Tag Archive for West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition

The late Sam Rubin was one of us, state officials just tinker with PCH safety, and drivers want all of WeHo streets

May 13, 2024 / / Comments Off on The late Sam Rubin was one of us, state officials just tinker with PCH safety, and drivers want all of WeHo streets
Just 234 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re still stuck on 1,131 signatures, so don’t stop now! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until she meets with us! 

Photo from the Sam Rubin Wikipedia page.

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My apologies for another unexcused absence. 

Caring for my wife and her broken shoulder 24/7, along with suddenly becoming the sole caretaker for the corgi — never mind dealing with my own ever-growing health problems — leaves me with a very small window to work each day. 

And writing about a pair of fallen bicyclists Thursday night, as important as that was, took up all the time I had available to work. 

I’d like to say it won’t happen again, but it probably will until we get all this crap sorted out.

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Larry Kawalec forwards news that longtime KTLA-5 entertainment reporter Sam Rubin was one of us.

Rubin took pride in organizing the station’s team for the annual MS 150 Bay to Bay Bike Tour, which raises funds to find a cure for multiple sclerosis.

He died unexpectedly on Friday from a rumored cardiac arrest. Sam Rubin was 64.

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State transportation officials unveiled a new traffic safety campaign for PCH in Malibu, urging drivers to “Go Safely.”

The Go Safely PCH initiative calls for increased traffic enforcement, enhanced infrastructure and a public awareness campaign, with California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin saying “it signifies a collective effort to ensure the safety of all travelers along this iconic corridor.”

Although that “enhanced infrastructure” is little more than paint, with the state applying $4.2 million worth of lane separators, crosswalk striping, more visible road striping, speed limit markings, more speed limit and curve warning signs, pavement upgrades, bike lanes and pedestrian access, reaching from the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica to the Ventura County line.

And as we all know, a little bit of paint and road signs urging people to drive safely is all it takes to bring bad driver behavior and traffic violence screeching to a halt.

Right?

While there may be some modest benefit to the program, it represents a continuation of the state’s policy of just tinkering at the edges, investing as little money and effort as possible to do something to improve safety without inconveniencing all those people cruising down the highway in their hermetically sealed vehicles.

When what’s actually needed is a wholesale re-imagination of the deadly corridor, which is currently engineered to encourage speeding, to turn it into Malibu’s commercial Main Street and beachfront byway, instead of a highway designed to maximize throughput and funnel as many cars through as quickly as possible.

Adding a little more paint, posting more speed limit signs and urging drivers to “Go Safely” is the least they can do.

Which, sadly, is the most they ever seem to do.

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A West Hollywood website seems to blame the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition for upcoming bike-friendly improvements to the city’s streets.

According the WeHo Online Community News, the city is moving forward with “highly controversial plans to install protected bicycle lanes on Fountain Avenue, Willoughby Avenue, Gardner Avenue and eventually Santa Monica Boulevard, at the cost of increased vehicle congestion and a loss of street parking.”

As if city officials had somehow just rubber stamped the coalition’s “wish list,” without determining whether the changes were actually needed or wanted.

Anyone who has tried to ride in or through the city is undoubtedly aware that cars and the people in them currently dominate the lion’s share of the city streets, with a few relatively minor and mostly unsafe exceptions.

Adding protected bike lanes and other safety improvements simply rebalances the equation to provide safe spaces for people outside of car, while improving safety for everyone on the street. Yet still largely maintaining the current automotive hegemony.

But evidently, they just want all the streets themselves, and the hell with anyone else.

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A new report concludes that 8% of deaths among homeless people in Los Angeles was due to traffic violence.

The only real surprise is that the number is so low.

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Burbank is planning a series of overnight road closures through June 3rd to build a new protected bike lane.

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Gravel Bike California offers a video recap of the recent Sea Otter Classic in Monterey.

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It’s now 143 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 35 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats included a modest $3 million in the state budget for ebike vouchers covering up to 90% of the purchase price, which Republicans somehow concluded is “off the rails.”

Residents of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard can get a rebate for up to 90% off the cost of an ebike.

Connecticut is considering a lottery for their next round of ebike vouchers, anticipating that demand for the vouchers will far outstrip supply. Which makes a hell of a lot more sense than California’s plan to start and stop the voucher program every two months to allow them to better mismanage it.

And in news that really shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s paying attention, a British Columbia study shows that ebike rebates really do reduce motor vehicle usage.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Sacramento bicyclists are complaining about drivers illegally using a ten-mile long bike path, in an apparent attempt to bypass traffic; local residents say they see an average of seven motorists using the path each day, including a recent truck driver.

No bias here. British actor Nigel Havers claimed that “no cars go through a red light,” while “every cyclist does.” A bizarre assertion that’s demonstrably false on both counts, apparently based on the extensive knowledge of traffic safety he gained starring in Chariots of Fire. 

