Let’s catch up with a few recent emails.
Chris Buonomo suggests that Los Angeles needs a movement to start tagging cars belonging to drivers who block bike lanes, whether with an #iparkinbikelanes hashtag on social media, or attaching stickers reading the same thing directly on the cars.
Or maybe we just need to invite a few of LA’s more infamous taggers to spray the message on drivers’ cars and trucks who block bike lanes.
That might put a stop to it pretty fast.
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J. Patrick Lynch offers another example of who we share the roads with, as a big rig driver ignores restrictions against oversized trucks, contributing to a slow speed disaster.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo4OyxanOo1/
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Who out there is old enough to remember the Shangri-Las, and their classic hit, Biking in the Sand?
For the rest of us, here’s the real original.
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This is who we share the roads with, too.
A road raging New York cab driver was caught on video beating an older Hasidic man in a crosswalk, before chasing after a Good Samaritan who tried to intervene.
I'm horrified by this unprovoked vicious assault on an elderly member of our community. Justice needs to be served swiftly and fully. Thank you @BPShomrim and @NYPD66Pct for the quick response. pic.twitter.com/ET9ReklotR
— Barry Spitzer (@bspitzer) October 14, 2018
The incident started when the driver became angry because the victim wasn’t crossing fast enough, and spiraled out of control when the Jewish man tapped on the driver’s window to confront him.
Or maybe it was an anti-semitic hate crime, as the victim alleged, but the police dismissed.
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Finally, Stephen Katz forwards news of a speeding truck driver on trial for the hit-and-run death of an Ottawa, Canada father as he was riding his bike; both the victim and his killer were captured on security cam video just seconds before the crash.
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Local
Turning its back on proven traffic engineering and best practices — as well as anyone who chooses not to drive — Pasadena officially pulls the plug on plans for a road diet and Complete Streets makeover of Orange Grove Blvd, caving in to the demands of an organized auto-centric pressure group modeled on, and organized by, Los Angeles traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving.
Bike SGV is offering one of their infrequent Traffic Skills 101 bike safety courses this Saturday.
Westside bike co-op Bikerowave is holding a Halloween party on the 27th.
State
Sad news from Redlands, where a 48-year old scooter rider was killed in a hit-and-run; this is at least the fourth fatality involving e-scooters since their recent spread across the US. Update: A reporter for the Souther California News Group has clarified that the victim was on a moped, not an e-scooter.
Santa Maria is finally attempting to get bike friendly, ten years after adopting the city’s bikeway master plan. So maybe there’s hope for Los Angeles and its 2010 bike plan yet.
San Francisco shows what can happen when civic leaders aren’t terrified of angry drivers and business owners, committing to remove lanes from two major downtown arteries to improve safety for everyone. Unlike a few SoCal cities we could name.
Streetsblog questions whether enough scooters have been allowed to return to San Francisco to make it a useful transportation service.
A Dallas writer describes bike touring through the Sonoma wine country, while a self-described Indian Mamil visits nearby Napa Valley by bike.
National
Bloomberg says cities will have to find a way to safely accommodate e-scooters, because the “promise of cheap, easily available, motorized personal transportation is too alluring to be legislated out of existence.”
Life is cheap in Oregon, where a FedEx driver was acquitted of a lousy misdemeanor charge for failing to yield to a rider in a bike lane after fatally right-hooking a bike rider, when his lawyer successfully argued that the bike lane didn’t continue across the intersection if it wasn’t actually painted on the street.
According to a local TV station, Seattle says no to e-scooters because they’re too dangerous, while nearby Tacoma says “Wheeeeee!” Someone should give that headline writer a raise.
Streetsblog says New York is going backwards — “giving in to a backlash from the city’s car-owning minority” — while cities like Madrid move forward on traffic safety with a sub-20 mph speed limit. Sadly, they’re not the only ones.
New Orleans bicyclists face a long road to justice after being injured by hit-and-run drivers, thanks to a lack of police investigations and a court system that brushes them off. Unbelievably, the city refuses to get involved in hit-and-run cases as long as the driver has adequate insurance. That’s like saying it’s okay to rob a bank as long as you come back later to pay for any damages.
After a University of Alabama student was injured when his bike collided with a golf cart driven by a university employee, the student newspaper reminds everyone that the official policy is to walk your bike in pedestrian areas. Except the golf cart was traveling in a bike lane.
International
A 23-year old São Paulo woman is fighting to confront the supremacy of motor vehicles in Brazil’s largest city.
A Toronto paper asks if bike riders are next after drivers mow down the plastic bollards on a protected bike lane. Although it’s hard to call something protected when there’s nothing separating people on bikes from motor vehicles except a thin line of easily knocked down plastic posts.
A new Canadian study shows government subsidies for electric vehicles could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions at the public’s expense.
A study from King’s College London says children living in the first London borough to install a Mini-Holland bicycling network will live an average of six weeks longer as a result.
Heartbreaking news from London, where a 60-year old bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run on an unprotected street just hours after a tweet calling for more protected bike lanes.
An engineering website says this lightweight, flexible British bike lock — available through Kickstarter — is the world’s best bike lock. Although it may not be available on this side of the pond.
You’ve got to be kidding. A 17-year old English boy somehow avoids jail, despite being caught on video hitting and kicking a man to steal his bike, and dragging him across the pavement. The judge says they had to dig deep to find any good in him, while his lawyer argued it would be unfair to single him out. Unlike, say, the innocent victim who took a beating trying to hold onto his bike.
The BBC talks with a woman who forgot how to speak English after crashing into another bike rider and suffering a serious injury when she landed head-first on the street.
A Dutch report says ebikes are no more dangerous than other bikes, but that older riders are are greater risk using them.
The LA Times recommends a $6,400 bike tour of Turkey’s ancient sites. Or add another $1,200 if you’re traveling alone.
Another one to add to your bike bucket list, as a pair of Indian architects take a bike tour of the Kashmir region. Or maybe you’d rather ride around Hanoi’s largest lake.
A Kenyon banker quit his job to work as a wrench and open his own bike shop.
Yes, bike riders in Queensland, Australia can get a nearly $400 ticket for distracted bike riding. But no, they can’t get points taken off their driver’s licenses.
Competitive Cycling
Conservative websites continue to object to transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon’s victory in the 35 to 44 bracket in the recent world masters track championship. A GOP website repeatedly calling her a man, while a Christian site implies it’s unfair for women to have to compete against the “opposite sex.” Even though the third place finisher in the race, who also complained, had beaten her in 11 of 13 previous races.
Phillippe Gilbert says he has no intention of hanging up his cleats, despite breaking his kneecap during the Tour de France.
A young Brit cyclist faces the possible end of his WorldTour career after breaking his collarbone during last weekend’s Il Lombardia; Rouleur says it shows the murky, cutthroat side of the sport.
Finally…
Is it a model of mountain bike or a strain of newly legal Canadian weed? Speaking of the latter, it might make you faster.
And honestly, who hasn’t taken a naked selfie next to a busy street in broad daylight?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7bA1LhNh3/?taken-by=kook_of_the_day
