For once, police in Los Angeles didn’t wait to ask for our help.
According to a tweet/X post from the LAPD, the department is asking for the public’s help in finding a hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding a bicycle Koreatown Thursday afternoon.
The victim, identified only as a man in his late 60s, was riding south on Harvard Boulevard when he was run down from behind as he approached 11th Street around 12:30 pm.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver kept going without stopping, and was last seen driving south on Harvard. Police described the suspect vehicle as a dark green Chevy Silverado pickup truck, no model year given.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division detectives at 213/473-0234. As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the driver in any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.
This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; this was also the eighth we’ve learned about in the City of LA.
Drivers have fled the scene in 15 of those fatal bicycling crashes in Southern California since the first of the year, a pace of one out of every three fleeing the scene.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Day 266 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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No surprise here.
It turns out that Xavier Omar Rigby, the 22-year old Florida man accused of killing a 38-year old woman riding an ebike — then driving eight blocks with her body lodged in his windshield before falling off — is a repeat offender.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, he admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking weed after he was arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road two years ago. Although the Daily Mail reports prosecutors plea bargained the charged down to just reckless driving last year.
The Daily Mail also says this wasn’t even Rigby’s first hit-and-run, since he was involved in another hit-and-run in 2022 — three years before killing the bike-riding Florida mother last week.
Oh, and when police arrested Rigby this time, they found him at a liquor store about a mile from the crash scene.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
That’s more like it. A pair of British men have been sentenced to life behind bars on murder charges for deliberately driving their pickup into a couple of young men riding ebikes, after chasing them on the wrong side of the road when they mistook them for burglars; the driver will have to spend at least 34 years in prison before he can be considered for parole, while his passenger was sentenced a minimum of 29 years.
Authorities in the UK have arrested six men and one woman for attempted murder after intentionally crashing into an 18-year old bike rider; five of the suspects have already been released on bail. Must have been a very crowded clown car.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Colorado magazine recommends eight fall bike rides in and around Denver. Which was always my favorite time to ride when I lived in the city, after the tourists were gone and the students in class, the air was crisp and cool, and the leaves turned vibrant colors.
Life is cheap in Colorado, where a 46-year old man walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a bike rider; he received just one year of probation and a lousy 20 hours of community service as part of a very lenient plea bargain.
A Montreal PhD candidate crunches the numbers, and finds that despite the bikelash, bike lanes only take up 2.3% of the city’s roadways, with infrastructure for the big, dangerous machines claiming the other 97.7%.
Day 259 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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There’s good news on Fountain Ave for a change.
After three-and-a-half hours of public discussion, a deeply divided West Hollywood City Council voted to move forward with a Complete Streets makeover of the deadly corridor — including curb protected bike lanes.
First up was a vote to approve staff recommendations 1 & 3, which passed 3-2:
Consider approval of 30% Plans for Phase 1 of the Project;
Approve Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement for Services with Fehr & Peers in the amount of $131,040 to provide Construction Administration and design contingency for Phase 1 of the Project;
Second, the council voted unanimously to approve recommendations 2 & 4, amended to include an assessment of removing peak hour parking:
Provide direction on recommended immediate traffic calming measures that can be made in the next 1-2 months ahead of the delivery of Phase 1 of the Project;
Authorize Staff to initiate Phase 2 of the Project, including the release of a Request for Proposals for a Phase 2 consultant, and the expansion of the Steering Committee to guide the visioning process;
Finally, they approved recommendation 5 to exempt the project from CEQA by another 3-2 vote:
Find Phase 1 of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project statutorily and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code sections §21080.25, §15301(c), and §15304(h).
By my count, public comment broke down 25 to 18 in favor of the project, though there were a handful of comments that required a secret decoder ring to figure out whether they were for or against.
And a few even that didn’t work for.
While the final outcome is great news, the close vote means it would only take a change of one vote to halt things in its tracks when the project returns to the council next year to approve a construction contract.
So it’s still fingers crossed for now. But things are looking pretty good.
AB 366 extends the operation of interlock devices indefinitely after a driver is found guilty of a DUI and repeals related reporting requirements
SB 71 streamlines CEQA review requirements for public transportation and bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects that reduce car dependency
SB 720 modernizes state regulations allowing municipalities to create and operate red light camera programs
On the other hand, a number of good bills failed to advance.
