Activists Call For Protected Bike Lanes After Cyclist's Death

CHELSEA, NY — Activists are reiterating their call for more protected bike lanes throughout the city after Dan Hanegby was killed commuting to work on a Citi Bike on Monday morning.

Hanegby was killed while biking on West 26th Street in Chelsea, police said. He collided with a coach bus before being knocked to the ground and crushed by the bus's rear wheels, according to the initial investigation. The 36-year-old's death is the first in the four-year history of Citi Bike, NYC's ride-sharing system.

In the wake of his death, activists with Transportation Alternatives are calling on the city to increase the number of protected bike lanes. Hanegby and the bus were both traveling eastbound on West 26th Street, between Eighth and Seventh avenues, a one-way street with no bike lanes. (For more news from Chelsea and NYC, subscribe here for free breaking news alerts and updates from Patch.)

"Cyclists aren’t killed when they have infrastructure that meets their needs," the group's executive director Paul Steely White said in a statement. "Since 2013, no cyclists have been killed while traveling within protected bike lanes."

As part of Vision Zero, the city's initiative to end traffic fatalities, officials are rolling out protected bike lanes in various corridors throughout New York City. Last year, 18 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes New York City, according to Vision Zero data. As part of the initiative's infrastructure upgrades, major corridors like Fifth and Seventh avenues in Manhattan are getting protected bike lanes later this year.

Lead image via Ciara McCarthy / Patch.