Our roads were not built for bicycles and cars to coexist. When bicyclists and cars collide, bicyclists lose. Some bicycle advocates have begun painting old bicycles white and stationing them where fatalities have occurred. This white bike is on Burnside Avenue in East Hartford, where a rider died six weeks ago. An impromptu memorial is growing at the spot.
32 comments:
In France , I've seen such memorials, but being only some flowers under some pictures put together. No white bikes ; Not yet..
We have the same thing in Stockholm. A woman was killed just a few weeks ago. A white bike marked the place of the accident. Then someone removed the bike but another one appeared just a day later.
We call them ghost bikes and unfortunately I see too many aoround ur streets. Especially at a time when our mayor is encouraging us to cycle more.
Ghost bikes, oh that's so sad! Why oh why can people not be more respectful on the road, so many lives are affected when these tragedies occur. Such a sad post, but something that has to be addressed, especially at this time of the year. Good on you Jack!
I saw a lot of these in NYC, it is an effective way to remember and and an useful sign for a dangerous zone.
There is never a time when I take my bike to the roads....when I don't think of the possibilities.
I am a huge advocate of my own bike trail!
A somber yet real post. My heart goes out to the family (families)
.....thanks for the post Jack.
Ah... another sighting of the 'ghost bike'.
Your posts over the last week have been fabulously anchored in Hartford, revealing the flavor of your community. For me, those are the best city daily photo sites. The ones that capture the character of the city.
It is easy for us to snap photos of things in our back yard.... that could be anywhere. But, to capture the spirit of a city is hard WORK.
KC has lots of similar memorials, not just for bicyclist but for any loss of life.
The Ghost Bikes have been around the Twin Cities area for quite some time now. Often they are kept up for one-two years before they are removed. One in particular arrested my attention in St. Paul on busy Summit Avenue a few years ago. They just cannot be ignored.
These are very sad memorials.
I had never heard of these ghost bikes, but now I" will know what they mean when the custom spreads. So sad about the accident. I take a bike ride on rare occasions, but we have a bike path and a canal bike trail, each about one mile from our house, that avoid streets and traffic.
That is so sad! We've had a number of bike fatalities here in Seattle as the traffic just gets worse and worse! There are lots of bike paths/parks here, but with the economy as it is, more and more people are riding their bikes to work and the fatalities have increased.
Hope you have a great week, Jack!
Sylvia
Very sad memorial, but hope it will work!
White bikes have yet to appear in Cambridge, though accidents occur frequently despite the efforts of the city council to constuct "cycle-ways" all over the city.
I've seen these around here too! It's very sad when an accident like this occurs.
That is sad yet it is a nice memorial. We have crosses everywhere.
Sad... I've never seen here around such ghost bikes, only the "artistic bikes" of VP...
We have the same thing here! There need to be more bike lanes on our streets for sure.
Such a sad commentary. Bikes are such a sensible alternative to cars.
Very sad, Jack. We lost a young mother on a bicycle a little while back. I think cities and towns need to build bike lanes. I also think drivers need to pay more attention and slow down...although I know the drivers are not always the ones at fault.
I've never seen one here but this seems a very poignant way of remembering. It seems particularly sad when a cyclist is killed. Somehow it's so counter-intuitive to the whole 'get fit, love the environment' thing.
Very sad. I've not heard of this type of memorial, but I like it and think it would be much more effective than some other types.
I see people riding bikes in the outskirts of Ocala on roads where there is literally no room at all - very scary. And often leads to tragic consequences.
Toronto is pretty bike-friendly, but you do see these memorials around town here as well. Sad times...
I am saddened at the loss of life, but just like vehicles, bicyclists need to obey the rules of the road and often they don't... I'm unsure what the answer is...
Really sad to see. Here in my rural area you just don't see the white bikes.
Jack, that's a haunting image. But in this car crazy country, what can be done to prevent more of these?
Cyclists do have it tough. More cycle lanes should be made. An interesting concept of a white bike for a memorial. Love the angle of your shot.
So sad! I've never seen a ghost bike in France. Only flowers and pictures. Hope this will change drivers attitude! Thanks for sharing, Jack.
I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends and I wish all the best for the new year.
___________@@__@_@@@
_____________@__@@_____@
____________@@_@__@_____@
___________@@@_____@@___@@@@@
__________@@@@______@@_@____@@
_________@@@@_______@@______@_@
_________@@@@_______@_______@
_________@@@@@_____@_______@
__________@@@@@____@______@
___________@@@@@@@______@
__@@@_________@@@@@_@
@@@@@@@________@@
_@@@@@@@_______@
__@@@@@@_______@@
___@@_____@_____@
____@______@____@_____@_@@
_______@@@@_@__@@_@_@@@@@
_____@@@@@@_@_@@__@@@@@@@
____@@@@@@@__@@______@@@@@
____@@@@@_____@_________@@@
____@@_________@__________@
_____@_________@
_______________@
____________@_@
_____________@@_@
♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥HAPPY NEW YEAR♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥
♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥ღ♥
I've seen these ghost bikes here too. I posted a picture of one on my blog awhile back, not knowing what they meant and some of my followers explained it to me. It is very sad.
I didn't know about ghost bikes, I've only seen flowers here.
I have seen ghost bike. Even i am having few pictures. I will show out them as soon as possible. Hope you will like it. I a bicycle lovers and i have best collection of bicycle which you have never seen before.
Post a Comment