Tag Archive for Steve Herbert

Morning Links: BOLO alert in SaMo, 2015 bike/ped count released, and construction on Marina bike path

November 18, 2016 / / 4 comments

Santa Monica police are asking for the public’s help in finding the cowardly jerk who ran down a woman as she walked Tuesday evening and left her lying in the street with serious head injuries.

Be on the lookout for a possible 2000-2006 silver, four-door Nissan Sentra, which could have damage to the bumper, hood and windshield on the right front.

Anyone with information is urged to call investigator Jason Olson at 310/458-8954 or the SMPD at 310/458-8491.

Thanks to Damien Newton for the heads-up.

………

The LACBC, in conjunction with AARP, released the findings of last year’s annual Los Angeles Bicycle and Pedestrian Count, which for the first time show a decrease in bike ridership as the city largely stopped building new bike lanes.

The report includes a number of key findings, including:

  • The most popular streets for walking and biking are also the most unsafe: All of the top 30 count locations for people walking are located on the High Injury Network, along with 24 of the top 30 locations for people biking. These top 30 locations accounted for 65% of all people walking who were counted and 55% of all people biking who were counted. All of these locations are located in high-density neighborhoods, near major destinations, or in low-income communities of color. Almost all of the top 30 locations were in neighborhoods with median household incomes below the rest of the city.
  • As bike lane installation has slowed, new ridership has decreased: In 2015, riders continued to gravitate towards bike lanes; however the count shows an overall 9% year-by-year decline in same location ridership from 2013 to 2015. In the last two years, bike lane installation has decreased significantly from a high of 101 miles in fiscal year 2013 to only 11 miles in fiscal year 2015. Many of these new lanes have been installations where bike lanes could be included in other road resurfacing or safety projects, rather than installations along high priority corridors identified in the Bicycle Plan. Of the initial 183 miles of bike lanes prioritized in the 5-year Bicycle Plan Implementation Strategy, only 45 miles (25%) have been installed. As a result, the bike network in Los Angeles remains fragmented with large gaps in bike lanes along most riders’ trips. This lack of connectivity continues to be the greatest barrier reported by many people who bike or would like to.
  • Women want safer biking options: In Los Angeles, women make up just 16% of cyclists overall, but the gender disparity is lowest on streets with quality bikeways (bike paths at 22% and bike lanes at 17%) and highest on streets with no bicycling infrastructure. Cities with safer streets for bicycling in general tend to have smaller gender disparities in bicycling, such as Portland, Oregon (35%), and Copenhagen, Denmark (50%).
  • Bike lanes have made streets safer, but more work needs to be done: On the new bike lanes studied, bike ridership increased by 62% after installation. After accounting for increases in bike ridership, new bike lanes reduced bicycle crash risk by an average of 42%.

la-bike-ped-count-16-sheet

The full report is available for download here.

………

Steve Herbert forwards news that the Marvin Braude bike path will soon be rerouted and improved where it currently twists awkwardly, and dangerously, through a parking lot around Pier 44 in Marina del Rey.

But riders will have to detour along Admiralty Way in the meantime.

Here’s what he had to say.

The Marvin Braude bike path snakes through Marina Del Rey connecting Ballona Creek & parts south to Washington Blvd. where cyclists can ride to Venice boardwalk or other parts of the region. Pier 44 is about to undergo renovation with the existing tenants, boats and trailers all cleared out. Pier 44 is at the end of Basin G of the marina which is bound by Bali Way on the north, Admiralty Way on the east and Mindanao Way on the south.

The bike path winds through this facility which is about to be closed and I asked Anthea Raymond, a Beaches and Harbors Department Commissioner I know, what plans there are to accommodate cyclists and the path while it’s under construction. Below are the answers and diagrams I got.

She didn’t provide any specific dates, but the pier is now a ghost town and I expect to see fencing and demolition equipment any day now just based on what I observe riding through the site as one of my commute routes.

And here is Ms. Raymond’s response.

