Let’s start with yesterday’s die-in at City Hall, where around 30 Los Angeles bike riders turned out in hopes of not doing it for real on the streets.
According to LAist,
Fed up by the lack of progress on reducing traffic deaths in Los Angeles, dozens of protesters staged a die-in outside City Hall Tuesday, calling on city leaders to take swift, bold action to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
“We have all the tools and solutions to solve this crisis,” said cyclist and organizer Andres Quinche. “What we are lacking is the courage and the conviction from our city council members, our mayor, (and) the Department of Transportation to stand up and say that safety matters more than speed, and that someone’s life is more valuable than a driver losing 10 seconds on their way to work…”
“I call the mayor’s office once a week to ask about this,” he said. “And I always get a response that someone’s going to get back to me about it. And it’s been maybe like two months since the last protest we staged and I haven’t heard anything.
But then, that’s about what you’d expect from a city that considers installing speed feedback signs a Vision Zero improvement.
Streetsblog’s seemingly ubiquitous Joe Linton described the die-in this way.
Though L.A. drivers are on track to kill more than 200 people in 2019, speakers emphasized the especially horrific deaths of Marlene and Amy Lorenzo, and of Alessa Fajardo – all kids on their way to school. In a crosswalk near Exposition Park in April, a driver killed sisters Marlene (14) and Amy (12) while they were walking to school. In a Koreatown crosswalk in October, a driver killed Alessa (4) as her mother walked her to nursery school.
Speakers criticized L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the L.A. City Council for lacking courage and conviction to put their leadership behind the Vision Zero policies they approved. In attendance were three pro-Vision Zero candidates hoping to be elected to the City Council in 2020.
Needless to say, none of LA’s elected officials bothered to stop by. But as Linton notes, three candidates running for city council next year did.
I wasn’t able to go, but thank you to those who organized & attended @Andresdq21 @Tomexploresla! 👏🏽
Grateful that City Council candidates @Auramvasquez @cyndi2020 & @sarahkatelevy showed up! It’s good to see epidemic of traffic violence being taken seriously by future leaders.
— Felicia G. (@hippierunner) December 3, 2019
Remember that when you go to mark your ballot next year.
Meanwhile, Streetsblog offers five Vision Zero tips for suburban cities.
Maybe LA officials could take a hint.
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In a move that’s pretty much the opposite of Vision Zero, recently elected CD12 Councilmember John Lee continues to make his anti-bike and traffic safety bones with a resolution aiming to “improve” or remove the hard-won bike lanes on Reseda Blvd.
LA City Councilmember John Lee has introduced a motion calling for a report on the Reseda Boulevard Great Street projects, including a community opinion survey and a "recommendation to improve the project or return to the original street design." pic.twitter.com/2k7y6rnj3e
— Steven Sharp (@EstebanCortante) December 3, 2019
But before you put all the blame on Lee, notice who seconded the motion.
That’s right.
The same formerly bike-friendly councilmember who single-handedly blocked the Lankershim Blvd Great Streets project that would have brought a much needed, shovel-ready protected bike lane to the boulevard.
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A teenaged boy in Oxford, England made the medical journals after hitting the handlebars in a slow speed bike crash — and suffering what may be one of the most gruesome injuries in bicycling history.
Just be forewarned, however, because you can’t unread the graphic description. Especially if you have a scrotum, or know someone who does.
And no, a bike helmet wouldn’t have helped.
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How about some very cool freeriding through the streets of London and Paris?
You’ll want to watch this one full screen. But maybe take your motion sickness pills first.
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If it’s any consolation for LA bike riders, you may have to deal with flooded streets, but at least you don’t have to worry about treacherous snowpacked and icy bike lanes.
Then again, it would be nice to have more bike lanes, period.
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Active SGV invites you to join them on their annual holiday lights ride this Friday.
Reduce, reuse, cycle! Dig up that old, ugly sweater that’s been hiding in the back of your closet all year and join us for our annual holiday lights ride in the #SanGabrielValley!
