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The Orange County Bicycle Coalition says a meeting of the California Coastal Commission could determine whether a Capistrano Beach bike path will be allowed to wash away during the winter.
Sixty-for-year old Charles Higgins was sentenced to 19 years and eight months for inflicting corporal injury on a former significant other, after a jury deadlocked on an attempted murder charge.
Up until the attack, the victim, who wasn’t publicly identified, rode her bike up to 100 miles a week. Now that’s been stolen from her by her injuries and a subsequent stroke.
Higgins was still under a protective order to keep away from her at the time of the attack.
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Too typical. An upstate New York letter writer calls for a greater awareness of bicycle safety. But all the advice falls on the people on two wheels, not the ones in the big, dangerous machines that pose the biggest threat to them.
An English woman somehow miraculously survived a 100 foot fall onto rocks after accidentally riding her bike off a seaside cliff. But she didn’t escape unscathed, suffering a broken skull and right eye socket, a dislocated and broken jaw, two broken wrists, two broken ribs, several broken vertebrae, a broken elbow and some broken fingers, as well as a “horrendous” bone-deep lacerated thigh.
When it unexpectedly turns into a roadway for lost drivers.
Josh Hamilton forwarded this photo he took Tuesday morning on the Ballona Creek Bike Path in Culver City, along with the following note.
Longtime reader and wanted to share something that happened this morning.
Turns out there is nothing preventing cars from entering the bike path at Sepulveda Blvd (and minimal signage) and 2 people in a car accidentally drove onto the Ballona Creek Bike Path. They were driving slowly when I stopped and spoke with them near the pedestrian bridge at the school next to the path.
I assume they were foreign tourists as they were in what seemed like a rental car with out of state plates and they didn’t speak English. They mistakenly had Google Maps set to bicycle directions. They were concerned and clearly meant no harm, but it’s clearly an issue if drivers can just enter the bike path on accident or on purpose.
It had been left on the sidewalk next to a passenger drop-off zone where the city had instituted a scooter “no deployment zone,” but allegedly failed to enforce it.
I’ve long supported micromobility to reduce the numbers of cars on the street and vehicle miles traveled.
Long being a relative term, since they first hit the streets just two years ago.
But inherent in that support is the need to use them responsibly. Which does not include leaving them where they block sidewalks or other places where people can trip on them.
A successful micromobility program demands safe places to ride the devices, as well as safe places to park them.
We need a complete, comprehensive network of bike lanes throughout every city in the LA area, along with secure, in-street bicycle, bikeshare and scooter parking on every block.
Whoever left that scooter there in violation of the rules, whether it was the last person to use it or someone who moved it there, is who’s really responsible for harming an elderly woman.
And they’re extremely lucky that’s all it was.
Instead, every resident of Santa Monica will be on the hook for that one person’s carelessness.
Let’s there’s at least one person on the ground for each of the 28 people on bicycles killed in LA County so far this year — half of them in the City of Los Angeles.
And those numbers will continue to grow until Vision Zero finally becomes more than just a feel-good slogan for our elected leaders.
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A woman was injured when she was left crossed by a motorist pulling into a driveway during last weekend’s Tour de Foothills in Upland.
No word yet on how serious her injuries are.
Thanks to CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew and Erik Griswold for the video.
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition sends word that half the Seal Beach Blvd bike lanes will be closed for the next six weeks.
@bikinginla The popular bike lane on southbound Seal Beach Blvd is closed for a few hundred feet near Adolfo Lopez. Work will finish ~Dec 24. There are "Share the Road" signs in the area, or riders can turn west on Westminster to the SGRT or PCH. The northbound bike lane is open.
Speaking of which, Orange County didn’t quite turn out as promised.
Orange County, California was actually sold – but unfortunately not practically designed – as a cycling community. @OCbike@bikinginla They missed their mark, if in fact they really were aiming. @KostelecPlanpic.twitter.com/JuOZpnynyt
Bruce Willis is one of us, taking up bicycling after he sold his motorcycles and donated the profits to support active and retired soldiers. Although you can’t win with the British tabloids, who criticize people who don’t wear helmets and ridicule them if they do.
The NY Times also piles on with the victim blaming by offering tips on how to stop your distracted walking. Unlike distracted driving, no one has ever been killed by a distracted pedestrian. And there are few, if any, stats to support the idea that there has been a rash of distracted walking deaths.
A new study confirms that helmet laws drive down bicycling rates — but also finds that helmet use corresponds with a higher rate of upper body injuries. Before you throw your helmet away, bear in mind that correlation does not equal causation. And a wrecked shoulder is better than a wrecked skull.
