The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments is teaming with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Active SGV and the California Transportation Commission to open up a second round of funding for ebike vouchers.
A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $700 of the $900 goal to buy a new ebike for an 81-year old El Cajon jokester, who has gained internet fame in a series of viral videos, after the ebike he relied on for transportation was stolen. Which is a damn good reminder that ebikes can provide mobility people long after they stop driving. And for those who should.
They get it. The American Bicycling Education Association calls on the AP to add a section on ebikes to its industry-standard AP Style Book, defining an ebike as having fully operable pedals and an electric motor of 750 watts or less, as well as limited speeds (typically 20–28 mph), suggesting electric motorcycle, electric dirt bike or off-highway electric vehicle for bikes that don’t meet that definition.
Which I suppose is the Canadian equivalent of not knowing Manhattan is an island. So I’ll just sit over here in the dunce corner for the rest of the day.
Photo of one of SoCal’s far too many ghost bikes by Matt Tinoco.
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A ghost bike will be placed tonight for 36-year old Regan Cole-Graham, who was killed by an elderly driver while riding with her husband and two sons on Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey — right where a road diet was ripped out to appease angry drivers in 2017, after being installed just months earlier.
I’m also told a heartbreaking little white Strider bike is being prepared to honor her unborn child, who died with her just two months short of full term.
…this coming Sunday, a number of Long Beach cycling groups will gather at 4:00 p.m. at 2nd Street and Redondo Avenue for a memorial ride to remember Lori Ann Carreon, the cyclist that was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver two weeks ago. At 4:30 p.m., the group will ride together to Bixby Park (approximately 1 mile, 2 miles round trip) for a sunset candlelight vigil as they honor her life and come together in community. All are welcome. The ride will be slow and accessible to all. Please ride safely and bring a candle if you’re able.
I wish installations and rides like this wen’t necessary. But as long as they are, I’m glad there are still people willing to do it.
Bike Long Beach is also hosting their next Bikes and Coffee ride Sunday morning, with a nine-mile, no-drop ride exploring the city’s aviation history.
If you’re planning to attend, sign their ride waiver. And you’re encouraged to bring a helmet, bike lock, and repair kit, as well as a bike in working order.
The latter of which would seem to be a prerequisite.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here, either. An Irish bike lane is scheduled to be redesigned, or maybe removed, after drivers complained it was a pilot program “with no pilot,” and compared it to a “North Korean style” bike lane that left poor, afflicted motorists with nowhere to pull over if they had a flat or engine trouble, while making it impossible for two combine harvesters to pass one another, which must be a common problem there. Although some of those North Korean bike lanes look better than a lot of LA bike lanes.
About damn time. San Diego is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to lower speed limits “around school zones, business corridors, key pedestrian and bicycle routes, and areas with a history of crashes.” Although in Los Angeles, that last clause could cover the entire city.
A Florida father is planning to ride across the country, from San Diego to the East Coast of Florida, to honor his sister who was killed on 9/11. With all due respect, though, riding across the country is hard, with countless unforeseen obstacles that can derail even the best plans — like when my brother was forced to ride out a tornado in a public restroom. So wake me when someone completes a ride, not when they’re planning one.
Manteca has formally banned street takeovers by bicyclists, with a $1,000 fine if you’re caught participating, or a mandatory bike safety course and having their bike impounded for anyone under 16.
A Welsh police captain has been forced to apologize after a “miscategorized” emergency call left an injured bike rider lying in a busy intersection for more than three hours before an ambulance arrived.
Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website busts a handful of ebike myths, starting with ebikes aren’t just for seniors and lazy people. Both of which could describe me these days.
November 7, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike lanes slowing fire trucks is an urban myth, celebrate SciFi author Octavia Butler tomorrow & give Egan his damn bike back
Day 311 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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It was a quiet bike news day yesterday, so let’s get right to it.
Today’s photo: If they can drive an ambulance on the old beach bike path pre-widening, they can drive a fire truck on or near a bike lane.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
But sometimes, it’s people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Singaporean driver was shocked and appalled to see a pair of teens drafting a semi on a bicycle and an ebike without the “proper gear,” as if a few ounces of plastic and foam would somehow offer protection if they went under a multi-ton tractor trailer. Look, we’ve all seen that scene from Breaking Away, but seriously, it’s not a good idea, with or without a helmet.
