Tom Flood, a cycling advocate from Hamilton, said he was “extremely angry” when he heard the news of the slain cyclist on Tuesday morning.
A 52-year-old man has died after being hit by a car on the Upper Wentworth Bridge, police said.
Const. Indy Bharaj told CBC Hamilton that officers received a call from a passenger in a minivan around 5:30 a.m. ET.
“The caller advised police that they had just been involved in a motor vehicle collision involving a bicyclist.”
When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, the man riding the bicycle was lying in the middle of the road with no vital signs, Bharaj said.
He is one of 12 pedestrians killed in Hamilton this year.
In an interview with CHCH, Bharaj said police do not know what is causing the high number of deaths on the streets of Hamilton.
“We’re just asking pedestrians and drivers, just take that extra time.” And the pedestrian, don’t expect the driver to see you.’
Flood said in a tweet: “A man riding his bike was killed by a motorist this morning. And what do those who hold power and influence say live on the scene about the record deaths?
“Nothing will change until we start looking at the root causes, not just asking people to be perfect.”
Inspired from
Cycling 🚲 on Upper Paradise
🛑 The intersection of Upper Paradise and Mohawk needs safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists ⚠️
🛑 More protected bike lanes on West Mountain pic.twitter.com/sSRG4Y8D9T
—@EasyThePianoMan
Flood said this case, along with the other deaths, is an emergency that “needs attention right now.”
“Enough. Our children and community members are being persecuted on our streets and what are we actually doing?” said Flid.
He said he drives quite often but doesn’t feel safe while doing so.
“More importantly, our younger and more vulnerable do not feel safe and ARE not safe as we see it.”
“A four-year-old was hit by a pickup truck driver yesterday — my God, a four-year-old. What are we doing?”
Flood said authorities should stop asking cyclists how to be safe and instead eliminate opportunities for drivers to hit cyclists and pedestrians.
“There will never be a bell loud enough, a helmet strong enough or clothing bright enough to make up for our poor infrastructure – and we all know it.
“We have an election coming up in October, so find the candidates who are working to make real change … and let’s remove those who want to maintain this violent status quo.”
‘Sad’ but ‘not at all surprising’
Dave Shelnutt said stories like the cyclist’s death hit “really close to home”.
“I’m a cyclist. I ride year round. My kids ride bikes to school. My dad cycles in the country… my friends cycle in Hamilton. I cycle in Hamilton.
“It’s sad, but not surprising at all.
Dave Shelnut, a personal injury lawyer who represents cyclists, said Tuesday’s death was “sad but not at all surprising”. (Submitted by Dave Shelnut)
Shellnutt, a personal injury lawyer who represents cyclists, told CBC Hamilton that cases like this are “more common than we would like.”
“The statistics speak to a problem, a road safety problem, which is endemic in nature from the injuries of the people killed.
“The numbers are staggering and the fact that we don’t have broad, collective action from municipal to district level on this issue is mind-boggling.
“Municipal government can and has the power to listen to the community and create safe infrastructure for bicyclists and all vulnerable road users,” Shelnutt said.
On Wednesday, Hamilton City Council proposed a Comprehensive Street Design Manual, which calls for streets to be “planned and designed to balance the needs of all road users to enable people to get around safely, whatever their age, abilities or how they choose to move.”
“The facts and the data are there to support it and the community supports it as well. It’s a no-brainer,” Shelnutt said.
The rights of cyclists
Shellnutt said cyclists need to know they have rights.
“The one thing we say to cyclists is, ‘Always assume they either don’t see you or they don’t care.’
“Put on a defense loop because you might be right, but we don’t want people dead, do we?”
Families of people killed while riding a bicycle also have rights, according to Shellnutt.
“There are some immediate benefits that you can access immediately for family, funeral costs and psychological support. We are working to get the family compensated as much as possible to compensate them for their loss. But it’s sorely lacking in Ontario,” he said.
“In addition to compensation, they can contact support groups such as Friends and Family for Safe Streets, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists, and when they can process the trauma, they can push for change in [honour of] the person they lost.”
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