Tag Archives: news

by | December 2, 2025 · 5:06 pm

2025 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

On Friday, November 14th, local members of the NYS Safe Streets Coalition, Albany Bicycle Coalition, Walkable Albany, Capital Streets, Families for Safe Streets, New York Bicycling Coalition, elected leaders, officials and others gathered in recognition of the victims of traffic violence in Albany County and the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.  The event was held in Academy Park across from Albany City Hall.

Speakers included:

  • Ed Brennan, President Albany Bicycle Coalition
  • Sandy Misiewicz, Executive Director Capital Region Transportation Council
  • David Galin, Chief of Staff for Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan 
  • Patty Sawyer, mother of Roger Sawyer, killed by a speeding driver on Washington Ave Ext
  • NYS Senator, Pat Fahy
  • Jake Eisland, Chief of Staff for NYS Assemblymember Gabriella Romero
  • James Rath, Capital Streets 
  • Jackie Gonzales, Capital Streets and Walkable Albany 
  • Bill Ferris, AARP NY 
  • Albany Mayor-Elect Dorcey Applyrs
  • Erica Schneider, of Parks and Trails New York

Together we read the names of pedestrians and cyclists who have died in traffic collisions in Albany County since 2020. We are asking our City, Village and Town governments to commit to Vision Zero, the elimination of needless deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic crashes. All people in Albany County have a right to safe transportation.  

Traffic violence in Albany County is preventable but has gotten consistently worse.

  • In 2022 Albany County saw the most traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries since data recording and presentation began in 2014 by the Institute for Traffic Safety and Management. This was surpassed in 2023 and surpassed again in 2024.  See https://itmsmr.org
  • Falling fatalities and serious injuries in the City of Albany and other places that have instituted policies to reduce speeds and make roads safer show that local governments can reduce these tragedies.
  • The deaths in the last year of Gregory Browne, Charles Allendorph, John Bonds, Felipa Martinez-Garcia, Migdalia Aulet, and too many others were not accidents and were preventable.

Traffic violence is a preventable public health crisis. There are proven strategies, including safer speeds and safer road design that save lives and prevent serious injuries. On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, communities all over the globe organized events to demand change. Helsinki, with the same sorts of arterials and highways that Albany County has and over twice the population, just celebrated a year without a traffic fatality. They achieved this because they made a commitment to Vision Zero and took the actions necessary to save the lives and limbs of their citizens. The Cities, Towns and Villages of Albany County need to make that commitment to the people that live here.

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by | December 2, 2024 · 11:49 am

World Day of Remembrance 2024

Albany Bicycle Coalition helped lead Albany’s 3rd World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic on Friday, November 15th in Albany’s Academy Park. The event was held in cooperation with Walkable Albany, Capital Streets and many individual volunteers. We had our largest turnout ever with about 60 attendees. 

Friends and family of victims helped us understand those lost as living persons and not just statistics. Patty and Skip Sawyer joined us to remember their son Roger who was struck and killed while biking to work by an unlicensed SUV driver on Washington Avenue Extension on October 19, 2017.  Noreen spoke for her friend and neighbor Jason Steinberg from Ohav Shalom. Jason was struck and killed walking on the sidewalk at Bender Avenue and Krumkill Road on October 6, 2024. Sandra Crespo-Leiva was there to remember her daughter Anaisabel – along with about a dozen of Anaisabel’s coworkers and friends. Anaisabel was killed while bicycling to work on 23rd Street in Watervliet by the I-787 ramp on October 3, 2024.

Political leaders that spoke included State Senator Elect Pat Fahy, the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Alyson Baker, and County Legislators Susan Laurilliard and Sam Fein.  Pat Fahy and Alyson Baker both spoke of steps taken to reduce fatalities and injuries on our roads, including City speed reduction to 25 mph, school-zone speed cameras (sponsored by Fahy), red-light cameras, speed humps and crosswalk “bumpouts.” Both promised to continue to work to end preventable deaths and injuries. Pat Fahy mentioned her continued support for the Idaho Stop (“Stop” treated as a “Yield” for bicycles). The County legislators are co-sponsoring a local law we asked for. It would outlaw passing within three feet of a vulnerable road user. This proposal can be found here.  We encourage all to e-mail their County Legislator to support the bill as well. Email addresses are here: 

We asked the City of Albany to provide administrative and budgetary support for the 2021 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.

