Unfortunate C&V cyclist death in NYC
 

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...yhi-story.html

I love urban cycling here in NYC either C&V or modern but instances like this remind us the need to be ever aware of our surroundings. RIP sir.

Aware of our surroundings? Sorry but being struck by a vehicle driver while riding on the road has nothing to do with being aware of your surroundings. Nothing this unfortunate cyclist could have done to avoid this.

Yes, I get that but having your head on a swivel is necessary when cycling on urban roads. No fault was assigned to this poor gentleman.

If you agree that this aspect of cycling personal responsibility isn't relevant in this case, why did you spend more than half of your OP talking about how the death reminds us of its importance?

The way your post is written implies that a lack of awareness by the cyclist was a substantial contributor to the crash.

there must be a more accurate article. "Williamson was the first cyclist to be killed on Central Park West since August 2018" but he wasn't on Central Park West, was he? he was on the transverse road? "the truck took a right from Central Park West onto the 86th St. Transverse just before 6 p.m. before plowing into him," I think there are 2 of those? they are lethal. last year, before the lock down, a pediatrician, cycling one of the transverse roads was killed, not far from the hospital he worked at

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/12/...-central-park/

after that cyclist death, I visited my brother, last February, after his heart surgery & wound up driving thru the park on the same road I think. not bike friendly for sure

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f073f39f5.jpeg

That's not how I read it. To say that this person's death is a reminder to all of us to be careful does not necessarily imply that the rider's lack of attention caused the accident. It's just that, a reminder.

I don't think the OP is trying to say something critical of the C&V rider who was killed.

The description of what happened is a bit terse.

Photo from article above:
https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/...EACN6DR23A.JPG

The accident appears to have happened on this corner of Central Park West and 86th St. Transverse.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7852...7i16384!8i8192

It isn't clear what the cyclist was doing. But, with the bike in the median just past the crosswalk, I'm thinking the cyclist may have been in the crosswalk.

There is actually a bike lane to the left side of the turn lane on Central Park West which might have been safer than the crosswalk, especially if riding at speed.

As a pedestrian (and also cyclist), I like to look over my shoulder to see if any vehicles are turning before entering a crosswalk.

Cars do not care about cyclists on the road. I consider myself extremely diligent when riding, and have still been hit twice. Once by an individual who was on the phone and veered into the bike lane. The other incident I made direct eye contact with the driver and was still hit. The driver proclaimed my sweaty biker face was distracting and couldn’t manage to pull their foot off the gas…

Biking is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and it’s not due to the riders.

My condolences to the family of the rider. May they Rest In Peace.

It's almost certain that Williamson was not on the transverse road, but simply crossing 86th St on the bike path. Look at this photo from the scene, and a street view from G***** maps:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7252a72ed1.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...609ea218e0.jpg
You can see the end of the island separating 86th St Transverse on both photos. Bike was hit from the left side, meaning right-turning truck plowed into him in the bike lane, which is right at the curb shown in second photo (though not marked because of all the other crosswalk stuff at the intersection. Bike had right-of-way, and driver clearly did not. Yes, we should all look when crossing; but USPS truck drivers in this city are perhaps more inattentive to other traffic than they should be, worse than typical truck drivers in my personal experience. This was, so far as I can see, not an "accident" but a lack of sufficient care on the part of the driver.

Excellent points. How do you avoid cars pulling out in front of you? As I was biking on the right side of the lane, I made eye contact with a driver of a minivan at the exit of a parking lot - she looked right at me and then pulled in front of me. Driving in traffic is really dangerous. All it takes is one bad move. With permanently distracted drives, it's only gotten worse.

And this isn't in A&S because ....

If you pan around on Google Maps on Central Park West, you will note that the bike lane is to the left of the turn lane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7851...7i16384!8i8192

So, if the cyclist was in the bike lane, and the mail truck was in the turn lane, there should not have been a collision.

It is odd that street marking and lanes are poorly marked through the intersection.

It is more likely that the cyclist was either riding or walking in the crosswalk (either with traffic, or against traffic).

Witness reports and perhaps typical commuting patterns for the rider would help clarify.

A crosswalk can give a false sense of security, especially for a fast moving cyclist who MUST be aware of traffic around him.

