On an online forum, Ian Cassell warned that Tomlinson Bridge is dangerous for bikers. A week later, he proved it.
Because of cars parked illegally on the sidewalk, Cassell got hit by a car in the very spot that he had flagged as a danger on the community action website SeeClickFix.
Cassell inadvertently joined the “Tomlinson Bridge Club” of bikers who have been hit while trying to cross.
Tomlinson Bridge, which carries Forbes Avenue across the New Haven Harbor, poses a challenge for cyclists. It’s a busy thoroughfare with cars zipping by, and it has little or no shoulder for bikers to ride in the road. There’s a sidewalk on one side, but it’s often completely obstructed by cars belonging to the fishermen who cast their lines off the bridge.
Cassell posted the sidewalk parking problem on SeeClickFix on Aug. 24. One week later, he was riding his bike over the bridge, coming home from his job at Yale. He took the sidewalk to avoid getting hit by a car. As he came up on the fishing pier that extends from the south side of the bridge, he found the sidewalk blocked by cars.
So he hopped down into the road and kept pedaling. He had to enter the road where the bridge’s already narrow shoulder disappears completely. Fewer than 50 yards later, he was approaching the curb cutout where he could get back on the sidewalk. Suddenly a passing car clipped his handlebars, sending him over top of his mountain bike and into a nearby fence. The driver never stopped to see if Cassell was OK.
Cassell’s bike was lodged under the fence. His shin and forearm were scraped up. His torso was bruised. Although he didn’t know it yet, he had separated a joint in his shoulder.
He was still gathering himself together when his friend Kirk Norton pulled up in a car and offered him a ride.
“Welcome to the Tomlinson Bridge Club,” said Norton.
Norton was already a club member, having broken his elbow on the bridge a year ago. Norton had been riding towards downtown New Haven when a car rode him into the curb, he said.
“It’s a pretty known thing that that bridge eats cyclists,” Norton said.
“Not Safe For Anyone”
On Friday, Cassell returned to the scene of the accident wearing a dark blue sling on his left arm. X‑rays taken after the accident revealed that he had a separated AC joint in his shoulder. He’ll be off work for a week while it heals. Cassell said his shoulder might need surgery.
Casell works as a building superintendent at Yale. He rides over the bridge once or twice a week. Normally he avoids riding on city sidewalks, because it’s illegal. But he makes an exception when he goes over Tomlinson Bridge. It’s just feels too unsafe to ride in the road, he said. He pointed out where the shoulder disappears, two-thirds of the way across in the eastbound lane.
He said never saw the car that hit him. “Nobody stopped. That’s all I know.”
“Luckily, I flew into the sidewalk” rather than into traffic, he said. He said he was also thankful that he was wearing a helmet.
The bridge is too narrow, Cassell said. “They’ve got no room. I’ve got no room,” he said, pointing at the cars whizzing by. “It’s not safe for anyone.”
With fishermen parked on the sidewalk, a dangerous situation is made worse, Cassell said. He has no problem with anglers, he added. “I love fishermen. My friends fish.” But they should park somewhere else, he said.
Cassell said that five or six cars were parked on the sidewalk on the day of his accident. “I couldn’t have even walked my bike through,” he said.
Park and Fish
Ray Rivera, a corrections officer at the Whalley Avenue Jail, had his blue BMW parked on the sidewalk on Friday afternoon while he fished for stripers off the pier. He said he didn’t know he was doing anything wrong.
Parking on the sidewalk is a longstanding tradition for Tomlinson Bridge fisherman, Rivera said. “I’m just following suit.”
“I’ve seen cops pass by,” he said. “I’m assuming it’s legal.”
Rivera said he recognized that cars on the sidewalk might be a problem for cyclists. He said that he’d try not to block the way next time.
Down the other end of the pier, Lillian Becks had had some luck. She had a big porgy gasping in her bucket.
Her white Ford Focus wasn’t blocking the sidewalk, she said. “There’s plenty of room.”
“They’re not supposed to ride on the sidewalk,” she said, referring to cyclists.
At times, there can be as many as 10 cars parked on the sidewalk, Becks said. “That’s where everybody else parks.”
Becks mentioned that she is a dialysis patient and can’t walk very far. “I’ve got bad legs,” she said. “Very weak.”
Dereck Reid pulled his big Chevy truck onto the sidewalk and set up a pole near Becks’.
“I used to park down there,” he said, pointing toward the west shore. When he saw that everyone was parking on the sidewalk, he joined in. “This is a lot easier.”
City To Enforce Laws
Via email on Tuesday, city transportation chief Mike Piscitelli acknowledged concerns about sidewalk parking on the Tomlinson Bridge: “The City was made aware of the problem on the Tomlinson and has initiated enforcement. Residents are encouraged to use the designated off-street parking area on the southwest side of the Bridge.”