.

Multiple sources are reporting that a 51-year old woman was killed when her bicycle was rear-ended by an accused drunk driver in a Huntington Beach hit-and-run early Monday morning.

The victim, identified as 51-year old Costa Mesa resident Kristin Bellovich, was riding in the far-right lane of southbound Beach Beach Blvd at Glencoe Drive, when she was run down by the driver of a Ford SUV just after midnight.

She died after being taken to a local hospital.

The driver fled the scene, but police arrested 68-year old Elias Madriz Gutierrez shortly later. He was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, along with second-degree murder.

According to My News LA, Gutierrez was convicted of DUI twice before, in January 2009 and April 2018. Which means he would have been required to sign a Watson advisement, stating he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence any time in the future.

As a result, he could be looking at 15-to-life for the murder charge alone, as opposed to up to six years for vehicular manslaughter.

This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Fifteen of those SoCal deaths have now been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kristin Bellovich and her loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Beverly Hills backslides on bike safety, Rancho Palos Verdes considers bike ban, and a prop cash bike theft scammer

May 31, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 214 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’ve inched up to 1,151 signatures, so don’t stop now! I’ll forward the petition to the mayor’s office next week, after getting tied up with health issues this week. So urge everyone you know to sign it now! 

………

Beverly Hills is backsliding on their new found commitment to bike safety and Complete Streets.

The gilded city will rip out its only protected bike lane, on South Roxbury Drive next to Roxbury Park, because some drivers found the new parking configuration confusing and thought it reduced visibility when backing out of parking spaces.

Even though the city doesn’t seem to have done any actual studies to see whether it improved safety during the three years it was in place with no documented safety issues.

The planter-protected bike lane will be replaced with sharrows — even though protected bike lanes have been proven to improve safety for all road users, while sharrows have been shown to make things worse.

And never mind that the arrow in the sharrows symbol is just there to help drivers improve their aim.

………

Speaking of gilded cities, Jim Lyle forwards news that Rancho Palos Verdes is considering banning bicycles and motorcycles from Palos Verdes Drive South, due to the same shifting ground that forced the closure of the famed Wayfarer’s Chapel.

However, that could put the city in conflict with state law unless cars are also banned from the street, since since state law requires bicycles to be permitted anywhere motor vehicles are allowed, with the exception of limited access highways in urban areas.

On the other hand, the suggestion to voluntarily avoid the area is probably a good idea until the ground stops literally shifting beneath your wheels.

Dear Bike Community,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes would like to inform the Bike Community that the City will be considering prohibiting bicycles and motorcycles on Palos Verdes Drive South (PVDS) and an agenda item is planned to go before the RPV City Council on June 18, 2024.

  • City staff and consultants are seeing rapid and substantial rates of movement (6 to 9 inches per week, depending on location) in and around the vicinity of the landslide area along Palos Verdes Drive South.
  • Despite the warning signs in place, we are seeing injuries.
  • Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking the City Council to consider prohibiting bicycles and motorcycles on PVDS.
  • We are requesting the Bike Community to voluntarily consider alternate routes.

Please let us know if you have comments and questions regarding the above bicycle and motorcycle prohibition proposal.

Please contact:

Ramzi Awwad

Director of Public Works

City of Rancho Palos Verdes

rawwad@rpvca.gov”

………

Police are looking for a con man who stole a Huntington Beach man’s electric bike, as well as victimizing several other people with similar scams.

The man poses as a prospective buyer for expensive ebikes advertised on on Facebook Marketplace and other online platforms, and shows up with cash in hand for a test ride.

But only after leaving with the bike do the victims discover the envelope full of money he left behind as a deposit is just counterfeit prop money for intended for film shoots, and marked “For motion picture purposes only” in small fine print.

In this case, the Huntington Beach victim was scammed out of $4,200.

There’s no word on how many other people have been conned, or the value to the bikes he’s stolen. However, after reporting the crime, the victim heard from several other people claiming they had also been victimized in similar scams, including in Redondo Beach and Escondido.

So watch out if you’re selling an ebike — or any other high-end bike — through an online marketplace.

