I want to share this press release from SAFE — aka Streets Are For Everyone — about their press conference tomorrow at the Ronald Reagan Building at 300 South Spring Street in DTLA.
They need to get as many people there as possible to show their support. So if you’ve got the morning free and can handle the 100° heat, plan to be there.
I’ll be home resting my surgically repaired shoulder in hopes of getting back to work on Monday. So we’ll see you back here next week.
Calling on Gov. Newsom to Lead the US in Efforts to Combat Dangerous Speeding
Saturday, 7 September – Victims of traffic violence, activists for safer roads, and road safety organizations from across Southern California will be holding a press conference and Ghost Tire placement in front of the Ronald Reagan Building in Downtown LA, calling on Gov. Newsom to sign Senate Bill 961 (Weiner) and Senate Bill 1509 (Stern).
“Speed is the largest factor behind all traffic fatalities and serious injuries across CA. To put it simply, speed kills,” said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone. “In the City of Los Angeles, those injured or killed are most likely to be pedestrians – kids going to school, parents going to work – devastating families and friends of those hit.” Per a report written by SAFE, Los Angeles City has seen an 81% increase in traffic fatalities and a 108% increase in pedestrian fatalities since 2015. In 2023, 37.8% of all collisions were caused by speeding. (Source: TIMS)
SB 1509 increases accountability for driving at dangerous speeds by assigning two points for repeat offenses of excessive speeding within three years and creating a graduated fine schedule based on the number of violations within a year. For a fact sheet about this bill, click here.
SB 961 is a first-of-its-kind bill that will be a game-changer. This bill will require vehicle manufacturers to install speed warning technology—an audio and visual alertwhen drivers are going more than 10 MPH above the speed limit—in all vehicles made or sold in California (excluding emergency vehicles and motorcycles) starting in model year 2030. This technology is not new; Toyota will already offer it as a standard feature for all new cars, and Europe requires it for all new cars. SB 961 would require it as standard for all manufacturers. For a fact sheet about about this bill, click here. For answers to FAQs, click here.
The automobile industry is opposed to SB 961 and continues to design vehicles that are dramatically faster than previous generations. According to the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report, the average American vehicle from model year 2021 could reach 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. This is about twice as fast as cars purchased in the early 1980s. Electric vehicles are even faster than the average American vehicle, with many reaching 60 MPH in only a few seconds. While advanced safety measures might protect drivers and passengers in these vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists outside of cars are getting hit and killed in greater numbers than in the past. The truth is that the US is the only industrialized nation in the world with a worsening traffic violence statistic by trend.
“If the auto industry is going to make cars and trucks that encourage drivers to go too fast, there needs to be vehicle technology that helps counteract this,” said Damian. “Sixty years ago, when states wanted to require car seat belts, the auto industry fought it. But no one would question seat belts today as a necessary safety measure. Intelligent Speed Assistance in vehicles is no different.”
In 1961, Wisconsin was the first state to mandate seat belts in all vehicles, which eventually led to a federal law requiring them. Seat belts are credited with saving more than 500,000 lives in America.
What: Press Conference and Ghost Tire Placement
When: 9:30 AM, Saturday, 7 September, 2024
Where: Ronald Reagan Building, State of California, 308 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Who: Victims of Traffic Violence, including Cindi Enamorado (lost her brother), Lili Trujillo Puckett (lost her daughter), Lori Argumedo (lost her niece), Darlene Smith (lost her sister), and more.
Representatives from non-profit organizations and advocacy groups, including Streets Are For Everyone, Streets For All, Car-Lite Long Beach, Street Racing Kills, Faith for SAFEr Streets, Bike Long Beach, So Cal Families for Safe Streets, SAFE Families, Move LA, Walk n Rollers, LA Walks, and more.
I received the following email from Sonia Garfinkel of Streets Are For Everyone, asking to share a brief survey about California traffic laws.
Since I’m still working with one hand, I asked if I could share her letter in the form of a guest post.
So please take just a few moments to compete this important survey, and help influence the future safety on our streets.
My name’s Sonia, and I’m pleased to be writing a guest post for this great community and readership. My organization, Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), works to improve the quality of life for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers alike by reducing traffic fatalities to zero. SAFE is conducting a research project focused on California drivers’ knowledge of driving laws, and we need your responses! We will use the response data to guide SAFE-sponsored legislation that will require the California DMV to provide updated education on existing and new driving laws. In order for this survey to be equitable and representative, we need to collect data from as many communities as possible.
That’s where you come in! We would love for you totake our 5-minute survey on California driving laws. We would also appreciate it if you could share our survey to your networks via social media, email, or any other method. We have created a social media toolkit to make it easier to share the survey.Thank you for your responses, and your help!
April 18, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Live to Ride book signing in SaMo this Sunday, Balboa Park bike lane cleanup, and a Bill Nighy thanks for stopping
Just 258 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.
We’re now up to 1,117 signatures, so let’s keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us!
