Tag Archive for Metro

Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike

June 9, 2023 / / No comments

Anyone who has tried to walk or bike Alameda Street south of Union Station in DTLA knows it’s just this side of a traffic choked living hell.

As I found out the hard way recently.

Now Metro is presenting three options to make the street safer and more inviting for humans between 1st and Cesar Chavez, as part of plans for a new esplanade leading to the station.

The options range from closing or moving offramps and widening sidewalks, to converting Arcadia Street to a pedestrian walkway and capping the 101 Freeway to create a new park.

Let’s hope our officials have the courage and foresight to make the choice that will most dramatically remake Downtown Los Angeles.

They can use some of that money they have budgeted to flush down the toilet on freeway widening projects.

Map from Metro Alameda Mobility Project website.

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This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Finish The Ride, which began when Damian Kevitt invited the public to join him in finishing the Griffith Park ride that was interrupted by a hit-and-run driver, who has never been caught.

More than 2,000 “cyclists, runners, walkers, challenged athletes, veterans, first responders, civic and community leaders, and safe streets advocates from across Southern California” are expected to turn out to demand safer streets for everyone.

This year’s event has been divided into two parts, with Finish The Run on Saturday, and Finish The Ride on Sunday.

You’ll also have a chance to meet two highly qualified candidates to replace Adam Schiff in California’s 30th Congressional District, in Laura Friedman and Anthony Portantino.

I’ll let the folks at Finish The Ride take it from here.

Finish The Ride (www.FinishTheRide.org) was founded in the aftermath of a vicious hit-and-run crime in 2013 that saw cyclist Damian Kevitt lose his leg after being dragged under a car from the streets of Griffith Park onto and down Interstate 5 for nearly a quarter mile. A year later, Kevitt was accompanied by hundreds of cyclists, street safety advocates, and community leaders as part of a campaign to raise awareness of an epidemic of hit-and-run crimes in Los Angeles.

Last year participants in Finish The Ride and Finish The Run demanded that Griffith Park be made safer for the tens of thousands who use it weekly for recreation and exercise. As a result, only a couple of months later, a section of Griffith Park Drive was transformed from a road into a closed pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path, and 4 million dollars of funding was approved for additional safety renovations across the park.

According to a report by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), the City of Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities last year, most of them pedestrians, and tens of thousands more seriously injured. The primary factor in all these collisions was reckless speeding. SAFE has been involved in a massive state-wide campaign to educate about and advocate for the need to reign in reckless speeding to save lives. Part of this campaign has demanded that legislators pass AB 645, a pilot program that would allow the limited use of speed safety cameras in school zones and on the most dangerous roads in 6 cities across the state. Over 1800 have signed a petition to demand that legislators support AB 645. As a result of this campaign, AB 645 just passed the Assembly with overwhelming support (58 to 7).

This year’s Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event brings together people from all walks to continue the call to demand that roads be made safer and reckless speeding be addressed as the public health crisis that it is.

Finish The Ride and Finish The Run is now in its 10th year and will be held over two days – runners and walkers on Saturday and cyclists on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be the usual 5K/10K run/walk and half-marathon run. On Sunday will be the usual 15-mile, 25-mile, 35-mile, and 50 miles rides. New additions to this year’s event are the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council 1K Kids Run and a Puppy Run on Saturday and the Bahati Foundation Metric Century on Sunday.

Saturday, 10 June 2023 – Finish The Run

  • (1200 runners and walkers expected)
  • Time: 7:30 AM Griffith Park Half-Marathon starts
  • 8 AM Finish the Run Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Asm Laura Friedman
  • Councilmember Nithya Raman
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride/Finish The Run and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Cindi Enamorado, sister of Raymond Olivares, who lost his life in February 2023 at the hands of a driver engaged in street racing.

————

Sunday, 11 June 2023 – Finish The Ride

  • (800 cyclists expected)
  • Time: 7 AM Olympic Silver Medalist Nelson Nails leads the Bahati Foundation Metric Century and Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride
  • 8 AM Finish the Ride Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Senator Anthony Portantino
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Curtis Townsend Sr., who lost his wife, Trina Newman-Townsend, in a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2022.

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Seen on the street: A WGA writer bikes the strike.

Meanwhile, striking writers took part in a 27-mile “Bike Strike” protest ride from Radford Studio to Amazon, with stops at Warners and Disney, then over the hill Netflix, with a stop for lunch at Swingers.

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David Drexler shares video showing the full length of the new Mark Bixby bike/ped path on the International Gateway Bridge, taken on last month’s opening day.

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Gravel Bike California accepts the challenge of biking the Desert X biennial art installation across the “vast & sandy” Coachella Valley in a single day.

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A UC Davis bike rider is on the hunt for a hit-and-run e-cart driver.

And yes, it’s legally hit-and-run if you just cause someone to fall, even without making contact.

Need help finding a worker driving one of those mini electric vehicle who ran a stop sign/didn’t yield, causing me to fall off bike
by u/Cars_are_my_life in UCDavis

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

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

No bias here. A South Bay writer decries plans to build a bike path on Flagler Alley connecting Redondo Beach and Torrance, which was recently blocked by the latter city. And repeats the myth that the $1.8 million price tag would cost more than building a mile of freeway. Actually, the Federal Highway Administration says it costs $2.8 million for a single lane-mile of freeway on flat, rural terrain, and $62.4 million in urban environments.

Violent assaults from passing cars continue in Oakland, where a bike rider was smacked on the head by a car passenger; that comes just months after at least 14 East Bay bike riders were intentionally doored in February.

Ocean City, New Jersey tabled plans to ban ebikes from the city’s boardwalk, instead creating a committee to study the issue. If they’re anything like Los Angeles, having a committee study something means no one will ever hear about it again. 

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

When you’re carrying a loaded gun and meth on your bike, and already wanted on outstanding warrants, try not to end a police chase on your bike at a Redding cemetery.

A Minnesota man wanted on drug and gun charges tried to make his getaway from police on a stolen bicycle. And failed.

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Local 

The Transportation Committee of the Los Angeles City Council held its first post-pandemic community meeting at the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex in Baldwin Hills to discuss bicycling, bicycle safety and bike equity.

No surprise here, as LA Times readers are divided on the possibility of congestion pricing, with responses ranging from exuberant support to an “unambiguous ‘F— NO.'”

Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate program on July 1st, with rebates up to $1,000 for city residents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles hasn’t even discussed any program to get motor vehicles off the streets, with ebikes or otherwise.

A Santa Clarita woman explains how her love of bicycling led to a bike tour of Japan with her 13-year old daughter.

 

State

LA County Mobility PAC Streets For All celebrates their wins in the state legislature, where all of the bills they sponsored are still alive at the halfway point. 

Laguna Beach is requiring students to complete an ebike safety course in exchange for a permit to park their bike on campus. Which is a great way to discourage bike commuting, and force people without permits back into cars.

She gets it. A San Jose writer says automated speed cams could save lives.

 

National

Treehugger says it’s time for government officials to stop ignoring ebikes, as a new report on EVs barely acknowledges their existence.

The New Mexico-based, federally funded Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety is using AI in an effort to combat rising traffic fatalities.

Colorado officially announced their new program to provide ebike rebates for residents earning less than 80% to 100% of their county’s median income. Just the latest city, state or province to provide ebike rebates before California’s vastly underfunded, fomerly-first-in-the-nation program gets off the ground — which should finally happen soon.

A suicidal teenager credits the kindness of Oklahoma strangers with saving his life after he set out of Chicago on a bicycle he pulled out of the trash.

Huh? A Columbus, Ohio TV station says many people are priced out of bicycling by the high cost of bikes, even while mentioning a nonprofit shop that sells refurbished bikes for around a hundred bucks. Seriously, cost should never be a barrier to bicycling, when there are countless options for low cost bikes. Or even free ones like the one above.

An Indiana woman learns the hard way that sometimes that bump in the road is a bike rider, not a pothole.

After watching a man walk past their station on his way to work for nearly two years, kindhearted cops in an Ohio city gave him a new bicycles.

Good idea. A new Pittsburgh proposal would provide automatic bikeshare memberships to all city employees.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss returns to bike commuting in the Big Apple after 14 years, and notices just a few changes.

Raleigh, North Carolina will offer residents 150 ebike vouchers ranging from $500 to $1,500 in exchange for sharing data on their usage.

A New Orleans website considers clothing options for the clothing optional World Naked Bike Ride, including the classic Crown Royal bag to carry your, uh, marbles. Personally, I don’t care what you wear, as long as you cover the seat on any borrowed, rented or bikeshare bikes.

 

International

Sad news from Antigua, where a 35-year old man has passed away in a Houston hospital, 13 months after he was run down by a driver, along with three other bicyclists.

A free website tells you whether it’s safe to walk, bike or run in the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. A far simpler rule of thumb is if you can smell smoke, stay home. Your lungs and sinuses will thank you.

No surprise here, as a Vancouver bike rider claims the removal of a popular bike lane in the city’s Stanley Park has resulted in harassment and speeding drivers.

A London writer argues that bike theft has been effectively decriminalized in the city.

