Who builds New Orleans' ghost bikes?
The Times-Picayune
Published: May, 27 2016
You may have seen them and not known what they were: ghost bikes.
Locked up to signs and light poles around the New Orleans area,
painted all white, they stand at the locations that cyclists have died
after being struck by cars and trucks. But who builds the bikes and why?
Ghost bikes are now a worldwide phenomenon. The first documented
ghost bike appeared in St. Louis in 2003, commemorating the spot where a
cyclist traveling in a bike lane was struck and killed by a motorist.
Since then, the idea has spread across the globe, with white bikes
marking deadly encounters virtually everywhere.
Bike Easy board member and local
bike mechanic Josh Baer had seen the bikes in Charlotte, N.C. and
Portland, Ore., and when 5-year-old cyclist Jason Bauer was killed on
Jefferson Highway in 2012, he knew exactly what to do.
"I heard about Jason Bauer getting killed and I was like, we need a ghost bike," Baer said. He contacted Liz Lichtman at Rhubarb, a local community bike shop, and asked if they'd like to help.
"Liz works with kids and I thought it might be a good project for
them to participate in," Baer explained. The kids painted the bike and
Baer organized a memorial ceremony. About a dozen people, including some
members of Bauer's family, were present for the installation out on the
busy thoroughfare.
"It was a pretty somber moment, just thinking about how this young
man lost his life, doing the same thing you or I are doing," Baer said.
1 / 29Local
bike supporter Bill Katzenmeyer uses zip ties to secure flowers to the
ghost bike for Monique Massey.
A ghost bike is installed to memorialize the killing of cyclist Monique
Massey late on the night of March 23, 2016 on Leon C. Simon Blvd.
(Photo by G. Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
A loose network of builders help create the ghost bikes in New Orleans. Besides Baer, Bill Katzenmeyer of the NOLA Social Ride group has helped with a few. Lately, members of an urban cycling club, Bad News Bike Club, have put together most of the ghost bikes popping up.
JP Pool of Bad News explained why the group had gotten involved. "We
were just sick of how dangerous it is to ride through here and how
careless some motorists tend to be," Pool said. "We (should) all have a
right to the road without having to worry about whether we're going to
live to make it to our destination."
Once word spreads over social media about a cyclist killed in a road
crash, the builders check in to see who has the time and the resources
to construct a bike. Sometimes one person will have a bike, someone else
will paint it, someone else may donate a lock. Everything on the bike
that can be removed is welded in place to deter thieves. "There's no
stealing parts off of a ghost bike," Pool said. "That way it's forever
that person's memorial bike."
Since Jason Bauer's death in 2012, at least 13 more cyclists have
been killed in the New Orleans area. Although the City of New Orleans
has drastically expanded bike lanes around the city, the deaths
throughout the area continue to pile up: two in 2013, three in 2014,
seven in 2015 and one so far in 2016:
IN MEMORIUM
- Jason Bauer, Jr., 5. Sept. 18, 2012
Killed at Jefferson Highway and Newman Avenue, Old Jefferson
- Justin Addison, 16. Jan. 22, 2013
Killed at the Tammany Trace and Josephine St., Covington
- Kenneth Thomas Sr., July 8, 2013
Killed at Carrollton Avenue and Nelson Street, New Orleans
- Name unknown, Feb. 26, 2014
Killed at St. Claude Avenue and Pauline Street, New Orleans
- Frank Guinn, 37. April 11, 2014
Killed in the 20,000 block of Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans
- Philip Geeck, aka Geric Geck, 52, July 17, 2014
Killed at Elysian Fields Avenue and Chartres Street, New Orleans
- Leonard Williams, 45, March 2, 2015
Killed at Canal Street and Jefferson Davis Parkway, New Orleans
- Bernard Jones, 52, March 21, 2015.
Killed at Louisiana 428 and Peter Street, Terrytown
- Von Eric Thomas, 49, April 18, 2015
Killed at Cleveland and Saratoga streets, New Orleans
- Joe Barnes, 70, May 16, 2015
Killed at Claiborne Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, New Orleans
- Benjamin Gregory, 37, July 6, 2015
Killed at Elysian Fields Avenue and Chartres Street, New Orleans
- Thanh Nguyen, 52, Aug. 3, 2015
Killed at Canal and Broad streets, New Orleans
- Anita Louise Froeba, 60, Aug. 30, 2015.
Killed at U.S. 190 and Colbert Street, Mandeville
- Monique Massey, 29, March 23, 2016.
Killed in the 2900 block of Leon C. Simon, New Orleans
Bill Katzenmeyer of NOLA Social Ride sums
the concerns of cyclists up this way. "The single most important thing,
for me, about the ghost bikes, is raising awareness that cyclists are
dying on the roadways."
