The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that a 63-year old man riding a “battery-assisted bicycle” has been killed in a collision in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood.
Evidently, they’ve never heard of an ebike.
According to police, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding west on Harbor Drive near Beardsley Street around 9:30 this morning when he swerved to go around a box truck.
Police say there’s no evidence of intoxication, even though there’s not a single mention of a driver, as if the Charger was driving itself.
There’s also no word on how fast the driver was going; it seems unlikely that simply crashing into the side of the car would throw the victim over the hood.
There’s also no word on whether the truck was parked in the bike lane on Harbor or traveling in the right lane. And no explanation where the victim was riding prior to the crash.
This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
He is also the seventh bike rider to die on SoCal streets just this month.
Update: Raw video from the scene shows the car, with a shattered windshield, but no visible damage on the right front side where police say the victim’s bike struck the car.
I’m not embedding the video because it shows the victim’s body in the roadway covered by a tarp, as well as his broken bicycle. So be sure you really want to see that before you click the link.
Thanks to T for the link.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Phillip Young reports signage at the intersection prohibits making a right turn on a red light when pedestrians or bike riders are present, which drivers routinely ignore. And which should be banned there under all circumstances.
But the crash highlights both the dangers of street crossings on separated bike paths, as well as the inherent risks of allowing people to keep driving long past the age when most driver’s abilities start to decline.
Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up; artwork by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.
Twenty-eight-year old Oscar Gaytan was killed when he was pulled off his bike by his attacker, described only as a man in his 30s, striking his head on the street.
Once again, the California legislature has shamefully decided that not annoying drivers by making them obey the law is more important than saving human lives.
California’s second attempt to have speed cameras died in committee today. https://t.co/hghoV8bF6P
It’s been shown time and again that this is the most effective way to make changes on our streets.
So why doesn’t Los Angeles ever do it?
Paris Mayor @Anne_Hidalgo did the same thing with bike lanes— some pilots to prove they worked, but quickly making them permanent & decisively expanding on them during the pandemic when they were well received. Don’t ask if folks want something that they can’t picture. Show them. pic.twitter.com/zodsNHYVJF
Unfortunately, using video or photo evidence to prosecute traffic infractions is illegal in most, if not all, US states, for reasons that will forever escape me.
The Giro will now give stage winners uncorked bottles of prosecco, after Eritrean pro Biniam Girmay was forced to withdraw when an errant cork hit him in the eye, following his record-setting effort as the first Black African rider to win a Grand Tour stage.
Once again, someone with a bike has been killed on a SoCal Freeway.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a woman was struck by a driver while attempting to walk her bike across southbound Interstate 5 in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood.
The crash occurred around 9:30 am Tuesday, after she had been walking her bike on the shoulder of the freeway south of Garnet Ave.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.
The driver stopped and cooperated with CHP investigators. Neither the driver or her passenger were injured.
No explanation was given for why she was walking her bike on the freeway, or why she tried to cross the freeway.
This is at least the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and her loved ones.
April 18, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on San Diego destroys bikes in homeless cleanup, Ojai ride honors ‘cross legend, and peacock on two wheels
This is so wrong in so many ways.
An infuriating video shows San Diego sanitation workers cleaning up a homeless camp — and mindlessly tossing a pair of bicycles in a garbage truck to be crushed. Destroying what was likely someone’s only form of transportation.
Let alone failing to check if the bikes were stolen, or if someone else could have used them.
Or considering that even homeless people have to be somewhere. And should be allowed to keep what meager possessions they have.
Please spread the word: May 15th in Ojai, California there'll be a memorial ride for the late Laurence Malone, superstar cyclocrosser, Hall of Famer, writer and cycling legend. This free event is a fundraiser for his 9-year-old son Ikal. https://t.co/44IMD8E4VQpic.twitter.com/N0P3m03TIP
Deer Park police, after seeing this video of a Jeep driver barreling the wrong-way toward a cyclist in an apparent fit of road rage, determined this was a case of "he said, she said"
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
British radio host Jeremy Vine was metaphorically spanked on social media after he complained about a woman of walking in front of him without looking, and people responded by accusing him of riding too fast. Although he doesn’t look that speedy to me.
I know there are bad drivers and bad cyclists, but is there any such thing as bad pedestrians? pic.twitter.com/42HG51dzVe
A Minneapolis bike rider discovers the risks of ignoring physical symptoms and not seeing a doctor, when his girlfriend talks him into his first medical examination in at least seven years, revealing a rare form if thyroid cancer. As I’ve learned the hard way, bicycling doesn’t keep you from experiencing serious medical problems, and can mask symptoms that could otherwise point to danger.