Here’s what I learned about the Marina bike path, both during renovations on Pier 44 and going forward:

The Pier 44 project includes significant improvements to the bike path. Whereas the current bike bath snakes across the parcel, forcing riders to navigate around buildings and boat storage, the new bike path will have a straight alignment along the waterfront, next to the new 20’-wide pedestrian promenade.  Additionally, the project includes two public restrooms along the bike path, and bicycle racks that can accommodate 68 bikes.  This project also includes a WaterBus stop, because early on we wanted it to be a destination that people could visit by foot, by boat, by car, or by bike.  While the parcel is under construction, the bike path will temporarily be routed along the eastern portion of the parcel, adjacent to Admiralty Way.

Attached are site plans that show the existing and proposed paths.

Thanks for your concern.

Anthea

ps: While the parcel is under construction, the bike path will temporarily be routed along the eastern portion of the parcel, adjacent to Admiralty Way.

pier-44-current-conditions

pier-44-approved-plan

It looks to be a significant improvement to one of the worst sections of the popular beachfront bike path.

Let’s just hope the construction doesn’t take too long, and they provide an adequate alternative in the meantime.

………

It’s time to catch up with upcoming bike events.

BikeSGV is hosting a pet and family-friendly Pet-acular Bike Train tomorrow. But neither you or your pet are allowed to use training wheels.

Sunday marks the World Day of Remembrance to honor victims of traffic fatalities; 40 artists will participate in the event with LA Road Concerts in Downtown LA.

Malibu is hosting a community outreach meeting on November 29th to discuss the problems with parking along PCH; anyone who’s ridden the coast highway through the city knows the dangers poorly parked cars can pose.

Metro’s El Monte Bike Hub will host a Commute 101 Clinic on November 30th to help you get more comfortable riding your bike to work or school.

San Bernardino will hold 14-mile Inland Regional Center Memorial Ride on December 2nd, riding one kilometer for each of the 22 people injured in last December’s terrorist attack, which is equal to 14 miles for each person killed. A similar ride will start out from Redlands, with 22 turns to honor the wounded and 14 miles to remember those killed.

Milestone Rides is hosting their annual holiday toy ride to Camp Pendleton on December 3rd.

As noted yesterday, the LACBC will host their annual open house on December 7th.

Recently retired pro cyclist Phil Gaimon is teaming up with the LACBC for the second annual Mulholland Clean Up on December 10th.

Finish the Ride will hold their Ride, Run, Walk N’ Roll Holliday Challenge in Van Nuys on December 11th.

………

Members of Team Novo Nordisk discuss how to compete while managing your diabetes; each of the 18 riders has Type 1 diabetes.

Yes, you can win a national hill-climb championship on a bike assembled from parts purchased on eBay.

………

Local

Congratulations, Los Angeles. You win the prize for the most dangerous city for speed-related traffic fatalities.

The co-founder of Burbank based Pure Cycles — formerly Pure Fix — talks about what’s it’s like to found a business with his best friend.

Pasadena, Altadena and San Marino Rotary Clubs will team together to build and donate 200 bicycles for underprivileged children this holiday season. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

The LA Times says bike paths along the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers offer a glimpse of what Pico Rivera looked like before LA’s eastward expansion steamrolled the area.

Santa Monica wants to know what you think about transportation options in the beach city, but only if you live or work there.

Long Beach creates a protected bike lane by installing green bollards on Studebaker Road, even though local residents call them distracting eyesores.

CiclaValley concludes his three-part Veteran’s Day journey with a family ride through Berkeley.

 

State

The afore mentioned Damien Newton discusses the effects of the recent election with Calbike’s Jeanie Ward-Waller.

UC San Diego officers remove over 700 apparently abandoned bicycles from campus; if they go unclaimed for 90 days, they’ll be donated to charity organizations.

Menlo Park considers a grade separation that would create a 1.6 mile bike boulevard along the Caltrain railroad tracks.

Alameda wants to build a 600 foot bike and pedestrian drawbridge connecting it with Oakland.

Nevada City middle school students — yes, middle school — learn frame building by building their own from scratch as part of a program that refurbishes bikes for homeless people.

 

National

Several bike-related businesses make Outside Magazine’s list of the top 100 places to work, including bike-friendly, employee owned New Belgium Brewery in my hometown. Do I really need to say that the town didn’t become bike friendly or open its first craft brewery until after I left?

