Tag Archive for Orange Grove Blvd

After Pasadena NIMBYs shouted down safety improvements, deadly Orange Grove Blvd claims two more victims

November 17, 2020 / / Comments Off on After Pasadena NIMBYs shouted down safety improvements, deadly Orange Grove Blvd claims two more victims

Let’s pause for a moment before we start to remember the victims of two Orange County bicycling collisions just hours apart on Sunday.

Never put it past OC to mark the World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence by adding to them. 

Then wonder what the hell is going on down there, as the county suffers its 15th bicycling death of the year — the same as Los Angeles County, with over three times the population of OC.

And six weeks still to go.

Be careful out there.

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Pasadena learns the cost of doing nothing after NIMBY’s coordinated by anti-road diet pressure group Keep LA Moving literally shouted down plans to install protected bike lanes to improve safety on deadly Orange Grove Blvd.

Peter Flax points the finger directly at Keep LA Moving and its founder, as well as local chapter Keep Pasadena Moving.

Sadly, more people will continue to die until something is finally done to reduce road space and cut traffic speed.

And just like the coronavirus, the people concerned about it can’t do much to improve things until everyone else starts to care, too.

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They get it.

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Harry Styles is sort of one of us, posing for Vogue with an antique bicycle while wearing a kilt.

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

Call it a greatest hits of careless passes from just one UK town.

https://twitter.com/northumbriapol/status/1328280503938641922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1328280503938641922%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fnews%2Ftyne-tees%2F2020-11-16%2Fpolice-release-shocking-video-to-show-how-dangerous-drivers-put-cyclists-lives-at-risk

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Local

KABC-7 visits the East Side Riders Bike Club, which is working to help kids stay out of gangs by keeping them occupied on their bikes two hours a day.

A number of proposals are on the table to restore the Ballona Wetlands, but only two including expanding bicycle access.

 

State

A seven-mile stretch of Carlsbad Blvd, aka Old Highway 101, will form part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95 running the length of California.

Next year’s Sea Otter Classic is scheduled for May 20th through 23rd in Monterey, after this year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Sonoma County won’t appeal a $1.3 million judgement for a bike rider who was badly injured after hitting a pothole.

 

National

A writer for Electrek gets the first test ride on Harley Davidson’s new ebikes, while TechRadar finds the prices, starting around $3,400, surprisingly affordable.

And completing today’s Peter Flax trifecta, he visits the Horton Collection, America’s greatest collection of bicycling memorabilia. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling’s site blocks you out.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Memphis is pushing for ways to improve a deadly intersection after a bike rider was killed and another seriously injured in a crash; both were collateral damage in a collision between two motorists as they were waiting on the red light.

A new ten-mile Vermont mountain bike trail fills a vital gap in a planned network of mountain bike trails crossing the state.

New York Mayor de Blasio dismissed a proposal to remove traffic enforcement duties from the NYPD, saying it would be counterproductive, because Vision Zero requires “a very muscular approach by law enforcement.” Which is actually the opposite of how Vision Zero is supposed to work.

Maybe it’s not too surprising that an increase in bike thefts has followed in the wake of the bike boom, with bike theft up statewide in North Carolina.

 

International

Cyclist relates how ebikes are getting people back into bicycling after years off their bikes.

English bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid talks with shop owners about London’s Low Traffic Neighborhoods, and discovers they’ve gone from opponents to supporters.

The British government continues to promote bicycling as an alternative to driving and transit during the pandemic, with a second round of bike repair vouchers to help people get their bikes in ridable condition.

No surprise here. A new study from the UK shows men are three times more likely than women to drive over 100 mph.

Police officials in a British town say they’ve taken action against drivers on 80% of close pass videos sent to them by bike riders. We need to change the law so that can happen here; currently police in California are unable to use video for traffic violations and misdemeanor infractions.

A 17-year old Irish boy will spend the next seven and a half years behind bars after being convicted of manslaughter for stabbing another boy five times in a dispute over a bicycle. We’ve said it before — no bike is worth a human life, yours or someone else’s. Just let it go.

Berlin may be a cycling city, but it’s still plagued with some of Europe’s worst bike lanes.

A Venezuelan Olympic gold medal fencer is delivering food by bike for Uber Eats in Poland to feed his family as he trains for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

 

Competitive Cycling

America’s last remaining Tour de France winner is just one step away from being one of ten individual athletes to be honored with a Congressional Gold Medal; a bill to do that is on President Trump’s desk waiting for his signature.

Popular former pro Ted King set a new record in winning the 1,017-mile Arkansas High Country endurance race; finishing right behind him was the only woman in the race, who also had a record winning time.

 

Finally…

So who needs a seat post on a tri bike, anyway? Ticketing kids on bikes since at least 1963.

And apparently, even NFL stars toss their bikes in anger.

Not to be confused with tossing your cookies, which is an entirely different thing.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Remembering traffic victims and the failure of Vision Zero in LA, fatal hit-and-run in DTLA, and Joe Biden is one of us

November 16, 2020 / / Comments Off on Remembering traffic victims and the failure of Vision Zero in LA, fatal hit-and-run in DTLA, and Joe Biden is one of us

Members of SAFE — Streets Are For Everyone — turned out in South LA yesterday to mark the World Day of Remembrance for traffic victims.

The group demonstrated at the intersection of Slauson and Western, one of the deadliest locations in all of Los Angeles, according to the city’s High Injury Network.

And one that has yet to see any significant attempt to make it safer.

In other words, pretty much like the rest of LA’s seemingly forgotten Vision Zero program.

According to CBS2/KCAL9,

…police say there has been a staggering 29% increase in traffic-caused fatalities and injuries in South L.A. this year so far in 2020 compared to 2019.

Additionally, there have been close to 5,000 hit-and-run collisions in 2020, police said.

There are few people who haven’t been touched by traffic violence in some way.

I’ve lost two people close to me, both at the hands of drunk drivers.

A friend I’d known since kindergarten was killed just weeks before our senior year of high school when a drunk woman somehow jumped the wide median on an interstate highway, and hit his car head-on, killing him and a friend instantly.

She walked away unharmed, with just a slap on the wrist for murdering two strangers.