Police in Northern Ireland are taking to the road on unmarked bicycles to enforce laws against unsafe passing. The LAPD has repeatedly been urged to do the same thing, but have refused over fears of being accused of entrapment. 

Over half of the people killed in collisions in Finnish cities were walking or riding a bike.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website looks at what bicycling means to people around the world. Including those in the exotic land called USA. 

 

Competitive Cycling

America’s last remaining Tour de France winner is feeling better after turning the corner in his battle with leukemia, which he traces to the shotgun blast that nearly killed him after winning his first Tour.

Bicycling says the Tour de France will require cycling teams to mask up and remain in a team bubble to avoid spreading Covid, unlike the recent Giro. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Speaking of Bicycling, they say you can watch the Tour and the eight-stage Tour de France Femmes with a subscription to Peacock. Read it on AOL of the magazine blocks you. 

Outside says Netflix’ new series Tour de France: Unchained will turn you into a cycling fan. Unless you already are, of course.

A writer for Cycling Weekly rode the 351-mile Unbound XL gravel race, so you won’t have to. And writes about how her gear stood up to the test.

Scottish endurance cyclist Christina Mackenzie has qualified for a spot in the world road cycling championships, nine months after she was seriously injured and left for dead by a hit-and-run driver.

 

Finally…

Why drive to see Queen Bey when you can ride your bike? Your next bike could be made from recycled Nespesso capsules.

And seriously, many drivers are happy to do it for free.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Welcome to Bike Week LA, Tour de Palm Springs jury deliberating, and longtime LA County official Gloria Molina dies

May 15, 2023 / / 2 comments

If it ain’t one thing, it’s another. 

Just when I got my doctor to get more aggressive in treating my diabetes, something else came up to knock me on my ass. 

Wednesday night I went out to walk the dog, and by the time I got back, I was feeling the full effects of what was apparently a sudden-onset stomach virus, or maybe an adverse reaction to a new med. 

We’ll find that part out when I take it again on Tuesday. 

I’m not saying I was sick. But I lost a full eight pounds literally overnight, and was completely out of it until late Friday. 

So my apologies once again for yet another unexcused absence — something I’ve written so many times that my laptop is now autosuggesting the phrase for me. 

Honestly, I do my best to be here for you every morning. But after a lifetime of pushing my body to respond to ever-increasing demands, on and off the bike, it’s now saying “fuck you” on an ever more frequent basis.

Which is about the best way I can describe diabetes and all its multitude of complications. 

Seriously, you don’t want this shit. 

So if you’re at risk, whether from weight, family history or any other factor, get yourself tested. 

No, now. 

And do whatever it takes to turn your health around so you don’t get it. 

Now I’ll get off my damn soapbox and catch up with the news, because we have a lot to catch up on. 

Photo by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay.

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Welcome to Bike Week, the one week of the year when elected officials, government bureaucrats and the news media join in one voice to celebrate all things bikes.

As opposed to the other 51 weeks of the year, when they either ignore us, or actively try to kill us.

Santa Clarita is conducting their annual Bike to Work Challenge this week, encouraging business employees to commute by bike for the full week.

Long Beach is hosting the return of its “beloved” Beach Streets Open Streets event to the downtown area on Saturday.

Metro has unveiled their new line of bikewear and accessories. If anyone has me on their Christmas in July Secret Santa list, I’ll take the Every Lane Is A Bike Lane backpack, thank you. 

Other Metro highlights for Bike Week include —

  • May 18 is Bike to Work Day and we’re offering free 30 minute rides all day long. Simply choose 1-Ride in the app, online or at a kiosk and use code 051823. Metro Bus and Rail are also free- no tapping required. Code can be used multiple times throughout the day. Usage fees apply over 30 minutes.
  • There are two opportunities to join us on your commute. The first 10 Metro Bike Share Passholders at each event will receive a limited-edition mug! May 18 – North Hollywood Station, 8 -11 am and May 19 – Downtown Santa Monica Station, 8-11 am.
  • May 18 and 19, the 365-Day Pass is just $75. That’s a 50% savings! To purchase, select 365-Day Pass in the app or online and enter code BIKETOWORK23.Offer valid for first time 365-Day Passholders, 5/18/23 – 5/19/23 only. Code valid for Full Fare and Reduced Fare Passes.
  • May 21– CicLAmini Watts, presented by Metro will be a more pedestrian-oriented event than the typical CicLAvia, but sure to be just as special. Metro Bikes will be available to check out on a first come, first served basis from 9am-2pm. If you wish to check out a bike, get prepared by downloading the app. See you there!

Meanwhile, Glendale is jumping the gun by hosting their Bike to Work Day a day earlier on Wednesday. Go Glendale and Walk Bike Glendale will host a pitstop at 800 N Brand from 8 am to 10 am on Wednesday, with another pit stop hosted by the City of Glendale at the Glendale City Hall from 8 am to 10 am, .

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Jury deliberations are set to resume today in the trial of Ronnie Ramon Huerta Jr. for killing Washington resident Mark Kristofferson, and severely injuring Huntington Beach resident Alyson Lee Akers, in an alleged high-speed DUI crash in the 2018 Tour de Palm Springs.

Huerta was allegedly high on weed and driving without a license when he ran down Kristofferson at speeds up to 100 mph; he was arrested after being detained by witnesses in a nearby field as he attempted to run away on foot.

The jury halted their work Friday evening after two days of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Huerta is charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence of drugs resulting in great bodily injury, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

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Sad news this morning, as groundbreaking populist LA political lead Gloria Molina has passed away at age 74, following a three-year battle with cancer.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Molina was California’s first Latina Assembly member, the first Latina to serve on the LA City Council, and the first Latina on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

I honestly can’t tell you what Molina’s record on bikes was.

But she spent her entire career fighting for undeserved communities, particularly on the East Side of Los Angeles.

And that’s good enough for me.

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Streets For All is hosting a volunteer meet-up and bike ride tomorrow at Union Station night.

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This has got to be me from a prior life. Unless maybe it’s you.

But it’s got to be one of us, right?

………

Okay, I’m moving there.

But where is Ghent, anyway? Oh, who cares, I’m going.

https://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1657261388878970885

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Remarkable — and questionable — story, as a specially abled Indian man claims to have ridden 2,300 miles in just four and a half days, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Questionable because that works out to 511 miles a day, or 21 miles an hour, every hour for 108 hours — without rest stops.

Stopping to rest or sleep would push that hourly figure even higher. Even just six hours of daily rest time would require averaging 28 mph for the other 18 hours straight, which seems unlikely.

But maybe some randonneurs out there can tell us how likely it really is.

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

No surprise here, as bike groups join with Democrats to call on Utah Senator Mitt Romney to rethink his comments calling bike lanes “the height of stupidity.” Actually, a lot of them are, but not for the reasons he thinks.

Road.cc deconstructs the so-called war on motorists, concluding it’s nothing more than encouraging people to drive less and consider alternative forms of transportation — despite the ongoing backlash.

A British Member of Parliament dismissed bicyclists’ concerns over new regulations allowing longer trucks on the country’s roads, bizarrely suggesting that they were “good for road safety.”

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

Demonstrating that some people just don’t get it, a Lycra-clad English bike rider stopped several cops who were targeting speeding drivers, asking if they didn’t have anything better to do. He should have thanked them for trying to save his life, and everyone else on the roadway, instead. 

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Local 

Yes, please. The LA City Council is considering a proposal to turn some peak-hour traffic lanes into bus lanes, which could also be used by people on bicycles; they’ve instructed LADOT to report back on converting lanes on Alvarado Street, Vermont Blvd, and La Brea and Roscoe avenues.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton say nice try LADOT, but the new plans to curb illegal street racing in Angelino Heights by Fast & Furious fans doesn’t go nearly far enough, as the city’s first round of changes are nearly complete.

Pasadena is nearing completion of the Union Street protected bikeway project, with a two-way bike lane on Union from Hill Ave to Arroyo Parkway, and a bike boulevard on Holliston Ave between Union and Cordova streets.

Writing on her Good Mom, Bad Mom blog, Redondo Beach resident Dr. Grace Peng urges you to respond to the Metro Active Transportation Corridor survey about remaking Redondo Beach Blvd, and offers a local’s perspective on how to answer those questions to help turn the current car sewer into something that safely serves all of us.

Kourtney Kardashian is one of us, as the British tabloids freak out when she rode a bike with her shirtless, shoeless and helmet-less eight-year old son standing on the rear wheel pegs.

 

State

Calbike is calling on California to boost its relatively meager $10 million funding for ebike tax credits to a more reasonable $50 million; California’s current funding is $2 million less than Colorado’s new ebike rebate program, despite having almost seven times the population.

Calbike also offers a tutorial intended to demystify California’s arcane budget process.

Patch considers six California bike laws you probably don’t know. All of which you probably do know, although some drivers may not. Okay, a lot of drivers.

Streets For All says state Assemblymember Chris Holden holds the key committee vote on legislation to approve speed cams, and study the impact of vehicle weight fees on pedestrians deaths; the group urges you to contact his office to urge their passage, even if you don’t live in his district.

