Tempe Bicycle Action Group

From Eric Iwersen:

The bicycling community came together recently to honor two cyclists killed in separate, unrelated accidents in Tempe during May. Chris Volpe was killed May 10 when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike at University Drive and Ash Avenue. A week later, bicyclist Jay Fretz was struck and killed at the intersection of McClintock and Alameda drives.

Memorials for each of the cyclists included installation of a “ghost bike” – a bicycle that has been painted solid white – near each of the accident locations. A well-known practice by cycling communities internationally, the ghost bike serves as both a memorial and a reminder of the potential dangers bike riders face.

City of Tempe staff have been working together with the bicycling community for decades to make Tempe a bicycle-friendly community. Following these two accidents, members of the Tempe Bicycle Action Group and other bicycling advocates have contacted city staff and elected officials to express concern and advocate for continued efforts to increase bicycle safety.

Tempe encourages community members to participate in planning bicycle facilities and outreach efforts, and has a number of ways people can be involved, including the Transportation Commission, which is comprised of Tempe residents (several of whom are bicyclists), and the Commission’s Multi-modal Planning Committee to facilitate community dialogue and input on bicycle/pedestrian projects and issues.

Over the last 14 years – since passage of Tempe’s transit tax – the city has emphasized multi-modalism and creating a balanced transportation system with connectivity between transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Improvements include on-street bicycle lanes, multi-use paths, streetscape and traffic calming projects. Tempe now has more than 170 miles of bikeways throughout the city.

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We have received word of a second bicyclist fatality, and would like to request any and all help in spreading the word and gathering relevant information about the accident. This accident has not yet received any media coverage. On Monday, May 17, at roughly 6:30 pm, Jay Fretz was at the intersection of Alameda and McClintock where he was struck by an SUV driver who did not see him. He was pronounced DOA at the hospital. He is survived by his wife and five-year-old daughter.

Update: We sent out a press release and got some media coverage for both incidents including an article on azcentral and ABC 15. The family along with TBAG and Bike Saviours are installing a ghost bike in memory of Jay this weekend. Meet at Bike Saviours at 10am on Saturday May 29th. We’ll ride to to the site of the accident at Alameda and McClintock. Here are a few shots of the ghost bike preparations:

Click here for more photos of the ghost bike by Ryan Guzy

We will update this post again after the memorial.

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On Monday, May 10, 2010, a bicyclist named Chris Volpe was struck by a motorist at the intersection of University and Ash, and was killed. In the face of this tragic event, members of the Tempe bicycling community gathered together with members of Chris’s family to prepare and install a ghost bike at the intersection. As described on their website, ghosbikes.org, ghost bikes are intended to be small, somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street.

Photograph courtesy of Patrick Leahy at http://patrickleahy.smugmug.com/

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The cyclist, biking with two friends in Queen Creek around 2 am Saturday morning, was killed by a motorist driving on the wrong side of the road. The driver initially left the scene of the accident but was later arrested. Alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor. Full story on ABC15.com.

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The driver involved in the hit-and-run accident which killed 52 year old cyclist Charles Waldrop has been apprehended. The suspect, 23 year old Timothy M. Kissida, traded in his 1992 BMW under the Cash for Clunkers program and blamed the damage on having hit a javelina. An anonymous tip was received by Phoenix Police from someone that heard the vehicle description via an unspecified media report. Full story on KTAR.com.

Thanks to the anonymous tipster!

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Please be on the lookout for a silver BMW 4 door sedan with dark tinted windows having significant damage to the passenger front end including a missing marker & fog light and possibly a cracked windshield. A bicyclist was hit by the motorist of said vehicle who swerved into the bike lane on Cave Creek Road and Mountain Gate Pass at a high rate of speed striking the bicyclist and killing him instantly. The motorist made no effort to stop. The license plate is an Arizona plate but no numbers were obtained by witnesses. To read the report on ABC15 or to report information on the collision click here. Our condolences to family and friends of the victim.

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Erik Ryberg’s blog, TusconBikeLawyer.com should be on every cyclist’s daily visit list. I wanted to share one recent post in particular with everyone here in the Valley. In “You want to get a ticket or dontcha” Erik discusses what he sees are serious shortcomings in the Tuscon Police Department’s policies toward bicyclists who have been involved in a collision with a motor vehicle. In the absence of a serious injury to the cyclist Erik warns of the consequences of a report not being taken by the police. Erik states:

If the officer determines the cyclist was at fault, he will then often give the cyclist a choice: you can leave here and forget about all this, or you can stay and get a ticket. Which do you pick?

Erik’s post tells the full story, but the moral is, always request a report be filed even if the officers determine you were at fault and “Take the Ticket” as it can be immensely helpful to your legal case! Read Erik’s post here.

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Please be on the lookout for a Silver Nissan Versa (2007 or 2008 model, unsure if sedan or hatchback) with damage to passenger side mirror and possibly scratches on passenger side of vehicle. Do not approach driver, simply record license plate, call Gilbert Police at 480-503-6500 and reference Officer J. Halliday (Badge #2144) and the accident involving Carol Winstanley on 25 March 2009 on Guadalupe Road in Gilbert. Carol was severely injured.

For more details please read TucsonBikeLawyer’s blog post.

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