The other was my cousin, who was killed when she was thrown from her own father’s car, and was run over by him.

And once again, there were no real consequences. Unless you consider the guilt and self-loathing he lived with for the rest of his life.

That’s not counting the hundred of people I’ve written about here who have needlessly lost their lives on the mean streets of Southern California — most at the hands and on the bumpers of drivers.

It has to stop.

It looked, for a short time, as if the City of Los Angeles was actually going to do something about it when Vision Zero was announced with great fanfare just five years ago.

But then it got hard when the city ran into resistance from auto-centric NIMBYs. And LA’s mayor got distracted by the shiny object of national ambitions, with far too many Wormtongues whispering in his ear.

And so Vision Zero was shoved onto a cold back burner, just another page on the LADOT website, with a handful of piecemeal projects here and there, rather than the massive road safety overhaul we were promised.

Never mind the now laughable goal of eliminating traffic deaths in the city by 2025.

Less than five years from now.

Which leaves us waiting for the mayor and the city’s recalcitrant councilmembers to be termed out, so we can finally replace them with leaders who will hopefully have the courage and political will to make the hard decisions necessary to save lives.

And not just talk about it, for a change.

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LA Bike Dad offers photos from the demonstration at Slauson and Western.

Click on the tweets for more photos.

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The LAPD’s looking for the heartless coward who ran down a pedestrian in DTLA while driving on the wrong side of the road, then got out to check his own car for damage before driving away, ignoring the victim.

There’s a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Warning — The video is graphic, so be sure you really want to see it before you click the link because you can’t unsee it. 

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The new President-elect of the United States is one of us.

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This is what happens when the NIMBYs win.

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Tell your favorite LBS the news. And register your own bike if you haven’t already.

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At least one LA-area city is moving forward with safer streets.

But it ain’t Los Angeles.

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Here’s today’s stunt biking break, with a short film from Dutch BMX rider Niels Bensink, as he moves to Canada to immerse himself in mountain biking.

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

No bias here. An Edmonton columnist is outraged that the city plans to install more bike lanes to fight climate change.

No bias here, either. London’s Sunday Mail claims bike lanes and low traffic neighborhoods are delaying ambulances and paramedics; the UK’s national cycling organization responds that the paper is relying on “alternative facts.”

A lawyer in the UK says bike riders should be limited to just a small space on the side of the road, if that.

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

A Florida man was busted after attempting to flee on foot when police stopped him while riding his bike in a “known narcotics area,” and found a white rock in his pocket.

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Local

Someone using the Citizen app captured video of up to 500 people riding bikes through Chinatown in DTLA. Although they may not have thought it was a good thing.

A South Bay writer calls for better bike paths, safer streets and fewer cars after she gets right hooked by an SUV driver.

 

State

San Diego was awarded $125,000 for education programs to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Ojai received a $450,000 grant to conduct a road diet and install a quick build parking protected bike lane on a 3/4 mile stretch of Maricopa Highway, connecting a restored wetlands with an existing bike trail and a high school.

Sad news from Fresno, where a bike-riding man was killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

A clown was caught on video stealing a little girl’s bike in Hayward. Yes, a clown.

 

National

Bicycling continues their conversation about race and equity with a rare non-paywalled piece by former LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler, who says she won’t call herself a cyclist, even though she loves to ride her bike.

Apparently, jorts are socially acceptable again, as long as they’re made of technical denim and intended for mountain biking.

Wall Street thinks the bike boom is over, as bike stocks fall while automotive stocks are going up.

In a story every LA area leader should read, Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus says we’ll never have safe streets if we continue to make safe choices.

Dallas-area residents mourn yet another victim of traffic violence after a paletero was killed by a driver as he pedaled his cart, following two decades of selling ice cream and chicharrones. Thanks to John Clary for the link.

This is who we share the road with. An Oklahoma state senator faces a first-degree manslaughter charge after she skidded off a rain-slicked road while driving nearly 100 mph, and killed a man whose car was stalled on the side of the road. Thanks to Robert Leone for the tip.

Life is cheap in Ohio, where a 73-year old woman got a whole 30 days behind bars for killing a local Teacher of the Year as he was riding his bike. But at least she’ll lose her license for five years. Although at her age, that should be permanently.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Massachusetts man rode his bike 77 miles to celebrate his 77th birthday.

Another Massachusetts man reminds bike riders to warn slower riders and pedestrians before you pass. Seriously, call it out or use a bike bell. “Passing on your left” works better than “on your left,” which tends to confuse some people.

Dune star Timothee Chalamet is one of us, going for a hooded ride through NYC.

A group of Black New Jersey husbands and fathers are taking advantage of their bikes and the area’s open roadways to form a fraternal bond to cope with the struggles of 2020.

Bighearted Virginia bike riders scoured local grocery stores to deliver food donations for a local rescue mission and weekend school food program.

A North Carolina nonprofit is preparing a bike giveaway to make the holidays brighter for hundreds of kids.

 

International

A sports psychologist explains how to face down your bicycling fears and stay safe on the roads.

British Columbia’s Human Right Tribunal concludes that Victoria’s floating bus stops on a new two-way cycle track discriminates against blind and visually impaired pedestrians.

An Edmonton, Alberta bike shop owner offers advice on how to bike through winter snow. Which is seldom a problem here in Los Angeles, but we can hope.

Toronto bike riders are lighting up the night with a rolling bike rave.

Hats off to a London man who rode his bike around the city for an hour to corral a stray dog and return it to its owner.

A Scottish charity has put over 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers on two wheels, calling it the key to helping them settle into a new community, develop new friends, and access essential services.

Brit bike hero Chris Boardman calls for banning cars from residential streets for the sake of the country’s children.

A new British subscription service allows people to get a Brompton for the equivalent of less than $1.32 a day.

Bike Radar takes a deep dive into the UK’s current state of diversity in bicycling, or the lack thereof. And the importance of inclusion and representation in biking, whether for sport or transportation.

A British travel writer takes an easy ebike bikeshare tour of Jersey.

A bicycling group in Nagpur, India lights their bikes to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights also celebrated by Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists.

A Mumbai man is using his indoor cycling studio to help people scarred by traffic violence rediscover the joys of bicycling.