Bicycling discusses the joys of riding at night.

Seattle’s failing bikeshare system gets a March 31st deadline to get its merde together.

Life is cheap in Oklahoma, where a distracted driver will serve just 10 months of a 15 year sentence for killing on cyclist riding across the country for Bike and Build, and critically injuring another; she’ll also have to speak publicly about what she did.

Apparently, not even Secret Service agents are safe on our streets. A uniformed agent was seriously injured when he was struck by a driver while riding near the White House.

In a remarkable move, a New York city is moving forward with plans to convert a parkway near Niagara Falls into a multi-use bike path.

 

International

A Toronto paper traces the 40-year fight for safety and acceptance of bicyclists through the life of a man who was photographed on the back of his father’s bike as a five-year old in 1976. Yet oddly, they don’t bother to show the photo.

British authorities arrest three teenage suspects for the murder of a recently released convict who was kicked off his bicycle by a group of young men last month.

A British town gets it, saying if close passes make people too afraid to ride a bike, it’s a police matter.

Now that’s more like it. Drivers in a North London borough could have their cars crushed if they’re caught passing bike riders too closely twice in a single year. And yes, bike cam video counts. Now if we could only get California to do that for hit-and-runs.

Like LA, advocates blame stalled bike path plans, as well as draconian fines, for a drop in the number of bicyclists in Sydney, Australia; last year the state government gave up on plans to double the rate of cycling.

 

Finally…

You can carry anything by bicycle; even lemonade, cookies and a polar bear.

And you’ll be happy to know that drinking beer is good for your cholesterol levels. So ride to your nearest bike-friendly microbrewery, and salute!

………

On a personal note, it was a pleasure to meet St. Louis-based Cycling Savvy instructor and BikinginLA contributor Karen Karabell and LA-based Cycling Savvy instructor Gary Cziko yesterday.

It’s great to talk with fellow advocates who don’t let differences in approaches to bicycle safety get in the way of finding common ground in their efforts to make bicycling safer and more enjoyable for everyone who rides.

Not to mention just spending some time with a couple of very nice people.

First rule of photography: Never stand so your shadow falls on your subjects

First rule of photography: Never stand so your shadow falls on your subjects

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: SaMo stupid driver trick triptych fixed, jogging up Mt. Ventoux, and WeHo bikeshare opens next month

July 15, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: SaMo stupid driver trick triptych fixed, jogging up Mt. Ventoux, and WeHo bikeshare opens next month

If you tried to click on the link to Steve Herbert’s triptych of videos showing stupid Santa Monica driver tricks yesterday, only to be told by Facebook that the page doesn’t exist, the problem’s been fixed.

So just give it another try.

………

A bizarre finish to the climb up Mont Ventoux, with winds up to 80 mph, found Tour de France leader Chris Froome running up the mountain — without a bike — after yet another crash caused by a race moto and overly aggressive fans.

This is what the crash looked like up close. LA’s Peter Flax describes the madness leading up to the final scrum, calling the Tour an absurd, beautiful circus.

And Australia’s Simon Gerrans is out of the race after breaking his collarbone when he crashed on a fast descent.

………

Local

Streetsblog offers an update on the state of bikeshare in the LA area; West Hollywood’s system will have a soft launch with just four stations on August 9th, with the full system opening by the end of next month.

Downtown stakeholders are fighting a new development at Fourth and Hill, arguing it’s too tall and modern for the area; on the plus side, the 428-unit apartment building would have more parking for bikes than cars.

A 95-year old bike rider suffered a broken leg and minor head injuries when he was hit by a car just outside West Covina yesterday morning. But the driver said she didn’t see him, so it’s okay, right? And how exactly did kneepads help save his life?

CiclaValley climbs Stough Canyon and the Verdugo Mountains.

 

State

New state rules will allow bikeshare programs to apply for funding to expand into low-income areas.

Happy birthday to Ventura County’s Newberry Park Bicycle Shop, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Sad news from San Luis Obispo, as a woman riding on an Edna Valley highway was killed when a driver drifted onto the shoulder and ran her down from behind.