That’s more like it. A Calgary man could face up to life in prison for the meth-fueled hit-and-run that killed a 15-year old boy and seriously injured his friend as they were riding their bikes; prosecutors waived 11 other charges against the man, who was driving a stolen vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
Meital Weiss is one of us, too. She’s a 12-year old Israeli girl paralyzed from the waist down since she was 10 months old, who will celebrate her bat mitzvah by trading her wheelchair for a handcycle and ride to raise funds for the rehab hospital that cared for her. And that makes her a celeb — and a hero — in my book.
If you see a lone bike rider with kitty litter panniers and a full lumberjack beard making his way east from the Santa Monica Pier along Broadway, Ohio or Santa Monica Blvd this afternoon or evening, say hi to my brother Eric.
It’ll surprise the hell out of him.
I’m going to take a few days off to enjoy his visit, and pretend to enjoy my birthday this year.
Barring anything unforeseen, we should be back later in the week.
So ride carefully and defensively for the next few days. I don’t want to have to come back to write about you, or anyone else.
Bat photo by Miriam Fischer from Pexels; see next item.
Seriously, if you were in the bicycle rental shop at 1 Irvine Park Road in Irvine Regional Park recently, and you had any contact with a bat, call the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Communicable Disease Control Division from 8 am to 5 pm at 714/834-8180, or call 714/834-7792 after hours.
Or if you have a pet that may have come into contact with a bat in the area, call your vet right away.
Or just wait until you’re foaming at the mouth, and people assume you’re just another angry NIMBY screaming about bike lanes.
Unfortunately, no further details are available at this time.
However, the police were quick to mention that the victim didn’t appear to be wearing a helmet, as required by law for anyone under 18.
But they failed to mention whether he suffered a head injury that a helmet might have prevented.
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A section of the Ballona Creek bike path will be closed for maintenance most of this week.
Starting tomorrow, Monday, September 23rd, the #CulverCity Ballona Creek Bike Path will be closed from 8 AM to 4 PM for routine maintenance taking place between National Boulevard and Overland Avenue.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.
A man is under arrest for intentionally using his car as a weapon after a Sacramento State student complained that he was parked in a bike lane, then getting out of his car and beating the victim as he was lying in the street.
Tragic news from Cleveland, where a 38-year old man faces charges for carjacking an SUV with a toddler still strapped into a child seat, then killed a bike rider as he tried to make his getaway from the police.
Now that New York Mayor and erstwhile presidential candidate Bill de Blasio has finally given up on his quixotic quest for the White House, the press is insisting he refocus on being mayor, including getting the city’s Vision Zero program back on track.
No bias here. A Montreal columnist says he’s absolutely in favor bike lanes, except in the winter when he puts his bike away and drives everywhere. And accuses the city of being hostile to cars instead of just making room for people on two wheels, which he would probably hate in the winter, anyway.
In yet another example of governments keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, UK authorities blamed a variety of errors for failing to revoke a speeding driver’s license until after he killed another man, even though he had 25 points against his license — which should have been taken away with less than half that.
Delhi, India gives LA drivers a hint of things to come as the city begins odd/even days to fight smog and traffic congestion; drivers with even license plates can drive one day, while drivers with odd plates can drive the next. Does that mean people with personalized plates don’t get to drive at all? This is the future we all have to look forward to if NIMBYs and traffic safety deniers keep fighting attempts to create safe, practical alternatives to driving.
British cyclist Lizzie Deignan says parenthood has given her perspective, and that bicycling is less important to her than its ever been. But considering the world championships road course runs right past her parents’ house, she’s not going down without a fight.
Finally…
Repeat after me. If you’re carrying meth on your bike, put a damn light on it — and don’t consent to a search. Don’t throw away those banana peels, just shove them down your pants(scroll down).
And passing a group of bike riders is perfectly legal.
Thanks to Megan Lynch for her generous donation, which she said was an early birthday present. Any donation, for any amount or any reason, is always appreciated.
Here’s how both the Spring Street and coming Main Street bike lanes are supposed to work — if LA drivers can resist the urge to park in them, which is a big if.
And yes, the Red Cup Project even touched down in auto-centric Los Angeles.
Venice Boulevard is the connection to the Expo Line/path and one of the only bike routes across LA. Would you want your loved ones biking here? We have to #DemandMore. #RedCupProjectpic.twitter.com/umXiqMKIGs
And on the other side of the Orange Curtain, as well.