Fifty-seven percent of the residents of the Indian city of Gurugram would rather bike to work — but only if they have safe streets and bikeways.

She gets it. Kenya’s Second Lady — the wife of the country’s 1st Deputy President — takes to her bike, and mourns the needless deaths of people riding bicycles.

Malaysia takes a step towards a greener future with the nation’s first bicycle messenger service.

Cycling Tips traces the birth and growth of Aussie bikepacking and adventure racing brand Curve Cycling.

 

Competitive Cycling

More racial and trans insensitivity from America’s young pro cyclists, as former world track champ Chloe Dygert had to apologize for liking a number of biased tweets. This is what Black cyclist Ayesha McGowan had to say about it.

Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar’s winning bike will live on at the Colnago museum in Cambiago, Italy, joining bikes ridden by the legendary Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw, aka The Cannibal and The Lion of Flanders.

A writer for Rouleur says the nine-month ban given Dutch cyclist Dylan Groenewegen for his role in the crash in the final sprint at Stage 1 of this year’s Tour of Poland is cruel and unusual punishment, and sets a dangerous precedent.

Surprise Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart had to buy his brother a new car to pay off a bet that he wouldn’t end up winning the race.

 

Finally…

Anyone can ride from Canada to Key West, but not many do it on Penny Farthings. Now you, too, can own your very own Dunkin’ tandem bike.

And that feeling when your foot is run over by Albus Dumbledore.

Well, the second one, anyway.

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Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating this year. May the divine light spread into your life and bring peace, prosperity, happiness, good health and grand success.

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Morning Links: Happy Bike to Work Day, Pasadena bike rider injured in hit-and-run, and close call on Orange Line Bike Path

May 16, 2019 / / One comment

Happy soggy Bike to Work Day!

Hopefully the weather will hold off, so you’ll be able to get out and ride your Bike to Work commute today.

And hopefully the LACBC and LADOT will both keep their promised morning pit stops, despite the forecast.

Especially since both promise fresh donuts and coffee instead of the usual Bike to Work Day energy bar fare.

https://twitter.com/zrch4light/status/1128787896897458176

If no one shows up on Bike to Work Day, they can feel free to send any leftover donuts my way, since it looks like at least another month before I can ride my bike anywhere besides my living room.

Meanwhile, another 74 pit stops are promised throughout the LA area, though no telling whether they will still be there if it rains.

If your commute is too wet, you can hop a bus or train; most local transit systems are offering free rides to anyone accompanied by a bike or helmet today, including Metro and Metrolink. And if the rain lets up, the unimaginatively named Metro Bike bikeshare will be free, as well.

On the other hand, Santa Monica has wisely moved their Bike to Work pit stops at City Hall and the Bike Center to tomorrow, when the forecast calls for drier weather.

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels.com.

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A Pasadena man is recovering from critical injuries after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike across Orange Grove Blvd.

Police tracked the driver to a nearby apartment, where he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk and stoned behind the wheel.

And if the street sounds familiar, it’s the same one where Rose City NIMBYs were driven to a frenzy by a group affiliated with traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving to demand that the city keep the street dangerous.

Clearly, they succeeded.

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Brayden Dakota captured bike cam video of a close call on a blind intersection near the Canoga Station on the Orange Line Bike Path.

Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve seen video of a similar near-collision at that location. Hopefully someone will finally do something to fix the problem, so it will be the last.

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A new study from a German insurance company ranks Vancouver, British Columbia, as North America’s 2nd best city for bicycling.

The Canadian city was ranked 37th out of the world’s 90 top cities, compared to Montreal at 18th.

San Francisco was the best bike city in the US at 39th, followed by Portland and Seattle.

Not surprisingly, Utrecht in the Netherlands ranked first, followed by Munster, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

Despite its vaunted cycle superhighways, London failed to crack the top 50.

Very surprising, though, was Los Angeles actually making the list at 56th, primarily because we ranked first for the world’s best bicycling weather, though you couldn’t prove it today.

Although we did make another much shorter list awhile back.

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Good long read from Curbed on reclaiming the feminist legacy of bicycling.

Recovering the feminist legacy of cycling requires overcoming the practical obstacles that keep women off bikes, and making sure women’s voices are heard in city planning. But perhaps most importantly, it will mean reclaiming the joy, pleasure, and sense of possibility that those early cyclists felt. Women deserve to reconnect with the idea that by riding our bikes we are creating a better future, for ourselves and for our cities.

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Evidently, it’s open season on bike riders.

A Wisconsin teenager was shot in the head as he was riding a bike, in an apparently random, apparently unintentional shooting.

And someone shot an Indianapolis man twice in the leg as he was on an early morning bike ride.

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More proof that drivers are the same everywhere.

A British Columbia driver calmly cruises down a bike lane, passing traffic on the right, before eventually turning onto a freeway onramp.

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Watch a hydraulic press destroy an odd assortment of helmets in a fun, but totally meaningless, demonstration.

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Local

KCRW wants to know if Los Angeles can clean its dirty air. Unless the city provides viable safe alternatives to driving, no.

Streetsblog looks at Tuesday’s Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital in DTLA; Joni Yung offers photos from the event.

KABC-7 says the bike club at Los Angeles Leadership Academy is helping to keep kids motivated and headed in the right direction.

LADOT says plans are moving forward for safety improvements on Winnetka, including nearly a mile of bike lanes, spurred at least in part by the death of a 72-year old bike rider last September. I’m the first to criticize the city council when it’s called for, so let me thank CD3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield for responding to this tragedy and helping push this project through.

The Pasadena Star-News previews Sunday’s 626 Golden Streets open streets event, which will see streets closed to motor vehicles through South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel, predicting a turnout of 20,000 people. With more rain forecast for Sunday, they may be right; turnout on a sunny day could be several times that.

The Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association will hold a pot luck meeting Thursday evening; among the items to be discussed are proposed enhancements to Cordova Street, including suggestions for a bike lane extending to Arroyo Parkway.

An internationally renowned Palos Verdes artist is staging his first show since he was nearly killed riding his bike on PCH in Malibu after finishing an organized century ride.

Long Beach votes to make e-scooters a permanent addition to the city, while tripling the number allowed.