We also asked the City for protected bike lanes and pedestrian safety improvements to be part of the keystone Central Avenue Reconstruction Project currently under study for the area between Henry Johnson Blvd and North Allen Street. See: https://www.albanyny.gov/2327/Central-Avenue.  Central Avenue is the deadliest road in the Capital Region. The City’s Central Avenue project is a rare opportunity to show that this epitome of traffic violence in the Capital Region can become a safe, vibrant avenue for all the people who use it. We are also keeping a close eye on the Town of Colonie’s Central Avenue West Project which can be found here. All that wish to end the mayhem on this roadway should visit these websites and submit their comments.

The Day of Remembrance event in Albany was one of about 70 such events held around the US.  See https://wdor-usa.org for information on nationwide efforts. WAMC coverage of the Albany event can be found here. 

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by | December 2, 2024 · 9:26 am

Be thankful for . . .

  • Municipal leaders who try to make our roads safe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • The police and other first responders who attend to crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists . . .  and for their investigations which help prosecute perpetrators and develop safer streets.
  • Drivers who slow down and are careful when they are near pedestrians or bicyclists.
  • District attorneys who have the courage and the endurance to prosecute those who cause death or injury on the road.
  • Pedestrians who, no matter how tedious it is, wait until it is safe to cross the street.
  • The Town of Bethlehem for its work on the Blessing Road and Cherry Avenue multi-use paths. 
  • Bicyclists who set the example by riding courteously and within the guidance of the law and to say or wave a “thank you” when shown courtesy by a motor vehicle driver.
  • Departments of public works who are out there every day keeping the roads safe with signage, signalization, plowing, pavement markings, ADA ramps, cleaning, and “pothole” repair.
  • State, county, and municipal elected and appointed officials who are responsive to the unsafe conditions of our roads and who promote laws and programs to improve them. 
  • Those who come to safety awareness-raising events or to other forums to promote roadway safety such as the World Day of Remembrance.
  • Our bicycle shops and bike rescuers who do their best to help us keep our bicycles in a safe and roadworthy condition at a fair price.
  • Those who work many long (unremunerated) hours to organize or continue advocacy organizations.
  • Engineering and transportation specialists who work with municipalities to develop plans for safety-oriented road designs.
  • Albany’s Department of General Services for its efforts in keeping the South End Bikeway free of glass.
  • Motor vehicle drivers who do NOT honk at, tailgate, turn in front of, yell at, or pass too closely to people on bicycles.
  • Trail “ambassadors” who help on our trails by providing guidance, encouragement, and clean up.
  • Print and broadcast media for highlighting roadway safety and reporting and analyzing crashes involving pedestrians and people on bicycles.
  • The Town of Bethlehem for installing and maintaining its network of wayfinding signage for cyclists.

… and, most importantly, to all road users who recognize that, and act as if, the roads are for all to use without fear of injury or death.

Revised 12-5-24

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by | June 22, 2017 · 1:07 pm

Livingston Ave. Rail Road Bridge ~ Where Are We?

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Sadly, the 1902 Livingston Ave. Rail Road Bridge – the only east-west passenger RR crossing of the Hudson – seems to be nowhere as far as being replaced. The plan seems to be to let it fall in the river, or, as in the case of the Crown Point NY-Vermont Bridge, have it declared unusable so we can spend scrillions on “emergency” replacement. Then everyone can pat himself or herself on the back for having “saved the day.”

People on bicycles who want a water-level route across the river to access Rensselaer or Albany are counting on Amtrak/Conrail/NYSDOT et al. to reinstall a pedestrian/bicycle patch on the new bridge.

To learn more, go to the Livingston Ave. Rail Road Bridge Coalition site – http://livingstonavebridge.com/home/where-have-you-been/

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Filed under Activisim, Corning Riverfront Park, Livingston Ave RR Bridge, Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail

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by | June 15, 2017 · 9:52 am

NYS 3’ Ride

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Many Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club and Albany Bicycle Coalition members joined a ride to promote changing NYS’s safe passing law. We need to specify a minimum passing distance (e.g., 3 feet) – see: https://albanybicyclecoalition.com/2016/02/22/3-foot-passing-law/ ) Currently, NYS essentially says, “pass safely” which – as any person on a bicycle knows – can mean anything from 4 inches up.

The New York Bicycling Coalition organized the ride as part of its long-standing effort to bring New York State’s law up to date.

Go here for more on the law, go HERE.

Many riders wore special “3-foot jerseys” and then rode the loop around the Capitol once for each foot. We noted the relationship to the proposed “Felony Reckless Driving and Vulnerable Users of the Public Highway (Creto/Kade) Law” – see: https://albanybicyclecoalition.com/2015/11/09/felony-reckless-driving-and-vulnerable-users-of-the-public-highway/

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