The heartbroken parents of Carling Mott, the 28-year-old Upper East Side woman who was hit and killed by a tractor trailer while riding a Citi Bike last month, are calling for the installation of crosstown bike lanes on the UES, which they believe would have saved their daughter’s life.
“When Carling was killed, I was horrified to learn that there was not a dedicated east-west bike path,” said Janice Mott, speaking to reporters Monday afternoon.
Janice and her husband Jim made the trip from their home in Ocean City, New Jersey to the corner of East 84th Street and Fifth Avenue Monday afternoon to stand with Democratic congressional candidate Suraj Patel and call for a life-saving change to city streets.
“I wish we weren’t meeting in these circumstances,” said Patel, whose campaign was contacted by the Motts after learning about his platform promoting safe, open streets for cyclists and pedestrians.
“I want to make sure their daughter’s memory is honored and their messages amplified, and that change comes from this,” the candidate added.
Patel’s opponent, longtime Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, had once opposed proposed bike lanes on East 84th and 85th Streets, where the 28 year old was struck.
“She knew what she was doing,” Carling’s mother Janice said, describing her daughter as an experienced cyclist.
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“So definitely, a dedicated bike path— a safe bike path to get her from over there to over here, would have saved her life.”
It was less than two weeks ago, just before 11:00 am on the morning of Tuesday, July 28th, when Carling Mott was hit and killed while riding an electric pedal-assist Citi Bike to her ‘dream job’ as a production manager with Nickelodeon in Times Square.
“She loved going in every day,” said Janice Mott, explaining how her daughter touched so many people with her kindness and joy.
“In fact, I don’t even think she had to go in on Tuesdays… but she said ‘Mom, I need to talk to people on Tuesday because they’re not going to be there on Wednesday.’”
Surveillance video from East 85th Street— which is not one of New York City’s official designated truck routes— shows the tractor trailer approach a red light near Madison Avenue and stop.
Moments later, Carling Mott is seen riding the Citi Bike westbound on East 85th Street, weaving around a double parked car on the north side of 85th Street before cutting back to the right around a taxi and riding into a narrow gap between the tractor trailer and a row of parked cars.
Right after Mott is seen on video passing the space between the trailer and cab, the truck begins moving.
Investigators say Mott fell in the roadway and was hit by the tractor trailer. It’s not clear, however, what caused the 28 year old to fall.
Shortly after Mott’s tragic death, the New York Post and Streetsblog NYC revealed that Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney had personally lobbied against a plan to install a painted bike lane on East 84th and 85th Streets in 2016.
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“There’s so many schools on that particular street and it’s a security breach— a security challenge,” Maloney said in a voicemail left for Scott Falk, then co-chair of Community Board 8’s Transportation Committee.
“Just a lot of community activity taking place and many believe it is a security challenge for the young people on that street,” Maloney explained, noting a number of ritzy private schools located on East 84th and 85th Streets.
While there would have been no physical barrier, a painted bike lane would have made it clear to drivers where vehicle traffic should and shouldn’t be on the road.
“Certainly protected [bike lanes] are going to be better than unprotected, but any bike lane is going to be better than what caused my daughter’s death,” said Carling’s father, Jim Mott, who became emotional at times while speaking of his late daughter.
Rep. Maloney says she was just passing along the concerns of her constituents at the time and had no actual jurisdiction over the decision making process. She is now calling for more protected bike lanes.
“Carling had a zest for life and was pure sunshine to everyone she met,” said Mrs. Mott.
“It is because of her positive energy and her ability to solve problems, that I’m here to give her a voice in this mission to make New York City a safer place to bike and walk,” she explained.
“The loss of one more life is a cost too high.”
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