Sunset Park bike rider dies in New Year’s day ‘dooring’ crash
After cyclist dies, advocates demand more bike lanes
The bizarre “dooring” crash that killed a man riding an e-bike in Sunset Park early New Year’s Day could have been prevented if the de Blasio Administration had installed safety features on the street where the fatal smash-up took place, according to transportation advocates.
Ellen McDermott, co-interim director of the group Transportation Alternatives, called for the installation of more protected bike lanes around the city in the wake of the horrific crash that took the life of Hugo Alexander Sinto Garcia on Third Avenue early Tuesday morning.
“This morning’s deadly crash, in which a 26-year-old bicyclist was killed after being doored and launched into traffic, could have been prevented,” McDermott said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Brooklyn’s Third Avenue has not been redesigned to safely accommodate all users regardless of their mode of transport. On the stretch of Third Avenue where this crash occurred, there is no dedicated right of way for people on bikes, just three wide lanes for moving cars and trucks and one lane for storing them.”
Protected bike lanes are designated lanes that are separated from vehicular traffic by barriers such as planters, posts or parked cars, according to advocacy group peopleforbikes.org.