Tag Archive for LA Metro

Reynolds equates building bus lanes to bulldozing homes to build freeways, and input wanted on DTLA Mobility Plan

May 24, 2023 / / One comment

No wonder nothing ever seems to get done in Los Angeles.

As we’ve seen far too many times, even the most minor improvement can get bogged down in an endless series of public meetings, in which every resident and pass-through driver has an equal voice, no matter how misinformed.

And people who bike, walk or take transit usually don’t count.

Which brings us to former LADOT head and current LA Metro Chief Innovation Officer Seleta Reynolds, who seems to think removing a traffic lane to improve bus headways “without extensive community engagement and consent” is equivalent to bulldozing homes to build freeways.

Never mind that one destroys the residences of people living in underserved communities, while the other simply removes peak hour lanes or street parking to move more people more efficiently.

No wonder so little happened in Los Angeles under her leadership.

I wouldn’t count on a lot of innovation from the LA County transportation agency going forward, either.

Photo by Juanita Mulder from Pixabay.

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LADOT wants your input on the Downtown Mobility Plan, where pedestrians have long been second-class citizens on car-choked streets, and the city is just now forming an actual bike network to safely get you from here to there.

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Looks like work is well underway on Pasadena’s Union Street protected bike lane.

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

No bias here. A Scottish driver left a polite note for a bike rider admonishing him for locking his bicycle to a railing instead of letting someone park a car there. Because evidently, bikes don’t count.

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Local 

Metro invites you on a multimodal art tour starting with an exhibition at Union Station, followed by a bike ride to meet one of the artists at Exposition Park, and ending by taking the train back to Union Station. The only thing they left out of their description is what day it is (Hint: It’s this Saturday, according to the RSVP page).

Hermosa Beach dedicated a new bike corral on Hermosa Ave at 10th Street in honor of bicyclist and environmental activist Julian Katz, who died in 2018; the street is also the site of the Julian Katz Memorial Bikeway.

Streetsblog offers photos from Saturday’s Beach Streets open streets event in Long Beach, showing busier scenes than we saw in yesterday’s photos.

 

State

Calbike wants you to voice your support for legalizing sidewalk riding anywhere there aren’t bike lanes.

Culver City-based Walk ‘n Rollers will host a Walk & Roll Festival for kids and their families in Costa Mesa this Saturday.

Temecula invites everyone to come explore the city’s bike trails for National Trails Day on Saturday, June 3rd.

A Palo Alto columnist says plans for a bike on El Camino Real connecting Redwood City, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View are a bad idea, because the street is too dangerous for people on bicycles if it keeps parking, and too inconvenient for shoppers who might have to walk a little bit without it. Never mind that bike lanes — particularly protected bike lanes — improve safety for everyone.

 

National

They get it. Bicycling says the best bike is the one that brings you joy. Unfortunately, you won’t get any joy from reading it if the magazine blocks you, since this one isn’t available anywhere else.

A critically injured victim of the Goodyear, Arizona crash that killed two people and injured 19 others has finally returned home more than three months after they were run down on their bikes by a driver who claimed his steering locked; he underwent five surgeries for 12 different injuries, including a shattered pelvis, punctured bladder, broken collar bone, and fractured ribs, as well as spending two weeks in a medically induced coma. Meanwhile, the driver still has not been charged.

Boulder, Colorado is about to offer their own ebike rebates, even if they’re not as generous as nearby Denver’s successful program; meanwhile, Colorado is preparing a statewide ebike rebate plan.

Minnesota has become the latest state to adopt a Stop as Yield Law, aka Idaho Stop Law. California is once again considering a similar bill, despite previous vetos by Governor Newsom.

They get it, too. Streets Minnesota says people who bike are subsidizing the streets, not shirking their responsibility to pay their share.

Finishing our Minnesota trifecta, authorities are looking for a 14-year old girl who hasn’t been seen since leaving her home on her bike Friday morning.

Rhode Island is considering a bill to reclassify ebikes as bicycles; it’s the last remaining state to still consider ebikes something other than a bicycle.

Hats off to New York City, which will give donated and refurbished bicycles to recently arrived asylum seekers and people from underserved Staten Island communities.

This is who we share the road with. A 43-year old DC woman faces three second-degree murder charges for killing a Lyft driver and his passengers while driving drunk and under the influence of weed, at speeds up to 100 mph.

 

International

She gets it, too. Britain’s most decorated Paralympian complains about speeding drivers’ sense of entitlement, calling speeding an “utterly unacceptable” act.

A British teenager suffered life-changing injuries after being clinically dead for nearly an hour when he was brutally stabbed by gang members while test-riding his mother’s new bicycle.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website explains what bike buses are and why kids love them. Then again, a lot of parents do, too.

Thirty British bicyclists raised the equivalent of nearly $160,000 by following the 350-mile route of the Prophet Mohammed from Makkah to Madinah in Saudi Arabia, enough to pay for life-saving heart surgery for 60 Tanzanian children.

 

Competitive Cycling

Thirty-six-year old Geraint Thomas reclaimed the pink leader’s jersey with a commanding performance in stage 16 of the Giro, while Portugal’s João Almeida claimed the stage win.

 

Finally…

A TV station says always check your breaks before riding — no, really. Your next ebike could be a Hyundai.

And that feeling when you lose a wad of cash on a bike ride, and someone with the same name finds it and wires it back to you.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Happy Bike Day, Soto-Martinez backs off plans for Sunset Blvd Complete Street, & Caltrans considers SaMo Blvd bike lane

May 18, 2023 / / One comment

Happy Bike Day, formerly known as Bike to Work Day.

But since they’ve removed the “to Work” part, that means you don’t have to go to work today, and can spend the day riding your bike anywhere.

No?

Hence its other name, Bike Anywhere Day.

So whatever you’re doing and wherever you’re going, get out on your bike for at lest part of it, and just be glad you’re not stuck in a car somewhere.

Poor suckers.

Photo by Sabine van Erp from Pixabay

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In honor of Bike Day, LA Metro, Metrolink and other local transit systems are offering free transit and bikeshare rides today.

Metro is also offering free food and coffee at the NoHo Metro Station today, and the Downtown Santa Monica Expo Line tomorrow.

And Spectrum News 1 reminds us about Sunday’s Watts CicLAmini, the first of LA’s new compact open streets event designed for walking, instead of biking.

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Sunset4All sent out an urgent email yesterday urging action in support of the project.

The group, which is working to convert a section of deadly Sunset Blvd from its current car sewer configuration into a Complete Street that serves all road users, as well as the surrounding community, is concerned that new CD13 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez may be backsliding on his campaign promises to get the vital project built.

I’m including there full email below, so you can voice your support.

The city is finalizing its list of projects for 2024 grant applications.  RIGHT NOW SUNSET4ALL IS NOT ON THAT LIST.  Furthermore, the city has failed  to meet with our community crowdfunded engineers for almost two years.  We need the Council office to take action NOW by instructing LADOT to submit a 2024 ATP grant application for Sunset4All, prioritize Sunset4All for all state and Federal grant opportunities, and ensure LADOT collaborates with the engineers our community paid for!

We urgently need you to remind Councilmember Soto-Martinez to keep his campaign commitment:

“Obviously there are much larger plans I am very passionate about supporting…I will literally throw my entire support behind. The one at the top of my head is Sunset4All…That’s the one that’s gonna get a lot of support my first four years certainly”
— Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez -December 22, 2022

There are two actions you can take:

1) Call Councilmember Soto-Martinez’s office and tell them to ensure a 2024 ATP grant application is submitted by LADOT on behalf of Sunset4All and to prioritize Sunset4All for all state and Federal grant opportunities.  
*Even if you’re not a constituent, the goal is to get his and his staff’s attention.

OFFICE PHONE NUMBER:  213-473-7013

2) Email Councilmember Soto-Martinez using our email template on the link below:

Send an email to CD13 to support grant funding

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Caltrans wants your input on plans to close the bike lane gap on Santa Monica Blvd in West LA, west of the 405 Freeway. (Clicking on the second image will make it easier to read.)

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US News and World Report — yes, it’s still a thing, evidently — is out with their ranking of the best places to live in the US for the 2023 and 2024, based on the country’s 150 largest cities.

Which is apparently why places like Long Beach and Santa Monica didn’t make the list.

While my bike-friendly Colorado hometown checks in at 23, you have to hit the Load More button twice before getting to any Southern California city, with sunny San Diego just making the top 100 at 93.

