Every donation is being matched dollar for dollar this week, so that $7,000 really represents $14,000 to help keep bike riders safe on a dangerous corridor that’s way down on the city’s priority list.
Even Las Cruces, New Mexico has installed popup bike lanes in an effort to get people safely outside while they study how to improve bike and pedestrian safety throughout the city. Unlike a certain megalopolis to the west, with roughly 40 times the population.
An Evansville, Indiana community college partnered with a local school district to give away 280 bicycles, along with locks and helmets; the annual program has given away over 3,500 bikes over the last 15 years.
June 25, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Donation match for LA’s 1st private/public bike lane partnership, and unconfirmed bicycling death in Solano Beach
Back in my blissfully misspent youth, there was a popular cartoon that showed a couple buzzards sitting on a fence.
One turns to the other, and says “Patience my ass. I’m going to kill something.”
It seemed funny at the time.
But that’s kind of where some LA bike advocates are right now.
Rather than wait endlessly for the city to finally get around to improving safety for bike riders and pedestrians on Sunset and Santa Monica Blvds, they’re trying to speed things up by helping pay for it through a private/public sponsorship.
And they need your help.
Here’s how Terence Heuston, the former author of LA Bike Dad, describes it.
Sunset4All, in partnership with the LACBC, is launching a crowdfunding “match” campaign to fund the initial engineering plans for protected bike lanes and pedestrian improvements on Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards through East Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Echo Park.
If the community reaches our $25,000 goal, angel donors will MATCH THEIR DONATION. Every dollar of their tax-deductible donation will be DOUBLED if we reach our goal! Declare your independence from traffic by donating before 4th of July!
The NUMBER of donors is as important as the number of dollars. The city of LA installs safe street projects where there is broad community support. Every individual donor is an individual VOTE for this project. Even a small donation is tangible PROOF that Angelenos support safer streets and protected bike lanes.
The private/public partnership model has been used successfully in other regions to accelerate the installation of the Arapahoe bike lanes in Denver and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. We want to transfer this innovative model to Los Angeles and release a flood of protected bike lanes region wide. It all starts with Sunset4All reaching its fundraising goal.
And yes, I just opened my wallet and put my money where my mouth is. If every else gives the same amount, we just need another 999 people to follow suit.
Assuming the victim’s death is confirmed, that will mean nine people have been killed riding their bikes on the suddenly mean streets of San Diego County in just the first six months of this year.
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Calbike calls on everyone to write your California state senator to urge their support — or in one case, opposition — for a trio of bills.
AB 371: This measure will place a large and unprecedented insurance requirement on shared mobility systems. It won’t make our streets safer but it will put every bike-share system in California, public and private, out of business. Email your senator to vote NO on AB 371 to save bike-share.
AB 1238 (Ting): The Freedom to Walk Act puts an end to unjust jaywalking laws advanced by the auto industry a century ago. these laws prevent people from enjoying their streets on foot safely, in the interest of making them the exclusive domain of cars. Today, jaywalking laws serve as a sometimes tragic pretext for biased policing, as a hugely disproportionate share of jaywalking tickets are issued to Black Californians. Tell your senator to support the Freedom to Walk Act, AB 1238.
Over the years, Nelson developed an encyclopedic knowledge of Los Angeles transportation issues, and her insights and in-depth reporting will be missed.
On the other hand, that means that her old job is now available.
— T.W.U. Local 320 – L.A. Metro Bike Share (@union_bike) June 24, 2021
As the son of a union man, I only wish my slowly healing hands would let me join in on the ride.
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We’ll have to see how it ends up when they flesh out the details. But right now, it looks like active transportation may have lost out in the bipartisan compromise on the transportation bill.
Pink Bike wants to teach you how to actually learn new bike skills.
Evidently, there’s a lot to learn, since this is just episode one of a ten part series.
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This is who we share the road with.
ROAD RAGE INCIDENT: Police say a Hemet man discharged bear spray during a road rage incident in Seal Beach. A child was among those injured, and police say he may have done this before. https://t.co/8QoN6IM0Dcpic.twitter.com/171AzsUaJA
Authorities near my Colorado hometown are looking for a man who apparently took offense when a woman nearly backed over his fellow bike rider, and punched her in the face. Seriously, don’t do that. It’s only natural to feel anger and fear when someone nearly hits you or a riding companion, but violence is never the answer.