AB 891 would have required Caltrans to develop quick-build projects to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
AB 939 would have placed a bond on next year’s statewide ballot to fund sustainable transportation throughout California
AB 954 failed to pass despite being significantly watered down, going from a mandate requiring that Caltrans build bike highways, to merely defining them in state planning documents
SB 445 would have created deadlines for permitting Complete Streets and sustainable transportation projects to prevent local governments from dragging out the process while they barter for concessions
Finally, one failure was good news, as AB 697, which would have allowed the expansion of State Route 37 through protected habitats and wetlands in Sonoma County, suffered a welcome death.
Although all the charges are misdemeanors and traffic citations at this point. But let’s hope it’s enough to keep the 47-year old man from driving again until he’s 87.
Or maybe ever.
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Active SGV is hosting bike rides in Montebello and El Monte this Saturday.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An economist with the libertarian Hoover Institution is convinced new bike lanes on El Camino Real between Menlo Park and Sunnyvale aren’t worth the lost business during construction work and a loss of parking, because he and his wife only saw on bike rider at the exact moments they happened to go by. Never mind that bikes can be harder to see because bike lanes move riders more efficiently than traffic lanes, and that bike lanes usually result in higher retail sales.
A Florida man with a history of road rage assaults got out of his truck to threaten a 19-year old bike rider, who yelled at him about speeding, then told him to “shut the fuck up” when the driver responded by flipping him off. Thanks to Mike for the heads-up.
Writing for Cycling West, Peter Abraham says he was excited by Caltrans’ plans to install new bike lanes on deadly PCH through the ‘Bu, until he learned about the 11 to 20-year timeline — and that’s if they can get funding of up to $268 million. So we might as well get more ghost bikes and white tires ready, because we’re likely to need them before they get this damn thing fixed.
State
British adventurer Matt Garman set out from San Diego to ride across the US, with a single bag containing just one set of clothes, a cellphone and a credit card, to raise funds for a children’s charity. And that ain’t gonna protect him from any early winter weather along the way.
Huge protest in @turulromaniei ! A cow tried to enter in the peloton! 😱🐮 Fortunately no cyclist was injured, you can hear them laughing but that was REALLY close. La vaca Lola. 😂#TurulRomanieipic.twitter.com/K2woi7ftLm
Day 258 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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I got a little dose of inspiration yesterday.
My wife, the corgi and I attended the first part of SAFE’s 10th anniversary celebration yesterday evening, before we had to leave for a family commitment.
The nonprofit group known as Streets Are For Everyone was born from Damian Kevitt’s first Finish the Ride, after more than 600 people turned out to ride with him to finish what started out as a pleasant bike ride with his wife, before it was interrupted by a heartless hit-and-run driver.
But in time, it became clear that Kevitt had been struck by the driver of a van while riding on Zoo Drive, and dragged hundreds of feet onto the northbound 5 Freeway by the fleeing driver.
He freed himself from under the van by sheer force of will. And likely survived only because the trailing drivers saw what was happening and stopped to protect him, and because some of those cars has people with medical training, who began treating him at the scene before paramedics arrived.
The odds that he would survive his multiple life-threatening injuries were somewhere between slim and none. But his mother refused to give up and fought for him at every turn. And Damian’s sheer will to live was evident when he told her and his wife that he would one day finish that ride, whatever it took.
In those ten years, Damian has gone from a victim to founder of a successful organization that has spawned other traffic safety groups and shepherded a number of important bills through the state legislature, as well as memorializing victims and calling attention to our most dangerous streets.
He has become someone I truly admire and consider a good friend. And along with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider and Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, he’s one of the first people I reach out to with any bike or pedestrian safety problem that demands a solution.
We are lucky to have people and groups like that fighting for us every day.
Listening to the inspiring stories from other victims of traffic violence, along with SAFE staffers and volunteers, it coalesced in my own mind just why I do what I do, and what keeps me fighting when our mean streets and uncaring officials continue to drag me down and break my heart.
For the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, I can now sum it up in two simple sentences.
I want everyone who wants to ride a bicycle to be able to ride one, regardless of who they are or where they live.
And I want everyone who leaves home today on a bicycle to get home safely.
That’s it.
I’ll keep fighting for that as long as I have any fight in me. Sometimes I think that day was yesterday. And sometimes I think I’m just getting started.
One other note before we move on.
One of the speakers yesterday described how he was struck by a driver and badly injured just five months after moving to Los Angeles. And yesterday’s CicLAvia was the first time he had ridden a bike in this city since.
It was a reminder just how important CicLAvia and other open streets events like Beach Streets in Long Beach, and Active Streets in the San Gabriel Valley, are to all of us.
