Three cyclists were killed in one week: ‘People are literally dying on the streets because they’re not being adequately protected’
Lauren ArataniLast modified on Wed 10 Jul 2019 14.57 BST
New York City cyclists have staged a “die-in” protest after three cyclists were killed in a span of a week, bringing the total number of cyclist deaths in the city this year to 15.As a memorial for those killed, hundreds from the local cyclist community gathered in downtown Manhattan’s Washington Square Park to participate in the demonstration on Tuesday night. Participants of all ages laid in the park, many with their bikes lying next to them, for five minutes in silence. Some held signs that read “New York to cyclists: drop dead” and “reckless driving kills”.
The protest encapsulates the growing frustration riders have toward their city government for failing to act on promises to make the streets safer for cyclists. While 15 fatalities may seem low relative to the city’s population of more than 8 million people, advocates see it as an alarming increase to the 10 cyclist deaths – a historic low – the city had in 2018.
“People are literally dying on the streets because they’re not being adequately protected,” said Joseph Cutrufo, communications director of Transportation Alternatives, a city pedestrian and cyclists advocacy group that organized the protest. “Fifteen people have been killed just by getting where they need to go … [Biking] shouldn’t be seen as a dangerous behavior.”
The increase in cyclist deaths follows a pattern of fluctuation in the number of cyclist deaths New York has seen over the last five years as the city struggles with making its street safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
While other US cities can be less bike-friendly than New York, the city has a long way to go to catch up to peer cities. New York has the highest number of bicycle commuters in the United States, with over 48,000 people commuting to work on a bike in 2016, and the highest five-year average for cyclist fatalities, according to the League of American Bicyclists 2018 benchmarking report.
Cities like Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, which had over 20,000 cyclist commuters each, had far lower five-year averages.
Biking in New York is “horrifying”, said Jaime Taylor, 35, a cyclist from Brooklyn. “This is a dense urban center, and there are hundreds of thousands of cars in it. That’s inappropriate, it’s dangerous.”
Hundreds of cyclists hold ‘die-in’ in New York City to protest deaths I The Guardian
Three cyclists were killed in one week: ‘People are literally dying on the streets because they’re not being adequately protected’ Lauren ArataniLast modified on Wed 10 Jul 2019 14.57 BST New York City cyclists have staged a “die-in” protest after three cyclists were killed in a span of a week, bringing the total number of… [Read More]
