Cops Ticketing Cyclists For Running Red Lights

NEW YORK (PIX11)—
"I'm a careful bicyclist. I stop when I need to stop," said JC Rodriguez, who has been riding a bicycle as his main mode of transportation in the city for the past three years.

However, according to the New York Police Department, that is not exactly true. At least, it wasn't on a couple of dates this year, when officers slapped the cyclist with fines for running red lights. "I was somewhat surprised," said Rodriguez, who admitted he ran the red light.

He was even more surprised to realize he's racked up a $1,500 tab with the DMV in bicycle violations. "It just seems to me the amount of fine for the offense is way out of balance," he said.

When we asked Rodriguez, "How do law enforcement officers protect our community if they can't enforce these kinds of laws?" Rodriguez responded, "I don't think the enforcement is going to stop people from running red lights."

That includes Rodriguez himself because, he says, the benefit of being a bicyclist is that he has the freedom to move about the city at his own pace and risk.

Now, it is not like Rodriguez feels like he's above the law, it is just that he says cyclists have their own rules of the road, ask any bicyclist, he says, so we did.

We stopped John who was riding by on his bicycle and asked him, "A green light goes yellow then red, what do you do?" and John answered, "Well, I look. If traffic is safe, I go." John also owes the DMV nearly $200 for running a red light, but it is not exactly going to change the way he rides. "Not absolutely," he said.

That is because the way they ride is not about getting caught, but about being safe. "The last thing I want to do is get in an accident. I have the most to lose," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is appealing all of his violations. His next court date is in September.

Krystal O'Mara turns bicycle parts into imaginative lighting fixtures

Her new business, called ReMain EcoDesign, was featured in the August issue of Entrepreneur magazine because of its unique niche in the home furnishings marketplace.

She uses rims, spokes, hubs — essentially the entire bicycle — to make hourglass coffee tables, imaginative lighting fixtures and chairs without backs.

“Not much goes to waste,” she said.

“I get some stuff here and there from bicycle shops, but then I knew a gentleman in Amarillo, and all he did was fix up bikes. He just had a lot of bike rims in storage. So I didn’t even have to really take apart that much when it came to the bike itself.”

She added, “I also have some old vintage bikes, and we’ll see where they go. Either I will get them fixed up and sell them or give them away — or, they will actually be used for the furnishings.”

O’Mara began her work in February 2010 by building a table for a silent auction at a bike race held to support cancer research.

Prior to that, she had a job in hotel sales in Lubbock. Now, she works in a barn on her grandfather’s farm southeast of Lorenzo.

Her products range widely in price. A simple light fixture sells for $15, but custom, large-scale lighting equipment is priced at $1,500.

“The tables generally range from about $175 to $450,” she said.

Contemplating her bicycle-parts furniture, she said, “I would say it is artistic, but it is very important to see that everything is functional. So, that kind of puts me more in the category of being a designer than an artist because functionality is very important.”

She has some one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture.

“I have one — it’s a coffee table — and the top of it is made out of cut-up bike treads. It kind of creates a tribal design.”

O’Mara wastes almost nothing — some of her tables consist of an elm tree trunk with a top set on nails as though balanced precariously.

Most of her bicycle parts are welded into place, but lighting fixtures are assisted by an epoxy material until she learns the art of brazing.

O’Mara, who has a 4-year-old son, said she had a purpose in giving up her sales career to begin a business.

Montclair Crime: Burglary Arrests, Sexual Assault

On 7/28/11 at approximately 11:45 PM, police responded to a single-family residence on Tichenor Place on a report of a burglary that had occurred. The victim told police that sometime between 8:00 AM and 11:00 PM on that date, someone had entered his residence. It appeared that entry to the residence was gained by removing an air conditioner from a first floor window. A chair was found outside the residence under this window, and it is assumed that the suspect used the chair to climb through the window.

It was reported that a Playstation 3 valued at $300, two wireless remote controls valued at $50 each, six bottles of cologne valued at a total of $300, and $2,220 in cash was stolen from the residence.

On 8/3/11 at approximately 3:00 PM, police responded to a single-family residence on Harrison Avenue on a report of a burglary. The victim told police that she left her residence that morning at approximately 8:30 AM. When she returned later that afternoon at 2:55 PM, she discovered that a side door to the residence was ajar. Upon entering the residence, she discovered that dresser drawers and bedroom doors opened. She then notified police.