Speaking of disgruntled British actors, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg posted a video that may or may not have been an attempt at humor, showing himself passing bike riders as he drives, while telling bicyclists to “fuck off,” “get out of the way,” “just because you can ride two-abreast, doesn’t mean you fucking have to”, and to “get out of the middle of the fucking road, dopey”. And to think I used to like that potty mouthed son of a mother. 

No bias here, either. The British press is on a rampage over the more than 30 pedestrians killed by bicyclists over the past decade, calling for a new law to criminalize dangerous bicycling, as if the current laws against it aren’t enough. Although calling people riding bicycles on the sidewalk “terrorists” just needlessly diminishes the meaning of the word, at a time when people are literally dying because of it. And just wait until someone tells them about the 17,052 people killed by drivers in the UK over the same period. 

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Quebec mother blames bike lanes and scofflaw bicyclists after her four-year old daughter was “assaulted” by a woman riding a bicycle, who apparently ignored the stop signs on a school bus, and slammed head on into the little girl as she crossed the bike lanes to get to her bus.

Then again, Londoners may have some reason for concern after all, after a dog walker in the city’s Regent Park suffered multiple skull fractures to her eye socket, jawbone and cheekbone, as well as musculoskeletal injuries, when she was struck by a speeding bicyclist who strayed onto the wrong side of the road to pass a car, at the same spot where another bike rider had killed an 81-year old woman.

The Daily Mail bizarrely asserts that all drivers observe the 20 mph speed limit, while bicyclists routinely ignore it; one bike rider was clocked doing 32 mph. Maybe British drivers are different, but the idea that all, or even most, drivers in the US routinely observe any speed limit would be laughable. 

Meanwhile, a British columnist insists that when he rides a bike, he does everything right, just like he does when he’s driving. But all those other bad, bad bike riders should have to wear numbered plates, and face a new law criminalizing scofflaw bicyclists, who he claims are “even more touchy as a group than almost any other I can think of.”

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Local 

This is who we share the road with. Three young people were killed, and three others critically injured — and a vacant Pasadena building virtually demolished — when the driver lost control after running a red light and slammed into the building, while traveling at least twice the posted speed limit.

Santa Monica’s Sundays Cycles bike shop was vandalized because of the Israeli flag the owner hung in the window following the October 7th Hamas attack, as someone wrote “Free Palestine” across the window. Although I’d hesitate to call a little easy-to-remove graffiti “vandalism,” whether or not you disagree with the sentiment. 

A 35-year old Compton woman faces multiple charges for the alleged drunken Long Beach hit-and-run that killed a 17-year old boy riding a scooter on Orange Street and South Street.

 

State

Calbike condemns the governor’s draconian cuts to the state’s Active Transportation Program, arguing that, despite the state’s massive $40+ billion budget deficit, there is no deficit in the transportation budget. And never mind that Gov. Newsom could maintain programs aimed at reducing climate change, while actually furthering the state’s climate goals, by cutting highway funding, instead.  

Bakersfield bicyclists are forming an all-volunteer Kern River Bike Patrol, to “promote safety, offer an informed trail presence, trailside information, bike safety advice, flat tire assistance and simple bike repair, as well as first aid skills and other assistance” along the popular bike path on the river’s banks.

 

National

Consumer Reports recommends the best ebike-specific bike helmets.

People recaps the twists and turns of the unsolved murder of Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew, who disappeared four years ago after leaving on a Mother’s Day bike ride; her body was found in September, 50 miles from her home, with traces of an animal tranquilizer in her system.

This is your chance to bike New York’s famed Watkins Glen race track, with an all-too-brief two hour window this Wednesday.

The emotional husband of fallen bicyclist and foreign diplomat Sarah Debbink Langenkamp celebrated the passage of a new Maryland law passed in her memory, which imposes a fine up to $2,000 and two months behind bars for killing someone riding in a bike lane.

 

International

A columnist for Cycling Weekly says people who don’t ride bikes think there’s something wrong with us, and imagine we’re a strange breed, even to our close friends.

Life is cheap in Ontario, where a speeding driver walked with a lousy $2,000 fine and six month’s probation for killing an 81-year old man riding his bike to a weekly gathering with his family.

The UK’s transportation secretary is considering a ban on floating bus stops, which could preclude building segregated bike paths.

Belgian Royal Antwerp soccer star Eliot Matazo killed an 85-year old bike rider in a collision, after the victim allegedly ran a red light.

 

Competitive Cycling

After nine stages, Tadej Pogačar continues to lead the Giro, with a two minute 40 second margin, with Daniel Martinez second and Geraint Thomas a surprising third, after Olav Koolj of the Netherlands took the stage win.

Costa Rican pro Andrey Amador was lucky to escape with a broken ankle and foot when a truck driver ran over hit foot and destroyed his bike, after he slipped on gravel on a training ride in Spain.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to break into Drake’s home, don’t leave your bike behind — and if you do, don’t come back to get it later. Now you, too, can pedal a propeller to push you through the water like a human torpedo; thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

And that feeling when you have to wear a bike helmet to a tennis match to avoid getting bonked in the head with a water bottle.