Put out the cups in Costa Mesa! This is right outside the back entrance to the n’hood elementary school that scores of kids and parents use every day. Nearest crosswalk is ~500’ in either direction and speed limit is posted at 30. #DangerousByDesign#RedCupProject#SlowTheCarspic.twitter.com/zkmjBeEPmu
A Garden Grove man was sentenced to 26 years to life behind bars for the unprovoked attack that left a passing bike rider dead; 19-year old Bryan Ortega was knocked off his bike and repeatedly stabbed by 23-year old Troy David Son, even though there was no history between the two men, who did not appear to know each other.
A bipartisan bill pending in Congress would extend and expand the successful Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to build bikeways and sidewalks to reduce traffic congestion and support safe routes to schools. Unfortunately, bipartisanship is out of fashion in DC, so its immediate prospects could be questionable.
A writer from Cheyenne, Wyoming heads south to my hometown to ride the bike path along the Cache la Poudre River, which I used to ride on a near daily basis back in the day. Cheyenne is where I used to go to buy booze before I turned 21, or whenever I wanted to get beat up by a cowboy for looking at his girl the wrong way. Good times.
Omaha NE has completed a 38-mile interconnected bicycle network just in time for next month’s Bike Week. But those damn bike riders are just never satisfied, saying it’s not enough. Unbridled sarcasm aside, at least they have an actual network, unlike LA’s disjointed and inadequate patchwork of bikeways that don’t connect to anything or go anywhere.
An Iowa letter writer calls for bicyclists to pay their fair share, and get a motorcycle license because they move too damn fast. Because evidently, it’s not enough for bike riders to subsidize drivers with their tax money.
Massachusetts legislators advanced a bill creating a three-foot passing law and 25 mph speed limits, but rejected a clause that would have expanded the use of interlock devices to fight repeat drunk driving. There’s no excuse for driving drunk, ever. Some people will tell you anyone could get caught after having a few drinks, but the easy solution is just don’t drink if you have to drive.
The New York bike rider who allegedly blew through a red light and seriously injured a pedestrian was a homeless man, who told police his gears and brakes weren’t working right. The victim’s boss issued a statement calling for license plates for people on bicycles, saying lawbreaking bike riders put peoples lives in peril. Never mind that the last time a person was killed by a bike rider in Gotham was 2014, while 64 people have been killed by cars this year alone.
Sad news from the IE, as a Long Beach bike courier fell to his death while hiking on Mt. Baldy.
According to the Long Beach Post, Daniel Nguyen, a former CSU Long Beach cycling team member, fell 1,500 feet off the steep mountainside while trying to rescue a fellow hiker.
A gofundme account has been set up to help his family pay funeral costs; it’s raised over $12,000 in less than 24 hours.
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My apologies for the late notice on this one.
The Orange County Wheelmen are hosting a two-day League of American Bicyclists Smart Cycling class tonight and Saturday; dinner and coffee are included in the Thursday session.
And next week the Orange County Bicycle Coalition is offering its Cycling Savvy course from the American Bicycling Education Association on Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th.
They describe the course this way:
Cycling Savvy classes are incredible, intensely empowering classes, that are geared toward all bicyclists, not just “roadies”. Everyone can learn how to be a bicycle driver, and we really show folks how to do it.
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Cycling Tips says creating an electromagnetic bike wheel is theoretically possible, but unlikely in practice. But I have faith; if pro cycling can find a way to cheat, it will.
Meanwhile, a writer says go ahead and let cyclists use motors when they race, but only at certain times and places. Or better yet, just put pedals on motorcycles and get it over with.
At least the Santa Monica section of the beach bike path is clear of sand, despite 15 miles of county-controlled pathway being closed; SaMo sweeps their limited section of the path five to seven days a week, depending on the season, while the county sweeps just twice a week.
The San Diego State newspaper says everyone is at fault for problems with a new bike lane, which invites collisions with distracted pedestrians and didn’t solve problems with bikes on campus.
A tri website says nothing good can come from confronting others in traffic, after a motorcycle rider records a road raging truck driver pulling a gun on him after flipping him off. I’ve had some interactions that ended well after I explained why I was riding the way I was. And others that didn’t.
Santa Fe considers a bikeshare program despite concerns over equity; the lack of a credit card or smartphone could keep low income people from using the system.
A Cincinnati proposal would link four major bike trails to create a 42-mile loop connecting over half of the city’s neighborhoods.
Pittsburgh cyclists wonder why streets and sidewalks were cleared of snow, but bike lanes weren’t. Which is one problem we’re not likely to have in LA anytime soon.