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My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
Suddenly becoming a full-time caregiver for my unexpectedly incapacitated wife and her broken shoulder, while simultaneously attempting to maintain this site and care for my own torn rotator cuff, is totally kicking my diabetic ass.
I honestly don’t know how I’m going to make it through the next few months before we both get back on our feet. But we’ll get there somehow.
Or better yet, make that the first stop of the day for coffee and a social ride with the author, the former editor-in-chief of Bicycling Magazine, and one of the most talented, insightful and beautiful voices in the bicycling community.
And if you haven’t bought your copy yet, what the hell are you waiting for?
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Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, is marking Earth Day with a much-needed cleanup of the bike lane in Balboa Park.
A Singapore lawyer suggests a road-raging bicyclist may not have been responsible for her actions because she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, shortly after she stopped her bicycle in front of a driver’s car to confront him, opened the door to his car and clung to his hood.
Montebello’s City Council unanimously approved the Citywide Bicycle Master Plan, as well as the 2040 Citywide General Plan and the city’s Downtown Specific Plan. Although as we’ve learned the hard way, it’s one thing to pass a bike plan, and another to actually implement it.
Santa Clarita is preparing for its 20th annual Bike to Work Challenge as part of next month’s Bike Week, with a city pit stop on May 16. Although no one seems to give a damn about it down here in Los Angeles anymore.
The rich get richer, as Toronto is set to get a veritable shipload of new bike lanes in the coming months. I learned very early in my advertising career that “shipload” doesn’t work in a radio ad, because everyone will inevitably hear it as something similar, but more offensive.
Double Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard has been released from hospital, 12 days after he suffered a broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs, a pulmonary contusion and pneumothorax in a mass crash during the Tour de Suisse.
Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. We’re nearly up to 900 signatures, so let’s try to get it up over 1,000 this week!
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My apologies, once again, for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
Let’s just say diabetes sucks, and get on with it.
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Authorities in LA County are investigating a pair of hit-and-runs. Although only one of the suspects was actually in a motor vehicle.
Police are looking for the driver of a silver Nissan sedan with chrome rims. Anyone with further information is urged to contact Long Beach Police investigators at 562/570-7355.
The woman was walking near North Baldwin Ave and Highland Ave around 10 am this past Saturday when she was struck by the bike rider, who also continued without stopping.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Detective Ascano at 626/355-1414, or nascano@cityofsierramadre.com.
And yes, bicyclists have the same obligation to stop after a crash that drivers do, and could face the same penalties if they don’t.
Photo from Sierra Madre police department
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It looks like Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner is ready to introduce her promised ebike bill, which will require anyone without a driver’s license to pass an online ebike safety training course before they can buy an ebike in California.
The bill appears to be directed towards children, though it could apply to adults without a license, as well.
It also prohibits any child under 12 from riding any class of ebike, and establishes diversion programs as an alternative to ticketing children, which is already allowed under current bicycle regulations.
Personally, I’d prefer to see that ban raised to 14 years old, and reclassify throttle-controlled ebikes as mo-peds, requiring a driver’s license to operate, and prohibited from being used in bike lanes or pathways of any sort.
I also hope the bill clarifies that the license requirement does not apply to anyone over the age of 18.
And it raises the question of what happens when a parent with a driver’s license buys an ebike for a child without one. Would the parent be prohibited from being able to buy an ebike for their own child?
But we’ll see what ends up in the actual text.
Thanks to Malcomb Watson for the heads-up.
Dig into this one! Looks like you're gonna have to pass an e-Bike test and show an ID. Will the bike dealer & online retailer be expected to enforce this prior to purchase? What about buying an e-mountain bike to ride off-road? pic.twitter.com/0LiG04oCYt
As the previous tweet hinted at, Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, says you have the chance tomorrow to tell Mayor Bass that we need safer streets.
Mayor Bass wants to hear from us!
The UCLA Bunche Center is conducting a series of Community Listening Sessions, as a part of a City of Los Angeles Community Safety Research Study. The study’s goal is to identify and document a broad and representative understanding of the perceptions and realities of public safety (and of its management) of residents in the City of Los Angeles.
Join the discussion and raise your voice about important safety issues in your neighborhood. Please include the need for safety on our streets for cyclists, pedestrians, and all users. With 336 deaths on LA City roads last year, this is a vital safety concern.
Join this community listening session, and let Mayor Bass know that you want safer streets.
Virtual Community Listening Session
February 8, 2024
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Streets For All — not to be confused with SAFE — has updated their voter guide for next month’s election, with endorsements for six of the seven LA council races, as well as council races in Glendale and Pasadena.
Then there’s 1890s Black cyclist Woody Hedspath, who they refer to as Major Taylor Number Two, honing his skills in summertime “colored fairs” during the Jim Crow era before moving on to greater accomplishments.
Finally, they write about Kittie Knox, the young Boston woman who broke racial and gender barriers in the 1890s, becoming the first Black woman to join the League of American Wheelmen, the forerunner to today’s League of American Bicyclists, or Bike League, before they changed the rules to exclude people of color.
