Tag Archive for Hyperion Ave

Signing the Healthy Streets LA petition, LA asks for $197 million to finish LA River path, and working for safer Hyperion

March 7, 2022 / / 2 comments

That’s a picture of me signing the petition to get the Healthy Streets LA measure on the ballot at Pan Pacific Park yesterday, with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.

With my four-footed intern somehow managing to upstage us both.

As we’ve mentioned a few times before, the ballot measure is a pretty simple proposition.

It would require Los Angeles to build out the city’s mobility plan, which is currently collecting dust on the city’s servers, whenever a street gets repaved. Which isn’t often enough, as anyone who’s had to fix a pothole flat can attest.

That’s it. If the street is included in the mobility plan — whether it calls for a bike or a bus lane — the city would be obligated to to stripe it.

The beauty of this approach is that the costs are minimal, since the street would have to be restriped anyway.

And every bus lane, bike lane and bicycle friendly street in the plan has already been formally blessed by the LA Planning Commission and the Los Angeles City Council, so it’s pretty damn hard to argue against.

But before that can happen, it has to qualify for the ballot, which will take around 93,000 signatures.

Let’s make yours one of them.

Mine already is.

Thanks to Michael, August and everyone volunteering their time to collect signatures on this vital transportation and traffic safety measure. 

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Los Angeles is working on getting state funding to finally finish the full LA River bike path in time for the 2028 Olympics.

Burbank-Glendale state Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, says she’s on board.

Yes, $197 million is a lot of money.

But it pales in comparison to the $1.6 billion flushed down the toilet to install HOV lanes on the 405 Freeway through LA’s Sepulveda Pass, which only resulted in more congestion and slower travel times.

And it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the state’s $31 billion budget surplus.

At the very least, it would provide a healthy alternative to driving for those who can use it for a commuter corridor, as well as a safe place to ride recreationally.

I included a link to the Daily News story from Friedman’s tweet, but it’s up to you to find a way around the paper’s paywall. 

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Here’s your chance to work for a safer street for bike riders and pedestrians on Hyperion.

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Horrifying thread from a New York bike rider, who was chased down and attacked by a driver and their passenger — for the crime of touching their car to get by after the driver illegally parked in a bike lane.

It’s worth a click to read the whole thing.

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The future of foldies, five decades ago.

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1500365563889020932

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

Life is cheap in the UK, where a homicidal driver got the equivalent of a lousy $1,321 fine after trying to intentionally ram a man on a bicycle at least six times, by my count.

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

An allegedly stoned 50-year old New York ebike rider faces charges for crashing into two women crossing the street, leaving one in critical condition with a head injury.

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Local

An e-scooter rider was murdered by a hit-and-run driver in LA’s Koreatown early Saturday. He was struck by a minivan driver, then run over and dragged nearly 20 yards by a second driver as he lay in the street; the first driver stayed followed the crash, but the second driver, who likely did the most harm, fled the scene.

Despite the impending climate emergency, climate change is taking a back seat to policing and homelessness — or more often, policing the homeless — in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.

At least Los Angeles ranks high on the list of the best cities to walk a dog, coming in at sixth.

LA County firefighters hoisted an injured mountain biker out of a remote area in the Santa Monica Mountains above Brentwood.

 

State 

The nation’s highest gas prices are kicking ebike sales up another gear for San Diego bike shops, on top of the previous pandemic bike boom.

Dozens of Riverside bike riders turned out to honor 15-year old fallen bicyclist Javier Gonzalez., who was killed in a hit-and-run last week. Although someone should tell KNBC-4 that some of those “teens” look like they haven’t seen their teens for awhile now.

Residents along Shannon Road in Los Gatos say they support a proposal to add bike lanes and sidewalks, they just want to make them less safe, inviting and comfortable to “preserve the rural feel” of the community. Although they do have a point about adding trees along the route. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

San Francisco is planning ahead, considering three options for bikeshare after its current contract with Lyft expires in five years.

Bad news from San Francisco, where a woman is still fighting for her life, three weeks after she suffered a fractured skull and broken jaw and ribs when she was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding home from her bartending job.

 

National

Cycling Savvy explains cadence.

Always wear a bike helmet in case you get assaulted by men with sticks and bats, like this New York delivery rider who was saved by his helmet when he was assaulted by eight men, apparently just for the hell of it. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the link.

An Iowa man was convicted of homicide after running a series of red lights while driving drunk, and killing a 40-year old man riding a bike, before fleeing the scene.

It takes a major schmuck to steal the seat off a three-wheeled bike a Marshall University student with spinal bifida needs to get to class.

Speaking of which, an Alabama TV station examines how an adaptive bike can change the life of someone with a disability.

 

International

A British Columbia writer says yes, he supports more bike lanes to create safe streets and alternatives to driving, but maybe Amsterdam isn’t the best model for North American cities.

A new Canadian ebike employs motorcycle-like parts to promise speeds up to 40 mph. Which would make it illegal in California, and most of the US. 

Evidently, bike theft is no better on the other side of the Atlantic, where a bicycle gets stolen in London ever 16 minutes, with only a two percent chance of ever seeing it again.