Again.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

8 years for Sebastopol killer drunk driver, permanent Slow Streets in K-town and Hollywood, and WeHo bike ride tonight

June 1, 2022 / / Comments Off on 8 years for Sebastopol killer drunk driver, permanent Slow Streets in K-town and Hollywood, and WeHo bike ride tonight

That’s more like it.

A Sabastopol vintner got a well-deserved eight years behind bars for the drunken crash that killed one man, and cost a 12-year old boy his leg as they were riding their bikes.

Although he’s likely to get out in a fraction of that time. But still.

Twenty-eight-year old Ulises Valdez Jr. was nearly twice the legal alcohol limit at the time of the crash.

The victims didn’t know each other and weren’t riding together. They just had the misfortune of sharing the road with someone too drunk to drive his massive pickup.

Valdez operated the Sebastopol-based Valdez Family Winery, which was founded by his late father.

Thanks to fartyshart for the heads-up. Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

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LADOT is installing permanent Slow Streets in Hollywood and Koreatown. But somehow, they can’t seem to say where.

Maybe it’s a secret.

And no, the answer isn’t in the link.

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The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition is hosting a bike ride through the city this evening.

Streetsblog says the ride will explore a pilot project to make Willoughby Ave safer for bike riders and pedestrians.

Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from longtime bike advocate Jon Riddle, who writes looking for volunteers for a Culver City Pride Ride at the end of this month.

I’m writing to share a volunteer opportunity that BikinginLA’s readers might be willing to support. I am working with Jim Shanman and Walk ‘n Rollers, assisting Culver City Pride in producing its Pride Ride & Rally on June 26th (see Culver City Pride for more information on the event). Last year we had well over 100 turn out for Pride Ride and this year we are expecting at least 300 cyclists of all ages and skill levels. The ride is modest—about 6 miles long, through flat, quiet Culver City neighborhoods. That said, we can really use a few more experienced riders to help keep cyclists safe and rolling along. Training ride leaders, ride marshals and experienced cyclists would be perfect.

We welcome anyone willing to lend a hand to sign up at the event’s volunteer page here.

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You never know what you’ll see when you ride a bike.

Even in the middle of Los Angeles.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1531778956352888834

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Megan Lynch argues that UC Davis doesn’t deserve its platinum bike-friendly status if it can’t keep students and faculty safe.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1531784703874805760

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Even baseball mascots get it.

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GCN puts an ebike to the test on Italy’s legendary Stelvio Pass to see if it can help average bicyclists make it to the top of the 9,000-foot hors catégorie climb.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A petition is calling for the BBC to fire radio host Jeremy Vine for posting video showing a grocery truck driver pass within a few inches of a bike-riding cop in hi-viz, insisting the driver did nothing wrong because he didn’t leave his lane — even though the cop could have been killed.

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Local

The new home of West Hollywood’s Bike Shop LA may not be long for this world, after plans were announced for a small mixed-use tower at the location.

 

State 

Ventura announced a two-year, $5 million project to improve the Ventura River Trail.

Ojai property owners are being asked to voluntarily relinquish part of their sidewalks for new bike lanes and other safety improvements on Ojai Avenue, with the threat of eminent domain hanging over the holdouts.

Sad news from Goleta, where an 80-year old man was killed in a fall off his bike.

A 60-year old Bay Area man went carfree after trading in his minivan for a thousand dollar clean air credit, and now loves riding his cargo bike to Costco.

Road.cc suggests San Francisco should be the destination for Brits who want to ride hills.

 

National

A self-described bike expert lists the seven cycling skills you need to master. Most of which you actually don’t, though they could come in handy, depending on how you ride.

Electrek highlights nearly a dozen ebikes that got their start on Indiegogo, including Rad Power Bikes and LA’s own Cero.

Your next tandem bike could be carved from wood and stronger than steel.

Inc. says Peloton is sinking under the weight of its own exercise bikes, and needs to transform itself to focus on its affluent subscriber base.

Nice review in The Atlantic of Jody Rosen’s book Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle, saying it proves bicycles may be the one thing we all have in common.

The Salt Lake Tribune questions whether Utah can handle an influx of bike-riding tourists when the state just saw its deadliest month for bicyclists in its history.

US Marshalls have told the alleged killer of Moriah “Mo” Wilson to give herself up, saying it’s just a matter of time before they find her, while warning the rest of us that Kaitlin Armstrong should be considered armed and dangerous.

A 19-year old Chicago woman is in fair condition after she was shot by a man who had been yelling at her as she rode her bike; no word on whether they knew each other, or a motive for the shooting.

Once again, an innocent bike rider has become the victim of an elderly driver, as an eight-year old Minnesota girl riding bikes with her family was injured when an 87-year old woman failed to stop, despite the flashing lights on the crosswalk they were riding in; at last report, she was hospitalized in stable condition.

A drunk hit-and-run driver faces up to 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to running down two bike-riding teenaged boys, killing one and seriously injuring the other.

A York, Pennsylvania man remains on life-support after he was beaten with his own bike earlier this month by a man who had just been released from jail; his attacker is now facing an attempted homicide charge.

