You can celebrate by getting out on your bike today and riding somewhere, anywhere. Because the best argument for more and better bicycling is seeing more people on them.
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No surprise here.
A new six-year, 28-city study shows that protected bike lanes resulted in 1.8 times greater bicycle commuter usage compared to standard bike lanes, 1.6 times greater than shared lanes — aka sharrows — and 4.3 times more than streets without any bicycle infrastructure.
Yes, that’s 430%.
Protected bike lanes also showed 52.5% greater bike commuting mileage than standard bike lanes, and a whopping 281.2% more than shared-lanes.
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The California Ebike Incentive Program offered an update on last week’s surprisingly successful round of voucher applications, and somehow managed to avoid patting themselves on the back for finally getting it right.
Although that legal disclaimer on the last line is a winner.
The Los Angeles Times says Gavin Newsom and the California legislature are preparing the biggest CEQA overhaul in a generation, as a result of national criticism that the state can’t build sufficient housing and public infrastructure anymore.
National
Over 22,000 people have signed a petition calling on the US Department of Transportation to prioritize funding for bicycling infrastructure in major US cities.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 83-year old Sitka, Alaska man continues to ride, after switching to an ebike in his late 70s when he started having trouble keeping up with his younger friends.
A pair of New Jersey women will spend the next six years behind bars, after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter for killing a 22-year old NYU graduate who was riding a bicycle on a state highway last year, while they were doing 90 mph in a 50 mph zone and illegally passing other vehicles on the shoulder.
Mexico News Daily says Isaac del Torro may have finished second in the Giro after losing to Simon Yates on the penultimate stage, but he won in the hearts of his countrymen.
Day 107 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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SoCal’s killer highway could finally see some much-needed changes.
If we can wait that long.
Admittedly, I didn’t have high hopes for the state transportation agency’s Pacific Coast Highway Master Plan Feasibility Study, given their long auto-centric history focusing more on what can’t be done to improve safety than on what can.
But the draft document seems to offer significant safety changes on the 22-mile long stretch through Malibu, though with one key caveat.
As Streetsblog’s Damien Newton puts it, the draft master plan “covers twenty years of projects that could be completed, should funding become available.”
Okay, make that two caveats, given a lack of funding and the extensive timeline.
The plan calls for protected bike lanes for nearly the full length, other than a nearly three-mile stretch where the roadway is considered too narrow, with too many driveways to provide safe protection.
It also includes numerous pedestrian improvements, as well as calling for narrowing traffic lanes to 10′-6” wide, the minimum standard for Complete Streets, according to Caltrans.
Other possible traffic calming improvements — key word “possible” — include, according to Newton, “gateway signage, speed tables at high-traffic crossings, trees, and angled parking,” as well as potential traffic circles and roundabouts, including at the entrance to El Matador State Beach.
But as noted above, the problem — other than coming up with the funding, which could be difficult given the current environment — is the extensive timeline.
As a list of short-term projects makes clear, most of the proposed changes will come 10 t0 20 years from now, if they happen at all.
A major problem given what Newton terms the “staggering” 1,245 deaths and serious injuries from traffic violence in just a five year period, from 2018 to 2023.
Which means the improvements will likely come too late for many bike riders who have taken their chances riding the coast highway for all those years, myself included.
But it could leave a much safer and more livable highway for those who follow.
Photo from Caltrans press release.
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LA County supervisors passed a motion doubling the penalty for participating in a street takeover.
Which is nice, and needed. But it probably won’t actually stop anyone.
We’ve got a long list of Twitter/X posts to catch up on, so my apologies in advance if Elon’s meddling on the site prevents them from embedding properly.
Join us April 26 for a community event where Metro will be participating in the resource fair and offering a sneak peek of the (R2R) project. In partnership with CD9, City Plants and others, we’ll also be supporting additional planting efforts along the future R2R corridor!!! pic.twitter.com/OEIPdxKYsk
Advocates, cyclists, and bike lovers—come hang with us! Handlebar Happy Hour is happening Monday, April 22 at 6PM at Santa Monica Brew Works. Connect with fellow advocates, share ideas, and build community over a cold drink. pic.twitter.com/9y4Hyr3Jnq
A London bike rider complains about gates on the the city’s bike network that are intended to keep out motorbikes and quad bikes, but instead deter elderly and disabled people from riding a bike, arguing the “anti-bike” gates turn Low Traffic Neighborhoods into low bicycling ones.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A New Zealand dog nearly lost his leg when he was struck by an ebike rider, which completely severed a tendon in the pup’s leg, after the dog’s owner says two men “came flying around the corner” doing at least 18 mph on their ebikes, and only said “get your fucking dog under control” before riding off; however, the 73-year old ebike rider says he was only doing 10 mph, and never saw the dog.
