A Public Service Announcement For Pedestrians On The Bike Path

Before I get to my PSA let me regale you with a story. The southwest corridor was a black ice nightmare today, thanks to warm air temps and cold ground temps the entire thing was one big sheet of super slick black ice. No one has cleared out the sidewalk adjacent to the bike path so pedestrians were sharing the bike side with cyclists (of which there were many).

Enter our main player, one ADORABLE child. I am talking clothing catalog cute, precocious and fun. She was enjoying the warm air and scampering all over the path, something her absentminded mother seemed to have no problem with. She just so happened to be playing on a large sheet of black ice.

There were two cyclists ahead of me, the first a young lady on a mountain bike had been traveling slowly and carefully to avoid falling on the black ice. When she saw this child basically jumping out in front of her the force of her brakes being applied immediately and violently dumped her onto the path. This caused the young man behind her to do the exact same thing.

The had both been traveling very slowly, but that ice was slippery. When I saw them both go down I immediately began to back pedal (one of the many benefits of riding a fixed gear in the snow) to slow myself gently, but it wasn’t going to be enough. I jumped off my bike putting both feet on the very slick ground, but sadly kept sliding forward. I came to a stop inches from the guys head. (I felt like the guy from premium rush when he slides under the truck)

The child thought the whole thing was great fun. Everyone got up dusted themselves off and continued on their way. No one was really hurt, but its still not fun to crash your bike, and its no fun thinking you might injure a cute little child.

Which brings me to my PSA.

Dear Pedestrians:

You are sharing the bike lane with the cyclists. In the same way you don’t like it when cyclists ride on the sidewalk, we don’t particularly like it when you walk in the bike lane. But because of the snow, we are willing to share.

Some things you should know:

1. Its much easier for you to move laterally than it is for us. Especially on ice. So if you can move over when you see us coming, please do so.

2. Quick corrections are impossible while riding a bicycle on ice. If you see us coming, get over early, and stay over letting cyclists know you are not going to be in their way, and giving them time to correct their course around you.

3. Stay on one side of the path. Depending on ice conditions it can be very hard to alter our course while riding. If you stay on one side it gives us a predictable path to pilot around you. Even if you don’t see us behind you it will allow us to safely pass.

4. Remember you are not on the side walk, keep alert, with your head up and free of the distractions of texting while walking.

5. Once the snow is gone, could you please move back over to the pedestrian side of the path. Thanks.

6. And please for the love of all things cute and cuddly, keep your child close to you and don’t let them run around causing accidents like cute little bundles of chaotic evil.

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Cyclist Killed On Comm. Ave By Semi-Truck

Its happened again…

(img src)

U-hub reports:

A bicyclist did not survive a collision this morning with a semi at Comm. Ave. inbound at St. Paul St..

At 8:51, Sasha tweeted from a passing trolley:

Body covered by a tarp. RIP. what a bad start to the morn.

By coincidence, a City Council committee holds a hearing on making Boston safer for bicyclists today at noon at City Hall.

More info when I get it:

NPR reports, that a cyclist was in a bike lane when the semi-truck made a right turn and hit him. Was a white male in his 20′s.

(img src)

Bostinno reports:

According to Boston Police, at 8:36 a.m., a cyclist was struck by an 18-wheeler at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Commonwealth Avenue, near Boston University campus. Police closed down the 900 block where the accident occurred.

Police confirmed at 9:49 a.m. that the cyclist died as a result of the accident.

People reported seeing a sheet over the bike and the victim at the scene as they passed the accident near Boston University’s campus.

EDIT: A picture of the truck.

EDIT: another image of the scene

The globe reports:

Boston police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca said in an e-mail that the bicyclist was killed and that the department’s Homicide Unit is now investigating the incident. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office has also sent a prosecutor to the scene, officials said.

EDIT:
WHDH-TV –

EDIT: Heading to this meeting, on bike safety, see you there, more when I get back.