Santa Barbara, which sits outside most definitions of SoCal, comes in at 123.

Then you have to drop all the way down to 139 before you get to Los Angeles, below such garden spots as Brownsville, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Apparently, our notorious car-centrism weighed heavily on our relatively pitiful ranking.

Just as surely as the positive platitudes are true, so are the negative ones. Notorious traffic jams and hours of delays are the norm for those who drive the many freeways covering Los Angeles. But all the mileage is not wasted. Those same freeways take residents between coastal beaches, rugged mountains, tree-lined forests and stark deserts all within an hour of the downtown area.

If only there was some sort of cheap, clean and efficient means of transportation that could get people out of their cars and defuse those notorious traffic jams.

But at least we beat out Bakersfield.

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Seriously, nothing says LA like an impatient driver forcing his way into a memorial bike ride.

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Nice to see plans to extend the Ballona Creek bike path getting local neighborhood support.

Although after more than three decades living in Los Angeles, I didn’t even know there is a Sepulveda Creek.

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Somehow, I don’t think this is how protected bike lane barriers are supposed to work.

David Drexler forwards a Nextdoor photo of a “truck operator having difficulty trying to decide how to park with the new (controversial) curbed bike lane on 17th street in Santa Monica.”

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

San Luis Obispo’s anti-bike curmudgeon is back with yet another screed calling on the city to end its “bike lane insanity.” Seriously, someone get this guy on a bike, already. Thanks to Jeff Mellstrom for the link.

A local British counselor complains that building bike and walking paths on the grounds of a 12th century abbey will restrict the activities of dog walkers, because they could “cause accidents when not in control.” Although it’s not clear whether he’s referring to the dogs or bike riders being out of control.

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Local 

The Southern California Association of Governments, aka SCAG, wants your opinion on plans to shape their transportation, housing and climate policy for the next few years; the group may be awkward and ponderous, but they’ve also made some good moves to support active transportation in recent years. Thanks to Kent Strumpell for the heads-up.

Bicycling talks with LA-based ex-pro Phil Gaimon about whether drivers know bike laws — or whether bike riders do, either. And advises against confronting people whose transportation can transform into a multi-ton weapon. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Metro offers a first look at the 5.5-mile Rail-to-Rail walk/bike path currently under construction along the neglected Slauson corridor right-of-way in South LA.

The Beach Cities Health District is building short bike and pedestrian path on Prospect Ave near their Redondo Beach headquarters, part of the South Bay Cities planned 200-mile bike network.

That’s more like it. Long Beach is addressing bikeshare affordability by creating the Bike Share for All program, allowing low-income people who live, work or attend school in the city to purchase an annual bikeshare pass for just five bucks. Even I could afford that.

 

State

Calbike says it’s time to divest from regressive road building and invest in Complete Streets, active transportation and transit. And calls on you to demand that AB 1525, the Equity-First Transportation Funding Act, get a hearing before the full state Assembly; the bill would require 60% California’s transportation budget be spent in disadvantaged communities.

A Santa Barbara columnist calls on local residents to kick the car habit and embrace their inner bicycle.

Streetsblog says the bike path to San Francisco via Treasure Island, with a 17 percent grade, is only for the strong and confident.

 

National

Left-leaning The Nation says it will take “unprecedented investment in infrastructure and public transit” to break America’s car-dependency.

Seattle’s public health staff offers some of the best advice I’ve seen on how to share the road with people on bicycles, including “become a bicyclist” and “Just be nice!”

Seattle police weren’t nice, though, actually earning money while developing tactics to use bikes to confront angry protesters.

A Reno newspaper talks with local bike riders about their experiences, including one with a four hour, 67-mile round trip ride to work.

A Michigan man accused of killing a bike rider while fleeing from police in a high-speed chase will stand trial later this year after rejecting a plea deal.

A Dayton, Ohio website recommends a trip to the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, where you’ll find over 200 bicycles on display, along with other bike artifacts.

When a St. Louis woman challenged 50 local leaders to go carfree for just one day, only nine managed to do it.

The kindhearted Maine homeless woman who used the last of her money to buy a new bike for a three-year old boy after his was stolen received over $11,000 donations to pay off the car she has been living in.

The white New York hospital woman captured in a viral video trying wrest and whine a bikeshare bike out of the grasp of the Black teenager who had rented it has been placed on leave by Bellevue Hospital pending a review of the incident.

Sayfullo Saipov, the convicted New York terrorist who killed eight people and injured dozens of others as he rampaged down a Manhattan bike path in a rented truck four and a half years ago, will spend the rest of his life in Colorado’s Supermax prison after he was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms. So that means when he dies, they’ll dig him up and toss him in a cell until he dies again, and start the process over. Right?

In a powerful statement, Pennsylvania bicyclists marked bike week by posing ghost bikes on the steps of the state capital representing the people killed riding bikes on the state’s roadways. California’s state capitol building doesn’t have enough steps for the roughly 160 ghost bikes we’d need every year.

A relatively recent convert to bike advocacy offers advice on how to make urban riding in DC safer and less intimidating, most of which applies anywhere. It’s also one of the few pieces I’ve seen that gives biking advice from a Black woman, rather than to them.

The DC area is getting a new 18-mile protected bike path — as long as you don’t mind the roaring noise and breath sucking fumes that come from riding next to a major freeway.

The Washington Post talks with the Red Bike guy who gained viral fame for shouting down Neo-Nazis from a bikeshare bike.

A Florida man fears 2023 will be a bad year for bike riders, after he was twice struc by drivers in separate incidents since the first or the year.

 

International

Bicycling examines the takeaways from the recent Velo-City conference, where leaders from 60 countries discussed how to make cities better for bicyclists, including using cargo bikes as a real solution to traffic. Once again, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

The 70-something British woman who was knocked down, then run over by a drunk ex-cricket player while riding her bike suffered life-changing injuries, and suffers from nightmares every night a year later; the driver was sentenced to just two years, despite testing over four times the legal alcohol limit.

A group of people abused by priests made a bike pilgrimage from Germany to Rome to share their concerns with Pope Francis, and urge him to use his power to heal and prevent abuses in the Catholic Church.

Listening to your earbuds while biking in Spain could cost you the equivalent of $216.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart is out of the race after breaking his hip in a crash that also saw race leader Geraint Thomas and second-place Primož Roglič hit the pavement. You can read it on AOL this time if Bicycling blocks you. 

Russian pro Gleb Syritsa stripped naked to show off the gruesome road rash he suffered in a crash during the opening stage of the mathematically challenged six-day Four Days of Dunkirk stage race.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you base you helmet choice on advice from Good Housekeeping — yes, the homemake magazine. Your new bike tubes could be made from your last ones.

And we may have to deal with bearish LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about t-boning a real one.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Arrest made in San Pedro hit-and-run, memorial ride for Dr. Mammone, and CD5’s Yaroslavsky joins Metro board

March 16, 2023 / / Comments Off on Arrest made in San Pedro hit-and-run, memorial ride for Dr. Mammone, and CD5’s Yaroslavsky joins Metro board

Too often, hit-and-run drivers get away with their crimes.

But not this time, apparently.

The LAPD announced the arrest of 27-year old Anisha Marie Lockhart, accusing her of being the heartless coward driver who killed Oscar Montoya as he was riding his bike in San Pedro early in the morning on Sunday, March 5th.

A statement from the department reported that citizen tips led them Lockhart’s car two days after the crash, and additional tips helped them take Lockhart into custody two days later.

She was reportedly under the influence at the time of the crash, and on her way to another bar when she slammed into Montoya, who was just picking up an order from a food truck.

Lockhart was being held on $100,000 bond on a charge of felony hit-and-run; it’s not clear if she’s still in custody.

Meanwhile, it’s likely that multiple people will split the $50,000 reward if she’s is convicted.

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The Big Bear Cycling Association has more information on Saturday’s memorial ride for Dr. Michael Mammone, who was murdered while riding his bike on PCH in Laguna Beach last month, by a man apparently suffering from mental illness.

The cycling community has rallied in an effort to honor the life and contribution of Dr. Michael Mammone.

With support from Providence Mission Hospital Foundation a celebration of life and ride has been organized on Saturday March 18th, 2023 at the Leonard Cancer Institute at Mission Hospital 27799 Medical Center Road Mission Viejo.

