He was run down by a southbound SUV while crossing the intersection while riding west on Skyline. Which means either he or the driver ran the red light.
But regardless of who was at fault, the driver is now wanted for felony hit-and-run.
Police are looking for a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe. Hopefully they’ll find the heartless coward who was driving it.
And his victim will make a full and fast recovery.
Lompoc approves plans to expand the city’s bike network in hopes of promoting it as a bicycling destination. Although as we’ve learned in Los Angeles, approving a new bike plan doesn’t mean you’ll ever see paint on the street.
Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, as a Wisconsin man was booked for his third drunk driving offense for fleeing the scene after running down a teenage girl riding with her mother.
This is the cost of traffic violence. The son of a Miami rabbi, who was a star high school soccer player, died after clinging to life for nearly two months when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike.
June 16, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LADOT drops DTLA bike lanes in favor of parking, Pomona thinks bike lanes are for kids, and LAFD on bikes
One quick note.
I renewed my annual membership in the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition last night.
With the LACBC facing financial difficulties stemming from the coronavirus crisis, as well as major financial mismanagement by the previous executive director, who shall forevermore go unnamed here, it’s more important than ever to join or renew your membership.
Or just make a donation to keep the LACBC fighting for your right to ride safely on our streets.
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I have a confession to make.
Ever since the company my wife works for — correction, worked for — shut down for the coronavirus lockdown, never to return, I haven’t been able to dig into the details on bike projects the way I’d like.
As much as I enjoy having her around, I miss those nine hours or so to myself everyday to gets things done.
Fortunately, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton is here to take up the slack.
But what I didn’t realize was that those bike lanes are only planned for just over half of the 1.3 mile project.
As Joe explains it,
Overall this is a good project. It’s a worthwhile improvement over what is out there today.
I did get a little frustrated about bike lanes on these streets. The city is adding left-side bike lanes (a one-way street best practice – like bike lanes on Spring and Main Streets) but only on about 0.7-mile of the overall 1.3-mile project – just over half the project. The issue is parking – there are two blocks of on-street parking that would need to be removed. While I personally would favor removing that parking, I understand it’s not easy politically.
I am still frustrated though that the city is basically throwing out 7 blocks of bike lanes because just 2 blocks are difficult. I wrote a letter to try to get the city to do the remaining 5 easy blocks of bike lane – which would connect Pershing Square with the downtown library.
That’s right.
LADOT, which is supposedly tasked with implementing the mobility plan, bike plan, Vision Zero, and the mayor’s Green New Deal plan to dramatically reduce driving in the city, is skipping a full seven blocks of bike lanes in favor of two lousy blocks of car parking.
In Downtown Los Angeles, no less, which UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup describes as having more parking per acre than any other city.
No, anywhere.
Which pretty much tells you where people on bicycles rate in the city’s transportation hierarchy these days.
Like several steps below cars. And maybe a step or two above road kill.
He suggests emailing city officials to politely request that they install additional bike lanes, at least on the five blocks where it doesn’t require the removal of parking spaces, and wouldn’t inconvenience anyone.
And he even provides a sample letter, while stressing that you should put it in your own words.
Email addresses:
councilmember.huizar@lacity.org
mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org
seleta.reynolds@lacity.org
and bcc Joe Linton at linton.joe@gmail.com)
Sample letter:
Honorable Councilmember Huizar, Mayor Garcetti, and General Manager Reynolds –
I write to you in support of adding bus and bike lanes to the greatest extent possible on 5th and 6th Streets downtown.
BSS is repaving these streets starting June 15th. LADOT announced that bus lanes will be added from Figueroa to Central, and left-side bike lanes will be added from Spring to Central.
Thank you all for your role in bringing much needed bus lanes, which will improve transit, air quality, equity, and quality of life for Angelenos.
Thank you all for the needed bike lanes, which will improve safety and health. I urge you though to extend the bike lanes further than the current announced length. It appears that LADOT is skipping seven blocks (Figueroa to Spring) of bike lanes to preserve two blocks (Hill to Spring) of parking.
At a minimum, the city should install a left-side bike lane for the missing five blocks – from Hill to Figueroa – where there is sufficient space and no parking removal necessary. Adding this bike lane would keep cyclists safer, as well as keeping us out of the bus lane, making the bus lane more effective.