After an Oklahoma group gave a young man a new bike when they learned he had to walk 17 miles roundtrip to work and back, a crowdfunding campaign raised nearly $50,000 to buy him a new car. Which just goes to show that kind gestures can take an unexpected bad turn.
June 1, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on “Elderly” Venice man killed by drunken e-scooter user, white woman orders Black prof off “her” road, and ebike bias in CO
Tragic news from Venice, where an “elderly” man was killed when he was struck by an e-scooter user.
Make that an allegedly drunk scooter user.
The crash occurred around 9:45 pm Saturday on Lincoln Blvd at East Marco Court.
According to a report for KABC-7, the scooter rider was allegedly 1) illegally riding on the sidewalk, while 2) illegally carrying a woman passenger on the back, and while 3) wasted.
The victim, who was described only as elderly, or by other accounts, older — which could mean just about anything — died at the scene after hitting his head on the sidewalk.
Both people on the scooter suffered minor injuries, while the man operating it was arrested at the scene for DUI.
It’s unclear whether he can be charged under the state law prohibiting driving under the influence, or the statute prohibiting biking under the influence, which carries a much lower penalty.
This serves as yet another tragic reminder that sidewalks are intended for pedestrians.
While it’s legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in some California cities, you’re required to operated it safely, without posing an undue risk to people on foot. And basic human decency demands that you give as much space as possible and warn people before passing.
On the other hand, it is always illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk, or with a passenger.
And never while drunk or stoned.
Although I’d much rather see someone ride a bike or scooter while under the influence of anything than get behind the wheel of a car, which posses a much greater risk to everyone on the road.
But as this crash tragically shows, you can still pose a needless — and potentially fatal — risk to others.
Black University of Washington med school professor Edwin Lindo went out for a bike ride while on vacation, and ran into a white woman — aka a “Becky” — who literally told him he couldn’t ride his bicycle on the road she paid for with her property taxes.
Although this comment from an Aspen mountain bike instructor totally misses the mark.
“This is a framework of why it’s so important for e-bikers to have etiquette because they are now powered up with a weapon, really, that goes 20 miles an hour,” he said. “I say ‘weapon’ because now they can hurt themselves and others pretty easily.”
Never mind that it’s pretty easy to do 20 mph on a road bike, without a motor. And not that unusual on a mountain bike.
And while there’s no shortage of rude and/or inexperienced bike riders, no bicycle is a weapon, unless someone — like a cop, for instance — picks it up and uses it that way.
There’s there’s this bit of advice, which they apparently think is so important that it was repeated verbatim in a caption.
Though you may be tempted to ride side-by-side with your friends or family members so you can chat on your e-bikes, always ride single file and as far to the right as possible, unless you’re passing. This gives other cyclists and cars an opportunity to pass you safely.
Where do we even start?
This is sort-of decent advice for trail riders, but horrible for those riding on the road.
Yes, try to keep to the right on trails so faster riders can pass you. Unless you’re the faster rider, in which case you should pass politely.
And try not to ride abreast if it means clogging up the trail so others can’t enjoy it.
But on the road, riding like a gutter bunny puts you a greater risk of unsafe passes.
Most authorities, like the League of American Bicyclists and Cycling Savvy — and even Caltrans, for those of us in California — tell you to ride in the center of the lane, unless there’s a shoulder wide enough and clean enough to ride safely.
Riding two or more abreast in a single traffic lane can also increase your visibility and help hold the lane by forcing drivers to move into the next lane to pass you.
It’s also legal to ride abreast in many states, but check the law where you ride before trying it.
Like here in California, where police sometimes misapply the requirement ti right to the right to ticket people who ride abreast, even though there’s not one word prohibiting it under California law.
And they may not get it right where you are, either.
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Meet what may be LA County’s first protected bike lane.
A group of Black women rode from Harlem to DC, covering 250 miles in 65 hours to replicate a ride taken by another group of Black women 93 years earlier, while raising funds to provide good used bikes to people in need.
You’ve got to be kidding. An Irish driver walked when he was acquitted of dangerous driving for slamming into a group of bicyclists, and killing a 34-year old woman — despite coming around a blind curve at high speed on the wrong side of road — in part because the victim may have fallen off her bike before the impact. Never mind that she was probably just trying to get the hell out of his way to avoid getting killed.