This is who we share the road with. A road raging New Jersey driver faces an attempted murder charge for chasing a woman onto a lawn after she attempted to take pictures of his car following a minor collision, and running over her, then backing up and doing it again.
A Swedish university professor explains the problems caused by our current automotive hegemony, and lists the 12 best ways to get cars out of cities, including congestion pricing and swapping curbside parking for bike lanes. So why choose? Let’s just try all of them, at the same time.
An Australian development company is deservedly catching heat for spending nearly three-quarter of a million dollars to build a bay front bike path, only to rip a large segment out to conduct soil remediation underneath — even though they knew it was necessary before the path was built.
April 12, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Utah crash victims identified as Whittier brothers, San Diego bikeway fail, and Santa Ana Karen assaults bike-riding boy
Sadly, our worst fears have been realized.
On Saturday, two men identified only as brothers from California were killed when they were run down from behind by a repeat DUI driver near St. George, Utah, who claimed to be on fentanyl from being hospitalized the day before.
And told police she lost control of her car after losing control of her bowels as she was driving.
He also reports a pair of teens in cycling gear were standing by their bodies, screaming about their dads.
Read into that what you will. But it fits with rumors that the Bullard’s teenage sons were among the first riders to come upon the scene shortly after the crash.
Adam’s last post is particularly heartbreaking in retrospect.
Their accused killer, 47-year old Julie Budge, faces twin counts of vehicular homicide, DUI and hit-and-run, as well as single counts of reckless driving and failure to stay in her lane.
She continues to be held without bail, no doubt to the relief of everyone else on the roads.
Budge was previously convicted of DUI seven years ago.
Like Los Angeles before it, San Diego has learned the hard way that traffic safety projects are doomed to fail if they’re not rolled out carefully.
In LA’s case, it was the failed installation of road diets and bike lanes in Playa del Rey, which were unceremoniously ripped out at the mayor’s orders when angry drivers got out their torches and pitchforks, after getting no advance notice the changes were coming.
Hey Long Beach! LA County will be performing maintenance of the LA River Trail between Ocean Blvd and Artesia Blvd starting today 4/4/2022 and expected to end Monday, 4/18/2022. Be advised you may need to take alternative routes due to potential closures during this time. pic.twitter.com/0OSXPwTjLh
No bias here. An Idaho letter writer complains about “arrogant” bike riders who hog the road by riding side-by-side, forcing drivers to — gasp! — actually slow down until it’s safe to pass. And he must know what he’s talking about, since his family owns two bikes.
The Kansas woman who pled guilty last month to running over and shooting a bike-riding because he smiled and gestured towards her has changed her mind, and now insists she didn’t do it; she’s asking the judge to allow her to change her plea.
New York City will shut down over 100 streets to celebrate Earth Day later this month. Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials will undoubtedly mark the day by making a few pronouncements about how important it is to save the earth, while doing absolutely nothing about it.
February 24, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on No justice for fallen San Diego bicyclist, we’re all the same bike tribe, and greater inclusivity for all kinds of riders
I have to work fast to get a new post online every night.
But sometimes, the need for speed forces me to link to stories I haven’t had a chance to fully read.
The story dealt with victims’ families too often feeling like they’ve been let down by the justice system when killer drivers get off with a slap on the wrist, if that.
But what I missed was the focus on the wife of fallen bicyclist Matt Keenan, who was killed by a wrong way driver while riding in Mission Valley last year.
The county district attorney’s office decided not to charge the driver with a felony, after she claimed she hit Keenan head-on because she’d thought she was on a one-way street.
Call it barely plausible deniability.
Driver who killed my husband getting misdemeanor charge, despite wrong way driving for 100 yrds & into bike lane, not seeing him or breaking. No clear definitions of gross negligence or felony vs misdemeanor, leave DA with subjective decision-making power. Sharing to spur change. https://t.co/ByGptJ30C9
The driver told police she thought the street, Camino Del Rio South, was one-way, and that she never saw the cyclist coming.
Keenan does not buy those excuses. She asked the San Diego Police Department to search the driver’s phone records for evidence that she was distracted, but never heard back on that request.
“Something had to make (the driver) extremely distracted, and really, what that is shouldn’t be the issue,” Keenan said. “She was so distracted that she did not see my husband and his extremely bright lights. She never hit the brakes.”