Sincerely,
[name]
[street address]
I’ll send my email later today. And I hope you will, too.
Because there’s no reason our safety should take a backseat to a parked car.
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Apparently, bike lanes are for kids in Pomona. Or at least, they now come under the Youth Services budget.
Library funding, landscape maintenance, and park facility maintenance now being counted as part of the "youth services" budget pic.twitter.com/HK6WTIyOeo
— henryfung@onewilshire.la/bsky (@calwatch) June 16, 2020
Thanks to Eric Griswold for the heads-up.
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Who needs a firetruck or paramedic unit when you’ve got bicycles?
The Sonoma bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run a couple weeks ago has been identified as a 35-year old Romanian entrepreneur, who was killed when a passing pickup driver struck him in the head with the truck’s wing mirror; the damaged truck was found a few miles away, but the driver still hasn’t been arrested.
June 15, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bikes play a role in racial justice protests, bicycles and Covid-19, and Redondo police seek owner of recovered bikes
Life has been upended by Covid-19 and demands for racial justice in recent weeks.
And not too surprisingly, bicycles are playing a significant role in both.
Probably 1000 cyclists ready to ride out from Grand Army Plaza for the latest bike protest. “This isn’t a race, it’s a protest,” organizer reminds crowd pic.twitter.com/zfdKq1StYw
Which is just one more reminder to register your bicycle today. And always report the theft to the police if your bike is stolen, because those are the best ways to ensure you’ll get it back if they recover it.
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GCN offers a crash course in bunny hopping.
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Sacramento Korean War veteran and survivor of the Japanese American internment camps marked his 92nd birthday with a bicycle parade; he rode a bike into his 80s until he had to give it up for walking, instead.
A writer for Forbes thinks people aren’t smart enough to figure out how to drive on streets with words painted on them, and says they’ll confuse self-driving cars, too. If that’s the case, it neither one should be on the streets. And I don’t mean the painting.
Not everyone in Austin, Texas is on board with the city’s new Healthy Streets, which is just another — and much better — name for Slow Streets. Although the same could be said about any street change, anywhere.
A ebike rider suffered life-threatening injuries after colliding with a pedestrian in Queens NY; the other victim, a man in his 60’s, was in stable condition. A tragic reminder that crashes between bicycles and pedestrians are just as dangerous for everyone involved.
Just wait until they hear about Los Angeles. A European policy site says there are too many cars in Azerbaijan, where one in seven people own one, and it’s essential to switch to bicycles instead.
Let’s start today with a warning from Caltrans for Camp Pendleton bike riders.
This message is a reminder to all cyclists traveling through Camp Pendleton to stay on the bike path at all times. Camp Pendleton is an active training base and it operates 24/7 conducting training. Venturing off the bike path could expose civilians to unsafe conditions.
The Camp Pendleton Community Plan Liaison informed Caltrans that cyclists were observed on the landing zone just off of the bike path (see map attached). A military helicopter that had been approaching the landing zone had to abort its landing to avoid injuring the cyclists that had trespassed military grounds. To ensure the safety of civilian cyclists and military members of Camp Pendleton, please stay on the bike path. The bike path is the only area where cyclists are allowed on Camp Pendleton. Cyclist and Caltrans are allowed on Camp Pendleton through permits approved by the military, to ensure cyclist access continues, please follow the rules set by the Camp Pendleton staff.
For everyone’s safety, please pass this message along to fellow cyclists, and if you see anyone diverging into military property, please let them know to stay on the bike path.
Seriously, that could have been a disaster.
And failure to stick to the rules could result in everyone getting banned from the base, which would also be a disaster.
Thanks to Robert Leone for forwarding the message.
Today’s photo come from David Drexler, showing a newly reopened, extra wide Marvin Bruade bike path in Santa Monica.
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Drexler also forwarded photos from last week’s unrest in Santa Monica, showing what he calls the world’s safest bikeways on Ocean and Colorado, with the streets guarded by California National Guard troops.
Although that’s not exactly what I’d call inviting.
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Let’s take another quick shredding break this morning, with mountain biking videos from Argentina…
Switzerland…
And New Zealand.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bike just keeps on going.