 

International

Cyclist explains the mysteries of bicycle gear ratios.

A Toronto op-ed examines the jaw-dropping negligence behind the ever-increasing size off massive SUVs and pickups, with deadly consequences.

Heartbreaking news from the UK, where police settled with the family of a woman who froze to death in a cemetery after falling off her bike, because police gave up searching for her after just ten minutes without ever getting out of their car.

A new startup has begun delivering locally made e-cargo bikes to replace delivery vans in Nigeria.

 

Competitive Cycling

While we were all watching the Giro, 22-year old Belgian star Remco Evenepoel was quietly claiming his fifth win in a week.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could come from a two-time Formula 1 champ. Ride your bike through the most haunted forest in America.

And that feeling when you bet your dad he can’t balance a bicycle on top of a ladder on his chin.

And he wins.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Weekend Links: Own your own bicycle coffee café, slower driving works in Scotland, and WeHo candidate surveys

February 27, 2015 / / 3 comments

Ever want to just chuck your damn job and become self-unemployed self-employed like me?

Now you can become a bike-born coffee entrepreneur with your very own Wheelys.

No, not those kid’s shoes with a wheel in the heel.

But a full service café on wheels that folds out in just minutes to put you in the business of serving caffeine aficionados anywhere you can pedal. And it folds back down to store in the shipping container it came in, which doubles as a garage.

Think of it as your very own food truck. Without the truck.

Better yet, at just $3450, it costs less than a lot of road bikes. And less than 1% of the cost of opening your own Starbucks.

For that price, an enterprising cyclist could park one along PCH, and make enough to retire just from the riders who pass by.

Heck, I even want one.

If only to make sure I’ll have fresh coffee and Danish on my next ride.

Wheelys graphic

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As slower traffic speeds spread through Scotland, attitudes that bicycling is unsafe are changing, and more children are riding to school — jumping from 3% to 22% among older children in Edinburgh.

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Harelbeke posterThat ridiculous E3 Harelbeke poster has been banned.

As much as I hate censorship, this isn’t the way to promote bike riding to women. Or anyone but than teenage boys, for that matter.

Then again, it’s nothing new for the folks at Harelbeke.

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The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition has received candidate surveys from 10 of the 12 candidates for the city’s three at-large seats in next week’s city council election.

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Still more bike events coming up this weekend and beyond.

Los Angeles Magazine recommends Saturday’s Chinatown Firecracker Run/Walk & Bike Ride, as does commenter Brian Nilsen.

Culver City Walk and Rollers will host a Family Fun Ride and Smart Gardening Workshop on Saturday.

UCLA’s Fowler Museum invites you to celebrate all things bicycle at the Bike Day Family Festival this Sunday.

The Santa Monica Bike Center is hosting a women-only Ladies Bike Ride for International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8th.

Zócalo and Metro host a discussion on whether Car Culture is Dead on Wednesday, March 11th at MOCA. We don’t actually have to kill car culture, just tame it.

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Local

Streetsblog asks what DTLA needs to do to get ready for bike share.

Tori Spelling teaches her unicorn-helmeted daughter how to ride a bike.

That gargantuan six-way Los Feliz mess where Hollywood Blvd, Hillhurst Ave, Sunset Blvd and Virgil Ave connect remains a challenge for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

 

State

Maybe it really is a new era at Caltrans, as the notoriously auto-centric state transportation agency releases an annual report focusing on non-motorized travel. Although, as Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry points out, calling bicycling and walking non-motorized transportation is “like calling women nonmen.”

More confirmation of a change in attitude at the agency, as the Adventure Cycling Association looks at Caltrans’ agreement to allow bike tourists to legally ride through the high desert, completing the Bike Route 66 through the state. The ACA thanks Calbike and CABO, among others, for their help in finding a solution.

The San Diego Untion-Tribune says California’s proposed mandatory helmet law doesn’t make sense on the boardwalk, while BikeSD spells out the reasons a helmet law doesn’t make sense. And Pedal Love says requiring helmets is a step in the wrong direction; better to remember it’s another person out there, whether on a bike or behind the wheel.

A Sacramento bike shop doubles as a pedal-powered delivery service for farm-to-table restaurants.

A new city report says San Francisco is dangerous but not deadly for bike riders.

 

National

A trucking website suggests bikes could be the next wave in cargo hauling.

Clean Technica says the US has built as many protected bike lanes in the last two years as it had in the previous 140 years. But what exactly did bikes have to be protected from in 1875, except maybe outraged equestrians?

Maybe the LAPD should follow Portland’s lead and establish a bike theft task force.

A Colorado House committee votes to encourage dangerous driving by banning red light and speed cameras over the objections of law enforcement agencies.

Kentucky’s best known liability lawyer is back at work after a near-fatal bicycling collision; the driver played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by saying he was blinded by the sun.

A Boston doctor says bicycling can help provide relief from migraine symptoms. Having blown chunks home more than once trying to make it back home home after developing one while riding, I can truthfully say it didn’t help me.

