Beep rides for safer streets in wake of fatal Atlantic Avenue crash

Just one day after a man was killed while riding his bike past the Barclays Center, Borough President Eric Adams rode his own set of wheels from Borough Hall to the intersection of Fourth and Atlantic Avenues in an effort to show just how dangerous the stretch can be, as well as to raise awareness of a 60 percent spike in bicycle-related fatalities since the start of Vision Zero.

The Monday, July 13 accident which killed one and injured six, Adams said, is in no way the first to occur along the Atlantic Avenue thoroughfare.

“Three people lost their lives there in the last three years,” Adams told this paper, “so it is our desire to see some of the items that came out of DOT’s studies. . . Although we have seen a substantial decrease in pedestrian injuries and deaths [since the launch of Vision Zero], there has been a 60 percent increase in bicycle-related fatalities and vehicle accidents.”

The beep – riding alongside Councilmember Robert Cornegy – called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expedite the redesign of the thoroughfare where the crash occurred as well as others of its kind with high casualty rates under the city’s Vision Zero initiative.

“It is our goal today to use the loss of a life to renew and give life to moving forward in getting these initiatives put in place,” Adams said, specifically citing his hope that the DOT will keep its “Great Streets” initiative moving forward, and fast.

Furthermore, Adams went on, drivers must learn to understand that roads that were once only home to cars must now make way for so much more.

“Vehicles must understand that the days of only cars on our roadways are now over,” Adams said. “We now have everything from scooters to bicycles to rollerblades to skateboards, so now we have to create the environment of shared roadways.”