Bicyclist killed at Oak & Wells Friday AM

Any updates:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-bicyclist-str...

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Mitzit on October 5, 2012 at 11:41am

My sympathy to all involved: the rider's family and friends, the truck driver and the Minnesotan who apparently unknowingly opened his door in the rider's path. We can descend on this guy all the wrath we can but it won't resurrect the rider. Awareness and greater education is what's needed. ---I haven't read the comments under the Trib's story yet but dread the crap I will read there.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on October 5, 2012 at 11:46am
Well said. Thanks you Bruce.

Bruce Mitzit said:

My sympathy to all involved: the rider's family and friends, the truck driver and the Minnesotan who apparently unknowingly opened his door in the rider's path. We can descend on this guy all the wrath we can but it won't resurrect the rider. Awareness and greater education is what's needed. ---I haven't read the comments under the Trib's story yet but dread the crap I will read there.

Permalink Reply by ciarliera on October 5, 2012 at 12:16pm

I agree Melissa.

Melissa M said:

Might it also be a good idea to gather for a memorial on a weekday morning around the time that it occurred? We could wear white shirts and gather (on the sidewalk?) at the site. It just seems like being there at the time when the area is busiest is a good time to remind people to check for cyclists (and other traffic) before opening their doors.

Permalink Reply by Bruce Mitzit on October 5, 2012 at 12:19pm

I believe that law is (or was) in effect in NYC. In my own car (Prius), I'm pretty much encased into the the driver's side; it is impossible to exit on the right. When driving a car, I've several times nearly taken off the door of  some parked car on a narrow street. People are oblivious to endangering a rider and their own self-interest popping open a door.

In any case, I always look in the side mirror when getting out. 
Michael J Blane said:

Somewhere, a long time ago, when I had drivers' ed and stuff, I'm pretty sure that I read that it was illegal to exit a vehicle on the traffic side.

Is this still true that you are not supposed to open a car door on the traffic side?

--

Please don't start in about how difficult it is to not exit on the traffic side. I'm merely asking.

Permalink Reply by ciarliera on October 5, 2012 at 12:19pm

Awareness and education are important but what we really need are safer riding conditions. I hate riding on Wells, the bike lane is way to close to the car parking lane and there are drivers pulling in and out of those spots all day long. We need more protected bike lanes - this would have never happened on a protected bike lane!!!!

Bruce Mitzit said:

My sympathy to all involved: the rider's family and friends, the truck driver and the Minnesotan who apparently unknowingly opened his door in the rider's path. We can descend on this guy all the wrath we can but it won't resurrect the rider. Awareness and greater education is what's needed. ---I haven't read the comments under the Trib's story yet but dread the crap I will read there.

Permalink Reply by ciarliera on October 5, 2012 at 12:34pm

Here is the letter I wrote to the Trib:

Dear Colleen,

While your report of this morning's tragic accident on Wells focused touchingly on Neill's work relationships and who he was as a person, it also misrepresented the facts of the situation.

The bottom line is that the Wells Street bike lane is not safe. That lane is way to close to the car parking lane. The guy who opened the door should have looked but it is, tragically, so easy to forget. That is why we need more infrastructure to support safe transit for all methods of transportation that our citizens choose - walking, biking, public transit, and driving an automobile. This should be a wake-up call to all those naysayers out there who complain about the new protected bike lanes. WE NEED THEM! We need them to protect those who choose to ride bikes, like poor Neill. We need them to protect people who choose to drive cars and open their doors. We need them for semi-drivers who must deliver in the city. This tragedy affects not only the person on the bike who so sadly lost his life but everyone involved. We need protected bike lines to protect all of us. Not just those on bikes.

Now is the time to call attention to the hazardous conditions of the infrastructure that cause terrible tragedies such as this - not to focus on supposed risky behavior by a man hit and killed on the road today. Have you ever ridden a bike in the city? Do you know how difficult it is to avoid an opening door two feet in front of you? We should be talking about that.

Poor infrastructure affects each and every one of us negatively and sometimes tragically. Let's make a change.

Kindest,
Kristy

Permalink Reply by April on October 5, 2012 at 12:55pm

Kristy,

That is wonderfully written and eloquent letter! I hope the article is again revised to reflect these important points.

