A vision to thwart alarming rise
of cyclist fatalities and injuries
SALE STARTS 22
5/22 7AM - 5/27 7PM
23
24
25
26
16 COURIER LIFE, MAY 24–30, 2019 PS
EDITORIAL
With the number of cyclists
killed in New
York City on the rise in
2019, it’s clear something must
be done to prevent further
tragedy.
Brooklyn’s streets are proving
to be treacherous for cyclists.
There have been 10 cyclist
fatalities so far in 2019
— the same number the city
saw in all of 2018, according
to Vision Zero data — eight of
which have occurred in Brooklyn,
including three in a fourday
span last week.
Activists have laid blame
on city offi cials for the lack of
dedicated bike lanes throughout
much of Southern Brooklyn,
where fi ve of the 10 fatalities
have occurred.
In addition to the 10 fatalities,
Vision Zero data reveals
that there have been 993 cyclist
injuries across the fi ve boroughs
as of April 30.
This paper obtained video
from the victim of a hit-andrun
incident in Clinton Hill
last week where a driver struck
a cyclist and fl ed the scene. We
published the video and sent
the clip to the NYPD’s 88th
Precinct, which reopened the
investigation.
We urge victims of similar
incidents to share their stories
with their local newspapers
and media outlets. Let us
tell your stories so we can help
spread the word and help prevent
further tragedy. Every
publicized incident will put
pressure on lawmakers to protect
their cycling constituents.
The City Council is hoping
to improve road safety with its
“Vision Zero Streets Design
Standard” bill, which would
formalize a set of safety measures
for the Department of
Transportation to consider
when renovating city streets.
Proponents of the bill believe it
would encourage construction
of bike lanes and other traffi
c calming measures in cardense
neighborhoods.
The street in Clinton Hill
where the biker was struck did
not have a dedicated bike lane.
The city had removed “sharrows,”
shared lane markings
which indicate that while
there’s no dedicated bike lane
on the street, drivers and bicyclists
have to share the space.
Sharrows aren’t perfect —
they do not offer an explicit
lane and keep cyclists at risk
of being struck — but perhaps
one may have prevented the
cyclist from being struck in
Clinton Hill.
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson recently announced a
May 30 deadline to vote on the
measure, which is co-sponsored
by 14 of the body’s 15 Brooklyn
lawmakers. The only Kings
County councilmember not
sponsoring the bill is Kalman
Yeger (D–Borough Park), who
represents the location where a
teen was killed on May 14.
Yeger should sponsor the
bill, too. Doing so would show
a united front that among the
Kings County councilmembers;
it would show constituents
that Brooklyn will take
action and not wait for the next
tragedy to strike.
TRAGIC: There have been 10 cyclist fatalities so far in 2019, the same
number the city saw in 2018, according to Vision Zero data. Getty Images
27
PARVE
PAREVE
K