And there was some astute analysis in there, and discussion of exactly how Portland got from where it was to where it is. Something that came up more than once was the role of raucous, extra-legal or semi-legal or illegal actions of the locals. There was mention of a “People’s Department of Transportation” and of course critical mass. I’ve never been a fan of critical mass here in Tucson but I do admit that civilly disobedient challenges to the status quo have played an important role in bringing about change. The Stonewall Riots, for example, and of course the sit-ins in the ’60s that inconvenienced the privileged classes in the Jim Crow South. Why shouldn’t we inconvenience motorists here in Tucson sometimes?

But I see so much progress in Tucson on this issue that I question whether antagonizing drivers is ever going to be the right way to go. Even the Tucson Police Department is finally coming around to acknowledging that bicyclists are legitimate road users who have a right to exist and survive their trip. That’s a big step forward from just four years ago, when cyclists were treated with open disdain and contempt by the TPD traffic division and its supervisor, Sergeant Tim Beam. (Beam used to be supervisor of the traffic investigations unit, but now heads up the photo-radar department and thankfully does not have the involvement with cyclists he once had. His replacement is, I think, a big reason we have seen such a change in how TPD handles motor-vehicle/bicycle collisions and the lighter hand taken with traffic tickets given to cyclists.)

That said, we obviously have a long way left to go. Tucson is plagued by sprawl and wide roads that encourage people to drive fast and go long distances for what they need. And there’s a freeway that needlessly cuts our city in half. It’s going to take some bold vision and planning to reverse course, and that’s where I see us as having a different challenge than Portland had. We need to retrofit whole communities and lifestyles to get people on their bikes. We need to knock it off with the cookie-cutter developments in the hinterlands and we need to start giving people alternatives to their mode of transportation and to where they need to go in the first place. No number of bike lanes will help the person who needs to go three miles in the hot sun to a decent grocery store. That person needs better bus service and a closer grocery store. And they might also appreciate living arrangements that offer an option to live closer to work. Which means more building up and less building out.

How can we make those bigger design changes happen? Is there a role for rabble rousing to solve our problems? Or is it hopeless until gas finally hits $6 or $8 or $15 a gallon?

–Erik Ryberg

Four LAPD officers accused of clashing with bicyclists are relieved of field duty

By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times

June 3, 2010

Four police officers involved in a clash with cyclists in Hollywood during a protest ride have been removed from field duty while investigators review the incident, officials said Wednesday.

The move comes as outrage over the videotaped incident grows, threatening to derail LAPD Chief Charlie Beck’s recent efforts to improve relations between the department and cyclists who have complained about the way police treat them.

The LAPD launched an internal investigation into the Friday night altercation after a videotape that appears to show an officer kicking the wheel of a passing bicyclist circulated across the Internet.

Several bike riders have also accused police of other aggressive behavior during the ride, including allegations that police tackled several cyclists off their bikes and jammed a baton into the spokes of one bicycle. None of those incidents are shown on the tape.

LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said the internal investigation will look at all the incidents of alleged police use-of-force as well as address complaints by one bike activist that the LAPD refused to take a complaint when he called the Hollywood watch commander. Investigators will also look into whether officers forced the person who shot the video to stop recording moments after the alleged kick occurred.

The video, posted on YouTube with the title “Hollywood Cops Attack Bike Riders,” inflamed L.A.’s cycling community. It had been viewed more than 73,000 times by Wednesday.

The thing about these incidents that creeps me out so much is that these officers were probably not acting in an unusual fashion. They probably act with that kind of aggression all the time. It’s just that this time, somebody had a camera. (So they attacked him). And how often do they take the next step and just break the camera when they find themselves being filmed?

It seems to me these guys need to be relieved of more than their field duty. They need to be relieved of their freedom via incarceration. Their behaviour does nothing for law enforcement except engender disdain among the public, and if law enforcement knows what’s good for it, these officers will be removed from the force immediately and, hopefully, prosecuted.

