All Discussions Tagged 'cann' - The Chainlink2024-03-29T09:12:22Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=cann&feed=yes&xn_auth=noResponse to cyclist's death in North Center, 9/26tag:thechainlink.org,2016-09-26:2211490:Topic:10173522016-09-26T16:40:53.466ZErin Vogelhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/ErinVogel
<div class="_5pbx userContent" id="js_4"><p>**I live in North Center and commute downtown to work every day. I just finished crying in my office after hearing about this. I wrote this thing on Facebook that I thought was worth sharing because writing it felt slightly more productive than just sitting in my computer chair and fuming. But honestly guys, what are we going to do about this???**</p>
<p></p>
<p>I TAKE THIS ROUTE ALMOST EVERY DAY. This cyclist was killed on Damen and Addison. I live…</p>
</div>
<div id="js_4" class="_5pbx userContent"><p>**I live in North Center and commute downtown to work every day. I just finished crying in my office after hearing about this. I wrote this thing on Facebook that I thought was worth sharing because writing it felt slightly more productive than just sitting in my computer chair and fuming. But honestly guys, what are we going to do about this???**</p>
<p></p>
<p>I TAKE THIS ROUTE ALMOST EVERY DAY. This cyclist was killed on Damen and Addison. I live on Damen and Irving Park.</p>
<p>But this is not me, even though a lot of what I want to say is spurred on by my personal rage and devastation that this these deaths have become run-of-the-mill this in 2016. Why is this still happening? I said to a friend the other day that Bobby Cann, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2013, should have been the last cyclist death in our city. Cann's totally preventable death -- if the man who killed him had been locked away for his multiple PREVIOUS drunk driving offenses like he SHOULD HAVE been if only he wasn't white and privileged and equipped with good lawyers and enough money to get his record wiped clean, Cann would still be here today -- should have been enough to show our city and our mayor that building miles and miles of bike lanes is not enough to protect cyclists. Because this isn't just about bike lanes. Lisa Kuivinen was killed while she was biking in one of Chicago's supposedly safest bike lanes on Milwaukee Avenue and a truck driver veered into her lane without looking. This is not about bike lanes. This is about a culture, and a conversation we are not having about the relationship between drivers and cyclists in our city.</p>
<p>Chicago was just named the most bike-friendly city in the country and I know that for me personally, and a lot of other cyclists I know who use bikes as their main form of transportation of every day, that designation feels like a joke. Why?</p>
<p>Because today's death marks the is the SIXTH (I had to edit this after learning about the *****18-year-old****college student who was killed in a crash with a cement truck on Thursday night) CYCLIST DEATH in FOUR MONTHS caused by a COMMERCIAL VEHICLE in our city/around our city.</p>
<p>I am sick over this. I ride these roads every single day. I wear a helmet, I ring my bell when I'm riding in unprotected bike lanes adjacent to parked cars because I know a driver could open their door without looking at any second, I use hand signals, I wear bright colors, I yell when drivers start encroaching into the bike lane without looking, I wear lights at night, I communicate with other cyclists, I stop at red lights, but NONE OF THESE THINGS WILL KEEP ME ALIVE IF A CARELESS (AND MOST LIKELY, COMMERCIAL, GIVEN THE RECENT TREND) DRIVER MOVES INTO MY LANE AND HITS ME.</p>
<p>We also need to realize that even the cyclists who do NOT wear lights, who do not stop at stop signs, who do not wear helmets, STILL DESERVE TO BE PROTECTED AND RESPECTED ON THE ROADS AS HUMAN BEINGS. BECAUSE THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS. OK, so some cyclists do not follow all the laws. Show me a driver who respects and follows every law every time they are behind the wheel. Human beings all have the ability to be careless and irresponsible, but somehow cyclists are the category of human beings that many of us have decided DESERVE to lose their lives as a result of carelessness.</p>
<p>The article about the 18-year-old college student mentioned that she was not wearing a helmet. This to me feels a little bit like victim blaming. I encourage everyone to know to wear helmets, but the fact is in many crashes a helmet is not going to save your life. We do not immediately ask if victims of car crashes were wearing a seatbelt and then feel vindicated when we find out they were not because that somehow means they deserved to die.</p>
<p>And the worst thing is knowing that if I were to be injured in a crash with a vehicle that hundreds of drivers and internet trolls would be waiting to comment on the news article about the things I should have been doing to prevent my own injury or death.</p>
<p>I'm sitting at my desk in my office looking at my green Surly crosscheck and thinking about how today I will probably take the Red Line home after work. I'd rather bike. It's my favorite way to get around this city. To be very honest, after spending most of 2016 in a deep depression that I'm just now climbing out of, I'm pretty sure that riding my bike - combined with a great therapist and the right antidepressant dosage - saved my life a little bit. But today I'm too sad thinking about how my favorite thing to do in the world could kill me someday. I'd rather have a day where I can get home safely without thinking overtime and looking around me, every second, wondering if the next car that cuts me off is going to be the last one.</p>
