CLEVELAND — An advocate for safer, more bike friendly streets in the city of Cleveland is now speaking out after he became the victim of a hit and run while riding his bike home Monday evening.
Alex Nosse is a seasoned cyclist.
“Either I walk or bike to get to where I need to go here in Cleveland,” said Nosse.
Bikes are a part of his personal life and his entire work life. He is the owner of Joy Machines Bike Shop in Ohio City.
“We have been around for 11 and a half years now. We just try to be a place that promotes cycling in all of its forms,” he said.
For all of the years he’s been riding, he’s also been speaking out about the dangers cyclists face in the city of Cleveland.
“I have many conversations with people on that very subject about the bike-abiliy of Cleveland and the progress that may or not have been made,” said Nosse.
They want better infrastructure.
“Our shared roadways are sorely lacking. We don’t really have any facilities that I would consider that safe that are shared,” Nosse said.
And better drivers.
“There’s a lack of awareness and, in some cases, an outright antipathy for those who aren’t in cars,” he said.
Noting he and other cyclists have experienced more reckless drivers in their time on the road in the last few years. People who are texting, opening their doors without checking if anyone is coming and cutting off cyclists.
“What is most concerning is those really aggressive behaviors, where people are just putting people in serious danger, in many cases, knowingly,” noted Nosse.
And after years of advocating for safer streets and warning others about the dangers bikers face, Monday night a reckless driver hit him while on his commute home from work.
He was on Fulton Road crossing Lorain Avenue.
“I knew that the light was going to stay green as I approached the intersection because I was watching the flashing numbers on the crosswalk,” he said.
"I see movement out of the corner of my eye and there’s a car just barreling towards me.”
City surveillance cameras reveal the car, a white or grey sedan, ran a red light, hit Nosse and sped off.
“I looked up to try to see what kind of car it was and their license plate. but they sped off immediately and all I could hear was their tires going.”
Nosse is sore and bruised, but otherwise okay. Ward 3 councilman Kerry McCormack and Cleveland Police are looking into the incident.
“Just a really egregious failure to abide by the traffic laws and a prime example as to why those laws are important,” said McCormack. “Slow down, slow down. When you come through our community, obey the traffic laws. Get off that phone. Put the phone down.”
He said city hall is working towards safer streets for all Clevelanders and posted to the Green Streets ordinance that passed this summer. It gives the green light to construction on roads to accommodate all modes of transportation.
“We are really working to bring more safety onto ogur roadways for this exact situation,” he noted.
But McCormack admits there’s more to be done, including better enforcement of reckless driving.
“Almost a decade ago, the voters of the city of Cleveland put an amendment in our charter prohibiting red light cameras and quite frankly, at this point, I would love to see them come back,” he said.
Nosse will get back on his bike after he heals up. He said he feels lucky he wasn’t severely injured and will continue to use his voice, citing this very incident, to make sure Cleveland is safe for all forms of transportation.
“We are just going to continue pushing for bigger, and definitely faster, action on the part of City Hall to really prove to us that they care about road safety,” he said.