………

This protected bike lane on 7th Street in DTLA was agreed to as part of the approval process for the Wilshire Grand Center.

And it only took 14 very long years after the project got the green light.

………

This is who we share the road with.

………

Anyone?

………

GCN suggests five reasons people don’t bike to work and 13 suggestions to overcome them.

………

It’s now 162 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 35 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. El Paso police blame the victim, saying a 76-year old man died ten days after striking a car on his bike when the 22-year old driver pulled out in front of him while exiting a parking lot; needless to say, there’s no mention of a charges or even a ticket for carelessly killing an elderly man.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A British borough is spending the equivalent of nearly $51,000 to install closed circuit TV cams to deter anti-social behavior by riders on a new bike path.

………

Local 

Streetsblog reports protected bike lanes — or what passes for them in Los Angeles — are finally coming to Hollywood Blvd this summer. However, they won’t offer any protection for tourists strolling along the crowded boulevard, other than a few flimsy plastic bollards and whatever cars may be parked alongside it.

The Los Angeles Times highlights six “must-see stops” along the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail. Never mind that the bike path would extend to Malibu by now, instead of stopping at Will Rogers State Beach, except for a misguided campaign to halt the extension over the optics of spending millions to build it. 

Culver City is moving forward with plans for a three-mile concrete bike lane on Overland Ave, along with new safety and streetscape improvements, extending from Venice Blvd through Fox Hills.

Malibu locals can get a free T-shirt calling for speed cams on deadly PCH, complete with an acronym calling for drivers to slow the fuck down, at the Tracy Park Gallery this evening.

 

State

As we noted yesterday, the California legislature has rejected Governor Newsom’s call to gut the state’s Active Transportation Program; Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry explains just how awful the cuts would be. Not to mention the draconian cuts also shows the lack of actual climate bona fides for our ostensibly “climate champion” governor.

Goleta opened a new community garden, playground and extended multi-purpose path through a local park.

A woman in San Mateo County was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges for the drunken crash that killed a 60-year old bicyclist in 2022; 33-year old Samantha Mei Hartwell qualified for the murder count thanks to her previous DUI convictions.

 

National

Men’s Journal recommends three “must-have” mountain bike and/or accessories for when you decide to chuck it all and live out of your van.

A blog post examines the science of why we give up, as it relates to a failed century ride.

An op-ed in a Boulder, Colorado paper suggests that instead of conducting a road diet to improve safety, bike riders should just ride on quieter neighborhood streets. Never mind that the purpose of a road diet is to tame a dangerous roadway, and the bike lanes are usually a tool to do that. And no one would suggest that drivers should be forced to take a slower, circuitous route filled with stop signs just to get where they’re going.

A New York man was killed riding his bike home from his job as a Manhattan dishwasher, after the city delayed installation of a protected bike lane last fall that might have saved him.

 

International

Now you, too, can ride up Glasgow, Scotland’s 650-foot long Montrose Street hill, with it’s “infamous” 14% gradient featured in last year’s World Championships.

Derby, England’s iconic bespoke bike brand Mercian Cycles is entering voluntary liquidation and shutting down operations after 78 years; Leigh Timmis rode one of their bikes on his seven-year, 44,000-mile ride around the world.

After spending the last decade focused on building “bicycle superhighways” for commuters, London’s transportation department is launching a series of leisurely bike routes of up to ten miles for weekend riding.

National Geographic recommends the 15-day, 535-mile bicycle-and-train Slovenia Green Gourmet Route, providing a fresh two-wheeled perspective on the country’s food, history and culture.

A pair of German sisters are now three years and over 6,200 miles into a bike tour of Africa, after they initially set out for Portugal and just kept going.

Over 5,000 elementary school kids in Kitakyushu, Japan have received an official-looking bicycle license after taking a course in bike safety and passing a simple test, although the license doesn’t seem to be required or provide any added benefits. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgium’s “Spy in the Peloton” offers an insider’s look at motor doping inspections at the recently completed Giro, which was the fastest in the race’s storied 115-year history.

The Tour de Suisse will honor fallen pro cyclist Gino Mäder at this year’s race, a year after he was killed in a high-speed crash during last year’s tour.

