Bike Talk

National Bike News: car related crime, TAP funding, and the EXPLORE act passage. Studies: E-bikes and scooters displace 4x as much demand for oil as all of the EVs in the world, and vehicles with higher, more vertical front ends pose greater risk to pedestrians (6:23). What to do in a bike crash, with LA Personal Injury Attorney Jim Pocrass (9:32). Livable Communities: bikes, transit, and housing. Liveable Communities Initiative founder Lindsay Sturman and Taylor Nichols (15:48). “Hating Bike Lanes is not a Winning Strategy,” writes Massachusetts Streetsblogger Christian MilNeil of fall elections in Massachusetts (41:23). Stacey's Bike Thought (55:45). Originally posted December 5, 2023

An email from avid listener Rick Bosacker, who gets the joke about "avid cyclists." He's on a 13 month world tour with his family, who are differently avid. Taylor gets route help from Canadian cyclists Dan and Lynette Markham in bike-unfriendly Laguna Beach, California (2:12) Bike Friendly States' ranking highlights by the League of American Bicyclists' Policy Director Ken Macleod (5:19) Intro 606 bill would require the licensing of ebikes in NYC, and make every person on a bike a target- especially those who are already targeted. "There Are No Accidents" author Jessie Singer unspools a thread (8:58) Even the Netherlands could do better for children's active transportation, which is why kids had to protest for park space in Amsterdam, say Dr. Meredith Glaser and Michela Grasso of the Urban Cycling Institute (23:38) Widening roads doesn't decrease gridlock. Why don't engineers know this? Steffen Berr, the Haarlem traffic engineer behind Build the Lanes, and Sully Israel, a traffic planner in Los Ange

The Ebike Getaway of Luigi Mangioni (1:28) An overview of the Washington Area Bicycle Coalition, WABA, by Elizabeth Kiker, Executive Director (5:29) The Evanston, IL Bike Lane Debate as told by Streetsblog Chicago Editor John Greenfield (7:46) People who bike were betrayed by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s watering down of a protected bike lane, say Denver Bike Lobbyists Alejandra Castañeda and Rob Toftness (14:10) The video game Loser Lane is impossibly dangerous, because it simulates the city of Toronto without bike lanes. Marie Leblanc Flanagan, game designer, thanks anti-bike Ontario Premier Doug Ford for each virtual death (27:25) The work of the Massachusetts Bike Coalition, MassBike, as told by Galen Mook, Executive Director, to Charlie Leightheiser (41:30)

Taylor talks with Hugh Fuller and Joe Borfo at Bike Oven’s iconic Highland Park “Spoke ’n Art Ride.” 0:20 Why fat bikes are "the quiver killer," a pitch from Physical Education teacher and mountain bike club coach Salem Derby. 4:03 News: “Loser Lane,” a fatalistic web based game about riding without a protected lane in Toronto. With Bill 212, Toronto Premier Doug Ford seeks immunity for injuries and fatalities resulting from removing Toronto bike lanes. The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers completely opposes the bill. 8:43 Los Angeles bike advocate and personal injury attorney Jim Pocrass compares Toronto’s would-be municipal immunities with LA’s. 12:36 More news: Denver, Colorado waters down planned protected bike lanes after private, post-public comment meetings with individuals and businesses opposed to them. 18:15 Shoutout to Ted Rogers’ annual fund drive at BikinginLA.com; Thanks for the news, Ted! Taylor talks with the host of a recent “Revolutionizing Mobility” conference in Culver

News: San Francisco's controversial center-running bike lane to be replaced by curb protected lanes. Luke Bornheimer, SF advocate for the curb protected lanes, explains. 4:09 NYC gets congestion pricing, finally. It's $9 instead of $15, but will increase. Dave Colon, StreetsblogNYC reporter, fills in the details. 9:01 As Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushes to remove Toronto's bike lanes, University of Toronto students Zev Godfrey and Eva Stanger-Ross Fight for Bikes. 18:28 Writer Nathan Deuel on his LA Times Opinion article, "I thought I had my L.A. cycling commute down. Turns out, I’d been missing the obvious." 23:34 The world record holder for most states visited in 24 hours by bike, Sam Westby. 39:57 Stacey's Bike Thought 56:44