Fresno unveils a new safety campaign warning drivers to slow down for people.

A Petaluma website says don’t fear the road diet.

A Modesto man faces vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and car theft charges in the death of a bike rider last month.

 

National

How to turn your bike into the ultimate Pokemon Go machine.

Bicycling explains how to protect your manly bits and pieces.

A bike-riding boy was not seriously injured when a suspected Nevada bomber blew himself up; the family who lived in the home he targeted somehow escaped before the blast.

Denver’s B-Cycle system illustrates how to not succeed in bikeshare.

A 22-year old Virginia woman riding cross-country with the Bike & Build program was killed when she and another rider were rear-ended by a driver in Idaho; the second victim remains in critical condition.

Two Good Samaritans are honored for saving the life of a bike-riding Texas triathlete who was left for dead by a hit-and-run driver.

A ghost bike for a Michigan hit-and-run victim has been removed from storage in the hope that it will help solve the case.

Boston takes a tiny, tentative step toward traffic safety by installing a parking protected bike lane on the city’s famed Beacon Street. For one whole block.

DC votes unanimously to change a policy that kept bicycles and pedestrians from receiving any settlement at all in most crashes.

Bighearted Georgia police step up to help a young homeless man after learning he’d just ridden a bicycle six hours to register for college.

 

International

A Canadian cyclist calls for making cycling a priority on Prince Edward Island.

Motor vehicles will be banned entirely from London’s busy Oxford Street shopping district within the next four years. I doubt LA leaders would ever have the guts to make a bold move like that; we can’t even get bike lanes on Westwood and North Figueroa.

A boy from the UK saved up for months to buy a second-hand bike, only to have it stolen just two days later. Then got it back — with a letter of apology — after his mother recognized the thieves on security camera footage.

Yet another British bike rider was nearly decapitated by a wire strung over a bike path in what police call a premeditated attack.

There’s more than one way to get a parked bike out of the way.

Caught on video: It takes a kindhearted bike rider to rescue a kitten from a busy Russian intersection.

 

Finally…

Forget carbon; your next bike frame could be made of graphene and weigh less than a pound, or it could be made of wood and full of holes. Or look like something out of Tron.

And this is your brain. This is your brain exercising in the heat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub_a2t0ZfTs

 

Category: Bike Cam Video, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Energizer Bunny says upgrade your bike for a motorcycle, and a SaMo bad driver triptych

July 14, 2016 / / 2 comments

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton justifiably takes Energizer Batteries to task for a badly off-base ad in which the Bunny magically converts bicycles into high-powered motorcycles.

In the Energizer commercial’s world, there are lots of cyclists, but all their bikes are old and crappy. One bike, at o:02, has a derailleur but no chain. Few of the bikes actually fit their riders, so the cyclists look cramped and uncomfortable.

Secondly, how does electricity help cyclists? Does transforming a bicycle – a truly environmentally-friendly human-powered vehicle – into a petroleum-burning motorcycle really serve the environment? Do urban cyclists really want to ditch their trusty steeds?

Seriously, the takeaway from Energizer’s misguided ad isn’t that their batteries are good for the environment, but that motorcycles are better than bicycles.

Which is a load of crap.

………

Now that’s more like it.

A Niagara-area town supervisor makes a video supporting his vision of converting an eight-mile parkway into a bikeway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0knSoTixaBg

………

While we’re on a video kick, bike commuter and KCRW sound engineer Steve Herbert posts series of Facebook videos depicting a triptych of Santa Monica drivers who insisted on making his ride to work far more dangerous than it needed to be.

………

The AP says Chris Froome is turning into a master tactician on the bike, although he was outsprinted on Wednesday’s 11th stage of the Tour de France. But seriously, don’t film Mark Cavendish when he’s taking a leak.

Yahoo offers a offers a bizarre report that blames cycling’s doping culture of the of the ‘80s and ‘90s for corrupting East European cyclists — like East Germany’s Jan Ullrich — after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Never mind that the former Soviet Block countries maintained extensive systematic doping programs, which undoubtedly included many, if not all, of their top cyclists. Something that clearly continues today.