One problem is that police have to get a search warrant to examine a driver’s phone, which requires probable cause to believe a crime took place.
In other words, before they can get a judge to agree to let them see a driver’s phone, they need evidence that the driver was using it.
A legal Catch 22.
The law should be changed to require implied consent, just as anyone with a driver’s license is assumed to have consented to a blood alcohol test if police suspect they’re under the influence.
Merely possessing a driver’s license should give police the right to examine a phone following a collision to see if it had been in use at the time of a crash.
Failure to turn over the phone should result in an automatic loss of license, combined with a presumption of use.
Only then will we see justice for victims of distracted drivers.
And maybe even stop them from doing it in the first place.
These are not members of different bike tribes. They are people riding bikes. We are not defined as riders by what we wear and have way too much in common to be distracted by trivial differences. pic.twitter.com/ZJ33P7rZNO
No bias here. Hermosa Beach police report they busted a trio of teenaged ebike-riding taggers, even though their mode of transportation had nothing to do with the crime; they could have just as easily walked or ridden regular bicycles to the places they spray painted.
Congratulations to a Charlotte NC website, which somehow managed to write a five point plan for bike safety, in which four of the points don’t mention wearing a bike helmet. Once again, don’t get me wrong. I always wear a helmet when I ride. But helmets should always be seen as the last resort when all else fails, not the first, last and too often only steps for bike safety.
An 80-year old British man is on trial for fatally running down a bike-riding man in a dump truck; he also faces charges for failing to stop after the crash, and failing to give his name or the owner of the badly maintained vehicle. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive. And why the hell an 80-year old man was behind the wheel of a heavy duty truck in the first place, let alone one that wasn’t safe to drive.
December 15, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on San Diego bike rider gravely injured, waking the two-wheeled giant of LA politics, and biking to school in the rain
Thanks to Michael W and Dan W — no relation — for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
I often ask you to support other people and causes throughout the year. But this is the only time all year I actively ask for your financial support for this site.
So take a moment now to give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.
Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated.
Including bike lanes already been approved by Metro, Los Angeles and/or Caltrans, but never installed.
Even when the cost is nothing more than a few cans of paint.
Recently, there has been a frustratingly continuous drumbeat of planned bikeways being left off of large-scale southern California construction projects.
There are a host of reasons for the omissions. Numerous agencies are involved, though it’s mostly Metro, Caltrans, and L.A. City Public Works Department bureaus. The effect is the same: missed opportunities for interconnected facilities that would move the southland closer to becoming a safe and convenient place to get around by bike.
He goes on to cite a long list of recent projects where previously approved bike lanes were either downgraded or omitted entirely.
From the infamous Northvale Gap in the E Line — nee Expo — bike path, to the upcoming Van Nuys Blvd light rail project, which was supposed to include nine-miles of bike lanes along the rail route, but will now preserve that road space for cars.
And that doesn’t include countless other bike lanes that government officials have already committed to, but which have been unceremoniously shelved, often with little or no fanfare.
Bike riders press to get bikeway facilities included during project planning processes, often to be told that there just isn’t space or funding or staffing or something-or-other for bikeways. Then, even when agencies (often reluctantly) approve bikeways as part of larger plans, they are dropped in full or in part during construction – as if bicycling is just not a valid way to get around, and as if the safety of bicyclists just isn’t quite worth following through on.
The bottom line, though, is that crap like this only happens because we let them get away with it.
Never mind the estimated 786,918 people who ride every summer, or the 1,356,754 who ride sometimes. Let alone the overwhelming majority of people in Los Angeles who say they’d like to ride a bike more, if they only felt safer on the streets.
So let’s wake that sleeping Giant.
We have the perfect opportunity to be heard, and to make a real difference in this city with the upcoming 2022 elections — the first time since 2013 we will be electing someone other than the disappointing, and soon to be disappearing, Garcetti. Not to mention half of the city council, including a number of open and contested seats.
It’s up to us to make enough noise that we can’t be ignored.
And then hold their feet to the fire once they get elected.
………
As George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
Which applies perfectly to all those drivers who insist you can’t ride a bike in the rain. Let alone drop off your kids at school.
And to which Streets For All founder Michael Schneider responds with actions, not words.
“But what about when it rains!?” “But I can’t bike I have kids!”
Here’s your chance to ask for bike lanes in Larchmont.
Do you live near Larchmont or go there to shop/play/eat? Take this survey and ask for more outdoor dining, bike lanes, and people space!https://t.co/ZhCacrXlEr
Good to hear from our old friend Opus the Poet, even if the news he shared wasn’t.
