I went for a massage today, and the Feed

Since the last file of links won’t show up in the Feed folder until after midnight Friday is a good day to go do things. So I went to get a massage to try to do something about my neck, which has stopped getting better about two weeks ago. My range of motion hasn’t improved much over the big jump I had on the day after surgery, and my neck still cracks every time I try looking up. The good thing today was after the massage I was able to turn the overhead light on without using Braille, I could look almost straight up to find the pull chain on the light. That won’t last, but I hope there will be some carryover until I get another massage.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: OC hit-and-run truck driver guilty; SGV bike rider found beaten to death; get ready for CicLAvia Didn’t that trial just start Tuesday?

From down the road a day’s ride. Memorial ride planned Saturday for bicyclist Brian Silva “This from Please Be Kind to Cyclists …”

And motor vehicles in NYC killed the same number of pedestrians in June as people on bicycles killed since 2000. NYPD: Drivers Injured 1,228 Pedestrians and Cyclists in June, and Killed 10 The 10 includes one dead cyclist…

This NYC wreck is just troubling. No Charges for Driver Who Killed 72-Year-Old Cyclist in Sunset Park and 72-Year-Old Brooklyn Cyclist Killed 1 Block From Home As was pointed out in the Streetsblog article, the cyclist or the driver could have run the red, or the cyclist could have entered with the green and gotten balked by pedestrian traffic and then the driver failed to yield. Only one of those scenarios has the cyclist at fault.

Update on a FL fatal hit-and-run. Suspect arrested in hit-and-run that killed teen on bike They did a database search for cars matching the description, narrowed it down by specifying a radius from the wreck and then went and looked at all the cars until they found the weapon vehicle. Exactly what I told the detective to do in my wreck, but he said it was “too hard”…

This Chicago cyclist isn’t fooling around. Cyclist avows injuries, sues three The driver that doored her, the driver that hit her when she got doored, because he shouldn’t have been driving, and the owner of the car that hit her for allowing a driver who was required to have “adult supervision” to drive alone. If she’d lucky she might get enough to pay her doctor and hospital bills and cover her lost income and maybe even the costs of moving after losing her apartment…

A cyclist in VA is found bleeding on the side of the road. Stuart man injured while riding bicycle Apparently they don’t think he was hit by anything, just fell down after getting dizzy or something.

The links to this Boston hit-and-run report keep changing as I write this, so I have no idea what you’re going to find when you click. Truck, driver connected to fatal bicycle crash located out of state That was originally a description of a bog-standard right hook, complete with a semi turning from the wrong lane across a bike lane. Police Find Driver After Fatal Bicycle Accident In Boston and this one Police locate truck that hit, killed bicyclist OK they found the driver and the weapon vehicle. and the comments from the first link are continuing to blame the cyclist even though they are saying the truck violated her right of way.

Another hit-and-run in Chuck. Judge sets bond for woman accused of DUI in fatal Hollywood crash OK that link changed and now the driver was “just” drunk.

I’m just flabbergasted with this link. Man charged in collision that seriously injured cyclist in Chapel Hill What surprised me the most is NC has a reputation of blaming cyclists for being there to get hit, and less than 4 days after the wreck they have criminally charged the driver for making a right hook.

The Mounties got their man! Oshawa man charged in Stouffville-area hit-and-run involving cyclist and Police arrest man in April hit-and-run that left cyclist seriously injured Is that the charges, or a laundry list?

A cyclist in the Great White North left-crosses herself. Cyclist seriously injured in Fort Erie and Senior cyclist serious hurt in Fort Erie collision What more can I say? Left turning vehicles must yield to through vehicles.

This tale from the Great White North sounds exactly like a Buzz Job. Cyclist injured in collision near Delhi, Ont.

This is about as far east as you can get in Canada without taking a ferry. Cyclist injured After looking at the front of that car, if the driver stopped it was only for a fraction of a second and it was burning rubber until contact with the cyclist. IOW this was a left cross at speed.

