Tag Archive for Los Angeles

Santa Monica cops cool with vehicular assault, opponents misrepresent HLA, and group rides offer up close view of LA

February 16, 2024 / / Comments Off on Santa Monica cops cool with vehicular assault, opponents misrepresent HLA, and group rides offer up close view of LA
Just 319 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Just 55 signatures to go to reach 1,000!

………

I’ll be off for President’s Day on Monday, but we’ll have a guest post from Cal Poly Pomona history professor John Lloyd critiquing the new bill that would impose an online test and permit before anyone without a driver’s license can buy or ride any type of ebike or e-scooter, and ban kids under 12 from riding them. 

Meanwhile, Calbike doesn’t like the damn bill either, saying it “would create an unnecessary new bureaucracy and mostly harm youth of color in California while not taking the steps necessary to make our streets safer for all users.”

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What happens when you get threatened with a motor vehicle in Santa Monica?

Apparently nothing.

Even if you catch it on video.

In this case, Twitter/X user Mobility For Who reacted to a driver attempting to run a stop sign with a polite “Whoa, buddy!”

The driver naturally responded politely in kind.

Yeah, no. The driver responded with an angry honk as the bike passed in front of him, then revved his engine and squealed his tires in what can only be interpreted as a threat, which had the intended effect of scaring the hell out of Mobility For Who.

Unless you’re a Santa Monica cop, that is.

In that case, they try to blame the victim for using a handheld phone — which isn’t illegal, even if it was true. Also for running the stop sign, which again wasn’t true.

And while the cop was correct that road rage itself isn’t against the law, the actions resulting from it often are. Even just exiting your vehicle to approach another road user is prima facie evidence of assault, according to an LAPD officer.

In this case, what you see on the video is, at a minimum, a misdemeanor case of assault with a deadly weapon — which means threatening someone, rather than actually making contact.

As others pointed out on Twitter/X in response to these posts, had this occurred in Los Angeles, it would have made a good case under the city’s cyclist anti-harassment ordinance.

But not in Santa Monica, or anywhere else in Los Angeles County.

I’ve met with the police chief in Santa Monica, along with representatives of BikeLA Neighborhood Chapter Santa Monica Spoke, to address the department’s lack of enforcement to protect bicyclists and other vulnerable road users.

And left with promises they’d look into it, and ensure the law was enforced fairly against dangerous, aggressive and/or threatening drivers.

But that was four chiefs ago, as the department’s revolving door on the top floor has prevented any continuity or progress in protecting the rights and safety of vulnerable road users. And allowing street level officers to regress in their commitment to protect bike riders and pedestrians, instead of the current policy of just enforcing laws against them.

I encouraged Mobility For Who to meet with the current chief, whoever that may be now, to press their case — if not for this case, then for the next person it happens to.

And yes, I do know the current chief is Ramon Batista.

For now, anyway.

But that’s the problem. Whatever progress we might make by taking our concerns up with the chief would only last as long as he does in that role. And if past history is any indication, you might be better off buying ripe bananas than counting on the Santa Monica Police Chief to stick around.

It’s a problem that will have to be addressed with, and by, city leadership, who can require the department to better protect people walking and on bikes.

Or more likely, the inevitable lawsuit that will come from their failure to do anything.

………

The Healthy Streets LA ballot measure continues to make news.

A rally in support of Measure HLA, as it is referred to on election ballots, brought out four of the six City Councilmembers in favor of the measure to encourage voters to mark yes on their ballots.

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton,

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez spoke movingly of meeting a 29-year-old man who had barely survived a car crash. The victim’s mother told Hernandez that “before, he was very active – he would ride his bike everywhere.” When Hernandez met him, “he was in a bed in a hospital, having been there for months already… he got hit while he was riding his bike…”

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez spoke of the urgency of passing Measure HLA. “These High Injury Network streets happen to be in the most poor areas of our city – the ones that have historically been redlined – and it’s mostly working class people that are biking, walking or taking public transit… who are being killed every single day,” he said.

Both Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Katy Yaroslavsky spoke of their fears as mothers of young children, and how scary it is to cross unsafe streets just to walk their kids to school.

Raman drew attention to the need for Mobility Plan improvements to be implemented citywide, “in a way that is connected, that enables people to get out of their cars.” She concluded by calling Measure HLA “smart public safety-oriented policy-making.”

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles firefighters union held their own event to oppose Measure HLA, while demonstrating both their lack of understanding of mobility issues, as well as an inherent windshield bias and commitment to car culture.

Take this quote from California Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice, who Linton says was repeatedly dismissive of bicycles and transit, in addition to displaying his own misinformed conservative political bias.

“I hate to tell you men and women, California – and Los Angeles in particular – this is a car community. You may not like it,” Rice declared, “but it is.” Rice derisively asked, “Do you really think you’re going to see buses go faster than 12 miles an hour?”

Rice declared that “a small group of elite… Democratic Socialists” are behind Measure HLA…

However, many of the people behind the measure are far from elite. And while I suspect most probably are Democrats, given the political makeup of LA County, none have cited Marx, Che Guevara or Mao in any of their conversations with me.

But I digress.

Rice concluded his remarks emphasizing fiscal issues that firefighters don’t lead with, but which appears to be among their core concerns: spending money making streets safer competes with more resources going to firefighting.

The city released a misleading cost estimate for Measure HLA implementation: $250 million annually. (Safe streets advocates can only wish that HLA gradual implementation could ever result in that kind of annual investment. Measure HLA proponents estimate annual costs to be more like one tenth of the city’s estimate.) The city estimate rolls in some non-HLA costs, including the cost of the city’s annual street repaving program which already has been and will continue to be in the city budget, regardless of HLA. It also inflates per-mile bikeway and bus lane cost estimates well above what the city currently spends.

Nope. No bias there.

A writer for LA Progressive also takes a very non-progressive stand, saying he’ll vote against the measure because it “ignores two essential criteria that bicycling on LA’s streets must be safe and bicycle paths and lanes must directly connect to each other.”

Except that’s exactly what LA’s mobility plan, and by extension, Measure HLA, does.

Former LA City Planner Dick Platkin adds that HLA offers a “deceptively simple way to solve LA’s traffic congestion, just switch from cars to bicycling and walking.”

Even though it does no such thing, since the mobility plan is based on the assumption that most Angelenos will continue to drive, while offering safe alternatives to those would prefer other options.

He goes on to site Councilmember Traci Park, one of the city’s least progressive councilmembers.

And repeats the city’s extreme $2 billion cost estimate, which Linton explained above includes inflated figures, as well as the city’s entire resurfacing budget, which it is already committed to and HLA has no bearing on.

HLA would only add the cost of paint and any additional barriers, along with the basic design costs for each street restriping.

So maybe Platkin should try writing for a less progressing site.

Oh wait, he did.

Never mind that it was the previous LA city planners and engineers who got us into this car-centric mess to begin with.

………

Nice piece from freelance writer Michael Charboneau for the LA Times The Wild newsletter, introducing four group rides offering an up close and personal view of the City of Angels.

He nails his introduction, kicking it off this way.

Riding a bike in Los Angeles is an act of defiance — against car culture, against endless sprawl, against bike lanes that disappear without warning and against gaping potholes. But on the best days, riding a bike is a pure joy. And I’ve found that you can get even more out of those moments with this one easy trick: Ride your bike with other people.

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Calbike will host a webinar on March 6th to discuss the state bike advocacy group’s campaign to demand Complete Streets on Caltrans Corridors.

Speakers: Senator Scott Wiener; Kendra Ramsey (CalBike); Jeanie Ward-Waller (Fearless Advocacy); Laura Tolkoff (SPUR); Sandhya Laddha (Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition).

Please join us to learn more about our statewide campaign for Complete Streets and Complete Corridors on Caltrans’ State Highway System. Our joint campaign is bolstered by SB 960, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, which will require Caltrans to implement safe streets for people biking, walking, and using transit. Along with the senator joining us, we will also have state and local experts demonstrating the path needed for Complete Streets and Complete Corridors on Caltrans’ roads that run through your community.

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CicLAvia will kick off their 2024 season this evening with the release of Los Angeles Ale Works seek-la-VEE-ah West Coast IPA, after it was rained out last week.

(Did I hear someone say “Oh please, not another IPA!”? Or was that just me?)

The free event will be held in conjunction with the Ivy Station Night Market, featuring food trucks, music, games, local vendors and kid-friendly activities.

It comes just over a week before the year’s first CicLAvia a week from Sunday on Melrose Ave between Fairfax and Vermont.

In addition to the usual two-wheeled frivolity, I’m told we can expect the first-ever CicLAvia corgi parade, though the time and location are still TBD.

………

It’s now 57 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. The president of a San Francisco merchant’s association offers an alternative to the “well-intentioned, but ill-conceived” Valencia Street bike lane, while offering a gratuitous slap at bike advocates, saying “diehard bike advocates can come across as a little sanctimonious and zealous,” even though “they’re doing the Lord’s work.”

Planetizen correctly says New Jersey’s proposed requirement for liability insurance for low-speed ebikes would have a chilling effect on micromobility, effectively halting any transition away from cars.

No bias here, either. A writer for the London Telegraph says bicyclists are the rudest, most entitled people in the UK today, with Lycra-clad boors giving off “an almost palpable air of smug self-satisfaction, even as they make life miserable for fellow road users.” Just wait until someone tells her about drivers. However, you’ll have to either subscribe to the paper or sign up for a free trial if you want to read the damn screed. 

English authorities have launched a murder investigation following the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle, after reports that he was also assaulted by an occupant of the vehicle, either before or after the crash.

A Singapore driver pled guilty to committing a rash act to endanger the personal safety of others, despite claiming she tried to de-escalate a confrontation with a road-raging bike-riding woman several times.

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

And no bias here, either. A 12-year old boy on an ebike somehow collided with a 66-year old Key Biscayne, Florida woman riding a bicycle in the opposite direction, killing the older woman. So local officials immediately called an emergency meeting to ban ebikes and e-scooters, ignoring 1) the crash was caused by one or more people riding where they shouldn’t have in the middle of the street, and 2) the tragic results might not have been any different if both were on non-electric bikes.

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Local 

Jacobin looks at the LA bikeshare worker’s opposition to the proposed takeover of the Metro Bike operations by Lyft.

LAist offers an overview of the Pasadena city council election.

