FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEMORIAL TO BE HELD FOR PEDESTRIAN HOPE MILLER, KILLED BY A CAR ON DEADLY HOUSTON STREET
HOUSTON STREET MEMORIAL AND SPEAK OUT
Tuesday, Oct 2nd, 6:30pm at Houston St. and 6th Ave.
Elected Officials, Pedestrian and Public Space Advocates have been invited to attend.
**Memorial plaque, created by Visual Resistance, and stencil will be placed at crash site
New York, NY (October 1, 2007) – Time’s Up! will hold a memorial to commemorate Hope Miller, 28, and raise awareness of the City’s failure to address unsafe conditions for cyclists and pedestrians on Houston Street. Miller was struck and killed on Houston Street at 6th Avenue on Tuesday, September 25th by a hit-and-run driver allegedly fleeing a previous accident.
Hope Miller’s death is the third known fatality since June, 2005 to occur in the area of Houston Street undergoing construction. Cyclist Andrew Morgan, 25, was killed by a furniture truck turning on the corner of Houston and Elizabeth Street on June 22, 2005 and cyclist Derek Lake, 23, was crushed beneath the wheels of a tractor-trailer at Houston and LaGuardia Place on June 26, 2006.
Uneven pavement, unclear lane delineations, improperly placed metal plates, and absent safety workers have been a consistent problem since the construction began over two years ago. The DOT plans for Houston include traffic signals and turning bays that will facilitate faster vehicular traffic and result in an even more dangerous street. The DOT also abandoned their ten-year-old plan for protected bike lanes on Houston.
”The City needs to switch their priorities from accommodating cars and trucks on Houston Street to protecting cyclists and pedestrians,” says Bill DiPaola, Executive Director of Time’s Up! “The City’s reneging on the 10-year promise for safe bike lanes on a newly paved, eight lane Houston Street, is a decision that will continue to endanger pedestrians and cyclists.”
Note: According to NYS DOT records for 1995 – 2005, there were 11 pedestrians & 3 bicyclists killed and 514 pedestrians & 305 bicyclists injured on Houston Street in crashes with motor vehicles.
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TIME’S UP! is a non-profit environmental group that has been using educational outreach and direct action for the last 20 years to promote a more sustainable, less toxic city.