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Local
South Pasadena warns about bike thieves, noting that most of the city’s stolen bikes were secured with flimsy cable locks that are easily cut; they also suggest noting your bike’s make, model, color, cost and serial number, as well as attaching an AirTag to your bike. Which gives us another opportunity to recommend free lifetime registration with Bike Index, which securely records all that information, along with photos of your bike — before anything happens to it.
A police interview with Australian Olympic champ Rohan Dennis just hours after the death of his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins, reveals it began with a typical argument over kitchen renovations, before she fell under his SUV trying to hold onto the door handle as he sped away.
Day 105 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Streets For All is urging you to voice your support for protected bike lanes on Pacific Coast Highway at tonight’s virtual community workshop. Or at least email your support.
Tell Caltrans:
We Need Protected Bike Lanes On PCH!
Caltrans is releasing a draft of the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Studyfor a 60-day public review period. They are hosting two virtual community workshops and will be taking comment via email.
While the current plan includes some protected bike lanes, there will be a gap between Rambla Pacifico Street and Carbon Canyon Road. Tell Caltrans that ALL bike lanes on PCH need to be protected, for the safety of drivers, bikers, and pedestrians.
Once again, Trump’s tariffs on bicycles, and the industry’s response to them, are the common theme in today’s news.
The Liberty Justice Center, described as a libertarian public-interest firm, has filed the first suit over Trump’s tariffs, arguing he overstepped his authority as president in imposing them.
Indiana’s Guardian Bikes is responding to the new tariffs with $39 million in new financing to re-shore their manufacturing by building the country’s first large-scale framebuilding operation. Although they could be in trouble if our mercurial president cancels them.
Which is exactly what can and should happen in Los Angeles, if our elected leaders would stop fighting efforts to improve safety and shift to greener streets.
Unfortunately, that seems to be a very big if.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps going on.
A Dublin, Ireland city counselor elevated the “I’m a cyclist, but…” cliche to a whole new level, continuing his efforts to block a planned new bike lane after an appeals court overturned a previous ruling blocking it — despite claiming that he rides his bike to work every day, and supports bike lanes “where appropriate in the right areas.” Here’s a clue for him: Bike lanes are appropriate anywhere and everywhere cars are allowed on the streets, if only because they’re not needed anywhere else.
Massachusetts is ready to launch their ebike rebate program, offering 3,000 vouchers for up to $1,200 off the purchase of an ebike. That’s three times as many vouchers as California will release at the end of this month, in a state with less than one-fifth the population.
March 12, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on The air you breathe sucks, congestion pricing creates a biketopia, and flushing money down induced-demand toilet
Day 71 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
You can blame my internet provider for going down around midnight.
Or you can blame a virus so nice I caught it twice, which made me hope it didn’t come back so I could go back to bed.
“Even in this unusually cold winter, we’re seeing more people biking since congestion pricing took effect,” says Ken Podziba, president and CEO of the advocacy nonprofit Bike New York. “But the real excitement will come with warmer weather, as we witness a dramatic shift—fewer cars and more bikes filling the city streets.”
To Podziba’s point, what might happen when the temperature ticks up? Will Manhattan suddenly look like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, or Oslo, the latter two of which recently joined the trend of centering bicycle transport in their urban design? And if ridership skyrockets, will the city take the lead from its legion of bike riders and implement more and safer means for people to traverse the city via bike?
But as we’ve seen with other highway projects, like the failed $1 billion project to reconfigure the 405 Freeway over the Sepulveda Pass that only resulted in more congestion, it’s more likely to have the opposite effect while making the deadly highway even deadlier.
Yet they continue to fund projects like this, despite requirements for Complete Streets and aligning highway projects with the state’s clean air goals.
Did I mention it will also make air quality even worse?
But at least this one will include sidewalk improvements and bike lanes. Although they could have just skipped the whole highway thing and spent the money on bike lanes and sidewalks throughout Orange County instead.
