Tag Archive for LA Metro

New automatic braking regs protect peds, Bike Month just a day away, and SaMo and Pasadena honored for best bike lanes

April 30, 2024 / / Comments Off on New automatic braking regs protect peds, Bike Month just a day away, and SaMo and Pasadena honored for best bike lanes
Just 245 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’re still at 1,128 signatures, so let’s keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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On top of everything else, I’ll be having a small skin cancer today, no doubt a souvenir of decades of riding a bike when they still thought the sun was good for you, and and any lotion you might use was meant for tanning, not screening out dangerous rays. 

So the status of tomorrow’s post is to be determined at this point. Not because of the minor surgery, but whether I’ll survive riding the bus with an effed up shoulder and ribs. 

Hopefully I’ll bounce back and see you in the morning; if not, we’ll be back bright and early on Thursday. 

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There may be hope yet. Eventually, anyway.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, unveiled the final draft of a new regulation to improve traffic safety, requiring every new motor vehicle sold in the US to have forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection braking.

According to the AP,

The standards require vehicles to stop and avoid hitting a vehicle in front of them at speeds up to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). Also they must apply the brakes automatically at up to 90 mph (145 kph) if a collision with vehicle ahead is imminent.

The systems also have to spot pedestrians during the day and night, and must stop and avoid a pedestrian at 31 mph to 40 mph (50 kph to 64 kph) depending on the pedestrian’s location and movement.

Presumably, any system than can detect pedestrians should be able to protect people on bicycles, although that’s not guaranteed.

Or even required.

Yet another reminder that we remain an afterthought when it comes to safety.

However, the new regulations won’t take effect for another five years. And it will take decades before most older cars with more limited capabilities are off the roads.

It’s predicted the new regs will save just 362 lives each year, less than 1% of the more than 40,000 people killed annually on American roads.

But it’s a start.

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Metro offers a guide to next month’s Bike Month, including Metro Bike discounts for Bike Week, starting May 13th, and free Metro rides for Bike Day on Thursday the 16th. Although what’s missing is any mention of Bike Day activities, or the pre-pandemic Bike to Work pit stops to encourage more people to try bike commuting.

UCLA will observe Bike Month with a series of mobile bike repair services across campus, along with pit stops on Tuesday the 14th, and Wednesday the 15th.

Beverly Hills will mark Bike Month with a series of events, ranging from a month-long commuter challenge and a “May the 4th Be With You” family bike ride to the kind of Bike to Work Day pit stop Metro appears to have forgotten.

Pasadena will also celebrate Bike Month, starting with National Ride a Bike Day this Sunday, the annual Rose Bowl Ride of Silence on Wednesday the 15th, and refreshments at City Hall for Bike to Work Day.

Meanwhile, LAist offers a guide to living carfree in the City of Angels, including how to use your bike for transportation; you can listen to their podcast from last year on the same subject below.

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Momentum lists the 20 best new bike lanes in the US, topped by projects in New York and Redmond, Washington.

Southern California is represented by Pasadena’s Union Street protected bike lane at #6, and Santa Monica’s 17th Street at #16.

And it should come to the surprise of absolutely no one that Los Angeles is nowhere to be found on the list.

As usual.

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Gravel Bike California conducts a little recon for NorCal’s planned 300-mile Great Redwood Trail network.

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It’s now 132 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

No bias here. Sheriff’s deputies in San Marcos will conduct an “ebike safety sweep” on Wednesday afternoon to educate riders on ebike safety, while ticketing any violations committed by ebike riders — including a requirement to ride to the right, which only applies if you’re traveling at less than the speed of traffic. If you do get a ticket, fight it, because an operation specifically targeting ebike riders rather than all road users suggests illegally biased enforcement. 

A road-raging Maryland man faces charges for attempting to run a pair of bicyclists participating in a charity ride off the road with his pickup, then pulling into a driveway and firing three blasts with his shotgun, apparently missing them.

No bias here, either. A writer for Strong Towns says Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t wrong when he says “some activists want to make driving so miserable that people have to abandon their cars,” accusing a “significant percentage of safe streets activists” of being motivated by a hatred of cars and the people who drive them. Never mind that a “significant percentage” of safe streets activists are drivers themselves. 

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Local 

A 38-year old man was shot by an unknown assailant while riding his bicycle in Sun Valley Friday night, calling police after “noticing” he’d been hit by gunfire.

 

State

Irvine will host the city’s first-ever open streets event this Saturday, with a relatively petite 1.66-mile CicloIrvine from 11 am to 4 pm.

An Encinitas paracyclist is looking for donations to help her make it to a qualifier for the Paris Paralympic Games.

San Diego recommends five scenic bike rides, calling the city a bike rider’s paradise. Just remember your ebike won’t be welcome in Mission Bay. 

Good question. A Redwood City writer wants to know what happened to the award-winning plans for the city’s first bike boulevard, which seem to have disappeared without a trace from the list of upcoming projects.

Eureka explains to drivers how to operate their big, deadly machines after a pair of new bikeways currently nearing completion are finished. Because evidently, that whole “licensing and registration” thing they keep insisting should be required for bicyclists isn’t enough to guarantee the people who pass them actually know how to drive already. 

 

National

If you’re looking for a bargain on bikes, parts and accessories, Colorado Cyclist and Planet Cyclery are holding online going out of business sales with up to 30% discounts across the board. But look around and compare prices before you buy, because liquidators often jack up prices before they cut them.

McLaren IndyCar racer David Malukas may be regretting being one of us, because he lost his contract after missing the year’s first four races due to an off-season mountain biking injury.

That’s more like it. An Arizona man will spend at least 12 years of a 14-year sentence behind bars, after pleading guilty to negligent homicide and hit-and-run charges for fleeing the scene after killing a bike rider; he was already wanted on outstanding state and federal warrants at the time of the crash. Which at least explains why he fled.

Autopsy results show a Colorado mom, whose body was found three years after she disappeared on a Mother’s Day bike ride, was murdered “by unspecified means,” and had been injected with an animal tranquilizer used to immobilize wildlife before her death; her husband was initially charged with her murder, but charges were dropped because authorities hadn’t yet found her body.

Christian music star Amy Grant discusses the Nashville solo bicycle crash that took her memory, and nearly her life, forcing her to relearn the words to her own songs while leaning on her faith and family.

 

International

Mathematically challenged website Discerning Cyclist lists five things people get wrong about road bikes, which turns out to be six.

Israeli Occupation War Cabinet minister, and former opposition candidate Benny Gantz is one of us, too, breaking his foot while riding a bike in Southern Israel. But at least he has the freedom to ride a bike, unlike most people in Gaza these days. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Sofia Gomez Villafañe and teammate Matt Beers won this year’s Belgian Waffle Ride in San Marcos on Sunday, with Courtney Sherwell and Caroline Wreszin rounding out the women’s podium, and Alexey Vermeulen and Petr Vakoč finishing second and third for the men.

Bicycling considers how collegiate cycling can save American bike racing. This one doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if they block you. 

British Cycling demonstrates the track bike they hope will carry their athletes to victory in the Paris Olympics. Demonstrating once again that victory in Olympic track cycling depends at least as much on technology as actual talent.

Former Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas blames UCI boss David Lappartient and race organizers for half of the crashes in pro cycling, saying that level of carnage wouldn’t be accepted in any new sport. Although someone should tell him about all those people flooding ERs with pickleball injuries. 

 

Finally…

Now you, too, could host your very own bicycle museum, assuming you own a vacant building somewhere in the Twin Cities. Your next bike could have a very cool looking Bugatti frame, handcrafted from a design created by Ettore Bugatti himself 115 years ago.

And who needs to ride a bike, when your bike can ride itself?

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Thanks to David V for his generous donation to help support this site, and keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Or every day my internet works and I’m not too banged up to do it, anyway. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Metro Bike union beats back Lyft contract, $2.45 million in San Diego pothole case, and helmet law targets indigenous riders

March 28, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 278 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 face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

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

We’re slowly gaining signatures, up to 1,027 now, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

………

It was a light bike news day yesterday. So if no news is good news, this may be one of my best pieces ever. 

The better news is, that means you can get out on your bike that much sooner today. 

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It’s now 99 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

Drivers in Manchester, England are accused of making a mockery of a controversial green bike lane by parking their vehicles in the bikeway.

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Local 

Public radio station KCRW’s Press Play discusses long overdue plans to reduce traffic lanes, widen sidewalks, and add bike and bus lanes along the Hollywood Blvd Walk of Fame.

Santa Clarita approved an extension of the Bouquet Canyon Trail, providing a connection between Bouquet Canyon Road and the city’s Central Park.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. is one of us, going ebiking in the ‘Bu with his son, while demonstrating that TMZ doesn’t know what the hell a BMX is.

 

State

A San Diego bike commuter and long-distance runner says that complaints over the curb-protected bike lane where an Encinitas father apparently fell to his death suggest that critics just don’t want to share the road with slower bicyclists.

A San Francisco website says it’s not Vision Zero that has failed in the city, but San Francisco’s piecemeal, reactive approach to fixing the problem.

Sad news from Napa, where a 45-year old man was killed in an apparent hit-and-run, after he was found lying in the street near his bicycle, suffering from serious injuries.