Credit fellow bike blogger the Witch on a Bicycle for pointing out a New York site that keeps track of cops who park in bike lanes, including here in LA.

Parking wins out over bike lanes in Princeton NJ.

 

International

Saskatoon gets its first protected bike lane this spring.

London introduces bike-friendly construction trucks loaded with safety features in an attempt to reduce bike fatalities, while a UK cyclist argues it’s safer to jump red lights, even if the cops ticket you for it.

A British woman posts a public sign demanding the return of her stolen bike.

Caught on video: A Brit bike rider jumps a railroad barricade as a train bears down on him.

A Chinese man set out on a bike ride in 1997 to explore different cultures. And he’s been cycling around the world ever since.

 

Finally…

Here’s your chance to be a star, as a British TV show is looking for a “speed freak” bicyclist to travel the world competing in local racing events, including Mongolian yak racing. You could own your very own Transformer as Ford patents plans for a car that reassembles into a bicycle.

And LA’s notorious bike thieves take it too damn far by snatching one of those new bicycle-shaped Echo Park bike racks.

I wonder if they realize it’s not really a bike.

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Not only was Leonard Nimoy one of us, but William Shatner stole his bike.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, The business of bikes / Tags: , , , , , , ,

A little this, a little that — missing NY green lane, WeHo bike workshop, SaMo bike shooting suspect

June 12, 2013 / / One comment

Just a little light reading to get you through your Wednesday.

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Remember those vivid green bike lanes that Hollywood says don’t exist anywhere else and are impossible to remove in post-production?

Evidently, not a problem in New York.

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West Hollywood will host a workshop to help overhaul their bicycle and mobility plan this Saturday. The meeting takes place starting at 9 am at the WeHo library, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd; the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition encourages anyone who rides or walks in the city to attend to help make the plan as powerful as possible,

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Sign the petition to keep the bike lanes on Westmont Drive in San Pedro; thanks to Jennifer Gill for the link.

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Santa Monica police have identified a suspect in the shooting of a bicyclist last Sunday. Oddly, they say it doesn’t appear to be related to the shooting of two men, one fatally, in the same area Tuesday morning — let alone the nearby shooting rampage on Friday.

You might want to avoid the area south of Pico Blvd in Santa Monica for awhile until things settle down.

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A 13-year old L.A. boy has been missing since he was last seen riding his bike on Sunday. Bicycle Fixation looks forward to CicLAvia on the Miracle Mile. Bike Nation is seeking a Fortune 500 company to sponsor their bike share program; I could use one of those myself. A sponsor, that is. The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee now has a Facebook page. It’s a busy bike weekend at Flying Pigeon, with a Streetsblog fundraiser on Friday, LACBC’s RideFigueroa Saturday, and a Get Sum Dim Sum ride on Sunday. A look at the World Naked Bike Ride, L.A. edition. The L.A. Sheriff’s Department is fixing unclaimed bikes — actually, the inmates are — to donate to kids throughout the county. The woman who helped put bike lanes in Rolling Hills Estates has passed away. A Sierra Madre cyclist suffers minor injuries when a motorist fails to yield; thanks to John Lloyd for the heads-up. How not to lock your bike.

More money for bike and pedestrian projects in the new state budget, but Safe Routes to School programs are at risk. Santa Ana will build two secure bike parking facilities holding a total of just 36 bikes; evidently, not many riders need secure parking down there. It seems the facts are however you spin them, as a San Francisco grand jury says the city must do more to prevent bicyclists’ deaths — but all a Bay Area website hears is a call to crackdown on scofflaw cyclists.

Nice read on being an unwitting role model for little girls. A new Tucson Walgreens didn’t eliminate a bike lane in front of the store after all. If you’re going to make your getaway by bike, try to steal one your own size. Traffic laws apply to cyclists, even in Idaho. The teams have been announced for this year’s USA Pro Challenge. Colorado man spots his stolen mountain bike on eBay, leading to the arrest of a serial bike thief. A lesson from Kansas for all drivers — don’t kill people with cars; damn good advice if you ask me. A new Cincinnati app allows cyclists to report harassment and collisions.

Brit drivers are more miserable than they’ve been in 25 years. If you really want to be seen, ride a Penny Farthing. An Irish writer demonizes cyclists — literally — in calling for greater courtesy around pedestrians. A look at bicycling in Paris. Johan Bruyneel, former sports director for Lance’s various cycling teams, denies being a demon or putting anyone’s health at risk.

Finally, a self-identifying cyclist criticizes a “small, tiny, sub-section of cyclists” — the cam-wearing, lycra-clad aggressively mentally ill subsection, evidently. Something tells me the conversation he relates may not have occurred exactly the way he tells it.

If it occurred at all.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Streets and Infrastructure, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

West Hollywood needs your help — planned La Brea bike lanes could be replaced by sharrows

February 21, 2013 / / 6 comments

I’m not a big fan of sharrows.

Yes, they have their place, providing on-street wayfinding for riders and positioning them out of the door zone, while sending a clear signal to drivers that we have a right to ride in the traffic lane.

