Tag Archive for Los Angeles

Banning gas cars doesn’t solve car problem, bike lanes on Ventura Blvd, and CA bans parking minimums near transit

August 30, 2022 / / 3 comments

She gets it.

Texas A&M assistant urban planning professor and California native Tara Goddard offers her thoughts on California’s move away from gas-powered vehicles.

But even if you could wave a technological magic wand and solve those problems with EVs today, a bigger concern is whether this focus on personal electric vehicles will monopolize public resources that would be much better spent in other ways: namely, on investments in frequent, reliable public transportation between and within cities and towns, better walking and bicycling infrastructure, and land uses that remove the need to depend on vehicles – however they are powered – for every trip.

The problem with a transportation system that depends heavily on private automobiles is that, even if those automobiles no longer emit the same level of greenhouse gasses, they will continue to contribute to unsustainable and sprawling land use patterns, as well as the longer distances and travel times that are bad for us as individuals and communities.

Meanwhile, readers of The Los Angeles Times say while banning gas cars is great, electric cars are still cars, and car dependency is awful.

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We could soon see bike lanes on one of the San Fernando Valley’s most iconic streets.

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LA bike riders have complained about the bike lanes on Venice Blvd for years, ever since they first went in.

And the city hasn’t shown any sign of fixing them yet.

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The California Senate passed Burbank Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s AB 2097 to eliminate parking minimums near public transit.

Now the question is whether Governor Newsom will sign it.

https://twitter.com/cafedujord/status/1564432960308203520

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Streetsblog reports LADOT will host a meeting tomorrow to discuss a planned makeover of Venice Blvd on the Westside.

Wednesday 8/31 – From 6:30-8 p.m., LADOT will host a virtual Venice Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project Workshop. On L.A.’s westside, the city is planning new bus lanes (between Inglewood Boulevard and Culver Boulevard) and new protected bike lanes (coupled with existing protected bike lane stretches, the protection would extend from Lincoln Boulevard to La Cienega Boulevard.) Sign up for the virtual workshop at LADOT Zoom page. Also give feedback via LADOT’s online survey. Find Spanish language links also at LADOT’s project page.

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

Good question. A London woman asks why some people hate bike riders so much, saying she’s been spat at, abused and run off the road.

Anti-bike sabotage continues in the UK, as someone scattered thumbtacks in an already pretty minimal bike lane.

https://twitter.com/CyclingLawLDN/status/1564152130210086914

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

Green Bay, Wisconsin police are on the lookout for a knife-wielding robber who fled by bicycle after robbing a Quick Mart.

A British Columbia man calls on a hit-and-run bike rider to turn himself in, after the fat tire bicyclist caught the leash of the man’s small dog, crushing it to death and leaving his wife with facial abrasions and a broken nose. Granted, the guy was a jerk and should have stuck around. But allowing your dog run loosely alongside your bike is a recipe for disaster. 

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Local

Black Lives Matter supporters marched in South LA to demand justice for Dijon Kizzee, who was shot by sheriff’s deputies while running away and after dropping his gun, in what began as a traffic stop for riding salmon, and quickly escalated.

LAist offers an updated guide to biking in the City of Angels. And yes, it’s okay to shed a tear for the bikeshare systems that have bitten the dust.

South Bay bike riders lit up the night with the eighth annual Glow Ride for CF, a sub-seven mile fundraiser to battle cyclist fibrosis founded by a woman who died of the disease after a double lung transplant in 2018.

 

State 

Sad news from Kern County, where a 67-year old man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a truck driver in Wasco Sunday night.

San Francisco Streetsblog says cities need to make protected bike lanes and intersections the default, arguing that continuing to blow off physically protected bike lanes is tantamount to murder.

 

National

No surprise here, as not everyone is a fan of Reno, Nevada’s new popup bike lane network; motorists are driving in the bike lanes, while a business owner complains his sales are down 30% due to the loss of parking. And of course that’s the only possible reason for the decrease in sales, not inflation, higher interest rates or any of the other multitude of problem besetting consumers these days.

They get it. A Wisconsin community radio station talks with local advocates while concluding that streets are for everyone.

A Louisville, Kentucky TV station answers why bike riders don’t need a license to ride in traffic lanes. And with the help of the Bike League, gets it mostly right.

While California continues to delay plans for a fully funded and approved ebike rebate program, Vermont quietly unveiled the nation’s first ebike rebate plan, offering point-of-sale rebates up to $400 on ped-assist ebikes.

She gets it. A Cambridge, Massachusetts letter writer makes a lengthy case in support bike lanes and safe streets, arguing that they benefit everyone, including businesses.

A bicycle stolen in South Carolina was recovered over a thousand miles away in Vermont, thanks to Bike Index’s nationwide stolen bike database. One more reminder to register your bike for free today. 

The father of the US diplomat killed riding her bike in Bethesda, Maryland calls for safety improvements, saying cities need to do more than paint lines and bike symbols on the road.

 

International

A Scottish brewing CEO took a bad fall and shattered his collarbone, after assuring shareholders there was nothing intense or challenging about the mountain bike run he was taking them on, in a forrest his firm bought to preserve for the planet.

Nearly 9,000 people on bicycles took over a German autobahn to call for safer streets on Sunday.

NPR reports many Sri Lankans have turned to their bikes in the face of massive fuel shortages; one man reported his employer bought him a bike to ensure he could get to work. Maybe we need to try that here, since high gas prices didn’t make a dent in driving.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Irish champ Imogen Cotter returned to bike racing in Belgium Sunday, seven months after she was hit head-on by a driver passing another vehicle while she was training in Italy.

Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley concedes that the Vuelta podium may be out of reach, after a steady flow of gradual losses in the early stages.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you think ebikes are cheating, and you like it.

And how about a little unicycle dream to send you on your way?

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1564346859812012037

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Getting a jump on LA mobility plan, seriously injured Mtn biker rescued, and anti-semitic banner on Davis bike bridge

August 29, 2022 / / One comment

Good piece from Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.

He makes the case for the city council to get a head start on their promises to implement the Los Angeles mobility plan, rather than waiting for the inevitable drawn-out process to draft and approve an alternative to the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal.

Schneider recommends ten streets currently scheduled for resurfacing work that they can start work on restriping right now.

Unless the councilmembers were just saying what they think we wanted to hear, with no intention of actually following through.

Naw, they wouldn’t do that to us.

Again.

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The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a seriously injured mountain biker in Brentwood, hoisting the 56-year old victim to safety by helicopter after he suffered several traumatic injuries Saturday morning.

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There’s a special place in hell for the group of people who hung a racist, anti-semitic banner from a bicycle overpass on the UC Davis Campus, for the second weekend in a row.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

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Caltrans forwards a notice that Camp Pendleton will close the bike path through the base for five days next month, so mark your calendar. And make plans to use the shoulder of the 5 Freeway through the base if you need to ride then.

Another notification to pass: Bike path from Pulgas Gate to south entrance to the San Onofre State Park will be closed for military operations from 15 to 19 September from 6:00 AM to 6 PM daily.

Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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

No bias here. A Chico letter writer complains about a new bike bridge, saying it will just give bike thieves a faster route to escape after stealing one.

No bias here, either. The New York Post calls Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine an anti-car extremist for pushing a “pie-in-the-sky bike lane plan for the West Side Highway,” despite his record of 41 traffic violations in the past decade. Although bad driving ability is a pretty damn good reason to switch to bikes.

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

There’s not a pit deep enough for the bike-riding thieves who stole a cellphone and the equivalent of over $2,000 from a homeless woman in Hong Kong. Although why she was sleeping on the street with that much cash is beyond me.

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Local

Metro recommitted to using Randolph Street for the eastern segment of the Rail-to-River bike/walk path, after Union Pacific refused to relinquish its right-of-way for an abandoned rail line.

Congratulations, Los Angeles. We now beat the Bay Area in transit use, especially buses. The story wasn’t paywalled for me, for some reason; your results may vary.

Streets For All calls on the city to cancel plans to expand parking at the Los Angeles Zoo in the middle of a climate emergency.

LA Times readers sound off about what streets they’d like to see closed, after the city banned cars from Griffith Park Drive in the park. My first choice would be to close Hollywood Blvd to install a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland, followed by closing Broadway in DTLA, and Wilshire Blvd from Downtown to the coast.

About damn time. Los Angeles blacktop may not be black for long, as the city works to cover one million square feet of Pacoima streets and other paved surfaces with cooling reflective paint, which can lower surface temperatures up to 12° Fahrenheit. Of course, that’s just a small fraction of LA’s heat-sink paved surfaces. And something tells me they’re not building out the mobility plan when they do it. Thanks again to Robert Leone for the link. 

This is who we share the road with. Despite initial denials, the LAPD was chasing a stolen car when it crashed into multiple vehicles August 19th at Manchester Ave and Broadway, killing a couple in a hit-and-run.

This is who we share the road with, too. One person is dead and two injured, after a pair of road raging drivers traded gunfire in Long Beach, before one of the drivers crashed into a truck and home.

 

State 

A Huntington Beach cop killed a pedestrian in a predawn crash while responding to an emergency call Saturday.

San Diego bicyclists Biked the Bay, riding across the Coronado Bridge in the San Diego County Bike Coalition’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

A San Diego County man credits his Apple Watch with saving his life after a mountain biking crash that left him a quadriplegic; he was able to tell Siri to call a friend for help.

The rich get richer. Santa Barbara County is beginning work on the new Santa Claus Lane bikeway, which will create a new Class I bikeway and multipurpose path connecting the California Coastal Trail to bike lanes on Carpinteria Ave.

 

National

Former New York City transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan applauds the rise of car-free cities to combat climate change.

Cities around the US are debating whether to keep pandemic-era road changes, as drivers, pedestrians, bike riders and diners debate who the streets are for. Although you know it’s not a serious report when they quote a spokesperson for the tiny drivers rights extremist group the National Motorists Association.

A Eugene OR newspaper seems surprised to discover that bicycles can move things “just like cars,” as a group of cargo bike owners carry a live band performance along the city’s streets.

A 19-year old Durango, Colorado man faces DUI and vehicular homicide charges for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding local fire captain; he abandoned his car, with the victim’s bike sill under the front fender, and the victim embedded in his windshield. At his age, the legal alcohol level is zero.

Colorado residents debate allowing ebike access on offroad trails, even though the bikes can provide outdoor access to people who couldn’t otherwise ride them.

Horrible news from Texas, where a Houston-area man in his 30s was apparently mauled to death by dogs while riding his bike.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Kansas City teacher and father of ten children was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike.

Good idea. A Michigan writer describes how he carries pruning shears on his bike to trim bushes and trees encroaching on the bike path.

Cleveland announces a Vision Zero plan, committing to ending traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2032. Let’s hope they commit to it better than Los Angeles, which still hasn’t adequately funded the program after seven years.

Christian singer Amy Grant made her first public statement since she was seriously injured in a fall off her bike, saying she’s taking it easy at her Nashville home this fall on the advice of her doctors.