And Canadians can only stay polite for so long. It’s a mixed up, shook up world when pedestrians punch cyclists

[facepalm] Lorry driver who caused death of Denbighshire cyclist by careless driving has driving ban cut on appeal [/facepalm] Seriously?!? Only 5 years of not-driving for killing while driving and it was still too much? and he didn’t even get community service…

Part 2. County Durham bus driver spared jail after killing Washington cyclist Les Turnbull Another killer driver gets probation and a meaningless driving ban instead of something appropriate, like drawing and quartering.

Texting and driving is bad, umm kay? Deal Mum of teenage cyclist Daniel Squire features in emotional video for new phone app and Mum’s campaign to prevent texting at wheel after death of her son

Oh Ghisallo, fix this junction or direct large heavy vehicles away from it. Bank crash: Cyclist hit by van at notorious junction where Ying Tao was killed in lorry crash The only thing that prevented this from being a fatality was low speed and the weapon vehicle being comparatively light (compared to a semi that is).

Automating road surveys so they are done constantly instead of once or twice a year. Pittsburgh Program Looks to Seal the Cracks in Urban Road Management Good pavement looks textureless to the program, but as the pavement degrades it develops more and more texture, until it hits a point where it has to be replaced. Using this program will keep maintenance from getting behind the curve so that roads can be repaired instead of rebuilt and lower costs.

And when our robotic overlords take over the streets they will be polite to cyclists and pedestrians. This is why self-driving cars will be programmed to let cyclists rule the roads

And that was the last link, and I’m beat.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Unkillable Badass Poet (current time is 0227 )

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In pain and having a mild allergy attack, and the Feed

After getting the gas on Francis/es this morning because I got done too late to buy gas last night, I mowed the grass this afternoon. The good news: I rode Francis/es for 1.04 miles today in 92/93 degree weather. Bad news, I still need to make that extended stem so I can sit comfortably and see the road.

More bad news, as I was doing the filtering my feet started to swell a bit until I couldn’t put my shoes back on. I will still be able to put out the garbage and recycling tonight for trash pickup tomorrow, I just won’t be very graceful about it. I think the swelling is due to my lower legs getting peppered with cut grass as I was mowing this afternoon.

Up first is Our Daily Ted, part 1. Morning Links: DUI driver in Palos Verdes rampage gets three years; scofflaw cyclists no worse than drivers I think it might be just me, but when I read “no worse than drivers” the image that comes to my mind is the 30K+ people killed by motor vehicles annually. I don’t think that is exactly what we are to aspire for.

Daily Ted part 2. Guest Post: The Benefits of a Bicycle for Urban Transport A reasoned, sober look at the benefits of city cycling.

And my second favorite bike blog also had a guest post. Guest article: Biking on the cheap There’s getting by and then there is having a bike to be proud of. They are not mutually exclusive, but you would never see me sourcing my tires from a dumpster.

One of the great ironies of history is that protected American bike lanes and intersections were being planned and pilot installed back in the 1970s, before the Dutch influence began, in response to the OPEC oil boycott. America Could Have Been Building Protected Bike Lanes for the Last 40 Years But as is normal with things being done for the first time (integrating bike infra with motor vehicle infra) Sturgeon’s Law raised its ugly head, and instead of throwing out the crap 90% they threw out everything.

And while we are on the subject of US infrastructure, here’s Portland trying to get Dutch style residential streets. City says diverters possible on SE Clinton Street this summer Again had they read the CROW manual this would have already been done.

Speaking of consequences of bad infrastructure, a cyclist gets hit because the stop signs were facing the wrong direction. Troopers: Cyclist hurt after crashing into SUV Notice the completely blind intersection where the cyclist was hit? The cyclist could have come to a complete stop and not being able to see oncoming traffic pulled right in front of the SUV. Not saying that is what happened, just that that’s how it could have happened. That’s why the CROW manual puts the stop/yield signs on the motor vehicle side of the intersection with a bike path, because cars don’t fall down when they stop moving.

And WY starts enforcing a new law for cyclists this month. WHP enforces new “three-foot rule” for bicycle safety and Highway patrol to crack down on new bicycle safety law

A good bit of infrastructure news from NoCal. COMING TO CALTRAIN: MORE SPACE FOR BIKES ON BOARD Solving the “first/last mile” problem.