 

State

A new bill in the state legislature would ensure that all California bridges will remain toll-free for bike riders and pedestrians.

Costa Mesa has received $7.4 million in grants from the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, to “create three interconnected, separated bike lanes as part of a major expansion of the City’s bicycle network.”

A Novato driver was busted on felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence of prescribed medication after he ran down two 15-year old boys as they rode their bicycles, followed by crashing into a pickup a block away; fortunately, everyone is expected to survive their injuries.

 

National

The Consumer Products Safety Commission has ordered a recall of Bell Soquel Youth Helmets due to risk of injury resulting from a balky strap.

Portland bike advocates want to change the narrative after bicycling rates rebounded slightly, following last year’s precipitous drop.

Oregon has their own ebike bills under consideration, including one opposed by Portland’s The Street Trust that would create California-style ebike classifications, and legalize ebikes for kids under 15, while banning throttle-controlled ebikes for the same age group.

Denver is down to just four bike messengers for the entire city, including one world champ.

A potential new helmet padding design developed at the University of Colorado could absorb as much as 25% more impact than existing foams, improving protection from bicycle helmets, as well as other types of helmets.

Kindhearted Texas cops bought a new bike for a local boy after his was destroyed by a hit-and-run driver.

New York celebrated a full decade of Vision Zero, despite just a 12% reduction in overall traffic fatalities and a record number of bicycling fatalities last year.

That’s more like it. A Mississippi man will spend 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the DUI death of a Tupelo bike rider.

 

International

Bicycling says bike riders in Nuevo León, Mexico are fighting to take back their streets, following two decades of drug cartel violence. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

The first woman to win the 3,000-mile Race Across America has been disinvited to speak at an Ottawa, Canada Women’s Day event because she served in the Israeli Defense Force 30 years ago.

Canada’s bicycling minister says he didn’t mean what he said when he said the country will stop funding large highway projects. Or so he says.

A new report says Croydon is failing bicyclists and pedestrians, as the only London borough not seeking funding for greater bicycle infrastructure and bus priority lanes. Their semi-pro football, aka soccer, team kinda sucks, too.

The CEO of British foldie maker Brompton answers questions for Cycling Weekly, saying “People see us as a little, quirky, odd bike.” Which is exactly how most people view them.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Magnus Sheffield says he’s “incredibly lucky to be alive” after crashing on the same descent that killed Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder in last June’s Tour de Suisse, adding it’s a reminder of how fragile life can be. Amen.

A Guyana bike race celebrates the country’s “rich history of bicycling excellence.”

 

Finally…

That feeling when something gets lost in translation between Dutch bike infrastructure and Chorlton-Cum-Hardy. Or when a bike needs a new forever home after its owner dies.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Firefighters union pledges 6-figure fight to keep LA roads deadly, and woman bicyclist critical after Belmont Shore collision

February 15, 2024 / / One comment
Just 320 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Just 60 signatures to go to reach 1,000!

………

Somehow, Los Angeles firefighters don’t seem to think LA’s wide street are wide enough.

Or that their trucks can manage to roll over a thin line of paint.

According to the Los Angeles Times, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 plans to spend at least $100,000 to fight Measure HLA, the ballot measure that would make the city build out its already approved mobility plan whenever streets within the plan get resurfaced.

Union President Freddy Escobar said his organization, which represents about 3,400 firefighters, is concerned that the measure will lead to slower emergency response times and put new pressure on a city budget already experiencing financial strain. Firetrucks are already being hindered by “road diets” — reductions in vehicle lanes caused by the creation of bike or bus lanes, Escobar said in an interview.

“Every second counts. The road diets slow down our firefighters,” Escobar said. “And it will be so much worse with HLA.”

Like the road diet on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, for instance. Which we were told was dangerously delaying responses from the local fire station after it was installed, until we learned that the average response for Mar Vista’s Station 62 was just four seconds more than the citywide average in the months following the road diet.

Because every second counts, evidently.

Never mind that when firefighters complain about road diets, they neglect to mention that while road diets reduce the number of traffic lanes, most contain a continuous center left turn lane large enough for firetrucks to zoom through any backed up traffic — actually making them more efficient for emergency vehicles than LA’s congested roadways.

Other major streets in the mobility plan are marked for bus lanes, which also present a perfect lane for emergency vehicles to bypass traffic more quickly than they can now.

Assuming no one is illegally parked in them, of course.

Or that one reason we’re told LA’s “protected” bike lanes are protected by nothing more than flimsy plastic posts is so emergency vehicles can drive over them whenever necessary.

Not to mention that most of the bike lanes in the mobility plan will feature nothing more than a thin stripe of white paint, which should hardly pose a barrier for a massive, multi-ton truck with huge wheels.

So the reality is that road diets, particularly the kind the would be created under HLA, would likely speed emergency response times, not slow them.

Which makes you wonder what the firefighters real complaint is.

Then there’s the simple fact that Measure HLA, and the mobility plan it’s based on, is designed to save lives by dramatically reducing the risk of life-threatening injuries and traffic deaths.

So maybe what they’re really worried about is that improved traffic safety could reduce the need for emergency responses.

And emergency responders.

Of course, Los Angeles isn’t the first city to face this type of manufactured conflict.

New York firefighters complained that city’s road diets and bike lanes were affecting response times, until the brass clarified that it ain’t necessarily so.

In fact, response times were better the year after bike lanes were installed on New York’s Columbus Ave than they were the year before.

San Francisco firefighters also complained about the city’s rapid installation of road diets, neighborhood greenways and bus and bike lanes. So city officials bought several slightly smaller fire trucks to enable them to better traverse San Francisco’s narrow, winding streets.

Not, say, our overly wide, straight and multilane boulevards.

Which makes it seem like the union’s real objection is less about reducing response times, and more about wanting to drive unhindered to and from the fire stations and their suburban — or even out-of-state — homes.

But in the end, it’s only appropriate, in this pre-Easter season, that the firefighter’s union will spend more than a hundred grand of their member’s dues to perform a miracle.

By turning their water into whine.

………

Bad news from Long Beach, where a 32-year old woman is in stable but critical condition after she was struck by a driver while riding her bike.

The collision occurred at Second Street and Bay Shore Ave in the city’s Belmont Shore neighborhood at 8:15 pm Sunday.

The victim was reportedly making a left turn after the light had changed, when a driver went through the intersection on the red light, striking her.

A nearby doctor provided first aid until paramedics arrived.

………

Um, okay.

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It’s now 56 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

A Dublin, Ireland mother was forced to give up bicycling after she was threatened with an £11 million fine — the equivalent of nearly $14 million — and two years behind bars for installing a small bike shed in her front garden to store her family’s bikes and her mother’s wheelchair.

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

New Jersey comedian Rich Kiamco was chased and beaten by a gang of teenaged bicycle riders, who ran him down to steal his ebike; police used the GPS on his bike to track down the thieves and recover his bike less than an hour after it was stolen.

A Singapore botanical garden urged bike riders to slow down, after a hit-and-run bicyclist on a road bike ran over a monitor lizard.

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Local 

It just keeps getting worse. Former Major League shortstop and current Oaks Christian School baseball coach Royce Clayton was busted for DUI early Sunday morning, just weeks after testifying about quaffing margaritas with wealthy socialite Rebecca Grossman and her then-lover, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, before she allegedly killed two little kids while speeding through a crosswalk.

Metro is looking for volunteers to help audit first mile/last mile connections for the Eastside Transit Corridor, the coming nine-mile extension of the E Line train.

Income-qualified Pasadena residents will be able to get a rebate of up to $1,000 on the purchase of an ebike starting July 1st, while other buyers will be able to claim $500 off a regular ebike, and $750 off an e-cargo bike. And chances are, California’s moribund ebike voucher program still won’t have launched by then.

 

State

Seriously? The replacement project for the Mission Bridge over the Santa Ana River between Riverside and Jurupa Valley has been pushed back until 2025 — but don’t worry, officials plan to protect bike riders by installing a couple of Share the Road signs along the dangerous roadway.

Santa Barbara will seek $32 million in state funds to build a new bike and pedestrian bridge over Highway 101.

The San Francisco Standard examines the proposals to ban kids from riding ebikes, while noting that US Consumer Product Safety Commission research shows it’s people 25 to 44 years old who are the most likely to end up in the ER as a result of an ebike crash — not kids.

 

National

The Manual says you should never buy a used mountain bike.

Once again, a bike rider was a hero, as a Washington state man was saved after driving off an embankment when someone passing by on a bicycle heard his moans and called 911; the driver was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

A Boulder, Colorado op-ed says bicycling isn’t inherently dangerous, but bad street design is. (Hint: Stop the page from loading to bypass the paper’s paywall).

Illinois IndyCar vet David Malukas will see his debut with the Arrow McLaren SP Racing team delayed a couple months, after dislocating his wrist in a mountain bike crash — or maybe tearing ligaments in his wrist; he now expects to start his season at April’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

An Arizona man is likely on his way back to prison after allegedly crashing a stolen box truck in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attempting to make his getaway on a stolen bicycle while naked from the waist down.

She may be onto something. A Baltimore bike rider questions whether cars are just a parasitic alien life form that makes people do their bidding.

 

International

Virgin founder Richard Branson claims bike riders need body armor, after his latest bike crash in the British Virgin Islands left him with a “nasty” road rash and a hematoma on his hip. So he and I finally have something in common (see photo).

Canada commits to stop funding large highway projects, concluding that the country’s current highways are sufficient to meet its needs.

No bias here. A London website says bicyclists will no longer have to annoy pedestrians by dismounting and walking their bikes across the city’s Hammersmith Bridge.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a Yorkshire, England van driver walked without a day behind bars for running down a bike rider from behind, after playing the universal Get Out Of Jail Free card by claiming the sun was in his eyes.

The Turkish founders of the annual, worldwide Fancy Women Ride have called an end to it, saying its goal of getting more women on bikes has been met. Although they may find the ride was easier to start than it will be to stop.

An EV website says Sydney, Australia needs to change its perspective and embrace cycling as a viable mode of transportation.

 

Competitive Cycling

A British Columbia paper says Svein Tuft, arguably Canada’s greatest road cyclist, is finally leaning to slow down after retiring at 41 when he lost his competitiveness, and began braking early to avoid injuries.

 

Finally…

That feeling when even the parking cops don’t care about a blocked bike lane. Forget a tandem, what could be more romantic than a bicycle built for five?

