Tag Archive for Lincoln Blvd

Pasadena driver faces murder charge, LADOT proposes bike lane-free Lincoln Blvd, and protected parking lanes in DTLA

March 25, 2021 / / One comment

This is who we share the road with.

Police arrested 36-year old Anthony Marcus Houston on murder and reckless driving charges for a Pasadena crash last December.

He’s accused of blowing through a red light at twice the posted speed limit, and slamming into a car driven by 49-year old Pasadena resident Juanita Lucinda Johnson, killing her and injuring three other people.

Houston, who has a lengthy criminal record dating back to his teens, had been wanted since an arrest warrant was issued last month.

He also faces charges for assaulting and threatening two people earlier this month.

It’s just too bad that’s what it seems to take to get prosecutors to take traffic crimes seriously.

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LADOT wants your opinion on proposed changes to Lincoln Blvd south of Santa Monica.

None of which involves building a bike lane.

Then again, it’s not like even a “protected” bike lane means much in the City of Angels these days.

https://twitter.com/TheWarhorseSux/status/1374755987773562886

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This is what could be happening in Los Angeles.

But isn’t.

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

A driver jumped out of his car and tried to fight a woman riding her bike in New York.

Something that happens too damned often, and for no good reason.

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Local

Los Angeles has received a $30.7 million grant for transportation projects in the Canoga Park area, including protected bike lanes on Owensmouth Avenue and Sherman Way, and a protected connection between the Orange Line and the LA River bike path.

 

State

A teenage Indio bike rider was hospitalized with moderate injuries after getting struck by a driver Wednesday evening.

The Santa Barbara city council voted unanimously to build the new crosstown Sola Street bicycle boulevard, over loud objections from the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission, who somehow felt traffic diverters would destroy the historic ambiance of the Mission District.

Northern California’s Caltrain is installing new bike lockers at most stations, available on a first come, first served basis for just five cents an hour.

This is who we share the road with, too. Police are looking for a Santa Rosa man who deliberately slammed his car into a homeless camp, injuring a man he’d been arguing with and killing nearby a woman; he’ll face murder and attempted murder charges once he’s arrested.

 

National

Men’s Journal offers their picks for the best bike helmets to keep your head in one piece, however you ride. Although you can protect your head just as well for a fraction of the cost of some of their choices.

Cycling Weekly recommends clothing and accessories for on or off your bike.

A new online bicycling community promises to bring together cycling content, resources, perks and discounts into a single resource, with annual memberships starting at just $10.

A former Portland bike shop owner is urging his erstwhile peers to band together to support an industry climate change declaration. Seriously, bicycles could — and should — be one of the most important tools in fighting climate change, yet the industry has done virtually nothing to encourage it.

In an extreme example of failing to share the trail, a Washington hiker stabbed a mountain biker who asked his group to move over so he could get by. Predictably, both sides disagree on whose fault it was.

Residents of College Station, Texas rally around an 81-year old lawyer after someone stole the beat-up cruiser bike he’d ridden to work every day for the last 12 years.

Minneapolis introduces new artistically designed bike racks. Although I suspect most bike riders are more concerned with keeping their bike safe than how whimsical the rack is.

New York is poised to make a big move by shifting responsibility for crash investigations from the NYPD to the city’s department of transportation, although the police would still be responsible for any criminal investigation that results. However, that raises questions over the need to hire and train hundreds of crash investigators for a department that has never investigated anything more serious than a parking violation.

As California considers legalizing speed cams, New Yorkers voice overwhelming support for automated traffic enforcement, with 78% of New York City voters approving, along with 73% of motorists.

A New York Streetsblog op-ed argues for the role bike co-ops play in promoting equity on the city’s streets, enabling cash strapped people to get a good bike without falling into the trap of dysfunctional used bikes or low quality mass market bicycles.

Speaking of Streetsblog, they note that booming bike use means there’s now an average of just 1.9 cars for every bike on New York’s Second Avenue, yet drivers get roughly 12 times the space.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who could flee the scene after killing a 10-year old boy riding his bike; a 27-year old Georgia woman faces a charge of vehicular homicide.

 

International

The bikewear market took a nosedive last year, dropping 25% despite the bike boom.

An Edinburgh bus driver is out of work after colliding with a drunken bike rider; he was fired for reckless conduct, even though police cleared him of misconduct.