All cycling groups small and large are encouraged to ride to the event. We ask that your ride does not “start” or “end” at the hospital but instead “STOP” at the event no later than 11:00 A.M. Groups should plan their own independent rides and converge at the event.

Armbands (optional/free) to be worn on the ride may be picked up at Rock n Road Cyclery, at all 4 Orange County locations and Specialized of Costa Mesa, any time prior to the day of the event and worn on your group rides that day.

For those individuals and families wishing to attend without riding to the event, free parking will be provided on the first three levels with the rooftop level reserved for standing room only attendance.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up. 

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Los Angeles CD5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky will take former Councilmember Mike Biden’s place on the Metro board, which should be good news for active transportation.

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Costa Mesa could use someone who bikes for their new Energy/Sustainability Manager.

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The San Diego Bike Coalition is teaming with Families for Safe Streets San Diego for a hard-hitting new poster campaign calling attention to the record number of traffic deaths in the county.

The group is looking for volunteers to help put up posters around the city this Saturday. You can learn more and RSVP here.

Sadly, they’ll need another one in Oceanside after a man riding a bike was killed by a driver high on heroin yesterday.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the tip.

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

He gets it. A writer for The Spectator calls on everyone to stop demonizing bike riders, and give colleagues a pass for showing up in the office in a bit of Lycra, because more people on bicycles benefits everyone.

But sometimes, its the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Scranton, Pennsylvania man walked without a day behind bars for groping four women as he rode by on his bicycle, after the judge sentenced him to four months home vacation confinement.

An assistant to a Baton Rouge, Louisiana judge was lucky to escape unscathed after she nearly hit a pair of teenaged bike riders, who responded by shooting her in the arm; the same suspects reportedly stole a running pickup minutes later, then repeatedly shot the driver when he tried to reclaim it after they crashed into a stop sign with their bikes in the truck bed.

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Local 

The UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge will spend the next two years examining transportation issues with local stakeholders through their new TRACtion program, short for Transformative Research and Collaboration.

Chris Hemsworth is one of us, riding barefoot on an ebike made by Los Angeles-based Super73.

 

State

The UCI Health system will host the 7th Annual UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge this October, featuring bike routes of 14, 35, 60 or 100 miles, as well as a new mountain bike route, and 5K and 10K run/walks.

She gets it. A Solano Beach letter writer says that the increase in bicycling collisions isn’t because bicyclists are riding in an unsafe manner, but rather, “due to the explosion in popularity of ebikes, more people are biking on our unsafe roads.”

San Jose will use a $2 million federal grant to fund a design study on how to transform a six lane highway into a boulevard with dedicated transit lanes and protected bike lanes; nicknamed Blood Alley, Monterey Road has long been the city’s deadliest roadway, with 42 deaths and severe injuries in less than four years. Maybe Malibu could take a few notes on how to transform PCH from SoCal’s deadliest highway into the Main Street it should be.

San Francisco opened a two-way bikeway on Battery Street, which Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick bitingly describes as “just more paint, plastic, and prayers masquerading as ‘protection.'”

 

National

Men’s Journal offers their choices for the year’s best road bikes, with prices starting at around $800 and going up — a lot.

A mountain biker discusses three things that can kill your confidence on the trail.

Surprising news from bike-friendly Portland, where bicycling rates have dropped to a 17 year low, including a 45% drop in bicycling in the central city from nine years earlier.

A Wyoming paper talks with Michael “Mac” McCoy, the father of the 2,700-mile Great Divide Trail, which follows the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico.

Chicago approved a plan to use cameras to ticket drivers who park in bus and bike lanes, employing a combination of cams mounted on poles and on buses and other city vehicles. LA Metro approved a similar program to use bus-mounted cameras to ticket drivers who park in bus lanes.

The Washington Post reports on the battle to make pandemic era Slow Streets permanent, as some drivers refuse to give up without a fight.

 

International

Undefeated UFC fighter Lerone Murphy is preparing to return to the ring, 18 months after surviving a near-fatal bicycling collision in London.

London-based luxury fashion and lifestyle magazine Salon Privé examines the physical health benefits of riding a bicycle. Although the mental health benefits are equally, uh, beneficial. 

A Dublin, Ireland man filed a multi-million euro lawsuit alleging he suffered a catastrophic brain injury slamming his head into a series of bollards, despite wearing a helmet, after losing control of his ebike hitting a low curb on a protected bike lane.

Life is cheap in Ireland, where a former bus driver walked without a single day behind bars for killing a man riding a bicycle, after playing the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming the sun was in his eyes. Which may or may not be true, but the correct response to being blinded by the sun is to stop until you can see, not keep going until you run over someone.

Belgium is creating a voluntary national bicycle registry to combat bike theft.

Germany’s bicycle industry quadrupled in just a decade, rising to a combined total of seven billion euros, the equivalent of roughly $7.5 billion, while every second bicycle sold in the country is an ebike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-three-year old British cyclist Tom Pidcock is out of Saturday’s Milan-San Remo after he showed mild concussion symptoms following a crash in the final stage of last Sunday’s Tirreno-Adriatico.

Belgian cyclist Lotte Kopecky won the country’s Nokere Koerse bike race on Wednesday, just four days after the unexpected death of her brother; Belgian national champ Tim Merlier successfully defended his win in last year’s men’s race.

 

Finally…

Seriously, who wouldn’t ride a bicycle to get ice cream in the middle of a blizzard? If you’re going to steal a cargo bike worth over $2,600 in a petty crime spree, it might raise fewer red flags if you tried to sell it for more than 60 bucks.

And it’s that time of year when mountain bikers emerge from their winter hibernation.

https://www.tiktok.com/@thecaliradokid/video/7203741560847060270?embed_source=121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.bikemag.com%2Ftrending-news%2Fmountain-bikers-spring&referer_video_id=7203741560847060270

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Journalists criticize fatally flawed Wilson shooting story, and $11.3 million grant for San Jose Creek Multi-Use Bikeway

January 31, 2023 / / One comment

Last week we linked to Outside’s deep dive into the murder of rising gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson.

As you’ll recall, Wilson was shot to death in Austin, Texas last year in what reportedly amounted to a one-sided love triangle.

Wilson was — allegedly — murdered by Kaitlin Armstrong in a fit of jealousy, after Wilson spent an afternoon with top men’s ‘cross pro Colin Strickland. Armstrong, Strickland’s on-and-off-girlfriend, apparently saw Wilson as a rival for his affections, even though Strickland and Wilson both denied any romantic involvement.

But not only did Strickland buy the gun Armstrong allegedly used, he also bought the ammunition.

Now top cycling journalists are strongly criticizing the magazine for what they see as basically an apologia for Strickland, written by his friend, Austin-based writer Ian Dille.

Not exactly the objective reporting you’d expect from a credible major magazine.

https://twitter.com/joelindsey/status/1620099536009166854

https://twitter.com/joelindsey/status/1620099542963359744

https://twitter.com/joelindsey/status/1620099545672863746

https://twitter.com/joelindsey/status/1620099549443522566

https://twitter.com/joelindsey/status/1620099550773141504

For some reason, I can’t get the tweet from Laura Weislo to load, but here is what she had to say.

Great work from @outsidemagazine and @iandille on this – not only re-traumatizing everyone close to Mo with this salacious slanted story but also naming those who wanted to stay anon & possibly setting yourselves up for libel suits for some of the details.

I don’t pretend to know enough about the situation or the people involved to offer any objective insights.

But I do know when people like that are telling the magazine to do better, maybe they should listen.

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels.

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That’s more like it.

Pomona announced an $11.3 million grant from LA Metro to build the San Jose Creek Multi-Use Bikeway, completing a missing link in the San Gabriel Valley  Regional Greenway Network.

Although that kind of pales in comparison to the nearly $300 million the agency is spending to create still more induced demand-induced traffic congestion on the 57/60 Freeways. Never mind that it comes in the midst of a climate emergency, when we desperately need to reduce driving, not encourage more of it.

Maybe they could reverse the funding, and give $300 million to bikeway expansion and the relatively paltry $11.3 to freeways.

It’s a thought.

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Calbike is still in the market for a new executive director, in case you’re looking for something to do with all your free time.

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Minnesota Public Radio goes for a winter fat bike ride through the snow.

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

When a San Francisco bike rider blocked a driver from illegally entering a Shared Space street, where non-resident drivers are prohibited on weekends, an enraged driver yelled “You’re the fucking white people that should die” before speeding off. And yes, the driver looked to be white, too.

