Rally at City Hall Tomorrow 8:45am

The cyclist fatalities and serious crashes over the past three weeks
have brought renewed attention to the fact that little progress is being
made to eliminate these everyday cycling hazards.

Join Transportation Alternatives and leading bicycle advocates, clubs
and organizations on Thursday morning to call on Mayor Bloomberg to
redouble New York City's bike safety efforts:

TOMORROW MORNING
Thursday, June 29th, 2006
8:45 am
City Hall

In the past three weeks there were four serious bike crashes in New York
City, three of them resulting in the deaths of individual cyclists,
Donna Goodson, Dr. Carl Nacht and Derek Lake.

On June 5, Donna Goodson was killed by a truck on Rockaway Parkway in
Brooklyn. On Monday June 19, a taxicab driver opened his door and
knocked a cyclist into the path of a passing bus on 10th Avenue in
Manhattan. On Thursday June 22, an NYPD tow truck driver crossing the
Hudson River Greenway hit Dr. Carl Nacht as he was riding with his wife
northbound on the bike path. Dr. Nacht died Monday, June 26. On Monday
June 26, Derek Lake was killed by a truck when his bike slid out of
control and he fell beneath the truck on Houston Street at LaGuardia
Place.

All four recent crashes were caused by dangerous conditions that are
commonplace on New York City streets but should not be: drivers and
passengers opening car doors into the path of cyclists; drivers failing
to yield to cyclists and hazardous street conditions that can send bikes
out of control.

Like the Mayors of London, Paris, Chicago and other world class cities
that have recently unveiled comprehensive plans to make bicycling safe
and widespread, Mayor Bloomberg must get serious about making New York
City a safe place to bike. The City's "Bicycle Master Plan" is ten years
old and only 15% complete. Moreover, it has no targets or timetable for
completion, benchmarks for increasing cycling, or modern bike lane and
path design standards--all hallmarks of exemplary plans recently put
forth by cities like London and Chicago that will make cycling safe
enough for all to enjoy.

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Full details at:
Transportation Alternatives E-Bulletin