BROOKLYN BIKE RIDE VIGIL FOR ELIZABETH PADILLA

Do you ever feel frustrated, powerless and worried that you'll get hit by a truck or car not obeying the rules of the road? Do you ever feel like the city government's not paying attention when we say we need more bike lanes, hazardous bumps removed from the wburg bridge and accountability for murderous drivers? Couldn't we improve driving tests and make drivers more aware of laws regarding cyclists? Grrr. Join this ride which will end at city hall and ask the mayor to start paying attention. Thursday morning. Also, check out the laws of the road. Bike Ride Vigil from 5th Ave to City Hall: Thurs. 6/16 8am updates(at)parkslopeneighbors.org Dear Park Slope Neighbors, As you may have heard, one of our neighbors, 28-year-old Park Slope resident and non-profit lawyer Elizabeth Padilla was killed by a truck last Thursday morning while riding her bicycle on Fifth Avenue at Park Place. She was, by all accounts, a lovely woman and a genuine asset to her community. Tragically, Padilla was the third New York City cyclist to be killed in a span of six weeks. While riding a bike in New York is, by many measures, much safer than it ever has been the city clearly can do much more to make the streets safer for cyclists. At 8:00 am on Thursday, June 16 New York City cyclists representing Park Slope Neighbors and an alliance of city bicycle and environmental groups will embark on a Vigil Ride from Fifth Avenue and Park Place in Brooklyn to City Hall to memorialize Elizabeth Padilla, Brandie Bailey, Jerome Allen and the 195 other NYC bicyclists killed since 1995. At City Hall at 9:00 am participants will lay down flowers in memory of the 198 fallen cyclists and ask Mayor Bloomberg to convene a multi-agency task force to develop, in cooperation with the New York City cycling community, an action plan to prevent further deaths and injuries. We ask that our city government do more to encourage the cleanest, cheapest, most healthy and efficient form of urban transportation there is. Please join the ride if you are available. Aaron Naparstek aaron(at)parkslopeneighbors.org ~ ~