The good news is, we’ve figured out what caused the problem with email notifications for new posts. Now that the tech supports are back from their annual conference, maybe we can get it working again.
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CiclaValley shares video of a Griffith Park bike lane obliterated by a load of dirt.
Which basically makes it impossible to ride there, forcing riders out into unforgiving, often high speed traffic.
But no big deal, it’s only a bike lane. Right?
I wonder what the reaction would be if someone dumped a pile of dirt into the right traffic lane, making it impossible to use.
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A new British road safety ad offers a number of things your shouldn’t get caught between, including a truck and a left turn — or right turn, in this country.
Even if the truck is overtaking the cyclist and illegally left-hooking him, apparently.
Needless to say, the online community was not pleased with the apparent victim blaming.
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Somehow I missed this earlier this month, as Lance Armstrong talks with actor Ben Foster, who played Lance in the film The Program about the doping scandal.
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Local
Metro officially approves $4.14 million for 17 open streets events in LA County over the next two years.
The Grove and Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso promises new crosswalks and bike lanes at his latest project at San Vicente and La Cienega — if it gets built. Let’s hope he plans to install much needed bike lanes on La Cienega, and fixes that dangerous and confusing three-way intersection at La Cienega, San Vicente and Burton Way that’s almost impossible to ride through safely.
LA’s own Pure Cycles offers some great tips on how to bike to campus. Although maybe their next photo shoot could use a little more diversity.
Bike SGV is the latest advocacy group to endorse Measure M to improve transportation option in LA County, including dedicated funding for active transportation.
Evidently, Caltrans efforts to transform itself into a modern Complete Streets transportation agency hasn’t filtered down to the local level yet.
State
Cathedral City moves forward with its section of the 50-mile CV Link, even as other cities are fighting the planned bikeway around the Coachella Valley.
Sad news from Santa Barbara, as an 88-year old man was killed when a driver took his eyes off the road, and drifted into the bike lane where he was riding. Cars are big, dangerous machines; there’s never any excuse for not paying attention behind the wheel. And as this tragedy shows, the consequences for even a moment’s inattention can be deadly.
San Francisco has a plan to reclaim streets from automobiles.
It’s Car-Free Month in Davis, as the city and UC Davis partner to offer events, prizes and giveaways designed to encourage residents and students to bike, walk, or use transit or car-share. Although the latter wouldn’t seem to do much to reduce the number of cars on the road.
National
Bike Index helps return more stolen bicycles to their owners, as an off-duty Portland cop helps nab a prolific high-end bike thief. You can register your bike or report a stolen bike for free with Bike Index through this site. And yes, LAPD officers now use it to find the owners of bikes they recover.
Around 90 Portland cyclists rode against hate on Sunday, in response to an ugly incident in which a cyclist pepper-sprayed a family with young kids while yelling racial slurs.
Las Vegas is opening a bikeshare system in the downtown area this Friday.
A Boston man rode a bikeshare bike through a highway tunnel, to the shock of motorists and the chagrin of the city’s bikeshare system.
ABC News producer Michael Koenigs continues his journey by bicycle to cover the American election cycle, riding to Monday’s debate at Hofstra University after traveling to both parties conventions.
Jose Fernandez, the Miami Marlins pitcher tragically killed in a boating wreck over the weekend, once rode his bicycle 600 miles a week to get back into shape during the offseason.
International
Good essay from City Metric, saying it’s time to rethink how the world’s great cities manage traffic, as urban residents are forced to bear the burden for today’s flawed policies.
The Guardian offers images of World Car-Free Day from cities around the world. Needless to say, here in LA, it was just another day of car-filled streets and freeways.
A Swedish Vision Zero expert says if Toronto wants to get serious about protecting cyclists and pedestrians, it needs to lower speed limits and think about road safety in a completely new way. The same goes for LA; we’ll never achieve Vision Zero without reducing speed limits. Let alone the near freeway speeds on some streets.
Life is cheap on Canada’s Prince Edward Island, where a driver was fined a whopping $100 for an unsafe turn that left a bike rider paralyzed from the waist down.
The UK’s Cyclist Magazine writes in praise of the cycling jersey.
The Guardian says wearing a bike helmet may reduce the very small risk of injury even further, but that’s no reason to make them mandatory. Meanwhile, a writer for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph says it’s time to scrap Australia’s mandatory helmet law so bicycling will become safer as more people get on bikes.
A New Zealand man has possibly become the first person to bike every road in Singapore, traveling roughly 6,800 miles on his Brompton.
China’s Uber-equivalent bets big on bikeshare.
Finally…
Who needs a golf cart when you’ve got a trike? If you’re ever tempted to punch a 14-year old boy after your bicycles collide, just don’t.
And it’s finally easier to drink, uh, eat a cup of coffee while you ride.
