I can’t speak for anyone else, but this is one damn week I’ll be glad to see in the rearview mirror. Or more precisely, it makes me damn glad I don’t have one.
Photo from Ekaterina Bolovtsova on Pexels.
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Joe Linton offers an update on his lawsuits against the city for failing to comply with the requirements of Measure HLA, which were filed in his capacity as a human being, rather than the editor of Streetsblog LA.
The short version, since we’re trying to play catch up today, is that the city is claiming that HLA is virtually invalid, thanks to the many and varied loopholes city leaders are trying to squirm through.
Meanwhile, the Board of Public Works denied five more Measure HLA appeals filed by Linton, as well as another which may be the first not filed by Linton. All of which will undoubtedly find their way into still more lawsuits, for which the city will inevitable deny any and all responsibility.
And the beat goes on.
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A 44-year old woman from Bend Oregon faces up to nine years and eight months behind bars for killing 87-year-old Saul Goldberg in San Luis Obispo two years ago
Vanessa Rose Noblitt pled no contest to charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol concentration greater than .15 percent — way over, actually — causing great bodily injury or death, and hit and run for running down Goldberg as he rode his bike with another man in July, 2024.
Noblitt went on to crash into a parked car minutes later, and was arrested for driving with a BAC over four times the legal limit.
The 73-year old man riding with Golberg suffered moderate injuries in the crash.
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No surprise here.
The 39-year old suspected car thief who drove an alleged hot Tesla down the Pacific Beach boardwalk before running down a 25-year old woman has an extensive criminal record possibly dating back to his teens.
Juan Antonio Gonzaba faces five felony charges for the incident, adding to the 18 previous criminal cases dating back to 2009 — or maybe 2006. In addition, he has “five prior failures to appear, has been placed on probation 10 times and failed to comply with court-ordered mental health treatment in three previous cases.”
He faces up 24 years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all charges.
Meanwhile, the woman he — allegedly — ran down on the boardwalk non-allegedly suffered two fractured right ribs, two fractured vertebrae and an abdominal laceration; fortunately, her injuries were not considered life-threatening.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A 41-year old Pennsylvania man faces an attempted murder charge after he allegedly drove onto the opposite side of the road and up onto a sidewalk to intentionally hit a 22-year old man riding a BMX bike with three other friends, accusing the man of stealing the bike.
Maybe there’s something in the water in Pennsylvania, where an aggressive golf cart driver chased a bicyclist on a bike path, shouting slurs and attempting to ram his bike; other riders confirmed this wasn’t the first time it had happened, even if the local police didn’t seem all that concerned.
No bias here. English residents complain about plans for a nearly $3 million bike lane, saying bike riders don’t use the lanes they already have, instead “wriggling” through traffic and blaming drivers when something goes wrong. Never mind that no one will use a bike lane if it doesn’t go where they need to go, or connect with an actual network that does.
A bike-riding British councilor complained that it’s almost like drivers are at war with bike riders, calling on police to get involved with bicycling training in schools. Although I’m not sure how teaching kids to be better bike riders will stop threatening motorists, but still.
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Local
Streetsblog reports on the victims of traffic violence urging the LA City Council to declare a State of Emergency on Traffic Violence, as advocates turned in a petition with over 1,250 signatures. That’s the one I wasn’t able to write about because I was too busy writing about still more victims of traffic violence. Never mind the deafening silence from the council.
Streetsblog editor Joe Linton talks traffic violence on KCRW, arguing that even subtle street safety improvements can slow cars and prevent fatal accidents.
A kindhearted Montebello firefighter bought a new bicycle for a 12-year old boy, after learning the kid walked to his family’s taco stand every day after school to help out.
A Santa Monica City College alum and endurance bicyclist invented a smart rearview safety system after he was rear ended by a driver when a bike lane ended, which sends a haptic warning buzz through the seat post or handlebar. Conveniently turning your bicycle into a very public vibrator.
The Long Beach Police Department confirmed that the right-hook crash that killed a 68-year old man in Long Beach earlier this month was a hit-and-run, after there was some initial confusion whether they had spoken with the driver after the crash. Although as Bill said in the comments, riding on the sidewalk isn’t the best idea, even if it seems safer — especially when going against traffic, because turning drivers will be looking the other way.
Speaking of Long Beach, the Long Beach Post says the city’s Complete Streets makeover of five miles of Studebaker Road is the biggest test yet of whether Long Beach can remake itself into a bicycling utopia; needless to say, not everyone loves the idea.