May 7, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Tres shock! LA misses safest bike city list, famed ped superhero at UCLA, and San Diego builds bike lane laps around LA
But while Los Angeles continues to rest on its non-laurels as America’s worst bike city, Glendale is installing a new curb protected lane on Los Feliz.
Even if it is just for a block.
One block of curb-protected bike lane under construction on Los Feliz Blvd (from Gardena Ave to the railroad tracks underpass) in Glendale. Perhaps part of ‘The Griffith’ development? Looks like it will be nice, tho short and isolated pic.twitter.com/SsEyYxAFY3
The LACBC is offering a discount for their virtual bike challenge taking place this month.
Here’s what they have to say.
Inviting you to join us in June at LACBC’s new virtual LA Rivers Challenge: Ride, Walk or Run LA’s Historic Waterways! A flexible and fun way to ride, walk or run our beautiful L.A. County waterways, at your own pace on days, routes and mileage of your choice. Suggested routes will be posted on the LARiversChallenge.com website.
Please use this special Friends & Family code “FRIEND5” to register at LARiversChallenge.com and receive a cool neck gaiter/mask, coaching/encouragement emails, routes and information about the historic L.A. County waterways. Bonus Fun: An optional personalized fundraising webpage can be set up where riders can share progress on their ride(s) online and also raise money to support LACBC’s year-round advocacy on behalf of active transportation in L.A. County. Rewards and prizes can be earned for meeting fundraising goals too!
Thank you.
The 2021 LA River Challenge – Good for You and Good for LA! For more information and to register for the L.A. Rivers Challenge, visit LARiversChallenge.com.
Twitter: Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (@LACBC)
Instagram: @lacbc
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Bicycling author Richard Fox is back with the latest update to his comprehensive guide to SoCal bike routes.
I’m happy to announce the release of the 3rd Edition of my guidebook “enCYCLEpedia Southern California – The Best Easy Scenic Bike Rides.” It contains 200+ scenic ride options at SoCal’s beaches, deserts, mountains, wine country, harbors, & historic city centers from San Diego to Cambria to Palm Springs, perfect for casual cyclists who enjoy beautiful scenery while avoiding car traffic and major hill climbs. The pandemic bike boom created many new casual cyclists who bought up 2017’s 2nd Edition a year earlier than anticipated. I revisited many of the rides with a Class I ebike, and added notes on how they impact rides, and where to rent or buy them near the rides. The book’s info was updated, more detail was added to many of the maps, and several new rides were added, including an option for a La La Land Griffith Park adventure on closed roads that was too hilly without an ebike for the casual cyclist before. Other new fabulous rides were added for all in Irvine and Lake Perris, and options in other areas with new infrastructure like Santa Barbara and San Diego. The Coachella Valley, where I spent much of the pandemic lockdown cycling and working on the book update, ended up with a ton of new info and routes, including incorporation of the new CV Link regional path, now in various stages of construction. enCYCLEpedia.net contains additional rides, downloadable maps, features and updates for book owners. The price of this edition is going up because of higher production costs in the USA vs Asia, but has started on Amazon at a lower price, available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1638485380.
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The Oklahoma legislature has sent a bill legalizing the Idaho Stop to the governor for his signature.
And for a change, it’s the full version, allowing bike riders to treat red lights like stop signs, and treat stop signs as yields.
Wow. You should read this bill, passed by the Oklahoma legislature and sent to the governor to be signed. Makes the Idaho stop the law and has language outlawing drivers being allowed to use their horn when passing bike riders. https://t.co/xxI8lQ1hAwpic.twitter.com/LuFLqcX6V6
If adults in power cared that cars and drivers are the leading killer of our children, we could put a stop to this. And yet, here we are, valuing car convenience over the lives of our bright, beautiful, beloved children. Our society is broken. Words fail. #TODeadlyStreets#BikeTOhttps://t.co/28RbbVN51x
A bike-riding man suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries when he was hit by two drivers in San Diego’s Old Town neighborhood in the midst of Wednesday’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations; he was left crossed by a driver trying to make a three-point turn, then hit by another when he was knocked off his bicycle.
