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A ghost bike (also referred to as a ghostcycle or WhiteCycle) is a
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
roadside memorial A roadside memorial, also referred to as a , is a marker that usually commemorates a site where a person died suddenly and unexpectedly, away from home. Unlike a grave site headstone, which marks where a body is laid, the memorial marks the last ...
, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a
motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...
. Apart from being a memorial, it is usually intended as a reminder to passing motorists to share the road. Ghost bikes are usually junk bicycles painted white, sometimes with a placard attached, and locked to a suitable object close to the scene of the accident.


History

The idea of painting bikes white originated in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in the 1960s as part of an
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
project and
tactical urbanism Tactical urbanism, also commonly referred to as guerrilla urbanism, pop-up urbanism, city repair, D.I.Y. urbanism, planning-by-doing, urban acupuncture, and urban prototyping, is a low-cost, temporary change to the built environment, usually in ci ...
initiative called the White Bicycle Plan to liberate two-wheel transport—white bikes were free, help yourself and then leave it for someone else. The ghost bike idea in the United States may have originated with a project by
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
artist Jo Slota, begun in April 2002. This was a purely artistic endeavor. Slota was intrigued by the abandoned bicycles that he found around the city, locked up but stripped of useful parts. He began painting them white, and posted photographs on his website, ghostbike.net. San Francisco is one of the safer U.S. cities for bicyclists, but memorial ghost bikes sprang up there as elsewhere, changing perceptions of his project. A ghost bike memorial project was started in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, in October 2003. After observing a motorist strike a bicyclist in a bike lane on Holly Hills Boulevard, Patrick Van Der Tuin placed a white-painted bicycle on the spot with a hand-painted sign reading "Cyclist Struck Here". Noticing the effect that this had on motorists in the area, Van Der Tuin then enlisted the help of friends to place 15 more "ghost bikes" in prominent spots in the St. Louis area where cyclists had recently been hit by automobiles. They used damaged bikes, in some cases deliberately damaged to create the desired mangled effect. Similar projects began in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
in 2004,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
in 2005,'Ghost bikes' offer eerie reminder to share the road
''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...
'' 3 August 2005.
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
, and
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in 2006. In August 2005, nearly 40 ghost bikes were placed throughout Seattle to draw awareness to locations of crashes, near-misses, and poor road conditions. A ghost bike in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., commemorating a rider killed by a
garbage truck A garbage truck is a truck specially designed to collect municipal solid waste and transport it to a list of solid waste treatment technologies, solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill, materials recovery facility, recycling center ...
in 2008, remained for a full year. When it was removed by city employees, friends of the rider replaced it with 22 ghost bikes, one on every lamppost. London Ghostcycle was active in 2005 and 2006. There have been similar projects in dozens of other cities worldwide. A bike memorial project was started in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
, North Carolina, in 2013 to commemorate the death of two prominent cyclist and bicycle safety advocates. In late 2013 and early 2014, the Houston Ghost Bike Group has placed 47 ghost bikes to raise awareness during an especially deadly string of traffic violence involving automobiles taking place in Houston, many of them hit and run. Later in 2014 they were working on 13 more bikes to bring the list of deaths in recent years up to date. As of 2017 there were over 630 ghost bikes that have appeared in over 210 locations throughout the world. No single entity governs the installation of all ghost bikes, and they are sometimes removed by those who dislike the practice.


Gallery

File:Bicianimita de Arturo Aguilera.JPG, Ghost bike or "Bicianimita" in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, with a traditional small house for the soul, commemorating Arturo Aguilera, killed 2012 File:Douglas-crow-ghost-bike-2.jpg, Ghost bike in
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
, USA, commemorating Douglas Crow, killed February 2013 File:New Orleans - Ghost Bike Sculpture on Elysian Fields Avenue, 2017.jpg, Ghost bike sculpture on
Elysian Fields Avenue Elysian Fields Avenue is a broad, straight avenue in New Orleans named after the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It courses south to north from the Lower Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, a distance of approximately . The avenue ...
,
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, 2017 File:Ghost bike Goswell Road.jpg, Ghost bike in
Goswell Road Goswell Road, in Central London, is an end part of the A1. The southern part ends with one block, on the east side, in City of London; the rest is in the London Borough of Islington, the north end being Angel. It crosses Old Street/Clerkenwel ...
, London, commemorating Søren Aarlev, killed July 2018 File:Ghost_bicycle_in_Howth,_Dublin_01.jpg, Ghost bike in
Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...
, Dublin, 2022 File:Ghost-bikes.jpg, 59 ghost bikes in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
: art installation by
Bike Auckland Bike Auckland (Bike AKL), formerly Cycle Action Auckland (CAA) is a pro-cycling advocacy group in Auckland, New Zealand. The predominantly volunteer group aims to improve infrastructure and conditions, as well as perceptions of cycling to encou ...
marking World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 2024


See also

* Ghost shoes *
Bicycle safety A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...
* Ride of Silence *
Tactical urbanism Tactical urbanism, also commonly referred to as guerrilla urbanism, pop-up urbanism, city repair, D.I.Y. urbanism, planning-by-doing, urban acupuncture, and urban prototyping, is a low-cost, temporary change to the built environment, usually in ci ...
*
Orphan bicycle An orphan bicycle is a bicycle that is left in public space and has not been used for a long time. The owner is often unknown. They are sometimes called abandoned bikes or ownerless bikes, but this is an imprecise term as it is often difficult ...
, an abandoned bicycle in the public *
Vehicular cycling Vehicular cycling (also known as bicycle driving) is the practice of riding a bicycle in traffic in a manner that emulates driving a motor vehicle. The phrase ''vehicular cycling'' was coined by John Forester (cyclist), John Forester in the 1970 ...
* Vision Zero – worldwide movement to reduce traffic violence fatalities, serious injuries


References


External links

*Information on ghost bikes around the world
Ghost Bikes
(a project of OSM Belgium) and .
Ghost Bikes in Chicago


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost Bike Types of monuments and memorials Death customs Cycle types Cycling safety Cycling activism