Is anyone really surprised to see Gil Cedillo’s fingerprints all over the death of the fully approved and funded bike lanes on the newly widened North Spring Street Bridge?
Cedillo, the councilmember for LA’s 1st Council District, seems to have an irrational fear and/or hatred of bicycles and the people who ride them.
Maybe he’s still mad that Santa never brought him one.
That extends to bike lanes, as well. Cedillo has apparently never seen one in his district that he didn’t want to stop, even going so far as to request the removal of every planned bike lane in CD1 from the city’s mobility plan.
That includes the desperately needed, shovel-ready lane reduction on deadly North Figueroa, which he claimed to support — right up to the moment he took office, and began a series of rigged public meetings to justify killing a project with broad popular support.
Something that earned him the moniker Roadkill Gil, as needless deaths continued to mount on the corridor, and in his district.
And now, newly uncovered evidence has confirmed long-held suspicions that he was behind the endless delays, and ultimately, the de facto cancellation, of the planned bike lanes on the North Spring Street Bridge.
So @cmgilcedillo ripped out planned approved and funded bike lanes on the Spring St bridge out of “safety concerns” for cyclists? This is a CEQA violation and may require the city to return the federal money they now took under false pretenses.https://t.co/NV05Autpy0
— Streets For All (@streetsforall) January 13, 2022
The $50 million reconstructed bridge crosses the Los Angeles River north of downtown, connecting Lincoln Heights with Chinatown.
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers an extensive timeline spelling out the whole sad project, from approval of the retrofit in 2011 to the final construction, sans bike lanes. Along with the endless promises that they would be installed at some vague point in the future.
Streetsblog requested, and yesterday received, a copy of the 2021 change order removing the bike lanes from the project via a public records request.
And sure enough, it specifies that Cedillo’s office had them removed, claiming “safety concerns,” that somehow couldn’t have been rectified up to this point.
After all, they’ve only had ten years to address them.
The good news is, Cedillo is up for re-election to a final term this year. Maybe someone can step up and make this his final term, instead.
Your quarterly reminder that Councilmember Gil Cedillo is awful, and so petty that his office spends time removing *planned* street safety improvements.
N. Figueroa, Temple, Spring, Pasadena Ave are streets that were supposed to be made safer but #teamcedillo killed those plans. https://t.co/7j0bMALeDc pic.twitter.com/qsRgufubN9
— Felicia G. (@hippierunner) January 13, 2022
Photo by Joe Linton from LA Streetsblog.
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Tragic news from Temecula, where former two-time national mountain bike champ Ryan Fedorow died Tuesday from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle crash on Sunday; he was 39.
His girlfriend was critically injured in the crash.
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Heartbreaking story from Sports Illustrated, as former 7’6″ NBA star Shawn Bradley talks for the first time following the bicycling collision that left him paralyzed from the chest down — and contemplating whether his family would be better off without him.
Naturally, the minivan driver was never charged, claiming she gave Bradley enough room, which doesn’t explain why he ended up tumbling over her car. And even though she left the scene, before returning later.
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Something tells me sales were flat here in Los Angeles.
This ad is from 1896, but you never know, it still might be good. pic.twitter.com/yNe0F2dC3t
— Cool Bike Art (@CoolBikeArt1) January 12, 2022
But clearly, it’s still a thing.
Are you even biking if you’re not biking on ice with the blade of a knife. #Legend pic.twitter.com/M7pbOIUBN7
— Tom Flood (@tomflood1) January 12, 2022
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Evidently, trail rage is a thing now, too.
Ryan Redington and team were involved in a hit and run snowmobile accident (sounds like it was on purpose). Several dogs injured, at least one severely. #MusherTwitter pic.twitter.com/TzRSQL4U5B
— Toni Reitter (@tonichelleak) January 10, 2022
The only time my Iditarod-mushing brother ran into something like that, it was at the hands — or hooves — of an angry moose who didn’t take kindly to sharing the trail with a bunch of dogs. Fortunately, they all came out of it okay, if a little banged-up and moose shy.
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
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Sometimes, infrastructure is what you make of it.
https://twitter.com/BikePortland/status/1481055697127485441
Thanks to Mike Burk for whetting our appetites.