And we may have to worry about road-raging drivers, but at least we’re not likely to get shot after being mistaken for a bike-riding wild boar.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Driver blames bike rider for riding legally, Bob George ghost bike gone, and no SoCal counties deadliest for bike riders

February 14, 2024 / / One comment
Just 321 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Just over 70 signatures to go to reach 1,000!

………

In a letter to the Los Angeles Times, Norwood Paukert recounts the story first told here last week about being intentionally run down by a pair of young men on Griffith Park’s Zoo Drive.

I have no memory of the impact, but I was told by the park ranger on scene that witnesses had watched a car with two young men inside intentionally swerve into the bike lane and ram me from behind, throwing me over the handlebars into the street, and then laughing as they sped away.

We’ve seen similar stories coming from all over the world — as near as Huntington Beach and Las Vegas, and as far as Australia — of young men deliberately running down people on bicycles, usually while driving stolen cars.

Yet no one seems to be connecting the dots here, despite with rumors circulating of a hit-and-run challenge targeting bicyclists.

Meanwhile, another letter on the same Times link asks a “bike enthusiast” to explain why an Eagle Rock bike rider would be riding against traffic on the sidewalk, right next to the painted bike lanes on Colorado Blvd.

When there was a large gap, I checked again for pedestrians, and started to move forward. Out of nowhere, here comes a bike rider, on the sidewalk, coming from my right against the traffic flow. I came within millimeters of knocking him down.

I have seen many cyclists use the bike lanes correctly, but I have also seen them riding in groups so that they overflow the bike lanes into traffic. I’ve seen them at night with no reflective gear on.

Let’s start with the idea that the rider came “out of nowhere.”

Bikes are allowed on the sidewalk in Los Angeles, and drivers have a responsibility to look both ways. That includes looking for anyone walking or biking on the sidewalk, which is bi-directional — meaning there is no right direction, and people are entitled to travel in either direction.

Even people on bicycles.

Secondly, there is no requirement to ride in the street, even if it has a bike lane.

It’s possible that riding with traffic on the opposite side of the street may have been inconvenient if the rider was heading to or leaving a business or residence on the near side of the street, or connecting to a street on that side.

Or they may have just been uncomfortable riding on a busy street with nothing more than a thin strip of paint for protection.

And it’s odd that drivers can accept illegal, dangerous and otherwise bizarre behavior from other drivers, but somehow can’t comprehend when someone on a bicycle does something similar.

People are people, regardless of how they choose to travel. And people will inevitably do what’s most convenient, or which seems to make sense at the time.

So maybe it’s time to lighten up when someone on a bicycle acts like a human being.

Meanwhile, GCN examines just what we do that manages to piss drivers off so much.

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Sadly, the ghost bike for fallen bicyclist and Hollywood producer Bob George has been removed already, his memory erased from a town that forgets too easily.

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A new report from personal injury law firm Bader Scott analyzed data the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, to determine the nation’s most dangerous counties for bicyclists.

To the surprise of no one, the worst offenders came from Florida. In fact, the top three counties, and 14 of the top 20, are in the state, which is the nation’s deadliest state to ride a bike in.

California was also represented near the top, with San Joaquin County ranking eight, and Stanislaus County 15th. (Hint: Stop the page from loading to get around the paper’s paywall.)

Surprisingly, no SoCal county ranked in the top 20. Although it would be interesting to see what the rest of the list looks like.

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There’s still time to reserve your spot in next weekend’s L.A. Chinatown Firecracker Bike Ride celebrating the upcoming Lunar New Year, Year of the Dragon.

Here’s how a recent press release described the event.

The 46th Annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker 5K/10K Run/1K Kiddie & PAW’er Dog Run/Walk & 20/50-Mile Bike Ride – which will be held over the weekend of February 24-25, 2024, where thousands will take to the streets and where the events start and end, as well as a free to the public post-event festival at the historic Los Angeles Chinatown Plaza (Event Festival until 3pm on Saturday as well as a Lantern Paw Festival in Blossom Plaza from 11am-4pm in conjunction with Saturday’s Paw’er Dog Walk, and on Sunday, the Firecracker event festival goes until noon).

In addition, the 50-mile Bike Ride snakes through DTLA, LA River, “Frogtown”, LA Zoo, Travel Town, Burbank, Glendale, Verdugo Foothills, Montrose, La Canada, Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, and much more.

The L.A. Chinatown Firecracker is one of the largest and oldest running races in the U.S. which had its humble beginnings from a few Belmont High School Alums (a public school located in the Westlake community just outside of Chinatown).

Meanwhile, there’s just two weeks left to get early bird pricing on the April Finish the Ride and Finish the Run in Griffith Park.

………

It’s now 55 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. A San Diego TV station blames the victims by suggesting the safety of Encinitas ebike riders is in the hands of Gen-Z, meaning teenage ebike riders. Even though the real danger comes from the drivers they’re forced to share the road with, thanks to a lack of safe infrastructure.

No bias here, either. In a clear indication of who they think poses the greatest risk, Fresno police cited 32 drivers in their latest bicycle and pedestrian safety operation — and 96 bicyclists and pedestrians.

Or here. A London bike rider famous for riding with his cat was scolded for riding around a car, after the driver had just pulled out and cut him off.

An Irish driver complains that a bike rider must “enjoy playing with traffic” by riding in the traffic lane when there’s a perfectly good bikeway right next to it — even though it’s blocked by a bollard.

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Local 

The LA Times sums up the prosecution’s case against wealthy socialite and Grossman Burn Center co-founder Rebecca Grossman as “Liquor, Valium, speed and recklessness;” Grossman is on trial for two counts of murder for the high speed hit-an-run deaths of two little kids as they crossed the street with their parents and siblings in Westlake Village last September.

Yo! Venice offers video of the badly damaged Marvin Braude Bike Trail, which collapsed during last week’s heavy rains; remarkably, the bike path appears to have been build with little or no rebar or other means of support beyond the concrete itself.

Hermosa Beach is considering a proposal to allow cops to impound bicycles and ebikes of riders cited for traffic violations. Although that would appear to violate state law, which does not permit it.

 

State

Sad news from Los Altos, where a woman riding a bicycle was killed in a collision.

San Francisco State Sen. Scott Wiener discusses his proposed bill to require speed limiting devices in all new cars, which keep drivers from exceeding ten miles over the speed limit. And which would probably do more to save lives than anything else the state could do right now.

 

National

He gets it. A writer for Bicycling says stop the ebike hate, and love your fellow bicyclists regardless of how they dress or what they ride. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you may be screwed if the magazine blocks you. 

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a writer for Visor pens a love letter to bicycling, expressing “the simple yet profound joy of riding a bicycle.”

Portland, Oregon rebounded from a “precipitous drop” in bicycling rates last year with a modest 5% increase in this year’s count.

The rich get richer. On top of Denver’s successful ebike voucher program, residents of the city can now get paid $1 a mile to ride their bikes instead of driving, up to a maximum of $200 a month.

New York bicycling deaths dipped just slightly last year, a full decade into the city’s failed Vision Zero program.

A pair of bills in the New Jersey legislature would impose an $8 annual registration fee and require a $35,000 liability insurance policy for even slow-speed, ped-assist ebikes, as well as e-scooters, in an apparent attempt to kill the ebike boom and keep people in their cars.

 

International

A new report suggests the post-pandemic sales slump affecting the worldwide bike industry will last through at lease next year; meanwhile, sales at Shimano’s bicycle division were down 30% last year.

A writer for Cycling Weekly describes what it’s like to ride in the worst bike lane in the world.

Momentum offers ten ways to go on a bicycle date.

Cyclist explains how to get more aero on your bike. Unless you ride an upright bike, in which case, as you were. 

Canadian Cycling Magazine nominates a Toronto driver for the most egregious case of driving in a bike lane. Which sounds like a challenge to SoCal drivers.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A driver walked without a single day behind bars, despite being convicted of intentionally ramming a bike rider into a large truck, breaking the victim’s spine and leaving him a “hollow shell of a person.”

Harry Styles is one of us, as he goes on a late-night bikeshare ride through the streets of London with girlfriend Taylor Russell.

Dublin, Ireland offered a plan to halt pass-through traffic in the city center to make room for buses, bicyclists and pedestrians, along with drivers who actually have a destination in town, after a study showed that 60% of downtown Dublin drivers were just passing through.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Seattle, as former Giro and ‘cross cyclist, and longtime bike industry pro, Tim Rutledge died following a battle with cancer at age 65.

 

Finally…

At 15, most of us were happy just to ride a bike, not run your own bike shop. Now you, too, can ride your bike like the Swiftie you are.

And a corgi on an ebike is all I really ask of life.

Thanks to Dr. Grace Peng for forwarding the tweet, or whatever the hell it’s called these days.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Bashing Boerner’s ebike safety bill, dismount bikes signs to be removed, and the Biden-Trump bike race we deserve

February 13, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 322 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Just over 70 signatures to go to reach 1,000!

Photo by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

………

Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry responds to Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s bill to ban ebikes for kids under 12, and require a driver’s license or completion of an online training course for anyone else.

E-bike safety is certainly important. Asm. Boener has been working on developing safety training – more on that below – but the idea of requiring licenses for riding a bike introduces a range of problems. There is racial profiling, for one – the people most likely to be pulled over for potential violations of this law are youth of color. Then there’s the whole problem with making the police deal with what is fundamentally a safety issue in the first place. And as the California Bicycle Coalition has pointed out:

“The bicycle is an efficient and essential tool to fight climate change, and e-bikes make bicycling accessible to a wider range of people. E-bike licensing requirements are unlikely to measurably reduce the prevalence of crashes (see below for why), but they will reduce ridership just as California needs to employ every strategy to mitigate the climate crisis.”

Electric bikes can be easier – and faster – than “acoustic” bikes. This brings both benefits and hazards, particularly to inexperienced riders. But the solution is better information and training, not more policing.

Curry also points out that California law already bans anyone under 16 from riding the fastest category of ebikes.

And that the “real and present danger” associated with ebikes is cars, and the people who drive them. Because even the best trained ebike rider is no match for a speeding, overly aggressive or otherwise distracted driver.

Meanwhile, a comment on the Electrek site sums it up pretty well.

