BikinginLA

Day 300 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Once again, a motor vehicle has become a weapon of mass destruction, in what sounds a lot like an intentional assault.

Even if no one is using that word yet.

According to multiple sources, four pedestrians were struck when a speeding, wrong-way driver suddenly swerved onto a busy sidewalk on Wilshire Blvd between Euclid and 14th in Santa Monica.

A man and a woman in their 60s were killed, and another two people were injured, including one who may have been in critical condition, though both were expected to survive.

Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene on foot.

Witnesses described the driver passing other vehicles on the wrong side of the road at a very high rate of speed, and repeatedly going on and off the sidewalk before the crash.

So the question remains whether this was “merely” a very dangerous driver who lost control of his car, or someone acting with murderous intent.

We may never know, unless and until the driver is caught.

But either way, it’s a prime example of what happens when a high-powered, lightly regulated machine is in the wrong hands.

By lightly regulated, I mean anyone can buy — or steal — one. And almost anyone can get a license to operate one, which is too easy to get, and too hard to lose.

And there’s nothing to stop you from continuing to drive, even if you do.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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Once again, Caltrans is ignoring their own Complete Streets policies, with an incomplete makeover of Santa Monica Blvd through Los Angeles.

The state announced a $70 million infrastructure project along two sections of Santa Monica Blvd through West LA and Hollywood to begin next year, along with another project through Echo Park on the same State Highway 2 corridor.

According to Westside Today,

The project includes pavement rehabilitation, new bus priority lanes, and accessibility improvements across three major sections:

• West Los Angeles: Santa Monica Boulevard between Centinela Avenue and the I-405 freeway.
• Hollywood: Santa Monica Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and the U.S. 101.
• Echo Park: Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard between the U.S. 101 on- and off-ramps and the SR-2 terminus.

What’s missing is any mention of bike lanes.

And while bikes are legally allowed to use bus lanes in Los Angeles, that’s not the same as providing a separate lane for bikes, which would seem to be necessitated by state and agency rules requiring them to consider the needs of all road users in any work on state highways.

Unlike Metro’s work installing bus lanes on the Vermont Ave corridor, Measure HLA doesn’t apply because this is a state highway, rather than a city-owned street. And the work is being done by a state agency, without city involvement.

There’s no actual law requiring Caltrans to build Complete Streets, after a bill to do just that failed in the legislature.

But it’s hard to argue that any work that excludes bike lanes on any portion of the Santa Monica Blvd/SR2 corridor in the City of Los Angeles has reasonably considered the needs of everyone.

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No surprise here.

A research study published in the Injury Epidemiology Journal cites the need for safer and calmer roadways, safer cars and better legislation to protect people on bicycles.

Cyclists face severe injury and death risks in both urban and rural settings. A safe system approach recognizes human vulnerability and the inevitability of mistakes. Engineering countermeasures, such as road separation, better lighting in rural areas, traffic calming, and vehicle safety features (i.e., guard rails, advanced headlights, and cyclist detection), support CMVC prevention. Public health campaigns and legislative action, along with equitable implementation across urban and rural areas, facilitate improving cyclists’ safety.

The study also notes that of the 83 people killed riding bikes, excluding children, head trauma was the most common injury across all age groups, and 62% of the victims weren’t wearing helmets.

However, they don’t say whether the victims actually died of head injuries, and whether the injuries could have been survivable, with or without one.

Until we know that, we still won’t know the true value or necessity of bike helmets.

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Long Beach is the latest coastal city considering a crackdown on ebikes.

The un-cleverly named Long Beach “E-BIKES” law (Electric Bicycle Interventions to Keep Everyone Safe) proposal cites a non-existent gap in state and federal regulations requiring the city to step in.

Except ped-assist and other relatively low-speed ebikes are required to follow the same rules as any other bicycles, while faster ebike riders must follow rules for mo-peds or motorbikes, depending on their speeds.

And off-road dirt bikes aren’t legally allowed to ride on city streets, regardless of how they’re powered.

So if there’s a gap there, I can’t see it.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has placed a bet on the Dodgers to win the World Series that will require her to ride a bike if they don’t.

Bass bet Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow that the mayor of the losing city will have to ride a bicycle wearing the other team’s jersey, with the distance determined by the run differential between the winning and losing teams.

Although any baseball fan can tell you that could be a negative figure, since the losing team could have a high margin in the games they win, and a have a close score in the ones they lose.

But it’s almost enough to make you pull for the Blue Jays, just to actually see Bass on a bike.

Almost.

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Thanks to Jim for forwarding a reminder that you can now legally ride your bicycle through a red light on the leading pedestrian interval.

And yes, that includes all-way stops.

California vehicle code allows bikes to ride through an intersection when the pedestrian signal says “walk…”

SEC. 3.

Section 21456 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

21456.