And a sad update on the cyclist hit by a dump truck making a close pass in CO. Cyclist Killed By Dump Truck It must have been a long, painful death to have taken this long. Pity his killer won’t take that long to die as well, but the Constitution forbids that, cruel and unusual punishment.

NYC is still having a gender discrepancy in their bike counts. Why Do So Few Women Bike In NYC? Infrastructure is a big part of the problem, followed closely by jerk drivers trying to force their way into the bike infrastructure.

And this is a big reason also why women don’t ride bicycles in NYC. Driver Who Killed Park Slope Boy Has License Suspended For 6 Months Six months of “don’t get caught driving” for killing a kid playing at a park in a residential area.

Speaking of drivers not getting what they deserve, here’s another link to that texting driver in Jolly Olde getting carted off to the hoosegow. St Albans cyclist death: John Michell jailed for killing Mark Greenwood Less than 2 years for killing someone leaves me with less than schadenfreude, more like schaedenfrumpy?

And WTF?!? Cyclist suffers fractures to face in London Colney attack Punch someone in the head as the cycle by in the street? What are you, a Daily Mail commenter?

Last link is a Canuck grump. Develop regulations for memorials “Don’t leave reminders of how deadly the thing I use to get around really is!”

Sorry this is going up so late but I had to stop and elevate my foot because of the sudden swelling after mowing the lawn.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Another Monday, another Feed the size of Marvin’s brain

For those who don’t get the reference in the headline, the answer is 42. Knowing the answer precludes you from knowing the exact question, much like in particle physics you can either know the position or the velocity of a sub-atomic particle, but you can’t know both. Damn you Heisenberg!

And I have lived through another weekend. Yay! Some time tonight I’m going to put the lights back on Francis/es and the gallon jug for gas in the bed and go get some gas for the mower so I can mow the lawn tomorrow while I can still walk upright. Most of the lawn still looks good, but the patches around where the ant mounds used to be are getting rather tall so they need to get mowed, therefore the entire lawn needs to get mowed.

I have so many links to stories from north of the (other) border I almost feel like the blog post should be Canuck Witch on a Bicycle. Seriously about ²/₃ of the links that passed filtering were from Canada. And not many were good.

But first Ted survived the fireworks and the frightened Corgi in his lap to deliver today’s Daily Ted. Morning Links: Founding father of BMX found dead in Indio; man fixing bike shot dead by LASD deputies

Update on a wreck in Seattle. Reader report: Update on bicycle rider recovering from Delridge crash

Still in the Pacific NW. Ghost bike commemorates Medford cyclist’s death An OR cyclist got a Ghost Bike from CO cyclists because he got killed in CO.

I don’t know that my brother would have done this for me. State briefs: Abe Kolstad completes cross-country bike trek on brother’s behalf Yeah, I’m reasonably certain my brother would not have done this for me.

Another one of those “cyclists are dangerous” fallacy-filled diatribes from NYC. Cyclists must get on board with NYC safety If only motor vehicles were as “dangerous” as people on bicycles, there would be hundreds fewer deaths and thousands fewer injured each year just in NYC.

And more on what is really dangerous in NYC. [Update] When A Bus Driver Kills A Pedestrian, MTA Union Blames A Streetlight “Hey, I can’t see where I’m going so I will just blast through at more than 3 times the recommended rate and hope I bounce off the big things…” and ignore the little things, like people.

First tale from the snowy wastes. Driver charged after cyclist struck and killed in Milton Some see a drunk driver killing a cyclist. I see inadequate infrastructure that failed to protect that cyclist from the drunk driver. Look at the proportion of cyclists killed by drunk drivers to all drunk driving victims in the Netherlands and compare that to the US and Canada. More Cyclist killed in hit and run in Milton

Motor crime in Jolly Olde. Lorry driver involved in fatal collision with Denbighshire cyclist banned for five years Oh, how will he survive being unable to drive for a full 5 years? /snark

And then there is this idiot. Northampton driver who killed cyclist after sending ‘trivial’ WhatsApp messages while at wheel is jailed Texting at that rate there is no way he could have been navigating any other way than by peripheral vision at best. So when will they be executing him? Prison term of less than 2 years you say? TANJ!

