It reads in part:
The crash happened in one of the so-called “mixing zones” where drivers are allowed to make careful left turns from First Avenue as cyclists are going straight through intersections with the green light.
Mixing zones only work when motorists yield. Time and again, New York City motorists have proven incapable of exercising basic care, with deadly results. As with pedestrian crossing phases that similarly rely on the hope of motorist compliance, this deadly traffic signal design flaw must be corrected so that there is a clear unambiguous right-of-way signal phasing for bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.
The NYPD is making a mockery of the data driven principles that undergird Vision Zero. As they have done in the wake of other recent tragedies, the NYPD unleashed a ticketing blitz on cyclists shortly after the preventable crash that killed Kelly. Yet data show the majority of bikers and walkers are killed not by their own mistakes, but by speeding, unyielding and lawless motorists.
Of the 18 cyclist fatalities in 2016 for which details of the crash are known, 13 were caused directly by the criminal or reckless actions of a driver — including failure to yield, driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, speeding, and ignoring red lights. As the DOT upgrades design to account for widespread lawless driving, the NYPD must redirect enforcement towards the real killers on our streets.
As mentioned in the above statement, officers from the 9th Precinct were ticketing cyclists yesterday for a variety of infractions on First Avenue at 10th Street — one block from where the collision occurred last week.
Per Streetsblog:
Red light running has nothing to do with the crash that claimed Hurley’s life. She would have had a green when the truck driver ran her over, since the intersection design requires cyclists and turning drivers to negotiate the same space at the same time.
And here's @NYPD9Pct one block north right now. pic.twitter.com/opjGDa8XnK
— Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) April 13, 2017
A cyclist was killed by a driver who failed to yield in @NYPD9Pct so Captain Vincent Greany told his officers to ticket cyclists because...
— Jessie Singer (@jessiesingernyc) April 13, 2017
The driver of the box truck who struck Hurley remained at the scene on April 5. As The Village Voice reported yesterday, the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad investigated the crash, "but he was not charged with failure to yield, or failure to exercise due care, or any other crime." The collision remains under investigation.
