The Crosswalk Collective paints crosswalks where they legally ought to be, but aren’t. When Collective member Jonathan Hale painted crosswalks at a West Los Angeles park, the LA Department of Transportation made them real (26:07).
The California Bicycle Coalition sponsors AB891, the Quick Build Bill, which would allow Caltrans to make fast and cheap safety improvements to streets (49:39).
Vancouver bike activist Lucy Maloney won a seat on the anti- bike city council she fought for years. She gave Taylor a tour of the city and talks about her journey (2:24).
Speed cameras will go up this year in Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach, and the City and County of San Francisco, courtesy of California’s AB 645. California bike lawyer (and Bike Talk sponsor) Jim Pocrass says slower speeds will make cyclists safer, but enforcement may be in question because the cams won’t recognize faces due to privacy concerns (16:57).
Paint and political will are all you need, says Micromobilitynyc Reddit moderator Miser of Queens, NY. Miser talks on Ave 31, the protected bike lane he fought for and won (25:25).
The USDOT wants to hear from Americans what their priorities for transportation are. It’s part of the Transportation Reauthorization process, which will set priorities and spending for US transportation for the next 5 years. USDOT secretary Sean Duffy (former Fox host, now also head of NASA) says bike lanes cause traffic, and shouldn’t take money from real “vehicles.“ The League of American Bicyclists Deputy Director Caron Whitaker urges supporters of biking and walking infrastructure to comment here (39:13).
MassDOT’s under-the-radar redesign spits cyclists from a bike lane onto a busy road, Strong Towns Northampton member Alex Bowman discovers (41:43).
Listener feedback: Rebecca Reilly wants Nick to pronounce “Ontario” correctly, and Rick Bosacker says we should talk more about biking’s mental and physical health benefits (0:50).
Paris’ bike revolution from the POV of Bike Talk intern Charlie Leightheiser – bike lanes, bike share, and bikelash (4:27).
It’s never too early to start planning for the week without driving, which is 9/29 – 10/5 (10:30).
Penny, seven, interviews Zahavah, six, on techniques to relearn riding a bike (12:33).
SF bike culture from the POV of bike mechanics Tai and Bruno at Columbus Cyclery (14:47).
Bikes and trains go together, and there’s a map for that in Southern California put together by Jonah Kanner and the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (17:34).
The Los Angeles DOT is planning a potential bike corridor downtown at Spring and Alameda. There’s a survey to give some feedback to ensure this happens (28:05).
Kiddical Mass, Ottawa edition: Cassie Smith, Bike Ottowa Vice President, and her kids take us for a ride (29:05).
Australian kids’ bike fixer-upper Bart Sbeghen runs the not for profit “Dr. Cranky’s,” recycling bikes at primary schools. He talks to Taylor in Hollywood (44:41).
Bike Lawyer Andrew Lewis on defending Cycle Toronto and saving Toronto’s most popular bike lanes from the populist, tricky, anti-bike lane administration of Ontario Premier Doug Ford (0:29).
Cities like Los Angeles lose hundreds of millions in lawsuits due to traffic injuries and fatalities on their streets. They could save lives and money by using their street budgets to build protected bike networks, our bike lawyer James Pocrass argues (11:15).
As cities like NYC make war on ebikes, Upway, an online and physical marketplace for refurbished e-bikes, aims to make ebikes more affordable and accessible. With Marta Anadón, Upway Head of US (17:05).
Taylor talks to the Parking Reform Network CEO Tony Jordan on how to organize people against parking mandates. With Los Angeles mid city west Neighborhood Council transportation committee member David Sobel (33:00).
Bike History takes a literary spin in The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler, about a woman who rides her bike as a professional detective in turn-of-the-20th-century Chicago (47:50).
Taylor’s ride through the burned-down Pacific Palisades neighborhood, and architect Neale Payton’s insight into rebuilding the area as a Transit Oriented Development in the April 2025 Bike Talk episode (0:28).
Two vigils, four car victims, one day for NYC: Transportation Alternatives Communications Director Alexa Sledge shares audio of speakers at the vigil for the double car killing of Kevin Cruickshank and May Kwok on July 23 in NYC (3:09).
The NY Times article “Drivers vs. Cyclists” both-sides-ism makes it seem that whether or not Toronto’s bike lanes increase traffic congestion is a matter of opinion (7:03).
Los Angeles Metro extended pro-labor union bikeshare operator Bicycle Transit Systems’ contract through November 30, 2025, but it may go to Lyft after that. Is LA Metro’s preference for Lyft due to car bias (9:13)?
New York City’s August 2 “Summer Streets,” an open streets event, will be almost the length of Manhattan (10:26).
Harry Potter actress Emma Watson was banned from driving after caught going 38 mph in a 30 mph zone. She had 9 points on her license, but still- would that have happened in the U.S. (11:10)?
A recent cyclist death on St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans focused some attention on Bike Easy’s “Safer St. Claude” campaign. With Bike Easy Executive Director Allene La Spina (13:00).
Bike The Drive, Chicago’s August 31 annual fundraiser for Active Transportation Alliance, comes just as safe/multimodal street advocates struggle with the Illinois DOT for a saner configuration than DuSable Lakeshore Drive’s 8-lane speedway along Chicago’s waterfront. With John Greenfield, Streetsblog Chicago editor (22:57).
