I should probably expand on the European door opening - it was either the Dutch or Danish that were teaching to open the door with the opposite hand. This naturally turned the person so as to more easily check what was coming from behind you.Opening doors is something I was taught in school. But that was another time in the US and the PacNoWest did have/has a stronger integrated cycling culture.
Your point is key though. There’s zero awareness on the part of many drivers. Similarly, so-called dedicated infrastructure is somewhat better than open road, but it just attracts pedestrians, wheelchairs, double parked laborers and police.
The coming solution on the part of NY’s useless and inept mayor is to license/register cyclists and require helmets. Not because this will save lives, but it will take the onus of the city in the case of non-compliant fatalities and open a space for prosecution in other instances.
Typical neoliberalism.
And yes, NYC, just passing the buck... "Band-Aid"/"feel good" solutions that they can chest-beat about - 'don't blame us, we did something about it'...