The victim reported that a gold and diamond ring, valued at $2,000, a gold necklace, valued at $500, a pair of oval gold earrings, valued at $50, a gold and stainless steel wristwatch, valued at $1,000, a Nintendo Wii game console, valued at $300, Nintendo Wii game controllers valued at $100, a Playstation 3 game console, valued at $400, a Kindle electronic book reader, valued at $200, and a PSP handheld game unit, valued at $250, had been stolen from the residence. It is believed that the suspects gained entry through a basement window which was discovered open by police.

On 8/4/11 at approximately 3:00 PM, police were dispatched to another single-family residence on Harrison Avenue on a report of a burglary. The victim told police that she left the residence on that date at 12:30 PM and returned approximately two hours later to discover that her house had been entered. The victim stated that she left a basement window on the north side of the house slightly opened and when she returned home she discovered that the window had been fully opened.

The victim reported that a black Blackberry Storm cell phone, valued at $500, and a white 15” Apple MacBook Pro, valued at $1,799, had been stolen from the residence.

On 8/5/11 at approximately 11:20 AM, police responded to a single-family residence on High Street on a report of a burglary in progress. Upon arrival, police spoke to a neighbor who was tending to the residence. This neighbor stated that she was in a driveway when she observed a male standing near the area of the burglarized house in the area of High Street and Virginia Avenue. This male called out to the complainant, asking if she knew where Nishuane Park was. She provided directions to the male, who walked east on Virginia Avenue towards Enfield Avenue. The female believed that it was suspicious that the male walked in that direction after asking directions to the park. The complainant then entered the residence and discovered that a bedroom window had been opened and a lamp had been knocked over. The complainant immediately exited the house and saw that the male was at the corner of Enfield Avenue and Virginia Avenue. She called out to the pair, stating, “You better watch out, I’m calling the police.” The two males then fled south on Enfield Avenue.

While searching the area, detectives located a pair of sixteen year old West Orange males in the area of Samuel Street and Fremont Street in West Orange. Further investigation revealed that the pair had committed the burglary connected to this incident.

John Deere Road overpass gets new life

It’s been a boondoggle since birth.

When John Deere Road in Moline was widened in the late 1980s, the state put up $1 million for an overpass to safely deliver kids to the school on one side.

Even though the school closed before the overpass was built, the state went ahead with it. And it’s been an ugly thorn in our side ever since.

In 1993, a couple of kids dropped a bowling ball from the overpass, striking a vehicle below. Amazingly, no one was hurt. Before long, the secluded enclosure became a popular hideout for the pot and booze set, and graffiti was as commonplace as busted beer bottles.

Five years later, citing its uselessness and danger, the city council voted to close it. The city even placed cinder blocks in the openings on either side to keep out the riff-raff.

A year later, in 1999, the council again took up the matter of the overpass. Some people who lived near it told aldermen they’d sure like to be able to cross John Deere Road on foot without having to hoof it the two-blocks-or-so to the light at 7th Street.

It was again placed on the council agenda.

In a 6-to-2 vote, the overpass again was declared dangerous, seldom used and too expensive to maintain. It has been locked up tight ever since.

Here we are, a dozen years later, and a new crop of city officials say they’ve found a couple of reasons to reopen the overpass: give bicycles safe passage across six lanes of traffic and get rid of an eyesore that’s impossible to miss on one of the most-traveled roads in town.

For $90,990, the dark Plexiglas, broken in too many places to count, will be removed. New fencing will be placed on the sides and top, making it impossible to hurl anything of size onto the roadway below.

Ideally, the long-darkened passageway will have a new life as a bicycle bridge, connecting cyclists to bike trails throughout the city. The trails are only on paper, so far, but Mayor Don Welvaert said the city made strides earlier this year by adopting a trails program.

“The overpass was identified as one of two safe crossings of John Deere Expressway as part of that network,” he said.

The bridge was built to accommodate wheelchairs, so bicyclists can use the ramp, rather than having to carry their bikes up two-plus flights of steps. And getting rid of that ugly, broken Plexiglas will do wonders for the area’s looks.

For more than two decades, the overpass has been a frustrating reminder of wasted taxpayer money. Congratulations to Moline for what looks like a smart way to reverse that.

Ogden officer hits boy, 13, on bicycle

someone to Weber County Jail and was driving south on Washington Boulevard.