But they don’t give us any rights to road we don’t already have, or one inch of real estate we aren’t already entitled to. And they don’t move riders out of the way of heavy traffic and impatient drivers.

The strictly vehicular crowd will tell you that sharrows are better than badly designed bike lanes that put riders in the door zone. But they are never preferable to a well-designed bike lane that safely positions riders out of traffic and away from danger.

And unlike bike lanes, sharrows do little or nothing to encourage more timid riders to take to the road.

Yet West Hollywood has decided that sharrows make more sense on heavily travelled La Brea Avenue than the long-planned bike lanes that were supposed to be installed in the next few years. And which were supposed to connect with bike lanes that will be installed on the Los Angeles portions of the street under the current bike plan.

Apparently, they’ve concluded that a wide, landscaped median that would beautify the street is more important than bike lanes that would encourage bike riding, reduce congestion and improve safety for all road users.

LACBC regional chapter West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition is leading the fight to keep bike lanes on the redesigned street. So I’ll let them take up the story from here.

Did you know that the city of West Hollywood is planning a huge redesign of La Brea Avenue? It’s is an amazing opportunity to fix a street that currently suffers from some of the worst congestion and hazardous intersections in West Hollywood. Fortunately, La Brea also enjoys a high concentration of great destinations, diverse growth, and proximity to pleasant neighborhoods. A bike lane would be an easy, inexpensive way to capitalize on West Hollywood’s easternmost assets, and effectively reduce the inconveniences of a city that’s growing by leaps and bounds.

Sound the Alarm

WeHo’s Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration incorrectly claims that LA plans to paint sharrow stencils on La Brea. But the city of LA has proposed bike lanes — not sharrows — for La Brea Ave in its 2010 bike plan.

If West Hollywood’s portion of La Brea isn’t built with connectivity to LA’s future bike lanes, it could cost a lot of money to fix — and it could even cost lives.

Follow the Existing Guidelines

As luck would have it, the city of West Hollywood has already conducted a study that calls for bike lanes on La Brea. The recommendations of the Bicycle Task Force include the installation of Class II (that is, non-buffered) bike lanes on La Brea Ave. The report was unanimously approved by City Council in December of 2011.

La Brea bike lanes are also indicated by West Hollywood’s Climate Action Plan, the General Plan, and even the request for proposals for this very project.

Wouldn’t Bike Lanes Just Slow Traffic Down?

No. It might seem counter-intuitive at first, but when done correctly, bike lanes can help move traffic along faster.

How’s that? Well, bike lanes keep cyclists separated from faster-moving traffic, eliminating the need for cars to change lanes or suddenly slow down to pass bikes. They also reduce conflicts between bikes and cars at intersections. And dedicated lanes allow bikes to move safely forward through traffic, rather than swerving hazardously between stopped cars.

And of course, the biggest benefit of all: with more bike lanes, more people bike instead of drive, so there’s an overall reduction in traffic on the road.

Safety Over Aesthetics

What’s more important for La Brea: a giant landscaped median that simply looks nice, or bike lanes that can actually save residents’ lives?

There’s no argument that bike lanes will make La Brea safer for everyone — not just cyclists, but pedestrians and motorists, too.

When Long Beach installed bike lanes, bike accidents decreased by 80%, vehicle accidents decreased 44%, and sidewalk-riding decreased from 70% to 28%. LADOT’s own study showed that bike lanes can reduce accidents by 35%. That reduction isn’t just for cyclists — it also includes collisions between cars.

With numerous new pedestrian-oriented projects under construction on this already-busy street, bike lanes are an easy, cost-effective way to reduce accidents and injuries. If the street’s wide enough for a median, it’s wide enough for bike lanes.

So what can you do?

Contact the City of West Hollywood and let them know that we need bike lanes. The comment period for the Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration closes very soon: 5pm on February 28.

Send your comments here:

Donn Uyeno, P.E.
Senior Civil Engineer
City of West Hollywood Department of Public Works
8300 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel: 323-848-6457 | Fax: 323-848-6564 | Email: duyeno@weho.org

And of course, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and email newsletter to get updates on our progress with this and other projects.

West Hollywood has just one more week to get the redesigned La Brea Avenue right the first time. So take a moment to take a stand for a safer, complete bike network that would benefit everyone on what is currently one of the area’s busiest and most dangerous streets.

I’ll be emailing them before the week is over. And I hope you’ll join me.

One other brief note.

The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition is one of the area’s most dedicated and effective groups fighting for better bicycling in the Los Angeles area. If you live or ride in West Hollywood, you owe it to yourself to get involved with them; if you’re an LACBC member, you automatically qualify for membership.

If not, what are you waiting for?

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

LAPD seeks yet another hit-and-run driver; West Hollywood is in the market for a bike plan consultant

November 25, 2012 / / One comment

Los Angeles police are looking for a driver who ran down a cyclist near USC and fled the scene, leaving him to bleed in the street.

The rider was hit by a small white car at the intersection of Vermont Ave and 36th Street around 1:30 Friday morning. The cyclist, described only as non-USC student in his 20s or 30s, suffered major non-life-threatening injuries.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD South Traffic Division at 323/421-2577.