Hard disagree with the current iteration of this bill, the way it reads right now its another power move under the guise of “for the safety of children” and an overblown way to solve a problem that affects some cities locally. There’s smarter and more cost effective ways to increase ebike safety rather than making a big conundrum out of it and then finding a new way to ticket people who have been following the law, while people breaking the law will continue to ignore it…

………

Credit Streetblog’s Joe Linton with getting Los Angeles and Beverly Hill to remove signs posted near the Purple Line construction zone on Wilshire which tell people to get off their bikes, for no apparent reason.

It’s questionable whether these signs were ever enforceable to begin with, since they don’t conform to the MUTCD, and look more like something a Metro contractor might have ordered off Amazon.

………

Daily Kos says forget all this talk about who is “infirm” or “feeble,” or capable of passing a basic cognitive test.

What we really need to settle the issue once and for all is a Biden-Trump bicycle race.

I know who I’d put my money on.

………

Bike Portland celebrates the city’s Boom Bike, a human-powered, mobile soundstage.

………

GCN explains how to commute on an ebike.

Which is kind of like commuting on any other bike, just less sweaty.

………

It’s now 54 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

Something tells me there’s more to this story, after an alleged hit-and-run driver was charged with first-degree murder for killing a British Columbia bike rider; the suspect is accused of planning or conspiring to murder the victim, as mounties describe the investigation as “sensitive.”

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

An unknown bike rider is the prime suspect after a former British sports commentator found his car slashed by what could have been a bicycle pedal.

………

Local 

Los Angeles now has a bicycle-based mobile espresso bar serving Westside communities with beans exclusively sourced from West African farms.

Politico looks at the bad blood delaying Lyft’s takeover of behind-the-scenes operations for LA’s Metro Bike bikeshare program, as political and labor leaders decry awarding “hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to a company that is car-centric and anti-union.”

Torrance is moving towards approval of a proposed multi-use trail linking the city’s new regional transit center with its downtown district.

Long Beach says not so fast to California’s new intersection daylighting law.

 

State

Instead of succumbing to the ebike panic plaguing SoCal’s beach cities, Newport Beach has taken a more rational approach by launching a new webpage devoted to ebike and traffic safety.

Bad news from San Diego, where a 63-year old man suffered severe injuries when he was right hooked by a 33-year old woman while riding in a Carmel Valley bike lane; fortunately, his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

More bad news from San Diego, as a man in his 70s suffered injuries to his head and legs when he was struck by one of the city’s downtown trolleys while riding his bike.

Sad news from Fresno, where a 33-year old man died after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike just doors from his home.

 

National

Velo talks with PeopleForBikes about the five principles required for the year’s best US bicycling infrastructure.

Five years after launching it with much fanfare, PeopleForBikes will shut down their Ride Spot mobile app at the end of this month, after deciding the resources could be better spent in other areas. Which is just business speak for it flopped. 

Bicycling offers their picks for the best President’s Day deals on bike gear. This one doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, but it also doesn’t seem to be hidden behind the magazine’s paywall. 

Cycling Weekly advises doubling up on bike locks to make your bike less inviting to thieves as bike theft rates rise.

Good question. The Good Men Project says public health and urban planning go hand-in-hand, so why aren’t we doing more to promote bicycling? Actually, that’s easy. It’s because we care more about allowing drivers to go zoom zoom than we do about keeping people healthy.

In a complicated story, the owners of a Houston bike shop got a classic 1950s Columbia bike back after a photographer they loaned it to never returned it; a year later, a friend found it for sale after someone discovered it on the street when the photographer was evicted for nonpayment of rent.

 

International

Momentum makes the case for why building bike lanes is good for more than just people who ride bikes.

Ebike conversion kit maker Swytch recommends the most romantic cities for bike-riding couples to spend quality time together. That none of them one is Los Angeles should go without saying.

Virgin owner Richard Branson once again suffers “nasty” injuries falling off his bicycle, this time after hitting a pothole in the British Virgin Islands.

Toronto bicyclists celebrate riding on the coldest day of the year, on one of the warmest days of the winter.

Um, no. A Manchester, England website explains how the city became the European capital of bicycling. Which will likely come as a big surprise to Amsterdam and Copenhagen, not to mention Paris and Barcelona.

A British community learns the hard way that the equivalent of $17 million won’t even buy a straight bike lane anymore.

The consumer standards regulator for the Netherlands is investigating a cargo bikemaker, after complaints of broken frames on fragile Babboe bakfiets.

 

Competitive Cycling

That feeling when a bike race fan does a face plant trying to keep up with a cyclist in the Tour Columbia.

 

Finally…

Presenting a crossdressing bike ride that could be banned in some red states. When you’re riding your bike at 1 am with illegal drugs, a fake handgun, knife, pepper spray and a half-dozen outstanding warrants, don’t ride salmon without lights on the damn thing,

And that feeling when a magazine thinks every bicyclist needs a new Pinarello — and a balance bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Bill mandates licensing for ebike riders, ebike-riding LA Times editor backs HLA, and La Brea sign orders bike dismounts

February 12, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 323 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re over 900 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000!

Ebike photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

………

Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner introduced her bill to establish education and licensing requirements for ebike buyers without a driver’s license.

AB 2234 would ban children under 12 from riding an ebike of any kind, and require than anyone over 12 pass an online safety course before being allowed to buy or ride one.

As I’ve pointed out in the past, I see several problems with the bill, starting with whether a parent with a driver’s license could buy an ebike for their child without one.

I also think 12 is to young for an ebike, and would rather see the prohibition raised to 14 for ped-assist ebikes, while reclassifying throttle-controlled ebikes as mo-peds or electric motorcycles requiring a driver’s license or motorcycle license operate.

And I don’t understand why ebikes should be singled out for requiring a driver’s license or a separate ebike license, while any other type of bicycle doesn’t.

Which is a far better argument for not having a licensing requirement for anyone, rather than requiring one for everyone, or just for some but not others.

………

Los Angeles Times Letters Editor Paul Thornton writes movingly about the need to pass Measure HLA — the Healthy Streets LA ballot initiative — in next month’s election.

I’ve experienced the worsening situation as a cyclist in L.A. for almost 20 years. The growing size and power of cars and the evident impatience of motorists have exposed the city’s halfhearted attempts at improving biking infrastructure as transportation tokenism.

To understand how unnerving it is out there for cyclists, I might suggest you saddle up and pedal in a gutter bike lane during rush hour. But I could never recommend doing that.

Still, none of this should obscure a simple truth about cycling: It’s fun. A lot of fun. If I were leading the campaign to pass Measure HLA, the slogan would be, “Make L.A. fun again…”

It’s a quietly powerful piece, well worth reading. Especially if you’re on the fence or leaning towards voting against the measure.

He might just change your mind.

Or, if like me, you’re firmly convinced to vote in favor, you can wear your support for Measure HLA and/or Streets For All, if not on your sleeve, at least on your chest.

I’ve got a few on the way, myself.

………

Posted signs near the Purple Line construction zone on Wilshire still tell people to get off their bikes, for no apparent reason.

………

YouTuber John Hicks says you can ride your ebike through the roughest streets of Compton, and get back home with it and you in one piece.

………

A new short film documents mountain biker Kelly-Jayne Collinge and her fight for greater inclusion for women in bicycling, especially for new and expecting mothers, after her sponsors abandoned her when she got pregnant.

………

It’s now 53 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

This is who we share the road with. A 57-year old Kokomo, Indiana man faces charges for driving up onto a sidewalk to intentionally ram a 42-year old bike rider from behind before fleeing the scene; the victim was lucky to escape with non-life-threatening injuries.

Residents of an English city got out the torches and pitchforks over a proposal for protected bike lanes which promise “enormous” community benefits, claiming they will somehow cause “chaos” and “gridlock,” as well as a “sacrilege” if it involves reducing the grass verges.

A 70-something bicyclist and driver in another English town refutes allegations that new bike lanes required the removal of parking spaces, arguing that the street is now safer while still having parking on both sides.

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

Police in Glasgow, Scotland are looking for a hit-and-run ebike delivery rider who rode off after crashing into an elderly woman and sending her to the hospital.

………

Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Caltrans finally released their long-overdue Complete Streets policies, which was more than six months overdue; Streetsblog says a bill in the state legislature mandating Compete Streets is needed, anyway.

The Desert Sun offers photos from Saturday’s very popular and very crowded Tour de Palm Springs.

An estimated 2,500 people rode bikes of all kinds across several miles of new concrete and asphalt at Bakersfield’s Cycle Centennial, as bike riders were allowed access to the new Centennial Corridor freeway connector before it was opened to motor vehicles. Maybe they should just keep it bikes only, instead of allowing drivers to ruin it all.

Fresno police are looking for the heartless coward who drove off after critically injuring a bike rider in his 30s.

A Marin political cartoonist suggests maybe bike riders could use a zip line to cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge if authorities rip out the existing bike lane for another car lane.

 

National

A writer for Tom’s Guide offers up five things she wished she’d known before buying her first road bike. I wish I’d known that cars are bigger than me, and they hurt. Actually, I did know that, but bought one anyway because bikes are just too damn much fun.

While usually sunny Los Angeles can’t manage to observe Winter Bike to Work Day, Anchorage, Alaska bike riders demonstrate how easy it is to commute in the snow.

Convicted killer Kaitlin Armstrong spent six grand on plastic surgery to make herself less attractive in a failed attempt to avoid capture following the fatal shooting of gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas, over a perceived love triangle with pro cyclist Colin Strickland.

DC just approved a new Intelligent Speed Assistance Program, which will allow authorities to slow speeding drivers, similar to a bill recently introduced in the California legislature.

 

International

In today’s entry from the Department of Repetitive Redundancy, Momentum says Valentines Day is the perfect excuse to get a tandem bike built for two. As if there are many tandems built for one.

A Toronto website debunks three common myths about bike lanes, including that bike lanes cause congestion and are bad for business.

Like is cheap in Glasgow, Scotland, where a man walked with just a fine and no jail time for the drunken crash that left a bike rider with life-changing injuries. This is why people keep dying on our streets. 

A new study from Cambridge, England shows that separated bike lanes had no impact on business employment levels or commercial vacancies, despite claims from business owners that bike lanes hurt their sales.

A London man credits his helmet with saving his life when he crashed his bike, despite breaking his face in three places.