Former pro Peter Sagan failed to qualify for Slovakia’s mountain bike team for the upcoming Paris Olympics, after his training was derailed by a heart condition earlier this year, ending his illustrious career with a whimper instead of a bang.

 

Finally…

Your next gravel bike could be an e-Ducati. Nothing like putting the blame on you to avoid getting hit by a careless driver.

And look, ma, no feet!

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

52-year old Huntington Beach man killed in Fountain Valley hit-and-run; nearly half of all 2024 SoCal bike deaths hit-and-runs

May 16, 2024 / / One comment

There seems to be no end to the rash of cowardly hit-and-run drivers on Southern California streets this year.

Including in Fountain Valley Sunday morning, where a 52-year old Huntington Beach man was killed while riding his bike.

According to the Daily Pilot, Antonio Huerta was riding in the bike lane on eastbound Slater Ave, just west of Santa Maria Street, just after 7:05 am when an unknown driver entered the bike lane and ran him down.

The driver fled east on Slater without stopping.

First responders found Huerta on the sidewalk suffering from traumatic injuries. He died the next day after he was taken to a local hospital.

There’s no description at this time of the suspect vehicle or the heartless coward behind the wheel.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Fountain Valley Police Department’s traffic bureau at 714/593-4481.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and already the fifth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

Nine of those victims — nearly half — were killed by hit-and-run drivers.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Antonio Huerta and all his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

18-year old boy killed by driver while riding in Huntington Beach bike lane

March 8, 2024 / / Comments Off on 18-year old boy killed by driver while riding in Huntington Beach bike lane

A thin stripe of white paint apparently wasn’t enough to protect an Orange County teenager Thursday morning.

According to the Daily Pilot, 18-year old Huntington Beach resident David Mario Garcia Olmos was riding his bike in the westbound bike lane on Talbert Ave, just west of Bell Circle, around 6:15 am when he was struck by a driver traveling in the same direction

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died later Thursday morning.

The driver, identified only as a 25-year old Fullerton man, remained at the scene. Investigators say he did not appear to be under the influence.

There’s no word at this time whether Olmos was struck from behind, or right hooked as the driver turned into the nearby parking lot. Either way, the limited protection offered by the painted bike lane failed to keep him safe.

Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach Police Traffic Investigator C. Houlston at 714/536-5670.

This is at least the seventh bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in Orange County.

It’s also the second fatal bike crash in Orange County in less than a week.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for David Mario Garcia Olmos and all his loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

2nd Vegas teen busted in Probst vehicular murder, Gutierrez convicted of murder, and Caltrans fires sustainability advocate

September 20, 2023 / / 4 comments

We’re learning more about the vehicular rampage in Las Vegas that led to the intentional hit-and-run death of 64-year old retired Bell, California police chief Andreas Probst.

Including that Probst wasn’t the first bike rider attacked by the two teens.

ABC News reports that the attacks began when the driver deliberately slammed into a 72-year old man riding a bicycle; no word on whether that victim was injured.

They then sideswiped a car, and moments later attacked Probst.

The second person in the car, who videoed the attack, was arrested Tuesday, although no charges appear to have been filed against him at this point.

Neither juvenile has been publicly identified, but that’s likely to change if they are charged as adults.

The Black Wall Street Times reports Probst’s killers may have been inspired by a TikTok hit-and-run challenge, in which “teens show others how to steal certain vehicles without a key and go on joyrides.”

If that’s the case, it could cast a frightening shadow over the recent hit-and-run rampage in Huntington Beach, where a teenaged driver faces charges for intentionally slamming into three people riding bikes, resulting in the death of 70-year old Huntington Beach resident Steven Gonzales.

Then there’s this.

Despite being the first reporter on the scene following Probst’s killing, and encouraging a school resource officer to turn the video of the attack over to the police, Las Vegas Review-Journal crime reporter Sabrina Schnur became the subject of violent and anti-semitic comments from people who falsely accused the paper of downplaying Probst’s death.

Not surprisingly, X/Twitter owner Elon Musk drove much of the attacks, after accusing the media of a lack of sufficient outrage to meet his demands.

