Two hit-and-run drivers killed Heriberto Ruiz last weekend.
But maybe a dangerous roadway should share the blame.
According to BikeSGV, Rosemead Blvd in the Wittier Narrows area where Ruiz was killed is dangerous by design, with speeds often exceeding the posted 50 mph limit. Never mind cars zooming off the Highway 60 offramp, which he was trying to cross when he lost his life.
A bill before the state legislature would turn control of a 2.6 mile segment of the boulevard over to the county, the first step in a possible badly needed Complete Street makeover.
Let’s hope this tragedy is enough to get much needed changes made.
Now.
………
Good for them.
The LA Times has filed suit to get the dashboard video showing Gardena Police repeatedly shooting unarmed Ricardo Diaz Zeferino — the brother of the bike theft victim they had been called to help, not kill.
Zeferino was simply trying to tell the officers they had detained the wrong men when they opened fire after he dropped his baseball cap, allegedly because they thought he was trying to remove something from his waistband.
Yet somehow, the DA’s office ruled the shooting was justified. I guess “unarmed” just doesn’t mean what it used to.
Maybe this will let us all find out what really happened. And explain why an innocent man was shot to death by the people sent to help him — literally at the drop of a hat.
And why the DA doesn’t seem to care.
………
Calbike says good things are happening for bike riders in the state legislature, including bills that would increase funding for active transportation, and allow riders to attend bike traffic schools to reduce traffic tickets.
………
That didn’t take long.
Just hours after Bradley Wiggins set a new hour record, he’s accused of cheating by using a non-regulation bike and getting outside assistance from British Cycling. Evidently to confirm the public’s opinion that all cyclists cheat, all the time.
Wiggins will reportedly shift his focus to track events in the 2016 Olympics. Then again, even dogs can ride a tactical race.
But did anyone check their bikes for signs of mechanical doping?
………
Local
Streetsblog looks at South LA community organizer and bike advocate Tafari Bayne.
The average LA driver spends over $3,600 to get to work and back; 59% of Angelenos would use bike share if it was available in their neighborhood. That’s about $3,600 more than the average bike commuter spends.
KPCC reports on the problem of possibly incompatible bike share systems in the LA area.
Joel Epstein says bike lane opponents are still peddling in the last century. Although what they’re trying to sell, I have no idea.
CiclaValley explores the Compton Creek bike path, which seems virtually devoid of human life.
Whittier police recover a therapy tricycle stolen from an autistic 11-year old girl over the weekend.
State
OC Parks plans to pave a pathway in Peters Canyon to complete a continuous bikeway from Irvine Park to Upper Newport Bay.
San Diego’s plans for a $200 million bicycle network are over before they even start, according to the San Diego Free Press, which accuses the county association of governments of doubling down on the failed transportation policies of the last 50 years.
NorCal’s Tour de Manure returns for the seventh time. Insert crappy bike pun here.
National
Just days after we mentioned a transgender triathlete competing as a woman for the first time, a male transgender triathlete wins a spot on Team USA.
A road raging driver intentionally sideswiped a Colorado Springs cyclist, knocking him out of his first pro triathlon. Note to the Gazette: The race is still on, he just won’t be competing in it. Big difference.
My hometown sets its sights on Diamond Bike Friendly Community status. But even diamonds are rarely flawless. And hello to Andrew Reker, a fellow member of the Fort Collins diaspora.
Bike friendly Boulder CO considers right sizing certain streets by removing a traffic lane to create spacious seven foot wide bike lanes.
Chicago’s 400-pound Puppet Bike has been entertaining people for 11 years; the bike is so heavy, two additional cyclists have to help tow it for distances more than a few blocks.
A New Jersey cop notices a kid riding his bike with a loose brake, and gets out of his car to fix it himself.
Only bike riders run red lights, right? Wrong. A new study shows one in ten New York drivers run reds.
Baton Rouge LA has a dysfunctional bikeway network; less than half of the city’s bike paths connect to another. Sort of like another LA I could name.
The Palm Beach Post asks, but doesn’t answer, whether the rewards of bike riding over age 70 outweighs the risk. Seriously?
International
As Ontario cyclists get the equivalent of a three-foot law, Alberta tells bicyclists don’t hold your breath.
Vancouver’s Chris Bruntlett writes about the pain of bike theft. And how the fear of theft influences where and how we ride. I often choose to walk instead of ride for trips under two miles, because it’s not worth the hassle of carrying a heavy U-lock and field stripping my bike.
A Montreal letter writer bemoans the behavior of her fellow bike riders, saying they don’t behave as well as riders in Copenhagen. On the other hand, Copenhagen has streets and laws designed around bikes; Montreal doesn’t. Or LA, for that matter.
Caught on video: A Brit bike rider is terrorized by the driver of a massive truck dangerously crowding his wheel.
Someone sabotaged the driveway of a popular Brit helmet cam safety campaigner with drawing pins.
A UK personal trainer plans to ride the entire Tour de France route on a chopper bike. Note to CTV News: There’s a bike difference between riding the Tour de France route and actually competing in it.
The Cardiff UK edition of the World Naked Bike Ride stripped down last Sunday; the LA edition rolls out on the 27th. Just promise you won’t get too excited.
The Times offers a nice profile of a woman cyclist in Afghanistan, a country generally unaccommodating to both.
An Israeli city bans e-bikes in some areas, while the country’s police want to require permits for their riders.
A former Manchester United goalie gets off with 12 months probation for deliberately turning his car into a bicyclist during a Sidney, Australia road rage dispute. Would the courts have been as lenient if he’d used a gun instead of a car? Either way, it’s still assault with a deadly weapon. Thanks to Simon for the heads-up.
Finally…
With the right skills, you can do anything on a bike, or to it, as the eighth annual Bike Smut exhibition of two-wheeled erotica makes painfully clear. A Cleveland man gets released from jail once he sobered up after being busted for being drunk and sans pants in public — and promptly steals a kid’s bike on his way out.
And an Arizona teenager is busted at the border with $1,600 worth of dope in his bike tires.
But seriously, how was the ride?