No bias here. British Columbia’s no-fault insurance program somehow ruled that liability was evenly split between a bike rider and a driver — even though the road raging motorist drove over the victim’s bike, rather than going around her.

Someone used a large vehicle to crush a controversial bike hanger in the UK, which had somehow enraged motorists for the crime of occupying a single parking space; fortunately, none of the bikes inside were harmed.
But sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Tres shock! A writer for Road.cc confesses to not waving at other bicyclists when out for a ride, questioning why a simple nod isn’t enough.

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Local 

Streetsblog looks forward to a long list of open streets events in and around the City of Angels, including CicLAvia and 626 Golden Streets, as well as handful of other events. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that no one was even sure the first CicLAvia would succeed, let alone all the others that have followed.

This is who we share the road with. A pipe-wielding Tesla driver has been arrested in a string of road rage attacks against other motorists stretching back for months.

Our friend Michael Wagner writes CLR Effect about the first bike rodeo held by advocacy group Sustainable Claremont. You really should be reading his site if you ride on the other side of LA County, if you don’t already. And you do, right?

 

State

They get it. The Los Angeles Times says California’s CEQA laws are too easily and too often used to block housing and slow environmental progress.

Mission Viejo’s Providence Mission Hospital is giving away free bike and multi-sport helmets for kids between 2 and 17 at the hospital gift shop.

Streetsblog takes a look at Oceanside’s planned Complete Streets makeover of the Coast Highway 101, saying one of the project’s key drivers is drivers using it as a cut-through to bypass traffic on the 5 Freeway.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero program is going the wrong way, as the city suffered the most traffic deaths since the program was adopted in 2014.

Speaking of Streetsblog, Roger Ruddick rides the new Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project in Alameda County, describing the ostensible Complete Streets makeover as a hellscape, and concluding that Alameda County once again “lived up to their well-earned reputation for not having a clue how to build a multi-modal corridor.”

 

National

The Bike League’s Bicycle Friendly Community program has now topped 500 communities, spread throughout all 50 states.

Cracked looks back to the good ol’ days “when men thought bicycles wold make women ugly and slutty.”

Winter Bike to Work (or Wherever) Day returns to my platinum-level bike-friendly Colorado hometown next week. Which serves as a reminder that we still don’t have a winter Bike to Work Day here in Los Angeles, where the winter weather is so much better. Then again, judging by the last few years, we barely do a regular Bike to Work Day any more, either.

Surprisingly, nearly half of all the ebike vouchers went unused in Denver’s exceptionally popular ebike rebate program, with just 56% actually redeemed to purchase a new ebike.

A Harvard researcher asks if bicycling is safe, particularly for women, and other groups like less-fit men, seniors and parents with children, concluding the answer is no. And not surprisingly, that the danger comes from cars and their drivers.

Connecticut’s legislature is considering 18 recommendations from the state’s Vision Zero committee, including increased use of speed cams to combat the state’s record traffic deaths.

What’s wrong with this picture? A Louisiana bike rider was killed in a head-on collision, even though police investigators later concluded both the victim and the driver were traveling in the right directions on the right side of the road; the driver was booked for vehicular homicide, possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, and driving on the right side of the road. Which usually isn’t a crime, and doesn’t explain how they crashed if they were both in their own lanes.

 

International

Bicyclists participating in the weekly Bikes and Beer ride in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico passed on the usual raucous celebration to remember the victims of the city’s rising toll from traffic violence.

A Toronto committee backed a staff recommendation to make a contentious popup bike lane through the city’s midtown neighborhood permanent, despite opponents claims that they cause gridlocked streets. Meanwhile, Canadian Cycling profiles a fierce advocate of the contested bike lanes.

No bias here, either. A British driver is “horrified” to see — or rather, not see — so many bike riders and pedestrians failing to wear hi-viz or carry flashlights in the early morning gloom. Apparently, she’s unaware that cars have headlights, and drivers are supposed to slow down in low light conditions so they can actually see others on the roadway.

Clean Technica joins the pack extolling Amsterdam’s massive new 7,000 bike underwater parking garage.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your toddler somehow needs a $1080 titanium balance bike, complete with carbon fork. When you feel the need to show the world your cut on the butt from your “near fatal” bike crash.

And who doesn’t need an e-scooter that magically converts to a throttle-controlled ebike?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

Why LA fails the transit density test, new Metro K-Line bike lockers, and West Hollywood to give free bikes to residents

December 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on Why LA fails the transit density test, new Metro K-Line bike lockers, and West Hollywood to give free bikes to residents

It’s the 7th day of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! 

There’s never been a charge to visit this site. No subscription fees, no paywall. Anyone and everyone is welcome, at any time, for any reason. 

This is the only time of year we ask you to contribute what you can to help keep it that way. 

So ask yourself, what this site is worth to you? Then take a moment right now, and donate via PayPal or Zelle.

And thanks to Paul F, Johannes H, The Muirs, Audrey K and Anonymous for their generous support to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

Give today!

………

A new Brookings Institute report says creating urban activity centers combining “community institutions, tourism destinations, consumption amenities, major institutions, and jobs in traded sectors” are key to green commutes.

Which helps explain why Los Angeles ranks so low in transit use, despite its high density, since those activity centers are so widely dispersed, and lack many of the key components.

Thanks to Gordon Chaffin for the heads-up.

………

Metro reports bike lockers are now available at five K Line stations, on what was formerly known as the Crenshaw Line.

The lockers can now be found at —

  • Expo/Crenshaw
  • MLK Jr.
  • Leimart Park
  • Fairview Heights
  • Downtown Inglewood

………

West Hollywood is partnering with Schwinn to give away 50 free bicycles to WeHo residents in an effort to reduce car dependency.

You have to be over 18, and commit to riding at least 20 miles a month.

Although that really should be 20 miles a week, but still.

You can apply for the program here.

………

The last CicLAvia of the year rolls through historic South LA this Sunday, with an early 3 pm cutoff.

The latest weather forecast calls for showers ending late morning, leading to a cool and sunny afternoon.

So bundle up, and get out there for one last carfree celebration before the holidays.

………

This is who we share the road with.

Police in San Luis Obispo responded to a report of a driver striking a curb before hitting a street sign and crashing into a bridge abutment.

When the driver failed to show signs of intoxication, they just wrote it off as an oopsie, and had the car towed.

And somehow missed the couple lying dead in a creak bed, along with their dog, hidden under thick brush.

It wasn’t until their bodies were found the next day that police realized the speeding driver had slammed into them as they were walking their dog.

Which led police to go back and “interview” the 24-year old driver.

Not interrogate. Not arrest. Not even ticket.

At least, not yet. And maybe never.

Thanks to How the West Was Saved for the link.

………

Nothing like watching someone use bolt cutters to steal a bike in broad daylight.

 

………

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

No bias here. A New York judge pointed a finger at the city’s “problem” with ebikes and motorized bicycles, as he sentenced a man to one to three years behind bars for killing Gone Girl and Broadway actor Lisa Banes as she was crossing the street — even though the careless, red light-running rider was on an e-scooter.

No bias here, either. A New York writer suggests combating the scourge of ebikes by picking up your takeout in person, claiming speeding ebike riders have made jaywalking a blood sport.

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

Police in Oxnard CA are on the lookout for a bike-riding bank robber who made his escape on two wheels after ripping off a Wells Fargo.

……..

………

Local 

Urbanize LA offers more details on the $5.1 in Westside transportation improvements approved by the city council this week, in one of outgoing CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin’s final acts on the council.

 

State 

Palo Alto is considering a ban on ebikes on unpaved trails in local nature preserves, apparently concluding that only strong, able-bodied people who don’t need a ped-assist should visit them.

A San Francisco op-ed says Slow Streets helped bring the city’s Noe Valley community together, and the city needs more of them.

Police in Rancho Cordova arrested a 42-year old homeless man in the apparent unprovoked attack with a machete on a 60-year old, recently retired ebike rider, whose injuries were described as “unsurvivable.”

 

National

Streetsblog looks at where bikes scored big in the recent election.

A podcast from Outside looks at what happens to drivers who hit bicyclists. Short answer: Not much, in most cases.

More harm caused by motor vehicles, as researchers blame rubber particulates from car tires for a massive die-off of coho salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

The head man at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas is one of us, using a bicycle to get around the massive event.

Axios says Transportation Secretary Pete is big on bikes, as he stops in Chicago to promote aviation workers.