On Sunday morning, Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, amplified one of the screenshots, posting “An innocent man was murdered in cold blood while riding his bicycle. The killers joked about it on social media Yet, where is the media outrage? Now you begin to understand the lie.” That post had 68.2 million views as of Monday evening…

The Review-Journal’s social media accounts and other staff also received vicious attacks. When Schnur shared that she’d received 700 notifications on X and an onslaught of angry emails and voicemails, editors jumped in to support her and make sure she was safe.

Executive editor Glenn Cook said that during his 30-plus years in journalism, he’d never seen vitriol of this volume or intensity. “It’s like a fire hose of hatred to the face,” he wrote in a column about the social media outrage.

The attacks were also driven by other rightwing sources, including far-right commentator Laura Loomer and Fox News host Greg Gutfield.

………

As long as we’re discussing the murder of innocent people with motor vehicles, 33-year old Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez was convicted of murder Tuesday for intentionally running down a man walking his bicycle in a 2021 Riverside hit-and-run.

Forty-six-year old Benedicto Solanga was walking with a friend when Gutierrez drove by in his pickup, flipped the men off for no apparent reason, then made a U-turn to come back and slam into Solanga from behind. He died in a hospital three days later.

The Riverside jury also convicted Gutierrez a sentence-enhancing allegation of using his truck as a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

There’s no word on whether Gutierrez knew Solanga, or if this was a case of road rage. Or if there was some other reason for his murderous attack.

Gutierrez is currently being held without bail at Riverside’s Robert Presley Jail, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for December 15th.

………

Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry calls it a troubling sign that Caltrans’ staunchest advocate for safety, sustainability and sanity has apparently been fired, in what Politico calls a “shakeup.”

Deputy Director of Planning and Modal Programs Jeanie Ward-Waller, the former Advocacy Director for the California Bicycle Coalition, is reportedly being “reassigned” in the department.

Curry speculates that the move may have come because Ward-Waller argued too strongly for incorporating the state’s climate plan in highway projects, as “some Caltrans planners are still pushing strategies to get around changing state regulations.”

If so, that is troubling. But sadly, not surprising.

………

That white smoke coming from LA City Hall yesterday means we now have a new LADOT General Manager, as uninspiring as the choice may be.

………

We have a new “protected” bike lane in the San Fernando Valley.

Even if bollards won’t keep out abandoned mattresses, or food truck customers.

https://twitter.com/gatodejazz/status/1704269177807347875

………

In my efforts to catch up from my unexcused diabetic crash and burn a few weeks ago, I have been remiss in not mentioning next month’s LA Bike Fest, hosted by BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

………

Huntington Beach is the latest city to consider overwriting state traffic laws to regulate bicycles, including a ban on riding against traffic on the sidewalk.

Even though sidewalks aren’t directional, and a newly passed state law will legalized sidewalk riding throughout the state, if it’s signed by Governor Newsom.

The regulations would also ban going around stopped of slowed traffic, and includes a vague ban on riding in an unsafe manner, and a provision allowing impounding bikes belonging to juvenile scofflaw riders.

Any and all of which could be tossed out by the courts, since the state, not cities, is responsible for regulation all forms of traffic under California law, on two wheels as well as four.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

The founder of Streets For All is reminded that plastic bollards are no protection against LA drivers.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in New York has released video of the hit-and-run ebike rider who killed a 69-year old woman as she crossed a street on the Lower East Side earlier this month.

………

Local 

Los Angeles is asking the federal government for up to $10.3 million in grant funding for a series of new active transportation and public open space projects, including proposals to reconnect bisected MacArthur Park by closing Wilshire Blvd, and studying the possibility of capping the 101 Freeway in Hollywood to build a new park over it; the city is also teaming with Metro to request another $86 million for new bus lanes, bike lanes, and other active transportation and transit infrastructure projects.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When seniors using walkers have to use it to get around a Venice homeless camp.

The Cities of Los Angeles and San Fernando are hosting a non-CicLAvia open streets festival from 10 am to 2 pm this Saturday “promoting an active lifestyle and community engagement, all while celebrating the joy of biking, walking, and rolling.”