Nice gesture from the Chowchilla bicycling community, which turned out in force to accompany the body of a 45-year old man killed in a hit-and-run; the driver faces a murder charge after telling police he wanted to kill someone. Sadly, the disabled man, who rode a bike as his only form of transportation, had the misfortune of crossing the alleged killer’s path.
Now that’s more like it. A Michigan man could spend up to 80 years behind bars for the reckless, hit-and-run deaths of two women riding their bikes; he’ll have to serve a minimum of 18 years before he’s eligible for parole, and pay $250,000 restitution. None of which will bring either of the victims back, though.
The former model who starred in David Bowie’s China Girl video is now a Kiwi restaurant manager who’s fighting a new protected bike lane, arguing that it will block her deliveries and no one will use it, anyway. Never mind that the first photo in the story shows a delivery driver unloading his truck next to the bike lane directly behind her.
Once again, a bike rider is a hero. Grateful Aussie parents are looking for the man who jumped off his bike and leapt into a chilly lake without hesitation to rescue a three-year old boy, who accidentally rode his scooter into a Canberra lake; he then slipped away quietly after saving the boy’s life. No truth to the rumor that he left a silver bullet behind. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
He’s accused of blowing through a red light at twice the posted speed limit, and slamming into a car driven by 49-year old Pasadena resident Juanita Lucinda Johnson, killing her and injuring three other people.
Houston, who has a lengthy criminal record dating back to his teens, had been wanted since an arrest warrant was issued last month.
He also faces charges for assaulting and threatening two people earlier this month.
It’s just too bad that’s what it seems to take to get prosecutors to take traffic crimes seriously.
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LADOT wants your opinion on proposed changes to Lincoln Blvd south of Santa Monica.
Men’s Journal offers their picks for the best bike helmets to keep your head in one piece, however you ride. Although you can protect your head just as well for a fraction of the cost of some of their choices.
A former Portland bike shop owner is urging his erstwhile peers to band together to support an industry climate change declaration. Seriously, bicycles could — and should — be one of the most important tools in fighting climate change, yet the industry has done virtually nothing to encourage it.
Minneapolis introduces new artistically designed bike racks. Although I suspect most bike riders are more concerned with keeping their bike safe than how whimsical the rack is.
New York is poised to make a big move by shifting responsibility for crash investigations from the NYPD to the city’s department of transportation, although the police would still be responsible for any criminal investigation that results. However, that raises questions over the need to hire and train hundreds of crash investigators for a department that has never investigated anything more serious than a parking violation.
Speaking of Streetsblog, they note that booming bike use means there’s now an average of just 1.9 cars for every bike on New York’s Second Avenue, yet drivers get roughly 12 times the space.
March 16, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Cost of traffic violence — 3 killed in SD crash, air better worldwide in pandemic, and bike quotes to get you riding
This is the cost of traffic violence.
Yesterday’s rains drove even more people than usual living on the streets to a San Diego underpass Sunday night, because they had nowhere else to go to seek shelter from the storm.
Police believe Voss was the subject of a call to 911 shortly before the crash reporting a possibly intoxicated driver.
But at least he remained at the scene and attempted to aid the victims.
Beyond the sheer tragedy of three more innocent victims sacrificed on the alter to motor vehicles, it’s heartbreaking that so many people who’ve already lost everything and have to live without a roof over their heads — for whatever reason — aren’t safe along the streets they’re forced to live on.
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One more sign of the damage done by motor vehicles.
An improvement that will undoubtedly be reversed once businesses open back up and people go back to work.
Especially in places like Los Angeles, where so little was done during the closures to encourage more bike riding, walking and other forms of alternative transportation.
That compares to cities throughout Europe, which are doubling down on their successful efforts to encourage bicycling as a safe form of socially distanced transportation, with 600 miles of “cycle lanes, traffic-calming measures and car-free streets” installed over the last year.
“Everyone in their life has his own particular way of expressing life’s purpose – the lawyer his eloquence, the painter his palette, and the man of letters his pen from which the quick words of his story flow. I have my bicycle.” – Gino Bartali
“Cyclists see considerably more of this beautiful world than any other class of citizens. A good bicycle, well applied, will cure most ills this flesh is heir to” – Dr. K.K. Doty
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West
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The good news is the city continues to improve safety for bicyclists in DTLA.
The bad is it seems to come at the expense of the rest of the city.
