Tag Archive for South LA

Morning Links: Recent South LA deaths all on Vision Zero Priority Corridors, and more on Friday’s Frazier memorial ride

April 17, 2018 / / 2 comments

Breaking news: KNBC-4 reported last night that a bike rider was killed in a dooring at Alameda and Mariposa in Burbank yesterday; however, there’s no confirmation online yet. More information when it becomes available.

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After reading yesterday’s story about the latest bike rider killed in a South LA hit-and-run, Michael MacDonald wrote to remind us that each of the three recent fatalities were on streets the city already knew were dangerous.

And did nothing to fix.

Which isn’t just morally reprehensible, but will undoubtedly leave the city on the hook for massive liability awards, as well.

Not only were these 3 intersections part of Vision Zero’s High Injury Network, they were set in early 2017 as “Priority Corridors,” a 90.3 mile subset of the overall 450 mile HIN “that will have the greatest effect toward overall fatality reduction.”

The City’s own analysis dictated that it needed to improve safety on these streets and it hasn’t. And this grim prediction is now coming true for the failure of the mayor and city council to act on Vision Zero’s analysis.

And as noted yesterday, all three deaths occurred in CD8 Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s district.

Just in case you want to know who to contact to demand the city stop talking about traffic safety, and actually do something.

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Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman has written another hard-hitting piece about the death of Frederick “Woon” Frazier in a South LA hit-and-run last week, and the pain expressed on Friday’s memorial ride.

“I think we all have a voice,” (Edin Barrientos) continued, gesturing towards the cyclists gathered around the ghost bike. “And nothing’s going to happen until you step up. If we’re not stepping up to city hall, to city officials, to the police, to the media, to the public about these issues, nothing is going to happen and someone else is going to die. Someone closer to you guys is gonna pass away. Someone is going to get killed. They don’t care about us. The laws that are in effect are not about keeping cyclists safe on the streets.”

Barrientos was referring to the recent crashes that the group had also mourned – 54-year-old Elisa Gomez, run over by a FedEx truck in a hit-and-run at Long Beach and Washington, and 15-year-old Sebastian Montero killed two weeks ago in Woodland Hills. What he didn’t know was that just as cyclists began gathering at Hoover Park for Frazier’s memorial ride, a pedestrian was killed at Figueroa and Imperial Highway. Or that later that night, a man in a wheelchair would be killed at Century and Main. Or that yet another cyclist would be run down at Century and Avalon the following night.

Meanwhile, the LACBC calls on you to write LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to demand that he act for safer streets now.

CiclaValley rides with the Frederick Frazier Memorial Ride, and contemplates the emotional pain that comes from such needless loss.

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The LAPD has released a photo of the woman who appeared to intentionally slam into Quatrell Stallings as he was helping people cross the street at Wednesday’s protest over Frazier’s death.

Anyone who recognizes her or has other information is urged to call Detective Farish at 323/786-5447; anonymous tips can be left at 800/222-8477.

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Local

The upper Griffith Park section of the LA River bike path will be closed north of Los Feliz Blvd through mid-October for construction of the new Atwater Bridge.

Long Beach has postponed the Beach Streets open streets event scheduled for May as part of the opening weekend for the Amgen Tour of California after restaurant owners questioned the wisdom of closing Shoreline Drive and Shoreline Village on Mother’s Day.

 

State

A retired CHP officer was knocked cold as he passed an SUV on the side of the road in Fresno County, and woke up in an ambulance with his bike and wallet missing.

San Francisco’s Upper Market Street gets an “awesome” new protected bike lane.

Diablo residents are going to court to try to have a roadway leading to Mount Diablo State Park declared private to cut off access to “loud packs” of bicyclists “careening through the streets” and wreaking havoc on the quiet community. I’m sure they’ll also try to ban cars, which are even more annoying.

Chico will try out a temporary buffered bike lane through the end of May to see what people think.

 

National

Five cyclists are on a 23-day, 1,300-mile ride linking all three 9/11 sites.

A county commissioner has pledged $10 million to jumpstart efforts to make Houston more bike friendly.

A pair of Arkansas residents are gearing up to ride June’s 545-mile AIDS/LifeCycle Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Listen my children and you may hear, of the midnight ride before the Boston marathon.

Brooklyn residents complain about plans for a new bike lane on every block except in front of the local police precinct, saying it will dangerously force riders back into traffic.

Touring DC in the springtime by dockless bikeshare.

A Virginia letter writer complains about bicyclists dressed in black and riding without reflectors in broad daylight, even though she doesn’t seem to have had any problem seeing them. And insists bikes should be banned from any roads with a speed limit over 40 mph, apparently because people like her can’t drive safely around them.

Atlanta’s annual bicycling report reflects a major shift in attitude regarding transportation in the city.

 

International

Mark your calendar. The UN has officially declared June 3rd World Bicycle Day.

