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Family of Cyclist Killed on Classon Ave. Petitions for Bike Lane on Street

 The corner of Classon and Lexington avenues in Clinton Hill, where Lauren Davis was fatally struck on April 15.
The corner of Classon and Lexington avenues in Clinton Hill, where Lauren Davis was fatally struck on April 15.
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DNAinfo/Alexandra Leon

CLINTON HILL — The sister of a woman who was fatally struck by a car earlier this year while riding her bike on Classon Avenue is calling on city officials to install a bike lane on the street.

Danielle Davis, along with the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, created an online petition Wednesday asking City Councilmembers Laurie Cumbo and Robert Cornegy, as well as Brooklyn Community Boards 2 and 3, to install a designated bike lane on Classon Avenue. 

Lauren Davis, 34, was fatally struck by a car on April 15 as she was riding on Classon Avenue at the corner of Lexington Avenue. 

While the NYPD initially said Davis was riding the wrong way on the northbound street, investigators later corrected their report to say she was riding north.

Classon Avenue does not have a marked bike lane but instead features “bike route” signage and is shown on the Department of Transportation’s bicycle map as a “signed route.” Cyclists are encouraged to ride on the left side of the street, including riding inside the street's wide parking lanes, according to the DOT.

"We have no immediate plans to install a bicycle lane on Classon Avenue, but we are open to suggestions from the community," a DOT spokesman said.

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Lauren Davis, 34, was fatally struck by a car on April 15 as she was riding her bike on the corner of Classon and Lexington avenues in Clinton Hill. (Credit: Rosey Lakos)

Danielle Davis, 30, said a marked bike lane would have made her sister more visible to the driver, who was ultimately not charged with any crime.

“Bike lanes create a visible separation,” she told DNAinfo. “I think it would have helped create a separate space and make drivers more aware of the possible presence of cyclists on the street — that way they might actually yield.”

Danielle Davis hopes the installation of a designated bike lane will keep others safe in a community that lacks support for cyclists.

“You have to be super, hyper aware of your surroundings to even walk across the street," she said. "It feels like drivers are so aggressive."

Since 2009, 88 cyclists and 119 pedestrians have been injured in traffic crashes along Classon Avenue, which stretches from Clinton Hill down to Crown Heights, according to DOT data. Two cyclists and two pedestrians have been killed on the stretch, the data shows.

Danielle Davis said her family is working with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office to revoke the driver’s license and to request an apology letter from her.

“I understand that things happen, but at the same time, my sister’s gone,” she said. “There were two women involved in this crash, and one’s alive and one isn’t.”

The petition, posted on Transportation Alternatives' website, already had more than 3,500 out of 5,000 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.

Representatives for Councilmembers Cumbo and Cornegy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.