London has expanded its Ultra-Low Emission Zone to cover any older, smog-emitting vehicles in the entire city; anyone with a gas-powered car built before 2005, or a diesel-powered car or truck built before 2014 will have to pay the equivalent of $16.70 per day. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, which consistently ranks among the smoggiest cities in the US, continues to do not one damn thing.

Twenty-five year old former world mountain bike champ Reece Wilson is the new face of tourism in Scotland’s Borders region.

Brussels has seen a 50% drop in traffic deaths since implementing an 18 mph speed limit a year ago, while bicycling rates continue to ride. LA drivers would probably riot if anyone tried to slow them down that much. Or just ignore the new limits, like they do now.

Eight-year old US/Ukrainian ebike startup Delfast continues to operate under impossible conditions in the Eastern European country, despite the Russian invasion.

A New Zealand coroner says a bike-riding man is dead because a contractor just forgot to change the road markings after a roundabout was repaved.

 

Competitive Cycling

Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogačar claimed victory in Saturday’s Strade Bianche classic, with 41-year old Alejandro Valverde overjoyed just to finish second; high winds caused a massive crash that took down dozens of riders early in the race, including both Pogačar and Valverde.

Thirty-year old French cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will take on South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic, considered the world’s premier mountain bike stage race; she has won world titles in four disciplines, including road cycling and cyclocross.

Rather than banning time trial bikes, British TT specialist Alex Dowsett calls for rule changes to raise the height of handlebars to eliminate the head-down riding position and improve safety

That’s one way to avoid sanctions on Russian riders. Russian cyclist Pavel Sivakov is now officially French, after UCI gave him permission to change his nationality.

Sad news from the UK, where former English Tour de France and Olympic cyclist, bike shop owner and club president Colin Lewis died after a short bout with cancer; he was 79.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your banana yellow, submarine-shaped ‘bent causes causes an uproar. When you’re a convicted felon illegally carrying a handgun on your bike, put a damn light on it.

And now we know what caused that big crash in the Strade Bianche.

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

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

Morning Links: Tamika Butler moves to LA’s Toole Design, suspect busted in Hyperion hit-and-run, and LA SciFi Bike

January 17, 2019 / / One comment

She’s back.

After stepping away from local bike advocacy for a few years, Tamika Butler is stepping back onto the field.

The former head of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is taking a position as Director of Planning, California, and Director of Equity and Inclusion for Toole Design Group, working out of their Los Angeles office.

This is how the company announced the hire.

A civil rights attorney with a diverse background in law, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, Tamika brings a unique perspective to the intersection of transportation, inequality, community, and shared values. Formerly the executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Tamika helped the LACBC shift its advocacy platform to include and incorporate the voices of communities of color, LGBTQ communities, and young people into its work improving active transportation in Los Angeles County. Her three-year tenure leading the LACBC brought numerous advocacy wins and earned the organization national attention for its work on ensuring that bicycle planning and programs across Los Angeles County includes and acknowledges its community members’ values and lived experiences.

In addition to her responsibilities on planning projects, Tamika will also lead Toole Design’s internal efforts to become a more diverse, inclusive workplace that employs people of all backgrounds. This includes collaborating with Human Resources on recruiting and hiring practices, leading trainings for staff, and serving as a resource for colleagues across the country.

Let’s hope they know what they’re getting into.

During her too-brief stay with the LACBC, Butler quickly rose to national prominence as a public speaker and community leader, challenging the predominately white world of bike advocacy to broaden its horizons and refocus its efforts on creating genuine equity on our streets. A role she continued after she left the coalition.

As the above link shows, she’s not one to pull her punches, which has led to inevitable pushback, and sometimes anger, from those she challenges.

But she’s opened far more eyes, and caused countless people in and out of the advocacy world to rethink their approaches to communities of color.

Myself included.

I’d say I hope Toole allows her to keep up her fight for inclusiveness. But knowing Tamika, from my own time with the LACBC, I doubt she would have taken the job if they had restricted her voice in any way.

So let’s welcome her back.

And look forward to many more years of speaking truth to power, and challenging us all.

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A suspect has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of a mother who was gathering recyclables on Hyperion Ave to pay for her daughter’s college tuition.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page in her honor has already raised nearly $4,000 over the $15,000 goal.

I’m told that community members reached out to LADOT and Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell’s office over two years ago to request safety improvements to the intersection where she died, but never got a response.

Let alone any action.

Which sadly shouldn’t surprise anyone.

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Your next bike could have levers instead of pedals.

A new Kickstarter campaign from an LA-based inventor promises to let you ride more efficiently with less effort. And on a very cool, if very strange, SciFi-looking frame.

All for the low, low price of $3,600 for just the frame and drive system; all the other components — wheels, seat, handlebars, etc — are on you.

Although so far, it’s raised just $211 of the $347,000 goal, with 28 days to go.

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Local

The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday Ride will take a tour of historic San Fernando and Pacoima on February 3rd, for anyone who’d rather ride than watch the Super Bowl pregame. Which should be just about everyone, unless the Rams win on Sunday.