Bogota, Columbia proves it’s possible to actually reduce road deaths and homicides at the same time.

A new Canadian study shows that bike paths around Montreal don’t benefit children because they go through areas with older populations, and kids under 14 are seldom involved in the planning process.

Montreal will spend $1.2 billion dollars on roadwork, including installing a bicycle-priority street and making improvements to existing bikeways.

A new poll shows Ontario residents want the province to invest in bicycling.

London’s Mirror says one bike is stolen every six minutes in the UK. And yes, they really should lock it up better.

The Finnish Supreme Court has affirmed a 32-month prison sentence for a road raging driver who fled the scene after brake-checking a bike rider; the victim died the next day.

Prague prepares to ban bikes from pedestrian areas in the city center, even though collisions between bicyclists and pedestrians are rare.

A writer for Yahoo takes in Isreal’s booming cycling scene, starting with a fondo in the Negev desert.

A new Australian study suggests that taking the lane on roads with a single clear lane actually increases your risk, while taking the lane next to parked cars decreases it.

No disconnect here. A writer for Japan’s Asahi Shimbun says bikes don’t belong on the sidewalk and it’s not safe to ride on the road, so make bicyclists wear helmets.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews goes riding with the annual Belgian Waffle Ride gravel race in San Diego County, which ends as all great races should, at a craft brewery. Then again, Cycling Tips says it’s not really a gravel race, it’s a road race with dirt.

 

Finally…

Celebrating suffrage Lady Godiva style. If you want to know how many bicyclists will use a roadway in summer, don’t study it in the middle of winter.

And Los Angeles celebrates a more sustainable city. Although apparently one without bicycles.

 

Category: Morning Links, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , , , ,

Update: Yet another bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run; third death in last week on LA’s High Injury Network

April 16, 2018 / / 3 comments

It’s happened yet again.

Another bike rider has been killed in a South LA hit-and-run, the third person murdered by heartless, cowardly drivers in the last week.

All on streets identified as part of the city’s High Injury Network.

And all in CD8 Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s district.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the victim was struck by one driver and run over by at least one other motorist at the intersection of South Avalon and East Century Boulevards — all of whom left the scene.

KNBC-4 adds more detail, saying the victim, identified only as a man who appeared to be in his 60s, was crossing Century headed south in the crosswalk on Avalon when he was struck around 12:15 pm.

Both drivers fled the scene, before a second driver in a Lexus SUV, eventually returned and talked with police.

Which means the first driver should face a murder charge for leaving his victim lying in the street to be run over at least one other time.

We’ll never know if the victim might have survived if the first driver had stopped. What we do know is that after leaving him sprawled and bleeding in the road, he probably never had a chance.

We’ll also never know if he would had survived if the city had moved forward with the safety improvements called for as part of the LA Vision Zero’s High Injury Network.

But we do know that the failure to take any action after identifying the problem could leave the city with a greater legal liability for this death, as well as the two previous deaths in the district this past week.

Not to mention the bicyclist seriously injured in a deliberate hit-and-run assault while participating in a protest Wednesday afternoon.

And never mind that the City of Los Angeles is well aware of the hit-and-run epidemic, but done little to address it other than passing a standing reward program.

This is at least the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Los Angeles County; it’s also the seventh in the City of Los Angeles.

There is an automatic $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect in this case.

Update: The victim has been identified as 60-year old Christopher White, no town of residence given.

While the story mentions the $50,000 reward for the hit-and-run death of Frederick Frazier, there should also be a similar reward in this case under the city’s hit-and-run reward program. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Christopher White and his loved ones.

Thanks to Michael MacDonald for the heads-up.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike rider injured in hit-and-run protest; driver charged with murder in Tour de Palm Springs death

April 12, 2018 / / 6 comments

Just one day after Frederick Frazier was killed in a brutal hit-and-run in South LA, another rider was struck in the same intersection.

During a protest over Frazier’s death.

And yes, that driver fled the scene, too.

A group of Frazier’s friends gathered to block the intersection at Manchester and Normandie with their bicycles to call attention to the death and demand justice for their fallen friend.

The protest got out of hand after several people attacked an LAPD SUV when police arrived to break it up, smashing its windows with their bikes.

According to Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman, the young men were angered after graphic photos of the man they knew as Woon were posted online overnight, showing their friend splayed out on the street as another rider attempted to comfort him in his final moments.

A woman in a tan car, who had previously gotten out to argue with one of the protesters, forced her way through the intersection, running a red light in the process, and deliberately slammed into a rider identified as Quatrell Stallings, throwing him into the air.

She then gunned her engine and fled the scene as Stallings stumbled to the curbed.

He was taken to a local hospital; reports are he was not seriously injured.

Now police are looking for two hit-and-run drivers.