 

National

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run semi driver who left a bike-riding 81-year old Queens, New York man to die in the street.

New York has authorized the use of e-cargo bikes to replace delivery vans in the city, many in the form of cute little pedal-powered mini box trucks.

 

International

Life is cheap in Scotland, where a man convicted of careless driving in a crash that left a bike rider with life-changing injuries walked without a day behind bars, after getting a lousy $1,900 fine and a 15-month driving ban; meanwhile, his victim may never be able to ride a bike again.

Irish pro cyclist Imogen Cotter is urging drivers not to make like a bunny, and slow the hell down over the Easter weekend.

The Netherlands is proposing banning performance modification kits designed to boost ebike speeds beyond the strict limits set by the European Union.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Matteo Jorgenson became the first American to win the one-day Dwars door Vlaanderen classic on Wednesday by attacking with a little over four miles to go, after favorites Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven and Biniam Girmay crashed out in a spill that took out more than a half-dozen riders; Jorgenson also won the prestigious Paris-Nice earlier this month.

The crash could jeopardize Olympic favorite and defending silver medalist van Aert chances of competing in the Paris Games after breaking his collarbone and several ribs, as well as knocking him out of the upcoming Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Belgian cyclist Tiesj Benoot blames himself for the crash that injured van Aert.

On the women’s side, Dutch great Marianne Vos took her first Dwars door Vlaanderen win, outsprinting Shirin van Anrooij at the finish.

Twenty-eight cyclists competing in the Isle of Man road race won lifetime bragging rights, after Manx-native Mark Cavendish finished 29th.

 

Finally…

It’s time for the annual donning of the tweed. Your next e-cargo bike could take its tech from F1.

And that feeling when an illegal bike jump could be a real blast.

No, literally.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LA 3rd worst for bike deaths as percentage of bike commuters, and Metro considers slashing open streets budget

January 24, 2024 / / Comments Off on LA 3rd worst for bike deaths as percentage of bike commuters, and Metro considers slashing open streets budget
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding a public meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass to hear the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

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

Photo by Darren Graves.

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Let’s start with today with yet another measure of how deadly streets are in the City of Angels, as Los Angeles ranks 3rd among large American cities in the number of bike riders killed as a proportion of bike commuters.

Although that measure fails to consider that many, if not most, LA victims may be riding for other reasons.

But still.

And it’s yet another good reason to sign the petition above, before that figure gets any higher.

Thanks to Dr. Michael Cahn, aka Velocipedus, for the head’s up.

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The Metro board is considering a staff recommendation to cut funding for open streets events, including CicLAvia, 626 Golden Streets and Beach Streets, just as they are expanding in frequency throughout LA County, and needed more than ever.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1749880786491527404

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The 46th Annual LA Chinatown Firecracker festival is set to take place on February 24th and 25th, marking one of the largest and oldest Lunar New Year celebrations in the US.

But it’s the bike rides taking place on Saturday the 24th that’s of most interest here.

This is how organizers describe them.

20/50-Mile LA Chinatown Firecracker Bike Ride Highlights 

Participants receive:

  • Commemorative short sleeve t-shirt
  • Goodie Bag
  • Finisher Medal
  • Post-Event Carbo Load Dish and 1 Beer (21+)
20-MILE FUN RIDE

CHINATOWN, LOS ANGELES RIVER PATH

The short route takes advantage of the recently renovated LA River Bike Trail that is protected from vehicular traffic. It also starts in Chinatown and enters the restored Los Angeles River that has been transformed into a sanctuary for a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. View the architectural bridges, cafes and even a bike shop that has sprouted up along the river. This is an easy and relaxed route that is perfect for beginners and intermediate riders. There are multiple restrooms along the route and a large staffed and stocked rest stop with a picnic area will be waiting for you at the halfway point.

Check out the route map here.

50 MILE HALF-CENTURY – NEW FOR 2024

EAST SIDE & SAN GABRIEL VALLEY NEIGHBORHOODS

We collected feedback from riders of past events and designed a better route with improved rest stops that are more cyclist friendly. The new route goes through Downtown LA, The LA River, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights. We start in historic Chinatown with a backdrop of City Hall, ride past Los Angeles State Historic Park, Autry Museum, LA Zoo, Travel Town, LA Equestrian Center, Bette Davis Park, Verdugo Mountains, JPL/NASA, Christmas Tree Lane, Eaton Canyon and much more. This is a fantastic way to experience the sights, smells and diversity of Los Angeles County on two wheels with fellow cyclists, route signage, SAG support and 2 stocked/staffed rest stops. This is a mix of bike paths, bike lanes and urban streets. *2,200 ft climb

Check out the route map here.

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It’s now 34 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 30 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

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

No bias here. Rose City driver activist group Keep Pasadena Moving criticizes efforts to urge the city to use NACTO’s All Ages & Abilities design standards for upcoming greenways, describing the respected National Association of City Transportation Officials as a New York special interest group.

Two men riding bikes were seriously injured when they were run down by what appears to be the same driver in stolen car in Melbourne, Australia. No word on whether the attacks were deliberate, but it sounds a lot like similar attacks in Las Vegas and Huntington Beach, which may have stemmed from a TikTok challenge.

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

A 77-year old San Leandro, California woman was killed when she was struck by a 12-year old boy riding a bicycle as she stepped out of a store earlier this month; the boy put his foot down, but was unable to stop in time.

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Local 

Velo says it might not be a good idea to give Lyft an exclusive contract to operate the Metro Bike bikeshare system for the next 11 years, after the troubled bikeshare operator put itself up for sale; the proposal has been delayed after objections from LA bikeshare users and union members.

A February 4th bike ride will roll through the streets of Alhambra to call for a safe bike network in the city, as it prepares to roll out a new bike and pedestrian plan.

 

State

Calbike announced this year’s California Bicycle Summit will be held at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside on April 18-19.

A Bakersfield judge has postponed the preliminary hearing of a man charged with murder in the alleged drunken hit-and-run that killed a 30-year old woman riding a bike last year; 25-year old Caleb Nathaniel Rodriguez was already driving on a suspended license following a previous DUI conviction.

Nice Guy. The 24-year old driver who escaped charges for killing former NFL coach Greg Knapp as he rode his bike in San Ramon two years ago was arrested for assaulting his own father over the weekend.

Streetsblog examines new raised bike lanes on Oakland’s Frutivale Ave.

A 70-year old Modesto woman is lucky she wasn’t one of the 23 people killed walking or riding bicycles in Stanislaus County last year, after surviving a crash by a pickup driver.

Sad news from Stockton, where a 14-year old boy was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle.

 

National

The co-founder of the All Bodies on Bikes movement explains the techniques she used to make peace with hills, despite being a fat bicyclist. Her description, not mine. 

Here’s your chance to work in the bicycle industry, as Pink Bike lists 13 jobs that are open right now.

Thrillist says you’ll need a guide, a bicycle and cash to find the best tacos in Tucson, Arizona.

A Colorado bike law attorney examines plans for an offroad bike path replacing the deadly section of roadway between Boulder and Longmont where 17-year old US junior ‘cross champ Magnus White was killed last year.

A local TV station says Baltimore is slowly becoming safer for people walking and on bicycles.

A Miami bike rider wants to know whatever happened to Critical Mass. He’s welcome to come to Los Angeles this Friday, and the last Friday of every month to find out.

 

International

The European Cyclists Federation says markings on pavement are more than just paint, as bicycling infrastructure plays “an essential role in safer cycling by mitigating risks, enhancing visibility and overall enforcing a sense of safety for cyclists.” Although that last part can be problematic, considering it is just paint.

Velo considers the world’s five best bicycling hotels for your next two-wheeled vacation.

Road.cc rates the year’s ten best road bikes.

Oasis singer and songwriter Noel Gallagher is one of us, as he lost the equivalent of $25 million in his divorce settlement, but at least he got to keep his bicycle.

A London family was torn apart when a young mother was the victim of a speeding hit-and-run driver doing over twice the posted speed limit as she rode her bike home from work.

A Scottish columnist says it’s time for Edinburgh to take bicycle safety seriously.

Talk about the road trip from hell. A man attempting to ride from Scotland to India was killed when he fell off a cliff after eating a poisonous wild mushroom in Italy, following the theft of his bicycle and money in a robbery while riding through France.

Britain’s Brompton is now offering a 12-speed foldie.

Momentum says the Dutch are inspiring the world once again with their fancy solar bike paths.

 

Competitive Cycling

Pez Cycling News examines the health, or lack thereof, of pro cycling in North America.

Popular American pro Joe Dombrowski calls it a career after 11 years on the WorldTour.

The organizers of Belgium’s E3 Saxo Classic apologized for posting a cartoon widely seen as homophobic, which showed Wout van Aert finishing the the Cyclocross World Cup in Spain after losing his bike seat, with the caption “Wout van Aert crosses the finish line without a saddle. LGBTQ community blazing.”

 

Finally…

Your next car could be a “terrifying three-wheeled EV” with bike pedals. If you’re riding salmon, without lights or reflectors, with an active warrant and carrying meth on your bike, maybe leave the folding table on your handlebars at home.