Voices from World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims in Los Angeles. 1:48 Transportation under Trump according to Yonah Freemark, principal research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. 8:25 Los Angeles Bike Fest with BikeLA Director Eli Kaufman. 13:37 Strong Towns Northampton checks its tone over a bike lane closure. With Danielle McKhan, Jennifer Nery, and Alex Bowman. 19:10 Fighting for bikes means fighting back against the Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s attempt to rip out Toronto’s bike infrastructure- with Norm Di Pasquale, New Democratic Party Candidate for Spadina - Fort York in Toronto, Canada. 34:04 Studying the language of mobility with linguistics Professor Maria Caimotto. 40:41 Stacey’s Bike Thought 53:46

Bike News: Cop29 cop-outs, solace in U.S. local elections for biking, China's huge bikeshare rides, and in Oregon, a cyclist was charged for a ride to the hospital by the ambulance that hit him. 2:19 The Northampton Cycle-Smart Cyclocross race broke from the Union Cycliste Internationale for its exclusion of trans women riders in 2023, but the race goes on; the 33rd annual Northampton, Massachusetts Cyclocross race was November 8-10. Miles Abrams, 11, came in 4th in his category. He and his mom, Lisa, talk about cyclocross and what bike sport means to them. 7:34 BYCS Bicycle Mayor Network comprises civil society leaders representing 145 cities in 40 countries. Amanda Padilla, Bike Mayor of Quito, Ecuador, uses "cycling games" to focus on kids. 18:51 Atlanta's Bike Buses are gaining riders. Andrew Francis tells the story of his popular weekly school rides. 30:18 The University of California at Santa Barbara has been declared a "platinum level" bike friendly university several times by the League of Am

In the election bummer, some local winners for safe streets: new Congressmember Laura Friedman, Alameda Supervisor John Bauters, and West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson. Listener Kevin Grishkot asks whether, if cars were no longer available, we would require people to license their bicycles. Bike Talk’s lawyer, Jim Pocrass, explains why it’s not a very good idea. 3:18 News: Ontario Premier threatens Toronto’s popular and data proven bike lanes. Paris closes 2 miles of its city center to through traffic. Bike-friendly Minneapolis makes the top tier of the 2024 “Happy City Index.” Denver activists form a people protected bike lane to respond when the city cancels 1/2 mile of protected bike lane. 10:56 Robin Richardson, Toronto mom, family/cargo biker, and organizer of the bike lane on "the world's longest street" defends Toronto’s bike lanes from a right wing populist Premier. 17:11 Emily Lipstein, StreetsblogNYC journalist, bike commuter, and Queens native, tells the story of a recent DOT greenway work

News from the front lanes: LA's Traffic Nightmare, a NHTSA requirement for DUI detectors in cars, a measure to keep San Francisco’s Great Highway car free, and the 125th anniversary of the first car killing. A Glendale candidate for Congress demonizes his Democratic opponent, Laura Friedman, as "The Bike Lane Lady." Alex Belekian says if we want bike lanes we should build new cities for them. 4:15 Ann Arbor's Mayor, Christopher Taylor, is as bike friendly as his city. 18:36 NYC's "City of Yes" initiative proposes doing away with parking mandates; MAGA NYC Councilmember Vicky Paladino lashes out at Open Plans NYC Director of Advocacy & Organizing Jackson Chabot for being born outside NYC, and concludes "we need our cars." Open Plans Co-Executive Director Sara Lind calmly dissects the carbrained reaction. 35:06 Bike lane protesters and counter protesters converge on Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood. Streetsblog LA Editor Joe Linton explains the conflict. 42:24 Stacey's Bike Thought. 57:14

