Bicycling

The California Bicycle Coalition’s bill to give drivers clearer guidance about how to pass bicyclists safely was approved this week by the Assembly Transportation Committee in a raucous hearing that reflected California’s deeply conflicted relationship to motor vehicles and driving.

Last Friday, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, a county agency, awarded Culver City $570,000 to improve the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Hetzler road, the same intersection where Christine Dahab crashed into a group of stationary Midnight Ridazz early in the morning of June 16.  The improvements include the installation of a raised median near the intersection to differentiate the area surrounding the Scenic Overlook and the rest of the park from the industrial area around it, bike lanes from Duquense Avenue to the west to the City border to the east, a sidewalk on both sides of Jefferson and installation of a pedestrian signal at Hetzler.

If the newly-restriped .3 mile area of Wilbur Avenue was supposed to be a compromise between the LADOT, City Council Office, advocates of fast moving car traffic, bicyclists and residents, it appears the LADOT put the politics of the situation over the road diet ahead of responsible engineering.

There's been a lot of buzz building around the Los Angeles premier of "To Live & Ride in L.A." the amazing-looking documentary of the emerging fixed gear bicycle culture right here on the "most dangerous streets in America." You can watch more previews and learn more about the film at the official website.  Information on the L.A. premier can be found after the jump.

Apparently, the number is higher than eleven.

Late last month, I asked you to submit questions for Los Angeles Police Department Sargent David Krumer, the officer who has been the point person for bicycle issues for over a year.  Many of you responded with solid questions, and Krumer was good enough to respond to each of them.

A Missing Story

Lance Armstrong has said that, “if you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.” But what happens when you have gotten on a bike… for 15 years and loved every minute of it—the physical activity, the camaraderie, the pure joy of experiencing new sights and sounds—and then you fall…and are seriously injured? What happens when that passion for cycling is eclipsed by fear? Fear for your own health and safety and fear of the possibility of putting your family through another touch-and-go trauma?

Last summer, a coalition of bicycle groups and the City of Los Angeles joined forces to create the "Give Me 3" public service announcement campaign to encourage drivers to give cyclists a larger berth when passing.  Less than a year later, the California Bike Coalition (CBC) has launched its own "Give Me 3" website and campaign to build support for Senator Alan Lowenthal's (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill 910.  S.B. 910 would create a state 3 foot passing law for California.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa remains personally committed to enshrining a passing law in the California Vehicle Code.