Results tagged “cyclist”

Culver City has been working on a Bicycle and Pedestrian Initiative that's currently in draft mode. The city's location between the Cheviot and Baldwin Hills as well as the Ballona Creek and eight major roads and freeways "has led to the development of an irregular (broken-grid) roadway network which presents unique challenges for non-motorized transportation."

20-year-old Marco Antonio Valencia will be arraigned today in court for a weekend incident that killed a Santa Clarita Valley man and injured two others on Bouquet Canyon Road. It's a pretty gruesome story, as the local paper, The Signal, tells it:

Out with the old meters, in with hand-me-down bicycle racks called meter hitches. When the city last year began replacing parking meters with the new pay station ones, that either left headless meters or no meters at all along stress, which meant less options for bicycle parking. Then last night, as part of a pilot project between the Department of Transportation and Council President Eric Garcetti's office, came 52 new bicycle meter hitches on Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea and Vine.

Although City Council repealed the bicycle license law earlier this month, the issue continued to be a point of discussion between officials and bike advocates. At the Transportation Committee meeting earlier this week, some cyclists said they don’t completely oppose a licensing program, but they would like to see a more efficient and easier process that would be “voluntary.”

A Los Angeles Department of Water & Power truck struck and killed a cyclist this afternoon in the Lake Balboa area. A woman in her 30s was riding her bicycle when the truck, attempting to make a right turn, ran into her shortly after 12 p.m., said Devin Gales, a spokesman with the LA Fire Department. Paramedics responded finding her trapped under the truck, located at 7447 N. Louise Avenue. The driver was a private contractor doing work on behalf of LADWP, a department spokesperson said. Further details are pending an investigation. UPDATE: The LAPD estimates her age to be between 50 and 60 years old.

The LAPD, summoned to the chambers by City Council this week, is standing by their report about that the bicyclist ran into a hummer, not the opposite in an incident a few weeks ago. However, according to StreetsblogLA, things are not adding up: "If you believe the LAPD, [the cyclist] 'ran into the side of the hummer' then you have to believe that [the cyclist], who was wearing light colored clothing and had a rear light on his bike, backed into the side of the hummer with such force as to throw him forward.  His bike is destroyed from the rear, his injuries were consistent with being thrown forward; so the laws of physics, laws which the LAPD has no jurisdiction, don't back him sideswiping the H3." If that's true, this could get really interesting fast.

It's been building up over some time. Bicyclists vs. the LAPD. Each situation gaining media attention is different, but one thing has been a constant--riders feel prejudiced by the police in general. Then comes today when a large group of 20 or so cyclists show up to the regularly little-attended Police Commission meeting talking about last Friday's incident between a hummer and a group of cyclists and the general treatment they receive when dealing with police. Now this: "the Inspector General's office will investigate last week's attack and police policies and write official reports and make recommendations to the LAPD," reported Damien Newton at StreetsblogLA.

A 50-year-old male was struck and killed early this morning by a hit-and-run driver, according to KTLA. The victim was riding on North Glendale Boulevard near Sunset Boulevard at around 1 this morning when he was hit by a silver-colored Mitsubishi. He was pinned against a car, according to reports, and a witness provided the vehicle's license plate number, although both that information and the deceased's name have not been made public.

On Saturday night, two cyclists were given tickets for not having a city of Los Angeles bicycle license, something that has not existed since January when Chief William Bratton and the City Council shot them down. One of those cyclists, who was put in handcuffs for 20 minutes over the incident, went to the police commission to discuss what happened. After his public comment, the department's Inspector General met with him and the next thing we know, the tickets are dropped.

Today, the Santa Monica Police are asking for help finding an unidentified hit and run suspect: "On January 17, 2009 at about 12:30 am, a 33 year-old male bicyclist riding southbound on 20th Street at Arizona Avenue was struck by an unknown vehicle. After striking the cyclist, the vehicle ran over the bicycle and the rider’s body and then left the scene without rendering any assistance or notifying police. The bicyclist is currently in critical condition at a local hospital." It was originally reported that the suspect vehicle was a red SUV or truck, but other witnesses say the vehicle may have been a large dark blue or black sedan. If you've got info, give the SMPD a call...