— Dutch Cycling Embassy (@Cycling_Embassy) March 12, 2021
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
You’ve got to be kidding. Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver with a history of violence walked without a single lousy day behind bars when a judge gave him a suspended sentence for assaulting a young couple who had stopped to fix a flat, first punching the man before knocking the woman down and stomping on her head. Seriously, what the hell are jails for, then?
Nine of the 21 candidates for a Queens city council seat took part in a bike ride through the district to examine problems and policies before the upcoming election. For years, the LACBC’s candidate surveys asked people running for city offices if they’d be willing to meet or ride with bicyclists if they were elected; even though most agreed, no one ever asked them to.
A Virginia op-ed calls for lowering speed limits to 15 mph to save lives. Although here in Southern California, a 15 mph speed limit means most drivers would still do 25 to 30 mph. But at least that would be an improvement for most drivers, who currently do 35 to 45 in a 25 mph residential zone.
Roberta Walker, a longtime bike and pedestrian advocate, and former professional snowboarder, suffered multiple catastrophic injuries that left her survival in doubt for some time after she was placed in a medically induced coma.
Although something tells me she’d gladly give up every penny to avoid those injuries and have her old life back.
Her lawyer argued that the sharrows were a dangerous condition of public property and a direct cause of the crash, in which she was run down from behind by a pickup driver.
Which, sadly, is about as good a description as any for far too many sharrows.
Thankfully, that won’t be a problem much longer.
The long-awaited project began preliminary construction activities last month and features traffic calming measures, buffered bike lanes, raised medians, roundabouts and enhanced crosswalks.
“One profound irony of this accident is that Ms. Walker herself had advocated for a dedicated bike lane in multiple City Council meetings,” (plaintiffs’ attorney Ed) Susolik said.
There’s no word on whether the driver ever faced charges.
Or even got a ticket for nearly killing someone riding legally, exactly where she was supposed to be.
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Santa Monica saw a 50% drop in traffic collisions over the last year as more people stayed home during the pandemic, and a 70% reduction in drunk driving due to the closure of restaurants and bars.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Tragic news from the UK, where a bike rider is on trial for allegedly jumping a red light and slamming into a 73-year old man walking home from work; the victim died days later as a result of severe brain injuries suffered in the crash; bicyclist turned himself in after initially fleeing the scene. Yet another reminder that pedestrians are the only people on the street who are more vulnerable than we are. So ride carefully around them, dammit. And stick around after a crash.
The family of British motorcyclist Harry Dunn say they’re offended by an offer from American spy Anne Sacoolas to do community service for the wrong way hit-and-run that took his life, after she claimed diplomatic immunity to flee the country. Although you have to wonder about American intelligence services if they can’t figure out that Brits drive on the other side of the road.
San Diego bike advocate Phillip Young is a frequent contributor to this site.
I always appreciate his insights. But we part ways when it comes to protected bike lanes.
Young penned a guest post for Cycling Salvation, suggesting that protected bike lanes only give the illusion of safety, while posing a hidden risk to new and experienced bike riders alike.
Bordered by raised asphalt barriers and bright plastic pylons, these “protected bike lanes” create a sort of “safety bubble” that protects cyclists from vehicles moving alongside them, in the same direction. In theory, cyclists of all ages and abilities can enjoy the San Diego sunshine and scenery, while cars and trucks whizz by in the adjacent vehicle lane. Motorists will see the fun loving bikers not slowed by traffic jams and join them in droves. Soon, we’ll all be pedaling together, in cycling bliss.
But those rosy assurances crumble, when we confront the real dangers of “protected bike lanes”, and the emotional and economic cost of the accidents, injuries, and deaths that plague them.
He directs his barbs in particular at a recently installed curb-protected bike lane on the coast highway through Cardiff.
According to statistics gathered by North County cycling advocates, there were 24 accidents — all at slow speeds — in just 8-months on a 1-mile flat “protected bike lane” stretch installed last year on the Cardiff 101 beach route. Fifteen of those crashes were caused by cyclists who collided with the raised asphalt barriers designed to keep vehicles away from the bike traffic. A ten-year-old rider flopped into the traffic lane after colliding with an asphalt barrier – fortunately, not run over by a vehicle. Many of these crashes resulted in ambulance rides to a hospital including: 1-knocked unconscious, 1-neck injury, 2-multiple bone fractures, 1-broken pelvis, 2-pedestrian crashes, and 1-hit surfboard.
