One Year After Cyclist's Death, Advocates Call for Safer Bike Lanes

Cyclists and community advocates continue to push for protected bike lanes along a stretch of Skillman and 43rd Avenues in Queens — one year after a drunk driver struck and killed cyclist Gelacio Reyes as he rode home from work, leaving behind a wife and three children.

Friends and family of Reyes rode to the site of the crash on 43rd Avenue Sunday morning. They placed artificial yellow carnations on a bicycle painted white — a "ghost bike" —that's been there almost a year. Then they held their bikes in the air and stood for a minute of silence.

A minute of silence. Friends and family at rally for Gelacio Reyes, killed by a drunk driver last year in Sunnyside, Queens. 

(Rebeca Ibarra / WNYC)

"I don't want to keep coming to these," said Peter Beadle, attorney for the Reyes family. "These white ghost bikes are ubiquitous. We've all seen them now. They are everywhere in this city and that is a sin."

“He was a working man. He rode his bicycle to save money on a metro card. He loved his bicycle,” says Flor, wife of cyclist killed in Queens las year @WNYC pic.twitter.com/VNckUBYLzA

— Rebeca Ibarra (@RebeIbarraC) April 8, 2018

Martina Bravo, who knew Reyes for six years, said a protective bike lane could have saved her friend's life.

"We need them for people like him, for people like me," she said.

Friends and family at rally for Gelacio Reyes, killed by a drunk driver last year in Sunnyside, Queens. 

(Rebeca Ibarra / WNYC)

The Department of Transportation has proposed a protected bike lane connecting the Queensboro Bridge to Queens Boulevard. But some business and community members oppose the plan, saying it gets rid of necessary parking sports.