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The Bambino was one of us.
Baseball slugger Babe Ruth reflecting on buying his first bicycle after getting his first paycheck from the Baltimore Orioles minor league team, and steering actor Gary Cooper in Hollywood, circa 1942.
Police in Mobile, Alabama busted a man riding a bicycle on multiple drug charges after searching him following a short pursuit, begun because he was exhibiting “suspicious behavior.” Let’s hope he can afford a good lawyer, because “suspicious behavior” is entirely subjective, and not probable cause to make a stop.
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Local
The Eastsider reports that Bike LA, the former Los Angele County Bicycle Coalition, has been awarded a $100,000 grant to “evaluate transportation gaps and identify the mobility challenges, needs, preferences, and priorities of Boyle Heights and East LA residents,” one of 12 similar grants across the state. Let’s hope that’s enough to sustain the organization, which has struggled financially in recent years, but offers a much-needed voice for bicyclists in the LA area.
The Los Angeles Times explains daylighting, and why you’ll now need to park further back from an intersection to avoid a ticket.
Santa Monica police will be conducting yet another bike and pedestrian safety operation tomorrow, ticketing any violation that could put either group at risk, regardless of who commits it. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits, so you’re not the one who gets written up.
Speaking of Streets For All, the street safety PAC is hosting a bike ride and fundraiser in Mar Vista this Saturday. Saturday is also the Lunar New Year, so there could be some major dragon energy there.
The Alhambra and South Pasadena bike ride hosted by Safe Streets for SGV and South Pas Active that was scrubbed because of rain last weekend has been rescheduled for this Sunday, when the weather looks more promising. And should give you time to get back home in time for that big sportsball thing.
A San Francisco bike rider was lucky to escape with non-life threatening injuries when he was struck by a Waymo driverless car, which evidently couldn’t spot him following a truck through an intersection. They’re called Waymo because they’re probably way mo’ dangerous than most cars with drivers.
A New Jersey man was killed when a state trooper driving an unmarked SUV crashed into his bike; no word on whether the trooper was on duty at the time.
SAFE founder Damian Kevitt criticized the city’s Vision Zero program, intended to eliminate traffic deaths, as “an abysmal failure.”
“We aren’t even remotely doing [Vision Zero], so let’s stop trying to fool everyone by saying that we are.” He emphasized SAFE doesn’t oppose Vision Zero, but urges the city to step up and take its program more seriously.
“We need to yell and yell loud and don’t stop yelling… for safer roads” Kevitt urged, leading the assembled crowd in chanting, “Mayor Bass, where’s your plan?”
Maybe if we all sign the petition up at the top, we could do that yelling where she might actually hear us.
The speakers included state legislators and C-30 Congressional candidates Assemblymember Laura Friedman and State Senator Anthony Portantino, as well as Councilmember Nithya Raman.
A handful of elected officials joined the rally. Assemblymember Laura Friedman recounted her long struggles to pass much-needed legislation to allow cities to cap speed limits and to install automated speed enforcement. “Let’s slow people down,” Friedman urged, “let’s take back our streets!”
State Senator Anthony Portantino urged attendees to “turn tears… and pain… and tragedy… into action” for safer streets. L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman spoke about her success in implementing bikeways, funding for bus shelters, and more. Raman urged treating the “staggering rise in deaths” as the “public heath crisis that it is.”
Take a few minutes to read the whole thing. Because far too many people are dying on our streets, and the city isn’t doing anywhere near enough to stop it.
But at least one councilmember gets it.
336 people were killed by cars last year. That’s 336 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, partners, and friends. And for every person lost forever, there are many more whose lives are forever altered by severe injury, trauma, or the loss or injury of a loved one. pic.twitter.com/s3xqWqgDP7
I am starting this report with a question that anyone reading this must think about:
How many more Angelenos need to die before we, as a collective city, start treating traffic violence with the urgency it deserves?
In January 2023, Streets Are For Everyone produced its first report, Dying on the Streets of Los Angeles, looking at traffic violence trends, the numbers behind them, and other statistics related to traffic violence in Los Angeles.
The numbers were disturbing. They showed that what was being done to address traffic violence was clearly not working and needed a significant change in action, level of funding, and dedication if our elected officials truly intended to save lives on the roads of Los Angeles. The report laid out four broad steps that needed to be taken. In short, these were:
Cut the bureaucracy by declaring a state of emergency related to traffic violence.
Reestablish Vision Zero with accountability, transparency, and PURPOSE.
Prioritize lives over the right to speed.
Get real about the magnitude of the problem by funding road safety improvements at a level that might start to make a difference.
Guess how many of those items city leaders actually checked off? No, really, we’ll wait.
And once again, take a few minutes to read the whole thing.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
You can smell the bullshit a mile away when bike lanes are rejected in the name of safety, as they were in one upstate New York town, although the real reason seems to be preserving parking spaces. Because we all know that human lives are less important than personal convenience.