There was a YouTube creator hit on an e-bike in a hit and run.
Suspect vehicle was a black SUV of unknown make, model, and year. Victim’s insulin pump was destroyed in the wreck, to give an idea of how violent the wreck was.
It starts around the one minute mark. Unfortunately, while Hartford lives in California, she doesn’t say where the crash happened.
………
The war on cars may be myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Rudick discovers that some Sprouts security guards didn’t get the memo when it comes to letting shoppers into the store with a bicycle. Adding insult to injury, one even told him to get a car.
The founder of Bike Index says OfferUp refuses to do anything to curb scammers, after a man ran off with a San Marcos man’s bike in response to an OfferUp ad, after handing him a bag supposedly full of cash to buy it.
National
A new report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America says the US must build back bike manufacturing in this country if we want the pandemic-induced bike boom to continue; over 97% of bikes sold in the US come from outside the country, with over 86% coming from China alone. Just like virtually every other American industry these days. Thanks again to Keith Johnson.
No bias here. Politico says Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has lost the love of Parisians in her efforts to transform the city into a “green cyclist’s utopia.” Even though she was just re-elected last year after already setting much of the changes in motion.
Thanks to Dongyi L, Alan C, Gregory S and Todd T for their generous donations to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
So take a moment to give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.
Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated.
Seriously, go ahead and do it right now. We’ll wait.
………
San Diego is about to show California how its done.
San Diego Forward, a new 30-year plan presented by the San Diego Association of Governments, better known as SANDAG, offers a transformational vision of what the city can, and should, be.
It is unlike any previous regional plan in San Diego, or in California. That’s in part because SANDAG got into a bit of trouble over its last, very inadequate draft plan, which pretended to be forward-looking but, like many regional transportation plans, was mostly a warmed-over rehash of previous plans that prioritize freeways. The previous SANDAG plan included some transit and bike improvements, but those investments were all put on the back burner, and highway expansions came first.
Not this time. The new draft plan – written under new SANDAG leadership – presents a utopian vision of what a connected, equitable, easy-to-navigate transportation system could be, focusing on new technologies for managing vehicle traffic, improving transit, and building streetscapes that work for people on foot and on bike.
Although the 3o-year timeline is about 20 years too late for the planet, which needs to see drastic shifts in how we get around in the next ten years to avoid catastrophic climate changes.
The other challenge is the cost, with an unfunded $160 billion price tag — yes, with a b — to build out.
And as we’ve learned the hard way here in Los Angeles, the key to its success is actually building it, rather than letting it turn into dust sitting on the shelf, like LA’s mobility plan.
Which so far hasn’t been worth the silicon it’s printed on.
However, San Diego leaders have actually shown a willingness to live up to their commitments, such as the city’s climate action plan.
So maybe there’s hope of real change down there, even if it may take too long.
Now if they could just show the rest of us how it’s done.
We were walking towards the intersection where I took pictures of the detour at the intersection. This time we tried to cross the bridge. The bridge is undergoing major construction and is down to two lanes from four. No sidewalk use either. However, on both sides there are temporary bike ped bridges. Four in total because there is a small island in the river.
Here is a picture of one of the temporary bridges. Yes that is snow.
Interesting that the male voice in your video says that what they’re doing is “completely illegal” – hopefully you can point us in the direction of where that piece of legislation is…
Also, the MAXIMUM speed for that road would be 60. It’s wet and narrow, so would expect less.
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) December 1, 2021
Although the police use a painful analogy to correct him on another one.
No they shouldn’t Nick. Drivers should drive their one tonne vehicle more carefully and stop killing 5 people every day.
To use your opinion in a different analogy, should kids in American schools wear bullet proof jackets in case of a mass shooting?
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) December 1, 2021
Unfortunately, we can only imagine what it would be like to have police back us up like that in this country.
………
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Tragic news from Arkansas, where a bike-riding paramedic was killed during the Little Rock Marathon when he grabbed onto a utility vehicle to respond to an injured runner and was pulled under the vehicle’s wheels; the state governor ordered flags flown at half-staff for two days in his honor.
A Michigan man faces up to 30 years behind bars after admitting to using meth and weed, and using Facebook Messenger while driving at highway speeds when he fatally ran down a woman riding her bike earlier this year.
If you’re not doing anything tonight, here’s your chance to dip a toe into track cycling.