And that feeling when Tadej drops you like freshman English.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LA’s non-emergency traffic emergency, Lancet report offers hope for climate crisis, and Fetterman aims to loosen MUTCD

November 16, 2023 / / Comments Off on LA’s non-emergency traffic emergency, Lancet report offers hope for climate crisis, and Fetterman aims to loosen MUTCD

He’s got a point.

Maybe the emergency posed by the fire that closed a mile-long section of the Santa Monica Freeway isn’t that much of an emergency after all.

If it was, they might be doing more to get people out of their cars and onto transit than just talking about it. Or maybe onto bikes, for that matter.

Like reducing or eliminating fares for Metro buses, trains and bikeshare.

Although to be fair, while Metro continues to charge full fares, the much smaller Commuter Express Service will be free for the remainder of the year.

https://twitter.com/GlennC1/status/1724954769507426415

Then there’s this.

After a decade of complaints, and official denials that it was even a possibility, traffic signals were altered to speed up trains that have long been absurdly forced to stop at traffic signals.

And often blocked by drivers who didn’t clear the intersection, leading to long — and apparently needless — delays in service.

Photo from Metro Bike website.

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The prestigious medical journal Lancet released an extensive report outlining the “most up-to-date” health effects of climate change, and the urgent need to confront the crisis of a warming planet.

Along with a surprising degree of hope in low-carbon future, suggesting “there are transformative opportunities for a healthy, prosperous future for all.”

Health-centred climate action could still save millions of lives every year. A just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy and energy efficiency can reduce the health harms of energy poverty, power high-quality health-supportive services, and prevent the millions of deaths occurring annually from exposure to fuel-derived air pollution. Greener, people-centered cities, and balanced, low-carbon diets can support transformative improvements in physical and mental health. 

Bicycling can, and should, be part of that equation, providing virtually carbon-free transportation that offers exceptional public health benefits.

Besides, it’s fun.

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Apparently, there’s more to Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s proposed Building Safer Streets Act than we realized.

We mentioned last week that he had introduced the bill. Now Streetsblog is explaining just what’s in it.

There’s a lot packed into the slim bill’s seven pages, including changes to the Safe Streets and Roads for All program which would guarantee that 10 percent of funds are set aside for communities under 250,000 residents. It would also finally close the loophole that allows roughly one-third of states to keep their federal safety funding if they set roadway fatality “targets” higher than the number of deaths they recorded in previous years, and prevent the Federal Highway Administration from giving states points on grant applications for projects that raise speed limits on non-freeway roads.

The bulk of the legislation, though, gets deep into the weeds of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, a once-obscure 800+ page manual whose revision prompted a flood of 25,000 comments from safe streets advocates concerned that its upcoming revision wouldn’t adequately center the needs of people outside cars. And with pedestrian deaths already setting records, Fetterman says those changes are long overdue…

Many of those standards are pretty benign, like the rule that a green light should mean “go” everywhere in America, or that a stop sign should be shaped like an octagon rather than a square. Others, though, have far more dire implications, up to and including who lives and dies on U.S. streets. The Manual’s infamous “85th-percentile rule,” for instance, recommends that the number that appears on speed limits signs be set within five miles of per hour of the speeds that 85 percent of drivers naturally travel when no one else is on the road — even if those velocities are lethal for pedestrians, and despite the fact that the standard was created for two-lane rural highways and is widely considered unsafe in urban contexts.

The MUTCD acts as a bible for traffic planners and engineers, protecting transportation agencies from liability, while limiting innovative or even merely decorative approaches.

Like the pink crosswalks that were originally planned for the intersection in front of Pink’s Hot Dogs to mark their 80th anniversary in 2019.

But which were nixed for being out of compliance with the MUTCD.

One version advised against safe bike lane intersection treatments that are common across U.S. cities, a move that the National Association of City Transportation Officials warned would amount to a “poison pill” for the thousands of cities whose infrastructure would instantly become non-compliant. Other provisions discouraged the use of colorful crosswalks, despite the fact that studies show they can actually slash vulnerable road user crashes by 50 percent compared to the all-white designs the Manual recommends.

And when cities want to use those life-saving design elements anyway, they’re often scared off of doing it, lest they fall out of compliance with the all-powerful Manual — even though, technically, not all of its recommendations are legally binding, much like its companion document, the AASHTO Green Book. In part because remaining in compliance with the MUTCD may shield transportation agencies against lawsuits, many traffic engineers tend to treat it more like a Bible with strict commandments than a “recipe book” that encourages chefs to sub out the nuts if they’ll send the person who’ll actually eat the dish into anaphylactic shock.

And the FHWA and other government agencies, in turn, often require engineers to conduct costly studies to prove that deploying safe road designs is worth granting an exception to those restrictive federal standards — even if piles of research have verified that those designs save lives, and that the standards in the Manual don’t.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the whole article, because this is clearly a bill worth following.

And one that might actually have a chance in a divided Congress.

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Heartbreaking first-person account from the husband of fallen bicyclist, architect and urban planner Laura Shinn, who was killed by a stoned driver while riding to work in San Diego’s Balboa Park two years ago.

Steven Shinn makes the case that his wife would still be alive if the city had built the long-promised protected bike lanes on Pershing Drive, which might have saved her from the man now serving 13 years for the needless meth-fueled morning crash.

My grief is worsened every time I hear an uninformed comment about road safety in our community.

“We do not want protected bike lanes in our neighborhood reducing traffic lanes and parking spaces.” My wife’s life would have been saved if those bike lanes had been protected. Studies from cities around the country have demonstrated the effectiveness of protected bike lanes to save lives without inconveniencing drivers.

Adding protected bike lanes and removing some parking benefits more than just cyclists. Local businesses see as much as a 49 percent increase in retail sales from new protected bike lanes. People who cycle to local shops spend up to 24 percentmore than those who drive and they shop more frequently. Adding protected bike lanes to streets reduces injury crashes for all road users by 58 percent and does not increase traffic congestion over time. If Pershing Drive had a protected bike lane, Laura would be riding with me today.

It’s a brave and powerful piece, which calls on San Diego to make life-saving changes for Sunday’s World Day of Remembrance for the victims of traffic violence.

And again, one well worth reading.

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‘Tis the season.

Another holiday gift guide for bike riders, this time from Bike Radar, while Business Wire lists early Black Friday deals on ebikes.

Maybe California’s moribund ebike rebate program will finally launch in time to take advantage of the Black Friday deals. And maybe pigs will fly out of my butt.

It’s been known to happen.

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

No bias here. The Detroit News somehow manages to publish a 115-word article about the tragic death of a 54-year old woman killed in a collision with a semi-truck while she was riding a three-wheeled bike, without ever mentioning that the truck had a driver.

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

A bike-riding man has been arrested for a series of a dozen arson fires in LA”s Boyle Heights and Chinatown in just a one hour span; another person was busted for setting apparently unrelated fires. It would have been impossible to set that many fires over such a distance on foot, and difficult using a car in rush hour traffic. So, yay bikes?

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Local 

While we literally beg for safer streets, Metro plans to torch $207 million for induced demand-inducing, climate arson freeway expansions in Long Beach and Cerritos — money that could go for rapid expansion of protected bike lanes or bus lanes, instead. Or it could pay for system-wide fare-free transit, with $50 million or so in change left over.

Maybe he should stick to bikes. Arnold Schwarzenegger is being sued over a collision that allegedly left a woman permanently disabled, just weeks after another lawsuit was filed by a bike-riding woman injured as he was driving his massive GMC Yukon.

WeHo is teaming with the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition to host a mobility popup on westbound Santa Monica Blvd at Hilldale Ave and eastbound Santa Monica Blvd at San Vicente Boulevard on November 27th, to give away free bike lights and discuss mobility projects underway in the city.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department is promising a zero-tolerance approach to speeding on deadly PCH through Malibu, in the wake of four Pepperdine students killed by a driver allegedly doing 104 mph in a 45-mile zone. Good luck with that, since they don’t have a fraction of the deputies assigned to that area that would be required to effectively police the highway. 

Residents of Santa Monica’s Wilmont neighborhood are rattled after two bicycle crashes at the same intersection in two weeks; Paul Postel was lucky to escape with broken and bruised ribs, and only learned about the death of Tania Mooser at the same spot as he lay injured on the pavement.

 

State

Santa Ana received a $199,900 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety; Goleta got one, too, for the oddly specific amount of $103,587.

This is who we share the road with. A 47-year old San Diego man has been convicted of murder, as well as other charges, for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a toddler last year; Margarito Angeles Vargas was driving at over two-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when he ran down 19-month-old Annaleeh Rodarte as she crossed the street with members of her family.

 

National

Bicycling recommends the best rain gear to keep you riding. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you. 

Trek lost a trademark infringement case after the court ruled a Washington state woman’s Ranger Trek brand won’t cause confusion with the much bigger bikemaker; Trek is ranked #4 on a list of “trademark bullies” for its overly litigious approach to protecting its brand.

Electrek reports cops are now using ebikes to catch people on ebikes, much as they use seized muscle cars to catch speeders.

Portland’s planning commission voted to speed housing construction by rolling back requirements for bike parking. But cars are still fine, apparently.