Articles like this one illustrate why the KSI statistic is superior to just counting fatalities. More than 700 cyclists and motorcyclists were killed or injured on Merseyside roads in the last four years

Back to The Great White North for this infrastructure article. How to avoid getting ‘doored’ on your bicycle Where there are bike lanes they put cyclists between a rock and a hard place other wise known as the door zone and the streetcar tracks.

More on bike lanes in the GTA. It’s time bike lanes were installed everywhere Well, not everywhere. You probably don’t need them in residential areas if those areas are properly traffic-calmed. If you wouldn’t let your 8YO play in the street in front of your house, then that street has not been calmed properly. Bike lanes are for the collector streets that run off residential areas or in the shopping and employment areas downtown, with separated bike paths connecting those.

Something most people don’t think about when they ride. Being covered: Who pays in bike-car collisions?

And this is why cyclists are so easy to treat after a wreck. Cyclists push past the pain to stay in the saddle “That broke collarbone only hurts a little” is something I hear all the time from injured cyclists. I honestly do not know of any mode of transport that inures the users against pain as well as cycling does.

And I’m out of links before I ran out of patience. Tomorrow is lawn mowing first, shower second, blogging third, then dinner.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Adult toys for big boys (and girls), and the Feed

Someone sent me this link as a funny. Razor Presents: The all new CRAZY CART XL!!! [HD] Now I know what I want for Christmas this year, something that can get slideways! Seriously, this looks like an absolute blast to drive. Pity it can’t go over 17 MPH. I have been thinking about doing this on my own with scooter parts and casters from Harbor Freight, but the cost of doing this on my own and the cost of the Crazy Cart XL are about the same. Of course if I make it there is no reason to limit the speed to 17 MPH (except for the sanity of the driver/builder).

Up first is the continuing drama in Thailand. Cyclists call for harsher punishment and Police step up safety measures for cyclists That last link was blaming the victims harder than the drunk drivers that killed them Dreaming of the police making our roads safe for cyclists

The other big international story is the driver that hit a cyclist while running from police in Enn Zed and then crashed into a truck, killing himself. 25-year-old driver killed in car fire – after hitting cyclist and crashing into truck and Fleeing driver killed in fiery crash also One dead in crash between car and truck and finally Fleeing driver killed in fiery crash named At least this one won’t be a burden to the courts as he proclaims innocence because he “didn’t see” the cyclist he hit.

Still in Enn Zed, another blinded driver gets away with murder. Sunstrike blamed for cyclist’s death on Summerhill Drive “The sun was in my eyes, I couldn’t see the road!” And the prosecution believed him enough to not charge him with manslaughter or murder after he admitted he saw the cyclist more than 200 meters before he hit her dead center with his truck. Jocelyn Goodwin cyclist death: Jason Paul McGahey sentenced [facepalm] One hundred fifty hours of community service for killing a human being with a WMD. No jail, no fines, and only a 6 month suspension of his driving privilege. TANJ!

And local news, you can legally text and drive in TX. It’s Still Legal To Text And Drive In These 4 States I remind people this is the state where ZZ Top released Arrested for Driving While Blind. Which is what you are doing when you text at the wheel, driving while blind because you can’t see the road with your face in a phone. BTW that is the extended live version with the guitar solo in the middle.

A cyclist killer is caught and jailed in LA. Woman arrested in hit-and-run that killed cyclist Glad to see LEO taking vehicular mayhem seriously.

Our Daily Ted is pretty good today. Weekend Links: Sentencing delayed in emotional drugged driving case, rider reportedly robbed on Ballona Creek

Still in CA, sometimes us old folks don’t hear so good when a cyclist approaches and we walk out in front of them as they pass. Pedestrian injured in collision with cyclist on path The cyclist called out he was passing, then the pedestrian was startled when he passed. We aren’t allowed to have air horns on bikes, so how are we going to get through to old people who won’t wear hearing aids (like my Dad, $4K worth of hearing aids sat on his dresser most days the last few years of his life), or wearing headphones or earbuds at any age?

Is there anything easier to avoid than a train on tracks? Police: Bicyclist Hit, Killed By Light Rail Train At College Greens Station Just look and listen for a train ans if you see or hear a train stay off the tracks. How hard is that?

