Cyclist Death in Boston... December 6, 2012
This just happened this morning.
I no longer ride down Commonwealth Ave, but I did for several years. Comm Ave is a heavily traveled road (bikes, cars, and too many pedestrians to shake a stick at being that it goes directly through the Boston University campus) and (thankfully) has a wide and well marked bike lane along this length.
That being said, it was still a nightmare to ride down on a daily basis. Mostly because delivery trucks and taxis would routinely (and with impunity, I suspect, as I never witnessed a citation being given during my near 2-years riding this route) use the bike lane for offloading and the like. Between the trucks, traffic, and crush of students I called it "Riding the Gauntlet".
Also, while traveling this road I experienced more near collisions as a result of "right-hooking" than along any other route I have ridden in this city. Many right where this collision in the news article above occurred.
Now, it's early in the investigation and I do not want to jump to conclusions; but I suspect that this incident may be as a result of a "right-hook", which was, consequently, made illegal and a citable offense a few years back here in the Commonwealth.
I sincerely hope that this young cyclist (he was 26) was not doing anything foolish, but if so than so be it and may he rest in peace; but if it shows that the truck driver was at fault, I sincerely hope to see serious charges levied against them.
If anything it goes to show that infrastructure isn't enough (as I said, that area is well developed in that respect), we need education, awareness, and respect for each other on the road.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out in a city that is really trying to push
bike safety and advocacy.
Ride safe!
I no longer ride down Commonwealth Ave, but I did for several years. Comm Ave is a heavily traveled road (bikes, cars, and too many pedestrians to shake a stick at being that it goes directly through the Boston University campus) and (thankfully) has a wide and well marked bike lane along this length.
That being said, it was still a nightmare to ride down on a daily basis. Mostly because delivery trucks and taxis would routinely (and with impunity, I suspect, as I never witnessed a citation being given during my near 2-years riding this route) use the bike lane for offloading and the like. Between the trucks, traffic, and crush of students I called it "Riding the Gauntlet".
Also, while traveling this road I experienced more near collisions as a result of "right-hooking" than along any other route I have ridden in this city. Many right where this collision in the news article above occurred.
Now, it's early in the investigation and I do not want to jump to conclusions; but I suspect that this incident may be as a result of a "right-hook", which was, consequently, made illegal and a citable offense a few years back here in the Commonwealth.
I sincerely hope that this young cyclist (he was 26) was not doing anything foolish, but if so than so be it and may he rest in peace; but if it shows that the truck driver was at fault, I sincerely hope to see serious charges levied against them.
If anything it goes to show that infrastructure isn't enough (as I said, that area is well developed in that respect), we need education, awareness, and respect for each other on the road.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out in a city that is really trying to push
bike safety and advocacy.
Ride safe!
Thank you for posting this Luc. My heart, as always goes out to the family. As you mentioned, when there are no citations - then it will continue on as a flurry of commuters all vying for space. The transportation dept and police authority need to punish those - who as you stated - take up bicycling lanes to offload. Drivers would be more alert, as well as bicyclists to o slow down, and look out for one another- if they knew a police ticket was forthcoming.
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