A 55-year old man was hospitalized with a compound fracture of his tibia/fibula and a fractured femur after he was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle in Pacific Beach Wednesday night; police said he continued straight at an intersection instead of making the required right turn, riding into the path of a driver on the cross street.
A Santa Cruz man learned he had multiple myeloma, a difficult to treat form of blood cancer, after suffering an apparent rib fracture on a marathon bike ride; 14-years later, he’s back to riding his bike after a being in remission for three years thanks to a cutting edge therapy.
National
Bike Magazine recommends their picks for the year’s best bike computers. Although the best bike computer is the one you’ve already got — after you throw it as far as you can so you can just enjoy riding without one.
Talk about not getting it. A Newton, Massachusetts resident and self-described bike rider complains that new raised bike lanes around a sharp curve make the road more dangerous, because it narrows the roadway on a dangerous corner. Except that forces drivers to slow down, which is kinda the point.
You’ve got to be kidding. An English man claims he had no idea he struck and killed a man riding a bicycle as he was backing up across the roadway to make a U-turn, insisting he thought he hit a stick — even though he never bothered to stop to see what shattered his rear window before driving away. You know, like any normal person would.
Life is cheap in Singapore, where a truck driver got eight months behind bars after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention for killing a woman who was riding an ebike in a crosswalk, after blaming the victim for not looking for traffic first, before crossing. But at least he lost his driver’s license for eight years.
There are also plans to combine a handful of city departments, though not the needlessly siloed transportation and street services departments, which should work together to improve our streets, but usually don’t.
The shortfall was largely caused by years of ever-growing legal settlements, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to local news.
The budget originally called for twice as many layoffs, but the number was reduced in part by delaying capital improvement projects. Which could lead to even more of those legal settlements, depending on just what they decide to cut.
It’s also likely that at least some of those cuts will come from LADOT and Streets Services, which are already underfunded and understaffed — resulting in years-long delays in safety improvements that risk more lives, and even more of those legal settlements.
And which helped lead to the passage of Measure HLA last year, which aims to force the city to implement the safety improvements in the city’s mobility plan when streets are resurfaced.
Which will now need to be done over a longer period, with less money and fewer people.
After years of research-backed recommendations that road diets improve traffic safety, the Trump administration is putting a heavy foot on the gas, somehow claiming they make the streets more dangerous, instead of safer.
But as usual, they offer no science to back it up.
Federal transportation officials once heralded road diets for cutting crashes by 19% to 47%, but criteria for an upcoming round of road safety grants say projects aimed at “reducing lane capacity” should be considered “less favorably,” the administration said.
Forcing travelers into more constrained spaces “can lead to crashes, erratic maneuvers, and a false sense of security that puts everyone at risk,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said in an email statement to The Associated Press. “The update reflects the Department’s concerns about the safety hazards associated with congestion.”
Again — and I can’t stress this enough — there is no research offered to back up that claim.
The AP goes on to add this.
Numerous other cities have credited road diets with improving safety.
Philadelphia cited a 19% drop in injury crashes. Portland, Oregon, saw a more than 70% decline in vehicles traveling at least 10 mph (16 kph) over the speed limit. The average speed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, fell by 5 mph (8 kph) on some roads within months.
So rather than Making America Great Again, the administration’s plan appears to be more about keeping our streets dangerous, and dangerously auto-centric.
Streetsblog spotted new bike lanes in the Arts District in DTLA.
New bike lanes being installed in #DTLA Arts District – on Mateo and on Santa Fe – including some parking-protected sections on Santa Fe. Connections to 6th St Bridge (& via Santa Fe to Union Station)
It’s anarchy in the UK, as a road-raging driver walked without a day behind bars for getting out of his van and punching a man on a bicycle in the face for the crime of riding in the roadway, as he shouted “There’s a fucking bike path over there;” he was sentenced to the equivalent of community service, and about about 180 bucks restitution for damage to the victim’s bike.