As the officer approached the 7th Street intersection in the far right lane, vehicles were stopped in the inside lanes.

Burnett said the light was red initially, but as the officer approached, it turned green.

"As he was about to enter the intersection, a 13-year-old boy on a bike was struck who was going westbound," he said. "All indications are that the kid was crossing the crosswalk against the 'don't walk' sign."

The boy received scrapes and was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital as a precaution. Burnett said the officer was shaken over the incident.

Police searching for suspect in shooting on State Street bridge

As tourists and homeward-bound workers clogged the streets during Monday’s rush hour, a man pulled out a handgun on the State Street bridge over the Chicago River and shot another man in the head.

Late Monday, police were searching for the gunman and talking to the 29-year-old victim, who was listed in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Police had no information about a motive, but said there was no reason for people living and working in the area of the shooting to be concerned.

“We don’t believe this is a random event,” said Area 3 Police Cmdr. Gary Yamashiroya. “The victim was shot in extremely close vicinity by the offender.”

The victim was on the west side of the State Street bridge, walking to work, when the gunman approached from behind at 5:05 p.m. and shot him in the head, Yamashiroya said.

Police said they planned to review video surveillance from many cameras in the area.

Umbrella-wielding pedestrians were hurrying along Loop streets, seeking shelter from the threatening skies, when the shooting occurred.

Fifteen-year-old Sammeiso Lewis said he saw the shooting as he and several friends were headed to the H&M clothing store on State Street.

“We heard a gunshot — like ‘boom!’ ” Lewis said. “All we see is one man fall on the ground. And some lady and her husband came running across the street to come help the man. ... Everybody was just trying to put something over him.”

Lewis said the shooter and the victim were walking near each other. “And all you see is someone pull out a gun and shoot him,” Lewis said.

The shooter ran south across the bridge, and then headed east towards Wabash Avenue, Lewis said.

Hike, bike and eat your fill of clams on Block Island

Reporting from Block Island, R.I.—
I am standing atop Clay Head, a 70-foot-high bluff, looking over miles and miles of open ocean on a clear summer morning. It is an ideal way to greet a day that will include hiking, biking, birding, skimming stones and eating my weight in fried clams. And I have to smile. Back home in St. Louis, my wife, Nancy, and I had told a friend that we were heading for three days on this glorious island.

Blank stare. "Block Island. Where is that?"

Exactly. And fine with me if Block keeps a low pro. For all its craggy grandeur, Block Island has never been etched into the nation's consciousness quite like its big sisters Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts.

This rough-hewn beauty sits alone in the Atlantic, 13 miles off Rhode Island and 14 miles from the eastern tip of Long Island. Somehow it's in the middle of everything. It's a half-day trip for about 21 million people. The only year-round ferry departs every morning from the mainland at Point Judith, R.I. There are also seasonal ferries from New London, Conn., Newport, R.I., and Montauk, N.Y.

For people traveling to the Northeast, a short trip to Block Island by ferry can be combined with other destinations, such as New York or Boston. One can easily see the whole island on foot in a day — no need for a car — but the best way to get around is by bicycle, for about $30 a day.

The island is less than 11 square miles, one them a salt pond. But no matter how many thousands of people spill off the ferries, it offers abundant space to be alone. It's a wonderland of rolling hills, dunes, hay fields, bluffs and beaches. A greenway of walking trails criss-crosses the island.

Dozens of volunteers pitch in for bike park

Dozens of volunteers pitch in for bike park


Several dozen children, teenagers, parents, and longtime bicyclists spent last weekend putting the finishing touches on mounds of dirt large and small at Elk Grove Park.

They shaped what will become Elk Grove’s first dirt bicycle park, which is set to open next month.

“We got to bring it to life and that’s what we’re all here to do,” bike park designer and consultant Nat Lopes of Hilride told a group of volunteer leaders on July 29.

The 2.4-acre facility replaced the Green Diamond softball field on Elk Grove Park’s western side along East Stockton Boulevard. The Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) board agreed to spend $365,000 on the project last April.

The bike park’s 10,000 yards of dirt were donated from the Elk Grove Promenade mall site that sits across Highway 99 from the park. CSD Management Analyst Fred Bremerman earlier told the Citizen that donation would save the district between $150,000 to $200,000 in construction costs.