We’ve got another Friday Night Scrimmage scheduled for tomorrow (12/3), 7:30-9pm @ the @velosportsctr. This is a chance to work on racing skills and nuance designed to make freshman riders comfortable in a competition setting. No pre-reg necessary…walk-ups welcome & encouraged! pic.twitter.com/UA65aJeBwZ
After just three days, donations are already running well above last year’s record-setting pace!
So let’s keep it up! Your contribution will help fund this site until our sponsors renew in the spring, and ensure SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy keeps coming your way every day.
Thanks to Janice H, Michael S, Robert K, Kim D, Daniel F, Arthur B, Mark J, Joseph B, Andrew G, Theodore F, Megan L, Steven S, Elizabeth T, Jonathan P, Douglas M, Amy S, and Jamie S for their generous donations.
And that’s in addition to Robert L, Eric L, David V, Mitchell G, and Olivia K, who donated even before the official start of the fund drive on Friday.
Police are looking for a light-colored, older model Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe; unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver.
Mendoza is at least the 17th person killed riding a bicycle in San Diego County already this year, perhaps three or four times more than in most years.
A New Jersey police officer is accused of fatally striking a pedestrian, taking the man’s body home to discuss what to do, and then returning to the scene with the dead man in his back seat, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
They on on to explain the off-duty cop and his passenger fled the scene without bothering to aid the victim or call for help.
Then this.
They reportedly went back to the scene multiple times before they put Dymka into the Honda Accord. They then went to Santiago’s home, where he, Guzman and Santiago’s mother, Annette Santiago, discussed what to do, Stephens’ office said.
Louis Santiago eventually went back to the scene, and his father, who is a Newark police lieutenant, called 911, officials said.
New Jersey State Police arrived and found Dymka dead in the back seat, the prosecutor’s office said.
Did we mention that he’s a cop?
Yet apparently, despite his training, he still had no idea what to do after killing someone with his car.
At least this time, there should be consequences. The killer cop faces charges including reckless vehicular homicide, desecrating human remains, and official misconduct, along with a raft of other counts.
Meanwhile, his mom and passenger are both charged with conspiracy to desecrate human remains and hindering apprehension, among other varied and assorted crimes.
No word on whether the cop and his passenger were drunk or stoned. But you’d sure as hell hope no sober person would do that.
Aloisi and her daughters were walking across the parking lot after brunch, they said, when a vehicle approached them fast before the driver abruptly stopped.
The driver, a man, waved his arms at them and appeared to be yelling, they said, though his windows were closed. The women waved their arms and yelled back at him. Aloisi has a leg problem that prevents her from walking fast after sitting for a length of time, she said…
“He zoomed into that back parking spot, jumped out of his car, threw his hands up in the air and screamed ‘Just f—ing walk’ at us,” Nicole Whitted said.
They tried explaining that their mother can’t walk fast, but the cop continued advancing towards them, before allegedly chest bumping one of the women and angrily taking her to the ground.
He then took the 62-year old mother to the ground as well, holding her down with an arm across her throat while pinning her daughter down with his knee, shades of Derek Chauvin.
Only the intervention of a bystander ended the ugly confrontation after their attacker identified himself, for the first time, as a cop.
Yet only the daughter he allegedly chest bumped was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Meanwhile, the alleged road raging attacker denied everything and placed all the blame on the three women, apparently getting off with a pat on the back.
And shamefully, did it all with his family waiting and watching in his car.
………
Some things are just wrong. And others are wrong as hell.
I mean, it’s not like those guys went on to do anything important or anything.
As justification, the city bizarrely cited the Florida condo collapse, somehow seriously equating the dangers of the collapse of an occupied 12-story building with the possible fall of the long-vacant two-story shop.
Apparently, irreplaceable historic sites must be a dime a dozen around there. Because they don’t seem to give a damn about this one.
………
Metro Bike is offering a pair of specials for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Black Friday Weekend – 30-Day Pass for $1
USE PROMO CODE: BIKESEASON21 $1 for a 30-Day Metro Bike Share Pass (Regular Price: $17)
Sign up for a 30-Day Pass online at metro.net/bikeshare. Valid Thursday, 11/25/2021 – Monday, 11/29/2021.
Cyber Monday – Save 50% on 365-Day Pass
USE PROMO CODE: CYBERMONDAY21 $75 for a 365-Day Metro Bike Share Pass (Regular Price: $150)
Sign up 365-Day Pass online at metro.net/bikeshare. Valid Monday, 11/29/2021 only.