One with a $50,000 bounty on his or her head for leaving Frazier to die in the street; another who could — and should — be facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

A memorial ride will be held for Frazier this Friday.

Thanks to Evan Burbridge for the heads-up.

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A Desert Hot Springs man has received a well-deserved murder charge in the death of Washington man participating in this year’s Tour de Palm Springs.

Twenty-one-year old Ronnie Ramon Huerta Jr. is accused of driving up to 100 mph while stoned before slamming into 49-year old Mark Kristofferson, killing him almost instantly. He was taken into custody after the arraignment hearing, and held on a $1 million bond.

He’s also charged with driving on a suspended license and driving under the influence of drugs.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the link.

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The LAPD’s Van Nuys Division misses the mark with a bike safety awareness flier.

The piece tells bicyclists to “Always ride in single file,” even though there’s nothing in state law that prohibits riding two or more abreast. And riding abreast is often safer in lanes that are too narrow to share with a motor vehicle by increasing visibility and preventing unsafe passes.

The piece also says riders should walk their bikes across busy intersections, which increases the risk by decreasing mobility and exposing riders to careless and distracted drivers for a longer period of time.

And never mind that a bike helmet may be a good idea, but it’s not required for anyone 18 or older.

But if the point is to increase awareness of bike safety, where is the companion piece telling drivers to always watch for bikes, pass with at least a three foot distance, and open doors with your right hand to prevent dooring?

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Local

Metro released their draft strategic plan for the next ten years, as they transition from a transit provider to focusing on the entire mobility ecosystem.

CiclaValley explains what it’s like getting cut off in the bike lane by a Metro bus driver in DTLA.

A writer in Azusa encounters a 43-year old gang member at his local bike shop, realizing that bikes bring everyone together.

 

State

A pair of UC Santa Barbara graduates are nearing the completion of their self-supported bike tour from California to Columbia.

The bizarre anti-bike hysteria continues in San Luis Obispo, where the city council is accused of dirty tricks after re-affirming plans for a bike boulevard. Meanwhile, older SLO residents are up in arms over plans for an e-bikeshare system with a hub on the coast, worrying about whether they’ll be run off the sidewalk.

The San Francisco Chronicle shares the five best bike rides around Santa Cruz.

Testimony in a preliminary hearing fills in some of the blanks in the death of a San Francisco woman run down in Golden Gate Park last year, one of two people killed in the city by hit-and-run drivers just hours apart.

 

National

Another good piece from Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss, who considers the ethics of breaking traffic laws, noting that obeying the letter of the law isn’t always the safest way to ride.

Wired says Uber’s acquisition of dockless ebike provider Jump means they want to control every way you move, while Bicycling examines dockless bikeshare in the wake of Uber’s entry into the field.

Curbed says cities need to step up to the challenge of controlling streets and sidewalks as bikeshare and shared scooters begin to take over.

Don’t count on glowing infrastructure lighting the streets anytime soon.

A local news site says Honolulu drivers are complaining about the loss of a few hundred parking spaces to make room for bike lanes, somehow blaming that for the traffic congestion in the city.

No bias here. Police in Portland OR ignored a road rage assault on a bike rider that left him with a broken jaw, refusing to even file a report on the case.

A local weekly says Portland’s bike renaissance begins now.

A Lincoln, Nebraska man gets three years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run that left a city councilmember from a nearby town lying badly injured in the street.

The Catholic bishop of Davenport, Iowa is one of us; he’ll be riding across the state in this year’s RAGBRAI.

Three Illinois priests are riding across their Diocese to promote religious vocations.

Seriously? A road raging North Carolina man gets a gentle caress on the wrist for punching a bicyclist in an attack caught on video, as he’s sentenced to just three days behind bars. That will certainly send a message — one that says go ahead and attack other people on the roads.

 

International

A British man has been charged in the death of a 91-year old cyclist, who was killed while trying to set a national age record.

A transportation technology project from the University of Melbourne says to improve safety and performance on our streets, we’ll all have to be connected in a single network including cars, buses, pedestrians and bicyclists.

An Aussie ultracyclist set a new record by riding 555 miles in 24 hours.

 

Competitive Cycling

The head of cycling’s governing body says women cyclists deserve more than they’ve been getting, and he dreams of a Paris-Roubaix Feminine.

An autopsy concludes that Michael Goolaerts suffered a heart attack while riding in Paris-Roubaix last Sunday; there had been speculation that his heart stopped as a result of the fall.

Writing for Cycling Tips, Jonathan Vaughters reminds us that bike racing is a dangerous sport, where tragedy can happen any day.

 

Finally…

Hit a pothole on your bike, and get a bill for breaking it. Your next wheel could weigh ten pounds and make riding easier.

And no, dockless bikes don’t belong in trees.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Bike rider killed in collision with Expo Line train in South LA; another critically injured

February 7, 2018 / / 2 comments

Sad news from South LA, where a bike rider has died following a collision with the Expo Line.

