Ghost Bike Removal and Reappearance

Just over a week ago, our Mayor’s office [D.C.] had a ghost bike removed from public space without alerting the family of the cyclist that was killed. This got some decent press attention here, and is helping us make additional improvements to the intersection where the crash occurred. The family is understandably quite upset at this callous treatment and despite repeated attempts to contact his office about the removal he has still not responded. The bike was removed at the request of a local business owner after about a year of being locked up in the same place. Apparently, the business owner that thought it was unsightly even though the family and friends of the cyclist did a good job of maintaining it. It had become an important symbol to the bike community and reminded us all to be careful. Early this morning, in response to the removal of the ghost bike, 22 new ghost bikes appeared at the same intersection. It was quite a sight to see.

Photos at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/biketrip2006/sets/72157622204193927/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/biketrip2006/sets/72157622204193927/</a>;