 

State

San Diego’s annual Bike the Coast ride will return on November 4th, allowing “participants of all levels to enjoy a memorable course that takes them along the scenic views and quaint communities along Highway 101.”

Sad news from Bakersfield, where a 39-year old woman was killed by a driver when she allegedly rode her bike in front of the oncoming car. Although what actually happened hinges on whether there were any independent witnesses, or if investigators are relying solely on the driver’s statement, since the victim can’t give her side of the story.

Palo Alto parents are demanding steps to improve traffic safety after two children were struck by drivers in separate incidents, including a middle school student who was critically injured while riding his bike.

San Francisco traffic safety advocates are calling on the city to protect bike riders and pedestrians by banning right turns on red lights.

Stockton suspended its e-bikeshare program after it was plagued by vandalism and theft.

 

National

Santa Monica-based Bird has taken a dominant position in the US micromobility market with its acquisition of Spin from European provider Tier.

A writer for Cycling Weekly explains why he prefers to ride alone 95% of the time. I do, too, though in my case it’s a case of cycling weakly.

Bike-friendly Portland suffered the year’s first bicycling fatality when a man was struck by a driver Tuesday morning; that compares to four bicycling deaths in the city last year.

A Seattle driver agreed to plead guilty to vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run in exchange for a recommendation of just under three and a half years for fleeing the scene after killing a man riding a bike. Let’s hope that also includes a length driving ban once he’s released.

Life is not so cheap in New Mexico, for a change, as the estate of a fallen bike rider agreed to a $1 million settlement with his killer, a state district judge who originally walked with just $82 in court costs after invoking her right to remain silent.

A Denver-based nonprofit gave the entire second grade class at a Colorado Springs CO elementary new BMX bikes and helmets.

Tragic news from New Hampshire, where Dartmouth College football coach Buddy Teevens died of complications from a bicycling collision on Tuesday, seven months after he lost a leg and suffered a spinal chord injury when he was struck by a speeding driver as he rode his bike home from a Florida restaurant with his wife; he was 66.

A Hartford website accuses the state’s ebike rebate program of an equity failure, with just 2% of the 468 vouchers reaching the state’s most financially challenged residents.

New York Magazine highlights “comfy and cool” bike helmets kids will actually want to wear.

DC became the latest city to approve ebike incentives, offering vouchers up to $1,500 for an ebike, or $2,000 to buy an e-cargo bike. Meanwhile, potential California ebike buyers continue to wait. And wait. 

 

International

A new survey ranks the UK’s worst cities for bike riders, with London a surprising third behind Bradford and Leeds.

London’s Fire Brigade called for “proper regulation” of ebike batteries and chargers after a man suffered life-changing injuries when his ebike battery caught fire

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has introduced a new 12-point ‘code de la rue’ (street code), in addition to France’s existing code de la route (highway code), to help bike riders, drivers and pedestrians better share the city’s streets; the rules include giving pedestrians priority and banning all two-wheeled vehicles from sidewalks, as well as a ban on drinking before driving, biking or scooting.

Belgian ebike maker Cowboy teamed with a Parisian designer for a dramatic cruiser bike designed to fit “in with women’s busy lives.” Evidently, men need not apply for the $3,700 ebike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says none of Sepp Kuss’ friends back home in Colorado are surprised at his victory in the Vuelta. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Not only is Kuss king of the Vuelta, he’s also king of the KOMs.

LA-based former pro Phil Gaimon topped 370 other riders to win the 2023 Mount Baker Hill Climb, in what Essentially Sports called a “stunning display of cycling prowess.”

Bicycling also reports that the sports director for the Lotto Dstny Development Team has been suspended for deliberately running over a course marshal during Belgium’s GP Rik Van Looy bike race. Once again, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

Cars of the not-too-distant future could communicate with rooftop emojis. That feeling when you end up chatting with the newly crowned king on a Scottish bike ride.

And repeat after me. When you’re riding your bike under the influence, while carrying controlled substances and already wanted on an outstanding warrant, put a damn light on it.

The bike, that is. Not the warrant.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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