Breakfast links: Some things that are sadly not jokes
Didn’t see him, no consequences
A 20-year-old driver killed a cyclist on a Texas road with good visibility and no violations by the cyclist. Nevertheless, a grand jury refused to indict. (TheWashCycle)
NBC4 photographer hits cyclist
An NBC4 photographer hit a cyclist on Sherman Avenue yesterday. NBC4 says the cyclist ran a red light, which if true probably means the cyclist was being reckless. It’s too bad NBC4 also piles on irrelevancies, like the cyclist not wearing a helmet, saying the bike “had no brakes” just because it was a fixed-gear (which is braked in a different way), and saying he “collided with the car” when it was the other way around. (City Paper)
The worst gas station ever
A former Chevron station in Congress Heights is so bad, gas poured out of a hole in the pump after someone stole a hose and nobody seemed to care. (City Paper)
Jack is for Chair, not on Twitter
A @JackForChair Twitter account started following area journalists and blogs soon after Jack Evans announced his run for chair, but as Evans staff insisted yesterday, it’s a fake. That became pretty obvious once messages like “I do some of my best work for the city on behalf of Patton Boggs!” appeared. (DCist)
New safety at New Carrollton
The area around New Carrollton Metro is very pedestrian-unfriendly because it was designed almost exclusively for cars. With a $30,000 grant from COG, M-NCPPC is studying low-cost solutions to make walking there safer, including new crosswalks and signals, better lighting, and making “desire line” paths permanent. (Gazette)
Bike swap and clinic
There will be a bike swap, where people sell or share bikes and parts, and free bike clinic tomorrow at Lamont Park in Mount Pleasant. (Bicycle Transportation Examiner, Ben) (Tip: Ben)
Things that are jokes
Some faves from yesterday: The old Convention Center area will become a giant bicycle parking building (TheWashCycle) … Tired of living in urban areas, Montgomery Planning Director Rollin Stanley will move to Howard County (The Straight Line) … Lincoln Park will completely become a dog park (THIH) … FHWA has announced a recall on all dangerous roads (PPS) … JHU changed its name. (Post)
Tickets for getting doored
A truck driver doored a cyclist in New York. When police arrived, they gave the cyclist two tickets and didn’t want to let him file a police report. (Streetsblog)