Ghost Bikes Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Jun 1 2005

Ghostbikes.org is intended to be a site for the worldwide cycling
community where those lost on dangerous streets can
be remembered by their loved ones, members of their local communities,
and others from around the world. They also hope to inspire more people to
start installing ghost bikes in their communities and to initiate
changes that will make us all safer on the streets.

The site was initially set up by the NYC Street Memorial Project. The Street Memorial Project honors cyclists and pedestrians that have
been killed on New York City's streets. They seek to cultivate a
compassionate and supportive community for survivors and friends of
those lost and to initiate a change in culture that fosters mutual
respect among all people who share the streets.
The project continues the work of various groups and volunteers, who
for more than a decade have created memorials for those lost in crashes
in New York City, starting with Right of Way's memorial stenciling project from 1996. The arts collective Visual Resistance began making ghost bikes in June 2005, when a member came across the site of Liz Padilla’s crash minutes after it happened. The project was inspired by similar efforts in Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
The Street Memorial Project was developed in 2007 to incorporate all
the people involved in creating ghost bikes and to include pedestrian
memorials. Through the project, volunteers work together to construct
the memorials and organize memorial rides and walks to highlight the
prevalent safety issues on our streets and remember those killed.

Since June 2005, 98 ghost bikes have been installed in
New York City to commemorate 145 known fatalities, including 52
individuals for whom we have no information.

Posted by mjminnich on