KTLA-5 initially reported last night that two pedestrians were struck by a train in University Park east of USC, around 9 pm Tuesday. The story was later amended to say one of the victims had a bicycle.

Now LA West Media has reported that one victim has died after being transported to a hospital, while the other victim is in critical condition.

Neither has been publicly identified at this time.

According to the report, three males were riding their bikes on Jefferson Blvd near Flower Street, when they attempted to cross the Expo Line tracks despite an approaching train.

The first rider made it. The other two were hit by the empty Expo train, which was on a test run.

This is one more heartbreaking reminder to never attempt to cross train tracks after the warning alarms sound or the gates close.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD at 323/421-2500.

This is the sixth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County. The other LA County death occurred in South LA, as well.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. And prayers and best wishes for the recovery of the second victim. 

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: New bike lanes coming to South LA, and lawyer gets sidewalk riding law wrong, at least in CA

June 6, 2017 / / 2 comments

Los Angeles continues to rediscover — or maybe just discover, as in for the first time — that there’s life south of the 10 Freeway.

After years of not-so-benign neglect of the city’s Southside, it’s become a focus of LA’s Vision Zero efforts.

And now LADOT has submitted plans four road diets and bike lanes on four major north-south streets in South LA.

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Maybe the law’s different in Colorado.

A lawyer answers the question of who’s at fault when a driver pulls out of a driveway and hits a bike rider on the sidewalk, saying the rider could share some of the blame for a) riding on the sidewalk, and b) riding against traffic.

Except here in California, it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in many cities, though seldom advised. And sidewalks are bi-directional; bicyclists aren’t required to ride with traffic anymore than people are expected to walk that way.

Despite a misguided and very outdated opinion by the then-state attorney general.

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Bicycling considers the crazy things that happen to a cyclist’s body while competing in the Race Across America. I remember one of the early RAAM competitor warning his crew about the dinosaurs along the roadway in Missouri.

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Local

The Eastsider looks at the new and improved Spoke Bicycle Café in Frogtown.

If Sunday’s CicLAvia is too tame for you, Helen’s Cycling is hosting a women-only mountain bike ride the same day.

The West Covina city council will consider the city’s possible participation in the San Gabriel Valley Greenway Network tomorrow.

Police stats show bike theft is down in Long Beach, but that may not really be the case.

The Long Beach Bikes bikeshare is offering free ride time for Friday’s Moonlight Mash Long Beach Mad Max Ride.

 

State

A curmudgeonly San Diego sports columnist has taken to calling Kevin Faulconer the city’s Bicycle Mayor. Funny thing is, he seems to think it’s an insult.

The Fish and Wildlife Department is kicking mountain bikers off trails near Carlsbad, where riding was apparently always illegal but no one knew it.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition prepares for the next round in the fight for parking-protected bike lanes in the SoMa district.

 

National

Things could get a little safer on the streets, as Apple introduces a “do not disturb while driving” setting for the iPhone. But probably not a lot, since its use is voluntary.

Boing Boing offers a video look at how bicycles boosted the women’s rights movement. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

A new Kickstarter project promises to turn any bicycle into a cargo bike, complete with removable two-wheeled trolley.

It slowly dawned on a Seattle writer that he’s been riding less after moving to a part of town with less safe bike infrastructure. Something I can relate to after moving to Hollywood.

Now you’ll be able to ride at least a portion of the infamous Trail of Tears as it follows through Arkansas, tracing the steps of the Cherokee Nation on their forced march to Oklahoma.

A year after five bike riders were killed by an alleged drugged driver in Kalamazoo MI, his trial is still at least three months off. The family of one of the Kalamazoo victims says life is uncertain, so enjoy the ride.

Baltimore’s mayor scratches plans for a protected bike lane as it was being built, settling for a narrow two-way door zone bikeway to appease local NIMBYs.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 70-year old Florida man is tackling the 2,745-mile Tour Divide down the full length of the Rockies; it’s his third attempt after failing when he was 63, and succeeding four years later.

 

International

You’ve got to be kidding. A Canadian coroner blames a bike rider’s death on not wearing a helmet. Never mind that she wouldn’t have needed one if a massive truck hadn’t made an illegal right hook directly into her.

Canada’s automobile association says the cost of treating bike injuries is probably going up there, too. But they don’t really know.

Toronto bicyclists complain the city is spending too much money on building out the easy parts of the city’s new bike plan, rather than the ones that would make riders safe.

Speaking of Toronto, 75% of city residents support what had been a controversial protected bike lane, and want it to be made permanent.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a cab driver was fined the equivalent of $387 for allowing a passenger to fatally door a bike rider, plus another $845 in fines. Which he can pay off in low installments of less than $26 a week.