California drivers will now face stricter penalties for driving without insurance or under-insured, including fines topping $500, loss of driver’s license and impounding the vehicle. The last one is likely to have more impact, because $500 is a fraction of the annual cost of car insurance, and people drive without a license every day. But no one drives without a car.
Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as a British writer recommends a multi-day gravel ride through Cornwall on the extreme southwestern tip of England, with its “sublime coastal gravel tracks, old mine ruins perched on the clifftops, gorgeous villages and ancient history,” all easily accessible from Penzance. No pirates, however. Unfortunately.
About damn time, part two. Subaru is introducing the world’s first external airbags designed to protect bike riders in a crash; it works to keep bicyclists from smashing into the windshield by modifying a pedestrian-safety airbag that’s been available in the country since 2016, but oddly hasn’t even been offered an option in this country. Although it wouldn’t do a lot of good on American trucks and SUVs, with their grills too high to provide any protection.
March 20, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on NM kids face murder in death of bike-riding scientist; killer Playa street claims fresh victim; Metro threatens suit to prevent safer streets
This is getting old.
Nearly two weeks in, I’m still struggling with Covid, and need a few more days before I get back to our usual updates. Just another of the many joys of diabetes, which can make Covid hit harder and last longer than it might otherwise.
Hopefully, we’ll be back on Monday to catch up on what we missed.
But there are a few stories this week that can’t really wait, so let’s do a quick update in the meantime.
The victim, a beloved physicist at the nearby Sandia National Laboratory, was killed when the kids “bumped” him with the car.
The 13-year old driver and the 16-year old egging them on from the back seat both face murder charges — as could the 11-year old waving a gun and laughing from the passenger seat.
Yes, I said eleven. With a rap sheep of violent crimes that makes John Gotti seem like an extra from Westside Story.
Apparently, New Mexico law allows them to be publicly named, and charged as adults.
Police became aware of the video shortly after the May 29, 2024, murder of 63-year old Scott Habermehl, but it apparently took until now to uncover the identities of his teen and preteen killers.
The older teens each face felony charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death, and unlawful possession of a handgun.
The younger boy is likely to join them.
Thanks to Joel Falter for the heads up.
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It’s happened again, again.
Because once again, an innocent person has been killed on Vista del Mar in Playa del Rey, eight years after then Councilmember Mike Bonin tried to fix the deadly street, only to have then Mayor Eric Garcetti rip it out after caving to angry pass-through drivers.
Now, after another woman has been killed — at least the fifth in just ten years — that blood is on Garcetti’s hands, and everyone who demanded the removal of the safety improvements just so they could continue to go “zoom! zoom!”, innocent victims be damned.
Not to mention whoever designed the damn thing.
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Metro has bizarrely come out against bus lanes and safer streets.
According to a post from Streets For All, the ostensibly safety-oriented county transportation agency is threatening to sue if they are forced to comply with Measure HLA when they make changes to the streets.
Even though the law clearly applies to any significant street projects, regardless of who is responsible for them.
Today @metrolosangeles sent a letter to the City of LA saying that they will sue if LA requires HLA compliance on Metro projects.
HLA applies to any projects done on City streets, regardless of who does them.
So, Metro will fight the city in order not to install bus lanes, bike lanes, crosswalks, curb ramps, all approved a decade ago.
Metro is blocking routine upgrades to all the ways their riders get to bus stops and rail stations, plus blocking bus lane facilities that would improve Metro bus speeds.
Really.
Really, indeed.
It’s worth noting that Metro’s board is made up of elected officials and appointees from cities throughout LA County, and led by board chair and County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
GLENDALE, Calif. (March 18, 2025) — Southern California’s newest open streets event, Let’s Go Glendale, will transform a portion of S Glendale Ave into a car-free space on Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The community is invited to explore the area on foot, bike, scooter, wheelchair or any other way that moves you.
The City of Glendale’s Open Streets Event, Let’s Go Glendale, is presented by Metro and produced by Community Arts Resources (CARS). This free day features a full schedule of carefully curated performances and activities along a meaningful vehicle-free route through the city’s south. People of all ages are invited to discover local businesses, enjoy delicious food, listen to live music and connect with the city’s vibrant cultures in the open streets. It’s an opportunity to walk, roll, shop and stroll through Glendale with a whole new perspective! A full schedule of event locations, activations and a detailed route map will be announced in April.