London police say bike thefts dropped nearly 90% in the city center after the arrest of a prolific bike theft ring; the group was blamed for stealing the equivalent of over $126,000 worth of bikes over a two-year period.

A crowdfunding campaign in honor of fallen British cyclist and filmmaker Jonathan Gales has raised the equivalent of over $10,000 for his local velodrome; the CAT1 racer was killed by a drunk driver while crossing a Los Angeles street on foot in November, 2022.

Parents in the UK are complaining that bicycling instructors are teaching their kids to ride in the middle of the traffic lane.

There’s something seriously wrong when an Irish cop who gave an unclaimed bicycle to an elderly, isolated man during the Covid pandemic faces discipline for it, rather than getting a commendation.

Momentum recommends the “incredible Trans Dinarica cycling trail” stretching over 1,200 miles through Eastern Europe, as the place to pedal in 2024.

A 12-year-old boy is attempting to become the youngest person to bicycle around Malta. Then again, it’s only 62 miles, but still.

A Bollywood actor met with a fan who rode his bike over 600 miles just to meet him. Most American stars would just have their security team toss the guy out on his ass. 

Bikeshare is helping to ease travel on the congested streets of Cairo, Egypt.

Around 4,500 bike riders turned out for a ride through Tokyo in December to promote bicycle safety.

An Aukland, New Zealand man armed with a knife chased a bike rider down a bike path threatening to stab him for nearly a minute, after the rider told the man to fuck off for laughing at him.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian road race champion Elisa Longo Borghini says things have finally changed in women’s cycling, and riders no longer have to take a second job to finance their cycling careers.

 

Finally…

Nothing beats the safety of our paint-protected bike lanes. That feeling when the crowd hates autonomous cars way mo’ than anyone expected.

And your next dining room table could be holding your bike up right now.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Spring completion for LA River bike path work, Park prevaricates on Measure HLA, and Long Beach 7th most bikeable US city

February 9, 2024 / / 3 comments
Just 326 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand LA Mayor Karen Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re over 900 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000!

………

Happy International Winter Bike to Work Day 2024!

Or as we call it here in Los Angeles, Friday.

………

Let’s start with a question about construction work on the LA River bike path.

In a comment yesterday, E. Lehrer asked,

Would you please help us out with an update on the work on the LA River bike path between the Zoo Dr. exit and Riverside Dr.?

Fortunately, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton’s provides near omniscience on subjects like this, writing last month that the work is scheduled to be finished this spring.

According to Linton, signage on site says it should be done by the end of this month. However, that’s likely to be delayed by this week’s rain, and could be delayed further by any future storms.

And that’s only if the city has its shit together, which is far from guaranteed.

………

Public radio station LAist offers an overview of the Healthy Streets LA ballot initiative in next month’s election, which has been endorsed by the Los Angeles Times, the LA Unified School District and a host of civic, social and worker organizations.

According to LAist,

This measure arrives after a year in which Los Angeles tallied more traffic deaths (337) than homicides (327). Moreover, critics say the city has ignored the law already on the books to make the streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists…

Currently, the city is not close to achieving (its Vision Zero) goal of reducing deaths through needed street improvements. Measure HLA requires the city to make progress on the city’s Mobility Plan and to document it for the public.

The story also explains why Measure HLA, which is how the initiative is identified on the ballot, is necessary — my word, not theirs.

Michael Schneider, CEO of Streets for All, said that the measure is needed to spur compliance with the Mobility Plan. Eight years into the city’s 20-year-plan to make the streets safer, it has only implemented 5% of the plan.

“So if you do the math, that’s not a 20-year plan, that’s a 160-year plan,” he said. “Meanwhile, pedestrian deaths and just deaths from car crashes in general keep going up.”

CD10 Councilmember Heather Hutt announced her endorsement of the HLA initiative in next month’s election on Twitter/X yesterday.

On the other hand, CD11 Councilmember Traci Park appears to oppose the measure, after calling for a detailed report on the financial and structural impacts of Measure HLA.

She’s also asking for detailed reports on the measure’s impact on street resurfacing schedules, potential traffic changes, community outreach plans, funding strategies, and compliance with safety codes, in what appears to be an attempt to prevent its implementation by burying it in paperwork, even if it passes.

Park also claims the city has already implemented much iof the Mobility Plan, including more than 300 miles of bicycle lanes and other mobility elements.

Which has not happened.

Streetsblog’s Linton has kept a detailed log of the city’s bike lane mileage, showing just 222.7 miles of new LA bike lanes in the nine years since the Mobility Plan 2035 was adopted in 2016.

Much of which was not part of the Mobility Plan, which remains 95% unbuilt.

The city also counts sharrows as bike lanes, which studies show can actually increase the danger for bike riders. And it measures its annual output in lane miles, meaning bike lanes on each side of the roadway are counted separately.

So the real total is closer to 111 miles of roadway — much of which is low quality, if not actually dangerous.

It should also be noted that what Park is objecting to is not Measure HLA, but the Mobility Plan that was overwhelming approved by the LA City Council just nine years ago. And which was scheduled to be completed by 2035.

That’s before we were told it was merely “aspirational,” of course.

………

Redfin ranks the ten most bikeable cities in the US with a population over 200,000, none of which is Los Angeles.

Although Long Beach, with a population over 450,000, makes a surprising appearance at number seven, while San Francisco came in third behind Minneapolis and Portland.

Considering that Redfin is a real estate site, it’s worth noting that Minneapolis and Chicago are the most affordable cities on the list for home buyers, while Minneapolis and Portland are cheapest for renters.

So you can forward my mail to Minneapolis, when and if I ever hang up my hat.

………

A UC Santa Barbara bicycle repair shop was named Best of the Year for Domestic Small Higher Education by Interior Design, which says the building doubles as a work of art.

………

It’s now 50 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

A road-raging St. Petersburg, Florida woman faces charges for intentionally running over a man riding a bicycle, after using her car as a weapon by attempting to swerve into him several times before finally succeeding; fortunately, the victim only suffered a broken ankle.

No bias here. Brompton’s plans for a new eco-friendly, carfree HQ and factory hit an unexpected snag when British regulators ordered them to consider the poor, unfortunate folks who have no choice but to drive. Because evidently, bikes and shuttle buses aren’t a thing.

A Canberra, Australia driver says he’s had his issues with “the lycra-clad,” but finds it hard to argue against better bike lanes after witnessing the peak hour terror of lead-foot drivers zooming down painted bike lanes to bypass traffic.

………

Local 

Longbeachize explains the coming 51st Street Greenbelt in North Long Beach, which will include a bikeway connecting the L.A. River bike path and the Daisy Lane Bike Boulevard.

 

State

A San Diego man was seriously injured when he reportedly rode his mountain bike off a San Ysidro sidewalk, and was hit head-on by a 20-year old driver; the victim suffered an open fracture of his right femur, concussion, fractured hand, cut over his eye, and had two teeth knocked out.

Thousands of bicyclists will roll through the Coachella Valley this weekend for the 26th Annual Tour de Palm Springs fundraising ride.

A San Jose auto shop owner faces charges for his role in an international bike theft ring, allegedly fencing high-end bicycles stolen in daytime burglaries for resale in Mexico.

 

National

Velo continues their backward gaze for Black History Month with a recap of the early Black bicycling heroes of the late 19th Century.

Cycling Weekly says sex no longer sells in advertising to a new generation of bicyclists. I’d argue that it never did, but bike brands were slow to catch on. 

Bicycling recommends the 17 best Valentine’s Day gifts for bicyclists, ranging from a bicycle-themed pizza cutter to a portable tube with built-in flint lighter to stash your joint. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you. 

There’s a special place in hell for whoever used a pickaxe to steal an ebike a Minneapolis woman who planned to use it to help with her multiple sclerosis, before she even had a chance to.

An Ohio bike shop owner takes issue with Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss recent Outside column asserting that there’s no good reason to buy a carbon bike.

A Manhattan website says horse carriages are being squeezed out of Hells Kitchen by the newly widened 10th Street bike lanes, after numerous complaints from bicyclists about the carriage drivers using the bike lanes instead of the roadway.

The New York Fire Department shuttered a bike shop accused of assembling fire-prone “Frankenstein” ebike batteries.

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for the New Iberia, Louisiana driver who simply drove off after slamming into two people riding their bikes, killing one and critically injuring the other.

 

International

Cyclist offers advice and product recommendations to increase your average bicycling speed.

Bike Radar provides tips on bike commuting in cold and wet weather. Most of which applies here in LA, since it focuses on British rain instead of snow.

A UK petition calls for boosting the maximum assisted speed allowed on the country’s ebikes from 15.5 mph to 20 mph; the country currently follows the European Union regulations, despite leaving the EU four years ago.

That’s more like it. A 29-year old British driver was sentenced to 11 years behind bars, and banned from driving for a whopping 17 years, for the hit-and-run death of a young mother as she rode her bike while driving on the wrong side of the road at two and a half times the posted speed limit; he had multiple previous convictions, was driving without insurance and out on bail at the time of the crash. Just another example of officials keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late.

Dutch police are rolling out new roadside mobile road test benches to determine if an ebike violates power and speed limitations.

 

Competitive Cycling

Outside is screening Dear 39th Street online; the short film traces the rise of South Central LA native and L39ion of Los Angeles founder Justin Williams, who they say transcends cycling by leading his team to victory after victory.

Bicycling reports that 100-year old gold medal cyclist Charles Coste will carry the torch at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Once again, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

Take it back, damn it! A writer for Velo says the Eddy Merckx bike line is relaunching, following two years away after the brand was purchased by the maker of Ridley bikes — then has the temerity to question whether anyone even remembers the legendary Cannibal.

A British cycling group has advised anyone participating in a time trial to observe the posted 20 mph speed limits wherever they apply. Which could result in a mass tie if organizers can’t manage to plan a course around them.

New Australian pro Rudy Porter became just the latest pro cyclist struck by a driver while on a training ride; the 23-year old cyclist was lucky to escape without serious injuries while riding on the southeastern coast of France.

 

Finally…

If you’re headed to the Bay Area for the big ride this weekend, don’t bother packing your clothes. Apparently, you’re not too old to be president if you can still ride a bike.

And Bicycling says bicycling doesn’t have to be a pain in the butt.

Except for their paywall, of course, which is one.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Vehicular assault on Griffith Park’s Zoo Drive, plastic protection on Imperial Hwy, and section of beach bike path closed

February 8, 2024 / / 3 comments
Just 327 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand LA Mayor Karen Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re over 900 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000!