A 47-year old San Diego man was rushed into surgery for a broken wrist and other non-life-threatening injuries suffered when he allegedly rear-ended a car stopped at a red light while riding an ebike at a high rate of speed.

That’s more like it. Bike riders in San Mateo County can now use a website to report violations of the state’s three-foot passing law online.

He gets it. A Palo Alto op-ed writer says safer streets, rail crossings and bike paths are key to a better community.

A San Francisco bike shop is shutting down, saying it’s a victim of repeated thefts and break-ins, a slow economy and a seemingly unending series of storms that kept customers away.

Megan Lynch forwards news that UC Davis is getting a new bike counter, after a reckless driver killed the last one.

 

National

Cycling Savvy offers advice on the highly underrated skill of looking back to check traffic or riders behind you while maintaining your line.

Seventy-four-year old Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer has been pushing for bike legislation for nearly 30 years, as advocates gathered for a Friday bike ride through DC to call for more money and safer streets.

She gets it. An Albuquerque columnist suggests New Mexico should adopt a statewide Vision Zero program, comparing their more than 150 traffic deaths last year to Jersey City, New Jersey’s zero.

Denver residents enjoyed the city’s first Viva Streets open streets event, closing 3.5 miles of downtown streets to cars while opening them up for people.

It’s now been three years since a Colorado woman vanished with a trace on a Mother’s Day bike ride; Suzanne Morphew’s husband was arrested in her disappearance nearly a year after searchers found her helmet and mountain bike, but charges were dropped in a pre-trial hearing because her body still hasn’t been found.

Lincoln, Nebraska’s chief deputy swears he only looked down for a moment to switch the radio station when he ran down a nine-year old girl riding her bike, leaving her with multiple skull fractures, a brain bleed, fractured shoulder, injured knee and road rash. Any bets on how long it will take them to blame the victim?

Ten years and 180 million rides later, New York officials look back at the improbable success of the city’s bikeshare system.

President Joe Biden continues to be one of us, talking to the press about the calmer-than-expected US-Mexico border during a bike ride through Delaware’s Gordons Pond State Park.

 

International

Residents of North Montreal rallied to demand more bikeways after living with just one protected bike lane for the last 40 years, as the city backed out of a promise to build four bike paths in the neighborhood this year, instead committing to just three.

A Montreal bike shop has kept it in the family since 1948.

He gets it, too. A Toronto columnist calls for residents who use food delivery services to fight to keep bike lanes, saying they should be concerned for the safety for the bike couriers who deliver their food.

Heartbreaking news from the UK, where a 56-year old English man died of a heart attack while riding his bike, just an hour after snapping a smiling selfie. Although someone should tell the Daily Record that seemingly healthy people sometimes suffer from undetected health problems, which is why everyone who rides a bike should see a doctor on a regular basis. Then again, so should everyone else. 

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 43-year old former soccer player got just two years and four months behind bars for the horrifying, drunken hit-and-run that left a bike-riding woman in her 70s with life-changing injuries; he was four times the legal limit when he knocked her off her bike, then slowly drove over her with all four wheels. There’s video of the crash, but consider whether you really want to watch it, because you can’t unsee it if you do.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, will have some penance to do after he was fined the equivalent of $625 for driving 25 mph in a 20 mph zone.

A Dublin, Ireland city official warns of inevitable conflicts between bike riders, pedestrians and e-scooter users in the city parks — despite just eleven such incidents in the last eight years.

The European Cyclists’ Federation name Helsingborg, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; and both Essen and Heidelberg, Germany best in class cities at this year’s Velo-city conference.

In a study that should put questions about the health benefits of ebikes to rest, German researchers find that regularly riding an ebike can cut the risk of a heart attack by 40%.

The Malta Times calls for putting the brakes on road anarchy in the island nation, saying traffic enforcement has moved from essential to critical.

 

Competitive Cycling

Big plot twist in the Giro, where race leader Remco Evenepoel was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid, just after regaining the pink leader’s jersey with a victory in the time trial.

 

Finally…

Your Peloton bike could go somewhere after all, after 2 million of the stationary bikes were recalled. Never bring a knife to a bike theft gunfight.

And what do you call a marching band that rides bikes, instead?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

La Brea Ave bus/bike lanes on hold, new bill would mandate bikeways next to light rail, and more proof speed cams work

December 22, 2022 / / One comment

Just three days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Seventy-two short hours to open your heart and wallet to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite screen every morning. 

The week before Christmas is always one of my most challenging times of year, as preparations for the holiday collide with the pressures of preparing the next day’s post every night. Add to that my wife’s insistence on cleaning every inch of our apartment before guests arrive for Christmas, while dealing with the effects of my varied and sundry health issues — all of which seem to spring from my diabetes in one way or another. 

Never mind coping with the inevitable tragedies made exponentially more tragic by the time of year. 

I always point to the coming holiday, if only for the opportunity it presents for a well-deserved collapse before we return after the first of the year.

But it’s your support that gets me there, lifting my spirits when I need it the most. Whether in the form of the donations that demonstrate appreciation for the work we do here, or the kind words that so often accompany them. 

So let’s thank Brandon H and Kirsten B for coming through late yesterday when it looked like no one would. And everyone else who has given from their hearts to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Thank you, sincerely, from my heart to yours. 

If you have donated yet, take a moment to give right now via PayPal or Zelle. Every contribution, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated.

And needed.

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Metro put the installation of new bus lanes on La Brea Blvd on hold for the holidays; the work, which was supposed to begin last week, will now begin sometime after the first of the year.

Bicyclists are allowed to use bus lanes in Los Angeles County, as long as you don’t mind having a multi-ton vehicle run up your ass while you ride. Although the bus lanes are usually enforced only during rush hour, and open to cars and/or parking at other times.

However, some other areas interpret the law differently, and may ban bikes from bus lanes some or all of the time, so be sure to read the signs wherever you ride.

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A new Congressional light rail bill introduced in the House would mandate bikeways along most light rail lines, along with bikeshare and secure bike parking.

Although the current political divide make the chance of actual passage minimal, at best.

Thanks to Akber Khan for the heads-up.

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No surprise here, as New York demonstrates once again that speed cams are effective in reducing speeding by drivers.

And even more effective when they’re enforced 24/7.

Unfortunately, automated speed cams are currently illegal under California law; attempts to change that have gone nowhere in the legislature in recent years.

Because apparently, it’s just not fair to punish drivers for dangerously breaking the law.

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Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, is also raising funds this holiday season; the organization helped lead the successful fight to close roads in LA’s Griffith Park in the wake of recent bicycling deaths.

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‘Tis the season.

More than 40 Texas kids got new bikes, courtesy of a College Station civic group.

A 77-year old North Carolina woman is gearing up for her last bike giveaway, with at least 1,000 bikes ready for local kids, nine years after she took over for her late husband.

A Georgia group has cleaned, repaired and donated over 400 bicycles for local kids.

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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 writer of a car website travels the byways of the Boston area looking for bike riders on the legally mandated bike lanes, and is shocked when he fails to see many at the exact time and place when he happens to drive by. Never mind the disconnect that he was forced to use byroads because the highways were choked with rush hour traffic.

No bias here, either. A Nova Scotia letter writer trots out the standard bromide “We are not Amsterdam or Copenhagen” to argue against bike lanes, which they insist are never used. But without building more bike lanes, it never will be, either.

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

Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts are looking for a road raging bicyclist who circled back and deliberately rammed a woman who asked him to watch where he was going as she was crossing the street. The suspect was described as a man in his 50s, who certainly should have known better at his age.

………

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Local 

A British writer samples bikeshare systems in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and finds the City of Angels not at all to his liking, though he does have nice things to say about Metro Bike. Which is okay. Not everyone has to like LA just because we call it home. Although there’s a large enough British expat community here to show his complaints aren’t universally shared. 

Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman digs in on LA Councilmember Kevin de León and his refusal to do the right thing and just resign, already.

 

State

Appropriately for the season, construction is ongoing on the Santa Claus Lane bike path, which will connect bike lanes in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria when its completed next year.

Bay Area bike riders will be able to ride from Berkeley to San Francisco by 2030, when a dedicated bike and pedestrian trail is expected to open on the Bay Bridge.

A 65-year old Sacramento bike rider was lucky to survive when he became collateral damage in a police chase, after the driver of a stolen car bailed from the vehicle and it rolled over the man, trapping him underneath; he was freed when police lifted the car off him with the help of bystanders.

 

National

A new study shows bicycling injuries have decreased over the last ten years, even as ridership — and deaths — have gone up. As usual, read the story on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

Wired reviews the new book Cyclettes by Tree Abraham, which recaps her “delicately composed biographical vignettes” through the lens of bicycling.

New Seattle DOT Director Greg Spotts went on a walking tour with members of a local transportation advocacy group; Spotts led LA’s Bureau of Street Services before he left to take the Seattle post.

Tragic news from Arizona, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a Tucson ambulance driver; no word on whether the ambulance was on an emergency call or using red lights and siren. Then again, there’s also no mention at all that the ambulance even had a driver, although I think we can safely assume it. 

A Pueblo, Colorado teenager received a new bike just one day after his was stolen, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign and a partnership between the police and a local Walmart.