A Tennessee newspaper lists “12 perfect gifts” for bike enthusiasts. And for a change, they actually offer some pretty good suggestions. Although I’d add a gift certificate for a cleaning and overhaul at your local bike shop.

No surprise here, as Boston bike ridership jumps nearly 50% after a major train line was shut down for renovations.

Madonna is one of us, sticking her tongue out at the paparazzi as she goes for a bike ride in the Big Apple. And deservedly so.

NPR examines how Hoboken, New Jersey achieved zero traffic deaths in just four years, using quick, high-impact techniques. Thanks again to Robert Leone.

This, too, is the cost of traffic violence. A 42-year old State Department employee was killed when she was run down by a flatbed truck driver while riding her bike in Bethesda, Maryland; the diplomat had most recently served as head of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Section at the US Embassy in Kyiv.

Virginia drivers complain about the width of a new bike lane, apparently unable to figure out how to drive between the lines.

 

International

No surprise here. A new study charts bicycle ownership in various countries worldwide, concluding that high bike ownership does not necessarily correlate to high ridership. Sorry, America.

Cops in Surrey, England have added a Brompton to their crime fighting fleet, catching over 20 scofflaw motorists in the first few days.

Olympic gold medalist track cyclist Katie Archibald talks about her struggles in the week since her boyfriend, Scottish champion mountain biker Rab Wardel died of a heart attack at their Glasgow home.

Road.cc asks if anyplace requires numbered license plates for bicycles, aside from North Korea; Britain’s transport minister says they won’t be required, regardless of what he said before.

A pair of British men have been sentenced to 21 years each behind bars for using a car to deliberately murder a bike-riding father of four in a drug dispute.

A website says no, ebike batteries don’t attract lightening, in the wake of an Italian ebike rider killed by a lightening strike.

After the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian mayor rode her bike to patrol her small town and resist the occupation.

A New Zealand bike rider received a frightening punishment pass from a delivery truck driver; fortunately he was stopped for a pedestrian in the crosswalk, or it could have been worse. Never mind that he stopped, and the truck driver didn’t.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian pro Remco Evenepoel continued to hold onto to the red leader’s jersey in the Vuelta with a gap of 1:12 over Spain’s Enric Was; three-time defending champ Primož Roglič remains in striking distance at 1:53 back. All the American cyclists have dropped out of contention, with Lawson Craddock now the top US rider in 59th place, over 45 minutes back.

Pez Cycling News looks back at 1945 Vuelta winner Delio Rodríguez, who holds the record for stage wins in the Grand Tour at 39.

The LUX/CTS U19 cycling team, one of the most successful junior development teams, is shutting down at the end of this season, a victim of cycling’s failed sponsorship model.

Tragic news from Vermont, where 33-year old Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi was killed in a high speed fall while competing the Vermont Overland gravel race Saturday.

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to try to escape through a flooded river, no matter what kind of bike you just stole. It’s hard enough riding the grueling Iron Horse Classic on two wheels; now try it on one.

And at least one NBA star is excited about cycling’s rising stars. Then again, he does hold a French passport.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

New SoFi Stadium removes free bike lockers, ebikes beat carbon capture, and let’s hope Donald Shoup never changes

August 26, 2022 / / One comment

Did LA’s SoFi Stadium install bike lockers just to qualify for sustainability certification?

That’s the charge in an email I received recently, from a whistleblower who prefers to remain anonymous.

The gist of my story is basically the subject line – SoFi Stadium used to have 44 awesome free bike lockers. They are gone now, and after stirring the Reddit pot, I believe they were installed to get LEED points, and are now in the way of profitability.

Meanwhile, this was posted by Reddit user germanisette last week.

SoFi Stadium removed all their free bike lockers

First time I went to SoFi, I took my bike there. I was so excited to find that they have free bike lockers! I’ve been linking to my post every time someone asked how best to get to SoFi.

Yesterday I went again, and all the bike lockers were gone as confirmed by security. There I was, with my $3 bike lock, a helmet, a safety vest, and other stuff I didn’t want to bring inside, with no place to store them safely. The security people for the concert were about as helpful as airport TSA, and they directed me to lock my bike in the (unattended) parking lot. Thankfully George Clinton fans didn’t have enough criminal energy to steal anything.

But! I am so angry that SoFi did this. I bet they were either required to provide for alternative transportation, or maybe they collected some kind of “green energy” reward. There is no way they voluntarily installed the bike lockers in the first place since SoFi obviously wants people to pay for parking.

I contacted them to let them know that I was not happy, and I am sure they will lose a great deal of sleep over my complaint form. However, I really would like to find out if they can legally do this. If they were required to install them, or there was a financial incentive for providing sustainable transportation, I want to contact the appropriate agency so that they can look into it. Any ideas who I could contact? Any cycling advocacy organizations that have more experience with these things? I realize I’m quite possibly just wasting my time, but I feel rather passionate about bike infrastructure and climate change and I’m willing to take that risk. I just want to be as effective as possible, therefore looking for who best to contact if anyone has any insight or suggestions.

EDIT: Two people mentioned sustainability/LEED certifications, and that bike lockers could possibly be used to achieve a certain standard. SoFi Stadium was just certified gold in February 2022 and my inclination is that the bike lockers were removed afterward.

The LEED certification program is internationally recognized as the gold standard for energy efficient and sustainable buildings.

However, the SoFi Stadium website doesn’t mention LEED, instead noting that it was awarded ISO 20121:2012 Event Sustainability Management System certification earlier this year, the second NFL stadium to achieve that recognition.

A YouTube video posted by hoohoohoblin confirms that the bike lockers have been removed, instead requiring bike riders to use open-air racks that aren’t even bolted to the ground.

Not exactly secure. Let alone providing no way to secure other items you might not want, or be allowed, to take into a concert or a game.

Here’s all the stadium website has to say about bike parking.

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park encourage guests attending events to take alternate modes of transportation. In order to support alternate modes of transportation SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park has bike parking locations available throughout the district. Please be sure to bring your own lock to secure your bicycle.

Unattended bicycles that impede pedestrian or vehicular circulation are subject to removal and/or relocation. SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park and/or its agents shall not be responsible for fire, theft, damage or loss to bicycles or any other articles left in or on the same.

No mention of bike lockers.

So the question is why they were removed, let alone why were they even installed if they were going to be ripped out in less than a year.

It’s possible that the Redditors’ speculation is correct, and the lockers were removed once the stadium achieved its certification.

But my guess is far more mundane.

I suspect that SoFi’s bike lockers were subject to the same vandalism and theft that plagues bike lockers everywhere. And that they were removed because it simply wasn’t cost effective to maintain them.

But it would be good to hear from someone at the stadium to explain what happened. And what they’re going to do to provide secure bike parking.

At the very least, they could offer a free bike valet. Or work with Metro or some other provider to install a new Bike Hub.

Because those loose, free-standing racks ain’t gonna cut it.

Photo by Mitchell Luo from Pexels.

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Bad Mom Good Mom takes a deep dive into the relative carbon savings of ebikes versus Direct Air Capture.

After a lot of calculations well beyond my English major ken, she concludes that ebikes win going away. And that Denver’s modest ebike rebate program makes it the most successful existing CO2 removal program in the US.

Now that I can understand.

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Same sweater, same beard, different bike.

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Our old friend Zachary Rynew, aka Mr. Ciclavalley, calls this “Definitely one of the funnest sections of dirt in LA!”

And who doesn’t love fun dirt?

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If you’re going to test drive a massive new luxury SUV, you might as well drive it like real drivers do.

https://twitter.com/tomflood1/status/1562432741437673472

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

A Portland TV station belatedly catches up to the news that a road raging driver flashed a gun at volunteers working at an open streets event. Something we mentioned here on Monday — and we’re a thousand miles away.

Talk about not getting it. A letter writer in the conservative Washington Times says Democrats have left themselves open to attacks for “pushing bike paths for the wealthy and ignoring the real needs of the working and middle classes,” apparently having not a clue who really rides bikes.

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

A Miami father driving home from a baseball game received a beatdown in front of his eight-year old son, when they were attacked, apparently unprovoked, by a couple dozen teenagers on a rideout; he escaped with cuts and bruises, as well as $5,000 damage to his SUV.

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Local

Streets For All endorses Katy Yaroslavsky to replace termed out Paul Koretz in LA’s CD5, and Hugo Soto-Martinez over incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in CD13.

Streetsblog reports on yesterday’s rejection of the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, as the city council voted unanimously to place it on the 2024 ballot instead of adopting it outright.

Congratulations, Virgil Ave. Time Out says you’re the world’s 13th coolest street, even if San Francisco’s Hayes Street comes in three notches higher.

The weekly Beverly Press looks back at Sunday’s Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia.

Want to work in advocacy? The LACBC’s later newsletter includes job openings with CicLAvia, Streets Are For Everyone, and Active SGV.

 

State 

CARB, California’s statewide ebike rebate program, has finally chosen an administrator for the program that was originally supposed to begin last month, but is now expected to start next January.

Curbed’s Alissa Walker says California has banned the sale of gas cars after 2035; now it needs a plan for fewer cars.

A group of Santa Barbara community activists are planning to protest plans for a new bike path that will require the removal of up to 49 trees.

An experienced San Francisco triathlete was seriously injured when he hit a bump caused by construction work; local residents say he’s far from the first.

Closing arguments are expected Monday in the DUI murder trial of a 31-year old Fairfield man, who’s charged with killing a 52-year old man riding a bike last October; his BAC was just .04% — half the legal limit — but he was required to avoid alcohol entirely while on probation for a previous conviction.

 

National

Trek has recalled their Bontrager Aeolus RSL VR-C carbon handlebars and stems, as well as the 2022 Speed Concept SLR and MY 2021-2022 Emonda SLR bicycles using them, due to a risk of cracks.

Gear Patrol looks at the “13 best ebikes you can buy today,” starting at just $899 for a Rad Power hybrid.

A Portland lawyer says yes, it’s legal to have a bicycle funeral procession in Oregon.

A pair of Seattle bike riders are suing the city after they were seriously injured on streetcar tracks in the middle of the roadway, calling them a recipe for disaster.

Denver pedicab drivers have been banned from the city’s iconic 16th Street Mall, which is getting a much-needed makeover.

An Oklahoma man is coming back to finish the ride, three years after he was run down by a semi driver while preparing for the state’s Hotter’n Hell Hundred Ride

Chicago bike riders say new painted bike lanes on a newly resurfaced street are nice, but they don’t extend far enough.

A Minnesota town is ripping out all its bike lanes and replacing them with sharrows, after discovering their streets did not meet the state minimum for lane widths. Because God forbid they should take out the parking, instead.

South Bend, Indiana police arrested a 47-year old man for the hit-and-run death of a retired parish priest as he was riding his bike Monday night.

More Boston families are ditching the SUV and turning to cargo bikes to ferry the kids to school.

A late Buffalo NY bank president’s bicycle now hangs in the lobby of an office tower, to honor his commitment to lead by example by biking to work.

