The Safety Stop Bill (AB 122), sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition, would allow California cyclists to treat stop signs like 'Yield' signs. It's the Idaho Stop Law, and research shows it improves safety. See:
https://www.calbike.org/category/the_latest/?fbclid=IwAR0nikaUW6DC0kLOJrce3DjEFLkVGXTM_7HXYqR-Y3BG-o6AqJo5nAqUN6U

Dave Snyder, Executive Director of California Bicycle Coalition, with California Streetsblog Editor Melanie Curry, Grace Peng, Gabby Gee, and surprise guest 43rd District California Assemblymember and new Transportation Committee Chair Laura Friedman.

Hosted by Don Ward and Nick Richert

Bike Talk - Our Own Idaho Stop Law

Streets For All's Founder Michael Schneider with cohost Taylor Nichols on why Los Angeles needs another safe streets nonprofit, and their campaign to force the city to implement its own mobility plan every time a street is repaved. 
https://www.healthystreetsla.com/ 
https://streetsforall.org/

Edited by Kevin Burton.

@ 19:45-
Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield talks with Eben Weiss, aka BikeSnobNYC, the influential bike culture blogger, Outside Magazine columnist, and book author, about why the “Idaho Stop--” cyclists treating stop signs like yield signs and stoplights like stop signs-- is safe, sensible, and should be legal nationwide.
https://bikesnobnyc.com/

Bike Talk - Healthy Streets and the Idaho Stop

0:33 https://on.soundcloud.com/zpXmy
Lucas Rowton, mountain bike racer and bike mechanic, gives some advice on chains and flats.

10:44 https://on.soundcloud.com/ixYFS
LA Times Art and Design Columnist Carolina Miranda on her article, "Build less housing for cars and more for people," with Taylor Nichols. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-07-07/build-less-housing-for-cars-and-more-for-people-how-cities-of-the-past-can-guide-the-future

26:00 https://on.soundcloud.com/bts1X
State of the art thinking about safety from two Pittsfield, Massachusetts leaders in street design: Public Utilities Commissioner Ricardo Morales and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Senior Transportation Planner Nick Russo. With Western Massachusetts Bike Talk guest correspondent Lily Hoffman Strickler.

Edited by Taylor Nichols, Kevin Burton and Mitchel Bove. 
Closing Song, "Bike," by Mal Webb.
Interstitial music, "Just Moving," by Don Ward.
Visit BikeTalk.org to be involved.

Bike Talk - Bike Your Way

Taylor's Colorado bike trip included electronic shifting; also, practicing bike salutes.

Can we sue cities over blocked bike lanes? Attorney James Pocrass answers in his Legal Moment. 
6:54

What's more philosophical, road biking or commuting? Nick comes to Jesus Ilundáin, co-editor of Cycling: Philosophy for Everyone, for  a tour of the mind.
17:10

The Conservative Heritage Foundation's outline for a Trump presidency, Project 2025, would mean no federal money at all for bike/ped or transit projects. Caron Whitaker, Deputy Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists, reports. 
35:26

How do we know Middle Aged Men In Lycra aren't bike advocates? A listener asks, and it sends Taylor, Anne Marie, and Nick on a wild ride.
44:00

The Term Middle Aged Men In Lycra is both ageist and body shaming, Anne Marie concludes. 
57:37

Bike Talk Stories, our Google Group and In Memoriam: George Christensen, Dr. Barbara Friedes, Jacob Ramirez, Rob Jenner
58:30

Stacey's "Deep" Bike Thought
1:02:22

Bike Talk - Suing Cities for Blocking Bike Lanes, Bike Philosophy, and Project 2025's Bike/Ped Plans

Freak Bikes the Movie, about LA Bike Kitchen founder Jimmy Lizama and his son on a bike tour of the European bike cities, screened in the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit. Filmmaker Ryan Mekenian talks about his inspiration with Reo Ramsey, our Detroit correspondent and social ride leader who connects the movie to his bond over bikes with his own father. 

Bike Lawyer James Pocrass talks with us about the reasons for America's high traffic fatality and injury rates. Turns out it's unsafe speed, unserious enforcement, and unhelpful road design.
 