HuffPo reports on mounting “bombshells” in the Austin, Texas trial of Kaitlin Armstrong for the perceived love triangle murder of gravel cycling champ Moriah “Mo” Wilson, as the prosecution rests and the defense begins to make their case.

Chicago Magazine has chosen “bike lane revolutionary” Christina Whitehouse as their Chicagoan of the Year, honoring her as the founder of grassroots advocacy group Bike Lane Uprising.

Chicago Streetsblog takes local TV station WGN to task for a misleading report suggesting a new 1.3-mile protected bike lane is dangerous.

No surprise here. A new report shows that the quality of service for New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare has declined since ride-hailing company Lyft assumed operations, and that service is even worse in low-income areas that could benefit from bikeshare.

A Virginia paper says legislators across the US are puzzled why traffic deaths are spiking, even though people are driving less — then goes on to explain how speed cams could solve the problem, suggesting they’re not that confused about it.

 

International

Cycling Weekly pens an ode to the iconic Shimano 105 groupset.

Momentum offers advice on how to dodge a right hook on your bike commute. My best advice is don’t trust any driver, and expect any car on your left to suddenly cut you off.

Toronto’s Biking Lawyer calls on the city to ban right turns on red lights, arguing that someone’s life could be at stake, a year after a young woman was killed while riding her bike in a crosswalk by a driver making an illegal right turn. Although the fact that it was already illegal didn’t seem to stop that driver.

Bicycling reports on Amsterdam-based TV cycling journalist Orla Chennaoui’s decision not to wear a helmet when she rides her own bike. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Bad news for cycling fans, as the GCN+ service and GCN App will be kaput as of December 20th.

 

Finally…

Your next T-shirt could feature a cat in a bike basket. Your next hot pink e-cargo bike could fight cancer. Your next energy gel could be a packet of Heinz.

And your next pizza could come on an ebike with a built-in pizza oven.

Assuming you like mediocre pizza, that is.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Narrower and fewer lanes save lives, a weekend of traffic violence, and passing ghost bikes on to the next generation

November 6, 2023 / / Comments Off on Narrower and fewer lanes save lives, a weekend of traffic violence, and passing ghost bikes on to the next generation

Ride or walk carefully today.

The day after the time change usually sees a spike in traffic collisions, so ride defensively for the next few days. 

And don’t forget your lights. 

………

Apparently, narrow traffic lanes save lives.

According to a new study of seven US cities sponsored by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, 12-foot-wide traffic lanes, which remain the norm in too many places, resulted in significantly more crashes than narrower lanes.

Not to mention encouraging drivers to speed, which increases both the risk and severity of crashes, as we’ve learned from other studies.

Narrowing traffic lanes also provides more room for other road uses, like wider sidewalks and bike lanes.

The key findings from the study include —

  • Narrower lanes did not increase the risk of accidents. When comparing 9- and 11-foot lanes, we found no evidence of increased car crashes. Yet, increasing to 12-foot lanes did increase the risk of crashes, most likely due to drivers increasing their speed and driving more carelessly when they have room to make mistakes.
  • Speed limit plays a key role in travel width safety. In lanes at 20-25 mph speeds, lane width did not affect safety. However, in lanes at 30-35 mph speeds, wider lanes resulted in significantly higher number of crashes than 9-foot lanes.
  • Narrower lanes help address critical environmental issues. They accommodate more users in less space, use less asphalt pavement, with less land consumption and smaller impervious surface areas.
  • Narrowing travel lanes could positively impact the economy. This includes raising property values, boosting business operation along streets and developing new design projects.

Meanwhile, another study of Los Angeles-area road diets confirmed that removing traffic lanes improves safety.

Even on high-traffic corridors that exceed Federal Highway Administration recommendations that road diets should be applied to roadways with fewer than 20,000 average daily trips.

According to the authors —

We found that collisions, injuries, and deaths were lower by 31.2% to 100%, depending on the measure, whereas traffic speeds were lower by about 6.7% (peak) to 7.9% (off-peak). We concluded that in Los Angeles higher-traffic-volume road diets appeared to significantly increase safety with only minor effects on traffic speeds.

Let that sink in.

Road diets on high-traffic corridors — even right here in the automotive capital of the world, where driving is considered a God-given right and obligation — dropped traffic deaths and serious injuries by anywhere from a third, to complete elimination.

And all with a minimal impact on driver speeds, taking a typical 40 mph driving speed down to a more reasonable 36.

Which isn’t going to make anyone late for dinner or to pick up the kids, while helping to ensure they’ll actually get there in one piece.

So what the hell are we waiting for?

………

This is who we share the road with.

In an example of just how desperately those street changes are needed, Los Angeles County saw an explosion of traffic violence over the weekend, including the apparent hit-and-run that took the life of yet another person riding a bicycle.

An off-duty LAPD officer was killed, along with another person, when their car was struck by a speeding, allegedly drunk BMW driver in Northridge early Saturday; three other people were injured, including the driver, who is accused of blowing through a red light at over 100 mph.

Two people were killed when a minivan driver being chased by police slammed into a Metro bus in DTLA early Sunday morning, after police reportedly saw someone toss a gun out the window of the minivan. Two people in the backseat, who weren’t wearing seatbelts, were killed while the two people up front survived with non-life threatening injuries; three people on the bus suffered minor injuries, including the driver.

Several people suffered minor injuries, and a number of others were lucky to escape injury, when an alleged drunk driver doing donuts lost control of her car, and slammed into a large group of people standing outside a Valencia bar. And almost needless to say, she fled the scene before she and her passenger were arrested — after reportedly changing seats to hide who was driving.

Video of the crash is appalling.

……..

Sad to think we need to pass this on to a new generation.

………

Austrian stunt cyclist Fabio Wibmer goes for a ride through my Hollywood neighborhood, among other Los Angeles area sites.

………

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

Apparently, hell hath no fury like a London van driver confronted by a bike rider for playing a video game behind the wheel.

Police in Scotland are looking for a driver and passenger who reached out of a passing van to punch a man and woman who were riding their bikes; no word on whether they were injured.

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

A Fresno woman was collateral damage in an apparent political dispute between a 60-year old pickup driver and a bike rider participating in a Pro-Palestinian demonstration, after the driver, who was allegedly under the influence, tried to speed off when the bike rider began punching him through the open window; the victim was lucky to escape with just a broken ankle, while the driver faces possible hit-and-run and DUI charges, while the bike rider could be charged with assault.

………

Local 

LAist talks with new LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo, who swears her priority is to make every Angeleno and visitor feel safe on the streets, while revisiting the city’s nearly moribund Vision Zero program — but without making a commitment to the wholesale changes to our streets required to do that.

SoCal speed cams took a step closer to becoming reality in Los Angeles on Wednesday, when City Council Transportation Committee unanimously approved a motion to create an automated Speed Camera Safety Program when a new state law approving a pilot program in Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach goes into effect next year.

No surprise here. The bike-riding woman who was struck by Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year has filed a lawsuit against the former governator, alleging he was driving “with excessive speed and failed to keep a proper lookout,” despite reports she swerved in front of his SUV.

 

State

A Streetsblog op-ed by Jeanie Ward-Waller, former deputy director for planning and modal programs at Caltrans, relates how she was fired for doing her job, and speaking out when Caltrans officials tried to skirt the law to widen Sacramento highways. Maybe Newsom should just fire the people running Caltrans, and give her the damn job.

A pair of 15-year old Los Banos boys were hospitalized after they were both struck by a 17-year old girl driving a pickup as they rode their bicycles to school.

A Marin columnist calls the “bike lane experiment” on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge a “fiasco” that has to be ripped out, since it only sees an average of 118 bike trips and 19 pedestrians on weekdays.

 

National

WaPo examines the current nationwide movement to ban right turns on red lights, in the face of rising pedestrian — and bicyclist — deaths.

Bike Portland relates the strange saga of the “accidental” bike lane that city officials are in the process of ripping out, swearing it was unintentionally installed, even though local residents had requested it six years earlier.

An Oregon craft brewer now combines beer, coffee and bicycles. Or as I used to call that, Monday. 

Someone suspended a bicycle from a Spokane bridge pylon, complete with rider.

A Utah man gets screwed when someone stole a pair of ebikes from his garage, and his homeowner’s insurance refused to pay the claim, stating his policy doesn’t cover “motor vehicles” — even though the state classifies ebikes as bicycles.

A new mural along a Jackson, Wyoming bike path honors the Northern Arapaho heritage of many local residents.

Milwaukee is installing new advisory bike lanes, even if London bike advocates might not approve.

Planetizen says Chicago had a banner year for bike infrastructure, installing more than this year than any previous year. Of course, that might not be saying much.  

A Cambridge, Massachusetts doctor says he’d love to recommend bicycling to his patients, without “putting them at risk of injury or worse,” but he can’t unless the city completes its bicycle network.

A New Orleans website offers inspiring photos from the city’s second-annual Big Easy Bicycle Fest.

 

International

Momentum offers advice on how to navigate the urban door zone, which is a leading cause of bicycling injuries.

Electrek picks the best ebikes you can buy at every price point right now. Although you can’t use your California ebike voucher, since the program still hasn’t launched after more than two years.