Chicago gave away 500 bicycles to local residents in the first year of a new program to increase affordable, climate-friendly mobility options; the city plans to give away a total of 5,000 bikes over the next five years.

Three Brooklyn council members demand that ebikes be allowed to return to Prospect Park; ebikes are banned from New York parks, even though they are legal on the streets outside them. Oddly, cars aren’t banned from most of the parks where ebikes are, even though one does much more harm than the other.

Advocates are holding back on their approval for New York’s planned human-scale redesign of iconic 5th Avenue, saying they’ve heard the promises before.  Sort of like Los Angeles bike riders and pedestrians, who long ago stopped chasing after the latest shiny object elected officials dangled in front of us, without following through.

Maryland officials announced no criminal charges will be filed against the truck driver who killed US diplomat Sarah Langenkamp as she rode her bike last August, despite three traffic citations and a lawsuit filed by her husband alleging negligence by the driver, and the company he worked for. Just in case you were wondering why people keep dying on our streets.

An admitted serial killer was sentenced to life in prison after confessing to killing a Florida woman, who disappeared while riding her bike home from work in 1991.

 

International

Kindhearted members of a British Columbia coffee ride dug into their own pockets to buy a new bike for an eight-year old girl, after noting her bike was too small for her, and being impressed that she was riding her bike in conditions they wouldn’t even brave.

A rider for Tom’s Guide rode a Brompton ebike foldie for a month, and liked it. Even if the bike was a tad heavy.

A new study from the UK shows contraflow bike lanes don’t increase crash rates, regardless of the direction of travel, and should be considered on all one-way streets to extend bicycling networks.

Two British men pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of a teenager who tried to stop them from stealing a bike; a third man, the stepfather of one of the men, was acquitted on the same charges.

 

Competitive Cycling

Florence, Italy will host the first three stages of the 2024 Tour de France.

 

Finally…

Your periodic reminder that bike seats are best used for sitting on while riding a bike, not wielding as a weapon. If you have an outstanding felony warrant, maybe don’t ride salmon.

And more proof you can carry anything on a bike.

couch and spare bike moving service from bikecommuting

 

………

Happy Chanukah to everyone celebrating today.

Chag Urim Sameach!

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

New Central LA bike lanes and proposals for CD1, Move Culver City bike use jumps 1/3, and Metro urged to junk new fares

November 3, 2022 / / One comment

Fun thing about diabetes. 

High blood sugar makes you sleep. But so does low blood sugar. 

And cycling between the two, like I did Tuesday, can knock you out for hours, regardless of whether you’re trying to write something. 

Which is why you didn’t see anything here yesterday. 

But we’ll more than make up for it today.

………

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers a long list of actionable transportation ideas for incoming CD1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, including busways, bike lanes and pedestrian improvements.

Hernandez leadership promises a sea change in the district, where the councilmember she defeated, “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo, earned his sobriquet by blocking virtually every major safety improvement and bike lane in the district, including deadly North Figueroa.

Meanwhile, Linton also offers updates on a handful of new bike lanes in Central Los Angeles, including:

  • Sixth Street Bridge connection in Skid Row and the Arts District
  • Ramirez Street/Center Street/Santa Fe Ave in the Arts District
  • Avenue 19 in Lincoln Heights

He also points out the missed opportunity on North Spring Street in Chinatown, where the street, which is scheduled for a bike lane in the city’s mobility plan, was recently resurfaced.

Sans bike lane, of course.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1587664862607380481

As Linton points out, this is exactly why we need the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal, which is scheduled for a public vote in 2024.

The proposal would force the city to build out the mobility plan whenever a section of street contained in the plan is resurfaced.

Meanwhile, the city’s alternative proposal, which is based on Healthy Streets but likely to lack the enforcement mechanism of the ballot measure, is due back for a vote of the city council in the next few weeks.

………

Culver City has crunched the numbers on the 1.3-mile Move Culver City complete streets project along Culver and Washington Blvds.

And the results have been impressive, to say the least.

  • 52% jump in bus ridership
  • 32% increase in bicycling
  • 18% climb in walking
  • Nearly double (92%) micromobility trips

Maybe that will encourage Los Angeles to give it a try.

We can hope, right?

………

Metro’s Community Advisory Council urges the Metro board to reject the proposal to “simplify” the fare structure, which is really just a massive rate increase for many, if not most, transit users.

Never mind that it’s the opposite of the fare-free transit they promised to study.

………

Whittier Blvd’s Esquina Bicycle Shop is hosting a vigil ride for fallen bicyclist Sergio Cordova tonight.

Cordova was killed in a collision at the west entrance to the new 6th Street Bridge last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Cordova’s funeral expenses has raised over $9,500 of the revised $15,000 goal. 

Thanks to Susannah L for the heads-up.

………

The LACBC looks forward to Saturday’s Bike Fest, which has replaced the River Ride as the bike nonprofit’s largest fundraiser.

………

Did someone say handcycling?

………

Streets For All will host another virtual happy hour on Wednesday, featuring Glendale Councilmember Ara Najarian.

………

Apparently, robots are no more likely to stop after a crash than human drivers are.

………

Why settle for a mere bicycle, when you could have had an early velomobile prototype?

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1587547311122653187

………

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

No bias here. An Arizona letter writer suggests charging anyone over 16 a $150 annual fee to register a bicycle, with a licensing fee for the rider that oddly declines with age. Because licensing and vehicle registration has worked so well to keep motorists in line, evidently.

No bias here, either. One in three Brits wants bikes banned entirely from public roads, while seven in ten think bike riders would be required to carry liability insurance. Apparently because it costs so much to hose our blood off their hoods.

An English man suffered a broken jaw when someone ran up from behind and knocked him off his bicycle. Although in this case, the attack may have had more to do with the fancy dress he was wearing.

A UK TV show promises to explore road rage directed at people on bikes, but looks at the dangers bike riders face on the road, instead, with a hint of anti-bike bias thrown in.

And especially no bias here, where an Estonian city councillor says he was forced to crash his car into a “verbally and physically aggressive” bike rider in self-defense. Twice.

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

An Illinois man faces charges for fleeing from police while armed with a flare gun modified to fire shotgun shells.

In a bizarre case, police report a New York man was fatally shot in a driveby while riding his bike on the way to shoot someone else.

A North Carolina bike rider is facing charges after attacking three men with a machete, for no apparent reason.

………

Local

Metro will host a virtual community meeting one week from today to discuss the first bus-only lane in the San Fernando Valley, on Sepulveda Blvd.

Glendale approves plans for a lane reduction and bike lanes on La Crescenta Ave, between Montrose Ave and Verdugo Road.

A Santa Monica Redditor asks if there’s an increase in the frequency of “needlessly loud” motor vehicles. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, hell yes. Then again, I live in Hollywood, so my perception may be a tad skewed. Thanks to How The West WS for the link. 

Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle used to be one of us, racing his bicycle towards the sound of gunfire as he worked to reduce gang violence.

 

State 

San Diego is paying out a total of $420,000 to two women who were seriously injured in separate incidents when their ebikes hit the city’s broken pavement.

A San Francisco salmon cyclist questions why the insurance company for the distracted driver who hit her won’t pay for her injuries or damaged bike; a local paper patiently explains the concept of comparative negligence, and says, in effect, get a lawyer.

A new $2.4 million clean air grant could lead to hundreds of new San Francisco EV charging stations, as well as a fleet of ebike for food delivery workers.

Completing our San Francisco trifecta, a local website presents opposing op-ed urging voters to save both the carfree JFK Drive and Great Highway, and arguing that closing them to motor vehicles was a big mistake.

 

National

Surly’s latest cargo bike goes electric.

At last, an e-foldie for everyone with fond memories of their little red wagon.

A new report looks at the ten US cities where bike commuting is growing the fastest. Hint: LA ain’t one of ’em.

A crowdfunding campaign is raising money to publish a new book on Jobst Brandt, author of The Bicycle Wheel and inventor of the bike computer and slick bike tires.

A 68-year old Utah driver was formally charged with ignoring a highway flagman and slamming her car into a pair of competitors in the cycling portion of an Ironman triathlon — yet somehow wasn’t charged with DUI, despite admitting getting stoned earlier.

Billings, Montana is looking for an artist in residence to beautify a local bike path. Although if you have hire someone to beautify it, you probably made it too ugly to begin with.

After a San Antonio, Texas man stole a bike from Target by threatening to use pepper spay on an employee who tried to stop him, he waited nearly six weeks before turning himself in, for reasons only he knows.

A Wisconsin student paper examines why Madison consistently ranks among the nation’s most bikeable cities, where it has comfortably resided for decades.

After a Kentucky Walmart worker had his bike stolen, kindhearted customers not only gave him a ride to work, but went into the store and bought him a new one.

A new lawsuit blames an Atlantic City cop for killing a 63-year old bike rider by cutting him off while driving without lights or siren.

Three years after a highly contentious lane reduction in Alexandria, Virginia, a new report shows it’s led to less traffic while cutting crashes nearly in half.