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LADOT wants your input this evening on a plan to extend the LA River bike path about a mile west through Griffith Park.
I mean, what’s not to like?
The LA River Bikeway is getting an upgrade, and your input matters! Join the virtual public meeting on March 12 at 6 PM to learn about the new multi-use path and equestrian trail and share your thoughts. Click the link to join the zoom https://t.co/5assSPDu90pic.twitter.com/q9clWPMMoy
The Project would extend the Los Angeles River Bikeway approximately one mile from its current western end near Riverside Drive and provide new equestrian trail facilities near the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Show your support here: Zoom link: https://t.co/iAkVctnlg1pic.twitter.com/hi0Le6jq1D
I don’t know if this is a commentary on the sad state of the bike business, or the sad state of American health insurance.
Or both.
Because it's now too expensive to hire unskilled teens, a New Jersey bike shop owner has adopted the unique strategy of hiring married people whose spouses have health insurance and can "afford" to work in the bicycle industry. pic.twitter.com/2CxH6gLqhR
Santa Rosa released the city’s draft active transportation plan, calling for buffered and protected bike lanes, new sidewalks and better crosswalks. But as we’ve learned the hard way, plans like that mean nothing without funding and political support.
The trial of teen driver Jesus Ayala for the thrill-kill murder of retired Bell, California police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst as he rode a bike in Las Vegas has been delayed until September.
This is who we share the road with. A Vermont cop, who really should have known better, was watching YouTube when he killed a man riding a bicycle while driving his patrol car, then kept going before apparently thinking better of it and turning around. Maybe he just wanted to finish the video first. Thanks to Todd Munson for the heads-up.
January 2, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hardening Hollywood Blvd against New Orleans-style vehicular terror, and anti-ebike voucher editorial gets it all wrong
As expected, Los Angeles has now officially failed to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, as they committed to under the Vision Zeroprogram.
And still not one city official has commented on the failure.
Thanks to Ralph D, Johannes H, Brian N, John M, Glen S, Kevin B, Rob K and Greg M for their generous contributions to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!
And thank you to everyone who donated this year. I can’t begin to tell you how much your support means to me.
Meanwhile, I’ve had a full week to recover, and I’m tanned, rested and ready to rock and roll.
And my apologies to anyone who forwarded news this past week, because it’s after 3 am and I’m too damn tired to dig through my emails to credit everyone.
But I do appreciate the links, and thank you for your help.
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Speaking of non-action by our elected leaders, yesterday’s vehicular terrorist attack in New Orleans is yet another reminder that there is absolutely nothing in place or planned to protect tourists and shoppers from a similar attack on Hollywood Blvd.
While there are plans for parking-protected bike lanes on the boulevard, that won’t offer any protection if cars aren’t present, and does nothing to keep drivers from accessing the sidewalk.
We need barrier-protected bike lanes and steel bollards along the full length go the Walk of Fame, and a secure pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland, where the largest crowds congregate.
Because it’s virtually inevitable that we’ll see more attacks like this across the US in the years to come. And sooner or later, it’s bound to happen here.
The first complaint in the op-ed is that the total number of vouchers provided in the first round was relatively small compared to the large size of the California e-bike market. However, instead of suggesting that the budget be increased to help more Californians achieve transportation independence, as we called for recently, the editorial takes the opposite position of suggesting that the program simply be canceled.
Never mind that the rollout was deliberately throttled by program managers, who released just a small fraction of the available funds, despite knowing demand would far exceed supply.
And it did.
But somehow, the authors of the SCNG editorial saw limited rollout as a reason to kill the whole damn thing. Makes perfect sense. If your goal is to force everyone back into their cars.
That “gimmick” will have “imperceptible impact on environmental outcomes,” according to the senior transportation policy analyst at the conservative Reason Foundation, who argues it “confers private benefits on recipients, but will fall a social cost-benefit test.”
Maybe someone should tell him about the massive subsidies we all pay for motor vehicles, which confer private benefits on car owners at the expense of everyone else while killing our planet — along with tens of thousands of Americans every year — if he really wants to talk cost-benefit tests.
The authors somehow conclude that the roughly 1,500 vouchers released in the initial round would “goose” sales of ebikes in California just 0.78%, out of a guesstimated 192,000 annual sales. Which is a far better argument for releasing the full $38 million budget than for killing the program.