Milwaukee car violence victim and Critical Mass rider Cade Gerlach speaks to whether the driver who sent him to the hospital hit him accidentally or by design.
 
Strong Towns Northampton members Benjamin Spencer and Alex Bowman on their walking tour of "Picture Main Street" improvements. The tour was in part meant to allay the low information bikelash against planned street improvements for people outside of cars.

Bike Talk

Bike Talk - Freak Bikes, Traffic Violence, NHTSA's Golden Rule, Milwaukee, Picture Main Street

News: San Francisco's controversial center-running bike lane to be replaced by curb protected lanes. Luke Bornheimer, SF advocate for the curb protected lanes, explains. 
4:09

NYC gets congestion pricing, finally. It's $9 instead of $15, but will increase. Dave Colon, StreetsblogNYC reporter, fills in the details. 
9:01

As Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushes to remove Toronto's bike lanes, University of Toronto students Zev Godfrey and Eva Stanger-Ross Fight for Bikes.  
18:28

Writer Nathan Deuel on his LA Times Opinion article, "I thought I had my L.A. cycling commute down. Turns out, I’d been missing the obvious."
23:34

The world record holder for most states visited in 24 hours by bike, Sam Westby.
39:57

Stacey's Bike Thought 
56:44

Bike Talk - Cranksgiving

Taylor talks with Hugh Fuller and Joe Borfo at Bike Oven’s iconic Highland Park “Spoke ’n Art Ride.” 
0:20

Why fat bikes are "the quiver killer," a pitch from Physical Education teacher and mountain bike club coach Salem Derby. 
4:03

News: “Loser Lane,” a fatalistic web based game about riding without a protected lane in Toronto. With Bill 212, Toronto Premier Doug Ford seeks immunity for injuries and fatalities resulting from removing Toronto bike lanes. The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers completely opposes the bill. 
8:43

Los Angeles bike advocate and personal injury attorney Jim Pocrass compares Toronto’s would-be municipal immunities with LA’s. 
12:36 

More news: Denver, Colorado waters down planned protected bike lanes after private, post-public comment meetings with individuals and businesses opposed to them. 
18:15

Shoutout to Ted Rogers’ annual fund drive at BikinginLA.com; Thanks for the news, Ted!

Taylor talks with the host of a recent “Revolutionizing Mobility” conference in Culver City, Lindsay Sturman. Also, co-author of Curbing Traffic and Building the Cycling City/Dutch Cycling Embassy International Relations Manager Chris Bruntlett. 
20:53

Annabelle Bitterman on riding RAGBRAI with her father and coming in 3rd overall in the East Texas Showdown. 
39:40


Bike Talk - Winter Fat Bikes, Spoke 'n Art, Engineers for Bike Lanes, the Dutch, RAGBRAI, and Revolutionizing Mobility

National Bike News: car related crime, TAP funding, and the EXPLORE act passage.

Studies: E-bikes and scooters displace 4x as much demand for oil as all of the EVs in the world, 
and vehicles with higher, more vertical front ends pose greater risk to pedestrians (6:23).

What to do in a bike crash, with LA Personal Injury Attorney Jim Pocrass (9:32).

Livable Communities: bikes, transit, and housing. Liveable Communities Initiative founder Lindsay Sturman and Taylor Nichols (15:48).

“Hating Bike Lanes is not a Winning Strategy,” writes Massachusetts Streetsblogger Christian MilNeil of fall elections in Massachusetts (41:23).

Stacey's Bike Thought (55:45).

Originally posted December 5, 2023

Bike Talk - Bike Love (repost)

In honor of the New Year, Nick shares his mission statement for Bike Talk, and compares his acting career with Taylor's  (0:35). 

Taylor interviews a Costa Rican mountain biker on his recent trip to Costa Rica (4:15)...

and shares his mission statement for Bike Talk (8:30).

News: On Day 1 of Congestion Pricing in NYC, Transportation Alternatives Communications Director Alexa Sledge shares her observations (9:38).

A new California law defines "e-bike" (17:26).