Now you, too, can own the “Porsche of bike trailers” for the low, low price of just $526. Wake me when someone has the McLaren of bike trailers.

A Canadian website says dozens of bike riders turned out to support a contentious Toronto Complete Street and bike lanes, after the provincial premier said he would rip them out. Although judging by the photo, “dozens” would seem to be a dramatic underestimate.

A Montreal man argues that ebike crashes should be covered by the rider’s auto insurance, after he was hospitalized following a crash with an ebike rider.

The UK’s Daily Mail accuses London’s mayor of losing the battle with the city’s e-bikeshare program, insisting the “two-wheeled gadgets” litter the streets and sidewalks, and are too often “hijacked by yobs.”

An English driver asks how to be nicer to bicyclists, despite sometimes finding them very annoying. Short answer, don’t be an asshole. Longer answer, don’t be an asshole, please.

Cycling Weekly says Italy’s Dolomites are still the best place to ride your bike.

A doctor in Gaza once again demonstrates the value of a bicycle in a disaster, using his bike to ride over rubble to treat patients, after his car was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

An African business site says Kenyans are increasingly enjoying long-distance bicycling, with rides of 111 miles or more.

Your next electric Honda may not be a car.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish pro Jonas Vingegaard, two-time winner of the Tour de France, was awarded the prestigious Velo d’Or trophy for the year’s best cyclist, and was apparently so unimpressed he didn’t bother to show up for the ceremony; Dutch Tour de France Femmes winner Demi Vollering won the women’s Velo d’Or.

GCN talks with Slovenian cyclist Matej Mohorič, who popularized the now-banned super-tuck position, about his upbringing and his quest to give a ‘higher purpose’ to his racing.

Remembering the good old days of the Tour de France, when doping meant raiding the local cafe to steal a little mid-stage booze.

 

Finally…

Who needs a $2 million a year anti-aging program when you can just buy a bike? Now you, too, can own a vintage steel-frame Colnago tandem for the equivalent of just $330 — although you may have to stand up to ride it.

And we may have to deal with feral LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about leapfrogging deer.

Usually.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Update: Man riding bike killed in Long Beach crash; 13th SoCal bike rider killed in past 3 weeks

October 29, 2023 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding bike killed in Long Beach crash; 13th SoCal bike rider killed in past 3 weeks

Please make it stop.

For the 13th time in the last 22 days, someone was killed riding a bicycle on the deadly streets of Southern California.

This time in Long Beach.

And just hours after another woman died in Santa Monica.

According to My News LA, a man was struck by a driver around 3:20 Saturday afternoon, while riding on Pacific Ave at Wardlow Road in front of the Metro Wardlow A Line station in west Long Beach.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died after being taken to a local hospital.

The driver stayed at the scene, and cooperated with investigators.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.

This is at least the 48th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the fourth person killed riding a bicycle in bike-friendly Long Beach in 2023.

Update: At least now we know what happened. 

According to KCBS-2, the victim was riding across Pacific Place north of Wardlow when he was struck by a pickup driver traveling east on Pacific. He was struck with the side of the pickup, despite the driver’s attempt to swerve. 

Based on the description, it seems likely he was attempting to leave the Metro station, with no traffic signal or crosswalk to get across the roadways safely.

The driver, identified only as a 43-year old Long Beach resident, remained at the scene and attempted to resuscitate the victim before paramedics arrived. She reportedly cooperated with investigators, who said she did not appear to be distracted, impaired or speeding at the time of the crash. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department at 562/570-7355. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Hunt for killer driver in anti-bike rampage, police search for Metro-riding bike shop burglars, and NoHo CicLAmini Sunday

September 12, 2023 / / Comments Off on Hunt for killer driver in anti-bike rampage, police search for Metro-riding bike shop burglars, and NoHo CicLAmini Sunday

It’s the 16th anniversary of the Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter, the solo crash that laid me up for four months. And in a roundabout way, set me on the path to bike advocacy, and starting this site. 

Yet somehow, I’ve never thanked those bees properly for not killing me that day. 

Image by Gerd Altmann for Pixabay.

………

No update yet on the search for a rampaging hit-and-run driver who appeared to intentionally run down three bike-riding men in separate incidents in Huntington Beach Sunday night, killing one man.

Keep your eyes open for a black Toyota four-door sedan, with significant damage to the front bumper on the passenger side. Even if the car turns out to be stolen, it could provide vital clues leading to the killer.

If you see the car, or have any other information, call the Huntington Beach Police Department’s WeTip hotline at 714/375-5066, or submit an anonymous tip to OC Crime Stoppers at 855/TIP-OCCS (855/847-6227).

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times quotes Mario Obeja, vice president of the Southbay’s Beach Cities Cycling Club, saying attacks from road-raging drivers are all too common.

………

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men photographed riding the Metro A (Blue) Line with several brand-new bikes that appear to have been stolen from Irwindale Cycle, with price tags from the shop still attached.

The men, apparently part of a group of five who burglarized the shop early Monday morning, were last seen as they exited the train at Pasadena’s Memorial Park station at 5:30 am.

A crowdfunding campaign is raising money to help the shop, which faces the risk of closing after losing $40,000 worth of bikes in the theft.

………

CicLAvia is hosting their second CicLAmini open streets event on Sunday with a one-mile excursion along NoHo’s Lankershim Blvd, along with brief legs extending along Magnolia and Chandler.

There’s easy access from B (Red) Line subway at the North Hollywood Metro Station, directly across from the CicLAmini route.

Meanwhile, SAFE, aka Streets Are For Everyone, is looking for volunteers to help them work the event.

And while we’re on the subject, SAFE is also looking for volunteers to help assess the condition of LA County bike paths.

………

Streets For All is hosting CD10 Councilmember Heather Hutt for their latest virtual happy hour tomorrow evening; Hutt was appointed by the council to replace recently convicted councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Streets For All is also calling for support for a pair of motions at tomorrow’s LA City Council Public Works Committee meeting to the accelerate the design, construction, and implementation of transportation infrastructure projects, and create better coordination between city agencies who build and maintain public infrastructure.

………

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

A British man accused the local police of doing nothing after thieves broke into his home and stole four high-end mountain bikes worth more than $54,000; he spent the equivalent of $7,500 to track them down and fly to Poland to recover them.

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

A Singapore driver complains that many cyclists think they’re “king of the road” and expect everyone else to give way, after a spandex-clad bicyclist taking part in a group ride pounded on his car’s hood in retaliation for honking at them. No, he shouldn’t have honked. But violence is never the right answer. 

………

Local 

A producer for LAist’s How To LA podcast discusses how he lives carfree in the car capital of the world.

Altadena residents discussed local traffic safety issues at a popup event that featured a demonstration bike lane, mini-park and a curb extension.

Culver City’s newly conservative city council is trying to abuse California’s CEQA laws as an excuse to rip out the existing Move Culver City protected bike lane.

Santa Monica councilmembers will discuss a proposed study of how to keep drivers out of bike lanes at tonight’s council meeting, along with repurposing taxi stands and extending the city’s shared mobility program.

 

State

Calbike is calling on you to contact your state Assemblymember to support SB50, which would ban the sort of pretextual traffic stops too often used to target Black and Latino bike riders.

Streetsblog calls for everyone to complete Calbike’s rider survey of Caltrans Complete Streets efforts, or the lack thereof, as the statewide advocacy group prepares to issue a report card of state-controlled routes that double as local streets.

The CHP says a 71-year old Paso Robles man suffered a concussion and broken nose when he rode his “performance bicycle” into uneven pavement on the shoulder of a state highway near Cambria, blaming his unfamiliarity with the roadway and riding too fast for conditions. But not for Caltrans’ failure to maintain a safe road surface. 

A crowdfunding account for a 55-year old Hayward bike rider killed by a hit-and-run driver has raised over $36,000, as police continue to look for the Mercedes driver who left him dying in the roadway.

 

National

Cycling Weekly says the sport has a body image problem, as bicyclists face pressure to conform to a lithe physical standard.

Electrek offers tips on how to ride your ebike around cars and the people who drive them, and live to tell the tale.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A 47-year old man killed by a Nebraska driver while riding his bike on Sunday was identified as a “talented and compassionate” Omaha cardiologist.

Police in Massachusetts still haven’t filed any charges against the driver who killed an 86-year old man as he rode his bike last week.

A 13-year old Long Island boy is clinging to life, the victim of a cop responding to a 911 call with lights and sirens as the boy was riding his bike.

A Baltimore basketball player faces charges for the hit-and-run crash that injured a bike-riding man, but still hasn’t been served with a warrant a full year later.

 

International

Momentum lists the top ten bicycle-friendly North American cities to visit this fall. Needless to say, Los Angeles isn’t one of them.

More proof we face the same problems everywhere, as a bike rider in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan decries the city’s hostile environment for bicyclists after a 36-year old man was killed by a driver while riding his bike.

British Cycling, the UK’s governing body for all things bike-related, joined with a law firm to publish a paper in Parliament complaining about a “hazardous leniency” in sentencing drivers who kill or injure bicyclists and pedestrians, which “enables even the most persistent and reckless offenders to evade justice.”

Volkswagen is the latest carmaker to get into the ebike business, announcing a bike-building partnership with the Netherlands’ Pon Holdings.