That's the double whammy to get hit on your vintage ride by a postal service truck.

I'll probably get hit by a guy in a sweet ride with a BÖC sticker on his back bumper.

Granted; I missed that. But the bike was hit on the left side, and the truck is right next to the island in the photo, so either the truck forgot to get into the turn lane, and ended up turning onto the cyclist from the through lane (on the left side of the bike lane) or the cyclist was in the turn lane. Who could tell, without seeing the accident report? Seems to me it's unlikely that the cyclist was going down the bike lane the wrong direction, because he was hit on his left side, though lord knows we see enough bike-salmoning here, and it's gotten completely out of control during the pandemic.

Here's another story by a bike advocacy group, with a bit more detail in the description at the bottom of the page:
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/06/...-side-cyclist/
It claims that both truck and cyclist were heading north, suggests encroachment by the truck onto the bike lane to make the turn, and decries the problems with USPS drivers hitting pedestrians and cyclists.

I hadn't looked at the bike carefully.
It does appear to have a curvature from the left. Although the top tube appears to have a couple of compound dents from both sides. Hmmm, that is odd. It looks like the bars turned clockwise, were twisted down, bent into a tighter curl, and may have impacted the frame from the back side. It looks like a nasty hard hit. :mad:

One conclusion is that trucks are BAD, even mid-sized trucks. Keep one's distance whenever possible.

If this truck is on a routine delivery route, then it should have a specified permitted route. Are there alternative routes not buzzing Central Park?

A little additional general information here.

Of course they have a lot of vehicles doing a lot of deliveries.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8ffbfb1838.jpg

Ya know, yesterday I was riding my Masi to the auto parts store, there was a 2003 Honda accord just driving poorly, I decided to stop and let her get well ahead, then due to traffic she ended up along side me again, I stopped again and sure enough she almost took out another cyclist (actually an adult trike) while making a slo-mo no turn signal no aware right hand turn.

Be careful out there.

Update: The deceased man’s name is Jeffrey Williamson. According to the latest police report, he was “traveling northbound on Central Park West when he was struck by a United States Postal Service truck that was traveling northbound on Central Park West and attempting to make a right turn to eastbound West 86 Street….No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad.”

https://www.westsiderag.com/2021/06/...tral-park-west

Sounds like a classic right hook vintagecyclist ...damn.

Struck by a "truck." No, struck by the driver of that truck, the truck didn't drive itself. "Attempting to make a right turn" - as if looking for riders before making the right turn qualifies as an "oopsie." Classic windshield bias journalism.

I'll bet anything the NYPD, per their endless track record, will let the driver off without a slap on the wrist, and will blame it entirely on the rider.

Let's not forget the very first CitiBike death, where the NYPD invented their own victim blaming story to hang fault on the rider - only for video footage to show that the rider had been killed because the driver of a bus passed when it wasn't safe and with zero clearance, squishing the rider into a parked car.

Also, I'm not sure if this was a right turn on red scenario, but - nevertheless - let's take this opportunity to remember that ROTRs are a uniquely dangerous (for both people on bicycles and people walking) excuse of traffic engineering invented ONLY for the purpose of saving gas during the 1970's fuel crisis, at the expense of everyone else's safety. It was not even adequate at saving fuel.


and

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/05/...-turns-on-red/

-Kurt

It has to do with what will eventually and invariably get this post locked. Should have been in A&S from the start.

-Kurt

Kurt,
I agree whole heartedly, but always ask first...this sub is not the place for that type of "humor".
Best, Ben
aland2

Believe me, I didn't take aland2's comment as humor. I'm not laughing at it.

-Kurt

Interestingly - except for a few marked exceptions - there is no Right on Red within NYC city limits, mainly due to the prevalence of pedestrian traffic.

this junction has been laid out as best it can to mitigate the dangers, with the bike lane set out to allow right-turn traffic to focus on the pedestrian crossing... it seems to work well enough the few times I have used it.

I guess it remains to be seen where & how this gent was passing through it when he was hit. Curious to find out if he was indeed in the bike lane, and the USPS driver made a hard, illegal right from the center "straight ahead" lane


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...04a98723fa.jpg

I am constantly surprised at what people will argue over. This thread belongs in the "I'm an expert but I wasn't really there" category!