The city council’s Public Works Committee recommended that e-scooters be allowed on LA streets with their current top speed of 15 mph, rather than the 12 mph limit recommended by the Transportation Committee.
The full city council will now have to make the final decision.
The committee also approved a lengthy laundry list of other proposed scooter requirements, while leaving the door open for other providers to step in, in addition to the current Bird and Lime.
You can thank bike-friendly Joe Buscaino if the higher speed limit gets approved.
https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaino/status/1029859925218930688
Today’s photo reflects a more subtle form of vandalism, spotted on the streets of Hollywood.
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As long as we’re talking about scooters, we might as well keep going.
The Santa Monica Daily Press looks at Tuesday’s demonstration at SaMo City Hall in support of Lime and Bird scooters, and finds somewhat underwhelming. Although the 20,000 or so form emails city leaders received were just the opposite.
Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole reminds us that even though the process for legalizing scooters hasn’t been easy, few remember how the first motor cars turned cities upside down.
Streetsblog says the hyperventilating stories about scooters have been blown out of proportion, because the rollout is going well in most places.
And an Atlanta doctor gives a e-scooters a negative review, calling them dangerous to people on and off them, and recommends giving them the boot.
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The Los Angeles Taxi Commission has officially barred cab drivers from parking or waiting in bike lanes for any reason, other than to pick up or drop off handicapped passengers.
https://twitter.com/taxicomisionado/status/1030249259419877376
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The stoned driver who killed 70-year old endurance cyclist Paul Cornish in an Oceanside bike lane last year will spend 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Twenty-six-year old Felix Ruiz Bazan was high on meth, and driving a stolen car without a license when he ran down Cornish, who once set the record for fastest crossing of the continental US by bicycle.
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While we’re at it, let’s catch up on a few other updates on more recent crashes.
A young father of two has been identified as the victim of Monday’s collision in Bellflower; Timothy Maurice Lewis was allegedly riding against traffic when he was struck and killed. A GoFundMe page has been created to help pay his funeral expenses.
A GoFundMe page has also been created to raise funds for funeral expenses for Apolinar Venancio; the popular Glassell Park resident known as Don Polo was killed while riding his bike last week.
And the road cyclist killed in East San Diego County earlier this month has been identified as 61-year old Daniel Lusteg of La Mesa.
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Forget the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. Security video shows a British bike thief making off with one in about four.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51NaqfSIEHQ
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Local
Curbed suggests five ways to make isolated Dodger stadium more accessible that aren’t Boring, including improving bikeways and making Vin Scully Ave a pedestrianized street.
The Morning Ride Cycle Club presents photos from last weekend’s LA Handmade Bicycle Show.
Santa Monica-based Bird has established a global safety advisory board to help improve safety for e-scooter users — and presumably, those around them.
A Malibu program teaches kids how to be safe on PCH, where even adult bicyclists take their chances with drivers distracted by topless selfie takers.
State
Seriously, what’s the point of doing a story about a San Luis Obispo bike show if you’re not going to include photos?
The JUMP dockless e-bikeshare has been a success in Santa Cruz.
Sad news from San Francisco, where a 65-year old man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding in the city’s Tenderloin district; the driver was later arrested on DUI, hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter charges.
San Francisco unveils plans for a protected bike lane along the Embarcadero, where a pedicab operator was killed earlier this year.
Richmond’s mayor and at least one councilmember decry the arrest of Rich City Rides founder Najari “Naj” Smith in neighboring Oakland for apparently Biking While Black.
National
No, the problem isn’t that self-driving cars can’t spot humans, on two wheels or two feet. It’s that human beings are too unpredictable. So autonomous car makers want to make us follow the rules, or else.
Strong Towns makes the case for why drivers should support bike lanes.
Bicycling offers five scientific reasons why riding a bike is the best way to get around. And why you get addicted to bicycling social media, and what to do about it.
Portland’s master bike thief is at it again, getting 25 months in prison for violating his probation with his 80th arrest in 20 years of stealing bicycles. Yes, eighty.
Reddit solved a Washington hit-and-run, as an online discussion helped identify a tiny part left behind by the driver who killed a bicycling grandmother.
The Seattle Times recommends adding a ferry to your rides.
