Damn.
West Hollywood Sheriff’s detectives finally made an arrest in an attack on a bicyclist last August.
According to the Canyon News, a man was riding a bicycle near Westmount Drive and Rosewood Ave when someone threw a knife at him from a passing car, hitting him in the neck.
There’s no word on whether the rider was injured by the knife or how the suspect was located, nor is there any mention of possible charges.
But the suspect should be charged with attempted murder, because the knife assault could have been fatal if the attacker had better aim.
Image by Walter Bichler from Pixabay.
………
Evidently, a group opposed to red light cameras has a lot more sway with local leaders than we do.
And oddly, they seem to be on our side.
According to the Jewish Journal, Mt. Sinai and Forest Lawn cemeteries are once again complaining about plans to improve safety on Forest Lawn Drive.
After talking with Mayor Karen Bass and CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, they thought the project had been put on hold, only to see it revived in response to pressure from Safer Streets LA.
Which, according to their website, exists to “Stop red light camera rip-offs,” and “Stop the plan to impose speed cameras on California.”
Nowhere on their site can I find any support for bike lanes or lane reductions on Forest Lawn. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
Yet, written in black and white on the walls of cyberspace.
Two years ago, in 2024, (Mount Sinai General Manager Randy) Schwab met with Councilmember Nithya Raman to explain the potential impact on the two cemeteries and the traffic congestion the plan could create. “At the time she promised not to do it, but then I think Safer Streets LA got in touch with her and convinced her that it should be brought back.”
So we apparently owe them our thanks for their hard work and dedication to improve safety for us all, even as they try to make the streets more dangerous.
In fact, the plan has long been in the works due to the inherent dangers of the street, as anyone who has tried to use the painted lanes could testify.
The Journal contacted Councilmember Raman’s office and received the following response: “Forest Lawn Drive provides Angelenos access to key destinations, like Griffith Park and the LA Zoo, and is used by people driving, biking and running. About half of all drivers on Forest Lawn are speeding above the 45 mph legal limit, and at those speeds, a pedestrian or bicyclist struck by a car has a 50% chance of being killed. That is not acceptable, and we have been working to change it.”
Her office said the Forest Lawn Drive Safety & Mobility Project is intended to address these safety concerns by reducing vehicle speeds, adding physical protection for cyclists, and improving conditions for all users of the corridor. It also said the plan includes improved turns for both cemeteries and the Junior Achievement Center. A Raman spokesperson said issues raised by cemetery representatives were taken into account during the design process, and LADOT’s proposal includes expanded turn lanes.
Let that first paragraph sink in.
On a roadway commonly used by bike riders, as well as mourners on their way to visit or say farewell to loved ones, more than half of all drivers exceed the already too high 45 mph speed limit, turning the curving street in their own personal speedway.
Yet the cemeteries continue to fight changes that would benefit their own visitors, in what can only be seen as an apparent attempt to drive up business.
So, thanks Safer Streets LA.
We owe you one, apparently.
………
Let’s consider this statement from New York’s former DOT Commissioner, as Gothamist wonders whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani is the city’s first real Bike Mayor.
“I think it’s taken a long time, but I think the politics have really caught up with the people,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the transportation commissioner under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Not so long ago, a lot of these ideas seemed like they were crazy, and today, a mayor who rides a bike for fun and for transportation is just another part of New York.”
So there may be hope for us yet.
………
The rescheduled memorial for three people killed when an elderly driver crashed through the 99 Ranch Market on Westwood Blvd in February will be held this Saturday.
Here’s a press release from Streets Are For Everyone announcing the event. And if you haven’t signed the letter demanding a Traffic Violence State of Emergency in the City of Los Angeles, there’s still time before it’s released at the event.
THREE GHOST TIRES TO BE PLACED BY THE COMMUNITY
HONORING VICTIMS OF 99 RANCH MARKET MASS TRAFFIC FATALITY EVENT,CALLS FOR STATE OF EMERGENCY
LOS ANGELES, CA – On Saturday, May 9th, Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), People’s Vision Zero, family members of those lost, and community members will be holding a press conference and placing three Ghost Tires to honor the three lives lost and six people seriously injured in the mass traffic fatality event outside 99 Ranch Market on February 5th, 2026. They will also be addressing a second mass traffic fatality near Vista Del Mar on May 3rd, 2026, which killed two more people, including a one-year-old child, and left two others seriously injured. Speakers will call on the LA Mayor and City Council to declare a state of emergency due to traffic violence in Los Angeles.
Ghost tires will be decorated and placed at the site as a memorial to those killed. Victim family members and their legal representatives will address the press, followed by advocates and community leaders.
WHAT: Ghost Tire Memorial and Press Conference honoring victims of the 99 Ranch Market mass traffic fatality and calling for emergency action on traffic violence in Los Angeles.
WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:20 AM
WHERE: 1360 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
WHO:
- Family members of those lost
- Damian Kevitt, Founder and Executive Director of SAFE
- Jonny Hale, People’s Vision Zero
- Phoebe Kiekhofer, SAFE Families
………
As long as we’re doing press releases, the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, is holding a Bike Month Ride Along next week. And yes, I could write about it instead of just reposting the press release, but I’m getting lazy and fond of sleep in my old age.
OCTA Rolls out Bike Month 2026, Ride Along May 13
Annual Bike Rally features a 4-mile ride and prize opportunities, and pledge to bike during May for a chance to win an e-bike while staying active
ORANGE – OCTA is celebrating Bike Month this May by encouraging people across Orange County to get out and ride, whether for commuting, recreation or short everyday trips. The monthlong campaign highlights the benefits of biking as a convenient, healthy and sustainable way to travel.
