Comments on: Memorial Ride Tonight for Two Manhattan Cyclists

By: Urbanis

Urbanis — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:06:49 +0000

I went last night on the ride and it was both poignant to honor the fallen cyclists by visiting and leaving flowers at the ghost bikes and a wonderful community building activity. And I have never felt safer on the road than last night when I was surrounded by a pack of fellow cyclists!

By: cosmopolka

cosmopolka — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:40:40 +0000

huh? i don't get your responses.
if you mean 9th street in brooklyn, dot did some serious traffic calming of it. is your point that the city is not perfect yet and the dot could be doing more? if so, well.. yeah. if you have some constructive ideas on how to secure more money and win over grouchy community boards then you should offer those. but pointing out that things aren't perfect yet is kind of superfluous.

By: gecko

gecko — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:20:34 +0000

cosmopolka, Most people do not have access to the vast majority of public space in this city unless they are in cars -- often even in the public parks -- which are / or can be used by only a small minority; that is, unless they are willing to put themselves in mortal danger.

Not clear what you mean by hyperbolic. Please explain.

By: gecko

gecko — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:10:00 +0000

cosmopolka, Just take a trip from Red Hook up 9th Avenue to Prospect Park which I've been doing daily lately.

And, this isn't even Manhattan; so cycle down Fifth Avenue from 59th to Washington Square.

And, by the way, people are still dying:
Alvaro Olson and Jian-Lan Zhang both died last Wednesday, April 16.

By: cosmopolka

cosmopolka — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:44:08 +0000

gecko - that's a bit hyperbolic. the city has a safe routes to school program that is making some major (and expensive) capital improvements like neckdowns, median islands, etc. it also has a safe routes for seniors program that is just getting into gear. it's also actively testing out new bike facility designs, more than a lot of other cities can say. let's give some credit.

By: Todd Edelman

Todd Edelman — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:38:51 +0000

In both cases the cyclists were described as more or less attacking the trucks and bouncing off, dead.

By: Gwin

Gwin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:39:55 +0000

These are horrible accidents, but in all honesty it doesn't seem like it was the fault of the vehicles in either of these cases. Of course, this is NOT usually the case, but I just wanted to point out that sometimes cyclists do stupid things and risk their lives.

I happen to live at Allen/Hester and definitely seen bikers act without caution, despite the presence of heavy truck traffic.

By: anon

anon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:35:45 +0000

I regret that I just can't go tonight. I hope a lot of readers can.

By: gecko

gecko — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:30:18 +0000

Very troubling that there is no serious safety initiative making the children, pedestrians, and cyclists safe from cars and trucks in New York City; a basic infringement on the inalienable rights of its citizens.