Studies: Listener "Big E" emails Bike Talk about his bike, or "errand machine," and links to a study showing 52% of trips in the US are less than 3 miles (18:20).

Another study shows that relying on a car for more than 50% of the time out of the house results in a decrease in life satisfaction (20:01).

A United Kingdom charity, Wheels for Wellbeing, helps people who are disabled get on and enjoy riding bikes of all shapes and sizes. With Dr. Kay Inckle, Campaigns and Policy Manager (22:08).

Blind Tandem Bicycling With Frank Nemiroff and Sonya Chapnick (40:05).

Stacey's Bike Thought (55:37).

Bike Talk - Costa Rica, Congestion Pricing NYC, and Biking with Disability

Altadena Town Councilmember, Bike Educator/activist, cyclocross champion and race organizer Dorothy Wong lost her house in the fires, along with all her bikes. She reflects with Culver City Councilmember Bubba Fish-also a bike activist (1:39).  

The Bike Oven of Highland Park, long a community hub for DIY bike repair, has become an emergency aid distribution center. Volunteer Joe Borfo talks to us about their operation (40:57). 

News: Entitled driver rages against kids on bikes. Then, the kids rage on his Mercedes (46:50). 

Is the image of bike riding versus driving changing in movies? The topic was recently discussed on the Nobody Drives in LA podcast (50:20).

Bike Talk - An LA Story-The Fires, Dorothy, The Bike Oven, and Hollywood

Cohosts Taylor, Nick, Lindsay and Stacey ponder possible effects of the new administration on bikes, cars, and infrastructure  (0:57).

Listener Email: Reese Bastion writes about motonormativity, the acceptance of public hazards from cars where similar hazards like smoking wouldn't be tolerated. This sparks a discussion about how the framework that led to smoking in public being banned could apply to oversized SUVs (4:52).

Listener bike tours: 
Rick Bosacker, M.D., of New Zealand calls from a cruise ship toward the end of a family bike tour of the world's great and not-so-great bike cities (18:41). 

Brett McGraw, from Minneapolis, tours car-centric Los Angeles by bikeshare and transit (27:43).

The "Listening Tour" of Andrew Mohama, who biked home to Chicago from San Francisco, listening to people's loneliness along the way (38:03).

Bike Thought by Kendra Ramsey, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition (54:37).

Bike Talk - Bike Touring, Motornormativity, and Treating the Public Health Crisis of Oversized SUVs

Bike Lawyer James Pocrass on what it's like to bike in Los Angeles with the fires still burning, avoiding scams, and wearing masks (0:47). 

With fewer cars and fewer injuries, the congestion pricing zone in NYC is like Sunday all week, according to StreetsblogNYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman (6:39).  

News: bike crashes are reduced at intersections with Stop-as-yield laws, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds (14:27).

Listener Rick Bosacker writes & asks for a Bike Talk on how “cycling aligns quite well with many conservative values and strategies." Cohosts Nick, Lindsay, Taylor and Stacey discuss (16:35). 

Understanding car infrastructure with Hayden Clarkin, the "Transit Guy" (23:28).

Detroit's Slow Roll is a fun, respectful way to learn about the city and enjoy community. Reo Ramsey talks with Slow Roll leader and manager of Trek Detroit, Jason Hall (45:03).

Caron Whitaker, Deputy Executive Director of League of American Bicyclists, shares a Bike Thought (53:35). 

Bike Talk 2504 - Conservative values support biking. NYCongestion pricing. Bike lanes = car infrastructure

Taylor almost gets killed, and Stacey does get hit (1:14).

Taylor fixes up bikes for fire victims in Los Angeles with Jim Shanman and Walk n Rollers (5:10).

News, powered by Ted Rogers' Bikinginla.com (9:41): 
Waymo reports AVs are safer than human drivers. 
Bike theft increased 15% last year
The League of American Bicyclists is out with their latest list of the country’s most Bicycle Friendly Communities
A new report says California is the most car dependent state
A new study shows bicycling has a $1.4 billion impact on the state of Iowa alone
The San Antonio, TX.  City Council just approved a big new bike plan 

NPR reports A Florida hospital gave bikes to kids because buses don't serve students within 2 miles of school. Taylor, Nick, Lindsay and Stacey discuss whether that's a good idea (15:22). 