And of course there are no charges for a driver that turned into and ran over a child cyclist in NC. No charges in death of 9-year-old hit, killed on bike ride

Sometimes you really need to watch where the other guy is going. Four riders injured in multi-bicycle crash This was a group ride that went down because two cyclists at the head of the line touched wheels.

Legal Infrastructure for cyclists in the Great White North. Legal Matters-I was struck by an automobile while riding my bicycle. Can I receive compensation?

And physical/legal infrastructure news from Jolly Olde. Campaigners oppose plan to send riders on ‘zigzag’ around Cambridge Circus The legal part comes from this being the intersection where they refused to accept the money to redo the intersection to be safer for cyclists, and even now they are doing everything but make the intersection safer for cyclists.

Last link, could e-assist bikes be better? What’s Wrong With Electric Bicycles I wouldn’t say all hub motors are fragile, but there are a few that are of such low quality that reputable retailers refuse to sell them.

And I’m outta links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Stuff was happening nearby, and the Feed

For those of you wondering and sending me e-mails, yes the shootout over pictures of the prophet Mohammed was about 2 miles away by bike from my house, and 2) I didn’t know about it until I read the news the next morning. I live in that Garland, or to put it another way the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Let me hasten to add that I share very little with the person who deliberately baited this trap to cause extremists to attack the gathering other than a strong support for freedom of speech. I do not consider a “contest” for the “most offensive cartoon” to be freedom of speech, any more than I would consider a contest for the most offensive cartoon of a black man getting lynched. If you’re setting up “offensive” as a goal to be achieved you are automatically exceeding the protections of “free speech”.

And while we are on the subject of offensive things, the lump on the side and back of my neck is getting larger and more restrictive of my range of motion, and BCBS sent me a letter stating they agree with the diagnosis that it should be removed posthaste. Of course for an insurance company “posthaste” is not quite the same as it is for those of us who can get killed, they gave me a year to get rid of it. For an insurance company dealing with something that is not bleeding to death, that counts as “posthaste”.

Up first from the links, another bad day for Ted. 62-year old crosswalk rider killed in Santa Ana left cross collision Left crosses are pretty much the worst, because you can see it coming but don’t have the time to react to do anything about it. I’m just glad I never had to cover wrecks that might involve people I knew.

Our Daily Ted Pt. 2. Morning Links: More on efforts to undo Chase Street, bike riding family shot in WI, and apparently only dopes dope

Daily Ted Part 3. 23-year old bike rider killed last week in Granada Hills truck collision

FL cyclist violates one of WoaB cardinal rules, “Don’t Hit the Pedestrians”. Cyclist Dazed, Injured After Crash with Jogger You gotta pipe up when relaying warnings on a group ride. Sound off like you have a pair.

FL drunk driver gets a stiff sentence. Woman ‘2 Drunk 2 Care’ Gets 24 Years in Fatal Crash Yep, sending a tweet that you are too drunk to drive but you’re driving anyway makes this depraved murder or something like that. At least that would be my initial charge, Murder.

Speaking of Murder, someone dropped a marble or twenty and decided to shoot up a bike trail before shooting himself. Shooter disrupts family bike ride; 4 dead, including gunman As of the time of creating this post the shooter was known to be a veteran, but not known if he had seen combat. Mox Nix, he still saw enough to flip out and start shooting people. RIP dead cyclists, and peace to those shot but not killed.

How can this driver still look so smug in this mug shot? Truck driver charged in fatal Milton collision with bicyclist

How a world-class endurance athlete can be reduced to crawling. Lexington woman sentenced in hit and run crash that injured world-class cyclist

Remembering a NYC cyclist killed in a hit-and-run that ended up changing the way NYPD investigates wrecks. Remembering Clara Heyworth, And The Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Her Without Consequence They caught the driver when he crashed a few blocks away, but because the “investigation” was completely botched because it was started 3 days after the wreck and most of the evidence had been washed away they never charged him.

Still in NYC when you run someone over while police are investigating the first person you ran over you might be stupid get charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Cops: Driver Rammed Man In Wheelchair, Then Fractured Another Man’s Skull Yep, when you hit someone hard enough to send them down the stairs to the subway from the street, and you do it in front of a LEO still investigating the wreck where you ran over a guy in a wheelchair, you might get hosed.

