Saturday, May 23, 2009

Take Back the Drive!

On Thursday morning, a father and his 4-year-old son on a bicycle and "tag-along" were struck and critically injured by a car when crossing MLK (West River) Drive at the mid-block crosswalk below the Art Museum.


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This horrible crash is the latest example of the dangers of a beautiful park road that has been allowed to become a throughway. It is time to make MLK Drive safe for park users.

You can take action this week:

Join the Bicycle Ambassadors this week as we educate motorists about the need to slow down and yield to pedestrians at the crosswalk. Meet us at the pedestrian crossing on MLK Drive. Come and hold a sign:

* Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 am
* Wednesday and Friday from 4:00 to 6:00 pm

Send a letter to Mayor Nutter asking him to return MLK Drive to a park road and avoid another crash like the one that happened on Thursday.

To send a letter and to find out more, visit our new Take Back the Drive campaign page at http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/action/mlk.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where exactly should we go? MLK drive entrance or Museum steps?

John Boyle said...

At the crosswalk on MLK Drive down from the entrance, just before the bridge over the Schuylkill River.

Anonymous said...

So one car stopped to let them go, and another person went around the stopped car. And there's nothing they could think of to fine her for immediately? Are you serious? Is the Philadelphia police force that reckless with regards to bicycle accidents? I've been on the receiving end of far less serious tickets, and I'm sure a lot of us have been. So I guess if I ran someone and their child over on a bicycle, then I'm good to go free with no ticket? The logic here is baffling. I really cannot express how angry this makes me in words. I want to punch someone. Preferably the idiot that makes the decision not to fine her for something. Last I checked someone in the crosswalk has the right of way, yes? Or does that rule not apply when you're on a bicycle? Is it strictly pedestrians. This fucking city is a joke.