No, it's now some city plan or anything official... yet. A large group of cyclists are going to ride tomorrow from the Eastside to the Westside in an experiment that's in search of a more bike friendly city. From their Facebook event page: "We will be transforming several square blocks into a mini bike town. Simply ride your bike around the area meandering up and down every street. Make stops to patronize businesses, enjoy parks, and chat with other riders. It will be like a Midnight Ridazz stop on every corner." And for those who live on the Westside, StreetsblogLA reports that a group of cyclists will ride from Venice to Westwood.

A sexagenarian woman walking across the street was killed when she was struck by a 16-year-old teen who was riding his bicycle to band practice. The 6:51 a.m. incident happened on the 500 block of Palisades Drive, just north of Sunset Blvd, according to the LA Fire Department who transferred the teen to hospital.

       

Back in August, a large mural went up on the facade of Quicksilver SiteLA on Sunset Blvd. It's a vision for the future of transportation and was executed by the locally based drawing group Sumi Ink Club, who will have events next week leading up to an exhibition in November. But tonight, an exhibition called "We Ride By Night" opens featuring art influenced by LA bicycle culture with cyclist Dorothy Le curating. The event goes to 9:00 p.m. at the gallery in Silver Lake. Below are photos of the building just in case you were wondering what it was when passing by.

     

It's probably one of the least heard of tickets, especially given to a bicyclist. But a ticket for signaling and then not turning was apparently handed out to one Critical Mass rider in Santa Monica on Friday night. Fellow rider to the cyclist and a photographer Alex Thompson said it was "biased enforcement."

       

Dr. Christopher Thompson of Mandeville Canyon, the man accused of assaulting two cyclists with his vehicle on Mandeville Canyon Road during the morning of Fourth of July, had his day in court today. At 8:30 a.m. he appeared at the airport courthouse, pleaded innocent to felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon reckless driving causing injury (2) and battery with serious bodily injury (2) and the special allegation of causing great bodily injury. His lawyer spoke on his behalf and said that the incident was an accident.

Whew! This one's not in LA, but with all the bicycle drama happening around town, it's worth noting that it is a national issue. This weekend in New York City, a cyclist was knocked to the ground by a NYPD officer. "The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest," according to LAist sister site, Gothamist.

Police say that 28-year-old Juan Campos, allegedly of Brownsville, Texas, was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into a bicycle race near Matamoros, Mexico, which is near the U.S. border. At least one person was killed and 14 were injured. The 24-kilometer race, which took place on Sunday, had only started 15-minutes prior to the incident.

Yesterday in El Monte, a man riding his bicycle was struck and killed by Foothill Transit bus. The LA Times explains:

The cyclist was riding across Santa Anita Avenue near Ramon Boulevard about 9:15 a.m. when he was hit by the bus, said Lt. Michelle States of the El Monte Police Department. He was not in the crosswalk and was pronounced dead at the scene, States said.

Continue reading "Bicyclist Killed by Foothill Transit Bus"

In January, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti announced that City Hall and other downtown facilities would provide bicycle lockers, more racks, access to showers and a subsidy to City Hall staffers who ride a bike to work. Yesterday, Garcetti blogged that they have already won an award, the Rideshare Diamond Award, for their efforts.

A follow up to the earlier story on freeway biking. The group of riders on Friday also put up this banner. "We hung a 20 X 6 foot banner on the 17th street overpass that read 'RIDE A BIKE: YOU'D BE HOME BY NOW,'" organizer Morgan Strauss explained. "It stayed up for over 48 hours."

Last Friday, Crimanimal Mass took their second bicycle ride on the freeway during drive-home rush hour. Whizzing by gridlocked cars, the demonstration, albeit illegal, raises questions. Good questions. One of the group's organizers, Morgan Strauss, 29, was quoted in the Santa Monica Daily Press (.pdf) this weekend saying that he “just wanted to raise questions about the transportation infrastructure. In a city ruled by cars, why is it that you can get places faster on bikes?”

A cyclist westbound on Hollywood Boulevard hears a loud horn behind him as he rides in the right side of the #2 lane, alongside a row of parked cars and dangerously close to the door zone. The motorist with the heavy horn hand turns out to be Metro Bus Driver #XXXXX and she passes the cyclist so closely that his left hand touches the side of the bus as it speeds past him. The number...