Let alone increasing it to a level equivalent to the state’s electric vehicle incentives, where it could have a far greater impact on our congested streets, air quality and warming planet.
Then, of course, they have to trot out the spurious argument that ebike injuries are soaring, as if they would somehow remain at an artificially low level while ebike sales and usage skyrocket.
Or that the voucher recipients might bring in devices from other states that could enable ebikes to exceed California’s 28 mph maximum. Maybe they could show the same concern for illegal devices that allow drivers to skirt other California regulations.
Or gun owners, for that matter.
Finally, they assume that “kids obviously will be driving many of the subsidized ebikes,” even though the program is limited to legal adults.
Not to mention the obvious windshield bias reflected in the term “driving,” which is what you do with a car, as opposed to riding a bicycle.
But that’s what happens when the authors shoot from the lip, without bothering to do even the most basic research to understand what the hell they’re talking about.
Ebikes are neither liberal nor conservative. And even the relatively paltry $38 million approved for full funding of the ebike voucher program amounts to nothing more than a rounding error on the state’s $291 billion budget.
So if the SCNG editorial board is feeling grouchy and in the mood to pinch pennies, maybe they should look somewhere else.
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On a related subject, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Edward Clancy, the founder of San Diego nonprofit Pedal Ahead, is no longer associated with the state’s Ebike Incentive Program, following multiple investigations into the organization.
However, a lot of questions remain about both Clancy and Pedal Ahead, including what role he still plays with the organization, and let alone what the legal name of the group is.
Which raises evstillen more questions of why the CARB is continue to work with a group that is so clearly in over their head, at best.
Because we should only use state funds to subsidize driving, evidently.
And Los Angeles Times readers warn we should brace ourselves for more collisions with ebike-riding teens along the beach. As if 1,500 vouchers given to low-income adults in need of transportation will somehow translate to countless more teens recklessly riding illegal electric motorbikes.
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A new YouTube short explains why the owners of Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries are wrong to keep fighting improved bike lanes along deadly Forest Lawn Drive.
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A New York driver is caught on video illegally using the bike lane, squeezing by people on bicycles to bypass backed up traffic, until they get stuck waiting on a turning car.
I know you're super super important, but keep your cars out of the bike lanes. pic.twitter.com/vkatJ7Y1IY
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A writer for the National Review says Trump must end the non-existent war on cars, and somehow sees the transition to electric vehicles as part of a nefarious plot to “radically reduce the number of cars in circulation.” Which wouldn’t be a bad idea, even if he’s wildly off base. But you’ll have to find a way around the magazine’s paywall if you want to read it.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
No bias here, either. The Sacramento Bee reports that local police busted a 14-year old boy after he led them on a one-hour chase on an electric bicycle, at speeds up to 60 mph. Except anything that goes that fast is actually an electric motorcycle, since ebike speeds are capped at 28 mph, and even then only if they can hit that speed under pedal power.
The BBC asks if bike lanes can reshape “car-crazy Los Angeles” in time for the 2028 LA Olympics, by way of former Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Twenty-eight by 28” transport plan; current Mayor Karen Bass says “As a bike rider, I certainly hope so.” Which appears to be the first time she’s uttered the word “bike” since becoming mayor.
Streetsblog editor Joe Linton does a little prognosticating and makes his predictions for the coming year, including the opening of South LA’s Rail to Rail walking and biking path, and the first lawsuit against Los Angeles for failing to live up to its commitment to implement the city mobility plan under Measure HLA.
That’s more like it. A 26-year old San Antonio, Texas woman can look forward to spending the next 12 years behind bars, after she pleaded no contest to killing an 18-year old man while under the influence of alcohol, cocaine and Xanax — not to mention failing her court-ordered breathalyzer tests six separate times in the lead-up to her trial.
Bittersweet news, as the wife of fallen bicyclist and NHL star Matthew Gaudreau gave birth to their son Tripp Matthew Gaudreau, four months after he and his brother Johnny were killed by an alleged drunk and overly aggressive driver while riding their bikes in New Jersey the night before their sister’s wedding.
The Grinch struck in Florida in the days before Christmas, as someone stole a “good amount” of cash from nonprofit bike-donation program Jack the Bike Man.