If you have a little extra cash lying around — preferably in pounds — consider investing in a documentary about a 75-year old man’s attempt to break the record for a human powered vehicle at Battle Mountain, Nevada.
Three hundred fifty bike riders turned out for a 350-mile ride around the Yellowstone region.
Life is cheap in Kansas, where a speeding, allegedly stoned hit-and-run driver who killed a bike rider got seven years behind bars — but will probably only serve four months.
Illinois will now teach the Dutch Reach to all student drivers, as well as adding a question about it on the driver’s test to help reduce dooring.
Minneapolis is preparing to take the middle ground between docked and dockless bikeshare, while providing marked parking spaces for the latter.
A local paper talks with Massachusetts custom bikemaker Alex Meade, who took over an old factory for his business.
A Gettysburg PA bike rider explains for motorists why we do the things we do.
International
Fifteen cities around the world are fighting air pollution by curbing the use of cars. Needless to say, Los Angeles is not one of them.
A story in Outside tells how bikepacker Kate Harris saw more than Marco Polo ever did. On the other hand, no one’s ever played “Kate Harris” in the swimming pool.
Cycling Tips‘ Angry Asian says enough with the ebike hate. Couldn’t agree more. It’s a damn good rant, and damn well worth reading.
Can’t decide whether to buy a roadie, commuter or mountain bike? Then just get all three in one. Or maybe you’re tired of riding everywhere and want to go un-carfree.
A crowdfunding campaign for the five Edmonton, Canada bicyclists injured by a driver who couldn’t manage to see two lines of riders directly in front of her has raised over $10,000 of the $250,000 goal.
Forget whether it’s safer for Edmonton bicyclists to ride single file or two abreast; real safety requires separated bike lanes.
Winnipeg bans right turns on red lights to protect bike riders and pedestrians. But only in one district.
A Toronto city counselor and a Vision Zero advocate debate how to make the streets safer. Hint: Don’t do it the first guy’s way.
A Toronto man walked away from his MBA and law degree to co-found titanium bikemaker No. 22.
A Guardian writer goes fat biking on the beach.
Talk about blaming the victim. London’s Daily Mail urges the UK government to crack down on Ofo’s yellow dockless bikeshare bikes because people are vandalizing them and dumping them in lakes and trees. Because God knows, they wouldn’t want to go after the vandals who are destroying them or anything.
Not even people a heartbeat away from royalty are safe on the streets, as the Queen’s personal homeopath was killed in a crash while riding his bike just seconds from the hospital where he works.
Oxford, England shut down its docked bikeshare in the face of competition from dockless bikeshares.
A British man is riding 211 miles on his daughter’s little pink bicycle to raise money in her memory, after she died of a brain tumor at age seven.
The Chicago Tribune asks if Tajikistan is safe for American tourists after terrorists killed four bike tourists, including an American couple. And no, they weren’t trying to make a point by riding through ISIS-controlled territory — and no, they weren’t naive to try.
An Indian website talks with bike clubs across the country to take the temperature of India’s bike scene.
An Aussie website explains how riding two abreast improves safety. And why it’s good for drivers, too.
Life is cheap in Australia, where a judge tells a driver who smashed into a bike rider that driving with a windshield so frosted over he couldn’t see where he was going was a mistake anyone could make.
Forget a custom bike. What you really need are custom Kiwi bike shoes.
Competitive Cycling
The four-day Colorado Classic bike race kicked off on Thursday, as women cyclists wonder what they have to do to get a little attention, and one rider asks who you’d rather see in spandex. Good point.
Chris Froome and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas will skip the Vuelta in favor of the Tour of Britain.
Ritchie Porte will ride for redemption at the Vuelta and the World Championships.
A New York cyclist got tired of bike races. So he created his own.
A 20-year old Israeli cycling champ was killed in a left cross when a turning driver cut her off.
A writer for VeloNews says Donald Trump’s alleged Russian connections date back to his sponsorship of the Tour de Trump bike race in the 1980s.
Finally…
Yes, you’re invited to ride on a new highway before it opens — just don’t bring your own bike. If you name your company Cycling Porn, don’t be surprised when it gets blocked on social media.
And your next bike helmet could text for help if you crash.
Note: We originally ended with a police report that turned out to be a hoax. Thanks to Sam for the correction.
