Archive for July, 2009
Walter Cronkite, truth teller, 1916-2009
I’m sad tonight. Walter Cronkite may have never ridden a bike in his life, for all I know, but I grew up watching his broadcasts and it so happens I have been reading this anthology lately which includes his famous “mired in stalemate” piece for CBS.
That was a courageous thing for him [...]
Alejandro “Beaver” Nunez, 1959-2009
Alejandro Nunez was killed while riding his bicycle on 22nd Avenue right at the intersection with South Sixth Avenue. The police did no accident reconstruction work. They did not paint the street or measure skid marks. They wrote a brief account from the perspective of the driver, which is that Mr. Nunez inexplicably [...]
Read More..>>Is TPD stepping up enforcement?
I’ve been getting a lot questions about this email, which is making the bicycle-internet rounds:
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:34:58 PM
Subject: police man asked me to spread the word
Hi y’all. I was pulled over (for no reason) this morning coming back from Gate’s Pass. Motorcycle cop asked me to “tell my friends” that TPD has [...]
Zero citations so far for “Three foot passing rule” in Tucson this year
A couple times a year I send a public records request to the City Court to determine how many people have been cited in Tucson for violations of the three-foot safe passing rule, A.R.S. 28-735 (A).
The statute reads:
“While overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction, a person driving a motor vehicle shall [...]
My comeuppance
After yesterday’s post, which many found overly strident, I found myself this morning staring aghast as a young woman came barreling down my street, quite fast, right through a blind intersection with no regard whatever for the stop sign.
And what else?
She was riding no-handed.
Sigh.
–Erik Ryberg
Is nothing sacred? Cops currently hiding on 3d Street bikeway to ticket cyclists
So say my readers. They are taking advantage of a stop sign obscured by foliage on 3rd Street between Tucson and Country Club.
Just yesterday I watched a bike cop ride the wrong way up Simpson Street in my neighborhood, make a turn onto Convent without stopping (he would have had a stop sign, but [...]
Of 143 nations, U.S. ranks 117th in happiness
I get the feeling we in the U.S. are doing something wrong. It turns out that fast-paced, high-consumption living, done mostly from the suburbs or behind the wheel, is not a prescription for personal happiness.
(CNN) — Forget Disneyland! Costa Rica is the happiest place in the world, according to an independent research group [...]
Car-free in Motor City
Ignacio sent me this op-ed piece from the NYT about biking in our poster-child for post-technological collapse, Detroit.
ONE night a little over a year ago, crossing Woodward Avenue, I crashed my bicycle. As I flew head over heels across Detroit’s main boulevard, I thought, well, in any other town, I’d be hitting a car right [...]
Alexander Nuñez — did you know him?
I cannot find anything more on this tragic accident. It was raining at the time and I suspect Mr. Nuñez may have been riding lawfully, but was not seen by the driver. The police report will not likely be available for some time, but I will get it when it is available. [...]
Read More..>>Another Tucson bicycle fatality –Alexander Nuñez
From the AZ Daily Star:
Tucson police identify cyclist killed Thursday
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.03.2009
A man killed Thursday evening while riding his bicycle on West 22nd Street near South Sixth Avenue has been identified as 49-year-old, Alexander Nuñez, police said.
Nuñez was hit by a van in the eastbound lanes of 22nd Street at about [...]