International
Momentum lists a dozen bicycling resolutions for the new year, from mastering the art of bicycle maintenance to becoming a bike advocate. My only resolution every year is not to make any resolutions. If you want to make a change in your life, just do it when and where you are, without waiting for some arbitrary date on the calendar.
Just 12 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb.
Yet no city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it.
Thanks to Stephen C and Todd T for their generous donations to bring you all the best bike news and advocacy from around the corner, and around the world.
The California Ebike Incentive Program actually launched yesterday, so we can finally stop our failure to launch countdown, after nearly a full year since it’s previously promised launch date, and three-and-a-half years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law.
Now if they could just a) get their collective shit together, and b) at least make some effort to meet the demand.
I’m told this was the typical experience for people attempting to apply for an ebike voucher.
1) Attempt to login at exactly 6 pm
2) When that fails, attempt to login again, and again
3) Keep trying to login until you finally get in
4) Get a message saying you are in a very long line to apply
This message was received by someone attempting to apply at exactly 6:30 pm and 23 seconds.
That was followed by,
5. Attempt to login again an hour later
6. Get the following message when they finally let you in
So far, everyone I’ve heard from has had a similar experience. And I’ve yet to hear from, or even about, anyone who actually got a voucher.
Though I’m sure there has to be someone, somewhere.
Seriously, though we’ve been predicting this for months, if not years.
The initial funding of a paltry $3 million is ridiculously low for a state of 38 million people, even when limiting applications to lower-income residents, ensuring that demand would far exceed the available funds.
And outside administrator Queue-it appeared to throttle the application process, ensuring that only a handful of people fortunate to get in on the first or second try would even get a chance to apply.
I’m told the problem may have stemmed from Queue-it launching the program a few minutes early, so that people who attempted to log in at 6 pm had already been blocked by those fortunate few who coincidentally tried to login ahead of time.
Unless, of course, those people somehow knew the window would open before 6 pm. But that would be cheating, right?
At lease the website didn’t crash, as has happened in other states.
Let’s be honest, though.
This program, as now established, is just an underfunded joke.
Not around 1,500, which is how many ebike incentives were predicted to be funded in the first round.
And without the interminable three-month between application windows faced by ebike buyers.
While those EVs are much cleaner than gas-powered cars, they are still cars. They take up just as much space, and pose just as much risk to others as any other car, while contributing the same amount of particulate pollution from brake, tire and roadway wear.
Ebikes don’t.
Ebikes can easily replace car trips of up to ten miles – which represents the overwhelming majority of motor vehicle trips — while removing nearly one car for every ebike pressed into service.
Ebikes are also much cleaner than even zero-emission vehicles, requiring significantly less energy to operate, and contributing almost no wear and tear to the road surface.
And ped-assist ebikes work to improve the health of the user, unlike motor vehicles, which reduce life expectancies with every mile driven.
Never mind that limiting ebike rebates to lower-income residents is counterproductive in a state with more cars than people. Or that Pedal Ahead, the group administering the program for the California Air Resources Board, is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the state DOJ.
Other cities and states have tied vouchers to a commitment to replace or reduce motor vehicle usage, making them more efficient at replacing motor vehicles than California’s misguided approach of only funding ebikes for people who may not be able to afford a car in the first place.
But at least the launch wasn’t a total shitshow.
So there’s that.
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Early indications are that the lane reduction and protected bike lanes on east Hollywood Boulevard are improving safety, according to councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.
But as usual, that’s not good enough for local business owners, who complain that their apparently nearsighted customers can’t see their stores, since they now have to park a few feet from the curb.
Sure, that makes sense.
They also complain that drivers have to wait while other cars park, and that fewer lanes cause traffic to slow down.
Which is kinda the point, yes.
Although that would seem to benefit local businesses by making their businesses more apparent to drivers who would otherwise speed past, just like they did before.
Ghost bikes make drivers uncomfortable, which is exactly the point, reminding them to drive safely because the cost could be another human life.
And they make city officials uncomfortable, because they offer a stark reminder of their failure to build streets that protect the lives of their residents.
So while they may offer some silly excuse like ghost bikes are unsightly, or get in the way — as if officially sanctioned objects like homeowner trashcans don’t — the real real reason can be found in their red faces, sweaty brows and tight collars.
This is who we share the road with. A police chase has once again taken the life of an innocent victim, this time in Fullerton, where a driver fleeing from the cops caused a multi-vehicle pileup, killing a woman in her 60s; this was the suspect’s second crash of the chase, which really should have convinced pursuing cops to break it off and track him by other means just a tad less risky to the public.