A jury awarded an unarmed Florida man $23.1 million after he was shot four times and paralyzed by a Palm Beach sheriff’s deputy, who stopped him for the crime of riding his bike into traffic. Or maybe just biking while black. Thanks to Michael Eisenberg for the heads-up.
Where have we heard this before? An Indian traffic expert says cycling lanes won’t work because the streets are too narrow, traffic volume is too high, and drivers too undisciplined.
Bicycling fatalities in Australia have dropped to their lowest level since 2009 while the number of riders has increased. With 32 cycling deaths last year, the country had just three more fatalities than LA County, despite having over twice the population.
The LA Times looks at how the effects of Prop 47 are helping to keep petty criminals on the streets, including a meth head bike thief. Although they get one thing wrong; it was the state legislature that increased the threshold for felony theft to $950, prior to the passage of Prop 47. Thanks to Gil Solomon for the heads-up.
Better Bike offers a ice a nice reflection on the LACBC’s recent volunteer bike and pedestrian counts in the LA in three very different area, with very different results.
Los Angeles broke ground Saturday on a new two-acre park at the confluence of the LA River and Aliso Creek in Reseda, including a three-quarter mile bikeway which will eventually connect to the LA River bike path.
La Cañada Flintridge votes to create a greenbelt along Foothill Blvd, with a bike lane on one side and a bike path on the other.
A Santa Clarita woman made her getaway by bike after overpowering a person at a market to steal a bag of groceries. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.
State
Who says a bunch of kids can’t accomplish anything? The state has approved a $2.37 million grant for a sidewalk and protected bike lane submitted by a group of Santa Ana teenagers.
Security cameras caught a man riding his bicycle through a playground full of kids at an Escondido elementary school with a stolen rifle slung across his back, and two more guns in his bag.
A 90-year old San Diego driver hit a pedestrian, 12 parked cars and a bicycle before continuing on to crash into a fire hydrant.
The Texas driver who killed four people when he plowed through a crowded street at last year’s SXSW music festival has been sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty of capital murder.
Bystanders team up to save the life of an Illinois cyclist after he has a heart attack. It may not seem like it sometimes, but there are a lot of good people in this world.
A British Columbia mayor is more open to improving bike safety after experiencing a dangerous riding route himself. Getting elected officials out on bikes is often the key to winning them over; maybe Paul Koretz and Gil Cedillo would finally see the light if we could get them to ride Westwood and North Figueroa with us.
Yet another tack attack Down Under, as at least 40 Aussie cyclists had their tires punctured by tacks while on a ride to protest whoever has been spreading them on a secluded road for the last year.
Kiwi men are three times more likely to ride to work than women, and the gap continues to grow despite a nearly $300 million investment in bicycling infrastructure.
Pete van Nuys, Executive Director of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition, sends word that the popular Pacific Coast Bike Route will remain open this weekend, despite the scheduled Ironman race.
After months of emails and the threat of lawsuit, organizers of the Ironman 70.3 race through Camp Pendleton have agreed to assign volunteer course marshals at the south end of San Clemente to permit regular bicycle traffic between that city and Oceanside.
In recent years Caltrans in San Diego has been issuing permits to the event which has become increasingly possessive of the only connection between Orange and San Diego Counties for 100 miles.
Those permits violate Streets and Highways Code 888, intended to assure citizens that when Caltrans builds a freeway it will not sever connections for non-motorized travelers.
The I-5 freeway alternate is the popular Old Hwy 101 to Las Pulgas, through a portion of the Marine base. When the Marines close it for maneuvers Caltrans routinely opens the shoulders of I-5 for bicyclists. But the race permit even closed those shoulders, stranding bicyclists in Oceanside and San Clemente for up to 5 hours. With little or no notice riders from LA County usually had no choice but to turn around.
Thanks to the hard work of Seth Cutter, Bicycle Coordinator for Caltrans San Diego, the agency convinced Ironman to do what most bike race organizers do: use course marshals to cross civilian bikes and peds. Caltrans is posting signs alerting motorists to bicycle presence. And anyone riding to San Diego’s Bikes & Beers event should find the route open fast along I-5’s shoulders all the way to Oceanside.
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Australian cyclist James Rapley lost his like while biking in Los Angeles.
A memorial website and scholarship fund have been set up in honor of Australian cyclist James Rapley, killed while riding on Temescal Canyon last December.
If you want to grasp just an inkling of the love a parent has for his son — and the enormity of that loss — take a moment to read that page and browse through the website.
As you may recall, Rapley was on an extended layover at LAX on his way home from his new job in Chicago to join his family back in Seymour, a small country town in Victoria. So early in the morning of December 22nd — the last Sunday before Christmas — he rented a bike and took off to explore the beachfront bike path from LAX to the Palisades.