Because without them, many people in the this car-choked megalopolis wouldn’t ride bikes again.
Or at all.
Top photo: Damian Kevitt speaking at SAFE 10th Anniversary event.
And it’s important to note that Linton’s lawsuit is a personal matter, unrelated to his work for Streetsblog.
In a very narrow ruling, the judge concluded that Metro could join the suit, but could only focus on the Vermont case, and not any other possible cases.
In the discussion in court, the judge engaged Metro’s lawyers regarding how expansive this case would be. Metro’s earlier filing noted that my lawsuit “attacked” Metro’s authority to build “the Vermont Project and other Metro projects.” The judge asked Metro’s lawyer if it was ok to strike references to other projects, and just focus on Vermont. Metro’s lawyer agreed. Towards the end of the discussion, the judge summarized that this trial would focus on one project on Vermont, and that another day could focus on another project on, for example, Western or Alameda
That’s it for now.
Going forward, Metro will undoubtedly argue that HLA is a city ordinance that does not apply to them as a county agency, while Linton’s attorneys will argue that Metro is working for the city on a city project, on a city street included in the city mobility plan.
It will be interesting to see how this develops from here.
Although I’m not sure if they were more appalled because of the Instagram posts or the gender identity of the person behind them.
I haven’t commented about the shooting here because it falls outside of the scope of this site.
But as someone who lived through the killings of both Kennedys and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the attempted assassinations of Presidents Ford and Reagan, and the near-fatal shooting of Alabama Governor George Wallace, I can attest that no good ever comes from political violence.
And you can’t kill an idea, good or bad, with a bullet.
Known for high-performance gear and a culture-first approach, the company’s MAAP LaB Los Angeles landed on iconic Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, their eighth location outside of Australia.
According to StupidDope, it’s designed to be a creative hub for bicyclists and creatives.
At its heart lies a social coffee bar, an anchor point meant to bring riders together before and after their rides. It’s more than a retail space; it’s a venue where cyclists and Venice locals alike can gather, share stories, and connect over a shared passion for performance and design. This approach reflects MAAP’s “Life Around Bikes” philosophy — a reminder that cycling culture is about more than the ride itself.
They’re not the first to try that approach.
And Abbot Kinney is littered with the gravesites of other high-end bike brands who thought they had a “can’t miss” concept in the ideal location.
The victim, identified as 39-year old Wilmington resident Andrew Rodriguez, was crossing Grand Ave at Fairhaven Ave when he was struck by a southbound driver around 11:35 pm.
Rodriguez died at the scene, despite the efforts of officers and paramedics. The driver, 26-year old Santa Ana resident Vanessa Anahi Picenavalos, was arrested for DUI.
Anyone with information is urged to call Santa Ana Police Detective K. Briley at 714/245-8215, or the Traffic Division of the Santa Ana Police Department at 714/245-8200.
This is at least the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Orange County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Andrew Rodriguez and his loved ones.
#SantaAnaPD#PressRelease Fatal DUI Traffic Collision – Vehicle v. Bicyclist (August 28, 2025) – A 39 year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle while riding his bicycle in the area of 2500 N. Grand Avenue.
August 1, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on WeHo: It ain’t the drivers it’s the roads, bike rider busted for being nervous, and maybe LA is better than we think
Day 212 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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He gets it.
In a WeHo Times op-ed, 23-year old community organizer Nick Renteria argues that the city is one of the most dangerous in the state when it comes to traffic violence.
As evidenced by the recent hit-and-run deaths of Erica Edwards and Blake Ackerman on Sunset Blvd and Fountain Ave, respectively.
But not, he says, because there is something inherently worse about the city’s drivers, but because the streets are “designed facilitate high traffic flow at the cost of our safety.”
And what’s standing in the way of progress isn’t a lack of evidence, it’s inaction.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
As Renteria says,
Imagine a Sunset Boulevard where people stroll safely beneath the billboards. A Santa Monica Boulevard where outdoor dining isn’t drowned out by speeding cars. A Fountain Avenue where no one has to fear crossing the street or riding a bike.
Imagine a city where Erica and Blake’s deaths are the last. Where we finally say: enough.
We’ve imagined it for years. Now let’s do something about it.
After all, why would anyone look nervous when confronted by armed, masked men who may not have worn anything identifying themselves as officers.
The Mexican national now finds himself facing deportation, and charged with a misdemeanor count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, because he tried to run away and tried to break free from them.
I probably would have done exactly the same thing if I was confronted by a bunch of armed men in masks.