It’s back behind bars for a former Florida bridgetender convicted of failing to look before opening a drawbridge while a woman was walking across it, causing her to fall to her death; she will now serve ten years for violating her probation for the original conviction by smoking cannabis to help her sleep. Then again, I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I caused that, either.
A Toronto collision sent two pedestrians and a man riding a bicycle to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, after they were collateral damage in a multi-vehicle crash. Once again pointing out the danger motor vehicles and the people who drive them pose to everyone around them.
My apologies for last night, when I suffered from an embarrassing case of premature publication, mistakenly hitting the Publish button long before today’s post was ready.
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Just 19 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025, a decade of failure in which deaths have continued to climb.
Yet not one city official has mentioned the impending deadline, or the city’s failure to meet it.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, aggravated manslaughter is defined in the New Jersey’s criminal code as “when a person ‘recklessly causes death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.'”
The brothers were in New Jersey for their sister’s wedding, and were riding their bikes on the night of August 29th, when Higgins allegedly tried to pass another car on the right and slammed into the two men on the shoulder of the highway.
Higgins could be sentenced to 10 to 30 behind bars years for each manslaughter count; he also faces additional charges for DUI, hit-and-run, tampering with physical evidence, and reckless driving.
Bicycle Highways — Creating a pilot program to establish numbered highways for bicycles in two major metro areas, allowing for speeds up to 25 mph
Shared Streets — Develop a new roadway classification where vulnerable road users would have the right of way at all locations
Quick-Build Pilot Program — A program to expedite development and implementation of safe, protected bikeways on the state highway system
Bike Omnibus Bill — Including clarifying that bike riders wouldn’t need to signal if they need both hands to control their bicycle
Bicycle Safety Stop — Otherwise known as an Idaho Stop, allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields
New Bikeway Classification — Create a new Class 5 category for bicycle boulevards
Clarifying Ebike Policies — Including making it clear that illegal electric motorcycles aren’t ebikes
Now if they’d just try to do something about the state’s unacceptably high rate of hit-and-run drivers.
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The Glendale City Council followed Culver City’s lead by overruling staff recommendations, and voting to remove the city’s only protected bike lane — an ill-advised action likely to make them liable for any bicyclist who gets injured on the street after it’s removed.
Although to be honest, I’ve kind of lost interest in the whole damn thing.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Utah man faces charges for allegedly ramming into a bike rider during a road rage confrontation; the driver swears he was just trying to politely tell the victim to stay in the bike lane when the rider became enraged and broke his side mirror, and he didn’t mean to hit him — even though witnesses say it appeared to be intentional.
No bias here. A New York councilmember called for mandatory ebike registration to combat “The scourge of e-bikes in our streets, on our sidewalks, and even inside our buildings (that) continues to wreak chaos, injure and maim people, and, tragically, take lives,” resulting in 47 deaths in five years; even the Department of Transportation says it’s a bad idea. And even though most victims were killed in battery fires or by drivers while riding ebikes, rather than caused by them. And they continue to lump ped-assist ebikes together with mo-peds and high-speed, throttle-controlled virtual motorcycles.
Brussels, Belgium is banning bicycles and scooters from the city center, known as the Anspachlaan; a bike advocacy group says all bicyclists are being punished for the anti-social behavior of a very few. Which is exactly how it usually works.
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Local
Metro is finally moving forward with plans to improve transportation for the upcoming LA Olympics, including 14 miles of bus priority lanes, 23 miles of bus corridor enhancements and 60 new Metro Bike Share stations, as well as a number of new first mile/last mile improvements, including new protected bike lanes. Although three and a half years isn’t exactly a lot of lead time to make a number of major changes to the streets.
Sad news from Bakersfield, where a man was killed when he fell off his bicycle, and oncoming “vehicle…failed to avoid colliding with” him. Hats off to the Bakersfield Californian for somehow managing to absolve the driver of any agency and responsibility for killing him.
Speaking of Bakersfield, a cop with a strong case of windshield bias responded to a traffic calming project by blaming the victims, arguing that even though it succeeded in slowing traffic, that doesn’t necessarily mean fewer crashes because it doesn’t account for pedestrians who step out ten feet in front of drivers, leaving “literally no time for the driver to do anything,” or bike riders “with no lights, wearing black clothing, riding the wrong direction in the bicycle lane.”