It’s long past time to get heartless cowards like this off the streets and behind bars where they belong.

Thanks to Richard Risemberg for the heads-up.

………

The City of West Hollywood is looking for a firm to help update the city’s bike plan.

Let’s hope WeHo, self-proclaimed as The Creative City, will take a creative approach to carving out a significant chunk of street space to keep cyclists safe and encourage more people to ride. While the city has made some recent moves to accommodate bikes, it’s time to show cyclists the same welcome and tolerance they famously show everyone else.

You don’t have to do a lot of riding, walking or driving in West Hollywood to realize that the relatively compact, traffic-choked city could benefit greatly by providing more viable alternatives to driving. Aside from some steep climbs on the lower reaches of the Hollywood Hills, it is — or at least, should be — a near ideal location for promoting bicycling.

And maybe they could show the Biking Black Hole to their west how it’s done while they’re at it.

While it’s still early in the process, the best way to ensure your voice is heard in the new plan is to join the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition, an LACBC affiliate chapter that does a great job of engaging civic leaders and fighting for the rights of bike riders.

Many thanks to Matt Baume for the tip. And hey, I’m more than willing to consult, if they’re willing to waive all those technical requirements and stuff.

………

The first section of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk bike and pedestrian path is scheduled to open on December 12th. Richard Risemberg notes the new BMW of Beverly Hills bike shop. Everybody has a favorite bike shop, right? A Napa motorist faces up to one year in jail for killing a cyclist last August.

Looks like America’s only Tour de France winner is officially out of the bike business. Alta Bicycle Share is looking for a Portland-based Marketing Director. The Blackhawk CO bike ban heads to the Colorado Supreme Court. A Montana man says a local road diet was imposed by unelected D.C. bureaucrats, and implies cyclists belong on sidewalks. An Albany NY cyclist becomes collateral damage when he’s killed by a fleeing driver in a police chase. Jackson, Mississippi considers joining other local cities in requiring helmets for cyclists. An Arkansas father and minister is killed while riding in Georgia. Nice to know a Florida deputy didn’t run over a cyclist on purpose.

A fight for the leadership, and nature, of the Belize Cycling Association. Good to know Canadian drivers can kill a cyclist without doing anything wrong. UK bike scribe Carlton Reid points out that hatred of cyclists has a long, rich history. The Evening Standard asks how we can make London safe for cyclists. Seven tips for effective bike lobbying. Cyclists touring Bath, England will soon enjoy Europe’s longest cycling tunnel at over a mile long. An Edinburgh cyclist blames bad roads for a serious fall. Danish cyclists complain a new law requiring bike lights is unenforceable. How a single picture started the Cycle Chic movement. An Aussie cyclist suffers a broken collarbone when someone slaps her on the ass from a passing car.

Finally, a UK hospital receives well-deserved criticism for removing bike parking for a smoking area, even if it will result in a net increase in bike spaces. And it may not necessarily be bike related, but I love these haunting photos of Scotland in winter from my favorite Scottish novelist and bike blogger.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Evidence-hiding father Stephen Rush already out of jail; trade in your car for a bike in Woodland Hills

March 15, 2012 / / 4 comments

Dj Wheels offers a few legal updates, which I’ll try to catch up on in the next few days.

But one thing sure to get a lot of cyclists’ blood boiling is the news that Steven Rush, sentenced to a wrist-caressing 10 days in jail for helping his daughter Dominique hide evidence in the heartless hit-and-run death of 17-year old cyclist Alex Romero, is already out from behind bars.

According to Wheels, Rush was taken into custody around noon on March 6th, the day he and Dominique were both sentenced. And released less than two days later, at 6 am on March 8th.

Forty-two hours.

A virtually consequence-free Lindsey Lohan-ish spin through the judicial system.

Yeah, that will certainly send a message to anyone else considering hiding evidence of a crime.

As in go ahead. It’s no big deal. Just another dead cyclist lying in the road.

Shameful.

……..

I love this photo from UK bike blogger Karl McCracken, aka KarlOnSea, clearly demonstrating the harmful environmental effects of bicycling.

……..

Gas prices have you thinking about trading your car for a bike? Now you can.

Literally.

In a brilliant bit of guerilla marketing, Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery is partnering with a nearby car dealer to let you trade your car for a new bike. Just pick out your bike, and go across the street to have your vehicle evaluated for its trade-in value. Then pop back to the bike shop to finish the transaction and ride off on your new bike.

The offer is good next week, starting Monday the 18th and running through Sunday the 25th.

It will be interesting to see if anyone takes advantage of it. And if any of those are new to bicycling.

But either way, the shop deserves credit for using current market conditions to put their name on the map in a big way.

……..

Santa Monica Spoke reminds us of tonight’s Bikes – Ballads – Beers benefit for fellow LACBC affiliate chapter West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition at Little Bar. I won’t be able to make it, but it sounds like a damn fun — and very affordable — bike night.

……..