WHEN: Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
WHERE: City streets along S Glendale Ave will be closed to car traffic and opened to pedestrians. Full route details will be released soon.
ADMISSION: This event is free to attend and open to the public.
July 25, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Study shows road diets don’t affect EMS response times, and LAPD belatedly asks for help solving Lincoln Heights hit-and-run
Just 159 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
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A new study shows exactly what we’ve been saying all along — that road diets don’t affect emergency response times.
The study involved Iowa road diets that converted formerly four lane roadways to two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane. It confirmed there was no difference in emergency response times from before the installation to after they were installed.
And despite what we’re usually told, most EMS responders didn’t think they did, either.
On the other hand, what did affect response times was drivers who didn’t know how the hell to yield to emergency vehicles, especially after a lane had been removed.
And from what we’ve seen here in Los Angeles, that’s most of them.
The driver reportedly ran a red light, causing the 49-year old motorcyclist to lay down his bike to avoid a collision. The victim then slid under a box truck and was run over, and died after being taken to a hospital.
The pickup driver continued without stopping.
And yes, it’s considered hit-and-run if you cause a crash, even if you don’t come into actual contact with the victim or their vehicle.
Never mind that, as usual, the LA cops waited until the trail got cold and people’s memory of the event faded before bothering to ask for the public’s help.
Even though both the city and state have passed hit-and-run alert programs intended to notify the public immediately after a crash, when people are most likely to recall key details that could lead to an arrest.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of this driver, or any other driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
Even though California’s program would have been the first in the nation if it had actually launched when it was originally approved by the legislature.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Four people have been arrested on murder and conspiracy charges following a West London collision that killed two men in their 20s riding bicycles. Unfortunately, given British press restrictions, there’s no information on how the crash occurred, why so many people were arrested or why police consider it a double murder.
No bias here. After yet another mass casualty crash, the BBC employs it’s most passive voice to say a “car and seven cyclists collided,” resulting in at least four serious injuries, and doesn’t even mention that the car had a driver until the next-to-last paragraph. Never mind that it’s highly unlikely the bicyclist collided with the car, rather than the driver plowing them down.
Police in San Diego are asking for the public’s help in finding the hit-and-run driver who left a 60-year old bike rider in grave condition. The victim suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured neck and bleeding in the brain; unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver or suspect vehicle. The cops actually managed to alert the public within days of the crash, rather than waiting weeks or months after a serious hit-and-run, if they even get around to it, like the LAPD.
An Alaska news site questions whether anyone is actually using a new Anchorage bike path as it nears the halfway point of the pilot project — even though it’s used by up to 150 bike riders a day, and the downtown bike corral it connects to is often full, with as many as 100 bicycles.
The post-pandemic bike bust claims another victim, as a 141-year old Cleveland bike shop that’s been run by the same family for three generations prepares to shutter its doors at the end of next month, a victim of supply chain problems and the difficulty finding trained workers.
The sister of assassinated British Member of Parliament Jo Cox celebrated the “inspirational” bike ride in her honor, with 83 people ranging from 16 to 78 completing the 288-mile ride from her hometown to London, where Cox was killed by a terrorist eight years ago.
An Irish man credits his bike helmet with saving his life when he was struck by a driver this past weekend, and thinks because they helped him, they should be required for everyone. Even though bike helmets are designed for relatively low speed falls, not violent collisions with bigass motor vehicles.
Velo examines who did and didn’t rake in the big bucks for the recently completed Tour de France, with three-time champ Tadej Pogačar hauling in nearly $875,000, while Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay brought a relatively paltry $58,000, despite winning three stages and the green jersey.
Outsideprofiles Olympic mountain biker Riley Amos, and the small southwest Colorado mountain town I can’t talk my wife into moving to that’s produced more top cyclists than almost any other American city.
Back in 2019, a four-year old girl was tragically killed by a driver as she crossed the street in Koreatown, while holding hands with her mother.
In a crosswalk. With the light.