British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor explains her recent bicycling injuries came when she swerved to avoid someone on a Thames River pathway and fell off her bike, without a helmet, smacking her head on the concrete down below. Which serves as a reminder that slow speed falls are exactly what bike helmets are designed for, not collisions with motor vehicles.
June 11, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Debate over weaponizing police bikes goes on, UCI honors brutal bike-riding dictator, and a mountain bike video break
Today’s common theme reprises yesterday’s discussion of bike cops using their bicycles as weapons.
And Red Kite Prayer’s Padraig really doesn’t know what to make of it all, noting bikes have been used effectively to shield riders against mountain lions, but protesters don’t pose the same kind of threat, if any.
Today, Berdimuhamedov presides over one of the most repressive regimes in the world. According to Human Rights Watch, the president has complete control over public life, energetically suppressing alternative political and religious expression. In the ‘elections’ since claiming power, Berdimuhamedov has enjoyed up to 98% approval, which is the kind of landslide that seems purpose-built to raise eyebrows.
In 2019, Reporters Without Borders put Turkmenistan as the worst country in the world for press freedom, behind even North Korea, and the country has the highest number of political prisoners out of all former Soviet states, against whom torture is reportedly practiced. The word ‘coronavirus’ is banned, homosexuality is illegal, child and forced marriage is still prevalent, gender inequality is entrenched, and dissidents are ‘disappeared’ into prison for indefinite sentences.
But other than that, he’s a nice guy, right?
Not to mention the one who’ll host next year’s world track cycling championships.
Now he can hang a certificate awarding him UCI’s apparently unnamed highest honor on his wall, presented unanimously by the organization’s steering committee.
Which doesn’t carry the slightest whiff of corruption, does it?
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You’ve worked hard enough this week. So take a six-minute mountain biking break today.
Berkeley will get two miles of Slow Streets, with lanes blocked off on one side to provide space for people to bike and walk while maintaining social distancing.
Oakland News Nowcontinues their bizarre obsession with a Bay Area bike rider who posts video of two wheeled, stop sign-running escapades through the city. Note to Oakland News Now — I believe the word you wanted was reckless, not wreckless. Unless maybe you’re complimenting them on avoiding crashes.
The bicyclist killed in a Sonoma County hit-and-run on Sunday was identified as a Kensington man; he was unidentified at first because he wasn’t carrying any ID. Yet another reminder to always have some form of identification, including emergency contacts, with you when you ride.
Lawyers have released video of a Portland sheriff’s deputy slamming a drunk bicycling suspect against a wall, allegedly fracturing his skull and causing multiple brain bleeds, resulting in a 19-day hospital stay. The action doesn’t start until around the 12 minute mark of the nearly 13 minute video.
The story is very long — there’s that word again — on Garcetti’s background, extensive eduction, problem solving skills and ambition, and just what a great guy he is.
Which is not to say those things aren’t true. But what’s missing is any critical take whatsoever.
The reporter doesn’t talk with a single person who has a single bad thing to say about Garcetti, even in the context of constructive criticism. Let alone his repeated failure to follow through on his own ambitious agenda.
It’s a great puff piece for someone angling for higher office.
But journalism, it’s not.
Even if it does offer exactly one word about bicycling.
Including sometimes giving up our bike lanes for the greater good.
Talking about things like gender, queerness, race, and white supremacy scares people. It makes them uncomfortable. Their resulting defensiveness makes them question your intelligence. Especially if being anti-racist means giving up their bike lane. Unfortunately, it rarely makes these same people dig deep and push beyond those questions towards understanding, compassion, being anti-racist, and confronting their own need to change. Because of that, I became used to the hate I received in various venues and formats…
Bicycling cannot solve systemic racism in the United States. But systemic racism can’t be fixed without tackling it within bicycling. With the rise of bicycling during this global health pandemic, this is the moment to educate the casual beach cruisers, fully-kitted weekend warriors, the urban planning students who can’t wait to ride back to campus—all of us—on the systemic oppression of Black people, Indigenous people, and all People of Color. This is the moment to look at the racism institutionalized in our companies, media publications, nonprofits, planning firms, and government agencies, and hire a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities, at every level and in every position. This is the moment to invest in continual and consistent education of our employees. This is the moment to do more than issue a statement. A statement is the least that can be done. Those in power must change, relinquish some of their power, and get out of the way to make room for those who are ready to lead and are equipped to identify anti-black practices and policies.