 

State

Calbike says a pair of bike-friendly bills are making their way through the legislature, including tax vouchers for ebikes, which is scheduled for a vote in the Senate today.

A writer in an Ocean Beach paper says bicycling is great, but he’d rather have parking and his right turn on red back, thank you.

The 13th Annual San Diego Century ride rolls this Saturday, and will be passing through Ramona.

A 10-year old Cambria girl with cerebral palsy can ride a bike for the first time, after a nonprofit and a Texas bikemaker help provide her with an adaptive ebike.

Lyft promises to bring their Jump dockless ebikes back to the Bay Area by June, a full three months before they’ll return to the Big Apple.

Los Angeles should take a clue from Oakland, and add adaptive bikes for people with disabilities to the Metro Bike bikeshare.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a paralyzed Richmond man’s mountain bike handcycle, a crowdfunding page to help pay for a replacement has raised $3,000 of the $10,000 goal.

No surprise here. A Sacramento teenager is suing the police for assault and excessive force, among other allegations, after officers intentionally ran him down on the sidewalk as he tried to flee a traffic stop — for not having a light on his bike.

 

National

A new study shows that 37 million Americans think they put themselves in danger from distracted listening while wearing headphones over the past year.

Uber tells its passengers to stop dooring bike riders already.

Let’s face it. What you really need is a good ale trail.

Forget the standard argument over bike lanes versus parking; near Salt Lake City, it’s bikes versus birds.

Denver is planning to add 17 miles of “high comfort” bike lanes this year, a down payment on the 125 miles planned for the next five years.

In yet another example of keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late, a Chicago-area driver fled the scene after running down a 6-year old girl on her bike, despite having a revoked license; the schmuck abandoned his truck — and his dog — then turned himself in the next day, most likely giving himself plenty of time to sober up.

A Minnesota letter writer says the law should be changed so kids can ride salmon, because her friend hit some bicycling teens 40 years ago.

No, 25News in Fenton MI, you don’t have to be an “avid” bicyclist to celebrate Bike Month.

A Boston bike shop manager and triathlete offers safety tips for riding your bike. And gets them right for a change.

A Syracuse NY public radio station discusses the meaning of Complete Streets.

A Pennsylvania TV station warns about breaking the law by allowing the bike rack on your car to block your license plate. That’s illegal here in California, as well, though it seems to be seldom enforced.

Baltimore’s drunken, killer hit-and-run ex-bishop is officially out of prison after serving just half of her seven year sentence for fatally running down a man riding a bike. Let’s hope she got sober while she was behind bars. And that a condition of her parole is no more driving. Period.

A Baltimore newspaper explains why car ownership continues to climb in the US, despite alternatives.

They get it. A North Carolina TV station says drivers need to do their part to improve safety by not parking in bike lanes and other multi-use lanes.

 

International

An Ottawa, Canada man is back in the saddle for the first time in a decade after he was critically injured in a bicycling collision, as he trains for a 2K ride on a walking bike — basically a three-wheeled adult balance bike.

Road.cc offers advice for British bike riders who’ve been in a crash, most of which applies on this side of the Atlantic, as well. We should all be jealous of a country where bicyclists are entitled to free legal advice.

The Department of DIY struck in the UK, where someone anonymously posted warning signs after a bike-riding girl was hit by a bus.

An English man rode his custom bike 9,500 miles across the US. And naturally had it stolen once he made it to California.

Um, okay. A Zambian witch-doctor was sentenced to 18 year hard labor for indecent assault against five elderly people that he blamed for using witchcraft to make a boy fall off his bike and die; he took them to a graveyard and made them undress and lie on a grave, then rolled on them to exorcize their powers.

Israeli authorities are charging an ebike rider for the death of a pedestrian after he went through a crowded crosswalk at 15 mph.

 

Competitive Cycling

Wednesday’s Giro offered a preview of what the Amgen Tour of California riders may have to look forward to today.

French cyclist Remi Cavagna rode an “audacious” solo breakaway to victory in the Amgen Tour of California in Tuesday’s third stage. Although he could stand a few lessons on how to descend.

Evidently, Mark Cavendish is no fan of the AToC, comparing Monday’s second stage to sitting on an indoor trainer for seven hours.

Ventura sisters and pro cyclists Kendall and Alexis Ryan discuss women’s parity in cycling in advance of Thursday’s first stage of the truncated women’s Tour of California.

A sports website predicts misery and pain for the women’s teams in the Tour’s three stages, especially on Mt. Baldy and the final stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena.

VeloNews calls the women’s race a dynamic route with a competitive lineup.

 

Finally…

Don’t just watch Stranger Things, ride it. Seriously, if you’re a known gang member carrying a gun and heroin on your bike, put a damn light on it — the bike, not the gun. Or the heroin.

And why stop for lunch, when you can just have it delivered while you’re stuck in traffic?

 

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

Morning Links: Conservative writer claims bikes are killing machines, and Orange Grove road diet put on hold

April 27, 2018 / / One comment

A conservative writer says bicycles are unpredictable, crash-prone vehicles that are killing people.

According to a post by “radical Islam” writer Daniel Greenfield, urban bicycling poses a danger to cars and pedestrians, as well as bicyclists.

Bicycles are unpredictable vehicles. They crash much more easily. They’re driven erratically. Drivers have trouble spotting them and correcting. So do pedestrians. And bicyclists have to maneuver on roads that are built for large wheeled vehicles or for walking people. No amount of bike lanes will change that.

The urban cycling movement has gotten more people on bikes. But that comes with a false sense of familiarity. Riding a bike as an adult in urban traffic is very different than riding a bike down a suburban street as a kid. The risks are different and so are the reflexes.

Although about the only risk bike riders pose to cars is that we might scratch a fender. Or get blood all over the hood when the driver smashes into us.

But what’s really killing people are the careless, aggressive and/or distracted drivers in deadly 2,000 pound machines.

Bikes aren’t dangerous.

The people and vehicles we share the roads with are.

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for changes on Pasadena’s Orange Grove Blvd.

According to Pasadena Now, the proposed lane reconfiguration will be on hold for at least the next year due to construction of a new water main.

Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed grassroots opposition group patterned after KeepLAMoving — and at least partially run by a founder of that group, giving lie to its supposed Pasadena roots — claims that it’s continuing to gain members.