Not surprisingly, new security barriers installed in bike lanes to protect pedestrians on London bridges may increase the risk for bike riders.

No, Taiwan’s Giant bike maker is not being purchased by a Chinese bikeshare company.

 

Finally…

Not only we do we pay way, but bikes can help keep the tax rate down, too.

And seriously, don’t be that guy.

Just don’t.

 

Category: Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Yet another South LA hit-and-run, and Montana politician wants bike riders out of the state

March 13, 2017 / / One comment

A 50-year old woman was critically injured in yet another South LA hit-and-run Sunday night.

She had dropped something from her three-wheeled bike in the 8700 block of South Central Avenue, and was hit when she stopped to pick it up; she was taken to a nearby hospital with multiple injuries.

There was no description of the driver or suspect vehicle.

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You’ve got to be kidding.

It’s not just that the Montana Senate blocked a bill that would have required drivers to give bike riders a three-foot passing distance at speeds up to 35 mph, and five feet above that.

It’s the reason.

Consider this from unabashedly bike-hating Senate President Scott Sales, who says there are already too many cyclists in the state, and he doesn’t want anymore.

“They’re some of the rudest people I’ve ever. I hate to say it, but I’m just going to be bold — they’re some of the most self-centered people navigating on highways, or on county roads I’ve ever seen. They won’t move over. You can honk at them; they think they own the highway,” Sales said.

Never mind that they have as much right to the road as he does. And unless the law is very different up there, drivers are supposed to pass riders, rather than blare on their horns and expect them to get the hell out of their way.

So of course, the obvious solution is to keep the roads dangerous for people on bikes, because that should help reduce the number of riders on the road.

One way or another.

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Cycling Tips provides a belated wrap-up and photos of the 2017 World Paracycling Championships held in Carson earlier this month, which was completely ignored by both the local and national press; it turns out the US led the standings with 18 medals. Then again, late is better than not at all.

A European website says French cycling is up, British down.

Cycling Weekly offers five things they learned from Paris – Nice, including some new faces challenging the old guard.

A planned four-day bike race intended as a follow-up to the world championships in Richmond VA has been cancelled.

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Local

The LA Weekly offers photos from Sunday’s Tweed Ride though historic DTLA, which somehow managed to slip under the radar.

Get your fresh bagels by bike in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

The LACBC is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Green on the Ground Lunchtime Ride on Friday.

The West Hollywood Transportation Commission will consider the city’s proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Plan tomorrow night.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune offers a series of photos from the recent 626 Golden Streets.

El Monte is the latest SoCal city to adopt Vision Zero, pledging to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2027.

 

State

The LA Times recommends biking 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach past the famed Lone Cypress; drivers have to pay $10 for the privilege, but bikes are free.

The San Francisco Fire Department is butting heads with the city’s DOT over protected bike lanes required as part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, complaining they won’t leave enough space to respond quickly to emergencies.

 

National

Bad news for anyone who reads the print version of Bicycle Times, which has ceased publication; fortunately, it will continue to live online. And it should include a profile of yours truly next month. Which is probably the real reason they dropped the print version.

Continuing their emphasis on clickbait, Bicycling offers seven reasons why bicycling is better than running.

A Canadian cyclist is returning to the scene of the crime, going back to where his bike was stolen in Philadelphia on his way to Mexico.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will have to pay $5.4 million after a bike rider was severely injured on a badly repaired bridge. This is the cost of carelessness, to the victim and the taxpayers. All it takes is a little more effort to do the job right, and no one would get hurt.

A Pennsylvania man faces up to 13 years behind bars for fleeing the scene after running down a young girl as she was riding her bike.

The driver who ran down North Carolina bike shop owner, Dirt Rag columnist and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member Jeff Archer as he crossed the street in front of his shop has been sentenced to up to five years behind bars.

The parish just west of New Orleans has developed its first-ever Comprehensive Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan for the largely rural area. Which was the very definition of bike-unfriendly when I lived down that way.

 

International

The editor of Outside Brazil and Bicycling Brazil shares moving photos from her treatment for breast cancer, and says cycling was the force that kept her alive.

Saskatoon, Canada gets a petite street sweeper to keep their protected bike lanes clean while lowering their costs.

Horrifying story from Australia, where two men in an SUV repeatedly tried to ram a bicyclist and run him into a parked car, just 30 minutes before killing another rider.

A Chinese court rules that that a bike shop that sold a banned fixie is responsible for the death of a woman who lost control on a steep downhill and rode off a mountainside; her boyfriend, who owned the bike, was also held liable.

 

Finally…

No, you can’t just run over bicyclists using a crosswalk. And why teach your kids to ride a bike when you can pay someone a hundred bucks an hour to do it for you?

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: Making a difference 50 years after Watts, and a SoCal dozen of America’s best bike shops

August 22, 2015 / / One comment

Fifty years after the Watts Riots, KCET looks at people and organizations working to re-imagine a part of the city that usually gets ignored unless something bad makes the news.