When: Fri 12/6 (6p)
Where: #SouthPasadena @metrolosangeles Station
More: https://t.co/YtWjfPbRZV pic.twitter.com/6epRil3xRo— ActiveSGV (@ActiveSGV) December 3, 2019
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More fallout from that much-loathed Peloton ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pShKu2icEYw
So far, it’s gotten local coverage from Los Angeles, San Jose and Boston,
CNN picked up the story, while CBS News wasn’t impressed, and Cosmo considered what to give your husband in retaliation return. Although it didn’t keep NPR’s reporters from wanting one.
Apparently, Wall Street didn’t like the ad, either.
Seriously, though, it takes real skilled to make an ad so universally loathed that it garners millions of dollars worth of free press.
But wait, here’s another one. At least it’s a little more middle class.
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‘Tis the Season.
Thanks to a sporting goods chain and a player with the Atlanta Falcons, more than 1,500 kids will get a new bike this year.
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Sometimes its’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A hockey player for the Ottawa Senators clotheslined a bike-riding thief to keep him from riding off after stealing a backpack from a car.
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Thanks to Lisa G and View-Speed Inc. for their generous donations to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!
Your support for this site helps keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
Which could come in handy when your ride gets rained out. Like today.
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Local
Voyage LA talks with East Side Riders founder John Jones III. He already has my vote whenever CD15 Councilmember Joe Buscaino decides to step down.
Streetsblog explains exactly what last night’s Complete Streets meeting in Beverly Hills was all about, including biking, walking and transit improvements.
State
If you’re in the mood for a ride up the coast, SRAM will hold an open house and fundraiser for World Bicycle Relief at their San Luis Obispo HQ on December 13th.
A bicycle columnist for a Gold Country newspaper says helmets might help, but the real problem is a lack of good infrastructure.
Somehow we missed this one last month, as a UC Davis researcher says more bicycling could bring huge health benefits to the state. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
National
Cycling Tips tests the top bike chains. Meanwhile, another Cycling Tips writer says self-driving cars may improve safety in urban environments, but not as much as improvements in bike infrastructure.
Interesting take from Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss, who says ticketing bicyclists is pointless and cruel because on the streets, survival is more important than strict adherence to the law. I’m firm believer that we’re all safest when we follow the rules, except when we’re not. Your safety is what matters most when you ride. And only you can decide what that means at any given moment.
A writer for Streetsblog says Europe is laughing at us for installing parking protected bike lanes because it only incentivizes driving.
Even in bike-friendly Portland, neighborhood groups want bike lanes somewhere else.
An Iowa letter writer describes how — and why — she gave up riding her bike after moving from bike-friendly Minneapolis, blaming the hatred drivers have for people on two wheels.
You’ll have to wait until spring to ride a bikeshare ebike in the Windy City.
Evidently, Minneapolis police aren’t fans of Viking biking.
Former Massachusetts governor and second-place presidential finisher Mike Dukakis is no fan of driving. Which makes you wonder where we’d be today if an oilman hadn’t won that race.
New York will try out ebike delivery service for Amazon, DHL and other package-trucking companies.
A New York cab driver was busted 20 minutes after running down a bike rider. But only after his passenger begged him to go back.
International
When is a Victoria, BC bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s a parking lane literally half the day.
Seriously, how much of a heartless coward do you really have to be to leave a very pregnant English woman bleeding in the street after running her bike down with your car?
Royal-in-law James Middleton — Kate and Pippa’s brother — is getting good use out of his cargo bike, first taking Pippa’s brother-in-law for a ride with his dogs, followed by going Christmas tree shopping with his fiancé. Even if she had to walk along next to it.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 85-year old Irishman races 50 miles every weekend and holds a national age group record. Even if he is a stickler for the rules.
An Australian bike rider has died a week after he became collateral damage in a police chase, when he was struck by a driver fleeing from the cops.
Singapore will require ebike and e-scooter users to pass a license test, and may require all users to carry liability insurance.
Competitive Cycling
American triathlete Brandon McDonald describes competing just ten weeks after undergoing open heart surgery.
So much for taking over. Four transgender women discuss what it’s like to compete in cycling and other women’s sports with little or no chance of winning.
Finally…
Maybe a little Christmas spandex will get you in the holiday spirit. (Insert celebrity name here) is one of us, too.
And who needs winter bike gloves when you’ve got heated handlebars?