–Erik Ryberg

Sounds pretty cool.

–Erik Ryberg

So says Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

This Critical Mass had a less agro attitude than ours tend to — they stopped at lights, for example. I can hardly imagine what 20,000 riders must look like, but I’d sure like to see it some day.

Our own Tuesday Night Bike Ride had 215 riders this week, or about one percent of what they mustered over there in Hungary. But I’m not complaining. This week we passed by a house with a woman on the lawn who had apparently heard of the ride before. She come out to watch when she heard us go by and yelled out how happy she was to see us. We rang our bells and hollered back.

That’s so much more fun that yelling back at motorists after you cut them off.

–Erik Ryberg

Readers of TBL no doubt remember the above YouTube video of the NYPD Officer lunging at and knocking over a bicyclist in a Critical Mass Ride.

Now it appears a grand jury has indicted the officer and he will also face charges for falsifying his police report!

Thanks I. J. for the link!
–Erik Ryberg

From the article:

A bunch of bike riders pedaled through San Francisco on Friday night, and nobody got mad at anybody.

The cyclists were polite. The motorists were respectful. The pedestrians were happy. The cops were incredulous.

And it all comes, said ride organizer Reama Dagasan, from stopping at red lights, which is not at all a bad thing to do.

“We’re making a statement tonight,” she said. “We believe in sharing and being nice.”

Dagasan is the founder of Critical Manners, which is her response to the controversial Critical Mass ride that features hundreds of cyclists riding as a pack through San Francisco on the last Friday night of the month. At the last Critical Mass, there were several confrontations with motorists, including one that ended with someone smashing the back window of a minivan.

There was none of that for the Critical Manners ride. That’s because Dagasan put her foot down. She put her foot down at Grove, McAllister, Turk, Sutter, Bush and California streets, and that was just during the first half mile. A law-abiding bike rider puts her foot down a lot.

–Erik Ryberg

My friend Patty sent me the NY Times article on the police officer who body-slammed the cyclist and then arrested him for assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. From the article:

According to members of the group, Time’s Up, the video was taken by a tourist standing on the sidewalk. It shows bicycles streaming down Seventh Avenue at 46th Street, past two uniformed officers standing in the middle of the avenue. After a few seconds, one of the two walks quickly toward the east side of the avenue and into the original path of Mr. Long’s bicycle. Mr. Long appears to try to steer clear of the officer, but the officer then shoves him. Mr. Long crashes onto the curb, and people gather around him and the officer.

Officer Pogan arrested Mr. Long on charges of attempted assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the court papers say. Mr. Long, who other cyclists said works in the Greenmarket in Union Square, was released without bail on Saturday.

In papers filed in Manhattan Criminal Court, Officer Pogan said Mr. Long was weaving in traffic, “forcing multiple vehicles to stop abruptly or change their direction” to avoid a collision. Officer Pogan also said he suffered cuts on his forearms as he fell to the ground.

One cyclist, Craig Radhuber, 54, said he was a few feet behind Mr. Long, whom he said he did not know. He said Officer Pogan “body-slammed this kid off the bicycle so hard that he went from the lane to the curb.”

“I went over to yell at the police when another officer came and asked me to move back,” Mr. Radhuber said.

Mr. Radhuber said Mr. Long had not been weaving in traffic, as Officer Pogan alleged. “There was no traffic behind us — there was no traffic to weave in and out of,” Mr. Radhuber said. “The police officer looked to see who he was going to pick off.”

Bill DiPaola, a director of Time’s Up, said he arrived just after Mr. Long went down. “He got up and was dazed,” he said, referring to Mr. Long. Then, referring to Officer Pogan and the other officer in the video, he said, “They put their knees on top of his head and were smashing him into a phone booth.”

The best coverage is probably here at Gothamist.

And the police report is here.

The police union has defended the officer, saying he was only trying to protect himself. That seems to be the usual argument made by assailants against cyclists.

–Erik Ryberg

–Erik Ryberg

–Erik Ryberg