Graphic by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

Let’s start with a comment yesterday from Norwood Paukert, who reports being the victim of a violent vehicular assault in LA’s Griffith Park on Sunday.

I was deliberately struck by a vehicle when riding in the bike lane on Zoo Drive in Griffith Park Sunday afternoon about 12:30. At least that’s what the park ranger told me today based on testimony from several witnesses. Unfortunately the plate # reported turned out to be wrong or impartial. I have no memory of being hit…I regained consciousness as I was being put on a stretcher to go to County ER. I fortunately suffered cuts, bruises, and contusions but no broken bones or serious injuries. I had no contact with any vehicle, verbally or in any other way…I have no idea why this driver deliberately tried to take out a 72-year-old man riding his bike in the park.

If anyone has any information, let me know any I’ll forward it to Paukert.

And let’s hope he reported this to the LAPD, because this appears to be a crime, and should be treated no differently than if he was the victim of any other assault with a deadly weapon.

If it can be shown that the act was intentional, the driver could also be subject to treble the actual damages under LA’s cyclist anti-harassment law, as well as lawyers fees and possible punitive damages.

Which could add up, given the high price of emergency care these days.

………

Los Angeles is finally getting around to closing the thousand-foot bike lane gap on Imperial Highway next to LAX.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports construction is underway on new ADA compliant sidewalks and what passes for a protected bike lane in Los Angeles, with a slim row of car-tickler plastic bendie posts, which are somehow supposed to magically keep drivers out.

This is how Linton describes the previous state of affairs.

For many years there have been basic unprotected bike lanes on Imperial Highway east of the Aviation Boulevard C Line Station. In this area, Imperial has a posted speed limit of 50mph, which many drivers exceed. It’s effectively an extension of the 105 Freeway. That freeway ends a mile east of the city’s project, dumping drivers onto Imperial. It’s not a pleasant place to bike, but it is one of very few roadways that connect to the coast through the somewhat impermeable airport-industrial area.

The existing Imperial lanes got within a half-mile of the beach, then dropped just east of Pershing Drive, leaving a ~1,000 foot gap before the bike lane resumed west of Pershing. Some signage directed cyclists to ride on the sidewalk.

Linton’s description of it as “not a pleasant place to bike” is a significant understatement; I rode there once myself, and vowed to never do it again.

Somehow, I can’t see those white plastic posts keeping any cars out. Or even surviving very long, since they’re likely to get plowed down by drivers speeding along the road after exiting the freeway.

………

The popular beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail is closed between Chautauqua Boulevard and Entrada Drive due to damage from the recent storms, after an elevated segment of the path collapsed onto the beach below; no word on when repairs will begin, let alone be completed.

………

More on the Waymo self-driving cab that crashed into a San Francisco bike rider, who picked himself up and rode off on his own, after reporting just minor scratches.

According to a representative for Waymo,

The Waymo vehicle was at a complete stop at a four-way intersection. An oncoming large truck progressed through the intersection in our direction and then at our turn to proceed, we moved into the intersection.
The cyclist was occluded by the truck and quickly followed behind it, turning left and crossing into the Waymo vehicle’s path. When they became fully visible, our vehicle applied heavy braking but was not able to avoid the collision. Waymo called police to the scene and the cyclist left on their own, to our knowledge reporting only minor scratches. We are making contact with relevant authorities surrounding this event.

Thanks to Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, founder Damian Kevitt for forwarding the statement. 

………

Thanks to Robert Leone for forwarding news that the San Diego Association of Governments is still looking for input on their regional transportation plan.

As a reminder, in 2023, we gathered input from people across the region about their priorities for improving our transportation system. To help the public understand how we used your feedback, we made a report about how this input is guiding the projects, programs and policies being considered in our Draft 2025 Regional Plan.

Thank you to everyone who viewed that report and sent in comments so far—your feedback has been passed along to our Board and staff.

Our SANDAG Board will continue reviewing the initial concept of our Draft 2025 Regional Plan this Friday, February 9 at 10 a.m. and providing feedback to our staff. If you would like to send in your feedback for that discussion too, you can:

  • Send an email to clerkoftheboard@sandag.org by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 8 (with “Regional Plan” in your subject) and/or  
  • Make a comment at the Board meeting virtually or in person. Note, comments may be limited to one minute per person.

Thank you for staying in contact with us,

………

Here’s your chance to support CicLAvia while quaffing a quality craft West Coast IPA in Culver City tomorrow.

CicLAvia Kicks Off 2024 Season with Beer Collaboration and Fundraiser

LA Ale Works Releasing “seek-la-VEE-ah” West Coast IPA on Friday evening, February 16 at Ivy Station in Culver City

Who / What:  CicLAvia has partnered with Los Angeles Ale Works to kick off the 2024 season and launch a beer collaboration with a West Coast IPA affectionately named seek-la-VEE-ah. This venture is all about the “miles of smiles” that Los Angeles’ extremely popular open streets events create.

Where:  Los Angeles Ale Works, at the Ivy Station Complex, 8809 Washington Blvd, Culver City

When:  Friday, February 16, Culver City Arts District Night Market is open 5-10 pm, LA Ale Works open 12 pm– 2 am

Why:  To kick off CicLAvia’s 2024 events schedule and debut a West Coast IPA affectionately named

seek-la-VEE-ah. A portion of the proceeds from the event, and all future sales of seek-la-VEE-ah will be donated to CicLAvia, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Outside of LA Ale Works’ tasting rooms in Culver City and Hawthorne, the beer will be available in cans and on draft throughout Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. From neighborhood craft beer bottle shops up to larger retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts and Total Wine. Partners who are interested in carrying the beer, please contact LA Ale Works.

“Near and dear to our hearts, our team has participated in CicLAvia events since the early days of the organization,” says Los Angeles Ale Works Managing Partner Andrew Fowler. “We are inspired by how CicLAvia safely brings Angelenos together, the positive environmental impacts it makes, the connections we feel to our communities during the events and the promotion of public transportation. We believe so strongly in public transportation that our new Culver City location is literally built into the Metro E Line station.”

How:  Free. No RSVP required. The event will be in conjunction with the where there will be several food trucks, music, games, local vendors, and kid-friendly activities including The Ballusionist balloon artist. CicLAvia will be on site selling merchandise and sharing information about the 2024 schedule. All ages welcome.

Beer Style:  West Coast India Pale Ale, ABV: 6.5%, Hops: Wakatu, Azacca, El Dorado, and Idaho 7

Description:  Catalyze your senses with vibrant notes of stone fruit and California citrus as we celebrate active transportation, public spaces and car-free streets. Available on draft and in 4-packs of 16 oz cans.

………

It’s now 49 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

Um, no. The mayor of a small Irish town called for removing a protected bike lane from one side of a roadway, arguing that the current bollards and armadillos create a health and safety hazard for motorists. Because apparently, drivers can’t manage to drive safely and stay where they belong, and bollards evidently cause cancer, or Covid, or the common cold or something.

………

Local 

Streetsblog offers more details on the lane reduction and protected bike lanes on the eastern section of Hollywood Blvd between Gower Street and Lyman Place, just west of the intersection with Sunset Blvd; 56 people were killed or severely injured along that stretch over the last decade.

Students, staff and faculty at University of California campuses, including UCLA, can get discounts ranging from 15% to 60% off ebikes from Dirwin Bike, Lectric Bike, Ride1Up and Velotric. Which is yet another reminder that we’re all still waiting on California’s moribund ebike incentive program.

A columnist for the conservative Los Angeles Daily News calls for rejecting the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, calling the city’s mobility plan a con, and saying “this is no way to plan transportation in Los Angeles.” And in the process, somehow managing to get most of it exactly wrong. 

Spectrum News 1 explains how to file a claim for damages caused by the ever-growing number of potholes pockmarking streets in the City of Angels.

 

State

Megan Lynch forwards news of the passing of outrageous San Diego musician and former Ocean Beach bike mechanic Mojo Nixon, who died of a heart attack after performing with his band The Toad Toadliquors during the week-long Outlaw Country Cruise; Nixon was best known for MTV hits Elvis is Everywhere and Don Henley Must Die.

 

National

A writer for Medium says riding an ebike will change your perspective.

Tomorrow is Winter Bike to Work Day in Colorado, and other cities and states where the winter riding conditions are nowhere as good as California, which doesn’t observe it.

If you happen to find yourself in the Big Easy over this Mardi Gras weekend, you can follow the bike-friendly Purple Way to the French Quarter and the Uptown parades.

 

International

Forbes offers what they call a “complete and comprehensive guide” to the year’s best bike brands.

A British Columbia letter writer says moving bike riders to the back of an island ferry so they don’t interfere with drivers zooming off the boat is a step backward, effectively telling bike-riding visitors they aren’t welcome; another letter writer says supporting bicyclists requires improving infrastructure.

Congratulations to Edinburgh, Scotland for topping the list of the world’s worst bike lanes. Although it makes you wonder if they’ve ever seen a “protected” bike lane in Los Angeles.

Bike riders are once again welcome on London’s Hammersmith Bridge during a pause in stabilization work, caused when a boatload of soccer fans crashed into it.

A new report says bike riding in the UK peaked 75 years ago, due to a lack of funding and government policies locked in car dependency.

 

Competitive Cycling

Canadian Cycling Magazine fantasizes about a number of wild ways substitute riders in the Tour de France could completely change racing, like tag-team breakaways.

 

Finally…

This is either a very badly worded headline, or the driver committed murder after the crash. If you’re carrying over 3.5 ounces of meth laced with fentanyl on your bike, don’t ride salmon, bro.

And we may worry about LA drivers running up our ass, but at least we don’t have leopards biting our butts.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Cops look for hit-and-run driver — and bicyclist, Boerner set to unveil ebike bill for kids, and demand safer streets now

February 7, 2024 / / 5 comments
Just 328 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand LA Mayor Karen Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re nearly up to 900 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000 this week!

………

My apologies, once again, for yesterday’s unexcused absence.

Let’s just say diabetes sucks, and get on with it. 

………

Authorities in LA County are investigating a pair of hit-and-runs. Although only one of the suspects was actually in a motor vehicle.