Kelly Morphy, executive Director of the Florida Bicycle Association (17:51).

Los Angeles Black Girls Do Bike member Enjoleah Daye (23:05).

John Gibalisco: Pedadling Past 60; riding ebikes flattens hills (36:39).

Fair weather riders Jake and Toni confess they bike less in winter (51:59).

Editor of Streetsblog NYC Gersh Kuntzman's Bike Thought (57:12).

Bike Talk 2505 - Bikes for kids in LA and Florida, Black Girls Do Bike, and ebikes over 60

Donald Shoup, author of "The High Cost of Free Parking," has died. Tony Jordan, President of the Parking Reform Network, talks about Shoup's decades of teaching, writing, and speaking on reversing subsidized free car storage (1:16). 

Find our interviews with the Professor of Parking by searching "Shoup" at biketalk.org.

CalBike Joins Amicus Brief in Safe Streets Accountability Case after lower courts categorized bike riders as “recreational” street users who venture onto public streets at their own risk. Kendra Ramsey, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition, lays out how sweeping the implications could be for California's riders (11:00). 

The man who coined the famous term "15 Minute Cities" and was central to Paris' bike revolution, Carlos Moreno (19:49). 

Reviews by Elly Blue, author of Bikenomics and editor of Portland's Microcosm Publishing: Marshall Taylor's autobiography, Romantasy "The Ministry of Time," and the anime film Suzume (41:18).

Buy the books Elly reviewed at Bike.org's Bookshop. 

Eric Dunn, Director of the Wild and Scenic film festival, on bike-related offerings in this year's lineup (47:07).

Detroit's Bike The Blizzard rides this month with Back Alley Bikes. Justin and Reo Ramsey relate (54:54).

Stacey's Bike Thought (57:07).

Bike Talk #2506 - Donald Shoup, Parking Reformer; 15 minute cities; bike books & movies

On vacation in Fraser, CO, "the ice box of America," self-proclaimed "single track capital of the world,"  Taylor talks track with Ben Quinn, owner of Ice Box Mountain Sports (2:08).

Our friend, Los Angeles bike advocate, cyclocross racer, and survivor of the Eaton fire, Dorothy Wong, on rebuilding Los Angeles (5:23).

A California court's ruling that recreational cyclists can't sue the city when injured on city streets makes no sense, according to bike lawyer James Pocrass, and be careful when you sign a waiver (17:19). 

Car dependence makes people unsatisfied with life, according to a study in Travel Behaviour and Society. Taylor talks with study author Rababe Saadaoui (28:10). 

Micromobility NYC, a Reddit group, organized protests which, with others, built pressure to "un-pause" NYC congestion pricing. Nicholas talks to the Reddit group's moderator, Miser, in the weeks before Trump declared he'd undo the policy (45:18).

Bike Talk #2507 - Cars make us unhappy

Taylor’s science-backed brush with car-induced unhappiness (0:22)

New York City congestion pricing will resist Trump’s attempts to kill it, predicts NYC Transportation Alternatives Communications Director, Alexa Sledge (3:25).

Maybe the NYC toll program would fare better if we labelled them “Congestion tariffs,” suggests Listener Rick Bosacker (10:35).

Congestion Pricing, climate change, and the dire situation in federal funding, a bike advocacy  roundtable with Cynthia Rose, President of Santa Monica Spoke and Board Member of Calbike, Eli Kaufman, Executive Director of Bike LA, Kendra Ramsey, E.D. of CalBike, Galen Mook, E.D. of MassBike, Todd Scott, E.D. of Detroit Greenways Coalition, Justin Hu-Nguyen, Co-Executive Director of Mobility Justice at Bike East Bay,  Dave Snyder, Senior Director for Infrastructure and Matt Moore, General and Policy Counsel for People For Bikes (14:47).

