Category Archives: Advocacy & Local Issues

Bicycle advocacy both local and national, as well as discussion of local bicycle incidents with the community and/or police

Redwood City police claim 14 year old cyclist at fault for her death (which I question)

Advocacy & Local Issues, Personal stuff, , , , ,
Leyla Beban's "Ghost Bike" relocated away from the intersection
Leyla Beban’s “Ghost Bike” relocated away from the intersection

My worst fears imagined; the “investigation” into the tragic death of 14 year old Leyla Beban on November 26, 2012 has decided it was her fault. You can read my original entry on this, written the day afterward, which asks questions and postulated how things might have gone down more-thoroughly than what’s been released by the police department. Or not. I haven’t seen the actual police report, only on-line stories that might not do justice to the Redwood City Police Department.

I’ve gone through the accident in my mind over and over and over. I have a very hard time understanding how the motorist was not responsible for knowing that someone was on his or her right, whether cyclist or pedestrian. And since there’s no right-hand turn lane there, the motorist must assume that anyone on their right side could be going straight, and have the right of way. Alternatively, if Leyla has actually been seen indicating she would be turning right, the motorist shouldn’t be racing her for the intersection. The family has retained an attorney who specializes in bicycle accidents, so this isn’t the end of it.

Snowmageddon in DC? Never happened!

Advocacy & Local Issues

We’d been well-prepared, spending all day Tuesday in meetings, meetings, meetings and more meetings. I enjoyed hearing a politician tell us “We all know what to do. We just don’t know how to get re-elected after we’ve done it.” And another that “We are not cyclists. We’re people on bikes.” An important distinction that helps to sell cycling infrastructure.

And then came our day on the ‘Hill.

I’d like to say we came, we lobbied, we conquered. But it wasn’t quite so simple. That wild weather that was supposed to hit DC the same day we would be out on the ‘Hill, asking for consideration of the idea that bikes belong on the street, and that the streets should accommodate all users? We went to bed last night with instructions to go to this website- opm.gov/status when we woke up, and, in a nutshell, it said WASHINGTON DC IS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS. United Airlines concurred, cancelling every single flight out of IAD and DCA airports for the day.

We received phone calls and emails telling us that, although technically the government was shut down, in reality many of the offices would still be open for business, and that our state coordinators would find out who was and who wasn’t for us. At the end of the day it was obvious; those from fair-weather states cancelled, while those from the Midwest were open for business. In our case, Anna Eshoo’s door was locked, Jackie Speier’s office was open but not doing any appointments because they trusted the weather forecast, and Sam Farr (representing my brother Steve’s district in Monterey) was not only open for business but there in-person. My daughter Becky was thrilled that one of their staffers was a fellow Stevenson/UC Santa Cruz student temporarily on loan to DC (through the UC-DC program).

Regarding that terrible weather… it never happened. And even if it had, what difference would it really make, since you can live entirely underground in the area around the Capital?

More soon; it’s past midnight here, one more long day tomorrow before flying home. It’s been a bit different than planned, but I’d still rate it as a successful trip. –Mike–