Among the groups they profile are the Eastside Riders Bike Club, using bikes to make a difference in South LA.

“We will educate our community and hope to bring a sense of pride. We hope to increase ridership and educate all safety components when it comes to walking, cycling and driving. We must all live together, work together and play together, ” says Jones.

The group is planning to open the Eastside Riders Bike & Skate Shop on September 5, 2015, at Central Avenue and 114th Street.

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The National Bicycle Dealers Association listed the best bike shops in America for 2015, and Southern California was well represented.

The list includes four in the Los Angeles area, three in Orange County, four in San Diego County and one in Redlands. Interestingly, none of the LA area shops are on the LA Weekly’s nominees for the city’s best bike shops.

  • Bike Attack, Santa Monica
  • Pasadena Cyclery, Pasadena
  • Bicycle John’s, Santa Clarita
  • Topanga Creek Bicycles, Topanga
  • Rock N’ Road Cyclery, Mission Viejo
  • A Road Bike 4U, Irvine
  • Jax Bicycle Center, Irvine
  • Nytro Multisport, Encinitas
  • Revolution Bike Shop, Solano Beach
  • Bicycle Warehouse, San Diego
  • Black Mountain Bicycles, San Diego
  • Cyclery USA, Redlands

Congratulations to all. And next time you’re in one of these shops, remind them they need an ad on here.

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You still have time to learn how to ride a bike safely this weekend.

Bike SGV’s Dorothy Wong is teaching classes in Pasadena and East LA today, with additional classes available through Metro and the LACBC throughout the county through the end of September.

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Rohan Dennis added to his lead in the USA Pro Challenge by winning the time trial. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong won the women’s race; the 42-year old Armstrong has retired twice before coming back to beat riders half her age.

Today’s sand-covered beach time trial won’t count for individual standings in the Vuelta, following complaints from riders, while a record number of Americans will hit the starting line in Spain.

And Cycling Weekly looks at the top father and son combinations in bike racing. Or mother and daughter, as the case may be.

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Local

New bike rider Ryan Seacrest talks with his bro Eric Garcetti about riding a bike in the City of Angels and LA’s new Mobility Plan; Bike Style LA posted the five-and-a-half minute segment online. Someone should tell Seacrest if he’s going to ride in LA, he needs to read BikinginLA. Right?

A Los Feliz neighborhood councilmember explains why LA’s nearly 100 NCs should support the Mobility Plan.

The LA Times posts responses to the recent OpEd from a Santa Monica businessman complaining about the Mobility Plan.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton interviews Assemblymember Richard Bloom about transportation issues coming up in the legislature.

West Hollywood will be getting a 20-station bikeshare system next spring, part of the same system that just opened in Santa Monica, and which will extend to UCLA, Long Beach and inexplicably, bike-unfriendly Beverly Hills. Meanwhile, the local paper says Santa Monica’s bikeshare makes traveling around town a Breeze, pun apparently intended.

CicLAvia explains their outreach process for the upcoming return to the Heart of LA on October 18th.

 

State

Smart. San Clemente plans two-way bike path separated from El Camino Real by a median of decorative rock and landscaping, along with painted bike lanes on the roadway for faster riders.

Now that’s more like it. Santa Rosa police ticket 30 drivers for violating the right-of-way of cyclists and pedestrians. Nice to see a department focusing on operators of the more dangerous vehicle for a change.

Menlo Park debates adding bike lanes or more travel lanes to a major transit corridor through the city; the local fire chief says bike lanes will slow response times.

Auburn brags about besting bike-friendly Davis in bike miles per capita.

SF Gate profiles the Oakland cyclist who set a so-far unofficial record for most vertical feet climbed in 48 hours.

A Bay Area TV station catches Redwood City bicyclists behaving badly by running stop signs and riding on the sidewalk. Of course, we all know what would have happened if they’d turned the camera onto motorists, instead.

 

National

A great new animated video clearly illustrates how road diets work.

Bicycling explains how a quick-release works, and why you may be doing it wrong.

Last June, a Denver man handed his bikeshare bike over to a cop chasing a suspect down a bike path; yesterday, the police returned the favor by giving him a new bike.

A dangerous Minnesota street that took down a reporter will get a complete streets makeover. In 15 or 30 years.

An Ohio man is sentenced to four years for killing a cyclist while under the influence; he was somehow driving with a life-threatening alcohol level four-and-a-half times the legal limit. And had to go home to change clothes before coming back to get arrested.

The Hartford CT paper calls for more road diets, after plans are announced for the state’s first one on a deadly stretch of roadway.

A Brooklyn writer says the arrival of bikeshare isn’t synonymous with gentrification.