Bike Talk 2508 - Freedom to Bike

LA Locals Taylor & Don saw the city like tourists on an Ebike Tour of Hollywood (0:22).

Bike Director Kevin Wong on Chinatown's March 8-9 Firecracker Ride, the largest Lunar New Year Run, Walk, Cycling, and Dog Walk event in the US (4:59).   

Bike Indianapolis Advocacy Committee Chair Jakob Morales on the recent vigil and ghost bike placement for Dillan Lee Rogers (10:41).

Jacquie Phelan, veteran mountain bike racer and way paver for women racers, on the early days of the sport. Jacquie also talks about her relationship with mountain bike pioneer and inventor Charlie Cunningham, who was in a serious mountain bike crash, and whose Gofundme is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/charlie-cunningham-medical-and-rehab
With original Bike Talk co-host Jim Cadenhead (19:44).(19:44).

Founding Directors Brendt Barbur of the Bicycle Film Festival and Josh Paget of the Better Cities Film Festival talk bikes and movies with Taylor (28:40).

The free 'Love to Ride' app lets users give feedback on how safe and comfortable they feel when riding their bikes on different streets, and shares that data with cities to promote bike commuting. With CEO Thomas Stokell (47:15). 

Stacey's Bike Thought (53:44)

Part II of the interview with Jacquie Phelan (57:59).

Bike Talk #2509 - The Firecracker, a Vigil, an Icon, and Two Directors

Taylor's day of service fixing bikes and teaching kids how to ride safely with Brett Atencio-Thomas, Active Costa Mesa, California's Transportation Coordinator. Brett tells about the Three Pronged approach to making a 21st century city (0:38). 

On February 25th, a group of cyclists in Boyle Heights were handing out "Know Your Rights" cards with information on what to do if approached by ICE. They were struck by a hit-and-run driver in a Kia sedan with the license plate 8GAN606, and the driver is still at large. Amari and Deity talk about what it was like (5:02)

More bike news, including studies that show being stuck in traffic makes drivers eat more fast food, and San Francisco slow streets reduce injuries 61%. Powered by bikinginla.com (10:31).

An Ecargobike library in Minneapolis is the brainchild of Our Streets Minneapolis Board President Laura Groenjes Mitchell (16:20).

Cyclocross explained by Mike Wissel of the B2C2 Massachusetts racing community (22:51).

The upcoming bike racing season previewed by Dane Cash of Escapecollective.com (33:47).

#2510 Bike as Sport or Culture War Flashpoint

Ontario's reactionary re-elected Premier, Doug Ford, aims to rip out Toronto's bike lanes despite his own experts' testimony that they work. Our correspondent Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher on the view from Toronto (2:31). 

The US DOT halts all active transportation funding that might reduce emissions or improve accessibility. James Pocrass, Los Angeles Bike Lawyer, gives his view (9:31).

News:
"Congestion Pricing is Dead...Long Live the King," declared trump's X post, referring to himself... But congestion pricing lives. Honolulu's speed cams work-too well? (14:03)

Why Buying a Bike Helmet Online Could Be Dangerous, with Consumer Reports writer Kevin Loria (16:57).

Global Tesla Takedown and Trump's Tesla commercial at the White House (23:28).

Our favorite study finds "shifting from a long commute to a short walk would make a single person as happy as if he or she had found a new love” (25:08).

Omaha's bike share is accessible by library card, among other great features in this talk with Benny Foltz, Executive Director of the Roam Share bike share systems in Nebraska (26:20).

How We Can Build a Rapid Transit Network Overnight Everywhere-Taylor and Lindsay talk with "Transit Guy" Hayden Clarkin (40:07).

#2511 No Autocracy, yes BRT & Bike Share

Tesla’s polluting plants, Musk’s racist genealogy and the #Teslatakedown (1:53).  

Our new regime is anti-active transportation, so we check in with Strong Towns founder Charles Marohn for what we can do locally to make towns more bikeable and livable (7:17). 

Rochester University Campus Times writers Teddy Almond and Maya Brosnick debate NYC's congestion pricing (30:28). 

Robert Zaichkowski’s Bike Thought (54:17).