Everyone,

I found this excellent PSA about dooring.  How can we spread it far and wide?

Permalink Reply by KatieP on October 5, 2012 at 12:59pm
I think this is how we identify where to begin education efforts http://www.wbez.org/news/map-where-are-chicagos-bike-dooring-accide....
Permalink Reply by Melissa M on October 5, 2012 at 1:10pm

Kristy Lapidus and Anne Alt:

I don't really know how organizing it would work, but I thought next Friday might work well. I'll send a message to your Chainlink emails.

-Melissa

Kristy Lapidus said:

I agree Melissa.

Melissa M said:

Might it also be a good idea to gather for a memorial on a weekday morning around the time that it occurred? We could wear white shirts and gather (on the sidewalk?) at the site. It just seems like being there at the time when the area is busiest is a good time to remind people to check for cyclists (and other traffic) before opening their doors.

Permalink Reply by Bruce Mitzit on October 5, 2012 at 1:11pm

here's mine:

Hello, Colleen. I saw your story and headline about the cyclist at Oak & Wells. I was distressed to read the head with the quote from his boss: "he did have a lot of close calls." I'm sure you've heard protest from the boss quoted, rightly so as the obvious implication runs along "crazy risk-taking cyclist damages car door." I too often see stories reporting a tragedy misplacing responsibility on the cyclist.

As a cyclist and driver both, I can tell you we all have a lot of close calls whatever our choice of transportation. From the content of your story it seems the cyclist was without fault in the circumstances of his death. Yet the headline departs from that conclusion. From reader comments from other sources (mercifully, yours seems to have been turned off), there are too many comments along the line of "serves him right" or "roads are for cars."

What I would like to see in future reporting is awareness of shared dangers and responsibilities among us. A driver who hits a cyclist has a dented fender; the cyclist has a prematurely truncated life. 

best wishes, BWM



Julie Hochstadter said:

Yeah. The title says , "he did have a lot of close calls."
. Why they had to highlight that one stupid sentence.
April said:

Here is the reporter's email: Colleen Mastony, CMastony@tribune.com.


Someone, please write them and tell them their story was terribly biased and point out door safety.  I need to get back to work and this should be done as soon as possible.  Thanks!!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 5, 2012 at 1:25pm

Well said.    

Kristy Lapidus said:

Here is the letter I wrote to the Trib:

Dear Colleen,

While your report of this morning's tragic accident on Wells focused touchingly on Neill's work relationships and who he was as a person, it also misrepresented the facts of the situation.

The bottom line is that the Wells Street bike lane is not safe. That lane is way to close to the car parking lane. The guy who opened the door should have looked but it is, tragically, so easy to forget. That is why we need more infrastructure to support safe transit for all methods of transportation that our citizens choose - walking, biking, public transit, and driving an automobile. This should be a wake-up call to all those naysayers out there who complain about the new protected bike lanes. WE NEED THEM! We need them to protect those who choose to ride bikes, like poor Neill. We need them to protect people who choose to drive cars and open their doors. We need them for semi-drivers who must deliver in the city. This tragedy affects not only the person on the bike who so sadly lost his life but everyone involved. We need protected bike lines to protect all of us. Not just those on bikes.

Now is the time to call attention to the hazardous conditions of the infrastructure that cause terrible tragedies such as this - not to focus on supposed risky behavior by a man hit and killed on the road today. Have you ever ridden a bike in the city? Do you know how difficult it is to avoid an opening door two feet in front of you? We should be talking about that.

Poor infrastructure affects each and every one of us negatively and sometimes tragically. Let's make a change.

Kindest,
Kristy

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on October 5, 2012 at 1:26pm

I'll be at the vigil at for Neill Townsend at 9:00 pm and hope to see many of you there.

Since I don't yet have a helmet cam, I was moved today to at least take a lot of pictures on my commute home to help document the current reality of bicycling in Chicago, and how far we have to go. The picture I took below was on the Wells St block south of the crash site where Neill died. The combination of years of wear on the bike lane striping as well as the recent water pipe work has made much of the stretch unrecognizable as a bike lane, so drivers who are new to the street would hardly even know this is a designated bike route. (This entire stretch will get buffered lanes as I understand it, but not sure of the timeframe.)

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