January 28, 20134 Comments on Santa Cruz CARnage
We frequently see reader comments in any newspaper stories about cyclists that bicycles cause more danger and mayhem for other road users, pedestrians and the general public than cars.
I don’t know if the people who write this stuff believe their own hyperbole or not, but when was the last time a cyclist knocked out power to 12,000 people, forcing street closures, widespread loss of business, and weekend overtime for PG&E workers and police to direct traffic?
January 28, 20133 Comments on Denis McDonough commutes by bike
I’ve seen the reports that Denis McDonough was a hard core bike commuter who rode the seven miles from his Maryland home into Washington. When President Barack Obama announced his selection of McDonough for his new Chief of Staff, though, he quipped to McDonaough’s children, “Dad will probably have to stop riding his bike to work. As chief of staff, I don’t think that’s allowed.”
And why not, Mr President?
The League of American Bicyclist’s asks the same question. No doubt his role as Chief of Staff carries a higher profile than his previous gig as Deputy National Security Advisor, but he’s a long time Obama confidant who put in long hours at the White House helping with several national security decisions and emergencies over the past four years.
If McDonough wants to ride and if he can perform to his employer’s satisfaction, the choice should be his. Andy Clarke says Let Denis ride. You can also follow discussion of this on Twitter at #letdenisride.
H/T Spingineer for the news and bilsko for the tweet tip.
January 25, 20131 Comment on L.A. Police Blotter
From the CHP Dispatch log last night comes a report of a white male cyclist with blond hair riding his bike in the slow lane of the I-405 freeway near Wilshire Boulevard. Here’s how the dispatches go:
January 24, 2013Leave a Comment
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports on this hit and run with injuries on Branciforte Road (locals call it “B-40”) near Glen Canyon Drive. The hit and run occurred the evening of Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The cyclist was transported to Dominican Hospital with serious injuries.
A 64-year-old Watsonville man is accused of felony hit-and-run after striking a cyclist on Branciforte Drive and then crashing into a concrete divider Tuesday evening.
Eleazar Ayala allegedly struck a 32-year-old Santa Cruz man who was riding his bike southbound on Branciforte and then kept going, CHP officer Grant Boles said. A little farther down Branciforte, Ayala struck a divider, causing his 1998 Nissan pickup to flip onto its side.
In the reader comments following the full news article on this crash, Ayala’s two sons claim the driver experienced “an unprecedented medical condition” of some type (perhaps a stroke?), which caused the crash.
Branciforte is a narrow two lane mountain road with little to no shoulder. It’s not my preferred route into Santa Cruz but I ride Branciforte probably a couple of times per month. I’ll take the middle of the lane where necessary to avoid getting clipped by drivers who might try to dangerously squeeze past when there’s not sufficient space for lane sharing.
January 17, 20132 Comments on Santa Cruz PD catch another bike thief
From the Sentinel police blotter for Thursday, January 17 2013:
A 35-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after an officer saw him trying to remove a Specialized bike from a bike rack in a parking garage at 2030 North Pacific Ave., said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.
The officer saw Adam Michael Brightwell trying to remove and dismantle a bike that was not his. Brightwell, who said his last address was the Santa Cruz Homeless Services Center, was arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools, according to police.
Well done to the Santa Cruz police officer who saw this attempted bike theft as it went down. I think this is something like the fourth Santa Cruz media report of a captured thief over the past couple of months.
There’s some discussion among local bike people who would like to see the Santa Cruz attorney make an example of bike thieves like Mr. Brightwell. I argued that stiffer penalties have almost no deterrent effect on criminal behavior. The better way to deter bike theft is to increase the chances of getting caught. Right now, bike theft is almost risk free in most areas. Bumping up the chances of catching the thief reduces the incidence of that crime, even if the criminal’s only punishment is an overnight stay and an order to appear.
As much as we might like to inflict bodily harm on bike thieves (and on their no-good enablers who purchase stolen goods), research consistently shows that increasing the severity of a punishment does not have much effect on crime, while increasing the certainty of punishment does have a deterrent effect.
January 15, 20132 Comments on Winter Spare the Air
Everybody’s talking about the horrendous air pollution in Beijing, where the US Embassy posts their PM2.5 measurements online. As of today, the PM2.5 results in an Air Quality Index of 105. Anything between 101 and 150 is considered “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.”
In the meantime, the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued its fourth winter “Spare the Air” alert for this season. The air quality is forecast to be unhealthy for sensitive groups (USG) for parts of the Bay Area Wednesday through this weekend.