A furious Chicago father demands safe routes to schools after drivers hit his bike-riding daughter, not once but twice. Although he seems a lot calmer than I would have been under the circumstances.

That’s more like it. An Ohio man was sentenced to eight to twelve years behind bars for the drugged, head-on crash that killed a man riding a bicycle; he also lost his driver’s license for life and prohibited from buying or owning a motor vehicle.

Massachusetts Hyundai dealers honored Springfield’s Bob the Bike Man for his efforts to get more kids on bicycles despite suffering from a terminal brain condition.

Life is cheap in New York, where a cab driver walked with just a lousy one-year license suspension after his passenger fatally doored a bike rider when he failed to pull up to the curb to let them out.

Baltimore residents and business owners sound a familiar refrain, claiming they weren’t told about plans for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes, even though they’d been in the works for years.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a 29-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for killing a man riding a bicycle, after a judge suspended her entire five-year sentence.

 

International

No surprise here, as a new study shows protected bike lane networks have “significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower transport costs, prevent road fatalities, and improve the quality of life for people” around the world, concluding that bike lanes “reduce emissions as effectively as highways create them.”

Cyclist offers tips on how to keep your bike from squeaking and creaking. Although a well-lubed bike won’t do anything to keep you from doing creaking.

Cycling Weekly recommends the best holiday sales on bikes and bicycle gear in the US and the UK.

The UK’s leading bike-building school is permanently shuttering its doors, battered by Covid, Brexit and unrelenting financial challenges.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson departed office with a number of gifts — included a secondhand, $4,800 bike from the president of Kurdistan.

The new SUB from Vienna-based Vello claims to be the world’s lightest e-cargo bike, checking in at a svelte 53 pounds for the titanium version.

Bicycling says Budapest residents are pedaling to power the city’s Christmas tree, which was jeopardized by the ongoing energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

More proof bicyclists face the same problems everywhere, as bike riders in Dwarka, India demand better bike infrastructure, arguing there’s currently nothing to protect them.

NPR reports more Afghans are using bikes to get around as the economy continues to decline following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, even though women and girls are now prohibited from riding, even if they had before.

An Israeli study shows 70% of ebike and e-scooter users who suffered facial injuries weren’t wearing helmets.

An Italian ultracyclist is attempting to bike across the bottom of the world, setting off on a record-setting effort to fat bike across Antarctica.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Italy, where former Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Nice champ Davide Rebellin was killed when he was hit by a truck on a training ride; the Italian cyclist was still competing at age 51, despite a two-year doping ban that cost him an Olympic silver medal.

The Tour de France will depart from its traditional Paris finish for the first time in 2024, looking for a nice finish in Nice, instead.

Trans cyclist Emily Bridges says she still dreams of riding for Wales at the Commonwealth Games, even after the UK barred new trans cyclists from competition pending a review scheduled for next year.

 

Finally…

Charles Barkley is five grand poorer after losing a bet that he could ride a kid’s bike, even though Shaq could. San Diegans name their cute little street sweeper.

And look ma, no hands.

Or feet, for that matter.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

Support bike advocacy on Giving Tuesday, Metro rescinds disguised rate increase, and new bike lanes in CD1 at last

November 29, 2022 / / 5 comments

Happy Giving Tuesday!

It’s the day you give your hard-earned money to help one or more deserving organizations do some good in the world. 

We listed a handful of local organizations that deserve your support yesterday, like CicLAvia, Streets For All and LA’s legendary Bicycle Kitchen.

Other deserving LA and California bike groups include Calbike, Streetsblog, BikeLA (formerly the LACBC), SAFE and Walk ‘n Rollers. 

Then if there’s anything left under your sofa cushions, it’s also Day 5 of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

So let’s give a special thanks to Andrew G, David R, Eric L and SAFE for their generous donations yesterday to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

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Apparently, they heard us.

After transit users and advocacy groups rose up against Metro’s proposed new rate structure, which was presented as a “simplification” but would have resulted in a disguised rate increase for many riders, the LA County transit agency backed down.

Metro is now keeping the existing $1.75 fares and free transfers, while capping daily fares for multiple rides at $5, with an $18 weekly cap.

Which should work better for everyone.

While we’re on the subject, Metro is recruiting members for the agency’s Public Safety Advisory Committee.

………

It looks like LADOT is getting a jump on “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo leaving office.

After nine years of blocking most, if not all, bike infrastructure in LA’s CD1, new bike lanes are beginning to appear on the streets of long-neglected Lincoln Heights now that Cedillo has lost his bid for a third and final term, with incoming Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez set to take office in two weeks.

Let’s hope it’s just the first of many, starting with deadly North Figueroa.

………

Apparently, it is possible to build a bike lane that’s actually protected from motor vehicles, without relying on those little car-tickler plastic bendy posts.

………

Speaking of Walk ‘n Rollers, the Culver City-based kids bike safety and education group is hosting a fundraising donut ride this Saturday.

………

And speaking of CicLAvia, you can chase your donuts with America’s largest open streets event as it rolls through South LA on Sunday.

Fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain, though.

………

‘Tis the season.

Seventy-five students in a Colorado elementary school were surprised with new bicycles thanks to a local nonprofit, after the kids watched a performance by a retired BMX stunt rider.

Hundreds of 3rd graders at a pair of Greenville NC elementary schools got new bikes, thanks to the Poway, California-based Bikes for Kids Foundation.

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

A Michigan judge faces a judicial ethics complaint after falsely accusing a bike shop owner of a racist assault after she demanded for a discount due to a problem with one of the bicycles; security video showed she was the one who actually assaulted the bike shop owner.

No bias here. Bike riders in Winnipeg, Manitoba were warned not to clear snow from city bike lanes or risk a fine, even if the city doesn’t do it.

A Toronto roadway vigilante asks if he was wrong to honk at a bike rider who started off from a red light during the Leading Pedestrian Interval, saying he’s tires of bicyclists making up their own rules; a columnist politely points out that there are too many traffic infractions at every intersection to enforce every one, and it ain’t his job anyway. Correction: I originally wrote that California bike riders are allowed to proceed along with the walk signal, in advance of the green light; however, Bryan J Blumberg explains that the rule won’t take effect until 2024. 

No bias here, either. London cops took a bike rider to task for swearing after they parked their unmarked car in bike lane, forcing the rider into the street — even though bicyclists are required to used the bike lane, and even though he had no idea they were cops. The Metro police later apologized, admitting the cops were wrong.

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

The FBI is continuing to search for a 38-year old armed robber, despite removing him from Ten Most Wanted list 18 years after he allegedly shot a 24-year-old armored-car guard five times in the head, then fled on a mountain bike with $56,000 in cash.

Students at England’s Cambridge University have a tradition of ignoring the university’s one-way traffic regulations, according to a university fellow.

………

Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State 

Calbike offers suggestions on how young people can get started in advocacy to get more people riding bicycles.

More bad news this week, as a 71-year old man suffered critical injuries when he was struck by a driver while riding in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Oakland is moving ahead with a $295 million package of infrastructure improvements between the city’s Jack London Square and a proposed new stadium at the port, including a bike path, regardless of whether it actually gets built.

 

National

VeloNews examines whether MIPS bike helmets really prevent traumatic brain injuries, as the manufacturers claim. However, you’ll have to sign up for a free account to read the story.

Bicycling looks at the problem of ever-shrinking passing zones, as bike lanes have failed to keep up with larger private vehicles — let alone vehicle sizes that force bike riders who don’t take the full lane even further into the door zone. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Bike Portland takes an early look at Oregon’s proposed ebike rebate program, which would offer up to $1,200 to purchase a standard ebike, or up to $1,700 for a cargo ebike. Although that could change as the bill moves forward.

Utah has suffered a 30 year high in bicycling fatalities; 15 people have been killed riding bikes in the state this year, with over a month to go.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. A Utah man faces up to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty in the drunken crash that killed a 13-year old boy riding his bike in a crosswalk; he was still on the road despite three previous DUI convictions, as well as violating court-imposed alcohol restrictions.

A sitting judge, who was the co-founder of the nonprofit Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico, was killed by her husband in murder suicide; he also shot a number of their pets before taking his own life.

A defendant in Colorado’s Operation Vicious Cycle bike theft scheme agreed to a plea deal of three years behind bars, followed by another three years of probation; seven other defendants are also accused of stealing high-end bikes from Denver-area bike shops for resale in a Mexican bike shop.