A 17-year old Virginia driver faces charges for fleeing the scene after a street racing crash that left a bike-riding man with multiple broken bones.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a deadly driver on the streets until it’s too late. A Virginia man struck and killed a man riding his bike across the street, 11 years after he was arrested for his third DUI for killing a bike-riding woman. But at least he was apparently sober this time.

 

International

Road.cc recommends the year’s best front and rear bike lights.

The new Swytch ebike conversion kit features a pocket-sized battery that promises a nine-mile boost.

Who needs carbon fiber when you can lower your carbon footprint through F1-inspired BioFiber.

Bike Radar offers advice on how to keep bicycling from being a pain in the foot.

Treehugger talks with Toronto’s bike mayor, concluding every city needs one. Which is a reminder than LA still doesn’t have a bike mayor. 

Montreal announced plans for 124 miles of new bike lanes and ten bike highways, to accommodate a 20% increase in ridership.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a gas truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a 22-year old woman riding her bike, despite admitting to carless driving and covering the truck’s side camera with his coat.

 

Competitive Cycling

A California teenager just months out of high school spurns an opportunity to sign with a Spanish development team, and decides he’d rather race on gravel, instead.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be “almost as ridiculous as the truck that inspired it.” That feeling when 29″ wheels just aren’t big enough.

And now, you can take your last trip by bike, too.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Metro simplifies — and jacks up — fares, Pasadena unveils bike action plan update, and Halloween rides roll on Friday

October 26, 2022 / / 3 comments

Let’s start with a little non-bike news, although it could affect anyone with a multimodal commute.

Metro is hosting a virtual public hearing on November 14th to get community input on a proposed rate change to “simplify” transit rates.

Although it looks more like a rate increase from here.

The LA County transportation authority promises to eliminate daily, weekly and monthly passes, as well as transfers, replacing them with stored-value cards and fare caps.

Under the proposal, Metro’s basic fare will increase from the current $1.75 to $2, with a daily max of $6, and a weekly cap of $20.

While that will benefit people who make multiple trips in a single day, or over 12 trips each week, it will nearly double the cost for a typical two-way commute with a transfer in each direction, from the current $3.50 roundtrip fare to $6.

Which is exactly how I use Metro in most cases.

A single roundtrip with no transfers will increase slightly, from $3.50 to $4. Meanwhile, weekly costs will jump from the current $12.50 for a weekly pass to a max of $20, while the current $50 monthly pass will be replaced with a max of $80 for four weeks.

That doesn’t exactly sound like a good deal to me, but your mileage may vary.

And it’s definitely not the no-fare transit system Metro promised to study and report back on.

………

ActiveSGV shares the update to Pasadena’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan we discussed yesterday, which was rolled out at last night’s Municipal Services Committee meeting.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1585063774792601601

………

It looks like an early kickoff to Halloween weekend, with a pair of spooky rides set to roll this Friday.

First up is ActiveSGV’s Halloween-themed ebike tour of Pasadena.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1584968380817473536

Meanwhile, the monthly LA Critical Mass rolls just an hour later for their annual Halloween ride.

https://twitter.com/LACriticalMass/status/1585002814618890240

………

Now that’s more like it.

………

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

No bias here. A San Diego TV station insists a bike counter on a North Park bike lane is double-counting some bike riders, even though the city insists it’s been double-checked for accuracy while explaining that ridership naturally decreases in the fall when weather cools and school is back in session.

No bias here, either. In a story hidden behind a paywall, the Bay Area’s East Bay Times reports that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge exacerbates pollution and congestion, directly contradicting a new study showing protected bike lanes have the opposite effect.

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

Police throw the book at an Ohio man, who was arrested for obstructing official business, failure to disclose personal information and lack of bicycle signal devices after refusing to give his name when cops stopped him for riding without lights on his bike.

There’s a special place in hell for the New York man who rode his bicycle up to an 18-year old Hasidic man and punched the Jewish teen in the back of the head without warning.

………

Local

Jennifer Hudson is one of us, riding her bicycle on the Warner Brothers lot, as the EGOT-winning actress, singer and talks how host is named Glamour’s Woman of the Year.

Long Beach is looking for volunteers for the city’s annual two-day bike count, scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday.

Los Angeles and Orange Counties are slated to share $295 million dollars in new state active transportation funding, including projects on Western Ave in South LA, Osbourne Street in Pacoima, and the LA River Greenway in the East San Fernando Valley.

 

State 

A Goleta incumbent says he hasn’t decided about plans for a lane reduction and bike lanes on the city’s Hollister Ave, while his challenger for a seat on the city council is strongly in favor of it, as well as expanding bike and pedestrian access throughout the city.

Tragic news from Kern County, where a 14-year old Tehachapi boy was killed as he was riding his bike on the sidewalk when a pickup driver failed to see him while exiting a driveway; a crowdfunding page has raised over $14,000 of the $20,000 goal to help pay his funeral expenses.

A San Francisco district supervisor was criticized for rolling back the area’s Slow Streets program after one senior citizen was killed and another injured by a speeding driver as they walked in the Sunset District.

 

National

A new four-part documentary series looks back to a ragtag cross-country bike ride, when a group of inexperienced teenagers set out to ride across the US on whatever bikes they could get their hands on.

US Transportation Secretary Pete says Elon Musk’s Hyperloop idea sounds “super interesting,” but Musk can pay for the damn thing himself. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

Flying Magazine recommends taking your bike with you if you’re flying your private plane into an airport near a rail trail, especially if you own a foldie.

Bellingham, Washington is removing parking spaces and installing bike lanes in a cynical effort to run off homeless people living in their vehicles.

Denver pauses its popular ebike rebate program for the remainder of the year, after burning through three years worth of the vouchers in the first six months.

After a Kansas City bike mechanic was injured in a hit-and-run, a crowdfunding campaign raised over $20,000 in just 24 hours to help him get back on his feet, easily topping the low $5,000 goal.

A weekly Houston Pride Ride returned to the streets for the first time since a 45-year-old father was killed by a hit-and-run driver after falling into the street two weeks ago.

A Boston TV station rushes to the aid of a woman who was charged for failing to return a bikeshare bike that wouldn’t register when she tried to dock it.

New York residents are taking out their anger over losing parking spaces for a new Forest Hills protected bike lane by blaming the K-rail dividers.

A 35-year old Florida woman was arrested on charges of hit-and-run causing death and tampering with physical evidence, four months after she allegedly crashed into the 56-year old victim as he was riding his bike home, knocking him off a bridge and into a river.

 

International

Road.cc looks at a handful of new products, including what they say may be the year’s best looking bike helmet, while Bike Biz offers a guide to the latest new bikes and accessories.

Audi claims their new vehicle-to-vehicle system is the secret to improving safety for people on bicycles — even if their massive SUVs are designed to kill anyone outside of a vehicle.

Horrible news from Wales, where a man claiming to be the area’s “the most accomplished car thief” faces an attempted murder charge for deliberately running down a man riding a bicycle, leaving the victim paralyzed from the waste down, in what appears to have started as some sort of grievance between the two,

A new funky looking Dutch ebike claims to be the world’s safest.

 

Competitive Cycling

Gear Junkie offers a brief tutorial on breakaways, pace lines and how to draft.

 

Finally…

A college writer suggests “No Bike Wednesdays” to give campus bike thieves a day off. Who says you can’t do a backflip on a cargo bike?

And that feeling when the city’s brilliant solution to a tree root breaking through a bike lane is…spray paint.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Flawed Metro bike map & bikeshare changes, parking reform house party, and odd non-endorsement of Newsom foe

October 19, 2022 / / One comment

We should be so past this crap by now.

A couple stories popped up this week that expose the sort of needless problems that shouldn’t even exist after decades of advocacy.

Not to mention Metro’s repeated lip service to supporting active transportation.

First up, Streets For All sent out a notice about proposed changes to the Metro Bike bikeshare program. Changes that have virtually everyone scratching their heads, trying to figure out what the hell it all means.

Here’s what Streets For All had to say on the subject.

THIS THURSDAY, Metro’s Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee has an item on its agenda to consider a staff recommendation to mostly privatize Metro Bike Share.

While we’re not against this in principle, the fact is that Metro has treated its own bike share program as the odd man out, and not like a real transportation mode.

Regardless of which model the bike share program ultimately becomes, the next phase must include:

  1. A major expansion, based on equity, starting in our most underinvested neighborhoods
  2. The ability to put bike share stations at Metro train and bus stations (right now, Metro’s employee union blocks this)
  3. Treating bike share like a real transportation mode part of Metro’s bus/rail system, not an afterthought. This means real funding and integration into the rest of the system.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

CALL INTO METRO’S COMMITTEE MEETING THURDAY AT 12:30PM

EMAIL THE COMMITTEE IN ADVANCE

The second issue came up when Metro released the interactive map we linked to yesterday showing the agency’s Draft Prioritized Active Transportation Network, which purports to show bikeways, pedestrian districts and first-last-mile station improvements prioritized by the agency.

The problem is, they can’t even get the existing infrastructure right.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton was the first to call out the problem, noting a number of errors in the following Twitter thread.

It raises obvious questions of how we can count on Metro to plan future bikeway and pedestrian improvements when they don’t even know what the hell we already have.