Alessa Fajardo and her mom did everything right as they crossed Olympic at Normandie that October day, yet she died anyway. Even though Los Angeles officials knew long before about the dangers of that area and intersection.
In fact, the school they were going to was ranked the city’s 13th most dangerous campus just six years earlier, while Koreatown as a whole was rated LA’s fourth most dangerous neighborhood for bike riders and pedestrians.
That’s pedestrians, like little kids crossing the street with their mothers.
It took four-and-a-half years, and a $9.6 million dollar settlement before anything was done about it.
Starting with the problem of each city councilmember acting like little kings in their own districts, responsible for identifying and approving any improvements before they are made.
Or not.
Neither former District 10 Councilmember Herb Wesson, who represented the district when Alessa was killed, nor his successor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, secured that funding. Ridley-Thomas was indicted on federal corruption charges, suspended from the council and later convicted and removed from his seat in late March 2022. Nobody represented the district until Heather Hutt was appointed that September.
Hutt identified and allocated $530,000 for the new signals in June 2023, but the installation work did not begin until April 2024, four months after the family’s suit against the city was settled.
District 10 staff would not comment on the record about why they could not secure the funds in 2020, 2021, 2022 and early 2023.
No surprise there.
Then again, even on the rare occasions when councilmembers really do try to do something, angry motorists too often rush for their torches and pitchforks — and threats of recall elections.
Two years before little Alessa was killed in Koreatown, the city agreed to another $9.6 million settlement, this time with the family of a 16-year old girl killed crossing — wait for it — Vista Del Mar to get to her car after leaving Dockweiler Beach.
The same beach where the kids were killed on Tuesday.
Then-CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin responded by ordering long-delayed safety improvements on Vista Del Mar, and a handful of other streets in Playa del Rey. Both because too many lives had already been lost on the deadly roadway, and because the next settlement, for the next inevitable death, would be exponentially higher.
Now just three years after that, two more people have needlessly lost their lives on that same bloody stretch of road. And despite a breathless report from Fox-11, police reports said there was no indication either driver was under the influence.
Never mind that the settlement for this one will likely be exponentially higher than the last one, since Los Angeles installed, then removed, safety improvements that might have prevented it.
Yet despite at least four deaths on the same section of roadway in just nine years, some people still seem to think they should have the unfettered, God-given right to go zoom zoom whenever and wherever they want, innocent lives be damned.
making everybody sit in traffic improves safety but it destroys quality of life. There's a whole bike path that already runs parallel to Vista Del Mar and goes all the way up Culver Blvd. There was no need for the redundant bike lane which only caused headaches for 99.9% of us
Three of the kids were critically injured when the 83-year old driver hit them head-on as they rode single file, leaving the children screaming in terror and pain amid their mangled bikes.
She was arrested at the scene, then released and taken to a hospital after police concluded she wasn’t in a “fit state” for questioning.
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Speaking of deadly roadways, here’s your chance to fight for bike lanes on PCH in Long Beach.
Reminder Long Beach residents! Join @CaltransDist7 for a public meeting to learn about an upcoming bike lane project on Thursday, 6 from 6pm to 7pm at the Guidance Center. pic.twitter.com/Lir1Cnp9ZR
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) June 3, 2024
A bike rider in Brussels, Belgium is lucky to be alive after he was knocked off his bike by a driver who tried to pass him and his companion while driving in a clearly marked bike lane, then the enraged motorist got out and slashed the victim’s throat with a knife; the victim managed to escape with just six stitches when the driver barely missed his jugular.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Streets For All urges support for a proposed 28-mile The Hill to Sea transit corridor traversing 13 cities and unincorporated communities from Pasadena to Long Beach, which would “aggressively reduce car dependency by prioritizing high quality bus service, safe protected bike paths, and improved sidewalks for walking and businesses.”
Orange County supervisors voted to crackdown on ebikes, including restrictions on sidewalk riding, imposing speed limits and reclassifying bikes that generate more than 750 watts through their motors — even though the latter two could put them in direct conflict with existing state law.
Colorado took a step forward by creating a dedicated $7 million funding stream for “proven small infrastructure projects that improve safety for vulnerable road users,” such as bike lanes, sidewalks and other pedestrian improvements. While that’s far too little — even for a relatively small state — it’s a hell of a lot more than most are willing to commit to.