According to the site, Los Angeles is actively investing in innovations to reduce traffic congestion, ranging from subway expansions to new bikeways, including a new transcontinental high-speed rail expected to ope as soon as next year.
Which really would be a secret.
And speaking of secrets, here’s what they have to say about the state of bicycling in the City of Angeles.
Biking in L.A. is on the rise, with new bike trails and bike-friendly upgrades popping up across the city. From coastal paths to urban corridors like the new Rail-to-Rail route, it’s getting easier, safer, and more fun to explore L.A. on two wheels.
Which is kinda true, depending on just where you look.
Although the impression it gives doesn’t exactly align with the reality most of us experience on the streets.
Twenty-eight-year old Colden Kimber was waiting with his girlfriend when he saw a man harassing the group and stepped between them, only to be fatally stabbed in the neck in what was described as a “completely and utterly unprovoked” attack.
Kimber was a member of the city’s Dolce Vita Cycling team and was a skilled mechanic at American Cyclery, while studying kinesiology at San Francisco State University.
The suspect, 29-year old Sean Collins, has been charged with murder; he was already facing charges for vandalism and burglary, as well as resisting an officer.
Bedford, England has lifted its draconian ban on bike riding through the town center, but only after thousands of people were “aggressively” fined for the simple crime of riding a bicycle; new rules target “dangerous” bicycling rather than responsible riding.
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Local
Pasadena police will conduct yet another of the region’s bicycle and pedestrian safety operations today; while the purpose is to improve safety for people walking or biking, police are required to enforce any violation that could put either group at risk, regardless of who commits it. So ride to the letter of the law until cross the city limits to make sure you’re not the one who gets written up.
Of course not. An English man denies he was responsible for killing a 54-year old woman competing in a cycling time trial while he was driving a commercial van, despite allegedly looking a photos of a family barbecue on his cellphone seconds before the crash, then telling police he never saw her because he was too busy looking for his drink bottle.
Momentum looks at Trondheim, Norway’s pavement-embedded bicycle lift that pushes bike riders uphill at a steady walking pace, and recommends a handful of hills in North America where it would help encourage more people to ride.
July 29, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Blaming bad drivers for the real problem on our roads, teaching a sainted pope to ride a bike, and ICE-y bike lanes in DTLA
Day 210 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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He gets it.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, a Colorado auto and traffic safety writer says it’s long past time to address the real problem behind the 845,000 deaths on American roadways.
The poorly trained drivers behind the wheel.
Approximately 94 percent of car crashes involve some form of driver behavior like speeding, distraction, failing to yield or DUI identified as a contributing factor, although this doesn’t mean the driver is always solely responsible — bad roads, confusing or obscured signage, wildlife darting into the road, mechanical failures and other factors play their part, too.
But mostly, the problems lie with us. We aren’t very good drivers. And there is a potential solution: better driver training. If we can fix bad driving, at least partially, we can save thousands of lives.
Although he adds that better eduction of drivers can only do so much to lower the appalling death rate on our roads.
It would be wonderful to lower the death rate from 30,000 deaths a year to 25,000 or 20,000. I don’t think anyone thinks we’re going to get to zero. Some people will just be rotten drivers all their lives, and others will always ignore the rules.
But if we change the narrative and empower people to drive safely and skillfully, that’s a start.
On Saturday, with Rapha Los Angeles, we honored Marvin Cortez, who was killed by a speeding driver in the Santa Monica mountains in June. Together with his wife, family, and friends, we placed a ghost bike at the site. More here:https://t.co/k2jcYe4XNYhttps://t.co/Huvk28RtFR
Electrek calls ebike rebate programs a rare win-win offering cleaner air, less traffic and more mobility for people who need it most, as more cities and states provide them.
A new study from an Arizona law firm shows that North Dakota paid the highest dollar cost for bicycling deaths at $14,177 per 1,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, followed by Alaska, Montana and South Dakota. Although the story doesn’t explain how they calculated that cost, and doesn’t provide a link to the study.
The New York Times “Wellness Around the World” series joins pre-dawn bicycle “trains” in Bogota, Columbia, as groups of up to 100 riders join together for protection against thieves and get their days off to a great start.
July 25, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Three WeHo/Hollywood hit-and-runs within 10 blocks and 20 days, and road-raging driver runs down Fullerton bike rider
Day 206 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
The victim, who was just riding his bike home from work, was lucky to escape serious injury, despite being sent flying off his bike.