Although someone might want to tell them that Facebook friends and supporters tend to fade away in real life.

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Local

Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman is one of us, losing nearly 30 pounds since the West LA resident participated in the first California Chefs Cycle in 2015.

CiclaValley lives one perfect day in LA by bike.

A Pasadena man raised $19,000 for a children’s charity by riding 2,000 miles down the left coast.

Bike SGV talks Bike Month events on this month’s SGV Connect podcast.

The Santa Monica Daily Press offers suggestions on how the keep the Earth Day spirit going by going carfree.

A Long Beach man found new friends and riding companions on the seven day AIDS/LifeCycle Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

 

State

A San Diego-area nonprofit uses a track cycling team to teach values to disadvantaged kids at the city’s velodrome in Balboa Park.

Motherboard says dockless bikeshare and e-scooters are disrupting life in San Francisco, rather than merely disrupting existing models.

Nice piece from a Berkeley resident, who says his bicycle allows him to explore the diversity and complexities of the Bay Area, just as bicycles did for other residents over a hundred years earlier.

 

National

Streetsblog says the way to deal with sidewalk clutter from dockless bikeshare is to give them a defined space on the street.

Portland’s bikeshare system could get a Paul Bunyan-themed bike.

Tacoma WA celebrates the “mystical, magical” bicycle next month.

A Seattle pilot project will determine whether ebikes can co-exist with other trail users.

An Idaho Stop bill allowing local jurisdictions to decide whether cyclists can treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stops has passed the Colorado legislature; the governor is expected to sign it.

A Texas man faces DUI, DUI assault and hit-and-run charges for killing two bike riders and seriously injuring another when he drifted off the road and ran them down from behind as they rode on the shoulder of a highway. Note to MRT.com: When a truck runs down three bicyclists at highway speeds, it really doesn’t matter if they were wearing helmets.

Dockless bikeshare is finally coming to Chicago.

Testimony wrapped up Thursday in the Kalamazoo Massacre trial, as jurors heard that the driver took a handful of pills before getting behind the wheel.

Cambridge MA bicyclists form a human protected bike lane to call for safety improvements in the city.

Gothamist is back to tell of the toll New York’s ridiculous ebike ban has taken on the city’s largely immigrant delivery workers. Let’s hope that means LAist, now owned by Pasadena public radio station KPCC, will be back soon.

Note to New York Times: When visiting Copenhagen, chances are you can safely leave your bike helmet at home. Just saying.

A New Orleans website offers a guide to riding your bike to the city’s annual Jazz Fest, which begins this weekend.

 

International

A New York architect explains how to use barriers to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from fast-moving traffic in the wake of this week’s Toronto attack.

Iceland is quadrupling fines for bicycle violations, from running a red light — which was not previously illegal — to putting a sidecar on the wrong side of a bicycle.

England’s second city aims for a Dutch-style bicycling revolution.

A Scottish craft brewery chain is establishing a worldwide cycling club.

Dutch bikemaker Van Moof promises their bikes are virtually theft proof, sending bike hunters to track down your ride if it’s ever stolen.

“Furious” Aussie bicyclists demand police focus on dangerous drivers, rather than on whether the people on bikes are wearing a helmet.

The Financial Review calls dockless bikeshare the frontline battle between Chinese tech giants.

A driver in Singapore faces just two years behind bars if he’s convicted of killing two ped-assist bike riders and injuring a third.

 

Competitive Cycling

The two-year old Colorado Classic will expand the women’s race to four stages, equal to the men’s tour, on some of the same courses; no word on whether that equality extends to prize money, as well.

VeloNews profiles 22-year old California native Justin Oien, the only American on the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA Pro Continental team.

More on the death of women’s pro cyclist Jacquelyn Crowell, who passed away four and a half years after she was diagnosed with a rare malignant brain tumor.

Fabian Cancellara fights back against motor doping charges by offering to let people examine his bike. Even though there’s no way of knowing whether it was the actual bike he was riding when he was accused of using an illegal motor, since it’s not unusual to use multiple bikes during a race.

A writer for SBNation says Lance took al the fun out of it when he settled his lawsuit with the US government for $5 million.

 

Finally…

When one Bike Commuter of the Year just isn’t good enough. No, posting a sign telling bike riders to get off and walk does not count as fixing a dangerous intersection.

And if you’re going to compete in a bike race while out on disability leave for a bad back, turn off your Strava first.

 

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Morning Links: Pasadena’s Orange Grove complete street on hold, and chill out on dockless bikeshare already

March 29, 2018 / / 5 comments

So much for that.

Pasadena has responded to the vocal concerns of drivers and local residents by putting an indefinite hold on plans for a road diet on dangerous Orange Grove Blvd.

Even though that means ignoring the concerns of everyone who wants to live on a quieter, calmer street. Or doesn’t want to get run down by those same drivers.

Which marks yet another victory, albeit hopefully a temporary one, for the people behind the driver activist group Keep LA Moving, which organized the resistance to the bike lane.

As well as opposition to the recently shelved Temple Street road diet, and the failed road diets in Playa del Rey.

So far, only the Mar Vista Great Streets Project on Venice Blvd has survived their traffic safety denier onslaught.

Let’s hope Pasadena can do a better job of communicating the benefits of such projects than LADOT has up to this point. And that the Orange Grove project will come back more successfully at a later date.

Because right now, the people in the black hats and two-ton vehicles are winning.

And needless to say, Keep LA Moving’s allies at KFI radio cheering the decisions.

……..

A writer for San Diego’s City Beat suggests maybe it’s time to just chill out about dockless bikeshare.

As Matthew T. Hall, San Diego Union-Tribune editorial director, lamented on Twitter about the kits, “What kind of world are we leaving our children?”

Well, for one, apparently one where folks Spin’s age, edging toward 60 and above, think the appearance of bicycles in certain communities amounts to some apocalyptic hellscape of two-wheeling insurgents intent on demolishing mankind as we know it…

Never mind that not everyone can afford to buy a bike, nor the notion that perhaps a significant portion of the bikes that appear in Little Italy—or Mission Hills or Point Loma for that matter—might have actually brought someone to your popular neighborhood. Seems like short-sighted economics to drive that kind of business away…

Is it a perfect system? Hell no, but what is? But for this curmudgeon who this week turned 59, the bikes have offered—at a reasonable price—an opportunity to regain some semblance of a connection with my city and, by some miracle, my youth.

