Pedestrian killed by cyclist

Dionette Cherney

The pedestrian hit by a cyclist recently died the other day, apparently from head injuries. (To their credit, the anti-car, pro-bike folks at Streetsblog immediately posted a story on the death.) 

Cyclists on city sidewalks is not a new hazard for pedestrians, since several city pedestrians have been killed by cyclists since 2000. 

The City of San Francisco 2010 Bicycle Count report mentioned it as an ongoing problem:

As San Francisco continues to move forward with planning and constructing a continuous network of bicycle facilities, the bicycle counts reinforce the need to pay close attention to both sidewalk and wrong-way riding. At almost every count location sidewalk and/or wrong-way riding was observed (page 11).

Elizabeth Stampe of Walk San Francisco provides Streetsblog with a statement on the accident that sounds like it came from the Bicycle Coalition:

“In some ways it’s really great that so many people out there are riding bikes and that people complain about them all the time and people perceive them as a big, powerful thing,” said Stampe. “I feel like we’re at a tipping point and that we have reached Critical Mass with bikes, and with power comes responsibility.”

Stampe is quick to make hyperbolic statements whenever a pedestrian or a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle, but you won't find anything about the bikes-as-a-hazard-to-pedestrians issue on the Walk San Francisco website.