Group demands safe cycling infrastructure following tragic death of cyclist in the Bronx

The deaths of a cyclist in the Bronx and a pedestrian in Brooklyn over the weekend have reignited calls for urgent street safety improvements in New York City. Advocates argue that a lack of protected bike lanes and inadequate infrastructure are leading to preventable tragedies across the five boroughs.

In the Bronx, a 57-year-old man on a bike was struck and killed by an MTA bus at the intersection of 149th Street and Brook Avenue in Mott Haven. The crash occurred on a Vision Zero Priority Corridor and designated truck route, where despite a 2020 redesign, safety measures remain lacking. The street has no bike lane, daylighting, raised crosswalks, or curb extensions. Over the past three years, one person has been seriously injured on 149th Street every month. Just a block away, 26-year-old Jose Angel Victoriano was killed while riding a bike in 2022.

“There’s a ghost bike on 149th and Saint Ann’s, 149th and Brook, Brook and 141st, and it looks like there’s another one needed at Brook and 149th,” said Kevin Daloia, a longtime Bronx activist. “I’ve personally installed a dozen ghost bikes within a mile of this spot alone. This is a crisis – and the Bronx deserves better from its leaders.”

Transportation Alternatives, a leading advocacy group, highlighted that the South Bronx lacks a protected east-west bike connection, forcing cyclists to rely on a paint-only bike lane half a mile south or sharrows a mile north, neither of which provide real protection.

“We are devastated to learn that a bike rider was killed in the Bronx. Our thoughts are with their family, friends, and entire community,” said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas. “New York can do so much more to protect people on bikes and support bus drivers. Bus drivers in the five boroughs face impossible conditions, and they need protected bus lanes, boarding islands, and re-timed lights. Bike riders have no safe way to travel in the South Bronx, where they’ve been abandoned without a safe east-west connection. A high-quality network of protected bike lanes makes streets safer for everyone – helping bus drivers safely do their jobs while protecting pedestrians and people on bikes. Designing streets without infrastructure for bikes forces giant buses with limited visibility to share space with vulnerable people on bikes – it’s a dangerous, and too often, deadly, combination.”

“The Adams Administration is failing to build out a high-quality network of protected bike lanes, as required by law under the streets master plan. Missing these deadlines isn’t just inconvenient and illegal – it’s deadly.”

City Council District 17, where the Bronx crash occurred, ranks third citywide for serious injuries and traffic fatalities, according to Spatial Equity NYC. The Bronx is home to more than 15,000 bike commuters, yet gaps in infrastructure continue to put their lives at risk.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, a 49-year-old pedestrian was fatally struck by an e-bike on Franklin Street over the weekend, prompting activists to call for a major overhaul of street design. Transportation Alternatives pointed out that Franklin Street has no dedicated bike lane, leaving cyclists to navigate between double-parked cars and moving traffic, creating dangerous conditions for everyone.

The organization also called on city leaders to regulate predatory delivery apps that push gig workers into unsafe riding habits, increasing risks for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

As the city grapples with a growing number of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities, advocates are pressing officials to act swiftly to implement safer street designs before more lives are lost.