Ramping up, July 8

LAPD arrests motorist after bike crash

Two cyclists were badly injured on July 4 when they were struck by a car on Mandeville Canyon Road, a popular road with serious cyclists. Christian Stoehr and Ron Peterson -- who both race and are experienced riders -- were riding down the canyon following a big Fourth of July ride when a car pulled in front of them and then slammed on the brakes, according to Stoehr.

As a result, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested the driver, Christopher Thompson, 58, of Mandeville Canyon, on an assault with a deadly weapon charge, said Officer Ana Aguirre, who added that the incident is being considered an intentional act. Thompson posted $30,000 bail on July 4 and has an August 1 court date. Police say they're still investigating.

I spoke with Stoehr on Monday evening. He sounded upbeat -- but said it was the pain pills. He figured he would be out of the saddle for the rest of the bike racing season with a separated shoulder joint. "Ron needed over 90 stitches to his face and his nose was partially peeled off," Stoehr said of his coach and teammate on Cynergy Cycles. "I've had small incidents where a car will come up to me and someone will start yelling, but never where someone pulls up in front of me and blatantly slams on the brakes."

Thompson could not be reached for comment.

There is more coverage of the accident by Zach Behrens and Stephan Box at LAist -- here are links to the first post and second post. It will be interesting to see how the prosecution of this case unfolds. The cycling community is upset -- not just because of what happened, but because few cases in which bicyclists are hit are ever prosecuted. Which leads to the next item...

Bicycle bill of rights campaign continues

Box, who is perhaps the most vocal bike activist in the area, has been circulating a cyclists bill of rights to reaffirm that cyclists have, well, rights to use the street, too. My favorite one is No. 6: "Cyclists have the right to urban and roadway planning, development and design that enable and support safe cycling." I'm not so sure that's been carefully followed in these parts.

Olympic-Pico plan: It's back!

Remember that proposal by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to make the east-west boulevards behave more like one-way streets and better move traffic? An array of merchants and neighborhood groups went to court to force the city to do an environmental review of the project and the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday is scheduled to consider spending $500,000 on such a review (It's item 26 on the agenda). It will be fun to see if a discussion breaks out.

Mind your manners, Muni riders

A new group called Muni Manners has created a website to remind new transit riders how to behave. Among them: "Hey sleep slut, innocent riders next to you are mortified when you fall asleep and start leaning on them. ... Remember, no one wants to hear your nostril opera or see your drooling mouth agape as you slumber across the city." Related: Guest blogger Joseph Riser offered etiquette suggestions to new Southland bus riders in a Bottleneck post last week.

Links to Monday's items

In case you want to peruse some items from yesterday's Bottleneck menu:

Congestion pricing may move from 210 to 110 freeway

Road carnage down over three-day holiday weekend

Metro trying to improve parking at bike stations

Westsider builds his own billboard database

Batmobile versus Formula One car

-- Steve Hymon

Comments

[KateNonymous]

Steve, thanks for providing coverage of this horrific incident--I can't say "accident" because there seems to be nothing accidental about it. There is no excuse for the kind of violence that this individual exhibited. I hope he is prosecuted and found guilty.

[Dorothy Melvin]

Is there a reason you left out the part that this psychopath is a "doctor"?

[John S.]

How can people make donations to cover medical expenses for the people that were hurt in this bike accident?

[Tony Fernandez]

Hopefully that Pico-Olympic Plan will include bike and bus lanes. Turning ground-level roads into virtual highway does not seem like a good idea, especially for the businesses along that route.

Why are we only focused on car commutes in this city? There are other, better ways to get around.