………

Horrifying video of a head-on collision as a driver turned directly into a bike rider waiting at a red light.

Needless to say, the driver claims she never saw him. Which should be seen as a confession rather than an excuse.

Note: This video shows exactly what it looks like to get hit head-on from the rider’s perspective. So consider that before deciding if you really want to hit play.

………

Bloomberg reports that Uber disconnected the collision avoidance system that comes standard in the Volvo SUV that stuck and killed Elaine Herzberg while she was crossing the street in Tempe Arizona, relying on their own failed self-driving technology instead.

Meanwhile, Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says instead of counting on self-driving cars to save us, we should build cities to marginalize motor vehicles.

………

Local

Metro wants your input on how to spend their budget for next year. Hint: Shift all the highway funds to build bikeways and sidewalks, instead.

Normally, this would be your warning that upcoming lane closures for a Culver City construction site would mean the closure of the eastbound bike lanes on Venice Blvd. But I’m told they’ve already been closed for weeks.

Bicycling takes a little floatation therapy in Santa Monica.

 

State

Here’s your chance to design a new image for a proposed bicycle-themed California license plate. I’ve already submitted my design, showing an angry driver yelling “Get on the sidewalk!” Thanks to Phil Gaimon for the link. 

The New York Times looks at California’s SB-827, which would encourage denser housing to reduce reliance on motor vehicles to cut greenhouse gasses.

An Agoura Hills writer says the weather is nice, so it’s time to ride a bike.

Advocacy group Bike Bakersfield has developed their own stolen bike bulletin board.

These are the people we share the roads with. A San Francisco driver was arrested for plowing into a group of pedestrians, killing one and injuring four, before fleeing the scene. To make matters worse, the crash appear to have been intentional, coming after he shouted homophobic slurs and threatened the victims with an ax.

Former pro Peter Stetina will host a gran fondo during this year’s Interbike in Reno-Lake Tahoe.

 

National

Business Insider reviews bike helmets, and concludes the best option for most people is a $25 skid lid from Schwinn.

Peer-to-peer bikeshare firm Spinlister has announced they will be closing at the end of next month.

Bike Portland talks with a safe-driving advocate for a BMW magazine, who wants to put the focus for Vision Zero on the people behind the wheel.

For the next three weeks, you can explore Yellowstone National Park by bike, with no cars allowed.

Streetsblog makes the case for why a new bike trail-adjacent Chicago apartment building should only have 36 parking spaces for 124 units.

No bias here. No, Time Out, bicyclists in New York can’t legally run red lights. But they can start riding when pedestrians are legally allowed to go, which is a different matter entirely.

A New York cyclist makes the case for why bicyclists should support congestion pricing.

An American Idol contestant is teaming with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and a Nashville bike/walk advocacy group to discourage texting while driving, two years after he was run down by a distracted driver while riding his bike.

Philadelphia bike riders will honor a pastry chef killed in a bike crash last year with a pastry-filled bike scavenger hunt.

 

International

CNET says increasing regulation could, but probably won’t, stop the global spread of dockless bikeshare.

Cycling Weekly offers advice on how to get more aero. Which probably won’t help on your cruiser bike.

A Canadian mountie won’t face charges after investigators conclude there isn’t enough evidence to prove he ran over a fleeing bike theft suspect, even though he probably did.

It takes a major schmuck to sue a 10-year old girl for not following the vehicle code to the letter after he crashed into the rear tire of her bicycle while running. Fortunately, the judge dismissed the case.

A new study shows one in four drivers in Australia’s Queensland state pass bicyclists too closely. Which should sound familiar to most bike riders just about anywhere else.

 

 

Finally…

If you’re going to punch the driver who just crashed into your friend’s bike, at least wait until the cops leave.

And yes, you can go mountain biking in Los Angeles.

………

Thanks to Zachary R for his generous donation to the unofficial BikinginLA Dead Computer Replacement Fund.

 

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Morning Links: Save money by biking in the nation’s second most expensive city, and bikelash in the Rose City

March 27, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Save money by biking in the nation’s second most expensive city, and bikelash in the Rose City

Los Angeles is the nation’s second most expensive city, and number 14 in the world.

Which is as good a reason as any to ride a bike instead of driving.

It may not make the city any cheaper, but it could save you hundreds of dollars every month.

Or at the very least, you might forget about the pain in your wallet for awhile, and get where you’re going with a smile on your face.

……..

Curbed looks at the inevitable bikelash over plans for a road diet on Pasadena’s Orange Grove Blvd.

The outrage from local residents has already torpedoed a second public meeting originally scheduled for tomorrow.

Although I’m told that the opposition is being guided by the people behind anti-traffic safety group Keep LA Moving, which has apparently set its sights on halting any lane reduction plan in the greater LA area.

……..

Local

A meeting in Pomona tonight will discuss plans for next month’s Heart of the Foothills CicLAvia through San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona and Claremont.

It’s Walk to School Week in Long Beach.

 

State

Sad news from Foster City, where a 78-year old bike rider was killed in a collision on Friday.

 

National

No, you can’t ride your ebike on BLM or Forrest Service trails.

The Pew Charitable Trust looks at the possible spread of the Idaho Stop Law, which was considered in a number of states this year — including California, where it failed in part thanks to opposition from AAA, which seems to have confused the solution with the problem.

The family of a Las Vegas surgeon was awarded $18.7 million after he was killed when his bike was sucked under a bus due to an allegedly faulty aerodynamic design.

Life is cheap in Texas, where a killer hit-and-run driver got out of jail 10 months early thanks to a legal loophole; not surprisingly, his lawyer thinks he’s done more than enough time. Thanks to Steve Katz for the link.

A Chicago weekly says Lima, Peru’s beautiful boulevard bike paths could be a hit in the Windy City.

Outside looks at healthy workplaces, including the new extremely bike-friendly SRAM headquarters in Chicago.

More proof of the intelligence of Harvard students, as a new $50 bicycle subsidy program sells out in the first week; the student government votes to expand the program as a result. Thanks to the Preven Report for the heads-up.

