Bike Fatalities

[Last year the Chicago Reader launched a weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column after it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets on Thursdays.]

About 45 "civilians" – people who weren't obligated to attend – showed up for yesterday's Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council meeting yesterday, making it one of the most democratic MBAC meetings ever. The council, which meets quarterly at City Hall during the workday, usually draws only about 10-15 attendees who aren't there in an official capacity, many of whom are regulars who show up for almost every meeting.

Yesterday, in response to four recent Chicago bike fatalities apparently caused by reckless drivers, the Tribune ran a well-meaning but wrongheaded editorial that largely puts the onus for creating safer streets on people who bike.

This weekend’s Cuttin Crew Classic racing series will be held in honor of fallen courier Blaine “Beezy” Klingenberg, 29, fatally struck by a double-decker tour bus driver at Oak and Michigan on June 15. And this Saturday there will be a group ride from the finish line to Milwaukee and Racine, where a Ghost Bike memorial will be installed as a tribute to art student Lisa Kuivinen, 20, struck and killed by a flatbed truck driver at the intersection on August 16.

Family and friends are remembering Francisco “Frank” Cruz, fatally struck on his bike by a hit-and-run van driver in West Garfield Park Wednesday night, as someone who went out of his way to help others. Meanwhile, police have yet to apprehend the motorist, despite the fact that the van bore the name and phone number of a local realty company.

The case of Lisa Kuivinen, a 20-year-old art student who was fatally struck by an 18-wheel flatbed truck driver while cycling on Milwaukee Avenue yesterday morning, has moved many Chicagoans, from everyday bike riders to city officials.

We have been notified that Lisa Kuivinen identified as non-binary and preferred gender-neutral pronouns. The post has been edited accordingly.

[This article was produced in partnership with the Chicago Reader.]

This morning the parents of fallen cyclist Virginia “Ginny” Murray, fatally struck by a flatbed truck driver on July 1, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver and his company, A&B Flooring Supplies. The family’s attorney says safer bike infrastructure could have helped prevent the crash.