Bike Commuters on the rise in NYC

According to a city count the number of bicycle commuters has increased by 75% in the past seven years in NYC. Several people interviewed for this LA Times article reported a growing motorist awareness of bicyclists as a result. However, there are still plenty of difficulties to overcome as an urban bike commuter...getting doored by taxi cabs, anarchic traffic patterns, angry motorists, and lack of proper police enforcement in vehicle/cyclist collisions...

Despite the increase in bicyclists, Copenhagen this city is not. According to Transportation Alternatives, the number of riders is still estimated to be less than 1% of the metropolitan population. In contrast, 40% of Copenhagen's population commutes by bike...even through the harsh winter. NYC has implemented various programs to encourage bike commuting, and apparently hopes to double the number of riders by 2015.

-lauren

Hearing for Jose Rincon next Wednesday-- please attend!

I just received this media advisory about Jose Rincon, the young man who was killed while riding his bike on January 12. He was struck by Glenda Rumsey, who fled the scene. She had a blood-alcohol content of .246 (!). Ms. Rumsey is out of jail and back on the streets now, still driving. I reported on young Jose Rincon and this awful tragedy here and here and here.

Media Advisory

WHAT: Pre-trial Hearing re: Jose Rincon Bike Tragedy - DUI fatality case

WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, 9:45 a.m. Room 580, Pima County Superior Court, 110 W. Congress St., Tucson, 85701.

WHAT: The pre-trial hearing will determine the trial date for Glenda Rumsey, charged Jan. 22 with manslaughter, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and extreme DUI.

WHO: The prosecutor is Deputy Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt, and the judge is the Hon. Judge Richard S. Fields. At the last hearing on March 18, more than 70 family and friends of Jose Rincon attended; more are expected on Wednesday.

Background: On Jan. 12, 2008, Jose Rincon, 14, was hit and killed while riding bikes with a friend on the shoulder of the road off Broadway east of Harrison. According to the Tucson PD police report, the boys were not at fault. The driver, Glenda Rumsey, kept driving and was followed and brought back to the scene on foot by witnesses. She was arrested and more than two hours after the accident measured a .249 blood alcohol level, according to the police report. On Jan. 22, she was charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and extreme DUI.

Media Coverage: To get prior approval for cameras in the courtroom, call Judge Fields' office at 740-8434. Since on-camera interviews are not permitted in the hallways, the Rincon family will gather at the fountain after the hearing. To interview them before the hearing or receive a copy of the police report by mail, contact Beryl Wolfe at 207-9581 or beryl@wolfepr.com. For more info on courtroom camera rules, go to www.sc.pima.gov and click on the Community Relations icon on the left.

Why this is important: Rumsey, of Tucson, is a paralegal. She lost her license for only 30 days, instead of the usual 90, and is currently driving. Her bail was set at only $50,000, considered low for the charges she is facing and for a DUI involving the death of a child. According to the police report, she had been drinking, alone, at a local Chuy's for six hours before Jose was struck by her car and killed – from 1 in the afternoon until 7 p.m., which has not yet been reported by media. The accident occurred shortly after she left Chuy's at 7:20 p.m. when she missed her turn and drove onto the shoulder of the road.

Jose Rincon (jpeg attached) was a straight-A student at St. Michael's Parish Day School, a talented mariachi musician, fun, witty, smart and loved by all who knew him. He also was a model citizen. He was named MVP one summer at the Lute Olsen U of A basketball camp, where the MVP award will be re-named in his honor. He received a perfect score on the UHS entrance exam weeks before his death, but wanted to go to Salpointe - in fact, he took the Salpointe entrance exam on the morning he was killed. Known as "Guapo" among his family, Jose's death is a tragedy in every sense of the word - a huge loss for his family and the Tucson community. Here is a link to the legacy.com obituary and comments: http://www.legacy.com/Tucson/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=101271724

It is unlikely that anything about Glenda Rumsey's driving privileges will change at this hearing, but it is important to show how large the community is that has been affected by this case. We are all at risk from the drunken Rumseys out there--Jose Rincon never had a chance against her, and neither would any of us.

--Erik Ryberg

Lots of cops apparently citing people on the Tuesday Night Ride

Tucsonbikelawyer has a jury trial he is preparing for and didn't make the Tuesday Night Ride because he is working late . . . but lots of calls are coming in that police have swarmed the ride and are ticketing people. Sounds like a real mess out there! We'll have more tomorrow I am sure. Write in with your comments below if you were there and let us all know what happened.

--Erik Ryberg

Girls Bike Out this Saturday!

Cycle N' Style

1st Saturday of every month you'll see a group of girls on wheels with heels.

