Ghost Bike Memorial Ride 2009 Honors NYC Cyclists, Pedestrians

The fourth annual memorial ride and walk for cyclists and pedestrians killed in New York City took place yesterday. Groups of cyclists met with families of the deceased at the sites of 14 fatal bike accidents in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. Memorials were held at each accident scene, and new "Ghost Bikes"—painted white with small plaques—were put in place as detailed reminders of the fatalities. The DOT has yet to release official numbers on fatalities in 2008, but according to last year's report, 23 cyclists were killed in 2007, up from 18 in 2006.

The Village Voice's Roy Edroso was in downtown Manhattan yesterday, where the memorial rides through the boroughs converged. At Delancey and Bowery, approximately 80 activists joined with the family of Rasha Shamoon of Greenpoint, who was struck by an SUV on August 5th, 2008 and died several days later. The driver was not charged with any wrongdoing, and Shamoon's family says that not only was it "really hard to get answers" about the accident, but police only took statements from the driver and two of his friends.

Leah Todd, a volunteer for the NYC Street Memorial Project, says, "We have to ban the word accident from our vocabulary. All crashes are preventable through better design and changing the culture of our streets to foster mutual respect among all who travel on them." Lizi Rahman, whose 22-year-old son Asif was killed earlier this year, is campaigning for a bike lane on Queens Boulevard. In a statement, she says, "I hope the ride will remind New Yorkers about the senseless and careless deaths of many innocent bicyclists, which cause a permanent scar in the hearts of their parents, siblings, relatives and friends."

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By John Del Signore in News on January 5, 2009 10:02 AM

Comments [rss]

SnackRabbit

My bicycle is 1 foot wide by 4 feet long making it 4 square feet; your vehicle is 4 feet wide by 10 feet making it 40 square feet. The motorized vehicle is 10 times the size of the bicycle! More often than not, it is only 1 occupant:the driver. If the city wants to combat traffic congestion, they should enforce bike lane rules.

SnackRabbit

My bicycle is 1 foot wide by 4 feet long making it 4 square feet; your vehicle is 4 feet wide by 10 feet making it 40 square feet. The motorized vehicle is 10 times the size of the bicycle! More often than not, it is only 1 occupant:the driver. If the city wants to combat traffic congestion, they should enforce bike lane rules.

thefacts

If a cyclist runs a red light and gets hit by a car having the right of way, is that an accident? If so, who is at fault? This has happened and any learned opinions are welcomed?

MFer

Don't tell me that this isn't starting to get a little creepy, almost like a cult.

drewo

No, it's just bicyclists who think that their mode of transportation should be shown more respect - both by users of other types of vehicles, and by city officials responsible for maintaining and upholding the safety of bicyclists and the roads they use.

babyhitler

bicyclist should get more respect. they are saving the environment and saving the planet and people. Unlike people in cars who are rapidly killing the planet cause of greed and selfishness. wars are made because of oil, oil is used for cars, cars kill people.

Rocknrope

We should ban the word accident when cyclists also obey the rules of traffic, such as not running through red lights.

RatherBeBiking

No, that's called carelessness and dangerous riding. But dangerous driving and carelessness in massive vehicles kills far more than any other kind.

Spirit of 76

Absolutely. An alien from outer space would be completely confused at our culture's insistence that each person needs a couple of tons of material to haul himself around.

babyhitler

yes, cause cars always obey traffic lights and don't block the box and don't block bike lanes, and don't double park and don't speed.

S.D.

Because the Car Driver couldn't possibly be to blame, Right?

NYer

Sure, blame the victim. I do not understand this knee jerk reaction to deny cyclists any credibility or civil rights b/c some cyclists run red lights. Where is the equal outrage for pedestrians jaywalking. When was the last time you stood firmly on the sidewalk until you had a 'Walk' signal?

Your comment is misguided and insensitive, there is no evidence that any of these 14 cyclists were breaking any traffic laws.