Where L.A. City Is Quietly Removing Bike Lanes and Adding On-Street Car Parking

From LA.Streetsblog.org

By Joe Linton

Six streets where LADOT added motorist parking at the expense of bicyclist safety. And the city wonders why traffic deaths keep increasing?

Los Angeles City has been removing bike lanes. The practice probably is not widespread, but that is difficult to verify as the city does these removals with no notice, no reporting.

Generally the city Transportation Department (LADOT) removes bike lanes to add more on-street parking.

There’s a pro-car double standard at play here. It can take months, sometimes years, of community outreach to add bike or bus lanes. This often means watering down projects. After significant outreach processes, recent worthwhile projects on San Vicente, Venice, and La Brea were whittled down to just 60, 75, and 40 percent of the respective initial plans. (Those projects got built. Often bus/bike/walk projects that would remove some parking are quietly declared “infeasible” and never even vetted by communities.)

But adding parking and removing bike lanes? That can be done with no public process whatsoever.

For many of the projects listed below, there is no public record, no public vetting of proposals, no community outreach, often not even a public announcement of what has been done.

This post focuses on permanent changes to streets, but temporary LADOT bike lane removals are also not uncommon. SBLA reported on a 2020 temporary removal of the Jefferson Boulevard bike lane.

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash

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How to Navigate the Door Zone as a City Cyclist

From MomentumMag.com

Written by:

City cycling is a fantastic way to get around, but urban streets present unique challenges for cyclists and there are few things that weigh more heavily on a commuter’s mind than navigating a door zone. One of the most significant dangers is the so-called door zone, which is an area next to parked cars where a suddenly opened car door can lead to a potentially catastrophic crash. Even a safe protected bike lane can’t keep a cyclist protected from this imminent danger.

Each year, hundreds of cyclists are injured or killed in such crashes. Statistics suggest anywhere from 16 to 31 per cent of all bicycling crashes happen in the door zone making it crucial to avoid this area or learn to navigate it properly.

Here are some key tips to help you navigate the door zone safely while cycling in the city:

Steer Clear of the Door Zone

The door zone is the three- to five-foot area next to a parked car where doors can open suddenly. Imagine, it’s the length of a standard car door when fully open. To prevent collisions, always ride on the left side of the bike lane, ensuring that you maintain a distance of at least four feet from parked cars. This position significantly reduces the risk of a door being flung open into your path.

Take the Lane

While staying clear of the door zone is essential for your safety, there are situations where you may need to take control of the traffic lane, a technique known as “taking the lane.” This maneuver is crucial when maintaining the recommended four-foot buffer from parked cars isn’t possible, or when you want to ensure your safety and assert your rights as a cyclist.

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The Bike Industry Crisis: What Does It Mean For Us?

The bike industry has hit a breaking point, with big brands, including Wiggle CRC and Islabikes having to cease production. Could this be the start of the bike-pocalypse and what could it mean for cyclists? Si and Dan discuss the pros, cons and future of bike brands and the cycling industry. In cycling shorts, pro cyclists take up rickshaw racing for off-season training and there’s a new Mous phone case giveaway!

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GCN’s Christmas deals: The best gifts for cyclists

From GCN.com

Looking to save money on early Christmas gifts for the cyclist in your life? Or thinking of treating yourself on payday? We’ve rounded up the best cycling gift ideas that are in our new 3 for 2 Christmas deal.

If you add any 3 items from the Secret Santa Christmas Deals page to your cart in the GCN Shop, you’ll get the cheapest free!

Essential Road Bike Maintenance Book

This is the perfect gift for bike lovers. Cyclists of all abilities would welcome a complete bike maintenance bible to keep their bike running smoothly all year round. This is where the Essential Road Bike Maintenance Book comes in! Covering road, gravel, commuter and hybrid bikes, it has everything you need to fix, maintain and get the best from your bike. With over 71 step-by-step walk-throughs and 64 free companion videos, this book will provide all the essential knowledge needed to confidently take on and complete pretty much any bike maintenance task.

Elite Fly Black Bottle

A cyclist can never have enough water bottles in their cycling life. Discover the Elite Water Bottles used by our presenters and by WorldTour Teams. They are lighter than standard water bottles and feature a unique racing design, which has been developed for great stability in the bottle cage and easy extraction while cycling. A perfect gift for the cyclist who has everything – but would still love another gift!

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Find Out Exactly How Much Your City Could Benefit By Investing In E-Bikes

From StreetsBlog.org

Curious how much carbon — and cash — you and your neighbors could save if your government went big on electric bikes? Now you can find out.

By Kea Wilson

Advocates and local transportation leaders can now find out exactly how much their community could gain by encouraging residents to swap car trips for e-bike rides — and how much bang for their buck they’re likely to get if they adopt purchase incentives like Denver’s blockbuster rebate program.

With the help of the new “E-Bike Impact Calculator” from the Colorado-based sustainability nonprofit RMI, anyone with an internet connection and a copy of Microsoft Excel can find out exactly how much money, pollution, and electricity their community might save if leaders leveraged good e-bike policy to achieve even modest mode shift goals.

RMI Senior Associate Bryn Grunwald said she created the tool because “people were sleeping on how awesome e-bikes are at the climate level,” and quickly found that the collective benefits were even more significant than she’d realized.

“[E-bikes are] often talked about more at the individualized scale,” she said. “Personally I experienced myself saving money [from riding one]; personally, I experienced myself having a better connection to my city. … But I wanted to give them good numbers, because there’s a lot of people who can’t imagine themselves biking, and really scoff at the idea that it could be good for the climate.”

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