Here are newspaper and
magazine stories, news releases and other items relevant to traffic
safety in California and the nation. This list was last revised on
May 11, 2012.
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A bright and beautiful May day made for a busy morning at UC Berkeley’s Energizer Station. Students, faculty and staff stopped by to pick up swag bags, register their bikes with UCPD and get a quick bike tune-up from BicyCal‘s student bike mechanics. While many people were regular commuters, a cheer always came up when a cyclist announced she had made a special effort to bike to campus today. Congratulations!—from the blog of the Campus Bike Initiative: Promoting and Celebrating Cycling for Everyday Transportation at UC Berkeley
Santa Monica will begin rolling out new parking meters that will end the days of rolling up to a parking meter and feeling like you won the lottery because the previous occupant overpaid for their stay. The Santa Monica Patch reports, the city will begin installing new smart meters later this month to replace all of the city's more than 6,000 parking meters. The new meters will include ground sensors that "communicate wirelessly with the meters to shut off when a car has parked beyond the posted time limit and to reset when a car leaves the space." The tech savvy among us will like the fact that they can handle the whole operation from their phones--paying by phone and even receiving a text when their time is set to expire. But the new meters aren't all Jetsons-style perks. As pointed out by LA Observed, all that new technology will also help the city generate an additional $1.7 million in revenue through parking enforcement in the first year.
Traffic deaths fell an estimated 1.7% nationwide in 2011, and the death rate may have reached the lowest point since tracking began in 1949, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates in a new report.
Most require drivers to stay at least three feet from bikers. Still, an important central question remains: do these laws make travel safer for cyclists, or are they hollow gestures that, when enacted, are easily ignored? "A lot of times, people don’t realize that cyclists have a legal right to the road," says Bob Mionske, U.S. Olympic cyclist-turned-cycling lawyer and the founder of BicycleLaw.com.
Photo: Shutterstock
A century and a half ago, the great English author watched trains replace stagecoaches and London's subway system begin. He 'would have been surprised at how long it has taken Los Angeles to build its rail system,' a UCLA professor says.
Who knew that Charles Dickens, master scribe who brought us Scrooge, Copperfield and tale upon cautionary tale of hard 19th century life, was a transit aficionado with a story to tell traffic-snarled Angelenos about their plight?
I didn't.
From the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Board members approved the $153 million project Wednesday, saying they expect it to increase ridership, cut pollution and lure motorists out of their cars on a heavily used 9.5-mile long bus route. It extends from 20th Street in downtown Oakland to the San Leandro BART station.
The Napa City Council unanimously approved the Downtown Napa Specific Plan and supporting documents Tuesday evening after a public hearing that largely focused on one recommendation contained in the document and one left out. Two-way streets and the types of businesses that will line them were the highlights of the discussion surrounding a document that has been in the works for three years and will soon be implemented.
The 300-acre pristine parcel of ridge-tops and valley woodlands known as Alhambra Highlands is situated at a key crossroads that could potentially house a hiking and biking trail connecting the Bay Trail to an entire network of Diablo Valley and Contra Costa trails and afford commuters an alternative transportation option from Martinez to Livermore and beyond. A group of residents formed the Alhambra Hills Open Space Committee to raise awareness among local, state and federal agencies and land trusts that the Alhambra Highlands housing subdivision site is available for purchase as permanent parkland, at the right price.
DMV: In 2010, 36 cyclists died in NYC traffic accidents -- No criminal charges filed
When a camera catches you blowing through a red light, you get a citation in the mail with a $158 fine. That is, unless you're a cop in certain South Florida locales.
Las Cruces residents who have unpaid traffic citations from red light cameras risk having their utilities shut off. The City is notifying offenders by mail that they have until the due date stated in the letter to pay the fines or make satisfactory payment arrangements. Failure to comply will result in termination of utilities services. Authority to do so is contained in the Las Cruces Municipal Code, Section 28-10, which states: The city may decline, fail or cease to furnish utility service to any person who may be in debt to the city for any reason, except ad valorem taxes and special assessments.”
By hitting the reset button, Gov. Jerry Brown bought some time for the embattled California high-speed rail plan. In recent months, the CEO of the controversial project resigned. Brown installed Dan Richard, an official with political and transportation industry connections, as new board chairman.
A federal pilot program in Marin and three other U.S. communities designed to get people out of their cars and on foot and bicycles produced multifaceted benefits, according to a report formally submitted to Congress this week. In 2005 Marin received a $25 million grant for bicycle and pedestrian projects as part of the "Non-motorized Transportation Pilot Program," a five-year federal effort to promote biking and walking. The program is winding down, and the Federal Highway Administration has issued a report on how it all went. For Marin, it went quite well, officials said.
...As with many grand infrastructure projects, the engineering of Phase I overlooks many of the details of both form and function that matter to people at the street level. Either they still don’t get it, or Metro and LADOT just don’t care to make more than a minimal or required effort. What ever the case, bicycling was clearly the afterthought in the Expo planning and engineering.
... Last month, the San Francisco MTA board approved a plan to offer passes on Muni to low-income youth, contingent on receiving $5 million in regional money. The experimental program, planned to last 22 months, would begin on Aug. 1 and cost an estimated $9.4 million. The MTA would cover the rest of the cost along with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Unified School District. The board opted against a much costlier plan to offer free rides to all youth.
Five years ago, a young woman crashed into my car and accidentally turned me into a full-time bicyclist. If I could find her today, I'd thank her for countless hours of pleasure over a cup of coffee, so long as the cafe is near a bike route to work.
Link to video of news coverage after widely publicized reckless driving crash (no bicyclist fatalities or serious injuries).
from Fatality tracker update: 80% of pedestrian deaths this year are hit-and-run crashes
Parking scofflaws risk more than a few dollars when they skip out on their tickets. A growing number of states are taking aim at the driver's licenses of motorists who refuse to pay up.
Bellingham police parking enforcement officer Brad Crosier writes a ticket on Railroad Street in Bellingham, Wash. Sponsored Links Last year, Wisconsin allowed municipalities to ask courts to suspend the driver's licenses of parking scofflaws. Michigan, which used to suspended licenses after drivers accumulated six unpaid tickets, will, effective May 16, drop that number to three.
Photo credit Phillip A Dwyer, AP
Congress opened negotiations Tuesday on a new transportation bill as bicycle and pedestrian groups fought to defend programs, including one in Marin County, that build bike paths and sidewalks to make it easier for people to travel without a car.
The programs that make up most federal support for biking and walking - dubbed "safe routes to schools," "recreational trails" and "transportation enhancements" - make up less than 2 percent of all federal transportation funding. Republicans have targeted the programs for elimination or cutbacks in the House and Senate as a way to save money and stop what they call unnecessary spending on such things as transportation museums.
As thousands of bicyclists hit Bay Area streets for Thursday's 18th annual Bike to Work Day, an increasing number will ride in a bike lane sure to grab the eye of even the most distracted driver. Bright green bike lanes -- really bright green -- are spreading throughout the region to make bicyclists more visible and to ensure safety where cyclists are most likely to mix with heavy auto traffic.
Photo: Gary Reyes/staff
Campus cyclists totally rock Bike To Work Day! 