The Wall Street Journal discovers the flood of dockless bikeshare around the US.

Philadelphia is flipping bike lanes from right to left on one way streets to make bicyclists more visible to drivers at intersections.

 

International

A new study shows that requiring bicyclists to wear hi-viz had no impact on collision rates.

Canada’s Cycling Magazine offers advice on what to do, and not to do, when taking your bike to a mechanic this spring. I’ve said it before; treat a good wrench like your best friend, because for your bike, he — or she — is.

This is who we share the roads with. A British Columbia woman insists she wasn’t drunk when she crashed her car, just texting.

Toronto bicyclists stage a die-in on the steps of city hall in advance of a vote for a complete streets redesign a major thoroughfare.

The Guardian offers advice on what to do if your bike hits a pothole. Which is good advice here, too. Especially the part about hiring a lawyer if you’re going to take on city hall. 

Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver gets off with just eight months for plowing through traffic lights and into a bike rider while driving with five times the legal level of a cocaine derivative in his system. Seriously, who knew there was a legal level of coke for getting behind the wheel?

Clearly, hit-and-run isn’t just an American problem. Although apparently in the UK, it’s considered hit-and-run if you leave the scene after hitting an animal, unless it’s a cat.

The war on bikes goes on. Someone strung a chain across a trail popular Australian mountain bike trail.

Shimano’s Osaka, Japan manufacturing plant suffered a serious fire on Monday.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sarah Cooper describes how she went from being afraid to ride a bike following a collision to winning last year’s RAAM.

New US Pro Continental Team Holowesko-Citadel managed to find unexpected success in their first European race.

 

Finally…

Fuel your next movie through pedal power. Taking a bikeshare bike down the length of Great Britain.

And go ahead and trick your significant other into liking outdoor activities.

Because nobody objects to being tricked for a good cause, right?

 

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Morning Links: Englander proposes temporary dockless bikeshare ban, and BOLO Alert in El Monte hit-and-run

February 26, 2018 / / 2 comments

Not everyone is welcoming dockless bikeshare to Los Angeles.

CD12 Councilmember Mictch Englander has introduced a motion that would ban any dockless bikeshare programs in the city, with the exception of pilot projects sponsored by various councilmembers.

The motion calls on the city to develop guidelines for any future dockless programs, as well as penalties for providers who fail to live up to those standards.

This would allow existing programs from LimeBike and Ofo to continue in the port cities and Griffith Park, respectively, but could prohibit the LimeBikes at Cal State Northridge from being taken off campus.

While the motion seems a little heavy-handed, the experiences in other cities make it clear that unregulated dockless programs invite problems, along with the inevitable bikelash from people who find the bikes on their lawns or blocking the sidewalk.

Let alone in their trees or swimming pools.

Hopefully Englander and the council can find a way to develop effective regulations without stifling the growth of what could be a very effective way to reduce motor vehicle traffic.

Thanks to TJ Knight for the heads-up.

………

Police in El Monte are asking the public to be on the alert to help find a hit-and-run driver who critically injured a bike rider.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

………

There will be a pair of public meetings next month to discuss a proposal to convert Pasadena’s Orange Grove Blvd into a complete street.

………

A man riding a bicycle was injured in a collision near the Calgrove onramp to the 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita; no word on his condition.

Nina Moskol, chairperson of the Santa Clarita Bicycle Coalition, had this to say afterwards.

The location of this crash is a known bike corridor. The County has proposed bikeways plans to improve this area. The Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition has been discussing this area at every opportunity with LA County, Cal Trans, and City transportation officials.

To date, we have had no word as to what proposed improvements for safety will be implemented, when, or where exactly. What we do know is that this freeway/County road interchange is complex and under heavy use because of ongoing construction on the I-5 to complete pavement restoration (and possible HOV lanes). We encourage everyone to ride safely and carefully.

………

Local

Curbed says the new Glendale-Hyperion Bridge will feature protected bike lanes on both sides, which would be a change from the painted bike lanes called for in the original plans, but it would still have just one sidewalk on the north side.

Somehow we missed this one, as Metro’s BEST program hosted a tweed ride in Culver City yesterday.

Clear your schedule next Sunday for Los Angeles Walk’s annual fundraiser and free block party

 

State

The LA Times reports on Montclair’s ridiculous law banning pedestrians from crossing the street while using any electronic device, including headphones or earbuds.

Officials opened the first section of the planned 50-mile CV Link bikeway around the Coachella Valley. Or it would be 50 miles, if Rancho Mirage was willing to let it besmirch their fair city.

Protected bike lanes could be coming to Oakland’s Lake Merritt.

Marin’s anti-bike lane crank columnist ridicules comments of a mode shift on a Bay Area bridge, saying 235 bike crossings a day pale in comparison to 71,000 motor vehicles. He’s got a point, although the question is whether there are any safe connections on either side of the bridge that encourage people to ride across.

 

National

Good piece from Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss, who says we need to get more kids on bikes.

Some Portland bike shops are beginning to shun brands owned by Vista Outdoor, which has been linked to a maker of ammunition and AR-15-type weapons.

A Wisconsin nonprofit intends to refurbish 1,000 bicycles to donate to local kids next month.

Heartwarming story from Milwaukee, where motorcycle maker Harley Davidson helped design a custom adaptive tricycle for a four-year old boy born without legs and forearms. And no, the story doesn’t explain how he’s going to pedal it.

Two Indiana men face up to 30 months in prison for building an illegal singletrack trail through an Indiana nature preserve.

A Philadelphia councilwoman proposes requiring city council approval for any bike lane that could affect the flow of traffic. Never mind that people on bikes are traffic, too.

 

International

A Caribbean-based physiotherapist explains how to avoid minor injuries when you start riding.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a road raging driver who threw oven cleaner on a bike rider — with her two kids in the car, no less — and leaving the victim with severe chemical burns, walked with a 12-month suspended sentence.

A British soldier has gotten six years for fatally slamming his car into a man riding his bike, after he was shown on video downing five beers and three shots in a pub.