As part of the celebration, OCTA will host its annual Bike Rally at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, featuring a 4-mile group ride from the Orange Metrolink Station to OCTA headquarters in Orange.
The rally serves as a signature Bike Month event, bringing riders together for a shared experience on city streets while showcasing how easy and accessible biking can be throughout the county. Participants will be entered for a chance to win an Aventon Pace 4 Step-Through e-bike, valued at $1,799, along with other prizes. Riders will also receive free Bike Month T-shirts and light snacks while supplies last.
Those who pledge to ride a bike during May will be entered for a chance to win an Aventon Soltera 2.5 e-bike, valued at $1,199, courtesy of Bike Month sponsors Aventon E-bikes and Spectrumotion.
Beyond Bike Month, OCTA continues to invest in active transportation infrastructure and programs that make it safer and more convenient for people to walk and bike throughout Orange County. Working in partnership with local cities and the county, OCTA helps fund and deliver projects such as protected bike lanes, regional trail connections and first- and last-mile improvements that link neighborhoods to transit.
These efforts are designed to reduce reliance on cars, improve air quality and support healthier, more active communities.
OCTA is also encouraging riders to make safety a priority. An e-bike safety video is available with tips for riding responsibly, and those who watch can be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card.
Together, these efforts are designed to inspire more people to consider biking as an easy, efficient and environmentally friendly way to get around.
For more information about Bike Month and to participate in the Bike Rally, visit www.octa.net/bikemonth.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers tips to keep bike riders safe on the roadways by offering advice for…bike riders. People in the big, dangerous machines, carry on.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Singapore woman was criticized as “irresponsible and brainless” for riding her bike through a busy intersection with her Shiba Inu dog running behind on a leash, despite the hot pavement. I’ve never been a fan of riding with your dog on a leash, which poses too many opportunities for something to go drastically wrong, even if it is an easy way to exercise your dog. Or may over exercise it, because a dog will run itself to death to please you.
………
Local
Streetsblog considers how the new extension to the D Line, aka Purple Line, could change the way Angelenos get around.
State
A Seal Beach cop responds to a question about ebikes on the sidewalk, reminding readers that ebikes are banned from walkways under city ordinances, and that not everything called an ebike actually is one under California law. Although I’m not sure some of the state ebike requirements he mentions have actually passed the legislature yet, let alone been signed into law.
Elementary school kids in San Francisco participated in bike buses on this week for Bike and Roll to School Week.
National
You know we’re making progress when they’re celebrating Bike Month and Bike to Work Day in the dusty, windswept cowtown college town of Laramie, Wyoming. I say that with all fondness, having grown up in the home of their collegiate arch rivals, about 40 miles away.
Another longtime bike shop is closing its doors, this time in St. Paul, Minnesota; Grand Performance owner and former USA Cycling National Team member Dan Casebeer has owned the shop since setting the US hour record in 1983.
Singer Amy Grant is one of us once again, riding a bicycle for the first time in four years after suffering a severe traumatic brain injury when she hit a pothole while riding her bike in Nashville in 2022. And yes, she was wearing a helmet when she fell.
A Boston bike lawyer and blogger says overall, the city is getting safer for bicyclists, even if dooring remains deadly. While dooring is one of the most common types of bicycling collisions, it’s rarely deadly, amounting to roughly one to 3 percent of bicycling deaths each year. Although one is still one too many.
A Massachusetts woman has won an international grant competition with her design to put a roof over a local bike co-op, which currently works out of two disconnected shipping containers.
Police in Bay Ridge, New York are looking for the man who pushed a 13-year old boy off his ebike, apparently for the crime of riding on the sidewalk; fortunately, the kid escaped with just minor lacerations. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with some people?
International
This is why people keep dying on the roadways. A British pub owner was fined the equivalent of $900 and had his liquor license suspended for a whole three months for knowingly serving a 16-year old kid five pints of a strong lager, before the kid was killed when he drove his four-wheeled farm vehicle off the road on the way home.
A father and son duo from the UK set three world records with their 400-day, 18,600-mile ride around the world — and avoided arrest in a forbidden China county when one of the cops recognized them from their social media posts, sending them on their way after posing for selfies.
They get it. The Irish Examiner says riding a bicycle is one of the best ways for men to maintain their health as they age, from “improving cardiovascular health and muscle strength to boosting testosterone and lowering stress.” Hint: It works for women, too.
German bike magazine Tour tests out the best bikes for the equivalent of under a grand.
Competitive Cycling
Cyclist examines the top contenders for this year’s Giro d’Italia, which kicks off today with a 91-mile stage in Bulgaria. Yes, Bulgaria.
Cycling News does much the same, offering a team-by-team look at the Giro competitors.
Submitted without comment. Much of the planned Lotto-Intermarché risked missing the Giro, including Belgian sprinter Arnaud De Lie, after they fell ill from a cow dung infection — yes, cow dung — during the rain-soaked Famenne Ardenne Classic.
Dutch cyclist Jan-Willem van Schip says he feels unwelcome in road cycling, after he was booted from a race for the second time in eight months, and the fourth time in five years, for an unusual and, by UCI standards, illegal handlebar setup and seat position.
Finally…
When you get arrested for bike theft, it’s usually not the best idea to issue death threats to the arresting officers. Probably not the best idea to fire three shots at your girlfriend because her mother won’t help take an ebike out of the trunk, either.
And that feeling when you’re somehow walking while riding.
………
Thanks to someone who prefers not to be named for her very generous annual donation to help support this site, and keep our spokescorgi in kibble. Donations are always welcome and appreciated, for whatever reason might move you.
And yes, spellcheck, “spokescorgi” is a real word that I made up.
While we’re at it, let’s all thank Steve for making this site so much more attractive and work a lot better, especially if you’re viewing it on a phone.
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.