Bad news from New York, where a 67-year old man was critically injured when he was run down by a younger bike rider while standing next to his bike on a Brooklyn bike path.

A 72-year old DC area man is now devoting his retirement to fixing bikes for Afghan refugees; he’s given away nearly 300 bicycles over the years, with around 40 going to Afghan families in the past year.

 

International

Ontario, Canada bicycling deaths spiked last year, jumping to eight from just two the previous year.

A London truck driver faces charges for the crash that seriously injured the husband of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief of staff while he was riding his bike last year.

Cycling Tips looks at the ongoing efforts to rescue women’s cyclists a year after the fall of Afghanistan, as Shannon Galpin has led the resettlement of 126 Afghan women bicyclists. You can contribute to her work through a crowdfunding campaign, which has raised over $11,500 of the $50,000 goal.

Philippine bike riders are calling for improvements to the country’s National Capital Region, after a survey shows bicycle owners outnumber people with cars.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey changed hands for the third time in three days on Thursday, as Aussie Jay Vine won the rain-soaked stage, while Remco Evenepoel took the lead.

Three-time defending champ Primož Roglič moved to just one minute behind the Evenepoel, but American cyclists dropped out of the top 25, with the exception of Sepp Kuss in 14th.

VeloNews examines the custom carbon “Frankenleg” prothesis that allows paracyclist Meg Fisher to compete at the highest levels, including the 26 hour, 247-mile LeadBoat Challenge.

Sad news from Belgium, where 1960’s pro cyclist Herman Vanspringel died at 79. Vanspringel finished second in the ’68 Tour de France, losing the race on the final day, along with a second-place finish in the Giro and a third in the Vuelta; he was also a seven-time winner of the Bordeaux-Paris classic.

 

Finally…

Recharge your ebike with a couple solar panels. Why leave your printing press at work when you can mount it on your bike and take it with you.

And that feeling when you suddenly realize you can ride a bike outside, for free.

And have more fun doing it.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

LA Council rejects adopting Healthy Streets, protest street racing in Angelino Heights, and Santa Ana gets it all wrong

August 25, 2022 / / 3 comments

Why do I get the feeling the city council is Lucy.

And we’re Charlie Brown.

And they really think we’re going to fall for that damn football trick one more time.

Yesterday, the city council had the chance to adopt the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal.

Instead, they pulled the football away one more time, voting to develop their own plan, which will be based on the Healthy Streets LA plan, but with a greater focus on equity.

And voted to place Healthy Streets LA on the 2024 ballot.

In other words, they’re kicking the can down the road once again. Which seems to be the city’s favorite sport.

It really was typical Los Angeles.

A number of council members spoke, seemingly with their hair on fire, about how dangerous LA streets are, how little the city has done, and how they need to be forced to keep their commitments.

Then they voted unanimously not to.

Shamefully, they also chose to ignore the large turnout in support of the measure, with Council President Nury Martinez cutting off comments while over 30 supporters were still waiting to speak.

Although they somehow had time to listen to those opposed to the measure, for some reason.

If you’re wondering why I sound angry, it’s because we’ve been here before.

In 2010, then-Councilmember Bill Rosendahl famously declared “Car culture ends today!” 

In a powerful statement before the full council, Rosendahl said “The culture of the car is going to end now!” He reminded his fellow council members about the harassment cyclists face on the road, as well as the lack of support riders have received from the LAPD in the past. “We’re going to give cyclists the support they should have been getting.”

“This is my pledge to the cycling community.”

That pledge lasted until Rosendahl left the council to battle a recurrence of the cancer that took his life.

Under Rosendahl’s guidance, the city preliminarily adopted the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights, written a group of bike bloggers known as the Bike Writer’s Collective, sending it to the City Council for review and inclusion in the 2010 bike plan.

Except it never made it into the plan. In fact, it was never heard from again.

Rosendahl also shepherded approval of the innovative 2010 bike plan, with its three levels of bikeways forming a unified network designed to channel bike riders through their neighborhood, and throughout the city.

That was subsumed into 2015’s Mobility Plan 2035. And once again, never heard from again.

In fact, we were soon told the plan was merely “aspirational,” which probably explains why only 3% of the plan has been built out in the seven years since.

Charlie Brown, meet football.

Then there’s the city’s Vision Zero plan, also adopted in 2015, which pledged to eliminate traffic deaths in the City of Angels by 2025.

Hint: we ain’t gonna make it.

In fact, traffic deaths have continued to climb virtually every year since, jumping 19% in 2019, and 21% in 2020.

There goes that football again.

That was followed by the mayor’s Green New Deal, which promised to phase out gas-driven cars while providing safe and efficient alternatives to driving.

You can probably guess what comes next.

Now the city council expects us to trust them while they tee-up the ball yet again, pledging that the new ordinance they’re going to write will be even bigger and better than Healthy Streets LA.

Except (soto voce, crossed fingers hidden behind their backs) any ordinance they write they can also change at any time, for any reason. Unlike the Healthy Streets LA proposal, which could only be changed by a vote of the people had they adopted it yesterday.

So if a councilmember doesn’t want a particular project in his or her district, or LA’s notorious NIMBYs rise up in opposition, they can reject it in part, or in toto.

Or when a new council comes in, they can overturn it, again in whole or in part.

So much for forcing them to keep their commitments.

I’ve worked hard for 14 years now to kick over SoCal rocks, and shine a light on all the ugliness underneath, at serious harm to my own mental, physical, emotional and financial health.

But days like this, combined with the ongoing carnage on our streets, make me wonder if it’s all worthwhile.

And I know I’m not alone in feeling that way. Especially now.

But let’s give credit to Michael Schneider and Streets For All for all their hard work in getting us this far. And to everyone who turned out yesterday to speak to the council, whether or not they bothered to listen, and everyone who emailed and called their councilmembers fighting for a better result than the one we got.

You deserve better. We all do.

Instead we have to wait another two years for an expensive, uncertain electoral battle against the full force of LA’s NIMBYs.

Meanwhile, we need to hold the council’s feet to the fire to ensure they keep their promises, and come up with a workable alternative.

And stick to the damn thing this time.

Because I can’t speak for you. But I’m done falling for the same damn trick again.

Peanuts drawing from ClipArtMax. 

………

It looks like Hollywood has worn out its welcome in LA’s Victorian Angelino Heights neighborhood — especially the seemingly endless series of Fast & Furious sequels.

A protest is planned for tomorrow to halt filming, in an effort to reduce the number of boneheaded copycats attempting to duplicate the stunts there.

Thanks to Dr. Michael Cahn for the heads-up.

………

Santa Ana cops are on the lookout for a bike rider who kicked a motorist after crashing into his car, then possibly threatened the driver with a knife.

Although there’s so much wrong here, I don’t even know where to start.

Reading between the lines, the driver apparently right hooked the bike rider, while illegally turning across the bike lane instead of safely merging in to make his turn, as required by California law.

And while the bike rider was clearly in the wrong to kick and threaten the driver, LAPD officers have made it clear to me in the past that a driver commits assault simply by getting out of his vehicle.

In other words, the bike rider was the victim of the crash, and could have been acting in self-defense when he threatened the driver, since leaving the car could have been seen as a threatening act.

A good lawyer could have a field day with this one if they find the guy.

………

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who left a Vespa-style moped rider with severe injuries at 3rd and Flower in DTLA earlier this month.

Los Angeles has a standing reward of $25,000 for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries.

………

Yeah, I’d probably use it.

Although as someone noted, the weak spot is still the cable.

Thanks to Megan Lynch and Jon for forwarding the tweet.

………

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

There’s a special place in hell for the British man who appeared to come to the aid of an injured mountain biker who fell off his bike, only to steal his nearly $2,800 bicycle while he was laid out on the ground.

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

A Connecticut man faces charges for groping two women while riding his BMX bike.

………

Local

LA Progressive endorses a slate of candidates throughout the LA area, including Alex Fisch and Freddy Puza in Culver City, who it says face a well-funded NIMBY backlash from “homeowners who want to keep apartments, bike lanes and non-rich people out of their neighborhoods.”

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is pushing for safety improvements at the extremely complicated disjunction junction of Glendale Blvd, Fletcher Drive and Silver Ridge Ave, citing a lack of bike lanes and sidewalks, as well as potholes and frequent gridlock.

Tony Palos Verdes Estates is pulling the plug on plans for a roundabout at Palos Verdes Drive West and Via Corta in Malaga Cove, after local residents got out the torches and pitchforks because they fear what they don’t understand.

 

State 

California is banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles starting in 2035.

Newport Beach considers what to do about speeding ebike riders, from restricting ebikes from certain trails to a blatantly illegal scheme to license ebikes, while limiting the licenses to local residents, the banning unlicensed bikes from the streets.

A 68-year old San Diego man was lucky to escape serious injury when he was right-hooked by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike near Sunset Cliffs in the Point Loma neighborhood.

Pismo Beach has received $14.7 million for new curb cuts, bike lanes and wider road shoulders to comply with Complete Streets requirements and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

National

Streetsblog considers three common bike laws that are overdue for a change, including requiring safety equipment instead of safe streets.

Good question. GearJunkie asks whether the great pandemic bicycle shortage is ending, or if it’s really just getting started.

Writing for Bicycling, a woman says she fell in love with bicycling — lower case — by delivering weed on two wheels. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Bicycling also highlights the best early Labor Day sales on bike gear, in an article that doesn’t appear to be paywalled.

Autoevolution reviews Jeep’s new ped-assist ebike, calling it $7,600 of awesomeness. For that price, it damn well better be.

New nonprofit City Thread worked with five American cities — Austin, Denver, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Providence — to build out 335 miles of bike lanes in just two years, a full 25 years earlier than otherwise expected. Someone please give LADOT their phone number. Pretty please. 

A Eugene, Oregon paper says ebikes and high gas prices are making this bicycling’s golden hour in the city.

Tacoma, Washington takes advantage of an eroding bluff to ban cars from a 2.5-mile loop in the city’s Point Defiance Park, opening up the roadway to walkers, bike riders and skateboarders.

The Austin, Texas judge in the homicide case against Kaitlin Armstrong for the death of pro gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson says the case will likely be delayed to give her time to consider motions.

Texas-based Volcon just quietly rolled out the company’s first moped-style, ped-assist ebike, which is designed to look like a motorcycle.

Tragic news from Indiana, where a 67-year old South Bend parish priest was killed by a hit-and-run driver as he was riding his bike.

The Bike League’s policy director helps the New York Post pick the best bike helmets for different types of riders.

A New York bike rider was the victim of a hit-and-run salmon bicyclist who plowed into him head-on while riding in a bike lane; a photographer just happened to be there to immortalize the aftermath.

 

International

Bicycling Retailer says the late Lotus Bike designer Mike Burrows was much more than just a legendary bike designer; Burrows succumbed to lung cancer last week at 79.

Canadian Cycling Magazine calls a Toronto parking cop the greatest of all time for ticketing drivers parked in bike lanes.