London’s Evening Standard offers what they call the ultimate feel good guide to Los Angeles — as long as Los Angeles doesn’t extend much beyond the Westside. But at least they recommend renting a bike and riding the beachfront Marvin Braude bike path.

Culver City will hold a ribbon cutting next Friday for segment 7 of the Park to Playa Trail, a 13-mile regional trail connecting Baldwin Hills to the Pacific Ocean.

State

A proposal in the state legislature would eliminate the need for duplicate federal and state environmental reviews for roadways, bikeways and pedestrian projects, reducing costs and speeding the approval process.

Encinitas may cut the speed limit on the Coast Highway from 35 mph to 30, in advance of construction on new bike lanes and sidewalks.

Perhaps making up for the demise of Interbike, the opening day of the inaugural CABDA West bike expo in Del Mar drew 1,200 retailers, mostly from Southern California.

Robert Leone forwards this story about the UC San Diego fencing team deciding to wear helmets any time they bike or skateboard, noting that fencing was one of the first sports to require helmets. Then again, they also have swords, which should help immensely in slicing through traffic or cutting across campus.

A San Diego man is asking for the public’s help in identifying the thief who stole the bicycle he was using to recover from injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash. On the other hand, that’s about what you can expect when you leave an unlocked bike on your front porch.

A Canadian writer goes mountain biking at SkyPark at Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead.

A year in, not everyone in Santa Cruz is happy with Jump’s dockless ebike program.

A new San Francisco bike brand can be ordered online and built up for whatever kind of riding you want, from gravel to touring. And then a local bike shop or mechanic will put it together for you.

National

Nothing like a DARPA designed foldie for the next time you need to jump out of a plane and hit the ground rolling.

This is why you shouldn’t fight with a bike thief. An Albuquerque man was fatally shot after struggling with a man who tried to take his bike as he waited for a bus. Seriously, just let it go. No bike is worth your life.

The company behind the late, lamented Interbike trade show floats a trial balloon, saying they could combine a bike trade show with Denver’s Outdoor Retailer shows.

Bicycling injuries and fatalities spiked in Dallas last year; a local magazine blames the introduction of bikeshare on streets without bike lanes. Although as others have told me, correlation does not equal causation; blaming bikeshare is meaningless until we know how many of those deaths and injuries happened to bikeshare riders.

A Boston area bicyclist and former selectman says bike lanes would be great, but they’re a luxury until the crappy pavement is fixed.

Bicycling says Whoopie couldn’t be more wrong about bike lanes, and the one she complained about on The View doesn’t even exist. She didn’t seem any calmer the next day, either. Meanwhile, a writer for Denver Streetsblog says he still loves Whoopie, even though she hates bikes.

A Philadelphia councilmember wants to know if e-scooters are good for black neighborhoods not served by the city’s bikeshare system. Although a better option would be a bikeshare system that serves everyone.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is in a wheelchair as she recovers from a broken hip socket and pelvis suffered in a recent bike crash.

Orlando FL follows Santa Monica’s lead, and installs parking boxes where dockless bikeshare ebikes can be left and picked up without blocking sidewalks. Los Angeles, not so much.

Good Samaritans use a floor jack to rescue a Florida bike rider after he was run over by a pickup driver and trapped under the truck.

International

Road.cc considers 15 things they say every cyclist loves. Which, of course, not everyone does.

Bicycling as a moving meditation to keep you grounded. I’ve long considered riding a bicycle a form of meditation, and the only place I’ve ever experienced the Zen state of satori.

A UK columnist says bicyclists should have properly policed, protected bike lanes, and drivers should have to retake their driver’s test every seven years.

A British man faces serious charges after he was busted for the hit-and-run bike crash that left a 70-year old woman with life-changing injuries.

A bike-riding Brit hit man has been convicted of two murders, tied to the crimes by his fitness tracker. Note to the wise: If you plan to kill anyone, leave the Apple Watch and Fitbit behind.

Only in Ireland would a story on bike safety begin by quoting George Orwell and the poet Philip Larkin.

No bias here. A former Irish mayor describes bicyclists as “vicious.”

You can now legally use your e-scooters and hoverboards in Denmark’s bike lanes.

A New Zealand driver slammed into a group of bicyclists riding home from a race, hitting two directly, while several others fell like dominos; fortunately, none of the victims were seriously injured. And do we really need to say the driver kept going without stopping?

An Aussie news site offers tips on what kind of bike you should get.

Complaints about bikeshare were up 450% in Shanghai last year, making up nearly 20% of all complaints the city received.

Also in Shanghai, a man got a month in detention for running down a bike rider while still drunk from the night before.

Competitive Cycling

The Amgen Tour of California releases this year’s designs for the leader’s jerseys.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says drug testing a 90-year old cyclist is just going too damn far.

Finally…

Yes, it may wrap around your waist and sit on your hip, but don’t call it a fanny pack. The key to preventing bike theft is finding a safe place to park it.

And Lance Armstrong, venture capitalist.

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