Road.cc looks at presumed liability, which is the norm in most of Europe, and whether it would make streets safer for cyclists in the UK. If we ever want to end car culture and the automotive hegemony on our streets, we’ll have to adopt some form of presumed liability, which assumes the operator of the larger vehicle is at fault in any crash, because they have a greater responsibility to avoid a collision due to their greater ability to cause harm.

A Scottish newspaper makes the case for a 20 mph speed limit, saying initial opposition has died down nearly a year after it was implemented.

CNBC has discovered Copenhagen, where officials say traffic would come to a standstill if 15% to 20% of bicyclists switched to motor vehicles. Which suggest that getting 15% to 20% of Angelenos on bikes might get traffic moving again.

Chinese dockless bikeshare company Gobee has pulled out of Paris without warning, after quitting other European cities due to extensive vandalism.

Evidently, bike riders are second-class citizens in Kolkata, where they’re required to get off and walk their bikes across major streets.

A Canberra, Australia newspaper says there’s no reason for the country’s Capital Territory to reconsider its mandatory helmet law, which it calls a proven lifesaver. Even though multiple studies have questioned whether the health benefits of bicycling outweigh the benefits of bike helmet laws, which have depressed bicycling rates in Australia.

Japan is considering plans to build a suspended bikeway under a bridge connecting Shikoku and Awajishima islands. Or you can ride a 44-mile route connecting six islands in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea right now.

 

Competitive Cycling

ESPN considers how Cal Berkeley law school dean Molly Shaffer Van Houweling broke the 12-year old hour record in 2014.

Yes, the cycling season is underway already, as Spain’s Alejandro Valverde takes the Abu Dhabi Tour, and Dylan Groenewegen wins on the frozen cobbles of Belgium’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

 

Finally…

The best way to get over a bad breakup? Ride across the US. When the real Tour de France leads leads to fictional romance.

And now you, too, can own your very own dockless bikeshare bike to leave anywhere you want.

 

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Morning Links: Traffic survey for Hollywood Bowl, and Orange Grove Blvd complete street petition

February 23, 2018 / / One comment

Take a few minutes to fill out a new survey asking for your input on solutions for traffic problems at the Hollywood Bowl. Better access for bikes, and more and better bike parking at the Bowl are obvious answers.

Thanks to Cheryl Holland for the heads-up. Photo by Natmanso09 from Hollywood Bowl Wikipedia page.

………

A Pasadena petition calls on the city to move forward with shovel-ready plans to remake Orange Grove Blvd into a bike and pedestrian friendly complete street.

………

Local

Curbed’s Alissa Walker considers how a 15-year old ad for a defunct car brand makes the case for getting rid of cars.

The LA River bike path will be closed between Ocean Blvd and 7th Street in Long Beach next Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

State

Federal legislation currently under consideration would preclude California from taking any steps to regulate self-driving vehicles.

A Simi Valley writer suggests taking advantage of the warm winter weather, and taking up enduro, cyclocross or road racing. Although that warm weather seems to be past tense right now. 

A 77-year old Arroyo Grande man was critically injured when he allegedly swerved into the side of a passing car. Funny how often  people on bicycles seem to swerve into passing motor vehicles. Because no driver would ever pass too close to someone on a bicycle, or carelessly cross the line into a bike lane.

A San Luis Obispo writer accuses the city council of violating California’s Brown Act and caving in to a “small clique of bike advocates” after it reverses course, and votes to implement the original plan for a bike boulevard after approving a compromise plan two weeks earlier.

Staying on the SLO beat, the city is installing bicycle traffic signals at several locations around town to cut collisions involving bicyclists.

Wired says San Francisco’s Jump Bike e-bikeshare could be the potential Uber slayer.

 

National

Giro, Bell, Camelbak, CoPilot and other bike brands owned by Vista Outdoor are facing calls for a boycott after it was learned that the $3 billion company is one of the nation’s leading ammunition makers and a supporter of the NRA.

Honolulu is honoring a fallen cyclist by naming bike lanes in his honor; the 18-year old victim was killed in a hit-and-run in 2010.

Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph led staff members, players and their families in building 110 bikes in just 45 minutes to donate to kids at a Denver elementary school. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

Michigan is trying to cut crashes involving people on bicycles by mandating better driver education on laws involving bikes, pedestrians and motorcyclists.

It’s a well-deserved 14-years behind bars for an Ohio driver who admitted using heroin before getting behind the wheel and killing 61-year old bicyclist; he told police he thought he’d hit a bird. The victim’s sister gave him a book on Alcoholics Anonymous at the sentencing, and told him to keep reading it in prison until it sinks in.

Massachusetts police arrested an 18-year old BMX rider after a group of 50 to 60 cyclists swarmed traffic and performed stunts; he was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, among other counts, after allegedly riding his bike into one of the cops in an attempt to get away.

 

International

Who needs skis to traverse snowbound Niagara trails when you’ve got a fat bike?

Taking a page from Donald Shoup, a Manchester, England website looks at the high cost of free parking, arguing that it discourages people from using transit or riding a bicycle.

British cops will be riding bikes in plain clothes to bust drivers violating the five-foot passing distance. Which is something the LAPD should start doing.

The first person beatified by the Catholic church in Ireland was one of us, leaving him one miracle short of sainthood. (Insert joke about surviving LA traffic here).

A French court ruling could force Paris to return cars to a popular, car-free promenade on the right bank of the river Seine.

Police traffic guards in Kolkata, India, will be stopping bicyclists for a few minutes to educate them on bike laws, after concluding that bike riders “break all traffic laws.” Apparently, all drivers in the city obey all the traffic laws, giving them plenty of time to focus on the people on bicycles.

Canberra, Australia will consider loosening the mandatory bike helmet laws in the country’s capital city under some slow-speed conditions in preparation for a new bike share program.

An Aussie bicyclist will ride 3,400 miles across the country to honor fallen endurance cyclist Mike Hall, who was killed in a collision during last year’s Indian Pacific Wheel Race.

Taiwanese bikeshare users will get free insurance when they ride, paying out the equivalent of up to $68,000 in the extremely unlikely event they kill someone.

 

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to crash into a motorcycle cop when you’re carrying drugs on your bike and/or riding stoned. Your next tri bike could look like something from another planet.

And this is what happens when the other woman is a bicycle.

 

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