Gothamist: Park Slope Bike Death

ride

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:04:20 -0500

Educate drivers one by one while you ride. http://theCoup.org/bike/

benben

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 14:35:08 -0500

I think its interesting to note that this incident occured not three blocks from the proposed Ratner/Nets stadium. If traffic is already as it is, i.e. bad, what will happen when 60,000 (I just made that figure up, but you know) start shuffling into that area for games and concessions?

EightBitHustler

Sun, 12 Jun 2005 09:11:26 -0500

I feel really bad for her. 10 years ago I was hit by a truck while riding my bike. Luckly it threw me 4ft away but the truck demolished my bicycle. The cop didn't write the driver a ticket citing that it was "my fault" for being on the side walk. (I was fixing my chain which just popped off the chainring). My total hospital bill was over $1200 and the demolished bike was $1500. I didn't have health insurance then (couldn't afford it) Since then I have always had a strong distaste for motor transportation and I've been very vocal toward motorist that don't pay attention. Many laws can be passed to help cyclists, but they won't help if the motorist ignore them and the cops don't enforce them.

kate

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 00:49:46 -0500

This is the second time something like this has happened in the past few weeks. Another young woman died when a garbage truck struck her on Houston St. (again, not even realizing what had happened). I've stopped riding my bike in traffic; I stick to Critical Mass and other group rides with Time's Up (times-up.org) where I feel the safety of numbers. My exgirlfriend saw Elizabeth struck and killed. This is truly heartbreaking. And it's an outrage that the truck that would have doored her had she not swerved to her death was not cited. I don't own a car, but when I've car-sat or rented, I can't count the times that I've had to wait to get out of the vehicle because of oncoming cyclists: i.e., you ALWAYS, ALWAYS have to look before opening the f-ing door. that negligence is criminal, and it cost elizabeth her life.

longboard dude

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 23:48:10 -0500

I feel bad for her and family. :( I thought there's a law that states its illegal to exit on the traffic side of a parked vehicle. Be very careful when you ride on the streets. Be alert and plan ahead. Know when to speed up and when to slow down. Its ok if you are a few seconds behind, its not worth the risk. Many drivers and passengers don't realize they need to share the road.

Captain Midnight

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 19:00:15 -0500

Evan and Rose are absolutely right. It is a driver's responsibility to check for traffic from the rear, be it automotive or bicycle traffic, before opening a door into traffic lanes. "I didn't see her" is not a valid excuse. The police are negligent in not ticketing the driver in this case. But what else is new? The cops would rather harass cyclists than protect them. Then again, there seems to be enough blame to go around here. Sad to say, the cyclist was apparently breaking the law if what they claim is true. She was trying to pass the ice cream truck on the right before she was doored by the parked truck, if I'm reading the article correctly. It's illegal to pass on the right.

keith

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:01:55 -0500

We should all be thankful, at least, that this city has so many assigned bike lanes. Otherwise, there'd be nowhere for delivery trucks and taxis to park or swerve into at high speed to get around someone else. I also wonder why something as big as a ten-wheel truck is even allowed on narrow neighborhood streets, Just like I marvel at the relative carefree attitude of the drivers of those double-length city busses who frequently run the second car up onto curbs or send cyclists scurrying for safety when the bus makes a right turn from the left lane or vice versa.

Tom

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 15:22:28 -0500

This is very sad, she was my upstairs neighbor when I lived in Park Slope. Always running with her husband, they were always competing in a number of races. She was a really nice woman, sad to have happened.

Rose

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 14:50:51 -0500

That's right. The person who opened their car door is at fault. I saw a woman parked on Kings Highway fling open her door right as a car was coming. That door went right off and the woman was lucky she was still inside with both arms.

evan

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 13:33:55 -0500

the driver of a parked car is responsible for looking for bikers in their sideview before opening the street-side door. to fail to do so is to unreasonably put others at risk. elizabeth wasn't the one taking the risk (aside from the risk of riding in a city overtaken by cars). it was the driver who doored her. trying to make it her fault is a way of trying to make ourselves feel safe. we aren't. but we ride.

dhex

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 12:56:01 -0500

scazza - and what would you charge them with?

scazza

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 12:43:56 -0500

There has to be some way to press charges against those drivers or those trucking companies. I can't believe that no one was implicated in her death! Trucks are the most notoriously reckless against cyclists in the narrow streets of Manhattan, and here we see in Brooklyn too. This is horrendous, they never check for cyclists, and that has to be changed. I am outraged.

beth

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 12:01:18 -0500

gothamist, thanks so much for covering this. saw the blue bag on my way to work yesterday and knew it was not good to look. 5th avenue has notorious, problematic truck traffic. i am really saddened that this happened, but i live on the street and notice that people on bikes and blades take the sort of chances that elizabeth did almost daily; as most of us know, this is the rule rather than the exception on many streets and avenues in the city. when will bloomberg stop rallying about this stadium and step up on these smaller issues? or start talking more about his rail plan to minimize truck traffic? And if you are reading: my condolences to Elizabeth's family and friends. -- beth

toxic rocker

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 11:49:03 -0500

god, it was so bad. oh man. i feel so terrible for this woman and her family. such a rotten situation. i got there like a hour or so after it happened. it was such a sunny day... with such a tragedy.

Eric T

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 11:22:36 -0500

Remember when Ed Koch set up those awful Lanes of Death on 6th Ave and B'way, where the bike lanes were set off by a curbed strip of concrete island? And pedestrians used them as auxiliary sidewalks, pushcart vendors treated them as personal highways, and cars turning left blithely cut in front of bikers without a care? Sounded like a great idea on paper, but it was dangerous as hell to actually ride a bike in them. Of course, the cops started ticketing bikers for NOT using the lanes. I was glad to see them go.

Jen L.

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:39:53 -0500

It happened at 5th and Warren. Really awful.

anon

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:27:47 -0500

to answer sean, the building n the background looks like the (now closed) surreal cafe, so i'm guessing the intersection is 5th ave and butler(?). what a shame! i bike 5th ave. most mornings on my way to the park.

jamie

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:18:23 -0500

I'm sure Mikey Bloomberg won't be losing any sleep over this one. It really disturbs me personally that one of the greatest cities in the world is the last one to integrate bike riders into their urban plan. Especially when there is such demand.

jt

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:17:27 -0500

I'm not commenting on this incident in particular, but there are people working to make the streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, such as Transportation Alternatives. They've got an information website and are worth everyone's support. http://www.transalt.org

Sean

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 09:49:58 -0500

Anyone know what intersection that is?