Sad news from DC, where a 34-year old White House staffer was killed while riding his bike when he crossed the center line on a sharp curve during a fundraising ride, and was struck head-on by an oncoming motorist; Jacob Thomas Brewer was the husband of Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham.
Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Just 60 signatures to go to reach 1,000!
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Somehow, Los Angeles firefighters don’t seem to think LA’s wide street are wide enough.
Or that their trucks can manage to roll over a thin line of paint.
According to the Los Angeles Times, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 plans to spend at least $100,000 to fight Measure HLA, the ballot measure that would make the city build out its already approved mobility plan whenever streets within the plan get resurfaced.
Union President Freddy Escobar said his organization, which represents about 3,400 firefighters, is concerned that the measure will lead to slower emergency response times and put new pressure on a city budget already experiencing financial strain. Firetrucks are already being hindered by “road diets” — reductions in vehicle lanes caused by the creation of bike or bus lanes, Escobar said in an interview.
“Every second counts. The road diets slow down our firefighters,” Escobar said. “And it will be so much worse with HLA.”
Never mind that when firefighters complain about road diets, they neglect to mention that while road diets reduce the number of traffic lanes, most contain a continuous center left turn lane large enough for firetrucks to zoom through any backed up traffic — actually making them more efficient for emergency vehicles than LA’s congested roadways.
Other major streets in the mobility plan are marked for bus lanes, which also present a perfect lane for emergency vehicles to bypass traffic more quickly than they can now.
Assuming no one is illegally parked in them, of course.
Or that one reason we’re told LA’s “protected” bike lanes are protected by nothing more than flimsy plastic posts is so emergency vehicles can drive over them whenever necessary.
Not to mention that most of the bike lanes in the mobility plan will feature nothing more than a thin stripe of white paint, which should hardly pose a barrier for a massive, multi-ton truck with huge wheels.
So the reality is that road diets, particularly the kind the would be created under HLA, would likely speed emergency response times, not slow them.
Which makes you wonder what the firefighters real complaint is.
Then there’s the simple fact that Measure HLA, and the mobility plan it’s based on, is designed to save lives by dramatically reducing the risk of life-threatening injuries and traffic deaths.
So maybe what they’re really worried about is that improved traffic safety could reduce the need for emergency responses.
And emergency responders.
Of course, Los Angeles isn’t the first city to face this type of manufactured conflict.
Not, say, our overly wide, straight and multilane boulevards.
Which makes it seem like the union’s real objection is less about reducing response times, and more about wanting to drive unhindered to and from the fire stations and their suburban — or even out-of-state — homes.
But in the end, it’s only appropriate, in this pre-Easter season, that the firefighter’s union will spend more than a hundred grand of their member’s dues to perform a miracle.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Dublin, Ireland mother was forced to give up bicycling after she was threatened with an £11 million fine — the equivalent of nearly $14 million — and two years behind bars for installing a small bike shed in her front garden to store her family’s bikes and her mother’s wheelchair.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
It just keeps getting worse. Former Major League shortstop and current Oaks Christian School baseball coach Royce Clayton was busted for DUI early Sunday morning, just weeks after testifying about quaffing margaritas with wealthy socialite Rebecca Grossman and her then-lover, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, before she allegedly killed two little kids while speeding through a crosswalk.
Income-qualified Pasadena residents will be able to get a rebate of up to $1,000 on the purchase of an ebike starting July 1st, while other buyers will be able to claim $500 off a regular ebike, and $750 off an e-cargo bike. And chances are, California’s moribund ebike voucher program still won’t have launched by then.
State
Seriously? The replacement project for the Mission Bridge over the Santa Ana River between Riverside and Jurupa Valley has been pushed back until 2025 — but don’t worry, officials plan to protect bike riders by installing a couple of Share the Road signs along the dangerous roadway.
The San Francisco Standardexamines the proposals to ban kids from riding ebikes, while noting that US Consumer Product Safety Commission research shows it’s people 25 to 44 years old who are the most likely to end up in the ER as a result of an ebike crash — not kids.