Taylor finally finishes the epic tome on highway tycoon Robert Moses, The Power Broker, by Robert Caro, and talks to author/transportation activist Charles Komanoff about it. 1:14 A bill to require cars in California to alert drivers when they exceed speed limits by more than 10 mph was vetoed by the Governor. Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director of Walk SF, one of the bill's sponsors, speaks about the disappointment. 33:11 Taylor talks gravel with Zachary Rynew, Gravel Bike California. 42:55 Stacey's Bike Thought 54:40

A Glendale Congressional candidate makes bike lane support his big grievance against Chair of the California Assembly Transportation Committee Laura Friedman in her run for Congress. 1:15 The categories of ebike and why they matter, explained by our sponsor Jim Pocrass. 7:10 Ebikelash in NYC is taking off due to the prevalence of food delivery workers who ride fast. Bills would require all e-bike riders to have license and registration and ban ebikes in parks. Transportation Alternatives Communications Director Alexa Sledge explains. 19:50 Ebiking is good in the European Union, according to European Cyclists' Federation CEO Jill Warren. 31:27 A survey of people over 50 who bike by Carol Kachadoorian and a talk about biking and aging with Rob Kadota, City of Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair, and Kent Strumpell, LABAC Representative for District 11. 40:05 Stacey's Bike Thought 54:46

Week Without Driving was September 30th – October 6th, 2024. Here’s a view of how it went by its creator Anna Zivarts, Author of “When Driving is Not an Option” and Director of Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington, and Ruth Rosas, Program Manager at America Walks. 2:02 US businesses ranked by their Bicycle Friendliness, from The League of American Bicyclists. With Amelia Neptune. 11:08 West Hollywood’s Bike Mayor, John Erickson, on making his city bike friendlier. 19:53 Science backs the benefits of the stop-as-yield law for bicyclists, according to Professor David Hurwitz of Oregon State University. With Charlie Leighthauser. 36:40 Stacey's Bike Thought 54:27

The Better Cities Film Festival is all about bikes and dads, Director Josh Paget says. Also Transportation, Housing, Urban design, Environment, Community, and Technology. 5:12 It took a long time and a lot of community meetings to get the Dickens bike/ped greenway in Chicago, but a few NIMBYs were able to get it taken out without much process. We have Streetsblog Chicago Editor John Greenfield, Bike Grid Now organizer Rony Islam, and bike mom/activist Molly Lamping Fleck. 22:55 Elly Blue and Microcosm Publishing in Portland, OR, has a new anthology out: “This is your bike on plants.” 41:13 Stacey’s Bike Thought 56:55

Freak Bikes the Movie, about LA Bike Kitchen founder Jimmy Lizama and his son on a bike tour of the European bike cities, screened in the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit. Filmmaker Ryan Mekenian talks about his inspiration with Reo Ramsey, our Detroit correspondent and social ride leader who connects the movie to his bond over bikes with his own father. Bike Lawyer James Pocrass talks with us about the reasons for America's high traffic fatality and injury rates. Turns out it's unsafe speed, unserious enforcement, and unhelpful road design. Milwaukee car violence victim and Critical Mass rider Cade Gerlach speaks to whether the driver who sent him to the hospital hit him accidentally or by design. Strong Towns Northampton members Benjamin Spencer and Alex Bowman on their walking tour of "Picture Main Street" improvements. The tour was in part meant to allay the low information bikelash against planned street improvements for people outside of cars.

Taylor recaps his ride to Dodger Stadium. Val Cyr, Local Motion's Communications Specialist, on Vermont's great biking. America's Bike Mayor John Bauters on his run and riding for Alameda County Supervisor. Listener Emails: Tim Riley on giving up his cars because of Bike Talk, and motornormativity. Annie Pruitt on www.playgroundequipment.com/all-about-cycling/. Consumer Reports writer Keith Barry on his article about how pickup trucks are getting larger and becoming a hazard to pedestrians, smaller vehicles, and bike riders. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/the-hidden-danger-of-big-pickup-trucks-a9662450602/ Stacey's Bike Thought.