And combined with the Metro Bike changes, makes it clear active transportation continues to be an afterthought at the county transportation agency, and the lack of seriousness with which they consider it.

Let alone address it.

And by extension, the local governments that make up the Metro board, who certainly should know better by now.

Then again, why bother with a million dollar bikeway when they can keep flushing billions down the toilet with more induced demand-inducing highway projects in the midst of a climate emergency?

………

Another notice that popped up in my email yesterday was a reminder from Bike Talk’s Nick Richert about tomorrow’s parking reform house party, with special guest UCLA parking meister and The High Cost of Free Parking author Donald Shoup.

I’m reaching out to invite you to a fundraising house party for an organization that I believe is doing important work on an issue that doesn’t get enough attention … parking reform!

We’ll be gathering at the home of Lindsay Sturman, in Larchmont Village, LA on Thursday, October 20th. Drinks and Socializing at 7:00PM, with a short program at 7:30 PM

Car parking can be enormously  expensive – often costing upwards of $40K per stall to construct – and takes up so much space – an average parking space, including aisles, is 300 square feet. Because of outdated rules that ensure we’ll continue to over-build parking whether we need it or not, these costs are baked into our cities … and we are just beginning to pay the full tab.

The Parking Reform Network is a 501(c)3 non profit organization with a mission to accelerate the adoption of critical parking reforms through research, coalition-building, and direct advocacy.

Over the last two years, PRN has released a widely cited map of US cities that eliminated parking mandates, produced a how-to guide for advocates working to create new  parking benefit districts, worked with Congressman Blumenauer’s office to introduce federal legislation introducing a parking cash-out benefit (HR 8555), and built a membership of nearly 300 practitioners, activists, and academics worldwide.

This fundraiser will support:

  • Grants and organizational support to local reform campaigns
  • Developing presentations and training speakers to educate policymakers and stakeholders about parking reforms.
  • Creating materials to advise government agencies who are in the thick of parking reforms, and need technical and/or communication support to get their plans across the finish line.

Please RSVP via this web page, or email la-party@parkingreform.org, and also let us know if you’re planning to bring a +1.

On behalf of all our party co-hosts: Lindsay Sturman, Tony Gittelson, Terence Heuston, Jennifer Levin, Eduardo Mendoza, Gerhard Mayer, Thomas Small, Abundant Housing LA, Livable Communities Initiative, Hang Out Do Good, Culver City Forward, Bike Talk, Sunset4All, and Culver City Forward …

We hope to see you there!

………

Um, okay.

An editorial from the Southern California News Group says nothing will change as long as Gavin Newsom is governor, citing among his many perceived flaws “diverting” funds collected for road maintenance to “perceived climate-friendlier projects such as bike lanes.”

Yet oddly, they don’t endorse the other guy running against him.

Never mind that anyone who doesn’t recognize that bike lanes are better for the climate than highway projects probably shouldn’t be writing editorials in the first place.

………

Enough said.

………

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

A Denver bike rider was intentionally run down by a road raging driver, for the crime of accidentally brushing the maniac’s mirror.

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

An apparent homeless man riding a baby blue beach cruiser was arrested for attacking a Catholic priest in La Jolla with a box cutter and half a pair of scissors when the pastor asked him to leave the Catholic school parking lot.

………

Local

Northridge-Chatsworth Patch reminds us that Cal State Northridge is hosting its first BikeFest this Sunday.

An op-ed in the Loyola Marymount University student newspaper says forget more parking, and build safe infrastructure to encourage more students to bike to campus, instead.

A Long Beach man pled not guilty in the September murder of a man outside a gay bar in the city, and the stabbing of his partner; 56-year old Michael Smalls allegedly rode up on a bicycle as the couple was trying to disarm a man with a Taser, and stabbed them both. He’s being held on $3 million bond.

 

State 

An op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune says closing the successful Diamond Street Slow Street in Pacific Beach would be a mistake, despite the calls from some residents.

San Diego and Caltrans are preparing to flush $39 million down the toilet by widening State Route 56 from four to six lanes, promising it will reduce congestion, even though both science and experience show it will just result in more induced demand. But at least the project includes a new bike bridge and extending an existing bike path.

A kindhearted Mountain View cop bought a new bicycle for a toddler who was struck by a driver, along with his father, outside the local library; fortunately, both father and son escaped with minor injuries.

A Streetsblog op-ed calls for a dedicated political action committee, aka PAC, for safe streets in San Francisco. They’ve got a point. Los Angeles street safety PAC Streets For All has made a huge difference in just a few short years.

 

National

Apparently, it’s not just the flesh and blood drivers you have to worry about.

Consumer Reports recommends their picks for the best foldies. But you’ll have to be a member if you want to see it.

A San Francisco site argues that while the city dithers on street design, Seattle is demonstrating that bikes drive local business. Meanwhile, Seattle is committing just $8.3 million to fund its Vision Zero program, despite the deadliest year for traffic deaths since 2006.

Nice move from my platinum level Bicycle Friendly Community hometown, which is raising funds to provide a free bicycle for every 2nd grade student in the local school system.

Speaking of Colorado, the state has renamed a classic bikeway as the Mestaa’Ėhehe Pass ride, replacing a racial slur for indigenous women.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, after a man on a ebike led a moose away from a Wyoming soccer pitch after it crashed a kids match.

The 67-year old person of interest in the gruesome murder and dismemberment of four Oklahoma friends who disappeared on a bike ride was arrested 1,200 miles away in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida; Joseph Kennedy is being held without bail on an unrelated charge pending extradition.

More on the white Milwaukee man seen on video grabbing a Black man by the neck while accusing the victim’s friends of stealing a bicycle from the white man’s friend; despite initial reports that the victim was a boy, he’s actually a 24-year old man.

In another tragic reminder to always carry ID when you ride, a missing Tennessee man’s family finally learned of his death two weeks after he was killed in a collision while riding his bike.

A compact-framed 1890’s direct-drive safety bicycle sold at auction in New York for $52,800, vastly exceeding initial estimates of $4,000 to $6,000.

A travel site highlights three “amazing” bike rides along the Great Allegheny Passage.

A Georgia teenager will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting a 60-year old man at a bus stop, just to steal his bicycle. As we’ve said before, no bike is worth a human life.

 

International

Road.cc review’s Knog’s new bike alarm and tracker, designed to fit beneath your water bottle holder.

Cycling Weekly considers the difference between gravel and road bikes. Maybe I should start my own magazine for people who ride like I do these days; we could call it Cycling Weakly.

So much for that. A campaign by London’s mayor to keep drivers out of bike lanes has resulted in just 12 citations in three months.

A giant hedgehog on a bicycle, built with the help of local children, was crowned the winner of the national Tour of Britain’s land art competition.

Introducing a new French-made ebike apparently designed for people who really want to pretend they’re riding a motorcycle, instead. No word on whether it makes vroom! vroom! noises, or if you have to provide those yourself. 

Globalization in action, as Ukrainian ebike brand Delfast introduces their new U-frame Delfast California model; the bikemaker has managed to remain active despite the Russian invasion.

 

Competitive Cycling

A 78-year old former Santa Monica resident describes setting a record as the oldest person to complete the Kona Ironman competition.

A Welsh triathlete is being remembered as a “warrior princess” after she was killed in a crash while riding her bike last weekend.

 

Finally…

Maybe he should stick to driving spaceships. No one has ever had to draw from the strategic oil reserve to support bicycling.

And seriously, who doesn’t need pumpkin spiced, uh…chain lube?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Sunset4All, protected bike lanes at Transportation Committee; free Metro and Metro Bike for Sunday’s CicLAvia

October 5, 2022 / / Comments Off on Sunset4All, protected bike lanes at Transportation Committee; free Metro and Metro Bike for Sunday’s CicLAvia

Let’s start with some quick reminders.

The LA City Council Transportation Committee will meet at City Hall at noon tomorrow.

On the agenda are motions regarding implementing the multimodal Sunset4All Complete Streets plan, as well as installing protected bike lanes on Riverside Drive east of Fletcher Drive, and continuing onto Stadium Way in Elysian Park.

The meeting will also consider the city’s Slow Streets Program, as well as a proposal to put cameras on Metro buses to catch driver’s who illegally park in bus lanes.

Sunset4All urges you to call in to make a public comment in support of the plan, or email your support to CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell’s office.

And don’t forget the return of CicLAvia to the Heart of LA this Sunday; forecasts call for perfect LA weather.

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Metro’s new K Line — not to be confused with Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline — better known as the long-awaited Crenshaw Line, opens on Friday. The LA County transportation agency will celebrate with free bus, train and bikeshare rides all weekend, from Friday through Sunday.

Which will come in very handy for getting to and from Sunday’s CicLAvia, as well as for anyone who wants to use Metro Bike to explore the route.

Metro is also free today to mark California Clean Air Day.

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Take a three minute mountain bike break with French downhill pro Flo Payet.

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

A British man is using a megaphone to warn other bicyclists about sharp blocks next to a bike lane under a dark bridge, where he was injured in a recent fall; the local government responded that there’s no reason for anyone to ride a bike there — despite the bike lane.