Good news, as Christian singer Amy Grant returned to a Memphis stage for the first time since she suffered a traumatic brain injury hitting a pothole on her bike in August; she was reportedly unconscious for up to 15 minutes following her fall. And yes, she was wearing a helmet.

New York’s fire department will require landlords to post a notice warning about the risk of ebike and e-scooter battery fires when charging them indoors.

Prosecutors in North Carolina have charged a driver with killing an Asheville man riding a bicycle, even though the driver played the Universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming he just didn’t see him; police say the area was well lighted, so the driver should have seen the victim in time to avoid the crash.

 

International

Road.cc asks its readers what’s the scariest thing that’s happened to them on a bike that didn’t involve a driver, with responses ranging from rampaging cows to exploding rims. In my case, it was probably when a log resting on a Louisiana roadway started moving when I rode closer, and snapped his alligator jaws at me as I swerved around it.

A writer for We Love Cycling makes the case for why requiring registration plates for bicycles doesn’t make sense.

A Japanese writer takes on the new rinko trend, defined as taking a folding bicycle on a train to explore your destination at the other end.

 

Competitive Cycling

A British man has been sidelined in advance of this week’s Cyclocross Masters World Championships after someone broke into his home and stole his bikes.

 

Finally…

Build your own DIY bicycle turn signals and brake light. Your next ebike could be your caddie, although it probably sucks at selecting the right club.

And presenting the answer for everyone who ever wanted to pedal through the library.

Or in it, anyway.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

This is who we share the road with, new 1st Street bike lane in DTLA, and call to end freeway widening in LA County

September 30, 2022 / / Comments Off on This is who we share the road with, new 1st Street bike lane in DTLA, and call to end freeway widening in LA County

Let’s start with a quick look at who we share the road with.

A hit-and-run driver was arrested by police after he killed a man and his three dogs walking in Downtown Los Angeles early yesterday, then crashed into several parked cars trying to flee; police used a stun gun and baton to take the man down.

And a 20-year old woman faces 25 to life after allegedly using her car to kill a Cypress man she thought was trying to run over a cat; she thoughtfully recorded the confrontation on her cellphone, in case prosecutors needed more evidence to put her away. No word on whether the cat escaped with all nine lives intact.

………

Another new bike lane in DTLA.

Now if they’d just put a few in the rest of the city.

………

Seriously, someone tell Metro and Caltrans to take the hint, already. And stop wasting billions on induced demand-inducing freeway projects.

………

More news from Gavin Newsom’s veto pen, as he signs a bill requiring bike parking in new multifamily construction, but vetoes a bill requiring the state to put its climate change money where its mouth is.

………

Just a reminder that there are still good people in the world.

Although it’s also a reminder not to post videos online that start or end where you live.

https://twitter.com/clarkstbikelane/status/1575669587663761408

………

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

Life is cheap in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where killing a woman and injuring another bike rider as they took part in a fundraising ride only merits a lousy ticket for a bad lane change. Although that’s still more than the driver would get in some other places.

Police are looking for the bike rider who viciously attacked a disabled London man while threatening to kill him, after the driver tried to let him know he was behind him. As we’ve said before, violence is always wrong. But something tells me there’s another side to this story.

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

Police in Eugene, Oregon busted a man with an outstanding warrant after he went over his handlebars while trying to flee the cops on his bicycle.

The New York man who killed Gone Girl and Cocktail actress Lisa Banes faces one to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to running her down with his moped.

………

Local

South Pasadena will observe the annual Walk or Bike to School Day on Wednesday.

 

State 

The Orange County Transportation Authority is urging people to walk, bike, use transit, share a ride or work from home during next week’s Rideshare Week.

Police in Carlsbad are asking for witnesses to the ebike crash that left a 61-year old woman with serious injuries; it’s not clear if she was the victim of a hit-and-run or a solo crash.

Goleta will host a public meeting Tuesday to discuss the San Jose Creek Bike Path Project.

Sad news from Redwood City, where a man was killed when a semi driver crossed the double yellow line and hit his bicycle head-on; the driver was arrested on a charge of involuntary manslaughter with gross negligence.

San Francisco bicyclists are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Critical Mass tonight.

Richmond’s Rich City Rides is as important to the East Bay Community as the East Side Riders are down here. Right now, they’re 13% of the way to their $10,000 fundraising goal to keep giving away free bicycles and bike repair to people in need. Just in case you have a little extra money lying around.

 

National

Bicycling looks at the best bike shorts with pockets to stash your essentials. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Forbes examines whether you can get a DUI on a bicycle. Short answer, in California, yes. In other states, it depends.

Vision Zero is failing in Seattle, where traffic deaths continue to climb despite the commitment to end them by 2030.

A Spokane writer visits the Netherlands to examine how the western Washington city could elevate itself to the ranks of bike friendly cities like Copenhagen, Mexico City and Portland. All of which would work just as well in Los Angeles.

Salt Lake City’s efforts to get more people on two wheels is paying off, with a 19% jump in bike commuting rates over the past two years.

Just one day after pledging to rip out the city’s only protected bike lane — and hours after a protest from bike riders — the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska says the bike lane will stay in place until construction begins on a planned streetcar.

Slate examines why Houston cops would say a quiet residential street “isn’t safe for pedestrians or people riding bikes” after an eight-year old boy was killed doing just that.

That’s more like it. A 44-year old Peoria, Illinois woman has been sentenced to 22 years behind bars for the drunken, hit-and-run crash that killed a ten-year old boy riding an ebike.

The Boston Globe says bike riders and runners are turning to gravel trails as a safe refuge from aggressive drivers. Or it could just be because it’s fun. Or both, maybe.

New York’s attorney general took a few minutes off from suing the Trump Organization to warn New Yorkers about the dangers of improperly charging ebike batteries.

Great idea. A New York City council member has proposed a bounty for reporting a blocked bike or sidewalk; the program would pay a reward equalling 25% of the $175 fine.

New Jersey is establishing a committee to create a statewide Vision Zero program. First step is to actually fund the damn thing, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

 

International

Road.cc considers the pros and cons of using a single bike helmet across various bicycling disciplines.

Litelok claims their new lightweight, axel grinder-resistant U-lock is five times more theft proof than the best performing locks currently on the market.

Edmonton, Alberta is investing $170 million to build 62 miles of new bike lanes. Although some people think the money could be better spent on other things.

A new Dutch ebike promises to last forever, with a modular design that allows you to swap out parts as they become worn or obsolete.

A 34-year old man is riding over 18,000 miles from Thiruvananthapuram, India to London, passing through 35 countries in 450 days.

Bicycles have taken over the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, as other forms of transportation become impractical or prohibitively expensive.

Bike advocates in Jerusalem are seeing progress in making the ancient, hilly city more welcoming to people on two wheels.

Your next Chinese ped-assist bicycle could be powered with hydrogen instead of electricity.

 

Finally…

The first Harley-Davidson had pedals. Now you, too, can own your very own Bugatti urban bike for a mere $75,000 or so.

And a reminder that refrigerators don’t belong in bike lanes any more than cars do.

https://twitter.com/wildbell/status/1575520496111603712

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Riverside driver kills own son with vision-blocking SUV, and tell Metro to stop wasting money widening highways

May 24, 2022 / / One comment

This is who we share the road with.

And what, unfortunately.

Heartbreaking news from Riverside County, where a father ran over his own son in his own driveway as he was coming home from work, killing him.

Apparently, the boy was playing next to the gate and ran into the driveway to greet his father, where the grill of the man’s massive Chevy Tahoe SUV may have blocked his view of the one-year old boy.

It’s one of the most absurdly needless dangers we all face on the road, as the ever-increasing size of SUVs and pickups can block the driver’s view of anything directly in front of them, up to and sometimes including grown adults on bicycles.

https://twitter.com/DrTCombs/status/1528853211582455814

Their high, flat grills also make it more likely that anyone the drivers hit will be knocked down in front of the wheels, increasing their risk of getting run over by a nearly three ton vehicle.

So if you’re looking for a reason why pedestrian deaths continue to spike, you can start right there.

There’s simply no excuse for allowing machines that are literally designed to kill to use our public roadways.

Photo by Abdulwahab Alawadhi from Pexels.

………

Streets For All reminds everyone to tell Metro to stop wasting billions on demand-inducing highway widening projects this Thursday.

This Thursday: Tell Metro to cancel the 710 widening and stop spending billions to widen more highways!