It must have seemed magical to ride along the nearly deserted beach at that early hour. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning myself.
For some reason, he made a detour onto Temescal Canyon; maybe he wanted the challenge of the steep uphill after the easy ride along the coast. I often do the same, even though it’s not a comfortable bike lane, as drivers frequently go too fast around the sweeping curves, and cut into the bike lane regardless of whether anyone is in it.
In other words, what followed could have happened to me. Or to any of us.
As Rapley rode in the bike lane, doing absolutely nothing wrong, he was struck from behind by an allegedly drunk, and possibly texting, 19-year old driver. He died there on the side of the road; I can only imagine his final thoughts, 8,000 miles from home and the loved ones who were eagerly awaiting him.
I’m told his family has dug deep to fund the scholarship, to be given to a rural student studying engineering or science at Melbourne University, as Rapley had done. But it will take a lot more money to make the scholarship a success, and honor a good and cringe man who should still be with us.
I’d love to see some significant donations come from here in LA. It’s the last place he ever saw, and we owe him and his family a debt we can never repay.
My wallet is pretty anorexic right now, but I’m going to do my best to send a little something their way. I think we owe him that.
Meanwhile, I’ve started making inquiries about how we can convert the bike lane he was riding in into the state’s first parking protected bike lane. It will take a change in state law, which currently requires cars to be parked within 18 inches of a curb.
But this is an ideal location for it, with no cross streets from PCH to Palisades High School, roughly 3/4 of a mile up the hill. And it would, for large portions of the day, help eliminate the risk riders currently face from aggressive and distracted drivers with little respect for a line a paint.
Because the best way we can honor James Rapley is to ensure it never happens to anyone again.
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This sort of things always pisses me off.
A friend of mine reports she was assaulted while riding in Huntington Beach over the weekend when a group of idiots in a passing car threw a cup of ice at her, hitting her on the ass.
The good news is, she was able to maintain control of her bike and avoid a potentially dangerous fall, making it nothing more than a major annoyance. The bad news is, she wasn’t able to get a license number or good description of the car, so the jerks remain free to do it again to someone else.
For anyone unclear on the subject, throwing anything at a bike rider runs the risk that they might lose control and fall, or swerve into traffic or parked cars in an attempt to get away. The result can be serious injury, whether or not that was the intent of the attacker.
And it takes a real jackass to attack a woman riding alone after dark.
Streetsblog’s Damien Newton calls for a Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic deaths in the City of Angels. Now will our new mayor or council members step up to answer the call?
Metro’s Bike Week website is up. If you want to find me that Tuesday, I’ll be at the blessing of the bicycles.
LADOT Bike Blog looks at the problem of dooring. but let’s not forget that drivers are almost always at fault for dooring, since they’re required ensure that it’s reasonably safe and doesn’t interfere with other traffic before opening their door. And then, only as long as necessary.
People for Bikes debunks the myths non-riders too often use against us; the answer for “Bicyclists think they own the road” could have been a lot better, though.
Evidently, life is cheap in Ohio, as a doctor gets a whopping 15 days in jail for seriously injuring a cyclist while driving drunk. Why should drivers take drunk driving laws seriously when the courts don’t?
A Louisiana schmuck driver faces charges for running over a four-year old bike rider while fleeing from police; the child suffered moderate to severe injuries.
International
The UK renews a campaign calling for cyclists and motorists to “Think! Cyclist” after a successful campaign that may not have changed anyone’s behavior.
An Aussie blog asks — and answers — what is a cyclist? My answer is a lot simpler; you’re a cyclist whenever you’re on or with your bike, just as you’re a motorist when you’re driving your car.
According to the site, the male rider, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, collided with a motor vehicle while riding on Artesia Blvd east of Stanton Ave around 7:45 pm Sunday.
The driver who killed Campion Ritz has been charged with felony hit-and-run causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence; prosecutors are asking for $100,000 bond. Reports are that he was allowed to keep driving despite a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, and a host of driving offenses that were dismissed as a result of his guilty plea.
And that is exactly how authorities help keep dangerous drivers on the streets until they finally kill someone.
This is the 57th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Orange County — including four OC riders who have died in the last week.
My heartfelt prayers for the victim and his family.
Update 2: The OCBC has confirmed that the rider who was killed on Sunday was a 51-year old male resident of Buena Park. He was riding without lights or reflective gear, despite the full darkness at that hour, and was not wearing a helmet; whether that could have made a difference is still to be determined.
