On Wednesday afternoon elected officials, members of Community Board 2, residents from along Houston Street and impassioned cyclists will gather to call for safe cycling on Houston Street and urge the City to meet with them and figure out how to include protected space for cyclists in its plans to reconstruct the arterial. Manhattan Borough President Stringer, State Senator Connor, Assemblymember Glick and Councilmember Gerson are expected to attend. Other area elected officials will issue statements.

Supporters on Wednesday will literally demonstrate safe cycling space by using their bodies to create a protected bike lane along the south curb of Houston Street and show that a planned bike route on this urban arterial needs strong safety measures to prevent cyclist-motor vehicle crashes, encourage cycling and tame traffic.

Over the past year, the tragic deaths of Brandie Bailey, Andrew Morgan and Derek Lake underline how dangerous Houston Street is for bike riding. From 2002-2004 there were 82 cyclists struck by drivers on Houston. Houston Street needs strong safety measures, like protected bike lanes, to make it safe and practical for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

The City of New York's official "Bicycle Master Plan," produced in 1997 by the City Departments of City Planning and Transportation designates Houston Street as a "proposed bicycle route."

For over five years, the City has been planning a major reconstruction for all of Houston Street. Despite requests from Manhattan Community Board 2 and internal recommendations from City planners, the DOT's plan for Houston Street has no bike safety improvements. To make this "proposed bicycle route" a real and a safe bike route, all of Houston Street, from river to river, needs continuous, protected space for biking.

Houston is a logical bike route because it connects the many neighborhoods, businesses and schools, as well as cultural and shopping destinations in Greenwich Village, the East and West Villages, SoHo, and the Lower East Side, and it is a popular route that connects the heavily-cycled East River bridges with these neighborhoods and with the Hudson River and East River Greenways and popular bike lanes in between.