<p>(Anyone who comments on this post with any "helpful" comments about what this cyclist and the four other dead cyclists could have done to prevent being killed by careless vehicles will be immediately deleted.)</p>
<p></p>
<p>You can find an edited version that includes links posted to Medium here: <a href="https://medium.com/@erinvogel/most-bike-friendly-city-in-america-tell-that-to-the-cyclists-who-actually-bike-in-chicago-d16281176f5d#.rwtlhr6n2">https://medium.com/@erinvogel/most-bike-friendly-city-in-america-tell-that-to-the-cyclists-who-actually-bike-in-chicago-d16281176f5d#.rwtlhr6n2</a></p>
</div> Honorary Bobby Cann Way (Updated 9/13)tag:thechainlink.org,2013-09-12:2211490:Topic:7537042013-09-12T16:51:51.234ZCatherine Bullardhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/CatherineBullard
<p>UPDATE: Fox Chicago did a wonderful piece on this proposal, cycling safety, and community advocacy: <a href="http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/23423612/chicago-remembers-late-bicyclist-with-honorary-bobby-cann-way">http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/23423612/chicago-remembers-late-bicyclist-with-honorary-bobby-cann-way</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>Please consider joining us at the next hearing (see below) to help make the streets safer for cyclists!</p>
<p></p>
<p>****</p>
<p></p>
<p>Alderman Walter…</p>
<p>UPDATE: Fox Chicago did a wonderful piece on this proposal, cycling safety, and community advocacy: <a href="http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/23423612/chicago-remembers-late-bicyclist-with-honorary-bobby-cann-way">http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/23423612/chicago-remembers-late-bicyclist-with-honorary-bobby-cann-way</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>Please consider joining us at the next hearing (see below) to help make the streets safer for cyclists!</p>
<p></p>
<p>****</p>
<p></p>
<p>Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. proposed at last night's city council meeting that the stretch of road near Bobby Cann's crash site be named "Honorary Bobby Cann Way".</p>
<p></p>
<p>Bobby was biking home from work on May 29 when he was struck and killed by a car. The driver, Ryne San Hamel, has since been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI resulting in death.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130912/old-town/roadway-be-named-after-cyclist-bobby-cann">http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130912/old-town/roadway-be-named-after-cyclist-bobby-cann</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>If you're interested in raising cycling safety awareness, advocating against drunk driving, and showing your support for Bobby and his family, please consider attending next Wednesday's court hearing. Details are below!</p>
<p></p>
<div><b><font size="4">Upcoming court date: September 18, 10 a.m.</font></b></div>
<div>WHAT: Court status hearing, a hearing generally "for the lawyers to inform the judge as to what motions remain pending, whether settlement is likely, and whether a trial should be scheduled" according to <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_status_hearing_in_district_court" target="_blank">Wiki Answers</a>.</div>
<div>WHERE: 26th & California, room 301</div>
<div>Check out this post for ongoing court updates:</div>
<div><a href="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/justice-for-bobby-cann-upcoming-court-dates-and-news-updated-8-8">http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/justice-for-bobby-cann-upcoming-court-dates-and-news-updated-8-8</a></div> Justice for Bobby Cann: Upcoming Court Dates and News (UPDATED 9/13)tag:thechainlink.org,2013-08-08:2211490:Topic:7388962013-08-08T18:55:37.263ZCatherine Bullardhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/CatherineBullard
<div><b><font size="4">Upcoming court date: September 18, 10 a.m.</font></b></div>
<div>WHAT: Court status hearing, a hearing generally "for the lawyers to inform the judge as to what motions remain pending, whether settlement is likely, and whether a trial should be scheduled" according to <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_status_hearing_in_district_court" target="_blank">Wiki Answers</a>.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>WHERE: 26th & California, room 301</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Members…</div>
<div><b><font size="4">Upcoming court date: September 18, 10 a.m.</font></b></div>
<div>WHAT: Court status hearing, a hearing generally "for the lawyers to inform the judge as to what motions remain pending, whether settlement is likely, and whether a trial should be scheduled" according to <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_status_hearing_in_district_court" target="_blank">Wiki Answers</a>.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>WHERE: 26th & California, room 301</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Members of the cycling community are encouraged to attend! The more the better. Having a lot of people there shows the judge and state's attorney that the community cares about cycling safety.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Bobby's family and friends are <em>so </em>grateful to those of you who came to the last court date; police officers called the number of people present "breathtaking".</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Let me know if you have questions!</div>