Originally Posted by
Charles Wahl
It's almost certain that Williamson was not on the transverse road, but simply crossing 86th St on the bike path. Look at this photo from the scene, and a street view from G***** maps:
You can see the end of the island separating 86th St Transverse on both photos. Bike was hit from the left side, meaning right-turning truck plowed into him in the bike lane, which is right at the curb shown in second photo (though not marked because of all the other crosswalk stuff at the intersection. Bike had right-of-way, and driver clearly did not. Yes, we should all look when crossing; but USPS truck drivers in this city are perhaps more inattentive to other traffic than they should be, worse than typical truck drivers in my personal experience. This was, so far as I can see, not an "accident" but a lack of sufficient care on the part of the driver.
If you pan around on Google Maps on Central Park West, you will note that the bike lane is to the left of the turn lane.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7851...7i16384!8i8192
So, if the cyclist was in the bike lane, and the mail truck was in the turn lane, there should not have been a collision.
It is odd that street marking and lanes are poorly marked through the intersection.
It is more likely that the cyclist was either riding or walking in the crosswalk (either with traffic, or against traffic).
Witness reports and perhaps typical commuting patterns for the rider would help clarify.
A crosswalk can give a false sense of security, especially for a fast moving cyclist who MUST be aware of traffic around him.