Scottish mountain bike champ Rab Wardell apparently died of a heart attack in his sleep, as his girlfriend, Olympic track cyclist Katie Archibald, fought to save his life.

A British writer says the proposal to require numbered license plates on bicycles is so bad it could result in the dissolution of the United Kingdom.

More proof that drivers aren’t the only threat we face. A pair of French bicyclists are in critical condition after they were each stung nearly 50 times by European hornets, while a third rider was stung 15 times.

F1 star Valtteri Bottas is one of us, as Cycling Weekly goes gravel biking with the Finnish race car driver, while falling in love with the country’s trails. Thanks to Pops for the link.

Add this one to your bike bucket list, as The Guardian takes a bike ride through the “vast panoramas and the gleaming Adriatic” of west Slovenia.

A 23-year-old New Zealand woman pled guilty to careless driving for dooring a 19-year old bike rider, who was killed when he was knocked into the path of another car; she’ll be sentenced in November.

 

Competitive Cycling

Talk about a good problem to have. Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard is reportedly having a very hard time adjusting to life after winning the Tour de France.

American Lawson Craddock gambled on a breakaway on the next-to-last climb during Wednesday’s fifth stage of the Vuelta, but had to settle for fifth when he was reeled in by stage winner Marc Soler.

Slovenia’s Primož Roglič had to peel off his newly won red leader’s jersey, giving it up to Frenchman Rudy Molard after stage five.

Britain’s Fred Wright stands 2nd in the Vuelta GC, while Craddock moved up to 4th; previous leaders Roglič and American Sepp Kuss slipped to 5th and 6th, respectively.

 

Finally…

If you’re carrying crystal meth on your bike and riding erratically, put a damn light on it, already. That feeling when your new bike lanes look like they were striped by a drunk.

And this is one of the best bike ads I’ve seen recently. Maybe we can get them to do an American version.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

August 24, 2022 / / Comments Off on Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

Before we get started, my brother the former Iditarod mushing and bike-riding adventurer is off on another cross-country bike tour.

He left yesterday on the Trans-America trail, taking it from Western Colorado to the Atlantic Coast. 

I’ll try to keep you posted when he shares details of his trip. 

………

I doubt it will surprise anyone that bikeway implementation in Los Angeles fell last year.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports the LADOT showed a total of just 39.1 miles of new or upgraded bikeways for the most recent fiscal year that just ended, down from 52.5 the previous year.

And yes, that includes sharrows and bike routes, as well as protected bike lanes, bike paths and painted bike lanes.

Linton reports that implementation of bikeways fell precipitously under outgoing Mayor and erstwhile almost ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

Although Garcetti doesn’t shoulder all the blame.

Under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, bike facility implementation peaked at 200+ new bikeway lane-miles annually. Since Mayor Eric Garcetti took office in 2013, implementation has fallen dramatically. Under Garcetti-appointed city Transportation Department (LADOT) General Manager Seleta Reynolds, new bikeway mileage has been dismal, hovering between 10 and 52 miles annually for the past seven years.

It’s not all Garcetti and Reynolds’ fault, as their modest efforts have been blocked by many city councilmembers: Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz, Curren Price, David Ryu, Mitch O’Farrell, and Paul Krekorian have all vetoed planned bikeway projects in their districts.

I got pushback when I declared on twitter that last year’s total was a fail, as Linton and others pointed out that the figures for last year included some high-quality installations.

Which is fair.

Under Villaraigosa, the city focused on what they referred to as the low-hanging fruit, where installation of a bike lane didn’t require removing parking or a traffic lane.

And while the city remains averse to doing anything to annoy or inconvenience people in cars, they have built more protected bike lanes and cycle tracks in recent years.

Not enough, but still.

And not enough are truly protected, as the city too often pretends that car-tickler plastic bendy posts offer some form of protection from motorists, who can simply drive over them at will.

Hopefully, a new mayor and city council will increase funding to LADOT to hire more bike-focused engineers, and wipe the dust off the city’s Vision Zero and mobility plans.

We can hope, right?

………

Calbike is urging everyone to call their state senators to urge them to vote for AB 1713, the latest attempt to pass a Stop-as-Yield law.

Streetsblog says we’re this close to getting the right to treat stop signs as yield signs, and that the bill addresses Governor Newsom’s complaint that led him to veto the previous version by limiting the law to riders over 18.

………

They get it.

Carlsbad has responded to the recent deaths of two bike riders and a jump in ebike injuries by declaring a state of emergency, allowing the city to take immediate action to improve safety for bicyclists.

………

Dr. Grace Peng has done the hard part for you, developing talking points for this afternoon’s workshop to discuss the California ebike rebate program.

………

Belgian pro Wout Van Aert goes Hollywood, making a brief appearance in a Red Bull video featuring F1 racer Max Verstappen.

………

GCN considers why bicycle license plates are a terrible idea.

Because they are.

………

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

A Chicago father accuses a hit-and-run driver of intentionally striking him and his daughter as they were biking home from school, not far from where a three-year old girl was killed earlier this year.

The Spanish driver who killed two people and seriously injured three others when he rammed a group of bike riders, possibly intentionally, is being held without bail pending trial, as police investigate him for possible murder charges; he has a long record of traffic safety violations, as well a violence against women.

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

New York police are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider, following the death of a pedestrian, who died days after the bicyclist collided with him while the victim was crossing a Manhattan street.

………

Local

KCRW looks at the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, which is being considered by the city council today, asking if the city can finally be friendlier to transit users and pedestrians. Because the measure’s not just about bikes, regardless of some perceptions.

The LA Times celebrates the closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park, and questions what other streets should be closed next. Like Hollywood Blvd, which is long overdue for a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland.

Good idea. A UCLA professor has created a new app enabling people to easily organize group bike rides to create safety in numbers for bike commuters.

Streetsblog talks with Los Angeles-based comedian George Coffey, who is turning Metro’s foibles into fodder for jokes.

Active SGV continues to live up to its name, as they continue to be one of the most active advocacy groups in the LA area; the group is bringing Slow Streets and open streets to the San Gabriel Valley, with a number of demonstration projects to show the value of traffic circles, outdoor dining, and bike lanes.

 

State 

Thirty-six-year old Kenneth Alexander Heimlich was convicted of going on a two-city crime rampage in Orange County in June, including pushing a bike rider into traffic and repeatedly stomping his head for no reason as they waited at a bus stop.

A 63-year old San Diego man was the victim of a hit-and-run when a driver turned in front of his bike, in a crash caught on security cam — even if the local TV station can’t be bothered to include it. Or even link to it. Schmucks.

Life is cheap in Lafayette, where the driver who killed 86-year old Joe Shami, better known as The Legend of Mount Diablo, walked without a single day behind bars; Lori Everett got a lousy one year probation and 100 hours of community service, while her victim got the death penalty.

A Davis writer says bicycle etiquette begins with being considerate.

 

National

The New York Times takes a look at the rise in traffic deaths, which disproportionately affect Black, Latino and low-income families.

A new study shows Blacks are overrepresented in bike and pedestrian deaths; the study also shows drivers of pickups and SUVs accounted for 38% of bike riders and pedestrians killed on the roads, despite being involved in just 20% of the crashes.

Marketplace says high-tech speed governors are gaining traction with safety advocates, even though carmakers hate the idea.

A six-year old Minneapolis girl was collateral damage in a shootout between two men when she was shot in the leg as she was riding her bike.

Heartbreaking news from Minnesota, where a pickup driver was arrested for vehicular homicide for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Reservation.

Bighearted former Indiana University basketball player and Head Coach Dan Dakich and his wife gave away 31 bikes to kids in need earlier this month, as they work year round to ensure that every kid can have a bicycle.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A North Carolina driver walked without a single day behind bars after copping to a plea deal for probation in the DUI death of a bike rider. Which sends a clear message to other drivers that it’s perfectly okay to get drunk, get behind the wheel and kill someone.

 

International

Road.cc considers the carbon footprint of your bike, which may be more than you think.

Newspaper readers in Hertfordshire, England like a government proposal to regulate bicyclists by requiring a numbered license plate and liability insurance to catch riders who totally ignore the rules. Even though that isn’t likely to happen, numbered plates or not.

Welsh bicyclists are ignoring government warnings to stay off the world’s longest and highest aqueduct; officials insist the 126-foot high structure isn’t wide enough to accommodate both people on foot and on two wheels.

Tragic news from Scotland, where champion mountain biker Rab Wardell died in his sleep in his Glasgow home, just two days after winning the elite men’s title at the Scottish MTB XC Championships; he was just 37.

A new study shows that Lisbon, Portugal’s bike paths reproduce the city’s social inequities, with people in working class neighborhoods having less access to them than residents of wealthy neighborhoods.

The first ever, ten-day Tour De Maccabi bike race and adventure tour will take Jewish bike riders rom Krakow, Poland through Slovakia and Hungary, before ending in front of Europe’s largest synagogue in Budapest

 

Competitive Cycling

As predicted, the first day back in Spain shook up the standings in the Vuelta, as three-time defending champ Primož Roglič stormed to victory in what The Guardian termed a “stunning effort,” taking the leader’s red jersey in the process; American Sepp Kuss is in second place, 13 seconds back.

The Mountain Bike World Championships begins today in Les Gets, France.

USA Cycling named the US men’s and women’s road cycling and time trial teams, with L39ION of Los Angeles cyclist Skylar Schneider the lone domestic competitor to make the team.

 

Finally…

Blame bikes for the demise of religion and a rise in women smokers.

And face it, he’s got a point.

https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1562125196689129474

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

LA Council considers Healthy Streets tomorrow, carfree living in LA ain’t so pretty, and Venice bike lane extension

August 23, 2022 / / 2 comments

As we mentioned yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to consider the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposition at Wednesday’s meeting.

After the proposition qualified for the ballot, it opened a 20 day window for the council to adopt it as written, or place it on the 2024 ballot for a vote by the city.

Aside from the usual opposition that comes with any proposed changes to LA streets, some advocates have come out against the measure because it doesn’t include a focus on equity or schedule for how the plan will be rolled out.

But that’s not the purpose of the proposal. It’s really a very simple measure — all it does is require Los Angeles to build out the city mobility plan, which they’ve already approved, whenever a street included in the plan is resurfaced.

That’s it.

It’s up to the city to determine when streets get resurfaced, and how to bring equity into the process.

So the best option is for the council to adopt the Healthy Streets LA proposition as written, then adopt a separate plan to fairly and equitably roll it out, especially in lower income communities that are too often ignored.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to make it. I’m still having major health problems that keep me close to home, especially at night in the mornings until my meds kick in.

But I’m begging you, if you can clear your schedule Wednesday morning, go make your voice heard to demand that the city keep its word, and give us the safe, livable streets they promised.

And if you can’t, then email your council member today, before the day is over. That’s what I’ll be doing.

Here is what Streets For All said about it in a recent email.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS WEDNESDAY AND WE NEED YOU TO COME IN PERSON!

