Los Angeles announced the winners of the latest Great Streets Challenge, providing up to $13,000 to help show what our streets can be.
Besides a steady conduit for speeding drivers, that is.
The seven winning proposals include four temporary pop-up projects, and three permanent installations, offering a mix of pedestrian and bicycling improvements, as well as attempts at transformative community space building.
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The Southern California Association of Governments, aka SCAG, approved funding for 26 active transportation and sustainability projects throughout LA County on Thursday.
The projects, which total $4.6 million, range from an Open Streets event in South El Monte, to support for Vision Zero community outreach and media development in Los Angeles, as well as developing a Vision Zero action plan for the county.
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Finally, someone is taking the most important issue of our time seriously, as Bike Radar examines the best bikes for the coming zombie apocalypse.
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Local
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton calls the new Riverside Drive Bridge “wider straighter faster deadlier,” and inappropriate for the spot where the City of Los Angeles was born, although he says the two-way bike path was a small victory in a losing battle.
Los Angeles Magazine recommends biking as one option for Expo Line commuters to get to the Culver City station, now that the parking garage is being replaced with a mixed-use development. Although I’m told those bike lockers they mention have a wait list.
State
Irvine-based bikemaker Felt Racing has been purchased by French ski-maker Rossignol.
The Orange County Register recommends the 28.5-mile Santa Ana River Trail to ride from the hills of Yorba Linda to the beach.
The wife of San Diego Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Andy Hanshaw is opening a bicycle-themed coffee shop in the city’s Point Loma district.
In an absolutely horrifying attack, a Riverside driver is under arrest on suspicion of murder and assault with a deadly weapon for deliberately running down a homeless man he’d never met, for no apparent reason, as the victim stood near the edge of a parking lot.
This is what those subway-style bike maps look like in a city with an actual bike network, like San Francisco.
National
A self-described green car website crunches the numbers, and concluded that driving a Nissan Leaf is cleaner than riding a bicycle — if the rider only eats beef. And only if the power for the car comes from non-coal fired plants. In other words, not really.
Gizmodo reviews a belt-drive bike that replaces the derailleur with a continuously variable transmission, which they claim offers an infinite spectrum of gears.
A St. Louis driver gets seven years for killing a bike rider while fleeing from police.
An Op-Ed from Kentucky’s capital calls on the state to adopt a safe-passing law for bicycles; two bills under consideration would require drivers to change lanes to pass bikes, or give at least three feet passing distance if that’s not possible. It would also allow drivers to briefly cross a yellow line to pass bike riders if there’s no traffic, something Jerry Brown vetoed as part of an earlier version of California’s three-foot passing law.
Atlanta Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff is one of us.
International
Business Insider looks at 12 major cities around the world that are starting to go carfree. And no, Los Angeles is not one of them.
The owner of a Vancouver driving school says we all have to get along on the roads, so drivers need to watch for bike riders and bike riders need to obey traffic laws. Meanwhile, Vancouver drivers are peeved that bike lanes were plowed following a recent snow.
“Persnickety” residents of a Toronto neighborhood complain about bikeshare besmirching their park; a writer for the Toronto Star calls their petty objections “a rejection of what it means to live in a shared city.”
A British man is riding around the world dressed as Superman, and fixes his bike’s broken fork with chopsticks.
Caught on video: This is what it looks like to hit a bike rider at 25 mph, from the driver’s perspective; fortunately, the victim wasn’t injured. Warning, use discretion in deciding whether to click the link, because this one is really hard to watch. I wish I hadn’t.
Dutch smart bike maker VanMoof chases down their stolen bikes across Europe to return them to their owners.
Outside looks at what we can learn from 105-year old French cyclist Robert Marchard, as scientists conclude there is no upper age limit for training.
You can charge your phone or laptop for free at Brisbane’s International Airport, as long as you’re willing to pedal for it.
Finally…
Walking on water may be a miracle, pedaling on it not so much. Your next bike could have a 3D-printed honeycomb steel frame.
And if you cause a traffic pileup, just keep walking.
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As you’re no doubt aware, the Super Bowl takes place this Sunday. Time your ride for after kickoff if you want to enjoy rare peaceful, empty streets. But try to get home before the game’s over, when you can reasonably assume any driver you see will be drunk.
And if you plan on watching the game, leave your car at home if you’re going to be drinking.