National
Streetsblog has more on the new handlebar-mounted “dashcam” for bikes being developed by a pair of Arizona universities, which are designed to automatically capture images, location data, and other critical evidence when a vehicle passes dangerously to someone on a bicycle.
A pair of Oklahoma men face charges of 1st-degree murder for shooting a man in the back, after accusing him of stealing a bicycle belonging to one of the men’s 10-year old daughter; witnesses never bothered to call 911 because they didn’t think it was a big deal and didn’t want to get involved. As we’ve said many times before, no bicycle is worth a human life. Just let it go, for God’s sake.
Cycling Weeklytalks with American adventurer Neal Bayly, cofounder of the Wellspring International Outreach, who recounts memorable rides through Ukraine and Peru, as well as Bhutan’s Tour of the Dragon, described as the world’s toughest single-day mountain bike race; Bayly says he bikes so much his motorcycle buddies are getting pissed off.
A Melbourne, Australia radio station considers the eternal question of what if bicycles had to be registered, as the head of a driver’s organization says all road users should pay for the road — even though bike riders already pay for more than our fair share of the roadway, and studies have shown bike registration costs more to operate than it would bring in.
Just 49 days until LA fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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Happy Veterans Day to everyone who has served our country at home and abroad!
Get out for a good ride today to celebrate. And thank you.
Photo from Lime Micromobility.
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Rancho Palos Verdes extends its usual unwelcome mat for bicyclists to e-bike riders, with new restrictions and fines to make you feel as unwanted as possible.
However, this excerpt from the article suggests that they intend to ban ebikes entirely from city streets and sidewalks; the last part is legal, the first not so much.
Expanded e-bike restrictions
The city council recently expanded the ordinance to ban e-bikes on city streets and sidewalks, while allowing them on bicycle paths.
California state law allows bicycles on any street where cars are allowed, and ebikes are allowed under state law. So unless they’re planning to ban cars from city streets, they can’t ban ebikes, either.
But it could mean going to court to fight a ticket and convince a judge if you want to challenge it.
After a homeowner parked his ebike in his driveway to check on his property, he returned to find the bike missing. He confronted a landscaping crew working in the area, and one of the men admitted to taking the bike, and gave it back to him.
The homeowner reported the incident to the police the next day, resulting in Ramon Avila Pacheco being booked on suspicion of looting in an evacuation order area.
Apparently, returning the ebike had no effect on the charge.
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Streets For All founder Michael Schneider visits Mexico City, and discovers what Los Angeles could do with a little more political will.
Okay, a lot more.
Amazing, simple urbanism all over Mexico City. I will never understand why LA can’t do this. pic.twitter.com/kuB6z2P49o
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Seriously? The Marin County Supervisors are backing what the local newspaper calls a “bike-lane experiment,” which amounts to ripping out the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge four days a week, on a trial basis. Although it’s questionable whether they could do it without a CEQA review on anything but a trial basis.
An op-ed writer in the Los Angeles Times says he thought he had his bike commute down, until a bike-riding German man pointed out the obvious flaw in his route, which needlessly bypassed the beachfront bike path.
Good news from the Bay Area, where Prop K is leading with 54% of the vote, although it’s still too early to call; the ballot measure would permanently close San Francisco’s Upper Great Highway to motor vehicles and turn it into a linear park, bikeway and walkway.
Speaking of stories hidden behind paywalls, Kaifeng, China learned to be careful what they wish for when they encouraged night-time bike riding, and the streets became gridlocked with bicycles. Seriously, if the photo is legit, we’re talking wall-to-wall bikes.
November 5, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on It’s Election Day, so Bike the Vote, already; Block calls for Fountain Ave bike lane trial; and Metro bus lane parking enforcement
Just 56 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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If you haven’t already, get out and vote today; Streetsblog offers a list of election resources to help out.
And regardless of what some random guy on the internet told you, if your ballot isn’t at least postmarked by today, it won’t count. At least here in California; in other states, your mileage may vary.
Then get out on your bike, or take a walk, or bury yourself in your work until the polls close to distract yourself and preserve your sanity today.
Which sounds reasonable, but will inevitably fail.
