12PM Februrary 10th, UC Santa Cruz (At the beginning of the Great Meadow pathway, near recital hall). Adrian Burgueño’s bicycle advocacy and legacy will continue to live through us and we will be his voice to raise awareness on bicycle safety. Heading home from school after his evening class about one year from today, taking all the safety measures a cyclist can take, riding on an extremely dangerous bike path on campus, his beautiful young life was cut short. He would be 22.
There will be a peaceful rally to commemorate Adrian’s passing this week. Let’s all gather to raise awareness and speak upon the dangers of this bicycle path. As an activist he was, he would be among the first to organize and participate for such event.
This will take place on the UCSC campus At the beginning of the Great Meadow pathway, near the recital hall, this Friday, February 10th at noon. If you or someone you know in the Santa Cruz area has experienced the dangers of this path, message this page directly. Pass the word, share this event’s info and please join us for this rally.
Visit the Facebook page.
From America Bikes:
On Thursday, February 2, the House Transportation Committee will vote on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill that eliminates crucial funds for biking and walking.
This long-awaited multi year transportation bill eliminates the two largest programs that fund biking and walking infrastructure—Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Without these programs, communities all over the country will lose resources to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make biking and walking safe and accessible in communities across the country.
Read more.
From the Los Angeles Times:
The latest bicycle lane in Los Angeles has an interesting twist: It’s bright green.
The color is aimed at reducing collisions and to help cyclists feel safer on their north-south commute on Spring Street through bustling downtown, where two-wheeled travel is on the rise.
At 1.5 miles long — from Cesar Chavez Avenue to 9th Street — the lane is the first in downtown and the first full-color lane in the city.
Read more.
From the Guardian UK:
A cycling sight-seeing tour with a difference took place on Saturday, taking in London’s 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists. The ride – originally conceived by Cyclists in the City blog as a fact-finding mission with a few friends – struck a resonant chord with readers and campaigners. Word spread quickly, and ultimately several hundred London cyclists participated in the “Tour du danger”.
Read more.
The Alliance for Biking and Walking is holding a photo contest open until October 31 looking for images useful to biking and waking advocacy efforts, with prizes from various places including an all expense paid biking tour of Tuscany.
Bicycle law blog BikeLaw.com is reporting that the driver responsible for killing cyclist Matthew Burke pled guilty to felony manslaughter just yesterday.
On October 1, 2010, on a straight road in broad daylight in Beech Island, South Carolina, driver Daniel Johnson slammed into Matt and four other cyclists. After 128 days in a coma under life support, Matt was pronounced dead on February 6, 2011.
After months of investigation and legal wrangling, Johnson admitted to his crime this afternoon and pled guilty to felony manslaughter. Johnson was taken immediately into custody and will be sentenced tomorrow, Tuesday, October 18th.
The Burke family is represented by Bike Law’s Peter Wilborn: “Matt Burke’s legacy is that drivers can and should be treated as criminals for killing cyclists. Throughout the country, cycling deaths are regularly dismissed by law enforcement as mere traffic ‘accidents.’ But often they are not accidental, the needless fatalities are tragic consequences of reckless driving and lawless drivers. The driver’s felony conviction here proves to police, policymakers, and drivers to take cycling safety seriously. This case from South Carolina is an example of how to do it right.”
While such a conviction shouldn’t really be newsworthy, it unfortunately is within the cycling community where many of us are familiar with cases of cyclists being run-down gone completely unpunished under circumstances that beg the question of if it had been anyone but a cyclist if the District Attorney’s views would have been different. Read more at www.bikelaw.com
From Bicycle Retailer:
Despite hundreds of letters from cyclists, advocates and industry suppliers and retailers in support of a bill that would require motorists to give riders three feet of room when passing, California Gov. Edmund Brown vetoed the pending legislation Friday.
His opposition stemmed from a provision in the bill (SB 910) that said that if a motorist couldn’t give a cyclist 3 feet when passing, then the driver would need to slow down to 15 mph. The current law requires that drivers pass cyclists at a safe distance but doesn’t specify what that distance should be.
Read more.
You’ve no doubt heard about police stopping cyclists for riding at night without a light. And obviously nothing good immediately comes of it. BikePGH came up with the brilliant idea to conduct a bike light raid of their own, targeting cyclists on the University of Pittsburgh campus, and instead of tasering the offending cyclists, they gave out 100 Planet Bike lights to more than 50 cyclists in two hours.