An 84-year old Limerick, Ireland woman beamed when she was given a new bicycle by the kindhearted owner of a local bike shop, after he discovered the bike she rides around the city was too far gone to be repaired.

A group of around 20 Singapore bicyclists are accused of hogging the road — not to mention violating Covid protocols — even though they courteously moved out of the driver’s way after he honked.

 

Competitive Cycling

Leading French newspaper Le Parisien reports next month’s single-day Paris-Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North, has been postponed until fall due to the pandemic; it comes after last year’s race was postponed, before being cancelled.

Bicycling hops into the Wayback Machine for a look back at the pioneering women bicyclists who forced their way into the sport, paving the way for today’s women’s cyclists. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to ride your bike through a closed Burger King drive-thru looking for change, with an open beer in hand, maybe leave the meth pipe at home. Florida police are looking for an electric bicycle thief; no word on whether he runs on a cord or batteries.

And yes, please.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

LADOT wants input on deadly Lincoln Blvd, Koretz recall effort announced, and wear your damn golf helmet

September 17, 2020 / / Comments Off on LADOT wants input on deadly Lincoln Blvd, Koretz recall effort announced, and wear your damn golf helmet

LADOT wants your input on a proposal to install rush hour bus lanes and other safety improvements on deadly Lincoln Blvd south of the Santa Monica border, which could be used for parking and biking at other hours.

Since this one is in Councilmember Mike Bonin’s district, it might actually happen; he’s one of the few friends traffic safety advocates have left on the city council.

Although maybe we’d be better served by a shared bus and bike lane during rush hour that converts to a floating bike lane during off hours.

Thanks to Kent Strumpell for the heads-up.

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Anger is boiling over in LA’s fifth council district, as a new effort to recall Paul Koretz gets underway.

If I still lived in the district I called home for a quarter of a century, I’d be the first to sign the petition.

The only real question is what took so long?

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Maybe they should wear helmets.

A new survey says you’re more likely to get hurt playing golf than you are riding a bike. (Scroll down if the story doesn’t load correctly.)

Unless, like me, you wouldn’t be caught dead on a golf course.

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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?

When it’s filled with patrol cars from cops grabbing lunch.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

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Bike Angeles takes you riding on Latigo Canyon, calling it the most essential climb in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the heads-up.

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The only thing worse than a near miss is a pass that doesn’t.

Miss, that is.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a road raging English farmer walked without a single day behind bars for intentionally slamming into a bike rider in reverse.

No bias here. British business owners insist that popup bike lanes are a pain in the backside and an accident waiting to happen.

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Local

London and Long Beach based Zwift is now a one billion dollar company.

The replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge in the Port of Long Beach is set to open next month, including the long awaited Mark Bixby bike lanes.

 

State

San Jose develops an innovative plan to improve safety on a pair of three lane one-way streets by installing a frontage lane to keep cars out of a curb protected bike lane, along with protected intersections.

Sunnyvale is dropping the speed limit on El Camino Real to 35 mph to match the speed in other nearby cities, while considering a plan to add bike lanes.

The US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis unveils this year’s inductees.

 

National

Next City calls freight delivery the forgotten part of Vision Zero, saying streets need to be designed so delivery vehicles can operate safely in mixed traffic. Or better yet, replace delivery trucks and vans with more efficient ebikes. Although in Los Angeles, it’s Vision Zero itself that’s been forgotten.

Spin looks at the success of Slow Streets programs around the US.

Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club maps out routes into the city from West Seattle. Something we could use here in LA to navigate the city’s fractured bikeways.

Bike riders are discovering the joys of biking on gravel in Texas, where there’s lots of it.

Busted for Biking While Black at just ten years old. Michelle Obama — yes, that Michelle Obama — tells the story of how her own brother was stopped by a pair of Chicago cops who refused to believe the bike he was riding belonged him.

Speaking of Chicago, the police are finally releasing bicycles that were seized during the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year. But not in the same condition they were in when they seized.

Bike trails to check out the fall foliage for your next trip to the Big Apple.

The brother of a Brooklyn assistant DA who was killed in a collision while riding her bike last week says the city failed her, and all new bike riders.

Nice story about a writer’s friendship with a noted Florida chef, and tracking down the bespoke bike he passed along. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if you’re blocked out by Bicycling’s paywall.