Do you bike? Are you a femme? Come join us, 6:30pm at Time Market.

Not in Tucson? Girls Bike Out is Global- we currently have an honorary member in Finland! Just invite a girlfriend, and hop on your bike the 1st Saturday of the month!

-lauren

Ride of Silence this Month

From the Ride of Silence website:
On May 21, 2008, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

Time and Place (from the GABA newsletter):
May 21st, 6 PM at McCormick Park on North Columbus Blvd. Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup is scheduled to be on hand for the start. Riders will proceed south to Glenn, east to Craycroft, south to 29th Street, west to Columbus, and north back to the park. The 12 mile ride will take about an hour. For more information about the Tucson ride, contact Wayne Cullop at pwcullop@comcast.net, Jean Gorman at prairiejean@aol.com, or Roy Schoonover at RSchoo2823@aol.com

UPDATE-- the above text is in error. The ride will start at 6 PM at Sears Park, just west of Wilmot, at 6 PM. Contact the above organizers for more information.

And another update: Tucson's Ride of Silence will begin at 6 p.m. at Sears Park on 14th Street at Wilmot Road, just south of Park Place Mall. Local officials will be on hand to start the ride with words of encouragement and a police escort will accompany riders and stop motor traffic at intersections. Riders will proceed south on Wilmot to 22nd Street, west to Randolph Way, north to Broadway, east to Wilmot, and south to the park. The 9-mile ride will take about an hour. For more information about the Tucson ride, contact Brian Beck at coyotes@cox.net or Jean Gorman at prairiejean@aol.com.

Thanks to Dean for catching the errors early!

-lauren

Tucson loses bid for platinum award

From today's paper:

Platinum bike-friendly award eludes region
By Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star

The Tucson metropolitan area has been awarded another gold-level designation for bicycle friendliness, which is good, but not really where advocates wanted to be.
Gold is the second-highest designation from the League of American Bicyclists; only a platinum award is better.

The Tucson area was first recognized as a gold region in 2006. Some of the region's cyclists and cycling advocates applied in March, hoping for a bump up to platinum this year.

Most readers of this blog know that I have been opposed to granting Tucson platinum status until the city resolves its law enforcement problems. Tucson law enforcement needs to begin protecting bicyclists and following up on cases where bicyclists are the victims of assault by motorists.

I hope Tucson can do that, and truly deserve this award.

--Erik Ryberg

El Grupo Conquers the Tour of the Tucson Mountains

El Grupo youth cycling team successfully completed the Tour of the Tucson Mountains bicycle race last weekend. Months of hard work paid off. El Grupo rode as a pack and averaged 18.8 mph for the 70 mile race. Pretty impressive considering it was the first race for 15-year-old Pablo Silva, who is pictured in the front of this group photo.

-lauren

Strong Sentence for Florida Motorist Who Killed Bicyclist

A 30-year-old man from Florida was sentenced to 25 years in prison for hitting and killing a mentally handicapped man on a bicycle and leaving him to die in the road. The motorist denied knowledge of hitting the bicyclist, saying that he thought someone had shot at his car or thrown a brick threw the windshield.

It seems highly unlikely that you could hit someone and cause their body to fly 70 feet from your vehicle and remain completely unaware. It appears that the jury is skeptical of the motorist's account as well.

-lauren

Nothing about this says "Sun Tran"

It seems every Tuesday Night Bike Ride somebody comes up to me with another horror story about almost getting hit by a Sun Tran bus and I can see why. Is there some kind of institutional hostility over there against bicyclists? What is it about that organization? Are there any cyclists in Tucson who have not been struck with terror by Sun Tran drivers?

I was hit by a Sun Tran bus once (grazed, actually, and not badly hurt) and when I approached the driver he screamed at me and told me he had no other option but to hit me because, otherwise, he might have hit a car. Waiting to pass safely (this occurred in a construction zone) was apparently so unthinkable as to not even be an option.

I filed a complaint against him and later asked Sun Tran if they had ever spoken with the driver. Neither Sun Tran nor their lawyer ever responded to me, and I assure you that next time it happens I will not be so accommodating.

From the looks of the above video, Louisville's got a whole different thing going on than Tucson.

--Erik Ryberg

Audio from the April 8 Tuesday Night Bike Ride 911 calls

Hopefully I have the bugs worked out of this.

Lauren obtained the audio of the 911 calls that got the helicopter called out on the April 8 Tuesday Night Bike Ride. It's a .wav file. If it doesn't work for you, try right clicking and downloading, but it should open up right away with a traditional left click.

--Erik Ryberg