#2512 - Strong Towns and Fault Lines

Listener Email: John Gibilisco on the Sisyphean undertaking of Omaha bike advocacy (1:40).

#Teslatakedown (2:45).

The MAGAS are cutting all federal funding for bike infrastructure but also reneging on grants to projects like Reconnecting Communities, which would address the harms of highways. With Yonah Freemark, a principal research associate in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute (4:05).

Boston's bike friendly Mayor Wu is ripping out protected bike lanes to appease the right, according to advocates like Boston Cyclists' Union Communications Manager Mandy Wilkins (15:59). 

LA architect Neal Payton on how to rebuild Los Angeles to be more bike oriented after the fires (23:17). 

Bike storage is essential to more biking in cities, and Shabazz Stuart, co-founder and CEO of Oonee bike parking, wants to scale it up (40:28).

#2513 State of the Union, Rebuilding a bike-oriented LA, and Bike storage as key

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Put the Phone Away or Pay" campaign emphasizes education and enforcement but not engineering. Our Lawyer, Jim Pocrass, shares his practice of suing distracted drivers as a deterrent (0:26).

A driver was found guilty of Reckless Vehicular Homicide in the killing of 17 year old rising US cycling star Magnus White. She was asleep at the wheel (8:51).

What to do now that USDOT intends to kill all active transportation funding, according to the League of American Bicyclists' Deputy Executive Director Caron Whitaker (11:17).

Bike Vessel director Eric D. Seals shares the story behind his new feature length documentary about his father’s recovery from three open heart surgeries. Their 350-mile ride from St. Louis to Chicago is a celebration of family and an exploration of healthcare in America (17:59). 

Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Killed the American City, and what zoning means for bikeability. A discussion with M. Nolan Gray, author and former Teaching Assistant of parking reformer Professor Donald Shoup (36:08).

#2514 - Bike Vessels and Arbitrary Lines

News: 

Healthy Streets LA, the ballot measure which requires Los Angeles to implement bike infrastructure every time city streets are repaved, is being ignored by the county's transportation agency, LA Metro. Taylor talks with the founder of Streets For All, Michael Schneider, who led the HLA campaign, and the Editor of Streetsblog LA, Joe Linton, who's now suing the city (1:33).

It’s been 100 years since the Los Angeles city council passed the ordinance which said that if you’re walking you have to give right of way to drivers everywhere, except for particular crossings.

New Mexico adopted the Stop as Yield Law for cyclists. 

Paris reduced speed limits on the Boulevard Périphérique from 70 to 50 km/hr, resulting in reduced traffic congestion, smoother traffic flow, fewer crashes, lower air pollution, and lower noise levels. 
https://www.apur.org/en/our-works/tracking-changes-boulevard-peripherique-and-green-belt-districts-october-2024-february-2025

London’s Tweed Run ride is April 29.

For National Autism Acceptance Month, Detroit's Neila Johnson has created the Cycling the Spectrum ride. Neila talks with Motown Trailblazers Bike Club President Reo Ramsey (24:35).  

Cross country solo cyclist Chris Casey tells the story of his ride across the U.S. (34:05). 

Bike Thought: The 85th Percent Rule, by Charles Marohn (54:36).

Thanks Ted Rogers of BikinginLA.com.

#2515 -  Different Strokes

Amy, gravel rider (1:05). 

News: 
Street safety advocates call for protected bike lanes on California’s deadly Pacific Coast Highway. https://mailchi.mp/streetsforall/pch-master-plan-042025?e=efb877b7f5

The City of Sacramento will be the first in the Nation to use cameras on buses that detect cars parked in bike lanes. https://fox40.com/news/local-news/sacramento/automated-bike-lane-enforcement-launches-in-sacramento-first-in-the-nation/

Austin, TX is going to spend $80,000 to remove a two way bike lane after some neighbors complained that they could not park immediately in front of their house and had difficulty driving to their mailboxes. https://www.kxan.com/news/why-austin-will-spend-80k-to-remove-newly-installed-bike-lanes/. (3:04).