 

International

Axios traces the timeline of the coronavirus bike boom, saying it remains to be seen if it’s a long-term trend that will outlive the virus itself.

Cycling News offers advice on how to safely lock-up your bike to help ensure it’s still there when you get back.

Cycling Weekly says it’s time to up your sock game.

A 155-year old British sports publication talks with American mom Denise Mueller-Korenek, the world’s fastest assisted bicyclist, clocked at just this side of an incredible 184 mph.

A woman in the UK credits the Busby app with saving her life when she was knocked unconscious after a driver forced her bike off the road.

Dutch bikemaker Van Moof raises $40 million to further expand worldwide, as it sets its sites on an IPO.

Turkey wants to integrate bicycles into the country’s transportation network.

 

Competitive Cycling

Yesterday’s stage of the Tour de France ended with a nail-biting attack on the on the Col de la Loze.

Team USA profiles Sepp Kuss as he works to keep Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglič in yellow.

Fans aren’t exactly social distancing at the Tour, as fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogačar had to push a fan out of the way as he neared the summit.

The only Black bike rider in this year’s Tour says he hasn’t seen a lot of solidarity and support on the pro tour.

Somehow, cycling is never far from doping in the news, as the leaders of a massive blood doping ring involving pro cyclists and Nordic athletes went on trial yesterday.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you design a bike that shouldn’t work, yet somehow it does. Still shaving his legs after 29 years and 1,450 twin blade cartridges.

And who doesn’t want to see a bunny on a bicycle?

Thanks to Megan Lynch for this one.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Morning Links: Cedillo and Bray-Ali in CD1 runoff, and Santa Monica writer attacks Lincoln Blvd plans — and you

March 19, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Cedillo and Bray-Ali in CD1 runoff, and Santa Monica writer attacks Lincoln Blvd plans — and you

It’s semi official.

The latest vote count shows CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo with just 49.4% of the vote, putting him under the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff with second place finisher Joe Bray-Ali.

Which means Bray-Ali and Cedillo will likely face off in a winner-take-all vote on May 16th that will determine, not just whether the district will continue to be represented by a disinterested career politician, but whether it will see a safer and more livable future.

The final vote totals should be certified tomorrow.

If Bray-Ali wins, it will be the first time an incumbent councilmember has been defeated since 2003.

Meanwhile, LA’s famed Wolfpack Hustle has nothing but good things to say about him.

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A writer of for the Santa Monica Observer explains street planning from the perspective of someone who has no idea how street planning works, predicting that a road diet planned for Lincoln Blvd will bring traffic to a screeching halt while making the surrounding community unlivable.

Actually, it should have exactly the opposite effect, taming an exceptionally dangerous street that has long depressed the local community and forced businesses along its way to struggle. The plans call for a more livable, walkable street that should help the area thrive for the first time in decades.

He also apparently has never been to a public meeting to discuss a community project, predicting that “…ten bicycle riders will show up and tell them they’re godlike. Bicyclists who live in mom’s basement have time to attend public meetings.”

Funny, the meetings I’ve attended have usually been filled with people trying to shout down those bike riders, who often have to take time off from their jobs and families to attend.

Not that he would know. Or care, evidently.

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Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski outsprinted Peter Sagan and Julian Alaphilippe in a photo finish to win the 108th edition of the Milan – San Remo classic on Saturday.

Deadspin says the gray areas in cycling doping rules aren’t helping anyone.

Roger Pingeon, winner of the 1967 Tour de France, passed away after suffering a heart attack; he was 76.

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Local

An LA bicyclist is asking for $2 million in damages after being injured by an FBI agent making an illegal U-turn while the rider was participating in a charity ride.

LA Curbed offers more details on the state grants to build bikeways in the LA area, including nearly $15 million for DTLA’s Arts District.

The Daily News Group’s Steve Scauzillo experiences what we’ve all felt at our first ciclovía at the recent 626 Golden Streets.

The LA Weekly previewed Sunday’s Marathon Crash Ride.

Long Beach celebrates the first anniversary of its bikeshare system, while introducing a branded “unicorn bike” program with prizes available for people who find it.

 

State

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be stepping up enforcement of traffic violations that can endanger cyclists and pedestrians today. You know the drill; obey the letter of the law in any area they patrol today.