After a year and a half, it all comes down to THIS WEDNESDAY. The City Council has item #20 on its agenda to consider adopting Healthy Streets LA now, or send it to the 2024 ballot.

The City Council no longer takes remote comments, and we need you to show up in person Wednesday at 10am at LA City Hall (200 N. Spring St. Room 340) and make public comment asking them to take Option #1, and adopt Healthy Streets LA. Here are some talking points you can use. We suggest timing yourself to make sure you can say everything you want to say in 1 minute.

We’re almost there, and we need all hands on deck. See you there!

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

RSVP AND TELL US YOU’LL BE THERE

VIEW TALKING POINTS

………

It’s not always pleasant to see yourself through someone else’s eyes.

Especially the view isn’t always pretty.

An Indian writer working with the LA Times on a journalism fellowship discovers just how difficult it is to survive in Los Angeles without a car, where the taxis are expensive and transit unreliable, and bike lanes start and stop with no coherent reason.

And you can’t even go through a Del Taco drive through without one, even when the walkup window is closed.

………

This is the cost of traffic violence.

A Florida driver killed five people in their late teens and early twenties when he drove the wrong way on a freeway at 4:30 am.

The 30-year old driver, who was the only one who survived the crash, hasn’t had a valid driver’s license since his was revoked after getting caught doing 109 mph.

Yet he continued to drive anyway, racking up traffic violations that include speeding, running red lights and failing to yield at an intersection, despite being described by a former girlfriend as psychotic and obsessive.

Just one more example of authorities allowing a dangerous driver to stay on the roads until he killed someone.

Or five someones.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up. 

………

Streetsblog says work is underway to extend the parking protected bike lane on Venice Blvd.

………

Buena Park has started work on what will be the longest bike lanes in the city when they’re finished.

https://twitter.com/mikeocbike/status/1561836685813358593

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I’m not sure I’d call this a rickshaw. It seems more like a side-by-side tandem to me.

Although I did have to read the tweet to figure out that wasn’t Peter Pan sitting next to Peter Fonda.

………

A YouTuber converted his old mountain bike to an ebike, in order to tow his solar-powered camper trailer complete with rechargeable battery.

………

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

A road raging pickup driver disrupted a Portland open streets event by driving onto the route, screaming obscenities at volunteers and participants, and even flashing a gun at one point. Police say they are investigating.

Once again, cops bend over backwards to exonerate one of their own, after a Lincoln, Nebraska cop right hooked a 15-year old kid crossing the street on his bike with the walk signal; the police insist the kid somehow crashed into the side of the police cruiser as the officer was turning. Something smells like bullshit here, which isn’t hard to find in Nebraska.

British lawyer “Mr. Loophole” wants bike riders who kill pedestrians to face life imprisonment, even though drivers usually get off with a slap on the wrist, if that. And even though it hardly ever happens, while drivers kill people every day.

Cycling Weekly has more information about the Spanish driver who plowed into a group of eight bicyclists, killing a couple of 67 and 72-year old men and seriously injuring three others; the driver was captured ten hours after fleeing the crash. He’s under investigation for murder, after witnesses say he suddenly changed lanes and sped up before hitting the bike riders.

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

A Phoenix man faces charges for shooting and killing another man in a dispute over a stolen bicycle; he confessed to the killing when police arrested him, but swore he actually stole the bike from someone else.

………

Local

This is who we share the road with. The LA Times takes a deep dive into deadly street takeovers and side shows, which authorities describe as a scene of lawlessness “bordering on a riot;” six people have already been killed in street takeovers this year.

The WeHo Times provides photos from Sunday’s Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia, while My News LA offers a brief wrap-up.

The sheriff’s department will conduct a traffic safety operation in Santa Clarita from 2 pm to 8 pm today, focusing on violations that put bike riders and pedestrians at risk, regardless of who commits them. You know the drill. Ride to the letter of the law until you leave the area, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.

 

State 

California is still trying to get its shit together regarding the fully funded ebike rebate program that was supposed to be up and running by now; the California Air Resources team will hold a virtual public workshop tomorrow to discuss issues like participant income eligibility, what types of ebikes should be covered by the program, and what kinds of retailers should participate.

San Diego’s popular Bike the Bay rolls this Sunday, providing your annual opportunity to ride the city’s iconic Coronado Bridge. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

KTLA-5 offers an update on the 14-year old boy who was run down by a 68-year old driver while riding bikes with a friend in the parking lot of the Camarillo Premium Outlets; his mother reports he suffered an extensive brain injury, as well as a collapsed lung, cracked sternum, fractured vertebrae and serious road rash. A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $20,000 of the $50,000 goal.

Thanks again to Robert Leone for catching us up on a couple stories we missed recently:

Richmond is planning to revive its moribund e-bikeshare system a month after Bolt bolted, and left hundreds of abandoned ebikes on the streets.

 

National

Runner’s World recommends the best bike helmets for “comfortable, breezy protection.”

Highway-choked Houston is slowly inching away from its auto-centric reputation with a series of multimodal infrastructure projects. Maybe they could show LA officials how to do it.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a “priceless” bike that belonged to a Minnesota man who recently died of a brain tumor; before his death he passed the bike onto his son because he wanted the boy to enjoy riding like he did.

This, too, is the cost of traffic violence. Pioneering heart researcher Jeffrey Robbins, PhD was killed when a teenage driver attempted to pass him as he was making a left turn on his bike to enter an Ohio bike trail. But it’s okay, because the cops say it was just an “oopsie.”

Unbelievable. Indianapolis has removed concrete bollards along a protected bike lane, and replaced them with flimsy car-tickler plastic bendy posts, because it was just to hard to maintain the concrete barriers after drivers hit them. So better to let drivers crash into the soft people on bicycles instead, apparently.

Ebikes are getting more Maine residents out of their cars, and could help the state meet its climate goals. Which is a pretty good indication that their climate goals aren’t ambitious enough.

Boston residents are working together to cope with a month-long shutdown of a pair of commuter rail lines, including mapping bike routes and organizing bike buses for beginning riders.

DC installed a new traffic signal to address years of complaints about a dangerous intersection, nine days too late to save the life of a woman riding a bike who was right hooked by a garbage truck driver.

This is the cost of traffic violence, too. An 11-year old Florida boy was killed when a pickup driver towing a boat swerved up on the sidewalk to avoid a crash, where the boy was riding his bike.

Sad commentary from a Florida website, which says ghost bikes are becoming all-too-familiar roadside memorials on Miami’s Rickebacker Causeway.

 

International

Yes, cars really are out to get us, one way or another. Vancouver bike riders are demanding a safe route after a bike path was closed when the roof of a parking lot collapsed, blocking the bikeway.

Calgary residents complain about new bike lanes intended to slow speeding drivers, as some worry they won’t be safe because…wait for it…scofflaw drivers will break the law.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a hit-and-run driver walked without a single day behind bars for leaving a bike rider with a broken pelvis.

A British bike rider completed the grueling, 2,500-mile Transcontinental race across Europe riding a Brompton foldie.

That’s more like it. France will pay you up to the equivalent of nearly four grand to swap your smelly, polluting car for a clean running ebike, or $400 to buy an ebike without a car trade, and Paris will give up up to $500 to buy an ebike or foldie.

This is who we share the road with. A 20-year old American service member is under house arrest inside the Aviano Air Base in northern Italy after killing a 15-year old boy while driving at four times the legal alcohol limit.

Cycling Tips considers why Australian roads became proportionately more dangerous during the pandemic.

 

Competitive Cycling

The real Vuelta starts today, when the peloton returns to Spain with a harrowing uphill finish.

Semi-retired LA pro cyclist Phil Gaimon now owns the course record for Maine’s prestigious Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, while notching his fourth win in the event; San Jose’s Courtney Nelson also set a course record while winning the women’s event.

 

Finally…

Once again, if you’re carrying meth on your bike, put a damn light on it, already. Congratulations, your kid is now some Tesla driver’s crash test dummy.

And this is how you avoid close passes.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Mariah Kandise Banks, killer of Frederick “Woon” Frazier, finally sentenced; Griffith Park car ban is just the beginning

August 22, 2022 / / 3 comments

Before we get started, the LA City Council will consider the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposition at Wednesday’s 10 am council meeting. 

This is an all hands on deck announcement. We’ll have more on this tomorrow, but clear your schedule if at all possible to be there and make every voice heard in support of this vital measure. 

Now buckle in, because we have a lot of ground to cover today. 

,,,,,,,,,

Today’s photo shows a happy corgi enjoying a pedicab ride at yesterday’s CicLAvia, more proof that a good time was had by all. 

Even the four-footed attendees. 

………

Friday finally saw justice served for the killer of Fredrick “Woon” Frazier, as Mariah Kandise Banks was sentenced to four years behind bars for hi hit-and-run death.

She has so far shown no sign of of remorse, and has reportedly been living the high life in the four years since is death, regardless of the impact it had on those left behind.

Woon’s friend Edin Barrientos forwarded the impact statement he wrote on behalf of the Chief Lunes bike crew.

Words To The Judge

I’m here on the behalf of the victim

Frederick Frazier and all the other cyclists /pedestrians killed by reckless drivers. I want to make it clear that the driver who took away Fredericks life back in 2018 was NO accident.

These speeding and reckless drivers who are out on the roads always use their cars as a means to intimidate and run us off the streets.

Every week we here news stories of people getting killed by violent drivers in our city.

It is a big injustice to the victims families and communities like South LA that harsher punishments aren’t being served to these mindless drivers. They don’t see us as equals on the roads and I feel that the Justice System sympathizes with drivers who kill the innocent.

Frederick left behind a loving mother and a baby boy behind who need his emotional and financial support.

Words for The Driver

You took away a father figure, you took away a loving son and a beloved cyclist in a welcoming community.

You deserve to be in jail for 10 years at least.

You tried running away with murder.

You’ve been free for 4 years, having the time of your life while knowingly having blood in your hands.

You’re a monster and monsters don’t deserve any freedom.

  • D.A fought for maximum sentence and was able to get the medium term
  • Charges: Vehicular Man Slaughter & Hit and Run
  • 4 years in State Prison
  • Moriah Banks was handcuffed and taken away by Sherrifs

Meanwhile, our anonymous courtroom corresponded had this to say.

This morning is Mariah Kandise Banks’ sentencing and the victim impact statement hearing. I don’t want to be there. I spoke with Woon’s mama in June and she was on the fence about speaking in court. What good can it do, she wondered. Nothing will ever bring her son back to her. She forgives Banks. I don’t, because I’ve attended her appearances and haven’t seen an iota of remorse. None. She’s just sorry she got caught.

Please pray for Woon’s family today.

………

Our anonymous correspondent goes on to offer updates on multiple cases working their way through the courts.

On June 27th, a woman walking her three dogs was struck by a hit and run driver just two blocks from the site of AJ Brumback’s slaughter. (His little ghost bike and the large memorial are still there on Google Street View). This collision site is also two blocks southwest of Anita Sue Cherry’s last known address, on the corner of Seneca Dr. and Shawnee Rd.