As for that doping culture, at least some of it may have been a placebo effect. Although cyclists aren’t the only ones doing it.

And it’s been 49 years since Britain’s Tommy Simpson died while riding up Mont Ventoux, possibly as a result of chasing amphetamines with brandy before the race; the peloton will likely pause to remember him when they climb Ventoux in today’s stage.

………

Local

The Milt Olin Foundation, started by the wife of the fallen cyclist, has launched the #HandsOff app to encourage drivers to pledge not to use their phones behind the wheel. The sheriff’s deputy who killed Olin on Mulholland Highway in 2013 had been texting with his wife, and was using the patrol car’s onboard computer at the time of the crash.

KCET rides the LA River bike path with the Senior Lead Officers from the LAPD’s Northeast Division, helping bust a bike thief in the process.

New Malibu Mayor Lou La Monte is promising to improve safety on PCH, such as implementing some of the 130 suggested improvements listed in the recently completed the PCH Safety Study, including proposed bike lanes.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson reports from Tuesday’s Palos Verdes Estates council session, where bicyclists turned out en masse to call for improved signage in the not-so-bike-friendly community.

 

State

Huntington Beach police are looking for a white man who rode up on a bicycle before yelling racial slurs and throwing a rock through the door of a black family.

Another homeless man was attacked in San Diego, the fifth in the last few weeks; the hammer-wielding attacker was riding a blue mountain bike.

Bakersfield bicyclists will ride to remember a local man who lost his life while riding in Chicago recently.

Menlo Park is planning to remove up to 18 parking spaces to make room for bike lanes. Although the torches and pitchforks will likely come out once the affected homeowners get wind of it.

How do Bay Area chefs love cycling? Let me count the ways…

A Santa Rosa cyclist is 90% of the way through his campaign to ride up the top 100 climbs in the US; he’s now planning to ride up Mt. Whitney — starting from Death Valley — then climb the last 6,000 feet of elevation on foot.

A Truckee woman passed away in her sleep, just hours after she was involved in a bicycling collision. No matter how you feel after a wreck, always assume you’re injured. And if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, get to an emergency room immediately.

 

National

The BBC looks at how the “humble” bicycle is making a comeback in US cities, including a visit to LA’s own newly renamed Pure Cycles.

Portland’s transportation chief talks bikeshare, and explains why women seem to like it.

Nevada cyclists question the lack of serious penalties for drivers who injure or kill bike riders. Which is pretty much the same concerns held by bike riders everywhere.

Nice story from Kansas, as a father works with students at a local community college to develop a 3D-printed device to allow his three-year old son, who was born without his left hand, to ride a bicycle.

A Chicago weekly wonders what’s behind the recent rash of serious bicycling collisions.

The Michigan driver who ran down nine cyclists in Kalamazoo reportedly downed handfuls of pain pills and muscle relaxants before getting behind the wheel; police also found marijuana, meth, more pills and a pipe in his car.

Bloomberg looks at Detroit Bikes, which specializes in making bikeshare bikes, including assembling bicycles for New York’s Citi Bike.

A Pennsylvania cyclist helps save the life of a woman who drove off the road, after he found her unconscious in a stream.

A Florida bike rider was killed when he rode over a live power line that had fallen on a bridge; the line may have been down for as long as seven hours. Never, ever cross or touch a downed power line, even if that means finding another way to get where you’re going.

 

International

A Montreal study shows building bike lanes really does get a few people out of their cars.

Peru reopens a historic outdoor velodrome that had been closed for nearly 30 years.

A Canadian columnist calls for bicycling training, and asks why encourage people to ride their bikes if they’re just going to break the law anyway? After all, licensing drivers has worked so well to discourage any form of scofflaw behavior, right?

Toronto puts its money where it’s mouth is, considering a $12.2 million boost in spending for bikeway construction over the next five years, on top of the $68.1 million already approved.

A London bicyclist says it was like hitting a brick wall when he slammed into a distracted man who stepped into a bike lane without looking.

“Despicable” is the right word for whoever stole an ambulance bicycle from a London paramedic as he was treating a patient.

Bicycling levels remain flat in the UK over the past year.