Miss Manners confronts drama on the bike trail, as a man’s riding companions give him the cold shoulder for taking too long to chat with friends in another group, delaying their group ride.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. A 32-year old man with 19 previous traffic citations agreed to plead guilty to killing 32-year old BMX champ Nathan “Nate” Miller, after prosecutors agreed to a sentence of probation or just one year in prison. Congratulations to Nevada officials on keeping him on the road until he actually killed someone, then letting him loose to do it again.
The allegedly stoned driver who killed two brothers riding with their kids in the annual Spring Tour of St. George bicycle ride escaped with a pair of third-degree vehicular homicide convictions when the jury returned a split verdict; the woman claimed she was shitting on herself as she drove, and didn’t notice the men riding their bikes on the side of the road.
Nashville star Zach Bryan is one of us, riding a tandem with his girlfriend in Amsterdam while high on ‘shrooms and blasting the late Warren Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns and Money on endless repeat. I confess to two out of the three, though how much of that applies to you is entirely a matter of your own personal habits.
New York Magazineconsiders MIPS helmets, and whether you need one. Unlike MIPS, regular bike helmets are designed to prevent fractures, not traumatic brain injuries. So the short answer is yes, if you’re going to wear one at all.
This is the cost of traffic violence. The 68-year old founder of a UK arts and health charity was killed when his bike was rear-ended by a 19-year old driver; he was described as a gifted pianist, talented mathematician, bridge builder and visionary leader.
January 25, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on New bill requires speed governors on new California cars, LAPD Chief blames traffic victims, and LA bike deaths jump 41%
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced the Speeding and Fatality Emergency Reduction on California Streets (SAFER California Streets) Package, Senate Bills 960 & 961, a first-in-the-nation effort to make California roads safe and accessible to all users. Senate Bill 961 requires changes to vehicles directly, including a first-in-the-nation requirement that all new vehicles sold in California install speed governors, smart devices that automatically limit the vehicle’s speed to 10 miles above the legal limit. SB 961 also requires side underride guards on trucks, to reduce the risk of cars and bikes being pulled underneath the truck during a crash.
Senate Bill 960 requires that Caltrans, the state transportation agency, make physical improvements like new crosswalks and curb extensions on state-owned surface streets to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, the disability community, and transit users.
These changes are a head-on attempt to tackle vehicle fatalities, which are surging across the U.S.—and especially in California—amid a rise in reckless driving since the onset of the pandemic. A recent report from TRIP, a national transportation research group, found that traffic fatalities in California have increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022, compared to 19% for the U.S. overall. In 2022, 4,400 Californians died in car crashes.
The speed governing requirement is probably unlikely to pass in its present form, as it will undoubted face stiff opposition from organizations defending California drivers’ God-given right to speed.
But it could be one of the biggest steps the state could take to ensure drivers follow speed laws, and save lives.
Sort of, anyway. Since it would still let them speed by the same 10 mph over the limit that most California drivers do now, anyway.
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Outgoing LAPD Chief Michael Moore caused an uproar by blaming the victims for the city’s climbing traffic deaths, placing responsibility on pedestrians for crossing streets outside of crosswalks, and bicyclists for riding on streets without bike lanes and not wearing reflective gear.
Not on, say, drivers for speeding or driving distracted or under the influence, or just generally not managing to avoid hitting other people. Or on his own officers for failing to enforce traffic laws.
Schmuck.
LA’s police chief @LAPDChiefMoore blames cyclists riding on streets that don’t have bike lanes and pedestrians that don’t wear reflective clothing for a year of record road deaths in LA. pic.twitter.com/X2d76N3Y7w
His misguided criticisms hardly explain LA’s rapid jump in bicycling deaths, since bike riders seem no less likely to use bike lanes or wear hi-viz and reflective gear than they were just three years ago.
SAFE is holding a Protest for safe streets on Saturday, January 27th, on the steps of City Hall in order to demand LA City leaders do something effective about safety in our roads. Our goal is to have at least 330 people in attendance to represent each life lost to traffic violence in 2023.
We will be at the LA Critical Mass ride on Friday, January 26th, to let the cycling community know about the protest and enlist their help. We need volunteers to join us and make our protest as big and loud as possible!
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Metro wants your input on how to reduce traffic.
Traffic Reduction Study (TRS) Survey closes Jan 31, 2024
TRS is looking at how we can manage demand to reduce traffic through congestion pricing, and make it easier for everyone to travel, regardless of how they choose to travel. Following the conclusion of the survey, Metro staff will take the time necessary to assess and evaluate the feedback received countywide to include in the study’s technical analysis. We appreciate your assistance in helping us understand what your priorities and concerns are about traffic. Please take the survey here.
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I hope you weren’t planning to ride Orange County’s Mariposa Bridge anytime soon.
