Paul Bass Photo
Two days after cycling enthusiasts mourned the senseless murder of one of their own, they initiated a more hopeful plan to build safer streets.
“Safer” in terms of places to ride bikes in traffic.
The occasion was the unveiling of a new “Smart Cycling” handbook for New Haven bicyclists, the culmination of months of work between advocates and City Hall; and a new “Smart Cyclist” pledge for cyclists to sign, promising, for instance, not to talk on cell phones while on bikes. (OK. Promise.)
The unveiling took place at Devil’s Gear Bike Shop in Pitkin Plaza. Devil’s Gear, the hub of New Haven’s vibrant cycling community, is where popular bike enthusiast and vegan “straight edge” punk rocker Mitchell Dubey worked as service manager until a home intruder shot him to death in his Bassett Street home last Thursday night during an attempted robbery. It’s also where hundreds of people gathered Sunday night to memorialize him.
Tuesday’s upbeat event at the shop had been planned before the murder took place. But participants couldn’t help noting the connection — how Dubey was part of building a strong community that has strengthened New Haven and led to the city’s campaign to help cyclists and drivers share the road safely.
Before the unveiling, Mayor John DeStefano spoke of how the violence in Newhallville that led to Dubey’s death stems from people in New Haven detached from a sense of community. (Click on the play arrow to watch.)
“This cycling community did not exist in a meaningful way 20 years ago when I became mayor. It has become such an important part of the city. People see through cycling their connection to one another, finding joy in one another. It’s a really important and big thing in enriching our community. There are a lot of circles like that in New Haven,” DeStefano said. “In the end, a lot of the answers that we see in senseless violence are found frankly in the values reflected in this cycling community, this sense of connectedness to one another.”
Much of New Haven’s violence is caused by people who lack that sense of social connection and communal values, DeStefano said. He called on churches, government, and informal networks of “connected” people to “see their self-interest in reaching out to these folks who don’t get it at home.”
Take The Lane
Then officials and Devil’s Gear owner Matthew Feiner announced the completion of the 49-page “Smart Cycling: a handbook for New Haven bicyclists.”
The effort will help “make this a safer city to cycle in [and] make it a safer city in general,” Feiner said.
Then-City Hall intern Dana Barnes, a Yale public-health student (pictured with Feiner), started putting together the booklet last summer, based on input from cycling advocates and city officials.
It offers advice about where and how to ride, an admonition to “learn to embrace helmet hair,” since 91 percent of the more than 700 cyclists killed by drivers in 2008 weren’t wearing helmets; and a rundown of cyclists’ legal rights and responsibilities. For instance: Car drivers by law must give cyclists “three feet of space on all sides.” Drivers passing cyclists can’t turn right “until the cyclist is given ample space.” Cyclists (other than young children) shouldn’t ride on sidewalks. They must ride “in the rightmost lane,” along with traffic, and obey lights and traffic signs. Cyclists must keep at least one hand on handlebars and use hand signals for turns.
On the advice end, the booklet recommends that cyclists “take the whole lane” on narrow lanes, in roundabouts, and when “you think you might not be visible.” Other advice concerns preventing theft and dealing with the aftermath of crashes.
Click here to read the full booklet.
New Haven has the most active bicycling community in the state, according to city traffic chief Jim Travers; 15.5 percent of people who live and work here either walk or cycle to their jobs. The city has eight miles of bike lanes. Through the Elm City Cycling banner, cyclists are among the most organized and politically active groups in town.
Some of them have been critical of emerging plans to redesign for Downtown Crossing, the $140 million boulevard-style plan to fill in several exits of the Route 34 Connector and build a 10-story office tower. Advocates said some of the drawings shown so far include too many wide lanes for fast traffic and not enough room reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. Asked about that at Tuesday’s event, Travers responded that those drawings are “preliminary.” “Bike lanes have not been taken out” of the plan, he said. Planners are weighing whether to use raised bike lanes, or bike lanes separated from car traffic. He said the road would have three to four lanes in each direction, but would probably have parking in one of those lanes except at rush hour, in order to help slow traffic. The goal is to keep a 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, he said.
Travers and Murphy.
Another feature of Tuesday’s event was the unveiling of a “Smart Cyclists” pledge, similar to a “Street Smarts” pledge for drivers the city unveiled in October 2008. The cyclist handbook and pledge are the latest chapter in the Street Smarts campaign. In the pledge, cyclists agree to follow rules like avoiding sidewalks and cell phone use. They get reflectors for their bikes in return. Travers was also handing out logo-ed water bottles.
That caught the eye of city development chief Kelly Murphy.
“I’m taking some swag,” she announced. “I need a new water bottle for the gym.”