The 19th Annual Philadelphia Ride of Silence took place Wednesday, May 17th 2023 with more than 500 riders in attendance and news helicopters circling. This international ride continues each year due to the number of bicyclists killed due to in part the lack of enough investments in safe road infrastructure, and people come together to ask for greater investments to ensure the safety of all cyclists across the nation. The goal of the Ride of Silence is to not have another ride, but to have a year with zero bicyclists deaths.
Over 800 bicyclists were killed nationwide including twelve in the Delaware Valley who were killed in the past 12 months by motor vehicles.
The twelve bicyclists killed in the Delaware Valley in the last 11 months are Nyier (Nas) Cunningham, 28; James Doughty, 43; Anthony (A.J.) Dewayne Collins, 13; Larry Yabray, 51; Timothy Verbich Jr, 41; Taing Sophy, 66; Brittany T. Redden, 33; Eduardo Rosario Jimenez, 35; Danyel O. Tingle, 41; Woodsen Jones, 55; Michael Thomas Ghione, 75; and an Unidentified Cyclist.
“In the many years that we have worked on this event, I have come to realize that what is important, and what is at the core of the vision zero project is just one word,” said John Siemiarowski, co-leader of the Ride of Silence Philadelphia. “RESPECT! We are here tonight to emphasize and demand that cyclists be treated with respect.”
Philadelphia is still feeling the effects of the pandemic in the form of aggressive and distracted driving. 2022 is the third year in a row that the number of people killed by motorists leaving the scene in Philadelphia was double the level in 2019.
“The Ride of Silence is a vital remembrance of people cycling who have been killed on Philadelphia’s streets,” said Kelley Yemen, Director of Complete Streets, Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS). “At OTIS, Vision Zero guides our over $140 million worth of complete streets projects to make streets safer, especially for the most vulnerable users. Still, more needs to be done in re-authorizing speeding cameras on the Boulevard and passing the curb bill.”
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia would like to thank the following for helping with the ride:
Ride of Silence Philadelphia Chapter
BCGP Staff Volunteers
Families For Safe Streets of Greater Philadelphia
Stuart Leon Bicycle Crash Law
City of Philadelphia: The Office of Information and Technology
Philadelphia Police Department assistance
PBMA marshals
Cyclists who helped temporarily block intersections for the duration of the ride
General information on the Ride of Silence can be found at www.rideofsilence.org