It takes time for drivers to adjust to any road change, let alone a major redesign involving the removal of parking spaces and a traffic lane on each side.
A pilot program of at least six months to a year could offer proof that the change will not result in the traffic and residential chaos opponents fear.
But anything less would just invite drivers to make temporary adjustments until the pilot project gets removed. Or just ignore it and embrace the chaos to force the hand of city planners.
The New York Times examines the great feud over San Francisco’s Great Highway, as residents vote today on whether to permanently close the coastal roadway, and turn it into a linear bike and pedestrian park.
A New Zealand website says yes, you can travel without harming the environment, including on your bicycle. Just don’t leave your old tubes, CO2 cartridges or spent gel packs on the side of the road.
And not many people are aware that the ancient forebears of the modern bicycle lived in what is now Los Angeles during the Ice Age, as memorialized by these sculptures at the La Brea Tar Pits.
What.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
According to Caltrans rep Ryan Snyder, California’s new law mandating Complete Streets on Caltrans projects requires bike lanes on the full stretch of highway through the ‘Bu.
“SB 960 mandates that we create bike lanes for the entire length of PCH in Malibu.” He said. “In what is often referredto as the 8 to 80 principle, we must adhere to the concept that bike lanes should be safe for any users between the ages of 8 and 80. We propose that we build buffered/colored and/or protected bike lanes on Las Flores on the mountain side as well as between Las Flores Road and the Malibu Pier area and between the Pier area and the western city limits.”
Respondents preferred a landscaped median to other alternatives, while lane reductions and traffic circles are also under consideration to make space and slow traffic.
Photo shows Los Angeles demonstration demanding protected bike lanes.
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Evidently, getting cut from the football team following rape accusations wasn’t enough for a former University of Washington football player.
He had to follow it up with a road rage attack on a bicyclist.
In a case we’ve been following since March, the victim was riding his bike home after just learning about the death of his college roommate, when Tylin “Tybo” Rogers and his teammate, Diesel Gordon, began following him in their car, honking and yelling at him for the crime of simply being in front of them on the roadway.
The victim responded, as I probably would have, by flipping them off.
Rogers, who was already facing charges for the rape accusations, and Gordon then tried to hit him with their car, before getting out and chasing the victim down a stairwell.
That portion of the attack was captured on security cam video, which was released by investigators on Friday.
Gordon can be heard calling the victim a homophobic slur, then spits on him several times before Rogers shoves the victim to the ground. Rogers then hits him in the face with enough force to send his glasses flying, which he then stomps on.
Both players have pled guilty to misdemeanor assault — which is a gift under the circumstances.
They each face a maximum of just under a year in county jail, and a lousy $5,000 fine.
However, Pasadena’s Union Street two-way protected bike lane comes in at a very respectable #6, which the magazine praises as a “cyclist-friendly corridor (that) connects key destinations and aligns with Pasadena’s commitment to sustainable transportation.”
The new 17th Street complex in Santa Monica was ranked 16th.
Maybe someday, a Los Angeles bike lane will once again make the exclusive list. But today is not that day, my friends
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Seriously? Residents of Queens are fighting a planned 16-mile bike path along the waterfront over fears it will turn the suburban area “into another bustling urban district” and attract scooter-riding bandits, amid the usual cries of “where are we going to put our cars?” I could make a suggestion.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A British tabloid is appalled by the “shocking” moment a man on a Lime bike crashed into a small boy as he ran across a bike lane to get to a floating bike stop — before acknowledging the bicyclist did try to stop before hitting the kid, who darted out in front of of him.
Sad news from San Jose, where a man has died 11 years after he was struck by a motorist while riding a bicycle in the city, and placed into long-term care; the victim was not publicly identified, and there’s no word on whether the driver ever faced charges.
Bike Radar asks mountain bike brands why so many are getting into the gravel bike business. Short answer, because that’s where the money is. Longer answer, it’s the fastest growing category in the bicycle industry.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker says yes, speeding ebike riders are a menace, but the solution isn’t to kick bicycles into the roadway, as Birmingham, England considers banning all bicycles from the city’s pedestrianized streets — especially when the real problem is illegally souped-up ebikes belonging to food couriers.
A Czech driver faces up to five years behind bars for allegedly fleeing the scene after running down a 42-year old man riding a bicycle, before returning to collect evidence of the crash, including the victim’s mangled bike wheel.