Local bicyclists typically have to travel to Folsom, south Sacramento or Roseville to use BMX bike parks. Some resorted to building their own dirt jumps in empty lots across Elk Grove.

Last year, BMX rider Matt Litton told the Citizen he usually has to take a bus or light rail to the BMX park near Power Inn Road in south Sacramento, a trip that his parents consider to be unsafe.

“It will be more convenient,” he said about a BMX park in Elk Grove.

Several local bicyclists contributed design ideas to CSD staff during several workshops.

Elk Grove Park’s future bike park is now roughly 40 percent completed, Bremerman said.

“This has been my headache, I mean, my love,” he joked.

A small hill sits at the center of the park for bicyclists to ride down from and travel on either a beginner course with small mounds and an advanced course with taller mounds and sharper turns.

Parent and bicyclist Frank Fines gave Lopes several ideas on how to make places in the bike park easier for riders to use. He later spent much time driving a Bobcat tractor in helping build the park last weekend.

“My expertise is landscaping so this stuff is kind of easy,” Fines said.

He mentioned that his 12-year-old daughter, Sienna has competed in national BMX events and now ranks fourth in the nation.

“We spend a lot of time in the dirt,” Fines said. “I’m just thinking of another park for my daughter to ride in.”

Keith CoBen, a local bicyclist and parent, spent four years trying to entice the CSD board to approve a bike park in Elk Grove. He was pleased with the outpouring of support last weekend.

”Throughout the weekend, curious onlookers were stopping by and looking at what was being done,” CoBen recalled. “The same goes for cars driving by and honking their approval.”

He mentioned that Sunstate Equipment donated special machinery that compacted the dirt and noted that three Bobcats were operating at once.

SafetyPuck a bright idea that keeps stranded drivers safe

SafetyPuck a bright idea that keeps stranded drivers safe


The new 9-in-1 SafetyPuck warning light ($39.95) fits in the palm of your hand and is shaped like a hockey puck. It has ridges and 16 LED lights inside of itself to provide you with a bunch of illumination patterns, including a flashing arrow.

The bright orange pucks are magnetic on one side. That's so you can attach them to your vehicle without harming it. Pucks also can be placed in the road to tell oncoming drivers you're there, so they can either help you or give you a wide berth. The puck runs on a charge for five to nine hours.

The lights flash or flicker and can go from pulsing to swirling. Our favorite on the test puck was the flashlight beam because it's bold and bright.

SafetyBright says in promotional materials that the puck can function from 20 degrees below zero to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It is sturdy. The company claimed the puck could be run over by a car and not be damaged, according to manufacturer test results. We did it on a lark and found the claim to be true. The puck survived being run over by a BMW 525i with flying colors.

The puck can also be taken onto boats because it floats. Although we only tested a sample puck on the road at night, it looks like it would be a great emergency beacon to have with you on a lake if you like to go boating.

The SafetyPuck comes with a rechargeable battery. It can be charged via a home electrical outlet or in a lighter adapter in vehicles.

The manufacturer is offering the SafetyPuck (SafetyBright.com) for a limited time for $37.95, with free shipping. SafetyBright's 9-in-1 SafetyPuck is a creative way to keep you or your wife and children safe, especially if you family drives at night and your car has been acting up lately. The price is right for peace of mind, if you need it.

Bicycle Safety: What You Need to Know

Biking in traffic isn't as treacherous as it might seem. Cyclists rarely get mowed down by motorists from behind -- a common fear -- and in fact, most accidents don't involve motor vehicles at all.

The more common threats are often found where you might least expect them: on car-free paths filled with distracted pedestrians, dog walkers, in-line skaters and cyclists with varying skill levels.

Still, when bike riders do collide with a car, it's often serious. In 2009, 630 U.S. cyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles, according to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) (bicyclinginfo.org). Meanwhile, more than 500,000 cycling accidents result in a trip to the emergency room each year.

Common sense is your best defense when riding the roads:

Don't ride drunk. One-third of all cycling fatalities involved a legally intoxicated cyclist, according to cycling attorney and cyclist Bob Mionske.

Ride with traffic -- never against it -- as close as possible to the right.

Don't ride with headphones. Hearing the "click" of a car door could save you.

If you're still feeling anxious but want to reap the benefits of an efficient, inexpensive and healthy mode of transportation, here are some ways to reduce your risk of an accident: