Thread by @latimes

“I’d rather go slow on the sidewalk than risking my life,” said Sirilo Villalpando, a Latino rider stopped in East L.A. in April for riding on the sidewalk.

Just 1% of streets in all of East Los Angeles have bike lanes.
latimes.com/projects/la-co…

Surveys conducted by the nonprofit L.A. County Bicycle Coalition found riders are twice as likely to ride on the sidewalk on streets with no bike lanes than those with them.

About 8% of all stops by the Sheriff’s Department are for sidewalk violations.
latimes.com/california/sto…

But in neighborhoods with few bike lanes, a far higher percentage of stops are for riding on the sidewalk, The Times’ analysis shows.

Many of those neighborhoods are home to predominantly Black and Latino, lower-income residents.
latimes.com/projects/la-co…

For example, nearly a quarter of bike stops in East L.A. were for sidewalk violations, one of the highest rates in the sheriff’s jurisdiction.

And in Lynwood, where there are no bike lanes at all, they account for 16% of stops.
latimes.com/projects/la-co…

West Hollywood, which is mostly white, has a much higher percentage of streets with bike lanes. The city allows bikers to ride on the sidewalk in areas with no bike lanes.

Less than 1% of bike stops there were initiated because of sidewalk violations.
latimes.com/projects/la-co…