A Death Today

I just learned late yesterday of a death a bit west of campus due to a student riding a bicycle. I know little more than that right now, but with little to no infrastructure, and no respect from cars, it was inevitable somebody would die in this city, and it had happened before. Maybe some things will change now, to preserve his memory.

However I highly doubt it.

We can do better, we must do better, this is what fuels me to keep pushing against the odds.

Somebody dieing through no real fault of his own, other than choosing (or being forced) to use a bicycle to provide mobility.

Maybe he was riding along the sidewalk at night with no lights on going the wrong way on a one way street wearing black.

However there is a fix for that, we can make it safe for the cyclist that needs to go the opposite direction along a one way street, we can fix the lack of lights (by requiring hub lights on all non racing or bmx bikes sold) we can make sure street lighting is adequate enough so that even on the darkest nights, a cyclist wearing black can be seen.

I can not blame the cyclist for not using a poorly designed facility or infrastructure, I really can't.

We can prevent many of these deaths, it is just sad when it most likely could have been prevented with some forethought from planners and designers, just sad.

I will update more once I know more, including my thoughts on any fixes that might have been able to lessen the likelihood of this death.

all my regards to the family.