LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Debate tonight after the death of a bicyclist on the Second Street Bridge.

Fifty-seven-year-old George Cronen Jr. was killed Tuesday when he was hit by a van and knocked into one of the bridge’s steel supports.

Thirty thousand bicyclists are killed or injured in the U.S. This isn't the first bicyclist to be killed in Louisville.

The driver who hit Cronen doesn't face any charges. That has raised questions about how motorists and bicyclists share the roadway.

There is no way of knowing what really happened Tuesday afternoon on the Second Street Bridge. Metro Police say that without personally witnessing the accident or having another witness at the scene, they are not charging the motorist with a crime.

But it's not because it was a car vs. cyclist. Police spokesperson Alicia Smiley told me it would be the same whether it was a car vs. motorcycle or car vs. car. But some feel that letting the motorist off scott-free because he didn't see Cronen riding his bicycle is sending the wrong message -- particularly if the mayor wants so desperately to make this a bicycle-friendly city.

Encouraging cyclists and would be cyclists to give the downtown streets a spin a couple of times a year with organized events.

There are ongoing safety improvements. Already 10 new miles of bicycle lanes snake through the city.

In other cities, increasing numbers of cyclists commuting to work have transformed the roadways and motorists. I've lived and ridden in those cities and it's true: everyone seems more tolerant of each other. But is Louisville there yet?

And no amount of bike lane paint or happy downtown family-friendly events will be able to overcome the message sent Tuesday afternoon.

I spoke by phone today to Andy Clarke, the executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, who says cyclists are not given the same respect as motorists in Kentucky if they can be run over and killed.

Police told us that in this case, they only way they would file any charges is if the blood alcohol tests taken on the van’s driver came back positive.

All bicyclists have the same rights, duties and responsibilities of a motor vehicle driver.

Web story produced by Jay Ditzer.