BikeWalk Nebraska just got a Vulnerable User Law passed that’s good for cyclists, but there are some unwelcome riders in the law’s final version. With BikeWalk Nebraska Executive Director Julie Harris(34:11).
A West Hollywood memorial and ghost bike placing for cyclist Blake Ackerman, killed by hit-and-run. Streets Are For Everyone Director of LA County Advocacy, Brett Slaughenhaupt (3:00).
Hit and runs from a Legal POV: James Pocrass (6:01).
The Los Angeles department of transportation “redesigning our streets to prioritize human life” on high injury arterial Pico Blvd, and a survey for Pico users (15:00).
The Nova Scotia Premier uses threats and debunked tropes to get already bike-unfriendly Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore to abandon bike lanes. Must we reinvent the wheel every time bikephobic arguments emerge in Nova Scotia, Alberta, Ontario, and our neighborhoods? (16:54).
Chain stretch and what to do about it. Boston Bike Mechanic and bike shop owner Jim Cadenhead (42:00).
Portland, Oregon has a social ride for everyone and a citywide goal of one in four trips by bike. BikeLoudPDX board member and Clever Cycles co-owner Eva Frazier (48:32).
Taylor made it to Michigan, and having ridden to LAX in 56 minutes, he’s never going back…to driving (1:13).
Taylor talked to Tal Babcock, employee of a cafe in a former railroad depot where his grandfather was the Station Master, on the Michigan North Central bike route (2:41).
A NY judge rules NYC Mayor Adams can remove protections on the Bedford Ave bike lane, undoing years of advocacy, because it’s not a “major” modification. StreetsblogNYC writer Sophia Lebowitz reports that some see the judge’s ruling as meaning that all NYC bike lanes could as easily be made fully protected by a new Mayor (6:32).
Vista, California’s Mayor John Franklin says a fully installed protected bike lane is evidence of an “anti-vehicle agenda.” San Diego Bicycle Coalition Advocacy & Community Manager Ian Hembree sheds light (13:44).
A League of American Bicyclists Update by Deputy Executive Director Caron Whitaker: Marianne Martin is there when Greg Lemond wins the Congressional Gold Medal, the USDOT unwittingly opens a path for advocates to implement safe bike and walk infrastructure nationwide through a rule used to remove the Black Lives Matter plaza from DC, and the Big Bad Bill pulls red and blue states both out of major bike/walk infrastructure projects (24:06).
Bike life organizer Desmadre (“Chaos”) brings 5 bike crews to “buy out” street vendors in an action for solidarity against ICE in Los Angeles (34:09).
The owner of Orange Bike Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, Tom Ruff, AKA The Guy on The Orange Bike, tells why it’s called that, why their beer is gluten-free, and how many bike-oriented neighbors they have (45:35).
Taylor’s riding his bike to LAX, then biking to car-free Mackinac island, MI (0:56).
Bike activist and Cascade Bike Club volunteer Merlin Rainwater was brushed by a bus after being let out in a dangerous place by a Seattle bike lane. After a hit and run on a cyclist in the same spot, Merlin and others formed a people protected bike lane. Seattle DOT put in real barriers for protection THE SAME DAY (2:28).
Our lawyer, Jim Pocrass, advises on the risks of tactical urbanism (14:32).
Winnipeg bike activists including guests Patty Wiens, Bicycle Mayor of Winnipeg, and Michael (just Michael), made their own protected lane where cyclist Rob Jenner was killed by a car. The DOT took it down right away, citing safety. Patty also talks about her book, That’ll Never Work Here, and the exploitation of Sao Paolo bike delivery workers on her YouTube channel (22:09).
Magnus White’s not-accidental car killing and the language of car “accidents,” with No More Ghost Rides and Trash Panda Cycling’s LA bike calendar organizer Raphael Hernandez (2:31).
RAGBRAI: The Great Iowa Fall Ride with “Shift” documentarians/Des Moines Register journalists Courtney Crowder and Kelsey Kremer, and RAGBRAIder Shem Bitterman, with Taylor. (35:56)
At the virtual Bicycle Film Festival, Taylor sees a woman set a new record of riding a bike at 183 mph (0:22).
Nick visits Los Angeles, runs into a Hollywood ride out, and meets bike dancer Denis (4:42).
Taylor will use any pretext for a bike errand, reveals his wife Marga (7:05).
Money for protected bike lanes in Denver was about to be spent on removing them, until the Mayor’s Bike Advisory Council caught on. With Loren Hansen, Chair of the Denver MBAC (8:49).
NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ war on bikes is sending people who deliver food by bike into the jaws of criminal courts while food delivery app giants support anti-bike candidates. With Executive Director of the Workers’ Justice Project, Ligia Guallpa (13:59).
Good news in New York: a judge stopped Mayor Adams’ attempt to remove the Bedford Ave bike lane, and Zohran, NYC’s top Mayoral candidate, is super bike friendly (and just won the primary). Also, bike lane opponents at public meetings don’t seem to care about anything (besides parking spaces). With Miser, who runs the subreddit MicromobilityNYC (24:30).
A San Francisco Grand Jury Report determines the city’s failure to meet Vision Zero goals is due to lack of traffic enforcement (48:09).
Bike lane opponents in Northampton, Massachusetts, held a meeting with presenters from nearby Pittsfield, hoping to show how bike lanes that failed there would fail in Northampton, too. Their plan backfired, explains Northampton City Council candidate Benjamin Spencer (49:30).
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