Read more.
From Cleveland.com: Cleveland’s streets are about to get friendlier for bicyclists, pedestrians and the environment.
City Council voted Monday to approve a law requiring that 20 percent of money spent on road projects go to features such as bike-only lanes, crosswalks, energy-efficient lighting and porous pavement. The law caps the extra cost at $1 million.
Read more.
BikePGH presents Bikefest 2011, over 50 events to celebrate cycling in Pittsburgh.
Festivities kick off on August 12th with a fundraising party at the Pittsburgh Opera. Anyone who’s been there in the past will confirm, this is a party not to be missed.
Visit bikepgh.org/bikefest for more info.
Mississippi is known for the blues, and given what the Starkville District Attorney has said about the case of involving Jan Morgan being hit by a car and then run over after the driver stopped to check on her, seems that there is good reason. As per the Starkville Daily News, the March 22nd accident report reads:
“The cyclist was westbound on MS 50 near the Truelove Loop intersection. V1 (vehicle one) was westbound on MS 50 approaching the cyclist from the rear. The front of V1 collided with the rear of the bicycle. The impact threw the cyclist into the air before landing on the hood of V1 and onto the windshield. V1 continued for a few feet before coming to a stop. The cyclist was then thrown to the asphalt when V1 stopped. The driver of V1 exited the vehicle and observed the cyclist while talking on the phone. D1 (driver one) then reentered her vehicle and ran the cyclist over again before being forced from her vehicle by a witness. V1 came to a final rest facing west in the westbound lane on MS 50 just meters west of the Truelove Loop intersection. The cyclist came to a final rest near the right front tire of V1.”
According to the blog by Jan’s husband Dave (fwiw together they own Boardtown Bikes) the District Attorney has determined that no felony charges will be filed against the driver, as there is nothing on the Mississippi books specifically outlawing running down a cyclist, getting out of your car to see how they are doing, and then running them over again. Apparently while attempted murder is certainly illegal in Mississippi, along with a number of other things, running over a fellow human after you’ve already hit them in broad daylight while not legal isn’t that against the law. Given the circumstances it is almost hard to believe, but with every week bringing another tale of a cyclist being run down and the driver receiving nothing but a slap on the wrist it unfortunately isn’t terribly surprising. Perhaps the pressure will make the DA reconsider, or get activists fired up enough to actually get a law passed outlawing actively running over another person in Mississippi.
Fyxation has just announced their Bikes Are Better initiative—a line of soft goods from Holdfast, Rickshaw Bags and Fyxation with 25% of the profits of each piece going towards a local or national cycling non-profit. It’s Fyxation’s way of giving a bit back to the advocacy community responsible for many of the racks and lanes and other infrastructure improvements that make cycling safer and more enjoyable. From now until June 30th the Alliance for Biking and Walking is the recipient of the funds, with another organization for for July to be announced in due time.
From the League of American Bicyclists:
Thank you to the thousands of you who contacted the director of your state transportation agency regarding last week’s action alert. Your voice has been heard loud and clear. Due to your combined efforts, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has withdrawn their recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to weaken the requirements for states to give “due consideration” to the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians when constructing roadways. The League of American Bicyclists, the National Center for Biking and Walking, and America Bikes will be meeting with AASHTO officials next month to discuss this and other important issues.
If you haven’t already, please take action to ensure that state transportation agencies do not gut important bike funding. Visit our Advocacy Center and ask your Governor to rescind federal transportation dollars proportionally across all programs.
You can follow progress on these and other campaigns at bikeleague.org/blog. Thanks again for your support.
From the League of American Bicyclists:
Your state DOT may be ready to cut millions in bicycle and pedestrian funding
Take Action!
Contact your Governor today!
In the latest budget deal between the Republicans and Democrats, the two parties agreed to rescind (read: take back) $2.5 billion in unspent federal transportation funds. Your state DOT has the power to decide which funds they send back. And based upon history we know what happens next.
Your state DOT may try to empty out the funds that pay for your sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and education programs.
We have seen this before, and it is happening again. Last year, when states had to send back $2.2 billion in transportation funds, almost half of that money came from programs that fund bicycling and walking projects. See our Rescessions FAQ’s for more information.
Please contact your Governor today to tell them this is wrong. Funding cuts for the rescission should be fair and proportional across the board.
Thank you in advance for your help !
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