The victim was hospitalized; the dogs are okay.

This echoes the Ali Zohair Fakhreddine case (going to trial next month), in which repeat drunk driver Fakhreddine killed a Newport Beach woman and her dog, then fled. I “watched” his arrest play out across two counties via the continuously updating CHP Live Incident page. Although Fakhreddine led police on a chase in his bloodied car, he was apprehended.

Next Thursday, Alexis Marvin Garcialopez, who killed 80-year-old Ernest Adams, will be arraigned for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Former bank robber Richard David Lavalle, who killed 12-year-old Noel Bascon as he biked in a crosswalk with his dad, has noir dire set for September 30th.

In regards to the recent hit and run death of the cyclist in La Habra, suspect Mario Poppop (the media gave the name as Popsuc, but jail & court records say Poppop) was released on the 15th. He’s charged with a single count of being an accessory after the fact. Since his son, the accused killer, is a juvenile, I’m unable to determine his status.

Still no court date for Amanda Martin, suspected in the hit and run death of Liem Bui near Mile Square Park last January. (Incidentally, only a week after her arrest, there was another major injury collision involving a cyclist near Mile Square.)

Unlicensed drunk driver Johnathan Martinez Aguilar, who fled after he ran down two female bicyclists (one a doctor) on PCH in Newport Beach in 2019, was sentenced on August 9th to 1 year in jail, 5 years of probation, restitution, and a First Offender Alcohol program.

Nicole Lorraine Linton, who killed six on South La Brea, isn’t the only killer driver with substantial mental illness. Ronald Earl Kenebrew, Jr. and Moises Iscaya, both remanded, remain under continued mental health evaluation.

My Favorite Lawyer™ Christien Petersen, the All-American Freedumb Fighter, will be arraigned on his assorted weapons and kidnapping charges on the 26th, and then the Court turns its attention to his drunk driving matter.

Anyway I have more updates than time to write.

………

Evidently, the permanent ban on cars on Griffith Park Drive is just the beginning.

According to LAist, the closure of nearly a mile of the street in Griffith Park to stop commuters from using it as a dangerous cut-through route is just the first phase of the coming safety improvements.

The next phase will involve installing speed humps and speed feedback signs to slow speeding drivers.

That will be followed by creating a road buffet on Crystal Springs Drive, removing a car lane in each direction for new dedicated bike and pedestrian lanes, as well as buffer space for drivers.

This is the street where Andrew Jelmert was killed by an alleged speeding, DUI driver. Whether that would have been enough to keep him alive is questionable, but it’s a good start.

In addition, plans call for bike lanes to Zoo Drive, which is where Finish The Ride and SAFE founder Damian Kevitt was riding when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, and dragged a quarter mile underneath his van onto the 5 Freeway.

As you can see, the street closure is already creating smiles.

https://twitter.com/abikeist/status/1561188204463529984

………

This is who we share the road with.

The son of a 67-year old Azusa man has filed suit over the death of his father, who was killed by an Azusa motorcycle cop who somehow ran him down when he was just crossing the street; it’s unclear whether he was walking or riding a bicycle.

A 17-year old was murdered when he was run down by one or more hit-and-run drivers following a dispute at a warehouse parking lot party in South LA, apparently intentionally; the driver ran him down, then jumped into another vehicle and ran over him again. A crowdfunding campaign has raised nearly $5,000 of the $14,000 goal.

A Vancouver woman in her late 60s mistakenly hit the accelerator as she was pulling out of a shared driveway, and plowed into a wedding party, killing two people and injuring ten others, two critically. But police say it was just an “oopsie.”

………

By all accounts, yesterday’s return of the Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia was a big hit, with a huge morning turnout.

The Los Angeles Daily News offers a nice photo essay, if you can get past their paywall.

https://twitter.com/sumaleedotcom/status/1561499579798851584

………

This is a very detailed and insightful submission to Redondo Beach officials, and worth a read for anyone who rides the South Bay.

………

Bike Silicon Valley is looking for a new Program Coordinator/Manager who can speak Spanish.

………

Congratulations to Chicago, on finding a crappy new way to door bike riders.

………

If this doesn’t give you nightmares, you’re officially immune.

………

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

A Washington man vows to continue riding, after a road rage attack while training for an Ironman triathlon left him confined to a wheelchair.

This is the harm a single determined NIMBY can do, as one neighborhood lawyer appoints himself to halt a fully approved and funded Chicago greenway.

No bias here. A British lawyer welcomes a proposal to require numbers license plates, speed limits and liability insurance for bike riders, saying “bikes cause harm.” Just wait until someone tells him about cars.

No bias here, either. A British paper blares a headline calling bike riders “Red light rats!” after counting 26 bicyclists rolling through a red light in front of Buckingham palace in just one hour — but fails to mention that the road was closed to cars, and police urged riders to keep going through the intersection, regardless of red lights.

A jury in the UK found two men guilty of murder for intentionally running down a rival drug dealer as he was riding a bicycle, and leaving him to die in the street.

A Spanish driver was arrested following ten hours on the run, after he intentionally drove into a group of eight people riding bicycles, killing two and seriously injuring three other riders.

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

Bike riders tragically found themselves on both sides of the gun in Los Angeles this weekend; a woman was fatally shot near Seventh Street and Central Avenue early Sunday morning, after arguing with a man who fled by bicycle following the shooting. Meanwhile, a man riding a bicycle was the victim in a Friday shooting in Echo Park, when another man walked up and shot him as he rode by.

………

Local

Streetsblog has more details on the “damning” report showing Metro’s highway building program more than offsets the climate benefits of all their bike, pedestrian and transit programs combined.

Streets For All urges you to complete a survey on LA’s Al Fresco Dining Program, which is currently under review; the program allows restaurants to convert parking spaces to outdoor dining areas, bringing more life to the city’s streetscape.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton interviews CD11 candidates Traci Park and Erin Darling to get their views on transportation issues as they vie to replace outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin.

Outside considers the case of 12-year-old Molly Steinsapir, whose family is suing Rad Power Bikes after the girl was killed while riding on the back of a friend’s ebike.

Automotive website MotorBiscuit concludes that the LA-based Cero One is worth the $3,800 price tag if you can afford it, calling it the SUV of ebikes.

Active SGV co-founder Wesley Reutimann writes about the new GoSGV program, calling it the nation’s first ebike subscription program.

 

State 

Maybe you can’t walk on water, but you can pedal across it. An Orange County man is attempting to break a world record by pedaling from Newport Beach to Catalina.

A nine-year old boy was seriously injured when he was struck by a driver in San Diego’s Mountain View neighborhood, suffering multiple fractures, a concussion and facial lacerations.

Kindhearted Fontana cops bought a new bike and birthday supplies for a seven-year old boy, after a thief stole his mom’s purse with the money she had saved for a birthday gift and party.

She gets it. A Santa Barbara op-ed says bikeways nurture cities.

A 45-year old woman was airlifted from the Santa Ynez Valley after suffering a head injury in a bike crash.

Apparently having learned absolutely nothing from the 2013 San Luis Obispo fiasco, Santa Rosa County is planning to refinish 50 miles of roadways with chip seal, making them virtually unridable for months afterwards

Prosecutors charged a 73-year-old Orinda man with felony hit and run for a July crash that left a 41-year old Oakland bike rider with a fractured pelvis.

 

National

Curbed’s Alissa Walker examines why it’s so hard to take a drivers license away from people who clearly shouldn’t have one. Thanks to Ted Faber for the link.

They get it. A Streetsblog op-ed makes the case that slow transportation should be a human right.

A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics sounds the alarm over decreased helmet use by children, as 52% of kids under 18 injured while skateboarding, snowboarding and bicycling weren’t wearing helmets.

Trek is recalling every existing 2021 and 2022 Emonda SLR and 2022 Speed Concept SLR bike over fears the carbon frame could break while riding.

A 60-year old man is in the midst of his 13th bicycle tour across the US to raise awareness of brain injuries; he’s been riding for 15 years and 37,500 miles, and is on his third bicycle and fifth bike trailer.

Redbook recommends nine bike friendly cities you can visit right now, without leaving the US.

State and federal leaders are teaming with bike advocates trying to save an aging bridge over the Potomac to use as a bike bridge when a parallel new bridge opens, despite the insistence of transportation officials that maintaining the bridge is not an option.

 

International

Winnipeg, Manitoba is painting murals on city streets in an effort to slow speeding drivers.

A Toronto paper discovers that some people are choosing to forgo planes, trains and automobile, and take trips by bicycle instead, often aided by ebikes.

The Guardian talks with Brompton’s “evangelist-in-chief,” who is trying to change the world one foldie at a time.

The news isn’t good for Welsh decathlete Ben Gregory, who is in a coma and on life support after fracturing his neck and skull when he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle last week.

A former UK bouncer has turned himself into a bike-riding vigilante to fight crime, after someone vandalized his car, causing around $1,200 damage.

Doctors with Britain’s National Health Service will now be prescribing bike lessons, bike loans and long walks to improve their patients health.

A teenager appears to have set a new world record by riding his bicycle to 76 British castles in a single week, topping the old record of 67.

The Irish Times considers whether Denmark is Europe’s most bike-friendly country.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cyclist Dan Bigham set a new hour record of 54.723km, topping the 54.526km set by Bradley Wiggins in 2016 — the equivalent of 33,003 miles.

On Sunday, Austrian cyclist Marco Haller was a Hamburger, outsprinting Wout van Aert and Quinten Hermans to win the one Bemer Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany.

Team leader Richard Carapaz gave his Ineos Grenadiers teammates a scare when the Ecuadoran crashed hard after hitting a cone on a tight corner in Sunday’s stage three of the Vuelta.

The news wasn’t as good for Canada’s Michael Woods, who crashed out of the Vuelta with a concussion.

Swiss mountain bike specialist Mathias Flückiger was suspended pending an investigation after testing positive for the anabolic steroid Zeranol. But the era of doping is over, right? Or are most cyclists just getting away with it?

 

Finally…

Once again, President Biden took a bike ride along the beach, and did not fall off.

And there are a lot worse things you can do with an old bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

CicLAvia returns to the Hollywoods, Puente Hills bike skills course, and possible WeHo protected bike lanes

August 19, 2022 / / 2 comments

The big news this weekend is Sunday’s return of the Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia.

The nation’s most popular open streets festival returns to Hollywood and West Hollywood with a 6.6 mile route that will run along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, before dropping down on Highland and connecting with Santa Monica Blvd.

Metro suggests taking the B Line, formerly known as the Red Line, to get there. Which is exactly what I would recommend, if you don’t ride there.

Meanwhile, WeHo invites you to stick around afterwards for a free concert with the Afro-Persian Experience in Plummer Park starting at 5 pm.

https://twitter.com/CicLAvia/status/1560462813050687488

………

Forget rails-to-trails.

The newest trend is dump to park, as Los Angeles County plans to turn the nation’s largest landfill into the first regional park the county has built in three decades.