Seriously, read it.
Because this is the moment when the curtains have been torn down, and everything is finally on the table.
A bill to encourage more bicycle parking in new housing developments has passed the state Assembly, and is moving on to the Senate. I’m reserving judgement on this one; too many building bike rooms just seem to present a greater opportunity for thieves. I’d rather see a bill requiring building owners and associations to allow residents to bring their bikes inside their apartments and condos.
Writing for Fast Company, the technology director for Smart Design examines whether bike lanes really improve safety, and concludes it all depends on how well they’re designed. Which any bike rider could have told him.
Like bicycling, walking is making a major comeback. But just like bicycling, the commitment of cities to provide safe infrastructure will determine whether it continues.
New York examines what it’s like to get doxxed for taking a bike ride in a case of mistaken identity, as online users rushed to identify the spandex-clad Maryland anti-BLM bicyclist. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.
Then there’s the feeling when a wheelsucker does 27 mph on Rigoberto Urán’s heel, and turns out to be just some random guy in work boots and a backpack.
Anthony Brennan III faces three counts of second-degree assault after police searched his home and found what appeared to be the clothes he was allegedly wearing during the attack.
He was turned in by people in his own neighborhood, despite hiding his helmet under his porch and stashing his bike several blocks away in an attempt to hide his involvement.
Which should be a reminder to all of us to avoid pointing the finger without proof. And without being absolutely certain it’s the right person.
And don’t threaten anyone, even if you have the right person.
Just don’t.
Today’s photo from comes from David Drexler, who says that’s what the upscale Rapha bike store looks like following last week’s looting, noting the restaurant next door was firebombed.
Then there’s the guy who smashed into a barricade on a Seattle street, and came out of his car swinging a gun around. Update: He did more than brandish his gun; he apparently shot a 27-year old man.
Active mobility peeps – if you're white I invite you to consider becoming a talent scout + elevation platform for black storytelling voices in your field, program, focus etc. Pls join us next Wed. Pay what you can afford: https://t.co/8XNEq7N8Xc cc: @Visionzeronetpic.twitter.com/8Orm7oQHMa
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
An Eastvale bike rider faces an attempted murder charge after pulling out a gun out of a purse and shooting at a fleeing motorist, following an argument between them; no explanation of why he was riding with a purse.
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Local
Crosstowntakes a look at the dramatic drop in LA traffic that made our streets a veritable paradise for bike riders and pedestrians, and the gradual uptick that’s making our streets more dangerous. You’ll also find your humble host quoted there, but you’ll have to read it to see what I said.
Kindhearted police and firefighters in Kansas City, Kansas surprised a nine-year old boy with a new bicycle after his was destroyed when an out of control driver plowed into his bedroom. Probably didn’t do his bedroom much good, either.
No bias here. A Toronto car columnist says leaders should stop paying attention to what he alleges is the small bike lobby, and pay more attention to the “huge” car crowd. Which is the best way to ensure that traffic congestion, smog and climate change will keep getting worse.
I’ve been on training rides where I’ve had older adults who didn’t like me because, one, the color of my skin, and two, I was better than them. This is as a kid, having a white guy in his 40s tell me to get off a ride.
You go to Europe and it’s the same level of ignorance and racism. When I was a year out of college, I was fortunate to get a job with Jonathan Vaughters, went over to Europe, my teammates were Danny Pate, Mike Friedman, Tyler Farrar, all those guys. They’d never taken a break to go to school and I had. I remember I had another month left to be there and I remember being in car, overhearing the director or someone saying, ‘he’s no good.’ It’s like, ‘dude, I just spent the last five years at Indiana University.’
Seriously, take a few minutes to read it.
Because Bahati’s not saying anything he hasn’t said for years. The only difference is, people are finally paying attention.
And if you want to make a difference in today’s LA, you could do a lot worse than supporting his work with the nonprofit Bahati Foundation.
Photo from Bahati Foundation website.
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Former pro Phil Gaimon is back with tips for new bike riders, while telling experienced riders not to screw this up with their obnoxious rules.