No bias here. A salmon cyclist was killed when he allegedly struck the side mirror of a U-Haul truck that was stopped at a stop sign in Queens, NY. He must have been hauling ass to suffer “severe trauma about the body” by hitting a stationary object like that.

 

International

The CBC talks with the director of Bikes vs Cars, a documentary examining the conflict on streets around the world, including right here in LA.

Wired offers a fascinating look at how the McLaren Technology Group applies the technology behind Formula 1 racing to various industries, including their partnership with Specialized.

A 76-year old Brit cyclist has been racing bikes since 1976.

The Guardian looks at five innovative ways to get people on their bikes in the UK. I vote for the cake ride, myself.

A British driver fled the scene after knocking a bike-riding reverend out cold. But at least he stopped long enough to move the victim’s bike out of the road before driving off, right?

There have been a lot of stories about people riding bikes, accidently or otherwise, on major freeways lately; a South African rider paid for it with his life when he was hit by a motorcycle.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: Take a stomach-churning two-minute ride down an abandoned Sarajevo bobsled track. That’s one way to get into the classic bike business; just keep buying bikes for parts until your wife insists you sell them.

And the LA Weekly says if New York’s mayor doesn’t want topless, body painted women besmirching Times Square’s pedestrian plazas, just send ‘em here.

Category: Bikeshare, Morning Links, The business of bikes / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Westwood BID considers Westwood Blvd bike lanes, South LA cyclist critical after collision

March 18, 2015 / / One comment

If you hurry, you may still have time to make this morning’s meeting of the Westwood Village Business Improvement District, which will vote on the much needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd.

The proposed lanes have faced intense opposition from Westwood area business and homeowners, even though the latest proposal doesn’t remove a single traffic lane or parking spot, suggesting the real opposition is to having bikes on the boulevard, period.

The meeting begins at 8:30 this morning, at the Skylight Gardens Restaurant, 1139 Glendon Ave.

………

KCBS-2 reports a cyclist is in very critical condition after being hit by a car in South LA Wednesday evening, following earlier reports that the unidentified rider had been killed

Sounds like prayers or good thoughts, whichever you are comfortable with, are in order.

………

Are you excited yet?

Streetsblog offers detailed tips on how to get the most out of Sunday’s first San Fernando Valley CicLAvia.

Walk Bike Burbank is offering free safety checks on Saturday to help you get ready, while Flying Pigeon is hosting a feeder ride from Northeast LA.

We Like LA explains what a CicLAvia is for the uninitiated.

And the Militant Angeleno once again provides his incomparable guide to CicLAvia, proving he knows the Valley as well as he does the rest of LA. Although he’s got some serious competition from upstart CiclaValley this time around.

My advice is print out both guides and carry them with you.

………

In a case way too reminiscent of the death of LA cyclist and former Napster executive Milt Olin, a Florida sheriff’s deputy is cleared of charges he killed a 15-year old bike rider while using his car’s onboard computer.

Then again, he only faced a $1,000 fine.

Evidently, life is cheap down there.

………

Local

LADOT, LA Great Streets and Bureau of Street Services officials visit the Temple City cycletracks on Rosemead Blvd. Let’s hope they were taking notes.

Very cool Strava graph shows riders convening for, then riding, last Sunday’s Marathon Crash non-Race; Milestone Rides writes about riding the Crash for the first time.

Actress AnnaLynne McCord, who was blessed with an abundance of capital letters, dons a purple robe to ride her orange Townie on Venice Beach.

Glendale is about a year away from creating a bikeable recreational riverfront across the LA River from Griffith Park.

The Easy Reader names Hermosa Cyclery as the South Bay’s best bike shop.

 

State

Two bike riders are injured in Orange County collisions, though neither appears to be seriously hurt.

An SUV driver takes out a fire hydrant in San Diego, so naturally, a bike rider gets the blame.

A Central Coast TV station explains why green lanes are. Green, that is.

Two recent CSU Monterey graduates are riding cross country to raise funds for a homeless shelter.

Palo Alto opts for a more conservative and bird-friendly design for their new bike and pedestrian bridge.

A Napa Valley letter writer says it’s impossible to comply with the state’s three-foot passing law without risking a head-on collision with another vehicle, not realizing that the law actually allows drivers to wait until it’s safe to pass.

 

National

Nice to know the head of AASHTO, the organization representing state DOTs, says highway design has absolutely nothing to do with cyclist and pedestrian deaths. Odd that he could talk with his head buried so deeply in the sand, among other places.

More great research from the University of Duh, as a new study shows we ride our bikes because we like it better than driving.

Portland riders are about to get a new car-free bridge. And yes, we should be jealous.

A Maine driver gets 10 years for the drunken wreck that killed a bike riding father and injured his wife and 17-month old son while they were riding on the sidewalk.

The US pro national championships will return to Chattanooga for the third straight year. Let’s hope they train race moto officials a little better this time around.