Ripples and repercussions of a bike wreck in DC. The Injured Yogi’s 5 Accidental Life Lessons

Drunk driver in West Canuckistan gets a somewhat harsh sentence for assaulting a cyclist. Drunk driver sentenced Only 15 months for attempted murder…

There is a way to keep people from using the phone and texting while driving, but it is a voluntary thing. Smartphone App Blocks Teens From Texting, Phoning While Driving Make this app mandatory for all phones, not optional for teens. It as already been proven that talking on the phone, even with a hands-free device is as bad as drunk driving, and texting is as bad as driving with your eyes closed.

What do you do when there’s no place to pull over and no way to get passed? Harassed by a streetcar driver while riding safely and Streetcar GM responds to harassment complaint

Now if Amtrak wasn’t about twice as expensive as taking the bus or flying. Amtrak to welcome bicycling passengers by end of the year

Your next e-assist bike could recharge itself. Solarbike is the cycle for sun-lovers My experiments with solar-assist involved a roof over the bike with a coroplast panel to hold the cells. The idea was to point the bike on an east-west axis and tilt the roof south to catch as much sun as possible. The bike in the article does a similar thing with the wheel-mounted cells which can be charged by laying the bike on its side or pointing it so that the sun hits the wheels while parked.

And your next bike share bike could have a little extra helping you get where you want to go. Birmingham’s New Bike-Share Will Have Electric-Assist Bicycles

What if they made a street that adapted to the people using it, outside of cars? Customizing the Crosswalk Experience

Do we really need all that lane space on a city street? Why 12-Foot Traffic Lanes Are Disastrous for Safety and Must Be Replaced Now

And I appear to have temporarily run out of links, thank [$DEITY].

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I really am a scatter-brain, and the Feed

I left a ton of stuff out of yesterday’s post, specifically stuff about that lump on the back of my neck. Since I can’t recall exactly what I said and did not say (and I’m too lazy to open another tab and read it, I know that’s bad and I’m lazy) I’ll just go through the list. First of all this lump has been there for many years, at least 5 if not longer. Second there was some imaging done when I first noticed it by the Lab Rat Keeper to make sure it wasn’t something that was going to kill me (it isn’t going to kill me, it’s just really annoying now). Third the person checking me out yesterday was concerned that it has grown over the vertebrae on my neck and around the side of my neck and is concerned it may have become invasive. Fourth, it isn’t a sebaceous cyst because those are painful when poked they way I got poked during the exam yesterday, and not as firm as the lump on the back of my neck. So the thing they are really concerned about is that it might be invasive somehow and removing it might be a problem, and that it pretty much has to be removed sooner rather than later. The MRI is to determine how invasive it is and to positively identify what it is so that it can be removed without surprises when the operation gets done.

And with all that walking my feet hurt pretty bad when I got up this morning. 😛

Up first because The Onion is not the strangest source I have today. ‘What If No One Travels Anywhere Ever Again?’ Wonders Panicked Transportation Secretary Yep, nothing like a little existential angst to get the blood pumping in the morning.

Down the road from the Beautiful suburbs of Hell. I Can’t Even Why some people think we “need” a toll road through the middle of what was sold to the public as a park when the bonds were passed nearly 20 years ago now. No park, just a highway where there were pictures of people sailing little boats in tiny lakes in the brochures promoting the bond issue. Lakes that were never in the “official” bond proposal.

This note is TX-specific. Action Alert: Ask your representative to vote YES on HB 80 Since texting is a 21st Century blight upon humanity (and no I’m not just being old, I text when appropriate) it is only fair that TX should get in the 21st Century and ban it while driving.

Another TX specific paragraph on infrastructure. Texas House Takes Center Stage I like this one, because putting a designated portion of the general fund into transportation means we can demand a designated portion be put to non-motorized transportation. I suggest that $3 Billion be apportioned by fatalities for improving the safety for cyclists and pedestrians. I don’t meant that 16% of that $3 Billion should be put aside for cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure, I’m saying that 16% of the transportation budget up to that $3 Billion should be set aside for cyclists and pedestrians since this is a non-car source of funding.