A Boulder, Colorado op-ed says bicycling isn’t inherently dangerous, but bad street design is. (Hint: Stop the page from loading to bypass the paper’s paywall).
A British Columbia paper says Svein Tuft, arguably Canada’s greatest road cyclist, is finally leaning to slow down after retiring at 41 when he lost his competitiveness, and began braking early to avoid injuries.
November 6, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Narrower and fewer lanes save lives, a weekend of traffic violence, and passing ghost bikes on to the next generation
Ride or walk carefully today.
The day after the time change usually sees a spike in traffic collisions, so ride defensively for the next few days.
Not to mention encouraging drivers to speed, which increases both the risk and severity of crashes, as we’ve learned from other studies.
Narrowing traffic lanes also provides more room for other road uses, like wider sidewalks and bike lanes.
The key findings from the study include —
Narrower lanes did not increase the risk of accidents. When comparing 9- and 11-foot lanes, we found no evidence of increased car crashes. Yet, increasing to 12-foot lanes did increase the risk of crashes, most likely due to drivers increasing their speed and driving more carelessly when they have room to make mistakes.
Speed limit plays a key role in travel width safety. In lanes at 20-25 mph speeds, lane width did not affect safety. However, in lanes at 30-35 mph speeds, wider lanes resulted in significantly higher number of crashes than 9-foot lanes.
Narrower lanes help address critical environmental issues. They accommodate more users in less space, use less asphalt pavement, with less land consumption and smaller impervious surface areas.
Narrowing travel lanes could positively impact the economy. This includes raising property values, boosting business operation along streets and developing new design projects.
Even on high-traffic corridors that exceed Federal Highway Administration recommendations that road diets should be applied to roadways with fewer than 20,000 average daily trips.
According to the authors —
We found that collisions, injuries, and deaths were lower by 31.2% to 100%, depending on the measure, whereas traffic speeds were lower by about 6.7% (peak) to 7.9% (off-peak). We concluded that in Los Angeles higher-traffic-volume road diets appeared to significantly increase safety with only minor effects on traffic speeds.
Let that sink in.
Road diets on high-traffic corridors — even right here in the automotive capital of the world, where driving is considered a God-given right and obligation — dropped traffic deaths and serious injuries by anywhere from a third, to complete elimination.
And all with a minimal impact on driver speeds, taking a typical 40 mph driving speed down to a more reasonable 36.
Which isn’t going to make anyone late for dinner or to pick up the kids, while helping to ensure they’ll actually get there in one piece.
Two people were killed when a minivan driver being chased by police slammed into a Metro bus in DTLA early Sunday morning, after police reportedly saw someone toss a gun out the window of the minivan. Two people in the backseat, who weren’t wearing seatbelts, were killed while the two people up front survived with non-life threatening injuries; three people on the bus suffered minor injuries, including the driver.
Several people suffered minor injuries, and a number of others were lucky to escape injury, when an alleged drunk driver doing donuts lost control of her car, and slammed into a large group of people standing outside a Valencia bar. And almost needless to say, she fled the scene before she and her passenger were arrested — after reportedly changing seats to hide who was driving.
Video of the crash is appalling.
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Sad to think we need to pass this on to a new generation.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Fresno woman was collateral damage in an apparent political dispute between a 60-year old pickup driver and a bike rider participating in a Pro-Palestinian demonstration, after the driver, who was allegedly under the influence, tried to speed off when the bike rider began punching him through the open window; the victim was lucky to escape with just a broken ankle, while the driver faces possible hit-and-run and DUI charges, while the bike rider could be charged with assault.
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Local
LAisttalks with new LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo, who swears her priority is to make every Angeleno and visitor feel safe on the streets, while revisiting the city’s nearly moribund Vision Zero program — but without making a commitment to the wholesale changes to our streets required to do that.
SoCal speed cams took a step closer to becoming reality in Los Angeles on Wednesday, when City Council Transportation Committee unanimously approved a motion to create an automated Speed Camera Safety Program when a new state law approving a pilot program in Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach goes into effect next year.
A Streetsblog op-ed by Jeanie Ward-Waller, former deputy director for planning and modal programs at Caltrans, relates how she was fired for doing her job, and speaking out when Caltrans officials tried to skirt the law to widen Sacramento highways. Maybe Newsom should just fire the people running Caltrans, and give her the damn job.