Scottish authorities are looking for a driver who made a U-turn to deliberately crash into a cyclist after they had exchanged gestures following a close pass.

 

Finally…

Pedal your way to cleaner clothes. Evidently, it’s not considered self-defense if you slap the driver who almost ran you over.

And if you’re thinking about commenting on a woman’s body, just… don’t.

Whether you’re on a bike. Or anywhere else.

 

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

Garrett guilty, Singh seriously blotto, more 2011 cycling fatalities & new interactive Westside bike map

January 6, 2012 / / Comments Off on Garrett guilty, Singh seriously blotto, more 2011 cycling fatalities & new interactive Westside bike map

Our frequent South Bay/OC tipster sends word that Adam Garrett has plead guilty in the hit-and-run death of cyclist Hung Khac Do in Fountain Valley last May.

This is the case in which Garrett not only ran Do down in his ’94 Camry, but inexplicably called police the next day pretending to be a witness. And the police, being far more intelligent than Do evidently assumed, quickly realized they were talking to the actual killer.

Garrett agreed to a plea including 180 days in a private jail, with time off for work, school and church release, as well as three years formal probation, 200 hours community service, $14,000 restitution and court fees. One slip-up and he’ll spend the maximum of four years behind bars.

On the other hand, I’d say that letting him out to attend church seems particularly appropriate.

Anyone who could leave a stranger to die in the street — then call police in a failed attempt to find out what they knew — could benefit from a little spiritual counseling.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for the link to the Star article; Dj Wheels sends a link the Times’ story on the case.

……..

Satnam Singh, the driver charged with murdering Ventura cyclist Nick Haverland in a drunken rampage last May, had a potentially fatal level of alcohol in his system when he killed Haverland and injured five other people.

According to the Ventura County Star, Singh had a blood alcohol level of .39 — nearly five times the legal limit. And well above the .25 to .32 level at which most people would die of alcohol poisoning.

So high, in fact, that Singh’s attorney argued the 2nd degree murder charge should be dropped because his client was too drunk to form the disregard for human life required under the law.

“The degree of intoxication was so high it would have rendered him incapable to entertain any kind of implied malice,” Biederman said.

I realize he’s just doing his job. But this is exactly why so many people hate lawyers.

Fortunately, judge Charles Campbell concluded that after knocking a mother and daughter off their bikes and rear-ending a car, Singh had to know what he was doing.

A witness described following Singh as he raced to his home at speeds up to 80 mph after he sent Haverland flying through the air to his death.

DJ wheels notes that Singh is currently out on $500,000 bail, with arraignment set for 9 am on January 18th in Courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Singh is allowed to work at the liquor store he owns, but may not consume alcohol, or be in possession of it outside of work.

Something tells me I wouldn’t want to bet on that.

Not surprisingly, Singh also faces a civil suit from Haverland’s family.

……..

It doesn’t look like we’re going to get on to happier subjects anytime soon, as last year’s bike fatalities keep rearing their ugly head.

A comment from TQ lead to the discovery of three more cycling deaths that I was previously unaware of, which have been added to Part 1 of the In Memoriam list.

1/14/11 13-year old Kayel Smith was riding against traffic in Lake Elsinore when he veered right to cross the road, and was struck from behind by a vehicle on the opposite side; Kavel suffered major head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

2/16/11 A 50-year old transient and registered sex offender was fatally injured when he was hit by a VW Beetle while crossing an intersection in Fountain Valley; he was wearing dark clothes on a black bike with no lights or reflectors.

In addition, an unidentified cyclist was hit by a motorist after failing to stop for a stop sign in Santa Ana on 6/24/11; I have a report that he died after being placed on life support, but I’m still waiting for confirmation.

That brings last years total cycling deaths in the eight-county Southern California area to 79; 70 killed in collisions — traffic or solo — and nine by shooting. That compares to an average of 68.2 fatalities for the last five years on record (2005 – 2009), and 15 more than each of the previous two years (55 in 2008 and 2009).

Going forward, I’ll drop Santa Barbara County from this list to conform with the seven-county region covered by the Southern California Association of Governments.

This week I’ve focused on the people behind the statistics. Next week, I’ll offer a breakdown of the statistics, including at least one starting finding.