Unbelievable. Violent assault, with and without a deadly weapon, is apparently no big deal in the UK. Because the victim was just, you know, a bicyclist.

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Local

After getting four bills they sponsored signed into law this year, Streets For All is looking for volunteers, as well as ideas for transportation and safety legislation that can be introduced in the next legislative session.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department is encouraging students and parents to take part in Walk and Roll to School Day next Wednesday.

The daughter of late TV star Michael Landon is demanding answers, after she says her 24-year old son was killed by a hit-and-run Metro bus driver while walking in a Rancho Palos Verdes bike lane nearly two months ago; the driver has escaped charges after claiming he didn’t know he’d hit anyone.

 

State 

Huntington Beach considered a half million dollar plan to build a bicycle boulevard on Utica Ave at last night’s council meeting; no word yet on how the vote went.

Encinitas says it will probably follow Carlsbad’s lead in cracking down on young ebike riders.

An Oakland bike rider was lucky to escape serious injury when he was sideswiped by a driver who managed to evade police in an hours-long high speed pursuit.

 

National

This is the cost of traffic violence. A bike-riding woman killed in a collision with the driver of a semi-truck in front of a Portland, Oregon high school was identified as a well-known, award-winning local chef.

So many kindhearted people responded to an Arizona mother’s Facebook post about her daughter’s stolen bicycle that it turned into a DIY bike drive, with over 100 bicycles donated so far.

Arizona’s State Bicycle Company is sponsoring three Arizona State University basketball players with new bicycles, under the NCAA’s new name, image and likeness, aka NIL, rules.

In news that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, dashcam video shows speeding Minneapolis drivers using a curb-protected bike lane to pass slower traffic. If the design allows drivers to get into a bike lane, they will. Whether they’re in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, or anywhere else.

Just heartbreaking. A Minneapolis man was driving distracted and high on meth when he ran a stop sign and killed an eight-year old girl riding her bike to the market, as her mother watched from her car.

They get it. A Schenectady NY paper says the decade-long delay in passing Complete Streets legislation in the state can be measured in thousands of needless deaths.

A New York jury awarded a man $1.6 million after he was allowed to test ride a bike in a Walmart Garden Center, and was injured when the brakes failed.

The fading coal-mining town of Confluence PA saved itself from near-certain death by embracing bike tourism, while reinventing and reviving itself as a haven for bike riders.

Police in Pennsylvania are looking for a couple who stole a $13,000 Cannondale Super Six by distracting the staff at a local bike shop, and rolling it out the front door.

The DC city council approved a proposal to allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, while also banning right turns on red; the law will take effect in two years if it’s signed.

Police in Fort Lauderdale, Florida are looking for whoever approached a woman from behind as she rode her bicycle, and stabbed her in the back for no apparent reason.

 

International

Cycling News debates whether you really need a bike computer.

Somehow, a Chicago bikeshare bike ended up in Santa Ana Maya, Mexico, over 2,000 miles from where it should be docked.

Blame bad training. A London cop orders a bicyclist not to ride in the middle of the lane, despite the country’s new Highway Code saying that’s exactly where he should be.

Bicycling says there are more bikes than ever in Afghanistan, but women are forbidden from riding them. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

A Kiwi university lecturer looks to Copenhagen to explain the difference a committed mayor can make in transforming a formerly car-centric city.

Tragic news from New Zealand, as a 70-year old man died of a heart attack while attempting to ride his bike the length of the country to raise funds for an endangered native falcon.

A Chinese bike brand found a way to skirt US and European restrictions on ebike speeds with an over-the-air software update that instantly increased speeds more than 50%.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist examines why Remco Evenepoel quit soccer to focus on cycling, despite serving as captain of Belgium’s under-16 team; the 22-year old clearly made the right choice, after winning both the Vuelta and the Worlds this year.

 

Finally…

Meet the bike all the fast cool kids are riding. That feeling when you use Strava to spell out the name of Iranian martyr Mahsa Amini — in Persian.

And evidently, being a former mayK-Lor and current city councilor doesn’t mean a thing to a ebike thief.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Bike theft season in LA, burning more money on freeway expansion, and shifting power balance with “do-nothing” council

September 13, 2022 / / One comment

Apparently, it’s bike theft season.

Crosstown LA examined the trends, and discovered bicycle thefts tend to spike in Los Angeles during September and October.

According to the site, bike theft has surged in the fall since at least 2015, peaking in October from 2015 to 2019, and September for the past two years.

Bike theft numbers are likely artificially low, as publicly available Los Angeles Police Department data only counts thefts actually reported. Many people may not call police for a missing two-wheeler, either because of time constraints, or because they do not expect doing so will help with recovery.

Still, the annual fall rise in thefts indicates that the increase may be tied to the resumption of school, in particular the return of college students. From Jan. 1, 2015–Aug. 15, 2022, a total of 2,062 bicycles were reported stolen in University Park, where the USC campus is located and where many of its students reside. That is the highest count of any neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles.

The second-highest number of thefts occurred in dense Downtown, followed by Venice, a well-known cycling hub. The fourth-most victimized community in that period was Sawtelle, where many UCLA students live.

It’s worth giving it a quick read to learn how to protect your bike.

Like this, for instance.

Sometimes, the best way to thwart a theft is prevention. Ted Rogers, the editor of the blog BikinginLA and a former board member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said he takes measures to keep his bike safe.

“I’ve been known to walk my bike into stores just so I don’t have to lock it up,” he said. “Never lock your bike to a sign because signs can be unbolted and taken away. Never lock your bike to a small tree because those have been known to be pulled out of the ground.”

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A Streetsblog Twitter thread explains plans by Metro and Caltrans to widen a section of the 405 Freeway through Carson.

We’ve already seen how they might as well just flush the money down the toilet, as other expansion projects — like the $1 billion effort to install HOV lanes through the Sepulveda Pass — have only served to make traffic worse through induced demand.

The money would be far better spent to improve transit, as well as bikeways, to reduce congestion by providing people with viable alternatives to driving.

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A writer for City Watch considers how the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal alters the balance of power for the “do-nothing” city council.

The Mobility Initiative alters the balance of power.  Now the City Council is not in complete control.  Now it must work with the Initiative’s sponsors.  The City Council and the sponsors both need to consider the voters who will have the opportunity to accept or reject the Mobility Initiative or any other alternative measure cooked up by the City Council.

One of the issues that needs to be addressed is how to pay for the Mobility Plan and the $5 billion needed to repair our streets and sidewalks.  Will this require an increase in our sales tax or a new parcel tax?

Although it should be noted that the Healthy Streets LA ballot proposal requires no additional investment, since it only requires the city to stripe infrastructure called for in the mobility plan when streets are resurfaced, when they would need to be re-striped anyway.

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Finish the Ride wants you to come celebrate Halloween with them in Santa Clarita.

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

More anti-bike sabotage, as someone built a cinderblock wall across a Portland, Oregon bike path, which someone else quickly knocked down.

A Joliet, Illinois man faces charges for a seemingly random attack on a woman riding bikes with her two children, striking her with a plastic pole and repeatedly hitting her after yelling at them to be quiet.

What could possibly go wrong? A seemingly endless line of porta-potties have been installed in an Edinburg, Scotland bike lane to serve people waiting in line to see the queen lying in state. Which puts riders at risk of an entirely different kind of dooring.

More proof that bicyclists face the same risks the world over, as bike riders in Ghana worry about hostile attitudes from drivers, which could “continue to cause fatalities among cyclists and further discourage young people.”

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

Toronto bike cops are called on the carpet for riding through stop signs, setting a bad example for the rest of us.

Police in Glasgow, Scotland are looking for an ebike rider who seriously injured a 55-year old bike rider in a collision; both stopped following the crash, but the ebike rider may have ridden off before learning how seriously the other man was injured.

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Local

A Venice bicyclist pulling a trailer was stopped by another man who insisted the bike was his in an altercation caught on security cam; the second man took the bike after appearing to whack the bike rider with a stick.

Pasadena police will conduct yet another in the seemingly endless series of bicycle and pedestrian safety operations this Friday. As usual, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits so you’re not the one who gets ticketed. 

LA County is investing $15 million in a series of new bike lanes and other street improvements in South Whittier, La Mirada, and Santa Fe Springs

 

State 

A 34-year old repeat offender was arrested by Cal State Fullerton university police for the seventh time on bike theft charges, after they saw through his attempt to disguise himself as a student.

Apparently assuming they’re the only ones who need to get anywhere, residents near San Diego State University’s new Snapdragon Stadium are protesting plans to reduce traffic lanes along portions of Mission Village Drive in order to install protected bike lanes.

Streetsblog looks at the bike treatments currently taking shape in downtown San Jose.

An Oakland website looks at ten road projects underway in the city, including protected bike lanes and road diets.

 

National

Don’t think twice about that odor emanating from your body after a hard ride; NPR says it’s good for you. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

More evidence we’re failing the nation’s bicyclists, as The Guardian cites a number of American bike riders who say they are giving up bicycling because they just don’t feel safe on the streets.

Oregon elected officials get out and ride their bikes at Portland’s annual Bike Town Hall. Something we should definitely try to replicate here.

