I’m in a severe time crunch tonight, between waiting for confirmation that the victim of the Vista ebike crash was actually riding an ebike, rather than the more common e-motorbikes, and a morning medical appointment.
But there are a few stories I feel a need to discuss today, starting with this one.
Screen capture from Streets For All email.
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Someone in Sacramento is playing dirty in an effort to keep Forest Lawn Drive deadly.
As you may know, the deadly street — which has seen four fatal crashes in the last 13 years — was scheduled for a lane reduction and improved bike lanes after four years of design work and community meetings to improve safety.
That’s when our loyal mayor stepped in, in response to “urgent” pleas from big money donors Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai cemeteries, to put the whole damn thing on “hold,” whatever that means. Although I suspect it’s Mayor Bass’ more polite term for “fuck you all, I’m backing the big bucks.”
Now someone in Sacramento has inserted language in a last-minute bill that would put a stop to the project. “Someone” being the key word, because if it turns out to be my legislator, who represents the area, I’ll do whatever I can to make damn sure he’s not my legislator anymore.
And yep, my representative, Rick Chavez Zbur, is one of the state legislators who signed a letter opposing the project. I don’t know a damn thing about his opponent this November, follow Democrat Colin Hernandez, but I think he’s already got my vote.
Anyway, here’s how Streets For All described it in an urgent email over the weekend.
Friday night, two hours before the deadline to amend bills, lawmakers introduced SB 194—language threatening the long-planned safety project after opposition from cemeteries along the route.
Yes, they’re really trying to put this into state law. And they could send it to the Governor by Monday.
This is what it looks like when politics and powerful interests are put ahead of human lives.
We have 48 hours to kill this disastrous precedent and misguided, last minute back room deal. Read our full statement here.
Forest Lawn Drive should be a road that passes a cemetery—not one that sends people to it.
Damn straight.
I’m sick to death of people who supports reducing traffic deaths, as long as it’s somewhere else.
The proposal, which would amend a larger bill if approved, targets projects that would reduce lanes on roads that provide access to “two or more adjacent cemeteries” in cities with populations over 2 million. Los Angeles is the only city in California large enough to meet that requirement…
Both cemeteries along the affected portion of Forest Lawn Drive have opposed the project from the start, saying the reduction in lanes would “create severe gridlock.”
The city’s analysis of how traffic could be impacted show that the lane reduction would result in a driving delay of about 15 seconds during weekday evening rush hour and by a little more than a minute and a half during weekend peak hours, when traffic is heavier.
If approved, State Senate and Assembly bills 194 would require approval by City Council and the mayor, and mandate that the city hold a public hearing, before reducing “the number of vehicle travel lanes on a street that provides the only access to two or more adjacent cemeteries.”
As noted above, Los Angeles is the only city in the state that fits the bill — literally. And Forest Lawn is the only street I know of, other than Overland Drive, which also faces opposition to planned safety improvements, that meets the two cemetery requirement.
The proposed last-minute bill comes at the very end of the legislative session, leaving no time for debate, and must be approved by midnight tonight.
But as they say, you gotta follow the money. And there’s a lot of money.
Again, according to LAist,
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks and Mortuaries, which operates a chain of cemeteries including the Hollywood Hills location, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying against the project at the state and local levels, according to an LAist review of lobbying activity. Mount Sinai has also advocated against the project…
Records held by the California Secretary of State show that Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries paid a lobbying firm $125,000 between April and June to advocate the governor’s office and state legislature regarding “transportation issues.” No additional details are available.
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who represents the project area, confirmed to LAist that he heard from Governmental Advocates, Inc., the lobbying firm retained by the cemetery. Zbur said the firm and other stakeholders reached out to his office about “the harmful impact of the proposed projects on access to the cemeteries and the surrounding area.”
According to city records, lobbyist Rick Taylor and Associates received $360,000 from a law firm working on behalf of the cemetery between 2025 and 2026. Reports filed with the L.A. City Ethics Commission about the lobbying activity list opposition to the Forest Lawn Drive transportation project as the subject.
If you’ve got a minute, which is literally about all it would take, email the ad hoc committee in charge of the bill.
Streets For All has already written the email for you. All you have to do is send it.
EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS TO STOP THIS BILL
If you’ve got a couple more minutes, email your state legislator and/or call their office. Although I’m not going to waste time with my Assembly Member, since I already know whose pocket he’s in.
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In better news, SB 1167, Encinitas State Senator Catherine Blakespear’s bill to prevent the mislabeling and marketing of illegal e-motos as ebikes, was passed by both houses and has moved on to the governor’s desk for his signature.
And unlike other bike bills, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for him to veto this one.
In addition, AB 2168, which was authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and sponsored by CalBike, was also passed by both houses. The update to the state’s Active Transportation Program would strengthen the state’s primary funding program for walking and biking infrastructure.
The bill would expand the program’s focus on connections between walking, biking, and public transit. It also would encourage larger, connected projects by coordinating ATP projects with State Transportation Improvement Program funding.
The legislation would impose progressively stronger penalties on agencies that repeatedly fail to spend awarded ATP funds in a timely manner.
Hello, Los Angeles.
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In a bizarre case, Long Beach police now say the hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding a bicycle in the city last month did it on purpose.
The victim, now identified as 51-year-old Gerado Mejia, was struck by 39-year-old Long Beach resident Kenneth Richard Sok.
Adding to the strangeness of the case, Sok was then shot and killed by Border Patrol agents near Blythe a few days later.
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Another day, another vehicular mass casualty event. And this time, in my own bike-friendly Colorado hometown.
As the city was celebrating the annual Tour de Fat, sponsored by Fat Tire beer manufacturer New Belgium Brewing Company, a pickup driver smashed into spectators lined up to watch the bike parade, killing one person and injuring four others.
The driver somehow jumped the curb, slamming into five people before crashing into a tree.
It’s not clear if the pickup was in the parade, or drove through it, but police don’t believe the victims were targeted.
A photo in the New York Post shows the pickup on the sidewalk, with several bikes parked nearby. The paper reports the driver appears to have backed out of a parking space, hit another vehicle, then driven forward onto the sidewalk.
Sounds like some damn good driving.
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After Saturday’s stage eight, the Vuelta is a race again.
That’s because Vuelta a España race leader Tadej Pogačar crashed out with 20 miles to go in the stage, sitting on the side of the road for several minutes attended by medical staff, before taking off his helmet and getting into an ambulance.
In an overhead video shot by the television helicopter, Pogačar suddenly swerved to the right, colliding with either a Visma-Lease a Bike or Uno-X Mobility rider before hitting the ground hard.
The crash and abandon is the first ever for Pogačar in a Grand Tour and his first DNF in any race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023.
Pogačar suffered deep cuts to his face and shoulder, as well as a concussion, broken left shoulder and a spinal fracture in his neck.
Spaniard Enric Mas won Sunday’s 9th stage, giving him a 1:18 lead over four-time overall champion Primož Roglič.
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Finally, I’ve designed another bike-related T-shirt, although this one has a more spiritual bent.
As you may know, I never rode my bike without carrying a Madonna del Ghisallo medal. Now I’ve attempted to capture that same sense in a T-shirt dedicated to the patron saint of bicyclists. Because whether or not you’re a believer, a little divine protection couldn’t hurt.
You’ll find it in front and back, as well as cotton and quick versions, along with other bike designs, at my new easier-to-remember web address, bikinginla.store.