Transpo Maps creator and safe streets activist Stephen Bratisch discusses how SF was able to continue the Slow Street movement after the Pandemic ended and car dominance returned (6:38). 

Crossings author Ben Goldfarb on LA's massive wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway, and what will keep wildlife from being slaughtered on roads (24:35). 

Corra Boushel of Edinburgh's Infrasisters - a group of women campaigning for night-time cycling infrastructure that's safe and comfortable for women and girls (40:17). 

Bike Thought: “Crosswalk creepers” by Our Streets Minneapolis Board President Laura Groenjes Mitchell (54:23).

#2516 - Up With Slow Streets, Crossings, and Infrasisters, Down With Crosswalk Creepers

Our Lawyer, Jim Pocrass, assesses the lawsuit brought by Streetsblog Los Angeles editor Joe Linton. LA Metro has argued that because it's not the city, it doesn't have to make bike infrastructure when repaving city streets, as called for in ballot measure HLA. The agency claims it would have to destroy homes and buildings to both preserve parking and make space for bikes (3:40).  

The standoff between New York and the Federal government over congestion pricing, as told by Streetsblog NYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman (10:22). 

Bike JC's Vice President Tony Borelli, Trustees Emmanuelle Morgan and Deidre Newman, and bike maker Anke Irmscher on Jersey City's bike ecosystem and their place in it.   (23:50).

#2517 Are You From Jersey?

News: It's Bike Month! Also- an Ontario, Canada court may save Toronto bike lanes, Waymo says its AVs are 25x safer than human drivers for cyclists and pedestrians on the road, Trump's tariffs will devastate the bike industry, and Americans are losing interest in buying cars (1:47).

The QUIMBY movement = Quality In My Back Yard, and it means high quality codes/laws/permitting/planning high quality buildings, streets, bike lanes and buses, say Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Strong Towns' Director of Membership and Development and Lindsay Sturman, Bike Talk co-host and co-founder of Livable Communities Initiative (4:53).

Artist Eleanor Davis on her comic, You and a Bike and a Road, a two-wheeled journey across the landscape of the American South (23:14).

Moving From Cars to People is a comic about how the built environment in the United States came to be designed for cars, and what we can do about it.  With authors and Transportation and Communities researchers Kelly Clifton and Kristina Currans (40:45).

#2518 NIMBYs, YIMBYs, QUIMBYs and Bike Comics

Ontario Premier Doug Ford tried to remove Toronto's bike lanes, but Toronto bike advocacy organization Cycle Toronto and allies won a court injunction pausing the removal. Executive Director Michael Longfield discusses what it means (2:42). 

The City of Oakland denied liability for a cyclist's serious injuries due to bad pavement, arguing that the liability waiver the cyclist had signed with AIDS Lifecycle applied to the City. Last week, in Whitehead v. the City of Oakland, the California Supreme Court upheld the responsibility of cities to maintain safe street conditions for bike riders. Calbike filed an amicus brief in the case supporting cyclist Ty Whitehead’s lawsuit against Oakland. Calbike Executive Director Kendra Ramsey joins us to reflect on our win (14:35). 

Our lawyer, James Pocrass, unpacks the loud and clear Whitehead v. the City of Oakland decision (18:52). 

Minneapolis bike commuter Tracy Stewart shares her joy, from the second happiest city in America (26:59).

Bicycle Transit Systems, which runs bike share in 15 cities, merges with B-cycle and is fighting Lyft for its LA contract. Shane Quentin, Director of Operations, and Annemarie Drolet, LA Bikeshare mechanic and BTS Shop Steward, share their thoughts and hopes (36:05). 

Detroit Bike Month rides with Reo Ramsey (50:50). 

#2519 - Judicial Defense of Bike Rights in Canada and California, Commuting in Minneapolis, and Bike Share in Los Angeles

Nick's daughter Penny learned to ride on two wheels using the towel technique (1:50).  

Bike To Work Week with Mayor Chelsea Lee Byers in West Hollywood, Ca (7:33). 

Bike To Work Week in Northampton, Ma with Mayor Gina Louise Sciarra, Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, and All Bodies on Bikes organizer Jacob Sheppard-Saidel (11:44).