A Utah man gets screwed when someone stole a pair of ebikes from his garage, and his homeowner’s insurance refused to pay the claim, stating his policy doesn’t cover “motor vehicles” — even though the state classifies ebikes as bicycles.
Danish pro Jonas Vingegaard, two-time winner of the Tour de France, was awarded the prestigious Velo d’Or trophy for the year’s best cyclist, and was apparently so unimpressed he didn’t bother to show up for the ceremony; Dutch Tour de France Femmes winner Demi Vollering won the women’s Velo d’Or.
GCNtalks with Slovenian cyclist Matej Mohorič, who popularized the now-banned super-tuck position, about his upbringing and his quest to give a ‘higher purpose’ to his racing.
Remembering the good old days of the Tour de France, when doping meant raiding the local cafe to steal a little mid-stage booze.
November 23, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on WeHo approves Fountain protected bike lanes, debate over cyclist semantics, and running over bikes in bike-friendly Davis
Just two more days to one of the biggest, most momentous days of the year!
We’ll be off tomorrow, so have a great Thanksgiving, whether you spend it with loved ones or alone on your bike. And find something to be thankful for.
Besides, you know, this site.
Then come back on Friday to witness me beg, plead, cajole and grovel for your support.
And stay safe out there. I want to see you back here again when the weekend is over.
Mayor Lauren Meister summed up her reason for voting yes, even though city staffers haven’t explained where the cars displaced from parking on the apartment-dense street are supposed to go.
“My goal is to make Fountain just safer, period — for pedestrians, making the sidewalks wider and and making it so that cars aren’t speeding through and going over the curves and actually going into people’s yards,” Meister said.
The proposal, which became a key issue in the city’s recent election campaign, would require the removal of a traffic lane in each direction, as well as reconstructing sidewalks along the street, which are not ADA compliant.
The street currently features some of the area’s most uncomfortable sharrows, which are seldom used by anyone but the most confident bicyclists in the face of frequently speeding traffic.
It’s something I try not to use, as you may have noticed, preferring bike riders, bicyclists or people on bicycles.
But only because so many people read into to it far more than the word actually conveys, which is merely someone who rides a bicycle.
To some, it means bike racers; to others, it’s anyone who wears spandex. And to others still, it refers to people on fixies, or some other bike world niche.
Then there are people don’t like the word because they feel it labels them in some way, when riding a bike is just something they do, rather than something they are.
I can see all of that, and none of it.
The simple fact is we are all cyclists when we ride a bike, and not once we get off. Just as someone is a driver when they’re behind the wheel, and a pedestrian when they get out; no one calls them drivers when they’re home or in the office.
So go ahead and use the word if you’re comfortable with it, or don’t if you aren’t.
Thanks to Tim Rutt for the link.
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Streets For All is hosting a fundraising holiday party next month.
Streets For All has had a great year and to celebrate we wanted to invite you to a holiday party fundraiser on December 9! All funds raised will help us do even more in 2023!
A Davis motorist drove through a line of picketing teaching assistants striking for higher pay and better conditions on UC campuses, driving off with a bicycle still stuck under their car.
Mercedes is adding a subscription fee to their electric vehicles that will increase horsepower and torque. It's happening. Late-stage capitalism is going to have people paying a monthly fee to improve the performance of a car they already bought. pic.twitter.com/7rHIkolC9R
About damn time. The Hollywood Reporter says it’s time to reopen the case in the 12-year old murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen, which was bizarrely pinned on a destitute, bike-riding Black man who allegedly killed himself as police attempted to take him into custody in a Hollywood flophouse; Beverly Hills police accused Harold Smith of shooting Chasen as she drove home from a premier.
The San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, wants to give you a ped-assist ebike in exchange for a commitment to ride a minimum of 100 miles a month. Or as I used to call that back when I could still do it, Tuesday.
DC is facing a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act, as two handicapped women allege that new protected bike lanes make it harder for them to find parking and safely exit their vehicles. Thanks to Victor Bale for the tip.
Virgin founder 