And yes, Gaimon’s typically tongue-in-cheek delivery will probably make this the funniest thing you watch today, despite his perfectly serious message.
Gaimon may have never reached the dope-fueled heights Lance Armstrong did.
But he’s become the bike advocate Lance has never been, but should be.
Especially since Lance owes a lot to all of us who bought his lies for so long.
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The war on cars is a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
There’s a special place in hell for the bike thieves who targeted a blind bike shop owner in Medford, Oregon, who’s crowdfunding money to stay in business after his shop was hit by thieves multiple times in recent weeks; the campaign has raised over $5,600 in just three days., more than making up for losing $5,000 worth of bicycles.
A horrifying X-ray shows a knife embedded in the skull of a 60-year old Spanish man, who was stabbed in the head when he tried to intervene in an argument over a bicycle. Be sure you really want to see that before you click on the link, because that image will stick with you.
June 4, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Newport Beach driver plows through demonstrators and hits bicyclist, and LAPD abandons bike after arresting rider
A Newport Beach driver was apparently surprised to discover the city’s Balboa Boulevard filled with protesters demanding justice for George Floyd.
But instead of hitting the brakes, or simply turning around, like any reasonable person would, he plowed through the assembled crowd, parting people like Moses parting the seas, until finally hitting someone.
There’s no word on whether the victim was injured.
Remarkably, though, a Newport Beach Police spokeswoman insisted it doesn’t seem to have been intentional.
Because evidently, it’s just so damn easy to plow through a couple hundred people without even slowing down by mistake.
And if that’s not enough, the cops let him keep — and use — his phone while they investigated.
Because it couldn’t possibly be evidence or anything.
This JUST HAPPENED in Newport Beach. My friend Jay filmed a man who tried to murder protesters with his car and the cops LET HIM SCROLL THROUGH HIS PHONE while they decided if they should arrest him or not. FUCK THIS. #BlackLivesMatter#OrangeCounty#NewportBeachpic.twitter.com/NOP80TEWc3
Although his decision is a little easier to understand considering what happened just a day earlier.
Especially if any damage to the car comes out of his or her pay.
Meanwhile, nothing like responding to protists over police violence towards black people with still more police violence, this time directed towards people on bicycles.
And if you’re missing your bike after getting arrested on Tuesday, a kind neighbor could be holding it for you.
@bikinginla Hmm, apparently one protester here on Van Ness / Elmwood (90004) was arrested & her bike tossed by lapd. A neighbor's holding the bike – they're hoping to be able to return it. pic.twitter.com/t1oh7ACrln
Even though the LAPD should be responsible for securing bicycles belonging to anyone who gets arrested, rather than just leaving them behind to be stolen or tossed out with the trash.
They’re someone’s property. And have real monetary value.
Or would they just leave someone’s car sitting unlocked with the key in the ignition?
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Then there’s this, from off the northern Scottish coast.
— Dutch Cycling Embassy (@Cycling_Embassy) June 4, 2020
Speaking of the Netherlands, the country’ queen doesn’t need a car to get around. Or police and tear gas to clear a path, for that matter.
As America burns and Britain stumbles out of lockdown, Queen Maxima went to open a museum in the Hague yesterday. You can probably guess how she got there. pic.twitter.com/EK6ql0em2G
He gets it. The head of the UK’s equivalent of AAA says the country needs to radically rethink its approach to the street to encourage more people to walk and bike, including charging drivers for every mile over the first 3,000 — or 4,000 for people in rural areas.
Cambodian officials confiscated the bikes of environmental advocates intending to highlight concerns over a protected island, and demanded they sign an unspecified agreement, forcing them to walk back.
French track sprinter Grégory Baugé says racism exists everywhere, including the highest levels of pro cycling. Which should be evident, if only from the light hue of the pro peloton.
June 3, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike industry dips toe into racial justice, bike shops looted across US, and lucky Sacramento bike rider just misses crash
Meanwhile, LA’s I. Martin lost $130,000 worth of bikes and gear, a number that could have been higher if they hadn’t sold off much of their inventory while the shop was closed due to the coronavirus; owner Martin Wolff joined with community members to fight off the looters.