In this repost from March of 2024 Eddie Vargas, Grub Hub bike delivery worker, loads up groceries in Los Angeles. Bike Traffic report with Don Ward. A new study in the Journal for Transport and Land Use shows blaming individuals for traffic violence prevents systemic changes to US roadways. “There Are No Accidents” author Jessie Singer on the evolution of the accident, and how the auto industry has convinced the public that car crashes are due to “jaywalkers,” “nutty drivers,” and human error- when they are built into our roads and cars. Author Caroline Paul on her article “My Mother got on a bike. It changed her life” and the book from which it sprang, New York Times bestseller “The Gutsy Girl, Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure.” One girl’s first time getting hit by a car. Bike Thought by Stacey.

Last year's Tour de Vuelta coverage, featuring Sepp Kuss 2:45 Brake maintenance advice from fixie rider, activist, and Los Angeles Metro Bikeshare mechanic Anne Marie Drolet. 3:19 Jeff Speck, author of “Suburban Nation” and “Walkable Cities,” on making cities walkable and bikeable. With Taylor Nichols. 7:50 Getting the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to mandate Bicyclist Emergency Braking in deadly autonomous vehicles. With Ken McLeod, Policy Director of League of American Bicyclists, interviewed by Taylor Nichols. 38:41 Stacey's new Bike Thought 54:42

Taylor decides on a new gravel bike. Winnipeg cyclists stage an act of civil disobedience, stopping legally in single file at a stop sign, to bring awareness of the need for a stop-as-yield policy or "Idaho Stop Law" for cyclists. With Patty Wiens, "Bicycle Mayor" of Winnipeg, and Hillary Rosentretter. 4:02 We talk to our lawyer, Jim Pocrass of Pocrass de Los Reyes in Los Angeles, about whether it's legal to ride two abreast in a lane. 16:55 News: Los Angeles will be car-free for the next Olympic Games, they say. Also, fewer 19 year olds are getting driver's licenses, according to the most recent data from the Federal Highway Administration. 24:26 A listener, Kevin Grishkot, writes us that "training and testing and standards set for the basic car license are criminally negligent." 28:27 A tour of Montreal's express bike lanes, called Réseau Express Vélo, and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, "the best bike neighborhood in North America," as well as some insight into the Canadian city's bike connection with Franc

Taylor and Anne Marie saw their neighborhoods at human speed in Sunday's CicLAvia in Los Angeles. “Meet the Hollywoods” opened 7 miles to people, not cars, from East to West Hollywood. Anne Marie discovers Fan Girl, a women musicians themed café. 1:13 Taylor nervously rides Luke’s Penny Farthing far. 1:52 Vanessa, Ryan, and Victor share their favorite things about CicLAvia with Anne Marie. 5:38 The Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts reopens its bankrupt bikeshare with a new operator. A report from Carolyn Misch, Northampton’s Director of Planning & Sustainability. 9:09 Taylor reports back from West Hollywood’s Mobility Forum. 11:28 Taylor rides Hollywood Boulevard’s brand new protected bike lane with Damien Kevitt, Founder and ED of Streets Are For Everyone, and Mehmet Berker, Transportation Deputy for LA Council District 4. 12:12 Kendra Ramsey, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition, on last week’s Association of Pedestrian and Biking Professionals in Detroit. 16:45 When Drivi

Anne Marie's bike trip to Universal Studios, Taylor's mountain trip, and Bikelash news. An unhinged speaker's threat to harass cyclists at a Glendale, Ca. City Council meeting could be used against him in court, say attorney Jim Pocrass and Kirsten Bladh, Streets For All’s Associate Director of State Policy, who posted the tweet that named the hater. 16:02 A report by Circulate San Diego finds that the California Coastal Commission opposes bike lanes to the beach and affordable housing. It’s their idea of “access,” says Colin Parent, Executive Director of Circulate San Diego. 29:06 “What the Heck Is Going on with the State E-bike Incentive Program?” asks California Streetsblog Editor Melanie Curry. 40:45 Stacey's Bike Thought 55:53