A taxi banged into a bike messenger on a narrow section of Broome and Thompson Streets last Thursday afternoon, sending the messenger to the hospital in an ambulance. His injuries did not turn out to be serious.
The messenger returned to pick up his bike on Saturday and looked to be in good shape, said a worker at a nearby pet store. His mangled bike frame had been chained to a parking meter shortly after the crash.
The accident, which occurred at about 4 p.m. happened after a taxi turned onto Broome St. from Thompson St., according to witnesses. The messenger found himself in the taxi’s blind spot and was struck as he was riding near the construction area occupying the other half of the street.
“Generally speaking Downtown we’re talking about streets that are narrower than elsewhere in the city,” said Wiley Norvell, spokesperson of Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle advocacy group. “And they get narrower with construction.”
The construction, which juts out into the street, creates a blind corner. Several business owners in the area noted that the turn is a dangerous one. Though the area occupies part of the roadway, construction work is being done on the building adjacent to it, while the space on Broome is mostly used for construction vehicles and supplies.
— Jared T. Miller
