2007-12-12 Bike Lane Action

MEDIA ADVISORY

TIME’S UP! BIKE LANE ACTION WILL DRAMATICALLY CALL ATTENTION TO UNSAFE CONDITIONS IN 6TH AVENUE BIKE LANE

Action will also commemorate the death of cyclist, David Smith, who was killed while riding on 6th Avenue one week ago.

**For further details of 3:30pm action call 917 405 1544 or email press@times-up.org

New York, NY (December 12, 2007) — On Wednesday, December 12th, cyclists and supporters will participate in a Bike Lane Action that will dramatize the fatal last moments of David Smith’s ride up 6th Avenue. Participants of the action will meet at 3:00pm at Greeley Square Park at 6th Avenue (between 32 & 33th street) and ride together to the 3:30pm action.

The action will call attention to the need for safe, buffered bike lanes, especially on heavily trafficked streets. The bike lanes on 6th Avenue and Broadway are examples of bike lanes that are too narrow and offer no protection for cyclists who are forced to ride either too closely to the moving vehicles or risk being “doored” by someone in a parked car. On 12/5/07, a passenger in a pickup truck, illegally parked in the bike lane on 6th Avenue, opened a door into the path of David Smith, throwing the cyclist into an oncoming truck.

“Unfortunately, dodging illegally parked cars and carelessly opened doors is an everyday activity for NYC cyclists. The NYPD needs to step up enforcement of traffic laws and ticket motorists who park in bike lanes. The number of cyclists in the city is increasing every year, and bicycle safety has to become a higher priority if we want to encourage this trend to continue,” said Judy Ross, Time’s Up! spokesperson.
 

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