The debate over Autonomous Vehicles' safety record versus cyclists and pedestrians continues, with data showing AVs "generally demonstrate better safety in most scenarios," but are "not foolproof," according to a study from Nature Communications profiled in The Week.com (19:50).

Data from Congestion Pricing in NYC is all positive, according to NY Times Journalist Emily Badger and her article, Here Is Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Started in New York (24:25).

#2520 - Learn to Ride, Bike to Work, and the 100% Positive Results of NYC's Congestion Pricing

Janice Walrafen loves Bike Talk on WGDR in Vermont - a listener email (1:09).

Summer bikepacking! Nick's Berkshires tour and Taylor's cross country plans (3:05).

Are Waymo robotaxis safer than humans? And when AVs hit cyclists or pedestrians, who's liable?  Our lawyer, Jim Pocrass, advises (6:49). 

The Consumer Protection Safety Commission regulates bikes and bike parts, and was working to standardize e-bike battery standards - until the Trump administration began trying to take away its status as an independent agency and transfer its functions to the Department of Health and Human Services (15:21).  

A Survey on sustainability and ebike commuting by Christophe Roncato Tounsi (21:05). 

Executive Summaries of Bike Advocacy Organizations: Trilby Cox of Bike Utah, Zoe Scott of Bike Walk Tennessee, Christina Erikson of Local Motion in Vermont, and Dave Simmons of Ride Illinois (36:11). 

A rundown of the California quick build and bike highway bills supported by CalBike with Policy Director Jared Sanchez (44:49). 

#2521 - Bikepacking, AVs versus Cyclists, MAGA versus EBike Battery Standards, and Bike Bills in California

Listener email: the difference between bike packing and bike touring, and what handlebar bags and panniers to get (1:11). 

New York City has begun a policy of criminalizing minor traffic violations for cyclists. We talk to Carl Mahaney of Streetopia Upper West side and Open Plans, and Josh Wood of the New York City Bicycle Messenger Association (7:08). 

The legality of criminalizing cyclists, with James Pocrass (28:09). 

In other news, a NYC Critical Mass to protest overpolicing cyclists, a study showing protected bike lanes work, an Idaho Stop bill in NY, the national spread of Waymo, and a Consumer Reports petition to fix front-end blind spots in SUVs (34:25).  

The author of Bicycling in Paradise and Radical Cadence in the End Times, Florida Atlantic Association Professor Stacey Balkan, talks about petroculture, Cycle Punk, and teaching these days in Florida (41:38).

#2522 - Criminalization of Bikes in NYC and Biking in The Apocalypse

LA Bike Advocate and Altadena Town Councilmember Dorothy Wong on rebuilding her home and her town after the LA fires destroyed both (2:17).

The "Born To Be Wild" bikepackers of Northampton High School reflect on their annual 4-day tour of Western Massachusetts (13:29).

New York City is dragging cyclists to criminal court for minor and sometimes made up traffic infractions under a new anti-bike policy. Kevin Duggan, StreetsblogNYC journalist, has been doing in-depth reporting, and shares his insights with us (24:23). 

Streets For All, the Los Angeles advocates that brought us Healthy Streets LA, has merged with the San Francisco organization KidSafe SF, which fought for a car-free JFK Promenade and Golden Gate Park, transformed the Great Highway into Sunset Dunes Park, and made slow streets permanent. Robin Pam, Parent Organizer of KidSafe SF, tells us about becoming a chapter of Streets For All (40:17).

Audio from the May 30 Critical Mass ride in Chicago, by Rick Rosales (50:32).

Nebraska's Vulnerable Road User Bill has passed its final vote and heads to the Governor. If passed, LB530 will strengthen penalties for speeding or harming "Vulnerable Road Users," and require drivers to change lanes to pass when possible. By John Gibilisco (54:16). 

#2522 - An LA Bike Advocate Rebuilds Her Home, NYC Reels From Anti-Bike Laws, and Northampton High Goes Bikepacking

We are a bike advocacy and culture podcast based in Los Angeles, Ca.

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