Update from @OCTAnews who photos to show the whole hillside came down & large metal bridge is barely hanging on. Speaking to city councilmember @ChrisDuncanCA now who is sending photos too. pic.twitter.com/bL5VVwGhO0
And the Florida drawbridge operator who walked with seven years probation for failing to check if anyone was on the bridge before opening it, killing a woman walking her bike across it at the time, could be headed for nine years behind bars after failing a urine test required as a condition of her probation.
The City by the Bay is proposing a $9 million settlement after an infamous roadway bump resulting from a botched water pipe repair left a bike rider with life altering injuries; four other people have sued for under a million each for injuries suffered hitting the bump with their bikes. Which raises the obvious question of why not just fix the damn thing after the first person got hurt?
January 22, 2024 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Die-in on the steps of LA City Hall Saturday to mark 337 traffic deaths in Los Angeles last year — including 24 bicyclists
Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.
Note: I’ve lost track of who created the image up there on the left, along with the Spanish-language version below. So if anyone knows, hit me up.
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Let’s start with Saturday’s die-in at Los Angeles City Hall to protest our ever-rising rates of traffic violence.
As I mentioned last week, I have another commitment that morning I can’t get out of, so I won’t be able to make it this year. But if you have the morning free, I urge you to attend, and add your voice and body to demand safer streets in the City of Angeles.
I’ll let Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, take it from here. And give it a close read, because there’s a lot of vital information there about just how bad things are on our streets.
Dying-In LA 2024:
Advocates Needed For A Die-In At City Hall, January 27th, 9 am.
Sign up here https://mobilize.us/s/0JnZmq to join Streets Are For Everyone,Streets For All, Street Racing Kills, Santa Monica Spoke, and many more to demand that our elected officials prioritize safer streets in 2024. Why? 2023 was a grim year for traffic fatalities, and we need to let City Hall know we have the political will to continue fighting for safe streets. That means starting the year strong by building our movement through community organizing.
2023 was a rough year for Los Angeles. 330 victims died from traffic violence in the city, marking a 9% increase over 2022 and a 14% increase since 2021. This is the highest number of traffic fatalities in over 20 years. In addition to that disheartening number, there were increases in injuries and fatalities across multiple categories, including:
176 pedestrians killed in 2023 – a 15% increase since 2022 and a 35% increase since 2021.
24 cyclists killed in 2023 – a 20% increase since 2022 and a 41% increase since 2021.
29 people killed in DUI-related car crashes in 2023 – a 32% increase since 2022 and a 38% increase since 2021.
105 people killed in hit-and-run crashes in 2023 – a 30% increase since 2022 and a 38% increase since 2021.
The surge in these statistics can be attributed to various factors, including:
Faster, quieter, and larger vehicles are killing more pedestrians.
There is a sharp increase in the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs (both legal and illegal) while driving.
Distracted driving in various forms – cell phones being one of the largest sources but also an increase in the prevalence of smart “infotainment” systems in cars. (Instead of using tactile touch for basic functions like adjusting the radio station or temperature, drivers often fiddle with screens, diverting their attention from the road.)
A decrease in the enforcement of driving laws for various reasons (worth its own article) results in more people driving recklessly, knowing they are less likely to get caught.
While there is no single solution to all these issues, the fact remains that too many of our elected officials continue to ignore this worsening public health crisis.
Join us for a crucial call to action as we unite in this collective effort. Real change only occurs when we amplify our voices and make them resoundingly heard.
Date: Saturday, 27 Jan 2024
Location: Steps of Los Angeles City Hall, 232 N. Spring Street
Set-up Time: 9:30 AM (Coffee will be provided)
Press Conference: 10 AM to 10:45 AM
Volunteers needed: 330 people are required for part of the die-in visual – one for each person who lost their life in 2023. Please feel free to bring bicycles and skateboards. Volunteers are also needed to stand behind the speakers, holding handmade protest signs demanding safer streets.
Parking: You should ride, walk, or take Metro Line B (exit Civic Center/Grand Park Station) to City Hall as parking is limited.
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Unfortunately, as bad as those numbers are, they don’t tell the whole story.
Anyone want to bet on whether they’ll make it to the three year mark?
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Residents of Coventry, England express concerns that a new bike lane will make bicyclists sitting ducks when drivers back into their driveways in front of bikes doing 30 mph — vastly overestimating the speed of most bike riders, while underestimating drivers ability to check their damn mirrors. Unless maybe their real objection is just having a bike lane on “their” street.
A British coroner says a 41-year old driver was “selfish beyond comprehension” when he killed a 15-year old boy riding a bike, while rushing to meet a woman from a dating app after downing three beers and two glasses of wine.
A “keen” Kiwi/Aussie bicyclist offers advice on winter bike riding in frigid South Korea. Which probably translates to wherever you ride outside of Southern California this winter. And I’ll take “keen” over “avid” any day.