And even in Houston they see the benefits of greater density in development. Houston Feels Downtown’s Lively Enough to Stop Development Tax Break The tax break had an initial cutoff of 2500 housing units that was quickly extended to 5000 when it was discovered that there was enough demand to support them, which is also about to get topped out years ahead of projected dates.

An experiment that worked out so well they wanted to make it permanent. Banning Cars Can Be Good For Business Whodathunkit? Giving more space to people instead of cars is good for business.

Our Daily Ted is really good today. (Late) Morning Links: Griffith Park road under attack, more on Sunday’s CicLAvia, and stupid Scot cop tricks

Would you like a secure lightweight lock for your crabon wunderFahrrad? LITELOK®: Lightweight, flexible and super secure bike lock. The mix of fibers in the braid that replaces cables and chains requires different cutting methods to separate, making one mode take way too long to get through and leading to thieves getting caught red-handed.

MPLS is getting serious about connected bicycle infrastructure. Minneapolis protected bike lane list for 2015 swells

What do you do when the air becomes dangerous to breathe? Ban cars for a day. Half of Paris just took a mandatory day off of driving OK ban half of cars, with the option to ban the other half the next day if needed.

Someone does not understand the concept of woonerf. 6 Places Where Cars, Bikes, and Pedestrians All Share the Road As Equals Woonerf are places where the motor vehicle is tolerated as something that has to be there but people would prefer not to be there, or basically a rowdy guest that has to be on its best behavior or get tossed out.

An e-assist bike for military use, when sometimes it is critical to be able to move faster than 20 MPH. Trefecta DRT: The $25K high-tech, military-grade electric super bike

And I’m all out of links again. I’ma have a little lie-down for my leg now.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

We have a new addition to the Feed, and the rest of the Feed

Join me in welcoming infrastructure news magazine Next City to the Feed today. I got several “back issues” sent when I signed up so there will be many links from them in today’s post. I think this will be a good resource for the future for this blog. On a less happy note the spring equinox ritual for tomorrow afternoon at my church has been rescheduled because of forecast bad weather.

Up first Friend of WoaB Carlton Reid has another article on the fact that paved roads in the US and UK owe their existence to cyclists. “Roads were not built for cars”: how cyclists, not drivers, first fought to pave US roads That’s right, we paid for the first paved streets and highways between cities to get paved, not the motor vehicles that did not exist at the time. I know that, you probably knew that, too, we just have to get the news to about 100 million other people in the US who still think roads did not exist prior to the invention of the motor vehicle.

News from Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Witnesses wanted in El Segundo death, Westwood votes for bike lanes, and more Valley CicLAvia

And Bikeyface has got this infrastructure thing nailed down. A ZOO That’s kinda what I feel like out there on the roads some days.

And David Hembrow weighs in on the Sydney Rd. door prize in Oz, placing the blame squarely on crappy Oz infrastructure designs. Eliminating the risk of “Dooring”: Good cycle infrastructure design keeps cyclists out of the door zone and saves lives

Making a coroplast honeycomb material may be the next phase of bicycle helmets. The New Materials That Are Revolutionizing Helmet Safety Right Now More expensive than the current EPS material that is standard for bike helmets, but potentially this could make helmets work almost as well as people think they do now.

The first of the Next City links is about the best bike lanes in the US. Cycling Advocates Pick 10 Best New Bike Lanes in the U.S. The “Best” bike lane in the US would still fail to meet the minimum standards set forth in the CROW manual.

Memphis is feeling the loss of their streetcar revival. Memphis Streetcars Will Come Back, But When? And if you are wondering what this has to do with bikes, the increase in cars caused by the shutdown of the streetcars makes use of the parallel bike lane just that much more dangerous…

Does anyone recall how many times I wrote in this blog that stale greens and short amber phases were getting cyclists killed? Investigation Says Mayor Emanuel’s Office Is Ignoring Traffic Safety Numbers Seems like some other people had the same idea…

Surface level highways without grade separation do not belong in neighborhoods, period, full stop, end of story. Vision Zero Activists Target New York Arterials, Including “The Boulevard of Death” You can’t mix fast cars with cyclists and pedestrians without getting dead and broken bodies, they just are not compatible. And if you can’t get the cars away from the people, you have to slow them down to the point that they can mix with people. Recent studies have shown that the maximum safe speed for motor vehicles on streets with pedestrians is 25 MPH. Any faster than that and the survival rate for the inevitable collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists just get’s unacceptably low. I mean people are rightfully appalled at a 91% survival rate for gunshots when motor vehicle collisions survivability rate goes under that at 23 MPH (90%).