 

Competitive Cycling

When you’re finishing the final climb of a major stage race near your hometown, you might as well enjoy a beer with your drag-wearing brother.

Finally…

Chances are, your mountain bike won’t look any better with a mullet than you would. Biking along an LA River wall of mulch.

And that feeling when you singlehandedly halt a slow speed stampede.

Although maybe they’d just never seen anyone in spandex before.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Trial starts for alleged Riverside road rage murder, ghost tire memorial in South LA, and new Metro Active Transportation Plan

September 1, 2023 / / Comments Off on Trial starts for alleged Riverside road rage murder, ghost tire memorial in South LA, and new Metro Active Transportation Plan

Welcome to your last pre-Thanksgiving three-day weekend — not to mention the opening weekend for college football. 

Which means you can count on a higher than usual percentage of drunks and otherwise intoxicated people on the roads. 

So the usual protocol applies. 

Ride defensively. And if you’re riding anytime after noon today, assume every driver you see has had a few. 

Chances are, you won’t be far off. 

I expect to see you back here bright and early Tuesday morning. And I don’t want to have to write about you, unless maybe you pull a pack of puppies out of a burning building or something. 

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

A 33-year old Riverside man is going on trial for murder with a deadly weapon enhancement, for the alleged road rage killing of a man riding a bicycle.

Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez reportedly made a U-turn to reverse direction and run down 46-year old Benedicto Solanga from behind following an apparent traffic-related dispute between the two men.

Gutierrez was arrested three weeks after the July, 2021 vehicular assault, and continues to be held on $1 million bond.

………

This is who we share the road with.

LA’s second ghost tire memorial was installed yesterday to honor the three Uber passengers killed in a high speed crash in South Los Angeles.

The victims, including two sisters, were riding in the back seat of the Uber when 31-year old Gregory Black slammed into them while racing through red lights at up to 100 mph.

Black, described as a known gang member with an extensive rap sheet, was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, and held on $4 million bond.

So much for the myth that bail is based strictly on the suspect’s ability to pay. And not a reflection of how seriously prosecutors take the crime.

Black was already serving a five-year probation following his release from prison for attempted murder.

Meanwhile, a 17-year old Las Vegas boy faces a murder charge for intentionally killing a bike-riding man, after video posted online indicated the fatal hit-and-run two weeks ago wasn’t an accident.

The teen was allegedly driving a stolen car and already fleeing an earlier hit-and-run.

………

Metro unveiled the LA County transit agency’s new Active Transportation Strategic Plan on Tuesday.

According to Southern California Newsgroup’s Steve Scauzillo, the plan will “create a chain of paths, regional bikeways and pedestrian crossings to connect passengers who are walking, rolling or bicycling to and from the transit agency’s train lines, bus stops and depots.”

Metro, during a virtual public meeting Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 29, outlined three areas for improvement, identifying 602 “first and last mile” areas located near transit, 81 pedestrian districts and 1,433 miles of regional bikeways.

Just completing the list of regional bikeways, which would connect to existing ones, would cost about $36 billion, which is four times the entire LA Metro annual budget.

The plan has a focus on equity, improving service and safety first in areas where fewer people own cars, including including mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

But as we’ve seen with the City of Los Angeles, it’s one thing to make a plan, and another to implement it, as ActiveSGV’s special programs director Wesley Reutimann pointed out.

He said Metro should redirect budget dollars from highways toward completing bikeways and walkways. But getting the OK from cities and landowners can gum up the works. Metro is also asking cities to help fund the projects or apply for grant dollars. This can delay or nix projects altogether, he said.

“Long story short: Metro did a plan (in 2016) and most of it was never implemented. It just feels like this plan update is window dressing,” Reutimann said.

Even a fraction of what the agency wastes on highway engorgements could go a long way towards actually implementing this plan.

Let’s hope someone over there figures out how to do that.

………

This will be great if it actually happens.

And that’s a big if.

A pair of Los Angeles City Council motions call for streamlining operations between LADOT, LA Street Services, the Bureau of Engineering, and the Bureau of Street Lighting, as well as developing a five-year infrastructure spending plan for the city.

Correction, they both call for a pair of studies on how to do it.

Which is what the Los Angeles city government does best — study problems, rather than actually solve them.

And as we saw with the city council alternative to the Healthy Streets LA initiative, those 60 day deadlines can easily slip to a full year, if ever.

So this will be great if it actually happens. But we’ve been here too many times before.

Let’s hope someone holds the city’s feet to the fire and makes it happen this time.

………

A Denver TV station provides more information on the crash that severely injured professional ultra endurance bicyclist Jay Petervary as he was attempting to set a new record for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

Investigators concluded Petervary was riding on a mountain highway in central Colorado when he was rear-ended by a 16-year old driver, who may have been speeding, while attempting to pass on a “straight on a wide, open road with no trees or obstructions.”

Petervary says he landed about 20 yards from his bike, skidding face first on the roadway.

He is now focusing on his recovery while his wife organizes his transport back home to Idaho, his future care and the legal repercussions. Donations are still being accepted for the Be Good Foundation. As of Thursday morning, he had raised about $9,500 of the $20,000 goal.

Petervary has a lengthy history with long-distance racing. The sponsored athlete has competed for 25 years, exploring new routes and races. But he also loves providing experiences and opportunities for others, he wrote on his website. He has adopted the mantra “Ride Forward” in not only his athletic endeavors, but in his business, relationships, friendships and more.

“It also meant to not have regrets or get bogged down in the past but also reflect and learn to move forward more fluidly,” he wrote online.

………

While we’re catching up on crashes, an Arizona TV station talks with the Flagstaff bicyclist who was sideswiped by the driver of a passing RV, taking out around a dozen riders on a group ride like so many bowling pins.

Saturday, Wallace was biking on Lake Mary Road with a local cycling group, “Team Pay and Take” when he was hit in the head by an RV’s side mirror. His helmet came off, and he then crashed into multiple cyclists behind him, causing a pileup. “I mean, these people are like family,” Wallace said. “You know you ride with them every week. My partner was on the ride as well and she crashed right behind me. So your first thought is just like is everyone OK?”

Wallace said the person driving the RV stopped and cooperated with police, but this is an important reminder to share the road as it’s state law to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space. “I think it’s just a sad point that when we get behind the wheel of a car, we don’t see our fellow humans out there as someone who has someone to go home to after the ride,” Wallace said.

No word yet on whether the driver will faces charges; at last report, he was only ticketed for an unsafe pass.

………

Good question.

………

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a handcycle from a disabled paracyclist.

https://twitter.com/SiebeforORD1/status/1697281499496886388

Some schmuck did the same thing in St. Louis, too.

………

Canada’s prime minister is one of us. And so are his kids.

………

No surprise here, as a new Belgian study shows you’re twice as likely to be killed in a collision with a bigass pickup or SUV than with a typical passenger car.

………

What’s the point of bike skills, if you can’t use them to clear a little litter off the road?

………

Why settle for a hoverboard when you can turn it into a LEGO-like DIY Franken-ebike?

With sideways wheels, no less.

………

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

No bias here. The editor of WeHoVille continues his campaign against bike lanes in the city, citing the removal of the MOVE Culver City project as a warning for West Hollywood, while mischaracterizing the highly successful project that was removed by Culver City’s newly conservative council.

No bias here, either. Residents of León, Guanajuato, Mexico protested plans for a new bike lane, arguing that “about 8 cyclists pass the whole morning,” while official stats say over 65 times that many people ride it every day. Never mind that many more would probably ride there if they felt safer. 

………

Local 

Far from abandoning bike lanes, Culver City is proposing mostly 2.5-mile protected bike lanes for lower Overland Ave below Venice Blvd.

Pasadena will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony a week from tomorrow for a new 1.5-mile-long, two-way protected bike lane on Union Street between Arroyo Parkway and Hill Ave; the project, which includes a 1/3-mile bicycle boulevard, is the first of its kind in the city.

Claremont residents debate whether to protect kids on their way to and from school with safety improvements including a curb-protected bike lane, but what’s the life of a little kid when it might inconvenience older bike riders or someone ordering pizza? Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

Shaq is one of us, riding a custom-made 36″ mountain bike nicknamed The Thompson Beast.

 

State

The CHP has introduced a free, learn-at-your-own-pace online ebike safety class, as required by a new bill signed into law by Governor Newsom last year; the bill was authored by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who is behind the current effort to require licenses to ride ebikes — and who snatched the state’s latest effort to pass a Stop As Yield law from the jaws of victory.

San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls on the city’s transportation agency to tow drivers who park in bike lanes, after talking the staff at a bagel shop into refusing to serve a driver who parked in a protected bike lane in front of the shop. Note to traffic engineers and planners — if someone can park in it, it’s not protected.

Oakland residents are calling for more protected bike lanes, after the tragic death of a four-year old girl who was doored while riding on the back of her father’s bike. And yes, she was wearing a helmet and strapped into her seat.

 

National

A new study provides some of the data we’ve been missing on pediatric ebike usage, showing that while riders of regular bikes under the age of 18 were more likely to suffer injuries, ebike riders were 2.4 times more likely to suffer severe injuries requiring hospitalization.

