Day 177 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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Apparently, the LAPD wants our help.
But only a little at a time.
A week after the LAPD belatedly told us about the hit-and-run that killed 34-year old Los Angeles resident Jose Villalobos as he rode his bike in South LA earlier this month, the department has released a little more information about the crash.
Investigators now believe the driver may have been involved in one of several street takeovers that occurred in the area in the hours before the June 1st collision. One of which was broken up by police less than a mile from where Villalobos was killed at Century Blvd and San Pedro Street.
Surveillance video shows Villalobos being struck by a silver two-door Chevrolet Camaro with black racing stripes as he approached San Pedro on Century. The driver fled the scene, still dragging the bicycle beneath their vehicle as the car headed towards the 110 Freeway.
Police believe the driver was the same man who stopped at a nearby liquor store before the fatal crash.
So naturally, police used the press conference to deliver an important safety message, reminding drivers that street takeovers are illegal and that they are legally required to stop after a crash.
Right?
Guess again. According to LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno,
“Whether you’re a pedestrian, on a bicycle, on a scooter, skateboard, whatever it is, you have to also take your safety in your own hands. Don’t assume people see you. Don’t assume the public sees you. And if they do see you, don’t assume they’re going to stop,” he said.
Which may be good advice. But it’s the wrong message, delivered to the wrong people, when they should have been talking to the ones in the big, dangerous machines who have a bad habit of killing other people.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
Anyone with information is urged to call 213/321-9681, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.
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Yay, us.
A new report shows that California leads the nation in bike thefts by a nearly two-to-one margin in the total number of bikes stolen, and more than that in terms of total value.
That leads Texas on the first count, and Colorado on the second.
In fact, Colorado had an average value of nearly $2,000 per purloined bike, nearly a third more than California, at just under $1,500. And roughly two-and-a-half times the average value of Texas bike thefts.
Not surprisingly, Alaska had the least number of bicycles stolen.
All of which is a good reminder to get free, lifetime bike registration through Bike Index if you haven’t already.
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Streetsblog examines the new roughly 750-foot pathway connecting two existing footbridges near the Griffith Park Recreation Center, improving access to the LA River bike path.
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Nothing like taking a little bike riding vacation in California.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A British town councilor complains about the “bullying and intimidation” from the “unelected” bike lobby over approval of a new pump track. Even though the only pressure a bike group can actually apply stems from their public support. And isn’t responding to the public what elected officials are supposed to do?
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Local
A California man is suing Amazon and Los Angeles-based ebike maker Actbest Technology Inc, alleging he suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown to the ground after the handlebars on his foldable ebike gave out. Then again, what would you expect from $369 electric foldie?
Santa Clarita will officially break ground Tuesday on the long-debated Haskell Canyon Bike Park.
Thirty-year old mountain bike pro and Santa Clarita Valley resident Spencer Rathkamp says he’s excited about the growing mountain bike scene in the area.
State
Secret Los Angeles explores the 70% complete California Coastal Trail, which will eventually stretch 1,230 through the state.
The Huntington Beach Police Department is now offering ebike training for local students. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Calbike is taking issue with the recent Kern County grand jury report blaming bike lanes for causing problems on Bakersfield streets, alleging the conclusions are troubling and lack sufficient evidence.
A former Antioch K-9 cop was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was convicted of siccing a police dog on a bike rider for the crime of riding without lights, then filing a false report about it. Oh, and he paid someone else to fraudulently earn a college degree for him, too.
Sad news from Marin, where Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member and co-director Don Cook died from a heart attack while riding his mountain bike on Tuesday; the 66-year old Cook was inducted into the hall in 1989, in just the second class, and co-directed the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame with his wife, Kay Peterson Cook, who was inducted into the hall six years after her husband.
National
Momentum ranks the best bicycling routes through American wine regions — not surprisingly topped by California’s Napa Valley.
An Anchorage, Alaska woman learns the hard way that it takes more than a thousand bucks to bribe a cop into letting you go home from the drunken crash that killed a bike rider as he was on the phone with his mom in Baja California. And yes, we mentioned this one earlier in the week. But still.
Utah follows Idaho’s lead, and bans narrowing or reducing travel lanes for the next three years without approval of each project by the Utah Department of Transportation, putting new Salt Lake City bike lanes at risk, as well as the city’s Vision Zero program.
I want to be like him when I grow up. A 90-year old man takes part in the Everybody Bike Day in the town next door to my bike-friendly Colorado hometown, which celebrated the more mundane Bike to Work Day, instead.
Rhode Island’s largest newspaper highlights the state’s whopping 60 miles of paved bike paths. And even that is more than enough to traverse the entire state.
People For Bikes celebrates Brooklyn’s ascension to the top of the organization’s large city ratings — even though it’s a New York borough, rather than an actual city. Which is kinda like giving the award to the San Fernando Valley, not like that would ever happen.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that bikes have a right to the road and don’t have to automatically pull over to make room for motor vehicles; instead, road conditions should determine whether a bike rider needs to make way for faster vehicles in order not to impede traffic.
International
A British bicyclist says he was lucky to cheat death when he went over his handlebars after hitting a pothole, which wasn’t fixed despite causing another crash six weeks earlier; his injuries included a broken neck and collarbone, nine fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and multiple pelvis fractures.
A man from the UK was sentenced to 12-years behind bars for hacking a 75-year old man to death with an axe after visiting Finland on a fundraising bike tour, telling police he had killed the man as he slept in his bed the morning after spending the night with him because the victim had drugged and raped him — even though police found “no evidence of illicit substances or materials that the elderly victim could use to restrain the young and physically fit aggressor.”
A Chilean man riding around the world with his three-year old dog was happy to escape Iran after getting caught in the country during the recent Israeli bombardment, especially after he was abducted by armed men who took his passport, before releasing it and him the next day.
After moving to Sydney, Australia, a new resident explores the 142-mile Greater Sydney Bike Trail, which loops around the city. The only thing that loops around Los Angeles is the city’s freeway system.
Competitive Cycling
A new German documentary quotes an anonymous pro cyclist as saying it’s a joke to believe “nothing illegal has been taken at the Tour de France since 2015” — and not only is doping still going on, but as many as 14 people alleged to have been involved in a previous doping scandal are still involved in pro cycling.
Bicycling previews the key stages in this year’s Tour de France, calling it the most grueling race in decades. But you’ll have to pay them if you want to read it.
Finally…
It’s been just a short 216 years since the first bicycle was patented. Apparently, “no” is not the correct response when a cop tries to pull you over on your bicycle to serve an active warrant.
And that feeling when you find a feline who loves biking as much as you do.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