That was the driver’s second attempt at running him down. The first came when the driver swerved at him from behind and missed.
He was more successful in his second attempt, after apparently turning around and cutting across traffic lanes to target the victim from the other side of the road.
Fullerton police are looking for as a red two-door car, possibly a Dodge Challenger, and hoping to find security video showing the car’s license plate,
Anyone with information is urged to call the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6800.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. Yucatán Magazine says bike lanes in Mérida, capital of the Mexican state, are showing mixed results after three years, with some people using them while others still bike in the traffic lanes, while suggesting the mere presence of the lanes contribute to greater traffic congestion. No, too many cars are the cause of traffic congestion. And of course people still ride in traffic lanes if bike lanes don’t take them where they need to go.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
The Pasadena Planning Commission unanimously voted to turn North Lake Ave into a new Old Pasadena, with plans calling for wider sidewalks, landscaped medians, a comprehensive streetscape strategy, and new bicycle facilities. Which could mean anything from physically protected bike lanes to a few random bike racks.
Westlake Village became the latest city to join in on the rush to crack down on ebikes, banning all electric micromobility devices from virtually everywhere but city streets, while allowing sheriff’s deputies to ensure compliance, but “only during lawful stops.” Well, that’s comforting.
State
Fullerton’s 3rd Annual Christmas in July Bike Ride will roll through the city’s streets tomorrow, with Santa Claus trading in his sleigh for a mountain bike. Please pass along my wish for Santa that someone will find the road-raging SOB who ran down that Fullerton bike rider, and lock his ass up for a damn long time.
An op-ed in the Guardian says the bicycle is an important part of Ireland’s past, and Irish cyclist Ben Healy’s brief time in the Tour de France’s yellow jersey can inspire a revival of bike riding in the country.
Reuters says Australian Ben O’Connor “stormed to a sensational victory,” on yesterday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France, his “eyes blazing with determination,” as he “launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze.” Well, okay then.
After becoming the first African man or woman to win a Monument, Kim Le Court reflected on her unusual entry to the sport, taking it up because her parents and brothers were bicyclists, after first trying tennis, golf, touch rugby and soccer.
“We need to be thinking about this from every angle, from the way we design vehicles, to what safety features are in vehicles, to employing technology like speed cameras across the state in a thoughtful way, to driver’s education,” she (Friedman) said.
Friedman also commended West Hollywood and other cities for implementing safer traffic measures, calling the increase in fatal collisions a “public health crisis.”
Because a public health crisis is exactly how we need to be looking at traffic violence. Just like we should consider gun violence, but don’t.
In both cases.
The paper also quotes Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, founder Damian Kevitt citing a “shocking” increase in traffic violence in the city of just 34,000 people.
Kevitt also cited the problem of drivers fleeing following a crash because the penalties for hit-and-run are more lenient than for DUI.
“That is a huge factor and that is where the law needs to catch up,” he said.
Kevitt added that reducing traffic congestion by adding surface area on streets has not been successful in Los Angeles and that using alternative means of transportation is a more effective way of reducing vehicle congestion.
However, we’re not likely to reduce congestion until people feel safer using other forms of transportation on those congested streets.
Because the hit-and-run alert programs for both Los Angeles and California were copied from Colorado’s successful program, which itself was based on the very successful program patterned after the Amber alert system that originated in Denver.
The only difference is they use it, and we don’t. Which just might have something to do with why Colorado solved every felony hit-and-run in 2022, while only around 20% ever get solved in California.
Or maybe they just care enough to devote the resources necessary to solve them, and the cops and elected leaders out here don’t.
A Hollywood judge will now determine whether a 62-year old Pasadena man will stand trial for killing his wife, dismembering her and stuffing her remains in a suitcase, then taking his bicycle on a train, riding his bike to North Figueroa and setting the suitcase on fire in a Home Depot parking lot, after his attorney questioned the man’s mental competency. Gee, ya think?
Burbank unveiled its draft Safer Street action plan, including plans for traffic calming measures on nine separate streets; you can weigh in at the August 12th city council meeting.
Just like West Hollywood last weekend, nearly 100 people in San Rafael gathered outside City Hall Monday evening to honor a “beloved husband, coach and cyclist” who was killed while riding his bike last month, and demand that the city fix the dangerous intersection where he was was run down by a driver.
A Canadian woman just set new Guinness World Records for the fastest speed on a Penny Farthing by a woman at 25.93 mph, and the fastest women’s one kilometer on a Penny Farthing. But bikes like that have only been around for 150 years, so no big deal.