………
Zachary Rynew reports progress on an extension of the San Fernando Road Bike Path, but notes there’s still work to be done.
The San Fernando Road Bike Path Extension down to Lankershim looks open, but just short of complete. (Pic#2) The control box has been removed, but still dirt. (#3) No crosswalk at Sheldon. Otherwise, a good amount of lighting and ramps placed.@bikinginla@StreetsblogLApic.twitter.com/qZnfb5UXJI
Apparently, there wasn’t a lot of bikewashing at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year, unlike last year when ebikes made a splash. David Drexler forwards this photo of a Shinola bike, noting it’s the only bicycle he saw at the show this year.
Except for all of the mountain bikes used as props on the backs of SUVs, of course.
………
Our German correspondent, Ralph Durham, forwards a photo showing how bike lane detours are handled in a country where bikes, and the people on them, actually matter.
I’m sending you a picture of a short Bike and ped detour in Munich.
This is at the corner of Ludwigsbrucke (over the Isar river) and Steindorfstrasse. It is a major intersection. the bikes heading north and south have a direct path under the bridge and can avoid the issue. If you need to turn onto the bridge or off the bridge you will hit this. This bike path has a counter and records hundreds of thousands of trip per year.
The road is 2 lanes in each direction and there is work being done that directly impacts the pedestrian walkway and the 2 way bike path. So they shut down the two northbound car lanes and retriped for bikes and pedestrians to get around the construction.
A lot of care is put into allowing bikes and pedestrians to avoid direct interaction with motor vehicles when construction impacts roads and sidewalks.
Compare and contrast that with how your town handles it.
………
Remember this next time you have to lock your bike up to a street sign or parking meter.
To make its city center even more accessible and attractive for visitors, @GemeenteUtrecht is investing in modern bicycle parking.
Over the long weekend, I received an email from a British man, asking me to mention the new foldie developed by his San Francisco brother-in-law — the first folding bike where the wheels fold, too.
So if you’re in the market for a $1,300 bike that really folds, this is your chance.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. In an interminably long screed, San Diego’s bike-hating OB Rag accuses “extreme” bicyclists of holding sway over area planners for demanding crazy things like stop signs to slow speeding drivers, and not wanting to get killed when they ride.
An unlicensed Aussie driver was finally sentenced to a decade behind bars after repeatedly bragging to people for nearly ten years about the night she chased down and killed a Hong Kong man who was just riding his bike home from work, after he allegedly flipped her off, getting more racist with each retelling.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Streets For All urges you to contact the city council to support completion of the Expo Line bike path by closing the absurd Northvale Gap, which was skipped to appease homeowners on the afore mentioned Northvale Road, who worried criminals would ride their bikes into the neighborhood to steal their stuff. No, really.
Streets For All is also calling on everyone to support a Metro board motion scheduled for Thursday to provide an additional $2 million in open streets funding; current funding allows funding of just less than half of the 27 open streets proposals from around the county.
The massive new Burbank bridge finally opened after 20 months of construction, featuring bike lanes on either side, but only a single sidewalk on the south side of the bridge. Evidently, they couldn’t squeeze in another sidewalk because the needed to make room for three traffic lanes and a freeway onramp lane in each direction.
In yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a “groundbreaking” Florida neurosurgeon faces a vehicular homicide charge for killing a bike-riding triathlete while driving on the wrong side of the road at over four times the posted 20 mph speed limit in a borrowed Tesla; he’s been ticketed at least three times for speeding in the past five years, at speeds up to 112 mph.
November 26, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Update: San Diego man murdered by hit-and-run driver in possible intentional crash while riding bicycle in Otay Mesa
The driver fled the scene without stopping. Police are looking for an older model Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe; there’s no description available on who was behind the wheel.
There’s also no word on how the crash occurred, or why police determined it was deliberate, although people at the recreation center may have seen the crash.
Every hit-and-run driver who kills someone should face a murder charge. This one actually might, if police can find them.
Anyone with information is urged to call San Diego’s Homicide Unit at 619/531-2293.
This is at least the 58th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 17th that I’m aware of in San Diego County, which is experiencing by far the bloodiest year in recent memory.
It’s also the second bike rider intentionally murdered by a driver in San Diego in just the last two months.
A photo from the scene suggests why investigators initially suspected homicide, as muddy tire tracks suggest Mendoza’s killer jumped the curb and drove across the grass field to chase him down.
We’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s worth mentioning again, since wheels are the biggest size limitation for folding bicycles. And with just one day left to go, 