The 142 acre, $28.25 million Puente Hills Regional Park will include an intermediate bike skills course in the first phase of construction.

Thanks to Mike Burk for the heads-up.

………

Bette Davis once responded to a question about the best way for a young woman to get to Hollywood, with the advice “Take Fountain.”

Sort of like the LA version of how to get to Carnegie Hall.

West Hollywood must have been paying attention, though, because the city’s Transportation Commission just voted to support building protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave, which is currently home to some of the most uncomfortable sharrows in the LA area.

Assuming they get built, the new protected bikes could provide the first safe and efficient bike route into and out of Hollywood, while finally taming the streets’ deadly speeding drivers.

https://twitter.com/danwentzel/status/1560106809980960768

………

More proof of Metro’s disastrous freeway expansion policies, which cause more harm to the climate than all of their more beneficial policies help.

………

Anyone can fly or drive to next month’s Mammoth Gran Fondo.

Better you should ride your bike the 300 miles up there from Los Angeles, which would only make you more fond of the fondo.

………

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

Life is cheap in Hawaii, where a pickup driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a bike-riding man on Christmas Eve three years ago, depriving a family of their husband and father just before the holidays; the 58-year old driver was sentenced to a lousy one year of probation.

They get it. Britain’s Green Party says the ruling Conservative Party’s anti-bicycling rhetoric is putting people on bicycles in danger; the Tories are calling for mandatory liability insurance and license plates for bike riders.

The Chief Scientist for the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory apparently agrees, saying “demonizing cyclists is pointless.”

A caller to a British radio program accuses “arrogant” bike riders of getting out of hand and thinking they rule the road. You mean we don’t?

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

Police in New York are looking for an ebike-riding man who has sexually assaulted at least three Manhattan women since May. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough.

………

Local

The LA Daily News concurs with yesterday’s story from The Eastsider, which reported the pilot closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park will be made permanent. KNBC-4 says you won’t be able to drive on it after today, apparently forgetting that it’s already been closed for weeks.

Hermosa Beach police cracked down on ebike riders using ped-assist bikes to exceed the city’s ridiculous 8 mph speed limit on The Strand, where ped-assist bikes are banned. I haven’t even been able to ride that slow on my acoustic roadie, which goes faster that 8 mph even in the lowest gears. And how are people on bikes without speedometers supposed to know how fast they’re going, anyway?

A seventeen-year old kid was critically injured in a collision in Manhattan Beach last Friday, when he allegedly ran a stop sign and clipped a van, then was thrown into the path of an oncoming car. Unfortunately, the story is paywalled, so you may only be able to read the first few paragraphs.

 

State 

The San Diego Bicycle Coalition is calling for people to co-sign a letter to the SANDAG board of directors and city officials demanding safety improvements in the wake of four bike riders killed in the county just last week. Make that five, after a bike rider was killed by a motorcyclist fleeing a state park cop on Monday.

 

National

The Spotify podcast How to Save a Planet considers how to make bicycling cool again. As if it ever wasn’t.

A longtime bike shop owner explains how bike shops can weather the pressures of inflation.

Chicago bike riders are calling for change after a driver was allowed to park in a bike lane for days, receiving numerous tickets, while the failure to tow his car forced riders out into traffic.

An Illinois county will build a new bike trail to honor a fallen bicyclist and county judge, to keep his legacy alive after he was killed by a driver on Father’s Day.

An off-duty Chicago cop faces a pair of felony charges for attacking a 14-year old boy he accused of stealing his son’s bike; he picked out the one kid of Puerto Rican descent to blame, rather than all the white kids he was standing with.

A New York delivery firm has switched to ebikes to make deliveries for retailers like Whole Foods.

Gothamist asks if someone as politically connected as Jersey City’s hit-and-run driving councilwoman can really be held accountable for her crime. It’s not looking good at the moment, as she refuses to relinquish her seat.

A 75-year old Florida driver was arrested for the hit-and-run that left a bike rider with critical injuries; she was driving with a suspended or revoked license.

 

International

Cycling News examines the difference between cheap bike helmets and more expensive models. Other than the obvious impact on your wallet, of course.

A British Columbia website examine’s Vancouver’s secret underground bike economy run by homeless people.

Once again a child has been punctured by his bike handlebars, as an 11-year old boy in the UK had to wait nearly two hours for an ambulance after falling at a skate park, and having one of his handlebars puncture his groin.

She gets it, too. A writer for a Manchester, England paper says giving bike riders a speed limit just takes attention away from the real dangers on our streets.

A new study shows that if everyone bikes like the Danes, it would save an amount of emissions equal to the entire output of the UK.

A writer for Men’s Journal revisits the first three stages of this year’s Tour de France through the Netherlands, a month after the crowds and racers have gone home.

It took a 4,500-mile bike ride for a couple using Strava to draw a 600-mile long bicycle across the face of Europe, accompanied by their dog.

Life is cheap in Singapore, where a 46-year old man got just 12 days for killing a 73-year old man when he crashed his bicycle into him.

 

Competitive Cycling

No surprise here, as a new report shows the air around the Vuelta isn’t always as pristine as they might like.

Nairo Quintana has pulled out of the Vuelta, after allegations of using the banned painkiller tramadol.

Three-time world Madison champ Amy Pieters has been moved to a rehab facility in her native Netherlands; she spent four months in a coma after suffering a massive brain injury in a training crash.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the cops have your stolen bike, but they won’t give it back. Your next e-foldie could be made from flax, or maybe your next bike could be just plain weird.

And Formula 1’s Dutch Grand Prix wants to be more sustainable, and ban cars whenever possible.

Which kind of defeats the whole purpose of a car race.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

1st quarter traffic deaths jump again, proof pickups and SUVs cause more deaths, and holding killer drivers accountable

August 18, 2022 / / One comment

No, it’s not your imagination.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported yesterday that more people have died on American streets in the first quarter of this year than any year in the past two decades.

Early NHTSA estimates show 9,560 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes through the end of March, a seven percent increase over last year, which saw the highest number of traffic deaths in 16 years.

In other words, we are going the wrong way, at an ever-increasing pace.

There’s a wide range of likely reasons, ranging from speeding and distracted drivers to trucks and SUVs with high, flat grills designed to kill.

None of which are beyond our ability to solve today.

We only need to get enough people to care enough about the lives of innocent victims to demand change.

But so far, that, too, has been beyond our reach.

………

On a related note, Ontario, Canada safety advocates say they have the numbers to prove pickups and SUVs cause more deaths, and have written the province’s chief coroner to request an investigation.

One of the studies, from 2021, estimates 8,131 pedestrians between 2000 and 2019 could have survived if they were struck by sedans instead of SUVs or trucks.

Another study, published in the Journal of Safety Research in June, found that while SUVs and trucks made up just 26.1 per cent of pedestrian and cyclist collisions, they accounted for 44.1 per cent of fatalities.  That study also suggested that because of their larger size, SUVs and trucks are more likely to hit vulnerable road users in the chest or head than a sedan.

Maybe they could write a few letters to US officials while they’re at it.

………

A writer for Outside takes a deep dive into the aftermath of a tragic New York bicycling collision that took the life of a young woman, to examine why drivers are so seldom held accountable for killing another person.

And what can be done about it.

As part of the story, he looks back to the magazine’s groundbreaking Cycling Deaths project, which attempted to document every bicycling traffic death in 2020, recording nearly 700 fatalities.

In most of the stories we gathered information on, there were no consequences for the driver or even scrutiny of their behavior. Law enforcement rarely issued a ticket to drivers who killed cyclists. Criminal charges for the crash itself were even less common, often occurring only when a driver was intoxicated. It was hard not to read through each case and wonder: Is that the way things should be? Does driving that results in someone’s death cross the legal threshold for punishment that infrequently?

It’s very hard to find comprehensive data on penalties issued after car crashes, but among the safe-streets advocates and legal experts I talked to, it’s generally taken as a matter of course that people who kill cyclists while driving—even recklessly, even illegally—are rarely held legally accountable for their actions. The big picture, those observers say, is that drivers are offered a kind of impunity that doesn’t exist in just about any other situation where a human kills another human. “The judicial system is applying laws in a way that results in widespread injustice to victims of traffic violence,” says Gregory Shill, a law professor at the University of Iowa. “I would go beyond courts—a common root of all this is that we have a high social acceptance of traffic deaths.”

As the story points out, drivers should automatically lose their license if they kill another person, but seldom do.

As Traffic author Tom Vanderbilt put it, a drivers license is too easy to get, and too hard to lose. 

If I had my way, killer drivers would be sentenced to work-release, required to serve in emergency rooms and morgues during the day to tend to the victims of traffic violence, before returning to their cells at night.

Although the courts would probably consider that cruel and unusual punishment to subject them to that kind of emotional and psychological torment.

Unlike, say, their victims and their loved ones, who have to suffer that pain for the rest of their lives.

………

This is who we share the city with, unfortunately.

Maybe they’re care more if it was 58. Or 59.

………

Time’s running out to score a great deal on a vintage bike, and support a good cause in the process.

………

Yes, your morning commute can be green, and actually make you happy.

Even in chilly Minnesota.

………

Remember this the next time you have to lock your bike up to a banged-up wheel-bender rack.

https://twitter.com/citycyclists/status/1559900618713612290

Thanks to Glenn Crider for the heads-up. 

………

GCN wants to help you improve your average speed on your bike.

………

Our German correspondent Ralph Durham forwards a photo of race walkers at the European Championships in Munich, where he’s working as a volunteer.

And points out that even they have to cope with race motos. Although the slower pace probably means they pose less risk to the racers.

………

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

That’s more like it. An Idaho driver has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars, with three years fixed, for chasing bike-riding kids through a public park with his pickup, then running over one boy’s bike after he jumped off. But it’s okay, because he’s really, really sorry. No, really.

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

LAPD officers shot a bike-riding young man waving a machete after he refused orders to drop the knife and allegedly advance on officers; no word on his condition.

Elderly London residents say they’ve stopped walking on a roadway that was closed as part of the city’s Low Traffic Neighborhood, the equivalent of a Slow Street in the US, out of fear of red light-running bicyclists and confusion over who has the right-of-way.

………

Local

The Eastsider reports city officials will make the temporary closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park permanent, after a traffic study showed the closure eliminated cut-through commuter traffic without increasing traffic on Zoo Drive (scroll down).

LADOT is bringing protected bike lanes and bus islands to a one-mile stretch of Central Ave in Watts.

 

State 

A California firm is working with Toshiba to improve the chemistry of ebike batteries to reduce charging times and the risk of battery fires.

A coalition of San Diego advocacy groups have endorsed Alternative D for the planned reconstruction of Park Blvd through Balboa Park, which calls for eliminating parking and installing bus lanes and a separated bike lane.

He gets it. A spokesperson for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition says the problem isn’t that ebikes are unsafe, it’s a wakeup call to how unsafe the roads are.