Gee, why encourage people to make your downtown a desirable destination when you can turn it into a free parking wasteland. Parking Wars Play Out Differently in Two N.J. Cities One way gets sales and property tax money back to the city and the other lets car thieves have a choice of an open-air or covered market to select a vehicle from, assuming that anyone actually uses them for parking, because why stop and park when there’s nothing to see or do?

I wonder if this is because they don’t like bikes, or because they don’t like people spending money and generating sales tax dollars? Utah Appears Set to Ban Bicycles From Drive-Thru Lanes

Well this is interesting, a deputy threatening arrest for trespassing for riding a mountain bike on a posted mountain bike trail. Dust up over trail access in Oro Valley’s Honeybee trails

Gee, how DO you get people to ride bikes other than providing them with safe infrastructure that gets them from where they are to where they want or need to go? Four Ways to Inspire Bike Riders in Your Small Community

OK this is just as appalling as people getting shot. Mansfield Woodhouse car crash man walked away after injuring a cyclist He wrecked his car hitting parked cars and knocked a man down causing some injury when he pushed one of the parked cars into the man’s bicycle, then he wandered off because he “lost his passenger”? what was he on at the time? drugs, booze, massive amounts of beer?

Gee, why are huge vehicles with poor outward visibility that take up massive amounts of space when they turn killing people with no protection when they are forced to share the roads? TRL to study London’s HGV operations

Before and after court articles from the same Feed. Before New Milford man to be sentenced in cyclist death and after Lee gets eight years in cyclist’s death That’s 30 years of state supervision in all, with the first 8 in prison of he doesn’t mess things up, otherwise he gets to spend the full 25 in prison, then the 5 years of probation.

OK I an absolutely gobsmacked at this verdict. Van driver cleared of killing teenage cyclist in Kent also Texting van driver cleared of responsibility for death of 18-year-old cyclist He admitted he was trying to text but ran out of battery before he completed the text right before hitting the cyclist, and he was still found “not guilty”? And another view. SOMETHING’S NOT QUITE RIGHT HERE A detailed review of the wreck taken from the published testimony and court record.

At least there was a trial for that one even if the jury was composed of wannabe F1 drivers… One year on, ‘justice’ plea for cyclist dad who died in collision with car That’s right the plods won’t even send the case on to prosecutors.

This Irish cyclist may have missed seeing a pothole at night, but she didn’t miss the pothole! Pothole leaves cyclist with head injuries Interesting that the pothole was filled after the time of the wreck and before the cyclist was released from the hospital. 😛

No rush at all to build this memorial to a dead cyclist killed riding to ball practice, he died in 1983. Board OKs Stoughton pavilion for youngster killed riding bike That’s right he was killed by a motor vehicle while riding his bike July 21, 1983! Almost 32 years ago!

A LEO in AK wants to see how big a difference bike lights really make in drivers seeing cyclists do they really pay that much attention? JPD starts bike safety project

It turns out it is very hard to get people to change their commute once they have a set pattern they follow. The Problem With Paying People to Bike to Work Even when you pay people to bike, if they have already established the pattern of driving to work they will probably continue to drive unless besides paying to ride you also do something that strongly disincentives driving at the same time, like charging hourly rates for parking or putting in meters that need to be fed coins regularly.

This link is a bit out of position because it came in after midnight and I was not in the mood to scroll back up 1200 words and put it over by the rest of the CA stuff. YUCAIPA: Driver jailed in cyclist’s death That is one of if not THE harshest sentence I have ever seen anyone get for killing a cyclist, that I can remember. And they did not even have to prove BAC%. I have seen cyclist killer drivers with proven BAC% in the “you’re gonna die” range get lower maximum sentences than this guy’s minimum sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

And I’m done, no more links and I don’ wanna do this anymore today. 😦

Billed @€0.03, Opus the Poet