This Thursday, the Metro board on its agenda (#9) will consider a motion to formally kill the 710 freeway widening project, and to develop a local project investment plan that includes transit and active transportation improvements.

Despite this, the board will also consider approving a budget (item #15) that allocates billions of dollars more to widen yet more highways, often based on lies told by Metro staff.

We know that widening the freeway will only induce demand and is Destruction For Nada, and Metro needs to reallocate funding and priorities based on this proven fact.

If you’re able to call in (Thursday at 10am) and make public comment, this is most impactful. If not, send the board an email.

BEST > Call in and make public comment (5.26 @ 10am)

Email Public Comment

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Today’s common theme is advances in bike lighting and security.

New clipless pedals from Redshift Sports come with built-in front and rear facing lights to improve safety, with the rotational movement of the pedal more likely to draw attention than a stationary light; the lights turn on and off automatically, and always know which direction they’re facing.

A new Schwinn ebike comes with a built-in frame light, while a new longtail foldie ebike from Calendar Bikes actually glows in the dark.

Wing Bikes new VanMoof knockoff ebike comes with a built-in Apple Find My network tracker to keep tabs on your bike.

………

Looks like progressive talk radio host Stephanie Miller is one of us.

Thanks to Mike Burk and the Smiling Corgis for the heads-up. 

………

Either Bob Dylan is one of us, or he just found a beat up old bike to pose with.

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Here’s your chance to learn planning and design the Dutch way.

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Oopsie.

………

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

No bias here. A Houston letter writer insists bicycles should be licensed so bike riders will help pay for planned new bikeways. Never mind that people who ride bikes pay taxes just like everyone else, while studies show a bike license program would cost more to administer than it would bring in.

Horrific video from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where a driver swerved into a bike lane and ran down several bike riders, in a crash that appears to be anything but accidental; fortunately, none of the victims, all of whom were riding in the bike lane, were seriously injured.

………

Local

Los Angeles was the nation’s second most deadly city for bike riders in the past decade, coming in just behind New York, as bicycling fatalities continue to rise; Los Angeles County led the nation with 276 deaths from 2011 to 2020.

 

State 

Sad news from Madera, where a man riding a Huffy beach cruiser was killed by a hit-and-run driver who lost control of his car while making an unsafe turn, swerving off the roadway onto the dirt shoulder where the victim was riding.

Extreme endurance cyclist Grant Lottering is planning a 700-mile nonstop ride from Central California’s Shaver Lake to Irvine, including 63,000 feet of elevation gain, to raise awareness of a charity using sports to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination and disadvantages.

 

National

It was nice while it lasted. Just a year after acquiring Peloton, Outside has axed the magazine, as well as mountain bike startup Beta; the publishing company also terminated some editorial staff members at CyclingTips and VeloNews, as it transitions from print to online.

The Navajo Nation is working on a 60-mile rail-to-trail conversion, which would be the first such bikeway on native lands in the US.

A 29-year old Idaho man pledged to do whatever it takes to become a better man, after he was sentenced to seven and a half years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man; he was smoking heroin when police took him into custody.

Bicycling looks inside the Major Taylor display at the Indiana State Museum. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

A “burrito ministry” using bicycles to deliver food to homeless people in Nashville and Memphis twice a week is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Nice piece from the New Yorker, as a university professor takes a very personal look at the history of bicycling, from the first Laufmaschine to the pandemic bike boom, noting that a toddler who starts on a balance bike can experience virtually every type of historic bike as they grow up.

A Republican sponsored bill would legalize parking protected bike lanes in Pennsylvania.

A Miami weekly considers three ways to improve safety on the deadly Rickenbacker Causeway, where a bike-riding couple was killed by a dozing driver.

 

International

The New York Times highlights seven great bicycling cities, along with the best bike trail to ride in each one, from Geneva to Bogota, and San Francisco to New York and DC.

Famed Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy has died, after making a career of traveling the world by bicycle, foot, pack pony or public transport; she first came to fame with a book about bicycling from Ireland to India in 1965. She was 90 years old. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

An Irish website recommends five bucket list worthy bike routes to explore the Emerald Isle.

A British man has died two weeks after his bicycle was stuck by a ped-assist ebike.

Differences in speeds are leading to conflicts between different types of bike riders on Brussels bikeways.

Bicycling crashes have dropped significantly in Amsterdam after e-scooters were banned from the city’s bike lanes.

A New Zealand university professor says ignore the bikelash, because the benefits of investing in bicycling far exceed the cost.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Italy, where the sports director of the Viris Vigevano cycling team was killed when he was struck by a rider as he was watching the conclusion of the Trofeo Castelfidardo race in Italy’s Marche region.

Dutch pro Ellen van Dijk is the new women’s hour record holder, covering 49.254 km — the equivalent of 30.605 miles — at Switzerland’s Gretchen velodrome.

CyclingTips profiles Ally Wollaston, a New Zealand track cyclist making her mark on the women’s WorldTour.

Friends and family members remember Moriah “Mo” Wilson, the gravel cyclist fatally shot in a love triangle murder in Austin, Texas earlier this month.

 

Finally…

Who needs a tandem when you can ride a bicycle built for seven? Now you, too, can have a vintage 1946 Bianchi racing bike owned by four-time Giro winner Luigi Casola, for a mere 27 grand.

And what do you do when a YouTube star slams a rented Tesla into your car trying to catch air on one of the steepest streets in Los Angeles?

You write a song about it, of course.

Thanks to LAPD Central Traffic Division for the link.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Hit-and-run driver busted in death of 15-year old Riverside boy, and Metro active transportation virtual meeting next week

March 25, 2022 / / Comments Off on Hit-and-run driver busted in death of 15-year old Riverside boy, and Metro active transportation virtual meeting next week

Maybe there will be justice for Javier Gonzales after all.

Police in Riverside arrested 37-year old Rosendo Morales Caldera for the hit-and-run death of the 15-year old bike rider, who was killed on the first of this month.

Gonzales was riding salmon with a group of friends when he was run down by by the driver of a large black pickup, who kept going without slowing or stopping.

Caldera is currently being held behind bars in lieu of bail.

Police impounded his black Chevy truck as evidence, which should happen in every alleged hit-and-run.

But too often doesn’t.

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Here’s your chance to tell Metro what you need to be safer in your commute and community.

And maybe mention it’s time to stop wasting money on highway projects in the middle of a climate emergency.

https://twitter.com/MaverickMPA/status/1507238721891889153

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SoCal’s killer highway continues to claim new victims.

I’m told the victim works at the Getty Villa, which leaves no viable option to commute by bike other than PCH, which continues to operate as a cut-through highway when it should be Malibu’s Main Street.

Thanks to Todd Munson for the heads-up. 

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Slow roll Adams Blvd on Sunday to check out LADOT’s safety improvements on the formerly dangerous corridor.

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LACBC invites you to attend their first-ever Bike Salon on Thursday, which will actually be held in person, rather than virtually.

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OC bike advocate Mike Wilkinson is parting ways with his lovingly used tandem.

https://twitter.com/mikeocbike/status/1507128123044687873

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Apparently, even a five-year old can beat rush hour traffic on his way to school Britain. Even without decent bikeways.

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

In a prime example of too little, if not too late, Las Vegas area cops clamped down on drivers who endanger bike riders, enforcing traffic laws and educating motorists on how to share the road — for a whole four hours. Now they just need to do something the other 8,756 hours in the year.

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

Police busted a man who robbed a Kansas gas station, then made his getaway by bicycle. Maybe he was really just an anti-car freedom fighter raising funds for the rebellion. It could happen. 

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Local

No bias here. The Hancock Park Homeowners Association hosted a candidate forum for the people running to replace Paul Koretz in CD5 — but notably excluded former Mid City West Neighborhood Council chair Scott Epstein, a longtime supporter of a bike-friendly street on 4th Street opposed by the wealthy neighborhood.

 

State 

A 58-year old Rancho Bernardo man is planning to ride 3,400 miles across the US to raise funds for diabetic research, inspired by his 25-year old daughter, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was just eight months old.

A 32-year old Fresno man was stabbed when he tried to defend himself from a group of men who demanded his bike; fortunately, he’s expected to make a full recovery.

Sad news from Eureka, where someone on a bicycle was killed when they were run down by the driver of a pickup.

 

National

PeopleForBikes celebrates the removal of Trump’s 25% tariffs on Chinese-made bicycles and parts.