Anson Williams, the 72-year old actor who played Potsie in Happy Days back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, is running for mayor of Ojai on a platform that includes expansion of bike paths and trails. He’s got my vote.

This is who we share the road with. A UC Santa Barbara cop was busted for a drunken hit-and-run in Solvang earlier this month; fortunately, his only victim was a parked minivan. Thanks to Ted Faber for the link.

A San Jose homeowner says he’s spent $30,000 to construct reinforced barriers to stop out-of-control drivers, after 23 drivers have slammed into his home since the 680 freeway opened 50 years ago.

 

National

Next City offers more on the recent NACTO report suggesting that bike laws aren’t keeping bike riders safe, while leading to over-policing of people of color.

Cycling Tips offers a beginner’s guide to what matters most in selecting entry-level road and gravel bikes.

More than 2,100 Denver residents have received ebike rebate vouchers up to $1,700 since the program began in April; most putting their ebikes to good use, with around half riding them on a daily basis. On the other hand, California’s fully funded ebike rebate program remains in limbo, apparently awaiting a chilly day in hell. 

Congratulations to Nebraska, which is no longer the nation’s least bike-friendly state; that dishonor now goes to Wyoming, which is unfriendly to bikes and Cheneys, apparently.

Chicago Magazine talks with Christina Whitehouse, the founder of Bike Lane Uprising, an app allowing bike riders to log the location and submit photos of vehicles illegally parked in bike lanes.

No bias here. Chicago cops responded to a protest over drivers running red lights by changing the traffic signal to green for a full five minutes, stranding everyone waiting to cross the street.

A kindhearted Pittsburgh cop bought a new bike and helmet for an eight-year old girl, after firefighters weren’t able to save her bike from a fire at her grandmother’s house.

TMZ offers more information on the death of Ironman triathlete and Norristown PA cop Brian Kozera, who allegedly ran a stop sign on his bike and crashed into the side of a pickup, before being run over by the truck’s rear wheels. As always, the question is whether there were any independent witnesses to the crash, or if investigators are relying on the word of the driver.

 

International

If you’re looking for a new business opportunity, you could do worse than a solar-powered food ebike.

They get it. Calgary, Alberta is installing a bike lane to remove excess road space and slow speeding drivers.

Pilot protected bike lanes on one of Toronto’s busiest streets saw up to a 193% jump in ridership over a single year, while resulting in a less than one minute delay in motor vehicle traffic.

A seven-year old British boy became one of the youngest people to ride from Paris to London after his father was killed in an industrial accident, raising the equivalent of over $42,000 for bereaved children on the 200-mile journey.

The Guardian’s Peter Walker says a proposal to requite license plates on bicycles in the UK makes bicyclists the latest target in the culture wars. The proposed regulations are reminiscent of North Korea, where people are required to pass a bicycle proficiency test and display a metal license plate on their bikes; that country also bans women from riding bikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

For nearly two decades, we’ve been supposed to pretend Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis never won the Tour de France. Now we’re supposed to pretend Nairo Quintana didn’t have a top ten finish in the Tour last year, after UCI stripped him of 6th place for using the prohibited painkiller tramadol; Quintana denies ever using it, of course.

Ramona High School graduate Gwendalyn Gibson, class of 2017, became the only American to win a World Cup mountain bike race this year, after taking first in a West Virginia race last month.

In case you missed it yesterday, NPR offers a good look at gravel racing, and the sport’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Thanks to Lionel Mares for the reminder.

This week’s 2022 Para-Cycling Road World Championships somehow slipped under the radar, even as the US is making a good showing.

 

Finally…

Evidently, bike mechanics hate triathletes — and not just because they wear speedos, evidently. That feeling when American tourists have no idea why there are so many bicycles parked at European train stations; thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

And now you, too, can have your very own DIY beer stabilization system to avoid spilling your suds as you ride around Burning Man.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Taking Metro to task for wasting funds on highways, LA tanks on best bike cities list, and big Griffith Park announcement Friday

August 17, 2022 / / One comment

Let’s start with a new op-ed taking Metro to task for continuing to flush tens of billions of dollars down the highway toilet.

Writing in the LA Times, Streets For All founder Michael Schneider argues that the county transportation agency’s highway construction plans more than negate any climate change improvements from new transit lines, while only serving to make traffic worse.

Hello, induced demand.

Climate change impact is measured in two ways: vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. For the billions that we will spend on new bus and rail service, as well as active transportation improvements, Metro estimates in a study it just published that by 2047 we will reduce vehicle miles traveled by 9.7 billion, resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2.7 million metric tons of CO2. These massive reductions would result in much cleaner air for us all, and go a long way toward meeting our climate goals.

However, just as Metro is spending tens of billions building rail and bus projects, it also plans to spend billions adding 363 miles of new highways and arterials. According to Metro’s own calculations based on state standards, this will increase vehicle miles traveled by up to 36.8 billion, and emit an additional 10.1 million metric tons of CO2.

Yes, you read that right — we are spending tens of billions of dollars to make climate change and traffic worse. The expansion of highways will do far more harm than the expansion of mass transit will avert.

Never mind that the money being wasted on highway expansion could be put to better use building bus and bike networks, as well as speeding the completion of the upcoming K Line (Crenshaw Line) to connect with the B Line (aka Red Line) at Hollywood & Highland.

That would create Metro’s first viable connector line, with connections to the B Line, D Line (Purple), E Line (Expo), and the C Line (Green), as well as connecting to LAX.

As Schneider says, it’s long past time Metro stopped sabotaging their climate-friendly projects, and instead spend the money we give them on projects that will reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.

Wasting more money on highway projects is exactly what we don’t need now.

Or ever, for that matter.

………

Surprising results, as a new survey ranks Utrecht in the Netherlands the world’s best bicycling city.

That’s followed by Munster, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, before we get to the usual suspects in Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, Johannesburg, South Africa checks in as the worst city to ride a bike.

Not surprisingly, no American city made the top ten. You have to go all the way down to #39 to find San Francisco, followed by Portland at #41.

Los Angeles checks in at a deservedly low #57 out of 100 cities worldwide.

The only real question is why we ranked that high.

………

The plot thickens, as both CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman and Finish the Ride, tease a big announcement on the future of Griffith Park this Friday.

………

Nice. USA Cycling is looking to fast track entree to track cycling for kids from marginalized communities that have traditionally been ignored by cycling.

………

The Bike League is recruiting more LCIs.

https://twitter.com/BikeLeague/status/1559276241106006017

………

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

An Oregon driver is charged with 2nd degree murder for intentionally backing his truck into a man on a bicycle following an argument between the two men, pinning the other man against a wall.

A London, Ontario bike rider is speaking out about the apparently intentional hit-and-run that left him with a broken collarbone, and injured another rider.

A London cabbie celebrates the removal of a bike lane by buzzing the unfortunate bike rider who happened to be there.

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

An equestrian in the UK blames a bike racing club for panicking her horse, which nearly spun her in front of an oncoming car. We’re only getting one side of the story here, but seriously, show some respect and courtesy to others on the road.

………

Local

The LA Times offers tips on riding an ebike, saying they offer a different ride than regular bikes.

West Hollywood looks forward to Sunday’s CicLAvia—Meet the Hollywoods, which travels down Hollywood Blvd, Highland Ave and Santa Monica Blvd, and invites attendees to stick around afterwards for a free concert with M&M The Afro-Persian Experience at Plummer Park.

Compton is embedding Botts’ Dots in an intersection in an effort to halt street takeovers.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Long Beach is planning safety improvements at an intersection where a seven-year old boy was killed by a left-turning truck driver while crossing in a crosswalk with his dad, even though the intersection was considered up to code at the time of last month’s crash.

Long Beach’s popular Beach Streets University open streets event is set to return to the area around Cal State Long Beach next month, after a two-year hiatus.

 

State 

Governor Newsom has signed a new law charging the CHP with developing statewide safety standards for ebikes. Although they couldn’t have found a less bike-friendly organization, or one with more limited training on existing bike laws.

The family of fallen bicyclist Christine Hawk Embree is calling for safer streets after the 35-year old woman was killed in a Carlsbad collision while riding her ebike with her 16-month old daughter, who somehow survived unscathed.

Former Santa Monica city manager and Los Angeles deputy mayor Rick Cole says the death of respected Ventura County Supervisor Carmen Ramirez is a wake-up call for street safety; Ramirez was killed crossing an Oxnard street last week.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is hosting their 12th Annual Bike Summit in Millbrae tomorrow.

San Francisco has put plans for congestion pricing on hold until traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, LA’s proposed congestion pricing plan is apparently being studied to death.

 

National

Road Bike Rider offers advice on how to survive the dreaded speed wobbles.

People For Bikes argues that bicycles and ebikes weren’t completely ignored in the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, though you have to look pretty damn hard to find them.

Boston commuters are expected to take to their bikes to cope with a month-long train line shutdown.

Fire up your crocodile tears for all those New Yorkers who can’t find anywhere to park their cars, in the one American city where you’re least likely to need one.

A Virginia woman says now she needs to live for her friend after they were both run down by an 18-year old alleged drunk driver; only she survived, though she has a very long road to recovery.

 

International

Canadians are up in arms over a policy allowing ebikes in the country’s Banff National Park.

Road.cc remembers “slightly crazed” English bike designer Mike Burrows, saying we’ll “never see his like again;” Burrows died Monday at age 79.

That’s more like it. A 29-year old Scottish driver got a well-deserved five years behind bars, along with a 12 and a half year ban on driving, for killing a 16-year old boy riding his bike home from school, while he was driving at a whopping 80 mph in a 30 mph zone.

No bias here. Britain’s Transportation Secretary promises to get tough on bike riders, saying bicyclists should be insured, have license plates on their bikes, and be subject to the same speed limits as motorists.

The executive director of a UK bike advocacy organization says it’s a mistake to pitch ebikes as “enhanced bicycles,” arguing they should be considered the most energy efficient of all electric vehicles, instead.

A Toronto paper says Munich’s bicycling culture offers ideas on how to safely integrate bikes and cars, arguing that the city should prioritize safe infrastructure instead of cracking down on bike riders with ineffective policing.

She gets it. An op-ed writer for a Malta newspaper says a mandatory helmet law won’t make bicycling any safer; what’s needed is better infrastructure, safer vehicles and education.

A traffic safety organization in the Netherlands teamed with a bike advocacy group to call for a ban on ebike performance kits, which can double the allowed speed controls; a spokesperson says “If you install one on the electric bike, you are simply a racing monster.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Seven-time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome says he’s fully recovered from Covid, and ready to roll in Friday’s Vuelta a España, where he’ll co-lead the Israel-Premier Tech team with Michael Woods.

A new women and majority-minority owned cycling league is set to take off, with teams in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Chicago.

 

Finally…

No, you can’t legally jam drivers’ cellphones, tempting though it may be. You — yes, you — can build your very own DIY ebike.

And Dustin Hoffman was one of us. On a foldie, no less.

https://twitter.com/marlonw/status/1559528883581358082

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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