December 18, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 26 to life for Riverside vehicular killer, SaMo bike network cuts crashes by 52%, and Ghost Tire placed for 15-year old boy
Thirty-three-year old Sergio Reynaldo Gutierrez was driving his pickup when he saw 46-year old Benedicto Solanga walking his bike with a friend on the other side of the road, and flipped the men off.
Then he made a U-turn, came back and intentionally drove into Solanga, running him down from behind.
Riverside police arrested Gutierrez three weeks later, after he had run a red light to shake witnesses who attempted to follow him after the crash.
He was convicted in September of first-degree murder with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
No motive was ever given for the attack.
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Bike riders in Santa Monica were ruled at fault in 26 of the city’s 72 crashes resulting in death or serious injury since 2010, while drivers were at fault in 31; the remaining 15 investigators were unable to assess blame.
And let’s not forget that blame is usually assigned by cops suffering from a windshield bias and a lack of training in bike law and investigating bicycle crashes.
However, the good news is that crashes involving bike riders has dropped by more than half — 52% — since the city began building a safe bike network over a decade ago.
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Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, placed another ghost tire memorial yesterday, this time for a 15-year old boy killed by a driver while walking home from school in October.
This is from the press release for the event, which arrived too late for advance notice.
On 27 October 2023, 15-year-old Felipe Manuel Infante-Avalos (affectionately known as Pipé) was crossing the road at 110th and Main St in the crosswalk, on his way home from school, when he was hit by 34-year-old Arturo Mercado Garcia. Pipé was hospitalized and died from his injuries on 8 November 2023. Arturo, who fled from the scene of the collision, was later caught and arrested and is awaiting trial. Per the judge for the case, evidence was found that Arturo was watching TikTok videos while driving.
Pipé, who was autistic, was sweet and gentle and his family loved him dearly. He loved school and was part of the ROTC. He loved playing with his siblings and going on their many family outings.
Pipé’s death is part of a worsening public health crisis on the roads of Los Angeles that has been skyrocketing since 2020. Per LAPD reports (as of 9 December 2023) the total number of traffic fatalities is higher than this time last year by 7% at 307 lives lost. Keeping in mind that the 312 fatalities in 2022 were the highest in well over 20 years. What’s worse is the number of pedestrian fatalities is up by 11% (162 lives lost) compared to this time last year, the number of hit-and-run fatalities is up by 26%, and the number of DUI-related fatalities is up by 32%.
A Ghost Tire Memorial will be placed to remember Pipé by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone. Pipé’s parents, friends, and family along with other community members affected by traffic violence will be present.
Over 30 family members and friends, many of whom have flown in from out of town, are expected to attend. Adriana, Pipe’s mother, will be demanding that Arturo Mercado Garcia be given the maximum penalties allowable by law for killing her son. She’ll also be calling for the Mayor of Los Angeles to do more to protect the lives of our communities.
The Ghost Tire Memorial was inspired by the Ghost Bike: a bicycle roadside memorial placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured by the driver of a motor vehicle. Ghost Tires are tires painted white and placed on the side of a road with the name and date of the person killed. Ghost Tires were created by the road safety advocacy organization Streets Are For Everyone, sometimes called by its acronym, SAFE.
You can do your part by signing the petition to demand a public forum with the mayor to hear our complaints about the dangers Pipé and the rest of us face just walking and biking in Los Angeles.
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Unbelievable.
Life is cheap in Hilo, Hawaii, where a 70-year old man faces a maximum of a 15 years behind bars for negligent homicide and hit-and-run — even though prosecutors say he intentionally killed a woman riding a recumbent bike because she was “going too slow all the time.”
The judge ordered him to undergo a mental health exam, which is probably a good idea under the circumstances.
They should also give one to the prosecutors who undercharged what should have been a murder case.
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Fallen standup comic Kenny DeForest continued to make an impact after his death riding an ebike near Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, donating seven of his organs to five people, to give them a second chance at life.
DeForest died a week after he reportedly rode his ebike into a parked car, suffering serious head injuries.
That could have happened for a number of reasons, from distraction to excess speed resulting from the ebike, or being crowded out by a driver’s too-close pass.
A Maui bicycling group teamed with a “grassroots movement dedicated to bringing joy to children and families impacted by the Maui wildfires” to bring holiday gifts and entertainment to local families, and distribute 80 bicycles to kids who had requested one.
Someone has been deliberately sabotaging a London bike lane for over a year, repeatedly spreading drawing pins in an apparent attempt to puncture riders’ tires. While it may sound like a harmless prank, a sudden flat could lead to serious injury, as well as needless expense and inconvenience.
Police in Golden, Colorado are looking for two people who ran away from their abandoned car after running down three people riding bicycles, and injuring two of the victims — one seriously. No word on whether the crash may have been intentional.
A Florida man shot a neighbor in the leg with a shotgun after the victim strayed onto his property looking for his stolen bicycle; the man said he shot him because he tried to break into his RV — even though police found the shotgun shell 150 yards away.
