Thursday, August 21, 2008

Ballona Creek Warning

Bike Girl has been unable to find much information about the below warning, forwarded to her by a fellow cyclist. However, Bike Girl believes it is always a good idea to use caution on this particular path.

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Ballona Trail Caution!
We would like to alert you of some recent crime activity on the Ballona Trail.
If you, or someone you know, uses the trail, please be aware and take precautionary
measures.

On Tuesday, August 19 around 1PM a cyclist was assaulted on the Ballona Creek
Trail under the 405 underpass. Two assailants threw a bicycle into the path of the
cyclist, causing him to crash. They then sprayed him with pepper spray and took his
backpack.

The victim rode to the LAPD Pacific Station and made a report. According to the
victim and police information, other cyclists were later accosted in this same area and one
was threatened with a knife.

If you choose to ride on Ballona Trail, please use extra caution, especially
around the underpasses. You may want to consider riding in pairs or in a larger group.

There have been other assaults on cyclists along this stretch of the
BallonaTrail and it is time to confront this situation directly.

LACBC has contacted Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office and they are contacting
LAPD about the matter. In addition, we will be working to convene a task force to
bring attention to this problem area and explore solutions.

1 comment:

Irene Palma said...

Hi, Bike Girl. I grew up riding the Ballona Creek trail, and have had a couple of unsavory incidents myself. Stuff happens, people are mean (or worse): why risk it? Protect yourself and ride with a friend.