First up is a late January crash in Long Beach that left a bike rider with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

The victim was riding with a group of bicyclists traveling west on Fourth Street at Atlantic Ave around 9:50 pm on Thursday, January 25th, when he was struck by driver headed south on Atlantic, who fled without stopping.

Police are looking for the driver of a silver Nissan sedan with chrome rims. Anyone with further information is urged to contact Long Beach Police investigators at 562/570-7355.

Photo from Long Beach Police Department

That was followed by the hunt for a hit-and-run bike rider who left an elderly woman lying severely injured in a Sierra Madre street.

The woman was walking near North Baldwin Ave and Highland Ave around 10 am this past Saturday when she was struck by the bike rider, who also continued without stopping.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Detective Ascano at 626/355-1414, or nascano@cityofsierramadre.com.

And yes, bicyclists have the same obligation to stop after a crash that drivers do, and could face the same penalties if they don’t.

Photo from Sierra Madre police department

………

It looks like Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner is ready to introduce her promised ebike bill, which will require anyone without a driver’s license to pass an online ebike safety training course before they can buy an ebike in California.

The bill appears to be directed towards children, though it could apply to adults without a license, as well.

It also prohibits any child under 12 from riding any class of ebike, and establishes diversion programs as an alternative to ticketing children, which is already allowed under current bicycle regulations.

Personally, I’d prefer to see that ban raised to 14 years old, and reclassify throttle-controlled ebikes as mo-peds, requiring a driver’s license to operate, and prohibited from being used in bike lanes or pathways of any sort.

I also hope the bill clarifies that the license requirement does not apply to anyone over the age of 18.

And it raises the question of what happens when a parent with a driver’s license buys an ebike for a child without one. Would the parent be prohibited from being able to buy an ebike for their own child?

But we’ll see what ends up in the actual text.

Thanks to Malcomb Watson for the heads-up. 

………

As the previous tweet hinted at, Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, says you have the chance tomorrow to tell Mayor Bass that we need safer streets.

Mayor Bass wants to hear from us!

The UCLA Bunche Center is conducting a series of Community Listening Sessions, as a part of a City of Los Angeles Community Safety Research Study. The study’s goal is to identify and document a broad and representative understanding of the perceptions and realities of public safety (and of its management) of residents in the City of Los Angeles.

Join the discussion and raise your voice about important safety issues in your neighborhood. Please include the need for safety on our streets for cyclists, pedestrians, and all users. With 336 deaths on LA City roads last year, this is a vital safety concern. 

Join this community listening session, and let Mayor Bass know that you want safer streets.

Virtual Community Listening Session
February 8, 2024
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Click Here to Register

………

Streets For All — not to be confused with SAFE — has updated their voter guide for next month’s election, with endorsements for six of the seven LA council races, as well as council races in Glendale and Pasadena.

Meanwhile, Boyle Heights Beat is hosting a candidate forum for CD 14 this Saturday.

Personally, though, I’m still struggling to decide between state Assemblymember Laura Friedman and state Senator Anthony Portantino for my next Congress member, either of whom would provide a strong, bike-friendly voice for traffic safety in DC.

I only wish they weren’t running in the same district, because both deserve to win.

………

Velo marks Black History Month with a trio of articles recounting Black bicyclists from the early days of bicycling.

First up is what they call the little-known story of the US Army’s all-Black Bicycle Corps. Which isn’t so little known anymore, after several historical articles over the past couple years.

Then there’s 1890s Black cyclist Woody Hedspath, who they refer to as Major Taylor Number Two, honing his skills in summertime “colored fairs” during the Jim Crow era before moving on to greater accomplishments.

Finally, they write about Kittie Knox, the young Boston woman who broke racial and gender barriers in the 1890s, becoming the first Black woman to join the League of American Wheelmen, the forerunner to today’s League of American Bicyclists, or Bike League, before they changed the rules to exclude people of color.

………

The Bambino was one of us.

………

Someone finally found a good use for a Tesla pickup.

………

It’s now 48 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

………

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

No bias here. After British tabloids attack a Birmingham bike lane as a 10 million pound “waste of money” that “no one uses,” a local paper finds it’s actually one of the most popular bikeways in the city.

Ireland’s Green Party called the Sinn Féin party’s objections to a protected bike lane “populist, anti-cycling, anti-road safety, anti-climate action bolloxology.” Although I kinda suspect they made that last word up.

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

A Portland, Oregon letter writer who seems to have an overly high opinion of his fearlessness and bike riding abilities says the city shouldn’t invest in more bike lanes or public transit until they clean them up and more people use them

Police in Mobile, Alabama busted a man riding a bicycle on multiple drug charges after searching him following a short pursuit, begun because he was exhibiting “suspicious behavior.” Let’s hope he can afford a good lawyer, because “suspicious behavior” is entirely subjective, and not probable cause to make a stop.

………

Local 

The Eastsider reports that Bike LA, the former Los Angele County Bicycle Coalition, has been awarded a $100,000 grant to “evaluate transportation gaps and identify the mobility challenges, needs, preferences, and priorities of Boyle Heights and East LA residents,” one of 12 similar grants across the state. Let’s hope that’s enough to sustain the organization, which has struggled financially in recent years, but offers a much-needed voice for bicyclists in the LA area.

The Los Angeles Times explains daylighting, and why you’ll now need to park further back from an intersection to avoid a ticket.

Santa Monica police will be conducting yet another bike and pedestrian safety operation tomorrow, ticketing any violation that could put either group at risk, regardless of who commits it. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits, so you’re not the one who gets written up.

Speaking of Streets For All, the street safety PAC is hosting a bike ride and fundraiser in Mar Vista this Saturday. Saturday is also the Lunar New Year, so there could be some major dragon energy there.

The Alhambra and South Pasadena bike ride hosted by Safe Streets for SGV and South Pas Active that was scrubbed because of rain last weekend has been rescheduled for this Sunday, when the weather looks more promising. And should give you time to get back home in time for that big sportsball thing.

 

State

Good question. The Los Angeles Times asks why the state is widening the 15 Freeway in San Bernardino County, in conflict with the state’s climate goals, which are supposed to be given priority but clearly aren’t. Meanwhile, a new nationwide coalition is calling for a halt to freeway expansion, arguing that “Endless highway expansions are pulling our country into an environmental, budgetary, and public health crisis.”

A San Francisco bike rider was lucky to escape with non-life threatening injuries when he was struck by a Waymo driverless car, which evidently couldn’t spot him following a truck through an intersection. They’re called Waymo because they’re probably way mo’ dangerous than most cars with drivers.

San Francisco banned the use or sale of damaged or recycled ebike and e-scooter batteries, along with limiting how many can be stored in a single home.

 

National

Momentum offers more on the groundbreaking new study that shows cities with high levels of bicycling are usually safer for all road users — and by extension, cities that are safer for bicyclists usually have high levels of bicycling.

NPR considers what Vision Zero has and hasn’t accomplished in American cities. The only thing it’s really accomplished in Los Angeles is making traffic violence part of the conversation, without actually doing anything about it.

Cyclist calls Moab, Utah a gravel cycling mecca like nowhere else on Earth.

The Colorado Supreme Court upheld a $2,400 restitution judgement against a bike thief for damaging the victim’s car, after the bike’s owner used it to give chase and cut in front of the thief to stop him as he made his getaway.

A Rhode Island man is suing Trek and Shimano for $2 million, alleging his bike’s brake lever impaled his thigh in a crash due to faulty design.

A New Jersey man was killed when a state trooper driving an unmarked SUV crashed into his bike; no word on whether the trooper was on duty at the time.

A 72-year old Florida woman was killed when her bicycle was rear-ended by a 92-year old woman driving a truck. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive safely. 

 

International

GCN offers five reasons ebikes are better than regular bikes, along with five reasons they’re better than cars.

Momentum recounts the wildest bike lane obstacles, from fat, indecisive squirrels to discarded e-scooters and banana peels.

An English research fellow writes that ebikes offer huge promise for sustainable transport in rural tourist areas.

Bicycling says Paris is now a bicyclist’s paradise after closing 100 streets to cars. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you.

A writer for Men’s Journal explains why he’s stoked to ride his bike across Morocco. Which should go without saying, because Morocco.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo writes about Eritrean WorldTour rookie Henok Mulubrhan, who they refer to as the “new hot prospect” already making waves as an African phenom on a mission.

British Cycling, the governing group for nearly all bicycling in the UK, will take over operations of the annual Tour of Britain, which was at risk of folding after the previous organizer shut down.

 

Finally…

Your next pair of Reebok’s could be an ebike and an e-scooter.

And the 2026 Wold Cup final will take place in a stadium where it’s literally illegal to walk; thanks to Steven Hallett for the link.

https://twitter.com/nikicaga/status/1754270927339020360

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Major changes proposed for Hollywood Blvd, Parisians boost SUV parking fees, and Metro hasn’t changed its 710 stripes

February 5, 2024 / / One comment
330 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand LA Mayor Karen Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re up to 871 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000 this week!

………

We could be looking at major changes on Hollywood Blvd.

Fingers crossed.

Thursday’s public meeting unveiled plans for one of the city’s first major lane reductions in the past several years for the east end of the boulevard, along with new protected bike lanes, providing a major safety improvement in addition to traffic calming.

Let’s just hope this moves beyond just talk and vaporware, for a change.

Click through on the links if the tweets disappear, which seems to be happening a lot lately.

………

It’s not just the mayor.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has gotten a lot of the credit — or blame, depending on your perspective — for the recent changes making the city more climate friendly and livable, from new bike lanes to planning for a 15-minute city.

But clearly, Parisians are in her camp.

Not only did they re-elect her less than four years ago, but now residents of the city have approved her proposal to increase parking fees for SUVs.

And not by a small margin. Nearly 55% of voters agree to triple the cost to park an SUV on city streets, raising the cost for a private vehicle weighing over 1.6 tons — 3,200 pounds — to $20 an hour, in an effort to discourage their use in the city.

After all, few people will buy — let alone drive — oversized SUVs if they can’t afford to park them.

Your move, Los Angeles.

………

Apparently, Metro’s cancellation of plans to widen the 710 Freeway really wasn’t a cancellation at all.

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, a new proposal from the agency still includes plans to widen the freeway, and may require demolishing homes along the route, which led to the original cancellation.

And the much-promised improvements for transit, walking and biking along the corridor apparently don’t amount to much.

All of which goes to show just how little the agency has changed its stripes.

