Paul Barnard

This one happened in an area where I ride from time to time. As is often the case, few details are available.

Bicyclist killed after colliding with garbage truck

JoeyBike

I'm still here FYI. And I'm not 30 anymore. 30x2.

"Old Man Hit By Garbage Truck in New Orleans" - This might be me some day.

Now I gotta wonder who got hit. Not that I know every cyclist in NOLA. One more ghost bike in the fleet I guess.

CliffordK

Both traveling in the same direction.

One lane (divided) road + bike lane + parking lane.

Not a lot of info. But, I'm wondering if it has to do with the garbage truck stopping to pick up trash, then merging back into the driving lane.

Trash cans in the bike lane?

Paul Barnard

I am hoping the garbage truck was equipped with a camera and that we will one day learn what happened.

Paul Barnard

If you Facebook, there is a photo that a member of a local group posted here.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...&theater&ifg=1

GamblerGORD53

RIP Doesn't take long to figure this one out.
Gee, I wonder what happens when idiot Lefty city planners make the street narrower to help granny pedestrians......
Oh yah, bicycles get their safety and 2 feet buffer obliterated.
Making streets unsafe will make trucks slow down and actually make streets safer. Or so the STUPID theory goes ......
And I have talked to the buggers here, to no avail. A new, maybe 10 bikes per day, 11? foot raised bike lane beside a narrow truck lane and parked cars, same as there. Ideology has NO brains.

5teve

And short-sighted, car-centric planning knows no ideology.

mr_bill

The name of the victim has not been released.
We know nearly nothing about what happened.

But what we DO KNOW is that Carrollton Ave is a major avenue in New Orleans.

South Carrollton until South Claiborne is a relatively quiet avenue, one traffic lane in each direction, a bike lane, and parking, with a large neutral ground and street car tracks running through the neutral ground.

North of South Claiborne it becomes a stroad, three lanes each direction with on street parking and a narrow neutral ground. There is no street car for the rest of South Carrollton. There's a ghostbike for Kenneth Thomas, Sr. near Nelson St.

Around I-10 it becomes four and five lanes, no parking, before dropping back to three lanes with parking.

After crossing Canal it becomes North Carrollton, the street car joins in the left hand lane.
Carrollton terminates at Esplanade.

But here's the thing.

The width of Carrollton Ave hasn't changed for decades.

In fact, except for some paint here and there, nothing much at all has changed at all to Carrolton Ave. Oh, they removed a statue at the entrance to City Park.

-mr. bill

JoeyBike

Garbage trucks usually pick up on Carrollton one block at a time. The truck enters Carrollton, blocks the entire right lane, maybe the bike lane depending on the driver. They pick up ONE block, then dive back into the neighborhood so congestion caused by them has a chance to break free without changing lanes, if there is a second lane (Street is one car lane and on bike lane nearest the Mississippi River). An unaware cyclist could very easily get right-hooked where the trucks turn back into the neighborhood.

A truck suddenly turning right would be on you in half a second.

I don't know the guy's cycling habits at all. I know of him and have seen him around. Never rode with him so I have no clues.

CliffordK

A car-centric approach to planning is very much a realism approach. People like their cars, and 90% of our population won't be giving up their cars any time soon. Especially if it is raining or snowing or too hot or ???

Of course, what one really needs is safe roads for everyone that promotes fast easy transportation for all.

Also start promoting healthy lifestyles.

Maelochs

As far as I know, none of us know what happened here. I really don't want to speculate.

I do know, that if a garbage truck were coming up on my left quickly as I rode a marked bike lane, as we both approached an intersection, I would not try to beat it across the intersection---because trucks can right-hook cyclists easily, because trucks have blind spots, and because I have a ton of experience.

I am not sure where the truck was, where the bike was, why it happened, any of it. Out of respect for the rider, I will not say more.

JoeyBike

I don't know either, but a good cyclist trap is a completely STOPPED garbage truck in the car lane and the bike lane is free. The garbage truck will happily stop RIGHT AT the next cross street. So picture the stopped garbage truck and a cyclist in the process of passing in the bike lane to the right of the truck. The truck driver guns the engine (as many garbage truck drivers do) and suddenly he is across the bike lane in the wink of an eye and those rear wheels are on you with no place to go.

I am not saying this is what happened, I am saying that it happens A LOT around here and is literally a trap for any cyclist not thinking about what they are doing - which is most cyclists in my community.

We always complain that motorists say "I didn't see him/her" right? How on Earth do you not see or hear a garbage truck? Either you aren't looking, or you see it but don't realize IT'S A TRAP! A giant, noisy, slow-moving garbage truck was RIGHT THERE all along. There just aren't that many likely scenarios. Other than the truck was operating partly in the bike lane and steam-rolled the cyclist from behind, but many here on BF agree that never happens.

Paul Barnard

The photo posted on the above Facebook link is worth looking at. Bike is laying on its side with the wheels still in the bike lane. The deceased is in the travel lane next to the bike. Garbage truck is stopped 50 or so feet down the road. There are no visible signs of damage to the bike. I am not going to post the photo here as I don't think doing so would be in keeping with the values of the forum.

JoeyBike

You painted a good enough picture. I wasn't going to look at the photo. So thanks. I was kinda wondering.

Maelochs

As i said, I have no idea what happened.