Bikemakers continue to offer seriously overpowered ebikes, as Colorado-based Optibike introduces a bike with the world’s highest power-to-weight ration, and a top speed of 36 mph.

Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid pled guilty to the speeding, DUI crash that left a five-year old girl with severe brain injuries, as well as injuring another child; he faces a maximum of four years behind bars.

Sounds familiar. A Kansas City public radio station says the city’s worst intersection is all of them, with too many problematic intersections to fix at once.

Cincinnati bike riders and pedestrians will get a new bridge later this month, connecting multiple trails for the first time.

A Chicago cop could face discipline for running a stop sign and plowing into a bike rider, while traveling without lights and siren.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The head basketball coach of Pennsylvania’s Delaware County Community College was killed in a collision while on a group ride, after police say he lost control of his bike and swerved in front of the driver of an oncoming pickup; he still holds the school record for assists at Coppin State University, where he played in the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990.

 

International

Bike Radar offers advice on bicycling while pregnant. 

Bike Biz examines how bike shops can be more inclusive for disabled bike riders.

Another unexpected consequence of the queen’s death, as the introduction of ebikes to London’s bikeshare system — the former Boris Bikes — has been postponed during the mourning period.

Bike riders in Norwich, England are confused by signs closing bike racks during the mourning period, which wouldn’t seem to have anything to do with the queen’s death.

That’s more like it. The UK government has approved a traffic control device allowing Bike Bus chaperones to control traffic signals to improve safety for kids riding their bikes to and from school.

One of South Africa’s largest bicycling organizations is urging riders to wear neon colors during the day, and reflective gear at night. None of which will protect riders from the country’s notorious bike-robbing criminal gangs, however.

Premium bikes are gaining popularity with urban residents in China’s resurgent bicycle kingdom.

 

Competitive Cycling

The owner of the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team is threatening to take UCI to court as his team faces relegation, with two lower-level teams preparing to move up to the WorldTour, while six teams are in danger of moving down.

A San Francisco website looks back at the five-day Mission Crit held in the Mission District September 3rd, billed as “the last great American bike race.”

 

Finally…

In honor of the queen, everyone is expected to drive. That feeling when your gran fondo runs out of food.

And always remember to make eye contact with drivers, even though they may not be able to see you, anyway.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1569007142325354499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1569007142325354499%7Ctwgr%5E5f5dcccdbd113c544ccd2366ce3f4f14b984d825%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-12-september-2022-295865

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Wealthy hit-and-run socialite faces double murder trial, Metro Bikes $1 through September, and Queen was one of us

September 9, 2022 / / Comments Off on Wealthy hit-and-run socialite faces double murder trial, Metro Bikes $1 through September, and Queen was one of us

The wealthy co-founder of the Grossman Burn Center has been ordered to stand trial for murder in the alleged DUI death of two little boys.

Fifty-nine-year old socialite Rebecca Grossman was allegedly speeding at over 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, while driving at just over the legal alcohol limit, when she plowed her SUV into the two boys in a Westlake Village crosswalk two years ago.

The judge refused to drop the murder charges, which stemmed from Grossman’s presumed knowledge that ignoring the speed limit and driving recklessly could result in the death of an innocent person, based on her previous history of speeding violations.

She brutally ran down 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his brother Jacob as they were crossing the street with their family on a skateboard and scooter, respectively, while failing to brake for the children or stop afterwards, until her car shut down a third of a mile away with the air bag deployed.

Grossman is currently free on $2 million bail, and faces 34 years to life if she’s convicted on the murder counts.

Photo from Ekaterina Bolovtsova on Pexels.

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Get a Metro Bike bikeshare membership for just one buck for the rest of this month.

https://twitter.com/BikeMetro/status/1567960186786136071

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Metro is considering plans for bus-only lanes on Sepulveda Blvd north of Ventura Blvd in the San Fernando Valley, which could be used by people on bicycles, as well.

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As Tolstoy makes clear, it’s never too late to learn to ride a bike.

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Who needs carbon wheels when you can ride wood, instead?

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

Oh, please. A writer for Forbes makes the case for vehicular cycling, without using the term, arguing that protected bike lanes increase risk for people on bicycles, while using Forester as her primary support. Even though the most comprehensive study to date concludes that separated and protected bike lanes are the single biggest factors in improving safety for bike riders in urban environments. 

No bias here. A Colorado TV station writes that a Ford pickup fled the scene after killing a bike rider, only mentioning in passing in the body of the story that the truck even had a driver.

No bias here, either. A South African website makes the case for requiring license plates on bicycles, arguing that “reckless cyclists have as much potential to seriously injure or even kill pedestrians” as motorists do. Which is absurd on the face of it, since motorists kill 1.3 million people worldwide each year, while people on bicycles cause a tiny fraction of that.

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

A British man beat the crap out of a neighbor in a “frenzied attack” that began with a dispute over scuffing the walls of the apartment building’s stairwell by bringing his bike up and down, spattering the victim’s blood over the newly painted hallway.

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Local

The LACBC will host a fundraising ride and party in the the Arts District November 5th, with tickets starting at $100.

Santa Monica is making Vision Zero safety improvements on a 2.5-mile section of Wilshire Blvd, as well as at Ocean Park and Lincoln, and Olympic and 14th; however, there are no bikeways planned for Wilshire. Dammit.

 

State 

Caltrans offered an update on the agency’s progress implementing its new Complete Streets policy.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Yucca Valley man for the July hit-and-run that left two men with major injuries when their tandem bike was rear-ended by the suspect’s car; David Alderson is currently being held on $100,000 bond.

 

National

Great idea. A nonprofit group repurposed Uber’s abandoned bikeshare ebikes by establishing ebike lending libraries in low-income neighborhoods.

More fallout from that horrible article in The Atlantic that called ebikes monstrosities, as a Streetsblog op-ed says it’s not the ebike that’s a monstrosity, it’s car culture.

An environmental writer makes the case for “right-sizing” delivery trucks by replacing them with cargo bikes, but bizarrely concludes most people shouldn’t get one for their personal use.

Ars Technica says the new Urtopia Carbon ebike is what you get when you try to combine an ebike with an iPad.

220 Triathlon examines the best bicycling trousers for a dry and comfortable ride, none of which are remotely suited for your next tri.

Salem, Oregon’s second attempt at a bikeshare system ended in failure, unable to overcome theft and vandalism problems.

Portland bike riders learn the hard way that a separated bike path is still technically a roadway, after a local raceway directed Indycar fans to drive head-on into the path of bicyclists using it.

Like much of the country, Washington State is going the wrong way, with traffic fatalities rising to a 20-year high in the state, including a 26% increase in bike and pedestrian deaths.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the tandem bike an Ohio special needs boy used to ride with his grandmother.

A half dozen MIT students and recent graduates rode their bikes 3,800 miles from DC to San Francisco, teaching STEM classes to kids along the way.

A columnist for the LA Times considers whether New York’s congestion pricing proposal is fair to lower-income drivers, and proposes banning cars entirely as one option that might be fairer.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Tips rides a 17-year old Cannondale for a month to compare how it stacks up to modern technology. Even though a 17-year old isn’t exactly an antique.

Here’s one for your bike bucket list. Or maybe 20, as a European travel insurance comparison site lists the continent’s most Instagrammable bike routes, including this one in Scotland offering challenging climbs and breathtaking scenery.

London’s bikeshare system saw record use this summer, as local residents took advantage of sunny weather to avoid transit strikes and rising fares.

The British woman who got mugged outside a police station when she tried to reclaim her stolen bicycle got it back, thanks to a bighearted scooter shop owner who returned it after buying it off the thief. But her bad luck continued when she had yet another bike stolen in the meantime.

Bianchi has a new flagship road ebike, complete with a more than $5,000 price tag.

Israel is opening a new $7.3 million, 1.3 mile bike tunnel through the Jerusalem mountains, making it the world’s fifth longest.

Incoming Kenya First Lady Racheal Ruto was among the thousands of Kenyons who turned out to pay their respects to Suleiman “Sule” Kangangi, after the influential Black cyclist died in a solo crash during Vermont’s Overland Gravel race.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel extended his lead in the Vuelta with another stage victory on Thursday, and is now leading Spain’s Enric Mas by two minutes and seven seconds; don’t waste your time looking for an American in the top 50.

However, Evenepoel raised hackles by refusing to sign a kid’s jersey following Thursday’s stage.

https://twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1567532177314791426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1567532177314791426%7Ctwgr%5E6f968735f9f28f389c7449a61a97deda65ac5f6e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-8-september-2022-295787

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini overcame a crash to finish second in Thursday’s stage two of the women’s Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, finishing two minutes after Dutch pro Annemiek Van Vleuten.

The Tour of Britain responded to the sudden death of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth by cancelling the remainder of the race, which was set to conclude Sunday on the Isle of Wight, and declaring Spain’s Gonzalo Serrano the winner.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me — if you’re carrying meth, weed and drug paraphernalia on your bike, put a damn light on it. That feeling when there’s no place to park your cargo bike.

And in case there was any doubt, yes, Queen Elizabeth was one of us.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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The Bike League is recruiting more LCIs.

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

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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.

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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.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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