The USC Cycling Team invites you to join them for a benefit ride on Sunday, March 25th, offering your choice of three rides of increasing speed and difficulty, all starting at 9:30 am at Bike Effect, 910 W. Broadway in Santa Monica. The suggested $20 donation supports the 2012 USC Cycling race program.

Meanwhile, bike-friendly KCET looks at this weekend’s Wolfpack Hustle Marathon Crash Race.

……..

American Cyclist offers a remarkably one-sided look at helmet use, relying on a largely discredited study citing an 85% reduction in head injuries for riders wearing helmets.

While I am a firm believer in helmet use, they are not magic devices that will miraculously protect the wearer against all harm. They’re most effective for relatively slow speed collisions, since their design standards only dictate protection at impact speeds up to 12.5 mph. And even the best helmet will do nothing to protect against injury to any other part of the body.

Don’t get me wrong.

In over 30 years of riding, I’ve only needed my helmet once. And in that case, I’m damn glad I had it.

But let’s be honest about their limitations, and not pretend they can perform miracles.

……..

The great VC debate continues, as former advocate for Vehicular Cycling Rick Risemberg says cyclists should at least operate like vehicles around other riders. The Department of DIY strikes again, as Except Bikes placards suddenly appear on No Parking signs. Gary Kavanagh becomes an official Streetblogger. LADOT offers initial results on wayfinding input, and wants your take on biking through the Sepulveda tunnel under LAX; personally, I don’t even like driving through it. A pink bike may be the key to a murder investigation. Beverly Hills moves forward with a bike route pilot program with no discussion, at least not yet. Cal State Northridge police bust a pair of juvenile bike thieves; they must have really sucked at it to even get noticed. Lincoln Heights bike shop owners consider building a Velodrome for Eastside fixie riders. Altadena gets a five-mile bike boulevard in the new county bike plan. Women on Bikes SoCal interviews Steven Rea, author of Hollywood Rides a Bike. Long Beach will celebrate April Fools Day with a bike scavenger hunt; the city also offers the nation’s largest city-wide discount program for cyclists. Happy 104th birthday to Long Beach’s Octavio Orduno, who may be the worlds oldest living cyclist. Claremont Cyclist looks at last weekend’s Bonelli Park Pro Triple Crown, the U.S. Cup of mountain bike racing. The popular San Gabriel River bike path is getting an upgrade.

Newport Beach police with celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a crackdown on bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicle operators to promote bike safety, followed by another on the 24th; I have no problem with it as long as they focus on all violators, and not just cyclists; thanks to David Huntsman for the tip. San Diego gets a new Bayshore Bikeway, and SD riders are encouraged to help rebuild a beloved children’s bike park. The first leg of the 2012 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series will take place next week at the Redlands Bicycle Classic; nice to see women riders finally beginning to get the attention they deserve. Work has begun on a new bike path to connect North and South Camarillo under the 101 Freeway. San Francisco police ignore witnesses and insist a cyclist intentionally crashed into the back of a road raging driver, evidently believing we bike riders are so insane we often crash into cars to get the driver in trouble; maybe this is how they see us. The field is announced for this year’s Amgen Tour of California.

The Atlantic Cities asks if the bikers’ rights movement is gaining momentum, quoting both L.A. attorney Ross Hirsch and former LADOT Bike Blogger Christopher Kidd. Bike lawyer Bob Mionske compares the lack of cycling support among U.S. officials with the newly found backing from UK MPs. Will Levi’s still be in the bikewear business in two years? A Scottsdale cyclist does everything right, and still gets killed by a possibly inattentive driver. Oregon loses a bike-friendly Republican legislator. Idaho considers a three-foot passing law, while banning two-abreast riding. The hazards of biking in the Chicago suburbs. Sports Illustrated looks at rising BMG cycling scion Taylor Phinney.

After a Canadian cyclist is apparently right hooked, police blame the rider for travelling too fast on the sidewalk and not wearing a helmet; good thing drivers don’t have to take any responsibility in the Great White North. An 85-year old cyclist is critically injured by an unmarked police cruiser in bike-unfriendly Toronto; any guess how long they will take to place all the blame on the rider? A 93-year old Scot driver is charged with killing a cyclist celebrating her first anniversary. Scottish cyclists plan a mass ride on Parliament April 28th. UK rabbis declare this the Big Green Jewish Year of the Bicycle, and in an ecumenical gesture, drop in on the Archbishop of Canterbury to say hi. The Guardian asks if British bikes are worth buying — aside from Bromptons and Pashleys, of course; thanks to Evan G for the heads-up. A British solicitor says the common drivers’ excuse that a cyclist came out of nowhere is unacceptable. Surprisingly even-handed advice on how to make the road safer for Australian cyclists. Proposed stickers would warn Aussie drivers to look out for cyclists when opening their doors.

Finally, Volvo introduces a new outside airbag to protect cyclists and pedestrians; it won’t stop a distracted driver from hitting you, but it may hurt a little less. Then again, it will probably only be the most careful drivers who buy it, anyway.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
 
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