State
A memorial continues to grow for the 14-year old kid killed by a driver after running on his ebike in Pacific Beach — although clearly, not everyone feels all that sorry for the boy.
The same can be said for the 13-year old boy killed by a driver fleeing from the cops while riding his ebike in Menifee, as the community continues to mourn his needless death.
A San Francisco writer examines the city’s bizarrely misshapen “bike lane markers of the damned,” which city officials say are the result of repaving. Although that doesn’t explain the weirdly drawn bike lane marker with wheels shaped like circular saw blades, and a rider apparently ready to fall.
Police closed their five month investigation into the bicycling death of UC Davis student Lincoln Sabini, who was killed after apparently losing his balance and swerving in front of on oncoming driver while riding on campus.
National
The Interior Department is working to cut red tape for pathways and improve ebike access in national parks, even as the Trump administration is slashing funding for “DEI” bike lanes. Don’t try to make it make sense, you’ll just drive yourself nuts. And there’s no point in driving when you can just bike there.
Which leads us to a history professor at James Madison University and the author of “On Bicycles,” considering the politicization of “DEI” bike lanes.
Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a 14-year old boy spotted a woman acting disoriented in the Arizona heat, and called for help in time to save her.
No shit. Chicago Streetsblog says the collateral damage death of a 54-year old man riding an ebike — actually an e-moto — at the same intersection where an 87-year old woman was killed in a collateral damage crash while just crossing the street signals the need for major safety improvements.
The Detroit Free Press says check the weather forecast before using the bikeway on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, or you could get stuck between the US and Canada.
One of the stories we missed earlier this week was New York Mayor Mamdani recommitting to Vision Zero, starting with a new protected bike lane and wider walking path on the city’s iconic Park Avenue. That compares favorably to Los Angeles, where our mayor doesn’t seem to know the city even has a Vision Zero plan, or maybe “had” is a more accurate term. Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.
A New York college argues that the city’s bike lanes are part of its food supply chain, and the streets plan should say so.
A California man rode his bike over 2,000 miles across the US to begin his freshman year at Brown University in Rhode Island, after jumpstarting his ride when his dad gave him a lift to Colorado.
A New Jersey woman says the state’s new law requiring ebike riders to have a driver’s license means people like her who suffer from low vision will lose their only reliable form of transportation.
Maryland authorities have charged a 61-year old convicted child molester with the kidnapping, rape and murder of a ten-year old boy, who disappeared while riding his bike 33 years ago. Seriously, there’s not a pit in hell deep enough.
International
A 61-year old British man was killed in a collision after he busted out of a hospital while suffering from delirium caused by a urinary tract infection, and stole a bicycle to get away.
Momentum continues to recycle their older stories, offering the breaking news that bicycling rates doubled in Paris in a single year — from 2022 to 2023.
A German TV station says Berlin’s streets are becoming a battleground between bicyclists and drivers, and takes to the streets to “find out who really has the upper hand and why tensions keep rising.” Hint: I can tell you what side the casualties are on, even without listening to the report.
Sad news from Austria, where 33-year old ultra-endurance bicyclist Max Riese was killed by a driver while riding his bike on the 15th of this month; no word on where the collision occurred.
The 40-year old woman who killed two members of a small group ride in Canberra, Australia will face two counts of culpable driving causing death and one count of negligent driving causing actual bodily harm. And no, I don’t know what those charges mean, either.
Competitive Cycling
A physics website explains the paradox in which track cyclists can begin from a standing stop with “non-zero” velocity, meaning they’ve already built up speed before they start moving.
Members of the women’s pro peloton complained that we shouldn’t still be having to have this same conversation, after a controversial ad starring a stark naked Sidney Sweeney promoting a sports betting company, arguing that women athletes deserve to be taken seriously, and for more than their bodies. I saw the ad when it aired on Monday Night Football and was more offended by the betting than the nudity, particularly here in California where online betting remains illegal, except for “prediction markets,” which offer the same thing by a different name. But yeah, that ad felt like it should have aired 30 years ago, except Sweeney wouldn’t have been born yet.
Finally…
Make an obscene gesture when a pedestrian complains about riding a bikeshare bike on the sidewalk, and lose your Lime rights. That feeling when Lime bikes pile up on Lime Street (now they just need to get a cocoanut and stir it all up.) If the city won’t build a bike lane where a bike rider was killed, just build it yourself with duct tape.
And if you really loved your toddler, you’d get them a $1,000 titanium balance bike.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
