Traffic Justice

So, based on the accumulated evidence, we can safely say that the man who allegedly blocked the Ninth Avenue bike lane with his 7,000 lb. Ford Excursion, exploded in a fit of rage when cyclist Ray Bengen tried to ride by without getting crushed, and sped off after knocking Ray to the ground (severely bruising his leg and damaging his bike), is this guy:

A bill introduced in the Senate this month could make New York roads and streets more dangerous while dealing a severe setback to the state's traffic justice movement. 

The Manhattan DA's office is filing charges of criminal mischief against a cyclist, Ray Bengen, because he allegedly caused property damage to a multi-ton SUV in the process of getting doored by the driver. Too ridiculous to be true? Sadly, no. Here's how it happened.

On Saturday, over 50 people, including several local electeds and candidates, joined bereaved family members for a memorial march in honor of pedestrians killed on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen.

CHEKPEDS, the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association and Transportation Alternatives will hold a march tomorrow in honor of pedestrians killed on Ninth Avenue. The march will begin at 2:00 p.m. on the west side of Ninth at 45th Street and will proceed to 36th Street. Along the way, commemorative plaques will be installed for six pedestrians killed by cars in recent years: Randolph Walker, Nina Petrov, Douglas Dibble, Fabiola Grande-Coyotl, Sabina Paradi, and most recent victim Susanne M. Schnitzer.

Drivers who kill and maim pedestrians and cyclists should be subject to thorough investigation and, when warranted, vigorous prosecution, candidates for Manhattan District Attorney said today.

After this fall's local elections, there's going to be a change at the top of the Manhattan District Attorney's office for the first time in a generation. The retirement of long-time DA Robert Morgenthau signals a welcome opportunity to get tougher on traffic crime and approach deadly driving as a serious threat to public safety. So tomorrow's debate on traffic justice is a big deal: In a first for New York City, the three Democratic candidates running to succeed Morgenthau will discuss "their views on vehicular crimes and the role of the District Attorney's office in protecting New Yorkers from reckless and dangerous drivers."

Last week Streetsblog followed up on the stalled progress of a statewide texting-while-driving ban, a bill that appears to be going nowhere even though almost everyone on the Assembly transportation committee supports it, according to Brooklyn representative Felix Ortiz.

The NYPD continues to dispute eyewitness accounts of the events that preceded the vehicle-on-pedestrian collision that took the life of Violetta Kryzak, a 38-year-old mother and Greenpoint resident.