The “protected bike lanes” on popular beachfront roads also attract pedestrians, joggers, families with strollers, beachgoers carrying umbrellas, coolers, and chairs, and scores of other non-cyclists. Those pedestrians don’t always pay attention to the cyclists, which creates a serious hazard for everyone. Raised barriers are also a pedestrian trip hazard. When a “protected bike lane” is on a steep grade, the added bike speed makes the situation even more hazardous.
Young also points to the death of a bike rider on another protected bike lane, with a design that prevented the driver from merging into the lane before turning, as required by California law.
A cyclist on Leucadia Blvd suffered a much worse fate. A truck driver made a right turn in front of the rider, who was killed when he collided with the truck. The plastic pylons designed to “protect” the cyclist had the opposite effect; they prevented the truck driver from slowly moving towards the curb as he prepared to make that right turn onto Moonstone Ct.
It’s a well argued piece, worth the click and a few minutes of your time.
Even the most critical recent report, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that most protected bike lanes improve safety for bike riders, with a few limited exceptions like narrow two-bike lanes or protected lanes broken up by numerous driveways and turns.
It’s also worth pointing out that the 24 bicycling crashes he refers to along a single stretch of road in an eight-month period works out to just three per month.
And yes, that’s three too many.
But it’s stat presented out of context. What matters isn’t how many crashes there were after the bike lanes went in, but how that compares to before they were installed.
If there were five crashes a month before the lanes were installed, a reduction to three a month would reflect a significant improvement in safety.
On the other hand, if there was an average of two bicycling crashes a month prior to the protected bike lanes going in, then it would mark a 50% decrease in safety.
The same holds true with the severity of the crashes. Even if there are more crashes now, if the victims are less seriously injured, the protected bike lanes are doing their job.
That said, looking at a photo of these particular bike lanes suggests several serious safety deficiencies.
First, the bike lane doesn’t appear to be wide enough to accommodate two bicycle riding side-by-side, making it challenging to safely pass slower riders. And no one is going to patiently ride in single file behind someone riding at a fraction of their speed.
The proximity of the parking lane also means passengers will exit onto the bike lane, potentially into the path of a passing rider — not to mention cross the bike lane on their way to the beach laden with blankets, umbrellas, coolers and kids.
And the narrow, unwelcoming walkway to the right means many, if not most, pedestrians will choose to walk in the bikeway, instead.
As much as I support protected bike lanes, this particular one does not appear to pass the smell test.
Or any other test, for that matter.
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While we’re on the subject, Phillip Young added some more thoughts in an email exchange yesterday afternoon, which is worth sharing here.
Doing research for my article, I came across San Diego County car vs bicycle accident data:
Average number of San Diego County car vs bicycle accident / crashes annually: 629
San Diego County population 3+ million people
The majority (60%) of the accidents are “Bicycle Riders Acting Badly”:
Ran a red light or stop sign
Cutting in between cars
Taking unnecessary chances
Inexperienced male bicycle riders between ages of 15 and 19 account for most accidents.
The overwhelming majority (92%) of the accidents, the bicycle rider sustains non-severe injuries:
1% Deaths (Not all bicycling deaths are solely the car or truck driver’s fault: e.g. gun shot, alcohol / drugs, medical event, bicycle equipment failure, no lights or reflectors at night, etc.)
7% Severe Injuries
92% Complaint of pain and other visible injury
It is very unlikely a car will hit you on your next bike ride (Average 629 annual crashes with a population of 3+ million people). Even if you are unlucky and a car does hit you, 92% chance it will be a non-severe injury.
It’s way more likely you will hit something and crash — we don’t need more stuff sticking up to crash into or bad road surfaces with holes and debris to cause a fall. Even a slow speed bicycle crash can be serious.
Money is much better spent building Class I Bike Paths and Class II Buffered Bike Lanes. Building more miles of Class IV Cycle Tracks (Protected Bike Lanes) will just multiply our problems.
A Sacramento man faces 61 years behind bars for wrapping a woman in his coat and carrying her off a bike path after seeing she was in distress — then fatally stabbing her without warning, for no apparent reason.