(a) If a pedestrian control signal showing the words “WALK” or “WAIT” or “DON’T WALK” or other approved symbol is in place, the signal shall indicate as follows:

(1) A “WALK” or approved “Walking Person” symbol means a pedestrian facing the signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal, but shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that signal is first shown. Except as otherwise directed by a bicycle control signal described in Section 21456.3, the operator of a bicycle facing a pedestrian control signal displaying a “WALK” or approved “Walking Person” symbol may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal, but shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicles or pedestrians lawfully within the intersection.

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Megan forwards a video from British TV with this description.

    Actor, writer, director Richard Ayoade is now so known for riding a Brompton (he rides it to the local London studio filmings he works on), that the most recent episode of The Last Leg is the SECOND time a show has “stolen” his Brompton as a bit of comedy for the show.

When they give it back to him on show, he actually unfolds it on camera, and rides off. The audience applauds the quick unfolding.

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

Motorbike-riding British bike thieves are using axes now to steal bicycles, in a country where guns are hard to get. And frankly, if I had to choose which one might be used on me, I’d take the gun.

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

No bias here. A London reporter took to the city’s streets to record edited video of bicyclists putting pedestrians at risk by jumping red lights and riding on the sidewalk. Which is bad enough, but just wait until someone tells them about cars.

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Local 

As usual, rides will be free on Metro on next Tuesday’s Election Day, including Metro Bike rides.

Pasadena’s Water & Power Department will offer ebike rebates up to $1,000 to local residents. Which compares rather favorably to LA’s $0 rebates.

Pasadena residents were expected to turn out for the three-mile the Wilson Avenue Greenway Walk, to demonstrate the city’s efforts to improve walking and biking conditions across the 210 Freeway.

 

State

The San Diego Union-Tribune continues their multi-part series on the rise of ebikes — but you have to get pretty far into it before they distinguish between ped-assist bikes and electric motorbikes.

San Diego expected 3,000 people to turn out for CicloSDias, the city’s equivalent of CicLAvia, closing down two miles of streets to motor vehicles and inviting businesses to set up in the street.

An 84-year old Simi Valley man suffered life-threatening injuries when he allegedly swerved his ebike into the side of a car, and was thrown off; police note that he wasn’t wearing a helmet, without saying whether he suffered a head injury. Because we all know the driver couldn’t possibly swerved into his bike, especially if they were the only witness. Although you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall if you want to read it. 

Oakland is finally removing telephones from the sidewalk-level bike lane on Fruitvale Ave.

 

National

Portland will install whimsical artwork from a contest involving everyone from kids to adults directly onto the pavement on bike paths and greenways.

That’s how you do it. Seattle took a dilapidated roadway uncomfortably shared by truckers and bicyclists, and turned it into a three-lane road rebuilt to carry up to 80,000 pounds, and a beautiful new, fully separated bike path with a wide median in between. Although there’s still a damn freeway on the other side, so there’s that. 

Paris continues to get more bike-friendly, announcing plans for a new bike lane and pavement work downtown. No, not the one in France, the one in Texas. 

Police in New York are once again looking for a hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a bike rider while fleeing for the cops; the 36-year old bike rider and a female officer were both hospitalized in stable condition, while the driver fled on foot.

The New York Times says the city’s new ebike speed limit is “taking the wind” out of bikeshare users “exhilarating commutes.”

A Reuters photo shows a man riding what looks like a bikeshare ebike with the US Capitol in the background. Which, unlike some other government buildings, is still standing.

A North Carolina teenager was collateral damage in a crash between a drunk driver and a 19-year old driver, which left the 19-year old with multiple serious injuries and killed a 14-year old bike rider; the drunk who caused it all was a mere 16-years old, with a 1.1 BAC.

Hundreds of Georgia residents turned out Saturday for a memorial ride to remember a 51-year old father of four who was killed by an accused drunk driver while riding his bike the previous weekend. If we could get that many people to show up for any victim of traffic violence, things might actually change around here. 

A proposed Florida law would require a driver’s license or learner’s permit to operate a Class 3 ped-assist ebike capable of speeds between 21 to 28 mph. Even though the real risk comes from illegal dirt bikes and electric motorbikes incorrectly classified as ebikes.

 

International

A writer for Bike Radar says ebikes are ruining mountain biking, because they make it too easy and take away the hard work.

A group of English bicyclists want plastic bollards installed on a bikeway to create a separated bike lane, but say pretty please just fix all the potholes first. Which does not seem like an unreasonable request.

A writer for a British women’s magazine says she hadn’t ridden a bike for 20 years, until she unexpectedly took up mountain biking at 44-years old.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Italy, where 25-year old Italian cyclist Kevin Bonaldo has died, two months after he collapsed at the end of the Piccola Sanremo race on Sept. 21 in Sovizzo, Italy.

Cycling Weekly remembers British cycling pioneer Bill Mills, whose dream of becoming the first Brit to compete in the Tour de France ended in a pair of DNFs in 1933 and ’34.

Turns out that racing around the world in 130 days isn’t as hard as it sounds. Although it still sounds pretty damn hard.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the new rules mean hanging your bikes off the balcony. Apparently, even monsters like Dutch bikes.

And why not make your bicycle a key part of your costume this year?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.