EDIT:
Students name released:

Christopher Weigl (COM’14), a 23-year-old BU graduate student who was pursuing a master’s in photojournalism at the College of Communication, collided with a 16-wheel tractor-trailer at about 8:30 a.m. Witnesses say Weigl and the truck both were traveling east on Comm Ave and collided when the truck made a wide right turn onto St. Paul Street. The accident is being investigated by the Boston Police Department, which cordoned off the area and closed Comm Ave eastbound. No citations have been issued.

“Chris was just a great guy,” says Sarah Ganzhorn (COM’13), a fellow graduate student in COM’s photojournalism program. “He was always smiling. He was just a really chill guy who never had anything negative to say about anything.”

EDIT: More photos:

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Cyclist Hit And Killed In Allston

I am getting reports of a cyclist hit and potentially killed in Allston.

Here are the details I have so far:

Happened around 6:15pm tonight
Corner of corner of Harvard Ave and Brighton in front of Redneck BBQ
some say it involved an MBTA bus
No Helmet
Rider is male, wearing a Red Sox hat
white Giant bike with Knog lights
rider had a new Kryptonite lock on the handlebars

Apparently the ambulance didn’t rush off after loading him in, which means he is either ok, or dead. I am hoping he is ok.

Does anyone else have any information about this incident? More information when I get it.

EDIT: I am getting more reports that the cyclist has been killed, nothing confirmed yet though.

EDIT:

It was fatal sadly.

from here.

A 21-year-old bicyclist was fatally struck by a vehicle in Allston tonight, and authorities are trying to determine if an MBTA bus was involved, police said.

Boston police Officer Neva Coakley, a department spokeswoman, said the man was struck just before 6:30 p.m. near the corner of Harvard and Brighton avenues, and witnesses reported that the vehicle may have been a T bus.

Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman, said Transit Police are working closely on the investigation with Boston police and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, but he declined further comment.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said a prosecutor from the office was at the scene tonight, but authorities have not confirmed that it was a T bus that hit the man.

More than a dozen plainclothes and uniformed Boston police officers were at gathered at the intersection tonight directing traffic and telling pedestrians passing through the busy intersection to move along.

The eastbound lane of Brighton Avenue was cordoned off, just outside Redneck’s Roast Beef, and a twisted white bicycle was visible just off the sidewalk at the corner.

This is tragic, so young. If he was hit by a bus it will be yet another in a string of cyclists killed by large vehicles. This has to stop.

EDIT:More images of the scene here.

Bostonino reports that a bus driver has been taken out of service and questioned:

A 58-year-old MBTA bus driver has been taken out of service while the Boston Police Department and officials from the T investigate the circumstances of a bicycle accident in Allston that killed a man in his twenties.

“A Route 57 bus operator has been taken out of service while police investigators work to establish facts in this matter,” according to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. “[The driver] is 58, and he has been with the T for six years.”

According to reports, witnesses said an MBTA bus may have been involved in the accident, which happened on the corner of Harvard and Brighton Avenues on Monday evening, just after 6 p.m.

Jake Wark, a spokesman from the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, said the cyclist was killed, but no charges have been filed at this time.

“It is still under investigation,” said Wark, via e-mail to BostInno.

Wark did say, however, it was a “bus and [bic]cycle collision.”

EDIT: Seems the bus driver didn’t realize he had hit the cyclist.

The bus driver was unaware he struck the bicyclist, according to police, but witnesses at the scene said the bus did hit him.

EDIT: Seems it was a BU Student.

Authorities are investigating the facts surrounding the death of a 21-year-old bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle in Allston Monday night, officials said.

“Everybody is still out, and the investigation is still ongoing,” said Neva Coakley, a Boston Police Department spokeswoman.

The accident occurred at 6:36 p.m. on the corner of Brighton Avenue and Harvard Avenue, Coakley said.

News outlets report that the bicyclist was a Boston University student, although BU officials did not confirm this information.

EDIT: NPR Reports that the cyclist was hit by a bus driver, and that the driver may have not known that he hit a cyclist.

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Cyclist Hit At Roxbury Crossing

More information when I get it, as always feel free to leave any info you have in the comments. Hope everyone is alright.

This from the person who sent me the picture:

“Hard to tell how she is, was strapped into a stretcher and taken by ambulance. Several cop cars and ambulances at the scene. Her bike was pulled aside. Tires were mangled. Seems like she was crossing the intersection but not sure what direction car was coming from.”