A Washington man got a well-deserved nine years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider while high on meth; he stopped to dislodge the bike from under his car, and told someone he thought he hit a mailbox. Because lots of mailboxes ride bicycles, apparently.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a three-wheeled adaptive bike that a disabled Missouri man relied as his only form of transportation. And just the opposite for the kindhearted stranger who replaced it.
February 26, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on WeHo proposes protected bike lanes on Santa Monica and Fountain, and witness looks for West LA bike crash victim
This could be a literal life saver.
West Hollywood is considering a motion to study how protected bike lanes can be installed on Santa Monica Blvd and Fountain Avenue at next Monday’s meeting.
As Streets For All notes, WeHo already has bike lanes on Santa Monica from Doheny to La Cienega. Even if you have to dodge drivers double parked in the bike lane, or pulling in or out of parking spaces.
On the other hand, bicyclists had to settle for sharrows on Fountain, which isn’t exactly the most comfortable place to ride, thanks to impatient, aggressive and often speeding drivers.
Well-designed protected bike lanes could make a big difference on both, providing safe and bikeable routes through the city, as well as better comfort and livability for everyone along the streets.
Streets For All explains how you can support the motion.
HOW YOU CAN HELP IN TWO STEPS
FIRST…
Send an email right now (by 4p on Monday at the latest) to West Hollywood City Council. We’ve pre-filled the text to make it super easy, but the more personal you can make it, the better.
Register to speak at the West Hollywood City Council Meeting this Monday, Mar 1 at 530PM by emailing the clerk saying that you wish to speak and then calling in at 530pm on Monday:
A Nextdoor user is looking for the bike rider who got hit by a driver at Olympic and Bentley in West LA on Wednesday.
Nextdoor isn’t the easiest platform to respond to someone if you don’t live in the same neighborhood.
But if you know the person they’re looking for, I can pass his or her contact information on the the person who sent this to me, and hopefully they can pass it on to them.
Little known fact, courtesy of Zachary Rynew — Los Angeles is both one of the lowest and one of the highest cities in the US, thanks to Mt. Lukens, the city’s highest point.
Which is where Gravel Bike California grinds this week.
Yahoo picks up a paywalled story from AFP Relax that says riding a bike in Los Angeles isn’t always easy — and sometimes dangerous — but there’s hope. A faint hope, at this point. But still.
There’s something seriously wrong when a 73-year old Florida woman is thrown more than half the length of a football field by a drunk driver, suffering life-threatening injuries just because she had the misfortune of sharing a street with the jerk.
Cycling Newshighlights ’84 Olympic legend Nelson Vails, describing him as “the Harlem kid who became America’s first Black Olympic medalist.” Every February, news outlets across the US remember Major Taylor for Black History Month as America’s first Black cycling champ, forgetting there’s a straight line connecting him with Vails, and LA-based former national champs Rahsaan Bahati and Justin Williams.
Thanks to Margaret for her generous donation to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. Any contribution is always welcome and appreciated!
Culver City city council just passed a motion (5-0!) approving protected bike and bus lanes east of, west of, and through downtown Culver City, and it will be done by May! Thank you to everyone who emailed & called in.
NACTO celebrates Black History Month by sharing a tweet from last year about a little-known Black inventor who helped make all those kids and adult trikes possible.
Matthew Cherry patented improvements to the velocipede, a pedal-less predecessor to modern bikes. He also invented the tricycle, which in our time has evolved into a more stable and accessible option for many people to travel than standard two-wheel bikes. https://t.co/HLgXHiJZcgpic.twitter.com/rJnLff2mMp
Spokane WA bike riders say winter riding isn’t for the faint of heart, especially with the city’s lack of good infrastructure. Something LA bike riders can relate to, where the bike network sucks and winter daytime temperatures sometimes drop all the way to the 60s. Brrrrrrr.
In yet another case of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a two-time hit-and-run driver in Florida made it three when he was arrested for leaving the scene after killing a bike rider nearly a year ago — then deliberately crashed his truck again to hide the damage from the hit-and-run.
International
Proving once again it’s not just an American problem, English police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who t-boned a bike-riding woman in her 50s, in a crash caught on a cringeworthy security cam video. As usual with stories like this, be sure you really want to see it before you click on the video, because you can’t unsee it.