A writer for Electrek takes the contrarian view to the current ebike panic, arguing that we need more teenagers on ebikes, not fewer.

Retired Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon accurately called Lance Armstrong a cheater when the ex-Tour de France winner argued trans athletes should compete in their own division, when both were competing on the Fox show Stars on Mars.

Outside says you should spend at least $250 on bike bibs, arguing that high-end bibs will literally save your ass. I’ll reserve comment, since I’ve never spent more than a fraction of that, and my ass is still firmly attached.

Washington state is set to begin a $1,200 ebike rebate program next year, as well as establishing a series of ebike lending libraries across the state.

Boulder, Colorado threatens to beat California to the ebike rebate punch with the city’s second round of ebike vouchers, before California gets around to issuing its first.

An 83-year old Iowa man was killed by a 77-year old driver, which once again raises the question of how old is too old to drive. Anyone who can still ride at that age deserves better. Then again, so do the rest of us.

A 30-year old Milwaukee man has been arrested for the hit-and-run, street racing crash that killed an 11-year old boy, even though police were quick to blame the victim for veering into traffic and not wearing a helmet.

A Vermont armed robbery suspect made his getaway from the cops by car, on foot, on a stolen bicycle and a purloined sailboat; at last report, he was still on the lam.

Streetsblog explains a new, “very controversial bill from a noted opponent” of increased bicycling that would require ebike registration in New York City.

Madonna is still one of us, riding around New York with friends and her personal trainer, just weeks after surviving a life-threatening infection.

That’s more like it. A Louisiana semi-truck driver is facing a negligent homicide charge for killing a man riding a bicycle by sideswiping the victim while attempting to pass his bike on a curve; the charge is an upgrade from an initial ticket for violating the state’s three-foot passing law.

New Orleans workers organize the first e-bikeshare employees union. Which is actually the second, because Metro Bike employees beat them to it, unless you want to split hairs since LA’s system includes both ebikes and regular bikes

A Florida transit bus driver has been busted for hit-and-run after allegedly crashing into a bike rider, then just continuing on his route rather than stopping; fortunately, the victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

 

International

Cannondale is the latest bikemaker to jump on the e-cargo bike bandwagon, with the bikes premiering in Europe this fall for the equivalent of $4,300.

Momentum offers ten reasons why cargo bikes top mini vans as the perfect family vehicle.

An English town swears their new ban on bikes in the city center won’t target disabled or “old and slow” bicyclists, after police ticked an 82-year old man for violating the ban.

A Welsh cop who was tailing two ebike-riding teenagers just before the crash that killed both of them now faces a criminal probe for dangerous driving; the deaths sparked riots when the cops denied following the boys.

Dockless scooters have been scoured from the streets of Paris, on the eve of a ban overwhelmingly approved by voters.

Dutch ebike-maker VanMoof will live on, after the company was purchased out of bankruptcy by Britain’s Lavoie, which makes high-end scooters based on McLaren’s Formula 1 tech; current VanMoof owners appeared to welcome the purchase.

Germany’s Buycycle is bringing its online marketplace for used and refurbished bicycles to the US. Let’s hope they have some mechanism in place to weed out stolen bikes. 

An Italian city counselor warns bicyclists not to ride in Milan because it’s too dangerous; the city is attempting to improve safety by requiring sensors on heavy vehicles to detect bike riders and pedestrians.

An Indian woman is calling for a fresh approach to urban planning, saying the country needs a greater emphasis on bicycling to boost the enrollment of girls in both urban and rural schools, increase productivity for individuals, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Philippine bicyclists and motorcyclists reject a proposal for a shared lane along a busy roadway. Seriously, just because they’re both called bikes and have two wheels doesn’t make them compatible.

 

Competitive Cycling

American super-domestique Sepp Kuss soloed to victory in the sixth stage of the Vuelta, high-fiving fans the final 50 yards; meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel lost time to key rivals Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, as he handed the leader’s jersey to France’s Lenny Martinez.

The annual Tour of Britain kicks on in Manchester tomorrow; Cycling Weekly offers a complete guide to the race.

 

Finally…

When life gives you a No Cycling sign, just turn it into a heart. That feeling when it takes longer to certify a record for riding around the world than it did to set it.

And why pedal through Burning Man when your butt can do the work?

@spotlightrose

Wierd people doing weird shit! #burningman

♬ original sound – Annie Bond

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Improving first/last mile connections in Culver City, no safe routes to LA River path, and Metro fail at Union Station

July 6, 2023 / / Comments Off on Improving first/last mile connections in Culver City, no safe routes to LA River path, and Metro fail at Union Station

Culver City-based bicycle training and advocacy group Walk ‘N Rollers wants your input on improving first and last mile bike and pedestrian access to the Culver City E-Line/Expo Line Metro Station.

Please join Metro, LADOT, Walk ‘N Rollers, and BikeLA on Thursday July 13 for an important community planning process! We are seeking participants who live, work and play within a 1⁄2 mile radius of the Culver City Metro Station on the E-Line (formerly Expo Line) to help ensure that future street improvements in the project area create more accessible and safer pedestrian, cyclist and transit rider pathways and experiences.

At this meeting, we will workshop and gather input on the proposed First/Last Mile Project List for street improvements around the Culver City Metro Station on the E-Line.

Space is limited – Please RSVP here by July 7. bit.ly/CCExpo1stLastMile

Date: Thursday, July 13, 2023
Time: 6 – 8pm
Place: Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels.

………

This.

In the six years I’ve lived in Hollywood, I’ve yet to find a safe, comfortable route to the LA River Bike Path that doesn’t involve a bus or car.

It will never reach its potential until it’s easy to access by anyone from any part of the city.

………

Another lost opportunity in the City of Angeles, as Metro’s plan to improve bike and pedestrian access to Union Station, as well as improving the forecourt to the station, appears to be in jeopardy as grant funding expires. 

………

London and Paris aren’t the only cities where bikes are taking over the morning commute.

More proof that if you build it, they will come.

………

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

No bias here. A New Jersey cop says yes, “Lance” is allowed to take the entire lane, though he doesn’t really recommend it, while conceding that drivers who yell “Get out of the way!” are wrong.

Talk about not getting it. The Jerusalem Post writes that high-end Canyon bikes will come with embedded V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) tech to prevent crashes by notifying other bike riders to their presence — apparently assuming the real danger to bike riders comes from other people on bikes, not the people embedded in the big, dangerous machines.

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

DC police are searching for a bike-riding man accused of sexually assaulting two people.

A 73-year old Edinburgh woman was left badly bruised when she was struck by a hit-and-run bike rider as she stepped out of her home; the man refused to identify himself before riding off.

………

Local 

West Hollywood announced that construction is underway on the new bus priority lanes on North La Brea Ave in the city, with work set to begin yesterday.

Registration is now open for the Santa Clarita Halloween edition of Finish The Ride and Finish The Run.

Streetsblog says new El Monte buffered bike lanes offer a safer route to two transit stations for the area’s working class bicyclists.

 

State

Two men completed a 550 mile bike ride through Central California, following the path of a legendary 1966 farmworkers march.

Authorities in San Diego blame an ebike battery for “possibly” starting a fire that caused $50,000 damage to a condo in the Serra Mesa neighborhood.

For a change, both bike riders and business owners approve of a $10 million plan to improve safety on a Bakersfield street.

Sad news from Stockton, where a 73-year old woman was killed by a driver while riding her bicycle.

 

National

New Smith bike helmets will call for help if you’re in a crash.

Best Reviews offers advice on the best dog bicycle leashes to ride with your “high-engery” pooch, while failing to mention that the AKC recommends against it for small to medium-sized dogs.

A Washington newspaper offers advice to drivers on how to avoid a right hook. Short answer, don’t turn in front of people on bicycles.

Streetsblog wants to know why a Chicago-area street Google calls bike friendly isn’t getting any bicycle upgrades in a new streetscape improvement project.

Ohio state troopers blame a 15-year old bike rider and the design of a bike path for a fatal crash, and not the 91-year old driver who hit a kid riding in a crosswalk.

After a 38-year old Kentucky man was run down from behind by a hit-and-run pickup driver, police quickly conclude that speed wasn’t a factor in the crash, but drinking probably was. Although if the driver had been going slower, the victim might still be alive. So maybe what they really meant is excessive speed wasn’t a factor. Thanks to Glenn Crider for the link.

 

International

They get it. Momentum casts more dirt on the sharrows grave, saying they used to make sense in theory, but are now useless and possibly dangerous in practice. Although I’d say they can drop that “possibly.”

A science site says a runner expends more energy than a bike rider, even when they’re traveling side-by-side.

Life is cheap in Montreal, where police say it was just an oopsie when a truck driver ran over a 53-year old man who fell off his bike, and just kept going without stopping.

Earth.org writes that Hong Kong residents are missing out on the benefits of bicycling when the city ranks 84th out of 90 cities worldwide for bike friendliness. Then again, Hong Kong isn’t exactly friendly to its own residents these days under new Chinese management.

Life is cheap in Australia, where a former Australian football star walked with a lousy $1,500 fine for the hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a bike rider, leaving the victim with a series of bolts and plates in his neck, and suffering from constant headaches and flashbacks.