After a DC cyclist has his bike stolen at gun point, he gets it back when the thief brings it into the same shop where he’d just gotten an estimate to have it fixed.

A Baton Rouge judge sentences a DUI driver to 25 years in jail for killing one cyclist and maiming another, then suspends all but 7.5 years; the driver had a blood alcohol level of .307 — nearly four times the legal limit — at the time of the crash.

Alabama considers giving cyclists a five-foot passing margin, rather than just three.

 

International

Two Cambridge UK councilors call for bike riders to be registered and insured, and have to pass a national proficiency test; an Aussie writer provides 18 reasons why that’s a bad idea, all of which apply here, as well.

France offers to pay people to bike to work. And almost no one bites.

Secretary of State John Kerry gets free service on his Serotta when it breaks down while taking a well-guarded ride during the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

Finally…

Lance Armstrong is reportedly trying to get his lifetime ban reduced; let’s hope he has better luck than Pete Rose has. An NFL medical consultant says more kids get hurt riding bikes than playing football, but fails to note that a hell of a lot more kids ride bikes, too.

And new LA resident and former Bicycling Editor-in-Chief Peter Flax writes movingly about how a good ride can help you cope with life’s most heartbreaking challenges.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Seven-year old e-bike rider killed by ice cream truck in South LA; driver attacked by bystanders

October 22, 2014 / / 10 comments

Just heartbreaking.

Several media sources are reporting that a seven-year old boy has died after falling under an ice cream truck.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was reportedly riding a motorcycle-style e-bike when he fell under the rear wheels of the truck.

According to KABC-7, he was riding next to the slow moving truck, and possibly holding on to it, before falling for an unknown reason. The LA Times reports that police consider it an “unfortunate accident,” though the investigation is still ongoing.

He was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, but died at 9:15 pm after emergency surgery.

However, in a report on KNBC-4, which is not available online as of this writing, a man identified as the victim’s uncle said the boy was walking his bike next to the truck, rather than riding, in an attempt to catch up to his older brother. And that the truck had been traveling too fast for the neighborhood street.

To make matters worse, the driver suffered minor injuries after he and his truck were attacked by people in the area who threw bricks at the truck and threatened him with a knife.

According to the man claiming to be the victim’s uncle, the attackers included the boy’s mother.

This is the 74th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 29th in the County of Los Angeles; it’s also the 10th in the City of LA.

Update: The victim has been identified as Jamarion Thomas. Meanwhile, the Times reports that family members dispute the version of events given by the police, as noted above, insisting that he was walking his bike and was too small to hold onto the truck, even if he wanted to.

Update: As this story has developed, it has become clear that Jamarion Thomas was not riding or walking a bicycle when he was killed, since his bike didn’t have pedals. Instead, it was a toy motorcycle powered by a battery.

This does not make his death any less tragic, but it does mean it does not belong among the statistics for bicycling fatalities.

As a result, I have removed his name from this year’s total. That returns the number of SoCal bicycling fatalities to 73 for this year, with 28 in LA County and the 9th in the City of Los Angeles. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jamarion Thomas and his family.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

19-year old bike rider killed in South LA hit-and-run

June 12, 2014 / / 3 comments

Yet another teenage cyclist has been murdered by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

Late last night, news broke that a South LA pedestrian had been seriously injured by a driver who fled the scene. By this morning, it was clear that the victim, identified as by the LA Times as 19-year old Oscar Toledo Jr., had been riding a bike when he was run down.

KNBC-4 places the collision around 9:40 pm at the intersection of South Normandie Ave and West 47th Street. Toledo was reportedly crossing Normandie on 47th when he was hit by a car traveling south on Normandie; no word on which direction he was riding. However, the Times story says he was making a left, apparently onto Normandie.

The driver fled the scene, evidently without slowing or stopping.

Toledo was transported to a local hospital in critical condition; KNBC reports he died there while the Times says he passed away in the ambulance.

Police are looking for a red Toyota Corolla or burgundy Pontiac, which suggests there may have been at least two witnesses to the crash. KNBC reports police will be looking to see if  collision may have been captured on surveillance video from local businesses.

KABC-7 quotes an LAPD detective, who says the vehicle may have front end damage constant with striking a bike.

“The young man was 19 years old, leaves behind a caring family, his mother, his brother. It’s very important that if witnesses have any information to come forward so we can solve this crime,” said Render.

Anyone with information is urges to call the LAPD at 877/LAPD-24-7.

This is the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, which compares with 32 this time last year. It’s also the 18th cycling death in LA County, and the fifth in the City of LA; three of those five deaths have been hit-and-runs.

Update: KTLA-5 reports Toledo had recently become a father; now a child will grow up never knowing his dad. A ghost bike will be installed at the location Friday evening.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Oscar Toledo Jr. and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Richard Risemberg and James Johnson for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,
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