USA Today says you need an ebike to cope with rising gas prices. Meanwhile, CleanTechnica provides a primer on the proper care and feeding of your ebike.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a recall for Ninebot Children’s Bicycle Helmets for failing to meet minimum federal safety standards.

Black and brown Colorado bike riders say the state’s proposed Stop As Yield law, aka the stop sign part of the Idaho Stop Law, would keep them safer from both cars and cops, reducing the risk of Biking While Black or Brown stops that target people of color, as well as reducing potentially dangerous interactions with police. Maybe that argument that would finally get a California bill past Newsom’s veto pen.

Hurry up to Yellowstone, where you can enjoy 49 miles of blissfully carfree roads for the next three weeks, before the national park is opened to motor vehicles. Although you still need to keep an eye peeled for bears and bison, among other potentially unfriendly fauna.

Even in Iowa, people are biking to work instead of driving, while a writer for the University of Iowa student newspaper says now is the perfect time to start bicycling.

A Memphis man is turning old car and truck tires into decorative barriers to protect people on bicycles.

Boston bike advocates point out the benefits of bicycling while calling for safer conditions on the streets.

A Louisiana driver who killed a bike rider last month tested positive for narcotics following the crash, though there’s no mention of what he was allegedly on.

A Florida man was convicted — again — of killing a teenaged boy over a stolen bicycle when he was just 15 years old. The victim had purchased the boy’s stolen bicycle, not knowing it was hot, then offered to sell it back to him for just $10; he returned with a gun after riding the bike home because he felt disrespected. The original conviction had been overturned because police had questioned him after he requested a lawyer. We’ve said it before — no bike is worth taking or sacrificing a life. Period.

 

International

Bike Radar offers a buyers guide to bike trailers, while confessing that yes, they do change how you have to ride and the way your bike feels

Bizarre case from Wales, where a woman played doctor — literally — by treating the victim of an ebike crash, despite having no medical background. Yet she somehow walked with the equivalent of a lousy $790 fine.

Oops. Scofflaw drivers who parked in an English shared bus and bike lane will get their fines refunded, after the city discovered the authorization for the lane had expired and they hadn’t bothered to renew it.

Life is cheap in Jersey, where a 67-year old driver walked with the equivalent of a $6,500 fine for the right-cross crash — the equivalent of a left-cross in the US — that likely left a bike-riding woman with lifelong pain from a broken back, fractured rib and collapsed lung.

A new study from a UC Berkeley researcher looks at the remarkably rapid Parisian bike boom, as the city transformed itself during the Covid pandemic.

Add this one to your bike bucket list. British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid rides the 75-mile car-free Vennbahn rail-trail through Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, which remains a 30-foot wide swath of Belgium even as it passes through the other countries.

 

Competitive Cycling

Milan-San Remo winner Matej Mohorič says it wasn’t just the dropper post that delivered his victory, he also used oversized disc rotors and new, secret wheel bearings.

 

Finally…

Maybe God is out to get us, too. People are more likely to bike commute when slower drivers are less likely to kill them.

And that feeling when you try to break an iPhone by riding your bike off a phone booth.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

California traffic deaths jump 17% last year, Metro proposes erasing NoHo bike lane, and register your bike already

February 2, 2022 / / One comment

No, you’re not just being paranoid.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released their latest count of US traffic deaths for the first nine months of last year, showing an estimated 31,720 people died in motor vehicle crashes through the end of September.

That’s a 12% increase over the previous year, and the most traffic deaths in 15 years.

Not to mention the biggest one-year jump since they’ve been keeping score.

Things are even worse here in California, which saw a 17.2% increase in traffic deaths for the first nine months of 2021.

Unfortunately, they don’t break out figures for bicycling and pedestrian deaths, so we’ll have to wait to learn just how bad it’s been for those of us who aren’t wrapped in a couple tons of steel and glass, and protected by seat belts and air bags instead of a little plastic hat.

But if you thought it was getting worse out there, you’re right.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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Unbelievable.

The world may be burning, but Metro is busy erasing bike lanes.

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Yet another reminder to register your bike.

Now.

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I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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

Life is cheap in South Africa, where a prominent triathlete was killed and another injured by an alleged drunken hit-and-run driver, who was released on bail due to “lack of evidence;” the driver couldn’t get away because his Porsche was too damaged to drive. Which sounds like pretty solid evidence to me, but what the hell do I know?

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

Police in London’s Hackney district busted 18 people on bicycles for jumping red lights in just 90 minutes, fining them the equivalent of around $68.

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Local

Los Angeles is hosting tire recycling events in Baldwin Park at the end of this month, East LA next month and the Antelope Valley in April. And yes, they’ll take bike tires and tubes.

Once again, an Apple Watch has called for help to rescue an injured bike rider, this time when a man somehow came off his ebike while riding in Hermosa Beach.

 

State

A man known as the scraper bike king of East Oakland is working with kids to carry on the tradition of colorful, highly customized bikes, hoping it will help keep them out of trouble like it did him.

 

National

A new study from the Urban Institute shows that pressuring city officials to build bikeways works.

This is who we’ll soon have to share the road with. Even an automotive site calls for banning the new 840 horsepower Dodge Demon from public roads, calling it a nominally street-legal dragster.

Dockless e-scooter provider Superpedestrian is rolling out a new safety system designed to detect and correct unsafe rider behavior in real time, preventing things like riding on the sidewalk or riding salmon.

Triathlete credits a bike safety campaign featuring triathletes for the White House’s shift to prioritizing bicycle safety.

220 Triathlon considers whether you’d be better off with a women’s bike.

Reno bike riders get a new nearly half-mile multi-use path near the airport. Although it looks like whoever striped it needs to cut back on the weed.

A Denver bike advocate laments the death of what would have been a perfect bike lane, thanks to a whole 17 complaints during the public comment period.

An Ohio letter writer complains about the angry drivers who feel the need to ruin a good bike ride because they don’t understand the law. Or just having a bad day.

The Boston Globe marks Black History Month by remembering Kittie Knox, who integrated the League of American Wheelmen — now the League of American Bicyclists, aka Bike League — in 1893, a year before the organization banned Black members to keep her out.

A writer for Jalopnik totals up what it cost, in dollars and swearing, to rebuild a titanium Litespeed bike abandoned for two years on a Brooklyn street.

A New York photographer documents Gotham bike messengers of the 1990s.

 

International

More proof bike riders face the same problems everywhere, as bicyclists in Antigua and Barbuda renewed calls for greater consideration on the roads after a 16-year old boy was while killed riding his bike.

Something tells me there will be no shortage of volunteers to become the UK’s first bike lane inspector.

America’s Got Talent star Simon Cowell is still one of us, despite suffering a broken arm and suspected concussion when he pulled an endo hitting a wet patch while riding his ebike in London; he fractured his back in 2020 crashing an electric motorcycle.

That’s more like it. A drunk hit-and-run driver got seven years behind bars for killing a British man riding a bicycle; he was captured when police spotted him from a helicopter trying to sleep it off in a field.

A Scottish transport and health professor explains the changes to Britain’s Highway Code, while stressing that it’s probably not enough to change anyone’s behavior. Meanwhile, a British bike rider says forget the Highway Code, he just wants to get home in one piece.

A Santa Fe man offers advice on what to consider before exploring Germany by bicycle. Pro tip: Stop the page from loading before the paywall pops up.

As if careless drivers weren’t enough to worry about, a Spanish bike rider was seriously injured when he was shot by a hunter, who apparently mistook him for some sort of game animal riding a bicycle.

A European travel site explores Dubai’s 52-mile Al Qudra cycle track, which connects to other bikeways to form a 124-mile route.

Fifty people had to be evacuated from a Singapore housing block when a ped-assist ebike battery caught fire; authorities advised not using third-party batteries or charging them overnight to avoid fires.

 

Competitive Cycling

Egan Bernal remains in serious but stable condition, as his doctors shift to a focus on pain management to deal with his multiple injuries; Bernal suffered a fractured femur, kneecap, vertebrae and ribs, as well as a punctured lung and chest trauma when he slammed into a poorly parked bus while training in Colombia.

 

Finally…

When you’re trying to escape the cops with an outstanding warrant, try not to ride head-on into a patrol car. Why ride on dry, dusty mountain bike trails when you could have your very own dust Zamboni — which is exactly what it sounds like?

And shades of the Super Bowl Shuffle.

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

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