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Credit BikeLA Redditors for putting together a list of rides coming up this weekend.
https://twitter.com/BikeLAredditors/status/1481523429656313857
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Brooklyn man was struck with a baseball bat with no warning as he rode his bike, and for no apparent reason; his attacker whacked him once then ran off without a word.
Unbelievable. A British man with 25 previous convictions somehow managed to avoid jail for blocking a bike-riding couple on a pathway, while hurling drunken racist abuse and claiming it was his path. Apparently, you need at least 27 convictions to get jail time there.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Milwaukee bike rider faces a charge of 1st degree intentional homicide for an alleged road rage shooting that took the life of an immigration lawyer after the pair exchanged words; he’s claiming the shooting was in self-defense.
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Local
Sad news right here at home, where longtime transit advocate and Streetsblog contributor Dana Gabbard has died of natural causes.
State
Congratulations to Costa Mesa on hiring Brett Atencio Thomas as the city’s first Active Transportation Coordinator.
Police in Huntington Beach are offering a $5,000 reward for information on who fatally shot a 43-year old man in 2014, the homeless victim was found in an alley next to his bike the next morning.
Sad news from Fresno, where a recumbent rider in his 50s was killed in a collision with a truck driver, who apparently overlooked him in broad daylight.
Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls on San Francisco to ban cars for the full length of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park.
National
Bike Radar reviews the new ebike roadie built by America’s only remaining Tour de France champ, which doesn’t look a bit like one.
Maui, Hawaii is considering plans for a 25-mile bike path on the west side of the island, which would include the tourist destinations of Lahaina and Ka’anapali.
A Las Vegas sports site recommends five bicycling destinations outside the city.
The twin Western Colorado towns of Nucla and Naturita, with barely 1,000 residents between them, are hoping to become the next big mountain biking destination, with plans for 50 over miles of new trails. Although they might want to figure out where all those new visitors are going to eat and sleep first.
Kindhearted Texas firefighters pitched in to buy a new bike for a young boy after his was destroyed when the porch and siding of his house caught fire.
Pittsburgh church groups are calling on the state attorney general to investigate the case of a Black man tased to death by cops for the crime of riding an apparently discarded bicycle around the block without permission; he was zapped eight or more times within minutes before dying.
Philadelphia is addressing two problems at once by installing small bike corrals in front of fire hydrants, to keep drivers from blocking access for firefighters by parking in front of them, while providing much needed bike parking.
A New York advocacy group says the city’s bike program is no longer a leader or innovator, and needs fast action to regain it’s former status, let alone improve safety.
A New York man has been extradited to stand trial in the death of a Florida woman, who was killed when he reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel and slammed into the 44-year old mother as she rode her bicycle in a bike lane at eight in the morning.
Florida has restored a 2.2-mile segment of the 100-year old Old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys for use as a scenic bike and pedestrian bridge.
International
Giant is recalling over 20,000 Giant and Liv bicycles made in 2021 due to defective handlebar stems that could come loose and dump you off your bike.
Keep an eye on your bike if you’re riding in the London boroughs of Hackney and Westminster, which have the city’s highest rates of bike theft.
France will once again debate whether to mandate bike helmets for adult riders, with a proposed €135 — or $155 — fine for anyone caught without one. As has been the case everywhere else, expect homeless people and people of color to bear the brunt of it.
Barcelona has doubled its bike lane mileage in just five years while eliminating 3,500 parking spaces, in a successful effort to give the city back to people instead of cars. Then again, Los Angeles doubled its bike lane mileage virtually overnight just by counting each side of the road separately.
A writer for CleanTechnica finds ebiking in Lisbon, Portugal is a bumpy ride.
Turkey’s Antalya region is aiming to capture a large segment of the $60 billion European bike tourism market, assuming they can build the infrastructure to accommodate it.
Competitive Cycling
Canadian Cycling considers five things to look forward to this year in pro road racing.
Finally…
Repeat after me — when you’re out on parole with a long criminal record, and carrying fentanyl, weed and high-capacity AK-47 magazines on your bike, put a damn light on it, already.
And teach your toddler early that brakes are for quitters.
https://www.tiktok.com/@thatmountainlife/video/6970753882280463622?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdk79lclgtez2i.cloudfront.net%2F&referer_video_id=6970753882280463622&refer=embed
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
