Emily Fredricks
The family of Emily Fredricks, who was killed by a Gold Medal trash truck while bicycling on the Spruce Street bike lane on November 28, 2017, made an important announcement that they had reached a settlement of $6 Million with the owners of the Gold Medal company.
According to this afternoon’s Philly.com article, the company also “committed to creating a regional training facility for drivers; hiring a safety consultant; barring drivers from stopping or idling in bike lanes; implementing 26 new safety policies to improve their drivers’ performance, including preventing distracted driving, and inviting the Fredricks’ to speak to drivers about safe driving.”
The settlement also includes a commitment from Gold Medal to contribute $25,000 a year for 5 years to an organization dedicated to making Philadelphia’s streets safe. The first year’s donation will be made to the Bicycle Coalition.
On behalf of the Board and all members of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, we thank Laura and Richard Fredricks for the honor to be selected as the first recipient of Gold Medal’s donation in Emily’s memory. We will put their donation to work on advancing Vision Zero goals for all Philadelphians.
One of the things the Bicycle Coalition has already been working with the Fredricks Family on is the Philadelphia chapter of Families for Safe Streets.
Alongside numerous families that have been affected by traffic violence in Philadelphia, the Fredricks met in our office in May 2018 to speak about what we could all do to make Philadelphia’s streets safer for all Philadelphians in the future.
Everyone in this picture has been affected by traffic violence in Philadelphia. Today is the first day this group — who will organize for better, safer streets for all— is together in the same room. We will keep everyone updated on this group’s activities. #VisionZero #BikeMonth pic.twitter.com/G1rqq67s60
— Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) May 5, 2018
Philadelphia Families For Safer Streets will be organized by the Bicycle Coalition with help from the Fredricks and other families, including the Morris Family, the Javsicas Family, the Reffords, and others.
Families For Safe Streets’ first meeting was attended by David Shephard, who organized New York City’s Families for Safer Streets organization. Shephard also spoke at the Bicycle Coalition’s 2018 Vision Zero Conference.
We will have more details on this project as we discuss them with the Fredricks Family. If you are interested in joining this group, or just in information, please reach out to randy@bicyclecoalition.org.
It’s worth noting, lastly, how strong the Fredricks Family has been throughout this process. We have gotten to know them very well over the last nine months, and, while we know no amount of money is worth what happened to Emily, we are glad they have begun getting justice. We are additionally amazed at their dedication to a better, safer, Philadelphia for everyone, and are proud they have chosen to continue working with us throughout the process of improving our city.