………

GCN examines the all-important question of how much speed can you actually buy, as we’ve all heard — or yes, said — that you can buy speed, but you can’t buy skill.

You can, however, buy a $7,100 skinsuit.

………

It’s now 46 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

………

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

With friends like these, who needs enemies? An op-ed from a Boulder, Colorado bicyclist asserts that bicyclists needs to take responsibility for their behavior, because “Most bicycle accidents are caused by improper, sometimes illegal, cyclist behavior,” and adding “There is almost no excuse for a single-operator (bicycle) crash.” As if drivers and poor road conditions have nothing to do with it.

The count is now up to six teenagers facing charges for intentionally running down a pair of Australian bike riders with a stolen car, in separate attacks that left at least one victim with life-changing injuries; the kids range from just 13 to 16, with a 14-year old and a 16-year old suspected of doing the driving.

………

Local 

The next time you need to get something across Long Beach in a hurry, you may have to take it yourself, after the city’s only bicycle messenger service abruptly shut down after nearly a decade.

 

State

San Diego Magazine recommends a trio of roads in the Anza Borrego desert east of the city to explore by mountain bike.

San Francisco’s almost universally maligned Valencia Street centerline bike lane could already be on its way out, even though sales tax figures show businesses along the street are actually doing better than surrounding areas, despite claims of a slowdown.

Bay Area transportation planners are considering a proposal to reopen the westbound shoulder of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to motor vehicle traffic, even though it’s currently a protected bike lane. Because really, who gives a damn about those darn people on bikes if there’s a driver somewhere who thinks they’re being inconvenienced?

 

National

A groundbreaking new study shows cities with high levels of bicycling are usually safer for all road users — including drivers. Which really shouldn’t surprise anyone, but probably will. 

Colorado will host its Winter Bike to Work Day this Friday, including in my bike-friendly hometown. Which is our annual reminder that Los Angeles still doesn’t have a Winter Bike to Work Day, despite having a much more inviting climate — this week excepted. Then again, we didn’t have much of a summer one last year, either. 

Chicago bicyclists disproved the myth that no one rides in the winter, as hundreds of people turned out for last month’s Critical Mass ride in 39 degrees and rain.

A Tennessee recumbent rider was killed, and two other bike riders were injured, when a driver jumped a curb and crashed into a group of bicyclists waiting on a Murfreesboro sidewalk for the light to change; the local bike club urged people not to jump to conclusions about who was at fault. Although it’s kind of hard not to when the victims were on the sidewalk, and so was the driver.

Men’s Health explains how the head chef of an elite, two Michelin-starred Brooklyn restaurant manages to be an elite bicyclist, too.

After a North Carolina driver killed a man riding a unicycle, the state Highway Patrol quickly blamed the victim for not having a headlight. Which raises the question of where they expected him to put it.

 

International

How to celebrate Valentines Day with a bicycle. I mean, not as your date or anything, because that would be weird. 

A British Columbia writer says yes, bike helmets are helpful, but if you really want to improve safety, make drivers wear them, too.

A pair of Edinburgh bicyclists were left shaken after they were attacked by hooded thieves who made off with their bikes, worth over $12,000.

Disappointing news, as one of England’s oldest bike shops shuttered after 134 years.

The UK’s national Bikeability children’s bicycle safety training program says fewer kids are riding to school, even though more are passing through the program.

Good question. A BBC radio show considers why bicyclists with bike-cams are considered snitches, while drivers with dash-cams are responsible citizens.

A European travel site says put Valencia, Spain on your bike bucket list.

Sad news from Bengaluru, India, where the man known as the Century Cyclist or the Cycle Yogi for his unbroken streak of 42 months of daily metric century rides — 62 miles — died of a heart attack just days after finishing the streak; he was just 45.

A London bike rider says spending a week riding on a cycle track through Abu Dhabi’s breathtaking Al Wathba desert changed his mind about bicycling, in a good way.

An Aussie ebike rider was seriously injured by a woman driving at nearly twice the county’s .05 legal blood alcohol limit, but the tabloids had a field day after learning she was wearing nothing but leather lingerie at the time of the crash.

 

Competitive Cycling

Estonia’s Madis Mihkels and Belgian pro Gerben Thijssen made a donation to their Intermarché–Wanty cycling team’s junior team, and were asked to make a presentation to the junior team members on the values of cycling after they were yanked from last year’s Chinese Tour of Guangxi for making a common anti-Asian racist gesture.

 

Finally…

Use wind-power to run your bike lights. Who needs Critical Mass when you can have a monthly bike rave, instead?

And seriously, how low can you go?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0KYTXjv0Bg/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=33a07c8f-a11a-405f-aef2-962a6c6fb356

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LA Times voter guides for CD4, CD6 and Healthy Streets LA; SGV bike ride Sunday; and Weiner talks speed governors

February 2, 2024 / / Comments Off on LA Times voter guides for CD4, CD6 and Healthy Streets LA; SGV bike ride Sunday; and Weiner talks speed governors
332 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding a public meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass to hear the dangers we face just walking and biking on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

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

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.

………

The Los Angeles Times offers a detailed voter guide to the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, including a look at what it does and doesn’t do, as well as who supports and opposes it.

And there’s a lot more of the former than there is the latter.

The paper also provides election guides for the six-way race for the CD6 seat currently held by Imelda Padilla on an interim basis, as well as the two men challenging Nithya Raman in the reconfigured CD4.

………

Update: This ride has been postponed until next Sunday due to risk of rain.

Safe Streets For SGV is hosting a moderately paced, nine-mile bike ride on Sunday to call for safer streets and promote better connections between Alhambra and South Pasadena.

………

State Senator Scott Weiner describes his bill that would require speed governors in all new cars, which would “only” allow drivers to break the law by 10 mph.

Which sounds perfectly damn reasonable to me.

Thanks to MYVOTECD1 for the heads-up.

………

The latest episode of Bike Talk is available online now.

A listener, Reese, speaks for connected, protected bike lanes in Utah. 2:00

News: With pedestrian and cyclist deaths in Los Angeles at an 8-year high, the departing Los Angeles Police Chief blames their reckless biking and walking habits. In California, SB 961 calls for all new cars to have speed governors. A Die-in against traffic violence at LA City Hall. 7:12

When a 14 year old on his bike was hit by an uninsured motorist in Chicago, personal injury lawyer Jonel Metaj took the case all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court. Now, people in Illinois with uninsured motorist coverage will be protected when biking and walking, too. 18:57

Alison Cohen is the founder of Bicycle Transit Systems, which operates bikeshare in cities throughout the US. She explains how BTS came to be threatened with replacement by Lyft in Los Angeles. 33:00

A Bike Thought by Stacey. 52:23

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Not only was Farrah Fawcett one of us, but she could clearly do “Look Ma! No hands!” with the best of them.

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It’s now 43 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law, and counting.

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

This is why people keep dying on the streets. A couple of young Frenchmen walked without a single day behind bars for an eight-month series of attacks in which they leaned out of a moving car to push at least a dozen bike riders off their bikes and into ditches, and hit at least one man repeatedly with a small truncheon; they were both sentenced to two-year suspended sentences after telling the judge they were really, really sorry. No, really.

No surprise here. A pair of Australian teenagers were arrested for intentionally running down two Melbourne bicyclists in a stolen car last week, leaving the men with serious, potentially life-changing injuries, and posting video of the attack online. They joined a now worldwide social media-inspired trend of teens stealing cars and intentionally attacking people on bicycles — including recent attacks in Huntington Beach and Las Vegas — for no other reason than they can.

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Local 

Metro announced plans to improve streets, bus stops and bike lanes along the 710 Freeway corridor, after cancelling plans to widen the freeway in the face of public opposition.

Seven Culver City cops will join the Police Unity Tour, riding 300 miles to honor fallen officers.

 

State

San Diego and Imperial counties will share $12 million in state infrastructure funding, including for bike and pedestrian projects.

The atmospheric river that poured through California yesterday left a Santa Barbara bike lane closed due to flooding, with no projected opening date.

 

National

Bike Rumor picks the year’s best bike handlebar bags.

SRAM issued a recall for all aftermarket 12-speed eTap AXS Red, Force, Rival and Apex shift-brake levers produced before July 2023 that were not installed by a bicycle dealer, telling owners to stop using them immediately.

Forbes recommends fat biking as one of “three winter adventurers (sic) you can’t afford to miss in Anchorage.” Especially since they finally have snow this year.

A kindhearted Maine high school resource cop called on a local bike shop to donate a refurbished bike for a kid who was struggling with attendance, leading to a new program accepting donated bikes for students.

A Baltimore letter writer says traffic calming doesn’t work, and new bike lanes will never lure people out of their motor vehicles, because cars.

After losing his own vision, a New Orleans man created a tandem bicycling group to allow blind people to keep riding.

 

International

Momentum offers seven “examples of stunning and inspiring bicycle infrastructure around the world.” None of which are in Los Angeles. Or North America, for that matter. 

A longstanding worker-owned bike shop in London’s Brixton neighborhood is begging for donations to help it withstand the worst year in its two decade history.

Singer Harry Styles is one of us, spending the last day before he turned 30 riding through London in a quilted orange puffer jacket.

A new London study suggests male Sikh bike riders might not benefit from bike helmets, because the style and thickness of their turbans could already provide the best possible head protection.

British ebike brand Gocycle is introducing a futuristic take on the family e-cargo bike — as long as you have at least seven grand burning a hole in your bank account.

Unbelievable. A road raging Jersey teenage was acquitted of manslaughter for killing a bike rider with a single punch to the face, claiming he was frightened by the victim, despite repeatedly honking at him and getting out of his car to confront him after the man deservedly flipped him off.

This is who we share the road with. Italian saboteurs are cutting down speed cams, and ripping out speed humps to fight for their God-given right to speed.

The Jerusalem Post highlights the best selling bike phone mounts. One of which I already own. 

A pair of Aussie researchers say e-scooter injuries are rising, but there’s not enough data yet to say if they’re more dangerous than other micromobility methods, such as bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

The first win of the 2024 cycling season goes to Belgian Soudal Quick-Step sprinter Tim Merlier.

 

Finally…

Why you shouldn’t trust your bike to the cheapest lock you can find at CVS. What happens when you let a Magic 8-Ball write your bike lane headlines.

And when the mayor’s office says just kidding about scrapping the city’s annual bike ride.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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