Yes, she’s tougher than you are. An OC woman paralyzed from the waist down plans to hand-cycle her way to the North Pole in a solo marathon attempt.

Evidently, it runs in the family. A San Diego woman has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of a high school student as he walked with a friend; her sister is doing eight years for a fatal DUI.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adult three-wheeled bike from a 69-year old Fresno veteran who used it for his only form of transportation; the bike was given to him by a stranger to replace a bike that was stolen when he rode to the market. The good news is a Fresno couple bought him a new bike after seeing the story on the news.

It was a bad weekend in Northern California. A 43-year old bike rider was killed in a Stockton hit-and-run, and a 65-year old man died when his bicycle was struck by a truck in Auburn. Meanwhile, a Sacramento man turned himself in for a hit-and-run last week, after apparently giving himself a few days to sober up.

A Palo Alto bike rider was seriously injured when she was struck by a wrong-way driver who was fleeing from police; police arrested all five people in the car after an extensive search of the downtown area.

Nice story from Santa Clara, where a former county supervisor sort of got his stolen Steyr Clubman bicycle back 34 years later.

Dozens of NorCal bicyclists rode to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

 

National

Maybe racing 100 miles through the wilds of Alaska by bike, foot or skis in 40 degree below zero weather is your idea of a good time. Unless maybe you’d rather do 1,000 miles, instead.

Life is cheap in Idaho, where the hit-and-run death of an off-duty firefighter as he rode his bike is only worth a lousy 90 days in jail; the driver claimed she fell asleep at the wheel. Although she was presumably fully awake when she fled the scene afterwards.

Iowa’s famed RAGBRAI, and tourism in general, may be taking a hit because of Iowa Congressman Steve King’s recent comments about “someone else’s babies.”

Sadly, no surprise here. Chicago bicyclists suffer from the Biking While Black syndrome, as minority areas receive the most bike tickets. Something that seems to be true in many major cities, including Los Angeles.

Seriously, if someone can use a bike rack to jump over the fence at the White House, maybe its time to move it.

The local paper in Hilton Head SC calls for better lighting to improve safety for cyclists on the popular resort island.

 

International

Residents throughout Costa Rica are asking their elected officials to build promised bike paths that remain stuck on the drawing board.

A Canadian city is considering offering bike riders free bus rides up a steep hill to promote cycling and improve safety for riders.

Once again, authorities manage to keep a dangerous driver on the roads until she killed someone, as a Calgary driver was sentenced to 30 months for the distracted driving death of a cyclist. It’s not like her seven prior speeding and careless driving convictions might have been a red flag or anything.

Windsor, Ontario bike riders are up in arms after the city plans to use funds that were promised for bikeways for roadwork, instead.

A British bike rider suffered a broken pelvis when he was “rugby tackled” by a drunk 280 pound man as he rode by; unfortunately, the only description police have to go by is a six-foot tall man in a brown suit.

A pair of Brit cyclists are just days away from completing a record-setting tandem journey around the world.

Caught on video: A rider in a UK bike lane is lucky to get home in one piece after a painfully close pass.

Luxembourg installs two new bike counters in the capital city, bringing the total number in the city to thirteen.

An Indian man who was partially paralyzed by an electric shock was forced to ride a child’s toy tricycle in the hospital ward because he couldn’t afford a bribe to get a wheelchair.

A newspaper in Dhaka, Bangladesh says it’s time that the city embraced the bicycle, in hopes that a more bike-friendly approach could improve the quality of life in one of the world’s most unlivable cities.

The world may be going to hell, but at least Arnold is wearing a bike helmet as he pedals around Melbourne.

Justin Bieber is sort of one of us, riding through Auckland, New Zealand, in a pedal-powered rickshaw.

Bicycles donated by a nonprofit group are a passport to a better life for women in Nepal.

After weeks of victim blaming by the Malaysian media, the driver who killed eight teenage cyclists and injured eight others in a late night crash is expected to be charged with reckless driving.

 

Finally…

Enjoy that vanilla half-caf latte while you can. Anything that starts with a truck parked on a bike path isn’t likely to end well.

And riding your bike could give you the heart of a non-bike riding Amazonian tribesman.

But take good care of it, because he might need it later.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,
 
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