Interesting idea. Singapore hopes to promote bicycling by creating a “bike village” under a viaduct next to a transit station, in an area already popular with bicyclists, where they can shop for bicycle gear, grab a bite or meetup for rides.
And this time, I actually managed to manage my diabetes well enough to stay awake to work.
So let’s get right to it.
And apropos of nothing, here’s an AI image of a corgi riding a tricycle.
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A couple quick reminders of events taking place today.
LADOT is hosting a virtual workshop to discuss building bikeways connecting neighborhoods on the Westside, which they could find in the city’s decade-old mobility plan, if they bothered to dust it off.
However, judging by their tweet/post, the actual time is on a need to know basis. But since you may need to know, it starts at 5:30 pm.
Join our virtual bikeways workshop tomorrow! Don't miss out on shaping bikeways that will connect Westside neighborhoods. Your input is essential for safe routes. Register now: https://t.co/NqQP4cPQ3a 2c919f&_x_zm_rhtaid=298#/registro pic.twitter.com/u7LM4x0B1k
The other event takes on a sadder tone, as street safety nonprofit SAFE — aka Streets Are For Everyone — will place a ghost bike for fallen Hollywood producer Bob George, who was killed in a dooring in East Hollywood last month.
I believe that there is a street safety crisis in America.
Losing hundreds of lives to unsafe streets is unacceptable. My bill, the Building Safer Streets Act, will help fix this chronic issue here in PA & across the country. pic.twitter.com/l61S5pjuD6
Discover Los Angeleslooks forward to next month’s CicLAvia – South LA on December 3rd, the final CicLAvia of the year. Just my luck they had to schedule it on my sister’s birthday, when I will be otherwise engaged.
Streetsblog’sMelanie Curry takes Caltrans to task after Director Tony Tavares tweeted that safety is the agency’s top priority, arguing that if it is, it certainly doesn’t show. Maybe he can explain how wasting billions to widen freeways makes anyone any safer.
That’s more like it. An Iowa woman was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the drunken crash that killed two men and injured another when she somehow mistook a bike path for a freeway onramp; she’ll have to spend at least 17 years behind bars before she’s eligible for parole. Which should give her plenty of time to sober up.
That’s more like it. Several members of the Dallas, Texas city council rode their bikes to work as the city works on its first new bike plan in a decade; one council member said he only felt safe on about half of his ride. Which is probably more than many of the city’s bike riders could say.
You’ve got to be kidding. Life is really cheap in Georgia, where a 28-year old man walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that left a 60-year old man riding a bicycle with life-threatening injuries; he jumped a raised median with his car, striking the victim from behind and kept going despite literally running the man over. If you wonder why people keep dying on our streets, this is Exhibit A.
The sister of a fallen Welsh bike rider and two of his friends have refurbished the historic village pub where he used to hang out, and are re-opening it in his honor. Although someone should tell the Welsh news site about this nifty new invention called paragraphs, which would make stories like this much easier to read.
Three climate activists who halted this year’s Men’s Elite Road Race at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland by gluing their hands to the narrow roadway got off with a firm admonishment from the local sheriff, while the fourth was fined the equivalent of $307.19.
January 23, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Die-in driven from news by mass shooting, LA Vision Zero a “totally unfunny self-parody,” and voters say no to De León
Three-hundred-twelve lives needlessly lost to traffic violence.
Most of them bike riders and pedestrians, many lower income, as Los Angeles set a record for the most traffic deaths in at least the last two decades.
Yet almost as heartbreaking as the lives lost to traffic violence in the City of Angels last year was the way Saturday’s die-in at City Hall to protest the deaths was shoved out of the headlines by yet another mass shooting.
The protest, which drew around one hundred participants, appeared to be covered by a number of news outlets.
And even they couldn’t be bothered to identify California Senator Anthony Portantino as the prone bicyclist shown gripping his handlebars in the story’s top photo.
Oops.
When your lead photo shows a state senator participating in a large protest, maybe it would be nice to identify him. Just saying.
The brief story attempts to put LA’s unacceptable rate of traffic deaths in perspective.
Yet somehow fails to mention that even one death is one too many.
How does that compare to other cities across the state, or even nationally? LA’s 312 traffic fatalities equate to just over eight deaths per 100,000, nearly twice that of San Francisco (4.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2022), but fewer than San Diego, which saw just less than nine traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. In Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago, there were roughly 7.8 traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2022.
It ends with an all-too-brief mention of just what the assembled protestors were demanding.
Protesters organizing Saturday, want the city to do more to help curb traffic deaths in LA. They’re asking Mayor Karen Bass to declare a state of emergency on traffic violence; for more funding for the LA Department of Transportation and initiatives like VisionZero; and the passage of legislation that would allow for automated speed enforcement on dangerous roads.
“Throwing only $50.6 million at road safety issues in a city this big, especially considering how many lives are being lost, is a joke,” SAFE’s report concludes.
All of which was great.