Published: May, 27 2016
You may have seen them and not known what they were: ghost bikes.
Locked up to signs and light poles around the New Orleans area,
painted all white, they stand at the locations that cyclists have died
after being struck by cars and trucks. But who builds the bikes and why?
Ghost bikes are now a worldwide phenomenon. The first documented
ghost bike appeared in St. Louis in 2003, commemorating the spot where a
cyclist traveling in a bike lane was struck and killed by a motorist.
Since then, the idea has spread across the globe, with white bikes
marking deadly encounters virtually everywhere.
Bike Easy board member and local
bike mechanic Josh Baer had seen the bikes in Charlotte, N.C. and
Portland, Ore., and when 5-year-old cyclist Jason Bauer was killed on
Jefferson Highway in 2012, he knew exactly what to do.
"I heard about Jason Bauer getting killed and I was like, we need a ghost bike," Baer said. He contacted Liz Lichtman at Rhubarb, a local community bike shop, and asked if they'd like to help.
"Liz works with kids and I thought it might be a good project for
them to participate in," Baer explained. The kids painted the bike and
Baer organized a memorial ceremony. About a dozen people, including some
members of Bauer's family, were present for the installation out on the
busy thoroughfare.
"It was a pretty somber moment, just thinking about how this young
man lost his life, doing the same thing you or I are doing," Baer said.
1 / 29Local
bike supporter Bill Katzenmeyer uses zip ties to secure flowers to the
ghost bike for Monique Massey.
A ghost bike is installed to memorialize the killing of cyclist Monique
Massey late on the night of March 23, 2016 on Leon C. Simon Blvd.
(Photo by G. Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
A loose network of builders help create the ghost bikes in New Orleans. Besides Baer, Bill Katzenmeyer of the NOLA Social Ride group has helped with a few. Lately, members of an urban cycling club, Bad News Bike Club, have put together most of the ghost bikes popping up.
JP Pool of Bad News explained why the group had gotten involved. "We
were just sick of how dangerous it is to ride through here and how
careless some motorists tend to be," Pool said. "We (should) all have a
right to the road without having to worry about whether we're going to
live to make it to our destination."
Once word spreads over social media about a cyclist killed in a road
crash, the builders check in to see who has the time and the resources
to construct a bike. Sometimes one person will have a bike, someone else
will paint it, someone else may donate a lock. Everything on the bike
that can be removed is welded in place to deter thieves. "There's no
stealing parts off of a ghost bike," Pool said. "That way it's forever
that person's memorial bike."
Since Jason Bauer's death in 2012, at least 13 more cyclists have
been killed in the New Orleans area. Although the City of New Orleans
has drastically expanded bike lanes around the city, the deaths
throughout the area continue to pile up: two in 2013, three in 2014,
seven in 2015 and one so far in 2016:
IN MEMORIUM
- Jason Bauer, Jr., 5. Sept. 18, 2012
Killed at Jefferson Highway and Newman Avenue, Old Jefferson
- Justin Addison, 16. Jan. 22, 2013
Killed at the Tammany Trace and Josephine St., Covington
- Kenneth Thomas Sr., July 8, 2013
Killed at Carrollton Avenue and Nelson Street, New Orleans
- Name unknown, Feb. 26, 2014
Killed at St. Claude Avenue and Pauline Street, New Orleans
- Frank Guinn, 37. April 11, 2014
Killed in the 20,000 block of Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans
- Philip Geeck, aka Geric Geck, 52, July 17, 2014
Killed at Elysian Fields Avenue and Chartres Street, New Orleans
- Leonard Williams, 45, March 2, 2015
Killed at Canal Street and Jefferson Davis Parkway, New Orleans
- Bernard Jones, 52, March 21, 2015.
Killed at Louisiana 428 and Peter Street, Terrytown
- Von Eric Thomas, 49, April 18, 2015
Killed at Cleveland and Saratoga streets, New Orleans
- Joe Barnes, 70, May 16, 2015
Killed at Claiborne Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, New Orleans
- Benjamin Gregory, 37, July 6, 2015
Killed at Elysian Fields Avenue and Chartres Street, New Orleans
- Thanh Nguyen, 52, Aug. 3, 2015
Killed at Canal and Broad streets, New Orleans
- Anita Louise Froeba, 60, Aug. 30, 2015.
Killed at U.S. 190 and Colbert Street, Mandeville
- Monique Massey, 29, March 23, 2016.
Killed in the 2900 block of Leon C. Simon, New Orleans
Bill Katzenmeyer of NOLA Social Ride sums
the concerns of cyclists up this way. "The single most important thing,
for me, about the ghost bikes, is raising awareness that cyclists are
dying on the roadways."