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Date: Thursday, 17 November 2005

Title: Crowd holds vigil for fallen cyclist

Source: By OLIVER MOORE

Remarks: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Grieving friends and cycling advocates last night took over the intersection where Ryan Carriere was crushed beneath a truck. His wife and two young children looked on as dozens of riders put their bicycles on the road, symbolically taking possession of a notoriously dangerous bit of Toronto's streets. Candles were lit at the spot where Mr. Carriere was killed as he headed home for a meal with his family. An eerie silence descended over the area as the large crowd paused for a moment of respect. The spell was broken with people shouting Mr. Carriere's name. His wife, Megan Holtz, called out once: "We miss you, Ryan." "The turnout is definitely a show of force," said John Saulnier, who was riding a courier-style bicycle with no brakes. "We're here, we may be getting run over, but we're here." Ms. Holtz said that her husband, a postal worker and budding cartoonist, couldn't ride home without enduring a brief stretch of Queen Street West. He refused to cycle on the sidewalk and would sometimes walk his bike under the railway tracks near Gladstone Avenue. "Pedestrians shouldn't be forced off the sidewalk and cyclists shouldn't be forced off the road," Ms. Holtz said, adding that she's never been a very comfortable cyclist and now she "might never ride again." Last Monday Mr. Carriere, 31, had been cruising home to fire up the barbecue for a pre-Halloween party, with plans to take his two daughters trick-or-treating. He never made it to his house. A collision left his shattered bicycle beneath a large truck. It was the latest of what cycling advocates say have been dozens of deaths in the past decade. Alison Field, a mother who brought her children to the event in a bicycle-drawn trailer, said she is chided for exposing her offspring to the risks of traffic. Drivers, she said, seem willing to ignore the fact that the streets are only dangerous because of their behaviour. "If I get killed it's going to be by a car," she said. "I'm like a Christmas tree, I've got three lights on the front [of my bike] and people will still say 'I didn't see you.' Today no one can say they didn't see us." Police investigating Mr. Carriere's accident are tight-lipped about their findings, but some cyclists argue that these sorts of deaths are entirely preventable. Darren Stehr, a member of Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists, noted that a coroner's report recommended nearly a decade ago that side guards be considered for trucks. A side guard would be fitted between the wheels along the length of a truck, to block cyclists and pedestrians from being pulled under the vehicle. Adam Giambrone, councillor for the ward Mr. Carriere lived in and chair of the city cycling committee, said that the committee has urged the province to take action on side guards for trucks. He added that the area where the accident occurred is known to be dangerous and is slated for improvement. He also argued that, over all, the city is safe for cyclists. Cycling advocates are shaken right now, he said, but they should remember that the situation is always improving. But Mr. Stehr slammed the city, saying it is dragging its feet on cycling safety and that many city bicycle routes are poorly laid out. "You try to convince a driver to use one of those [bicycle] routes to go from A to B and he'll say you're nuts. It's like they gave a monkey some crack and told him to draw," he said. Last night's remembrance was preceded by a ride from city hall. Bunched on the road as a group, several said they felt safer than they ever have as solo cyclists. "We have a lot of people, even at memorials, who shout 'good, another cyclist gone,' " Mr. Stehr said.