Evidently, the angry drivers in Playa del Rey have made themselves heard.
CD 11 Councilmember Mike Bonin took the unusual step of offering a public apology to people inconvenienced by the road diets in Playa del Rey, while announcing steps to alleviate their anger.
Hopefully, anyway.
Bonin announced an agreement with LA County Commissioner Janice Hahn that will allow “free or affordable” street parking in the county parking lot at Dockweiler Beach, enabling the city to eliminate street parking on Vista del Mar and restore the street to two lanes in each direction.
The city had moved parking to the beach side of the street after being warned by the City Attorney that it would face continued liability if people had to cross the busy roadway after parking on the opposite side, after paying out $9.5 million for the death of a 16-year old girl in 2015.
He also announced the formation of a Playa del Rey Road Safety Task Force, made up of both supporters and opponents of the lane reduction projects, charged with finding solutions to traffic safety problems in the area.
Maybe now the people opposed to the project will take a breath and calm down a little.
And while they’re at it, maybe the city can remove those nonexistent bike lanes that opponents keep insisting were the reason for the road diet on Vista del Mar.
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While Bonin is focused on saving lives by implementing Vision Zero, CD1’s “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo appears intent on keeping his nickname intact, and his district dangerous.
Cedillo filed a motion with the city council (scroll down) that would make a handful of pedestrian safety improvements, while gutting Vision Zero by halting all “road diets, lane removals and/or lane reductions” in his district without his personal stamp of approval.
This comes after his earlier failed attempt to get the council to remove all the bike lanes planned for his entire district from the city’s mobility plan.
The question is whether he really hates bike riders that much. Or if he just lacks Bonin’s courage to face up to angry drivers.
Or more likely, both.
Thanks to Bike the Vote LA for the heads-up.
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A California appellate court rules that the basic speed law applies to conditions inside the vehicle as well as outside.
And that the appropriate speed when driving with a cigarette in one hand and a cellphone in the other, with no hands on the steering wheel, is zero.
Thanks to Jonathan Weiss for the link.
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Sad news, as former two-time European cycling champ Reg Arnold passed away at age 92.
An Op-Ed in Cycling Tips says when the press goes soft on doping, it only serves to normalize it.
Bicycling list seven sort-of-bold predictions for next year’s Tour de France.
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Local
Work is under way on a much-needed new community plan for Hollywood, including plans to make Hollywood Blvd, Edgemont Street, Finley Avenue, Rowena Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard more bike and pedestrian friendly.
CiclaValley says Vancouver could be a model for Los Angeles.
An anti-growth columnist in Santa Monica says build more affordable housing — somewhere else. And uses kids, the disabled and the elderly as an excuse to maintain the city’s failed auto-centric policies. Never mind that kids, the disabled and older people benefit from walkable, bikeable streets as much as anyone, if not more. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.
The Acorn profiles the Conejo Valley’s coed, all-level Stonehaus Cycling Club, established by the founder of what would become the Amgen Tour of California.
State
Laguna Beach unveils new stairs leading to the beach, complete with bike parking.
The bikelash has spread to San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood, where merchants would rather have a few dozen parking spaces than business from customers who arrive by bike, and residents can’t figure out what those bicycle symbols on the street mean. Here’s a thought — if bike lanes and sharrows confuse you, either find out what the hell they are or park your car, and leave it there. Permanently.
The bike-riding San Diego man accused of murdering four homeless men has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The annual week-long Big Bear Cycling Festival begins this Sunday.
I want to be like him when I grow up. A 69-year old Cambria cyclist has done a century ride every month for 100 months, and plans to keep it up until he’s 70.
A allegedly drunk Harley rider plowed into a group of up to 20 Fresno cyclists on a club ride Monday evening, sending three riders to the hospital with major injuries; the motorcyclist faces a pair of felony DUI charges. Hats off to the Fresno Bee for getting it right by reporting the victims were wearing helmets, but that those weren’t enough to keep them safe.
This is who we share the roads with. An 18-year old Fresno woman faces multiple felony counts for the fatal DUI crash that took the life of her sister, which she livestreamed as it happened.
A San Francisco ride will follow the route of the original, two-day AIDS Ride over 30 years ago.
National
Tillamook OR tries a bike lane protected by angled parking to give riders adequate road space. Although judging by the photo, there’s not much left after drivers nose over the limit line.
Washington state has banned handheld cellphones while driving, or even resting your hand on a phone at a red light. But doesn’t do anything about hands-free cellphone use, which studies show is just as dangerous.
Bicyclists in Colorado Springs CO have noticed an increase in angry and dangerous drivers in recent years.
No surprise here. A new Wisconsin study shows that investing in infrastructure and policies to encourage bicycling and walking results correlates with improved bike and pedestrian safety. And not doing it correlates to worse safety figures.
New Hampshire Public Radio discusses the state of cycling in the Granite State.
Boston unveils a new Vision Zero website that allows people to individually report safety concerns pinpointed on a crowdsourced map.
An Op-Ed in the New York Daily News says lay off ebikes — which are bizarrely banned in the city — and target reckless cars. But even when they get it right, they get it wrong — cars aren’t reckless, their drivers are.
International
Columbian pro golfer Camilo Villegas is one of us, taking advantage of his “obsessive cycling disorder” to deal with stress. So evidently, cycling is the new golf, and golf is the new cycling.
Kelly Ripa is one of us, running into a bear as she rides with her family in British Columbia.
A parking cop in Toronto takes to Twitter to embarrass people who park in bike lanes. And it works.
A Toronto Op-Ed says pedestrians take precedence in complete communities, and more young people are choosing to forgo driving in favor of walking, biking and transit.
Campaigns to get more British women bicycling have paid off, with nearly three-quarter of a million more women riding than in 2013.
A man in the UK rode his bicycle three days to attend a court hearing on a charge of riding his bike on a freeway, and pled guilty to avoid another three-day trip back for a trial. Pro tip: If police try to stop you for a traffic violation, probably best not to tell them to fuck off, and refer to them by a slang term for female genitalia.
An Aussie rider says you get what you give, so don’t be the jerk who runs a red light on his bike.
Finally…
One more reason you should do your cycling outside. If you’re going to steal a high-end racing bike, at least dress for the part.
And who needs a moving van when you’ve got a bicycle?