But in addition to failing to identify Portantino, the station also failed to mention that Assembly Transportation Chair Laura Friedman took part, as did CD3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield.
Not to mention leaders from Streets Are For Everyone, Families For Safe Streets, Streets For All, LA Walks and BikeLA — formerly the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — among others.
Even then, the story was gone by morning, as LA’s news outlets went with wall-to-wall coverage of the Monterey Park shootings.
Leaving the reaction to the city’s horrendous death toll forgotten on the newsroom floor, just a blip in the weekend news.
I’ll have more tomorrow, after I have a chance to sift through all the many photos I took of the event.
At center is this photo, with the red bandana, is very good boy Max, who joined his owner in playing dead along with everyone else.
The top photo shows Assembly Member Laura Friedman addressing the crowd, flanked by state Sen. Anthony Portantino; behind her are LA Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.
Correction: Apparently suffering a major brain cramp, I somehow originally misidentified Streets For All’s Michael Schneider in the above caption as Michael MacDonald, evidently mistaking him for a member of the Doobie Brothers. He is, to the best of my knowledge, not a Doobie nor a rock star, but a street safety star instead. My apologies.
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Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times Letters Editor Paul Thornton introduced responses to LA’s rising toll of traffic violence with a headline calling the city’s Vision Zero failure a “totally unfunny self-parody.”
All along, the city’s primary tool to achieving its Vision Zero goals has been redesigning roads to reduce vehicle speeds and allocate more and safer spaces to cyclists and pedestrians. What we’ve gotten since 2015 are bike lanes removed from street widening projects, quashed “complete street” proposals, a thriving Lincoln Heights street market shut down by the city, and a reopened 6th Street Viaduct used as a drag strip. Something tells me we’ll be much worse off on Vision Zero in 2025 than we were in 2015.
Although naturally, one letter writer felt the need to remind us that streets are for cars, and everyone and everything else doesn’t belong there.
The LA Times is reporting that CD14 voters have turned sharply against incumbent Councilmember Kevin de León in the wake of his comments on a racist and otherwise offensive recording that has already led to the resignation of the former council president and one of LA’s most powerful labor leaders.
The turnaround comes just two years after those same voters overwhelmingly installed De León to replace disgraced Jose Huizar, who pled guilty to racketeering last week.
…By a wide margin, voters said De León puts his own political self-interest ahead of the people he represents. Even reliable supporters who voted for him in the past have lost faith, the poll found.
Only 23% of the voters surveyed approved of the job De León is doing, compared with 48% who disapproved, the poll found. Just over half think he should resign, compared with fewer than a quarter who want him to stay in office and 18% who were undecided; 9% did not answer the question.
If a recall were to qualify for the ballot — an effort to qualify one is currently circulating petitions — 58% would support recalling him from office, compared with 25% who would be opposed and 17% undecided, the survey found.
That comes after De León was heard on the leaked recording comparing the Black adopted son of former Councilmember Mike Bonin to a Luis Vuitton purse, and discussed how Latino councilmembers could mute the influence of their Black peers on the council, as well as their constituents.
Yet De León continues to ignore calls to resign, apparently thinking there is some pathway that will allow him to rehabilitate his image before facing the voters again in 2024.
Or sooner, if the recall petitions currently circling in his district qualify for the ballot.
De León had shown promise when it came to supporting bike and safety improvements in his district, including selecting the resident-designed Beautiful Boulevard option for the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit route through Eagle Rock.
It’s time for De León to read the writing on the wall — and in the pages of the Times — and resign.
CD14 deserves a leader who can more effectively represent all the people, including those of us who travel on two wheels.
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This area has long been one of the most unforgiving areas for bicycling in all of the Los Angeles areas.
Although the long-delayed Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle Pedestrian Path over the new Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, better known as the replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge, should help.
Once they finally get around to opening it.
Meanwhile, this video of trying to find a safe route around the Port of Los Angeles plays like a one-man Marx Brothers routine.
Proving that corruption allegations extend far beyond LA City Hall.
Not surprising people who oppose street safety (if it would inconvenience drivers) are not honest in other areas@StreetsblogLA@CalBike@bikinginla Maybe the CA Bar Assn can help us remove someone who blocks bike/ped safety. https://t.co/5y1U4J5DVl
Streets For All is calling for more support for the heavy rail option to extend the Metro train system through the Sepulveda Pass, including a Metro station on the UCLA campus, at an in-person meeting on Tuesday and a virtual meeting on Thursday. Bel Air residents are demanding an impractical monorail through the center of the 405 because it wouldn’t, you know, inconvenience the rich people.
VeloNewshas more on the nonprofit Bahati Foundation, formed by Compton’s own former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati to change the lives of underprivileged kids through bikes.
Happy Lunar New Year, whatever language you celebrate in! And my sympathy and prayers to all the victims of the Monterey Park shooting and their loved ones. May the new year finally bring an end to both traffic and gun violence.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Unfortunately, as bad as those numbers are, they don’t tell the whole story.