………

Culver City bike advocate and KCRW Chief Engineer Steve Herbert has created a wikimap of bike facilities on the Westside.

Borrowing from San Diego’s Bike Parking Map, I began today Westside Bicycle Facilities map, an interactive Google map which is open to everyone to add bike facilities they know of for the benefit of all in the cycling community. It’s easy to update, simply press the EDIT button on the screen, enlarge the map to the location of the bike rack, shop or other facility being added, click the Blue Balloon place mark and then point and click where the facility is. Next, change the icon to represent the facility noted: A green cyclist for bike parking, a yellow shopping bag for a bike shop, and add any notation which will aid in locating the facility. Then press SAVE & DONE.

The power in this is the collaborative nature of Google Maps, as one person could never keep up with the all updates, but utilizing the power of the community at large we can empower everyone in creating a potentially useful reference tool.

Briefly started as a map of Culver City facilities, it quickly became apparent a regional coverage area makes more sense & given the lack of restrictions there’s nothing to prevent people from adding facilities on the map outside of the Westside region such as downtown, the valley, South Bay, Orange County….

I hope the community embraces this and adds their knowledge to the effort.

………

Catching up on a few items I haven’t had a chance to post until now:

The County of Los Angeles is still accepting comments on the new county Bicycle Master Plan prior to the public hearing before the County Regional Planning Commission scheduled for 9 am on January 11th, at the Hall of Records, Room 150, 320 West Temple Street Downtown.

SCAG Senior Planner Alan Thompson forwards a link to download the Southern California Council of Government’s draft Regional Transportation Plan covering the years from 21012 to 2035. If you want to know where transportation planning is headed for the next 23 years, it might be a good idea to check it out.

LADOT is looking for a Safe Routes to School Pedestrian Coordinator and Assistant Pedestrian Coordinator for the next year.

You have less than two weeks to comment on Glendale’s proposed bike and pedestrian master plan.

………

And a few others items that have intrigued and/or infuriated me lately —

Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali uncovers the corporate theft of a Venice Blvd bike lane, and gets a promise from city officials to get it back.

Freakonomics suggests you’re more likely to be injured walking drunk than driving under the influence; Flying Pigeon points out that many of those drunk walkers are injured or killed by cars. And I might add that the problem with driving drunk isn’t the risk of being injured, it’s danger that you could kill someone else.

The estimable Will Campbell looks at Pedestrians Behaving Badly on the L.A. River Bike Path.

A New Mexico tribal government caves in to public pressure and decides to prosecute a driver for killing cross-country cyclist John Anczarski, after they bungled the investigation by failing to properly investigate the crash scene or conduct alcohol or drug tests. And the driver can look forward to a slap on the wrist, since tribal authorities can only prosecute misdemeanors, with a maximum of one year per charge. Maybe they can come up with 40 or 50 counts to charge him with, to be served consecutively.

A Mississippi woman who ran down a cyclist, then drove over her head trying to move her car to the side of the road, gets off with a lousy $50 fine — and then has the heuvos to appeal her already incredibly weak slap on the wrist. Not to mention she has to pay over twice the amount of her fine to do it.

The family of a fallen cyclist files suit against the NYPD for withholding information and bending over backwards to let a killer driver off the hook.

Remarkably, a Lehigh Valley paper gets it exactly wrong, insisting — incorrectly — that most bike safety experts consider shared lanes safer than designated bike lanes, even after a local bike advocate is killed crossing a bridge that used to have bike lanes.

Yet another sports broadcasting jerk tries to get himself fired by tweeting that he intends to run over any cyclist he sees in the street. Here’s hoping he succeeds. At getting himself fired, that is; you can email the station’s General Manager here.

Nearly 50 years after Bob Dylan sang “Don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” some cyclists continue to criticize people who have the temerity to not ride or dress the way they do. Seriously, if you want to wear spandex do it. And if you don’t, don’t. End of story.

Finally, some sick SOB strings wire over the entrance to a Canadian trail and fells an eight-year old girl riding her bike. Yes, clothes-lining an eight-effing-years old.

I hope he’s proud of himself.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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