BIKE: more No Justice

[Aaron Pollack]

> If I get killed by an at-fault motorist, I hope cyclists will avenge 
> my death.  And the next time an at-fault motorist kills a cyclist in 
> Austin, I think we all should do something about it.  I remember five 
> years ago when Clough was killed, I urged restraint pending the 
> outcome of the case.  I said we had never had a case where the driver 
> was *that clearly* at fault and we should give the system a chance, 
> not condemn the system before it had a chance to act.  But three years 
> later the driver got community service -- no fine, no jail, not even a 
> ticket for running the red light.  Screw that, the next time this 
> happens I'm taking to the streets.  Motorists' convenience is not 
> worth more than our lives.

Dear Michael and others:

You can count me in.  The driving mentality in Austin is one of the 
worst in the country; perhaps slightly better than Houston.  I walk 
often and sometimes bike.  Vehicular traffic in Austin is not only 
menacing, its dangerous.  Cyclists and pedestrians are seen as mere 
obstacles on the drivers' frenzied route.

I think the next time we hear of an accident involving a motorist and a 
cyclist or a pedestrian (rights for pedestrians, I think, mean more 
rights for cyclists too), we have to push city council.  As much as I 
would hate to take advantage of another's misfortune, these would be 
strategic times to push for new bike lanes, better city planning, less 
parking spots, stricter enforcements, brighter, bigger, and better 
crosswalks, etc.

And can we please pass a city ordinance prohibiting cars from parking 
in the bike lanes?  Has anyone tried to get this before?

aaron


"[T]he thing expressed does not exist apart from the expression."
						-Merleau-Ponty