3,000 People Join Sister of Lauren Davis to Call for Bike Lane on Classon Ave

A driver struck and killed a cyclist at Classon Avenue at Lexington Avenue. Image” Google Maps
A driver struck and killed Lauren Davis at Classon Avenue at Lexington Avenue in April. Image: Google Maps

Danielle Davis lost her sister in April. Lauren Davis was biking on Classon Avenue in Clinton Hill when a driver turned left across her path, killing her. Now Danielle is calling on the city to add a bike lane to the street where Lauren lost her life.

With the support of Transportation Alternatives, she launched an online petition yesterday addressed to local City Council members Laurie Cumbo and Robert Cornegy and Brooklyn Community Boards 2 and 3. (Classon Avenue also runs through the district of Council Member Stephen Levin, as well as community board districts 8 and 9.) In just one day, the petition has amassed more than 3,300 signatures.

Lauren, 34, was biking in the direction of traffic at around 8:35 a.m. on April 15 when the driver of a 2015 Fiat turned left off eastbound Lexington Avenue and killed her. Police initially reported that Davis was biking against traffic, an account that was later proven false by an eyewitness.

DOT converted Classon from two moving lanes to one in 2012 but maintained extra-wide parking lanes instead installing of a bike lane. The street remains prone to reckless driving by motorists seeking speedy passage to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Between 2009 and 2014, 119 pedestrians and 84 cyclist were injured on Classon Avenue between Washington Avenue and Flushing Avenue, and two pedestrians and two cyclists were killed, according to Vision Zero View.

In a statement released by TA this morning, Danielle Davis criticized DOT for not including a bike lane in that project. “I started this petition because I believe the most vulnerable people on Classon Avenue and every New York City street should be protected, instead of being forced to fend for themselves, which is disgraceful,” she said.

TA Executive Director Paul Steely said DOT has to correct the situation. “We support this petition because we agree that it was a mistake for the DOT to paint a wide parking lane instead of putting a bike lane on a known bike route — out of fear of community board opposition,” he said.

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The intersection of Classon and Lexington, where Lauren Davis was struck and killed by a turning driver last April.

Family of Lauren Davis Asks CB 3 to Support Classon Ave Bike Lane

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Davis was biking on Classon in the direction of traffic on the morning of April 15 when a left-turning driver in a Fiat struck and killed her. Her sister Danielle launched an online petition urging community boards 2 and 3 and local council members Laurie Cumbo and Robert Cornegy, Jr. to support a bike lane on Classon, and almost 6,000 people have signed on.
Lauren Davis was killed by a turning driver on Classon Avenue last April. Photo: Family of Lauren Davis

Instead of a Classon Avenue Bike Lane, Bed-Stuy Electeds Want a Street Where No One Rides Bikes

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On Thursday, DOT announced plans to paint a bike lane on Classon Avenue, the northbound one-way street where a left-turning driver killed Lauren Davis as she rode her bike to work last April. As bicycle infrastructure goes, it's the bare minimum -- some stripes and stencils to designate space for biking, with no changes to moving lanes or parking. But that hasn't stopped a group of local officials from coming out against it.
Lauren Davis was killed by a turning driver on Classon Avenue last April. Photo: Family of Lauren Davis

Citing Erroneous NYPD Report, State DMV Judge Declines to Take Action Against Driver Who Killed Lauren Davis

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The family of Lauren Davis is reeling after a judge at the state Department of Motor Vehicles declined to take action against the motorist who struck and killed her on Classon Avenue last year. Davis's mother, sister, and brother traveled from California to attend the hearing, and said they had been told by the NYPD Highway Patrol detective investigating the crash that he would also be there. He never showed up.

NYPD Admits It Wrongly Accused Lauren Davis of Biking Against Traffic

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NYPD has amended the crash report that wrongly accused Lauren Davis of biking against traffic when she was struck and killed by a turning driver on Classon Avenue the morning of April 15. Yesterday, Streetsblog published an account from witness Rebecca Ballantine, who was biking on Classon at the same time as Davis and said she was “absolutely sure [Davis] was […]