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Female Cyclist Killed In South Boston

(picture via)

“It appears the TT was turning left from A St on West Broadway when the accident occurred ”

More here.

Another in a series of horrific and tragic events…more information when I get it. I hate posting these things, we must do better at protecting cyclists. My thoughts go out to her friends and family.

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(via)

Boston Police Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Accident in the area of W. Broadway & A Streets in South Boston

At about 3:50pm, on Monday, September 17, 2012, officers from District C-6 (South Boston) responded to an accident involving a bicyclist and a tractor trailer truck in the area of W. Broadway & A Streets. On arrival, officers located a female victim suffering from what appeared to be life threatening injuries. The victim, who had been riding a bicycle, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The operator of the vehicle remained on the scene and did make his identity known to responding officers.

The Boston Police Department is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. No citations have been issued at this time.

More news here (warning graphic description of crash)

Update more video here

They reveal that it was a woman in her 30′s. Tragically young. (note they mention this website, it pains me greatly that this is the sort of event that draws reporters here, and not the hundreds of happy events that occur all year long. Be safe out there everyone).

more video here:

WHDH-TV –

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Male Cyclist Killed In Dorchester This Morning

In sad news a man was killed on his bicycle this morning, the herald reports.

State police say a 63-year-old man riding his bicycle along Morrissey Boulevard has been struck and killed by a vehicle.

Authorities say the victim was on the outbound side of the road at about 12:30 a.m. Friday when he was struck by a pickup truck.

The bicyclist was thrown from his bicycle and suffered severe injuries and was declared dead at the scene.

The pickup trucks driver, a 47-year-old man, called 911 for assistance and stayed at the scene. He was eventually taken to Boston Medical Center with minor injuries.

No names were immediately released.

The crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed.

A sad day. My thoughts go out to his friends and family. More info when I get it. As always feel free to post details in the comments.

UPDATE:

The driver has been charged with drunk driving via DotNews:

Michael Ahern, 46, of Dorchester, is scheduled for arraignment today on charges he ran over and killed a man riding his bicycle down Morrissey Boulevard early Friday, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office reports.

Doan Bui, 63, was pronounced dead at the scene following the 12:30 a.m. crash near Malibu Beach.

According to DA Dan Conley’s office, Ahern was arrested at his Adams Corner home on Sunday after a State Police investigation. Ahern called 911 from the scene of the Morrissey Boulevard crash and remained there until police and EMTs arrived. Ahern was also transported to Boston Medical Center and released shortly thereafter.

Prosecutors will formally charge Ahern with motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of alcohol, operating to endanger and speeding.

Ahern is a well-known building contractor who — along with his wife— recently opened a new restaurant, The Sweet Life, in Lower Mills. Ahern has also been a key partner in another popular Lower Mills eatery, The Ledge.

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Help A Cyclist Find His Lost Time

Got this horrible email from a reader, seems he woke up in the hospital and doesn’t remember what happened. If you saw anything do contact him at [email protected]

———-

Hey, Boston Biker. Hope all is well. Last night after work on state st, about 5:15 I crashed my bike on Cambridge st down near blossom. Good
proximity to the ER. Anyway, I blacked out and woke up at said er.Don’t remember a thing. Dislocated shoulder, broken ribs. Just wondering if anyone was riding on Cambridge st at about 5:15 and happen to see it. I heard I clipped someones mirror and got flung into traffic. I don’t know, but be careful out there

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Salem Man In Critical Condition After Being Hit By Bus

Rebecca sent this in to me, thanks for the heads up.

Police are probing an early morning crash in downtown Salem, where an MBTA bus hit a man on a bicycle, leaving him with serious injuries, officials said.

Philip Moran, 47, was crossing Washington Street from Federal Street around 7:20 a.m. when he was hit by the front right end of a Route 544 bus, police and MBTA officials said.

Moran, with a last known address in Salem, suffered multiple “serious trauma,” and was taken first to Salem Hospital, then to Massachusetts General Hospital by MedFlight with possibly life-threatening injuries, Salem Police Captain Brian Gilligan said.

more here and here

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