The Sydney Morning Herald says bicycling can be a great way to enjoy overseas cities, even if it’s a dismal experience in most Australian cities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Aussie Jai Hindley took the first mountain stage of the Tour de France, along with Adam Yates’ yellow jersey, by staging a stunning solo finish on stage five; an Australian news site applauds the preparation that led to a “brilliant” move in the Pyrenees.

Velo says Jonas Vingegaard’s “rocketship acceleration” over the stage’s final summit left his chief competitor Tadej Pogačar reeling and 53 seconds down. But it’s still a long way to Paris.

Former Paris-Nice champ Luis Leon Sanchez was the latest notable rider to withdraw from Le Tour, crashing out with a broken collarbone on stage four.

USA Cycling announced the American team that will compete in the Track World Championships next month.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 95-year old man is preparing to compete in the cycling events in the biennial National Senior Games, and offers advice on how to stay in shape, physically and socially.

 

Finally…

Now you and your bike can both have mullets. It can make for a crappy ride when there’s a toilet in the bike lane.

And now you, too, can use a common traffic cone to stop a self-driving car in its tracks.

My apologies to anyone who can’t see the Twitter video; I haven’t been able to find the original on TikTok.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

LA columnist pans CA speed cam bill as “weirdly bitter hatred of cars,” and Metro — and Metro Bikes — free this weekend

June 16, 2023 / / One comment

Happy Father’s Day and Juneteenth weekend!

Three-day weekends and holidays mean more drunks on the road, and more distracted drivers rushing to get out of town. 

So practice the usual safety protocols. Ride defensively, and assume any driver you see on the road after noon today has been drinking, and that every driver is distracted in some way. 

Or both. 

Because I don’t want to write about you unless you leap from your bike to rescue puppies from a burning building, or return a little old lady’ lost life savings that you found while riding by in the street.

And I expect to see you here bright and early when we return on Tuesday.

Today’s photo of a smiling corgi on a Metro Bike is here just for the hell of it.

………

No bias here.

A columnist for the conservative Los Angeles News Group complains about AB 645, which would establish a speed cam pilot program in six California cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.

For the first time, that is. Not “bring them back,” as the headline suggest.

Apparently suffering from a bad case of windshield bias, she worries what could possibly go wrong. And answers her own question, in her own mind, by noting that the revenue from the speed cams will go to traffic calming projects.

So this speed camera bill is actually an attempt to fund an incremental plan to make driving more and more difficult, less and less practical…

It’s our goal to have no one struck at all, and 20 mph is obviously not the answer. It’s a way of saying, “streets are for everybody except people who are driving to get somewhere.”

Road diets and other tricks to strangle vehicle transportation are not really about pedestrian safety. They’re just the latest expression of a weirdly bitter hatred of cars, a mode of transportation that gives people freedom and options.

She goes on to bizarrely conclude that the reason pedestrian deaths increased 53% from 2008 to 2018 was — wait for it — because streets became darker after Los Angeles and other cities began installing new energy-efficient LED streetlights.

Not, for instance, because the emergence of smartphones over the same period led to a dramatic increase in distracted driving.

Or that the ever-increasing size and popularity of massive SUVs and trucks have made even relatively minor collisions exponentially more dangerous for anyone not safely ensconced inside multiple tons of steel and glass.

And never mind that LED streetlights are actually whiter and brighter than traditional high pressure sodium lights.

But evidently, she’s too busy fretting about her imaginary war on cars to notice.

However, you may have to find a way past the LANG’s draconian paywall if you want to read it.

………

Metro will be free all weekend to celebrate today’s opening of the new Regional Connector Line and three new Metro stations in DTLA, through 3 am Monday.

That includes free Metro Bike rides. But you’ll need the promo code below to unlock them.

………

Today’s mountain bike break comes from Montana, courtesy of Rowdy Flow.

And yes, that’s a person.

………

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

A New York website complains that hundreds of bike lane opponents in the city’s Greenpoint neighborhood jammed into an unofficial meeting with the city’s transportation commissioner, while supporters of the proposed bike lane were locked out.

A British man suffered facial injuries when he was whacked in the face with a piece of wood, for no apparent reason, by a group of teenage boys who ran away after the attack without taking anything.

………

Local 

The Los Angeles edition of the clothing optional World Naked Bike Ride is set to roll next Saturday, encouraging riders to go as bare as you dare; the first 200 people to pre-register with a $5 donation will get a pull-string backpack to hold your clothes during the ride. Because officials may not be so forgiving if you don’t wear something on the way there and back. And if you use a bikeshare, rental or borrowed bike, bring something to put over the seat. Please.

LA’s new Sixth Street Viaduct was honored at the honored at the 57th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala as the year’s most outstanding engineering achievement.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton notes that Santa Monica’s concrete-barrier printing machine that built the new Ocean Ave protected bike lanes have gained worldwide fame.

Long Beach tourist and shopping destination Shoreline village is set to get a much-needed makeover, including new bike ramp access, and new bike parking and storage facilities, in time for the 2028 Olympics.

 

State

The Sierra Club considers the benefits of ebikes to create a revolution in sustainable transportation.

Teenage ebike riders in Encinitas who carry a passenger on their handlebars will now be required to attend a bicycle education class; no word on whether the law applies to adults, as well.

San Diego will install traffic-calming measures to create a more pedestrian-friendly space on Diamond Street in Pacific Beach, including painting sharrows on the roadway in an apparent attempt to use bike riders’ bodies to slow drivers.

An Air Force sergeant is back at work after he was airlifted to safety following a mountain bike crash in the hills above Menifee last month; he was able to call for help after regaining consciousness, despite suffering critical injuries.

Demonstrating a keen grasp of proper British etiquette, Montecito residents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, sent a thank you note to the Santa Barbara bike shop owner who gave their son Prince Archie a new bike for his fourth birthday.

Governing says Sacramento’s poor street design is perfect for hit-and-runs, citing experts who blame aging roadways designed without pedestrians or bicyclists in mind. Just wait until they see the streets here in Los Angeles.

 

National

Right now, you can buy the belt-drive, VanMoof-knockoff BirdBike ebike for just a thousand bucks, less than half of the usual $2,300 price.

Bicycling looks at the indigenous women taking part in this years edition of the annual 950-mile Remember the Removal bike ride commemorating the infamous Trail of Tears, one of the most shameful events in American history. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you. 

Vermont Governor Phil Scott is one of us, as he plans to take a 93-mile ride to celebrate the opening of the state’s new rail-to-trail pathway.

She gets it. A public diplomacy professor at Massachusetts’ Tufts University is very diplomatic in asking how many Americans have to die before we do something about road safety, noting that residents of Canada, Australia and France were about three times less likely to die on roadways than U.S. residents, on a per capita basis.

He gets it. A father in West Hartford, Connecticut makes a plea for safer streets, saying all people deserve safety, even if they’re in the minority of road users.

Some bike shops serve coffee. A few serve craft beer. But a New Jersey bike shop will let you feast on ramen and soft serve while you wait.

In a tragic irony, a New Orleans man was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver while riding a bicycle, just a block from a roadside installation of several ghost bikes meant to call attention to the number of bike riders killed on the city’s streets.

 

International

Momentum Magazine argues that making room for bicycles can save cities money while boosting the local economy.

Momentum also offers 12 last-minute Father’s Day gifts for the bike-loving dad in your life.

Cycling Weekly offers advice on how to develop the mindset of a pro cyclist, highlighting the mental traits inseparable from success — whatever that means to you.

Edinburgh officials will remake a zig-zagging bike lane because the current curves are too sharp for many riders, and don’t meet city standards.

The first, and apparently only, British citizen to ride one million lifetime miles on a bicycle has passed away following years of declining health; Russ Mantle completed the feat to great fanfare in 2019. He was 86.

Long-awaited changes to Britain’s Highway Code designed to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians are going into effect; the law creates a hierarchy of road users by giving priority to pedestrians, followed by bike riders, equestrians, motorcyclists, private cars, vans and minibuses, and finally, larger buses and trucks.

A Nigerian PhD student says the country needs to emulate the Netherlands and embrace bicycles as an alternative to cars, tricycles and motorbikes, after the country’s president increased gas prices by removing a key fuel subsidy.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-six-year old Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder was seriously injured when he went off the road, along with American Magnus Sheffield, on a fast descent during Thursday’s stage of the Tour de Suisse; Sheffield was treated at a local hospital for a concussion and bruises, while Mäder was flown to the hospital after being found motionless in the water at the base of a ravine, and resuscitated at the scene.

Reigning world champ Remco Evenepoel criticized race organizers for placing the stage finish line at the bottom of such a dangerous descent.

Unbelievable. More than 30 riders taking part in the the U-23 Giro d’Italia, which is being rebranded as the Giro Next Gen, were disqualified in a mass cheating event on the famed Passo dello Stelvio when they were caught on camera hanging onto team cars and motorbikes.

NBC Sports explains the meaning of the different colored — and polka dotted — Tour de France leaders jerseys.

 

Finally…

Frog wants his purloined ebike and joke books back. Now you, too, can be the proud owner of a Walmart mountain bike for under a Benjamin.

And that feeling when someone links to me saying sharrows suck.

Because they do.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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