For a year and a half, Eliot and his friends at Visual Resistance have been making "ghost bikes" throughout New York, but today he posts that he had to make one of these white-painted bikes--memorials to cyclists killed by cars--for a friend, 22-year-old NYU grad Eric Ng, who was run down on a bike path by a drunk driver. Through his eulogy for Eric—he remembers the math and history major as a "body full of honest energy and a face like contagious hope"--he potently conveys the message of the white bikes, to remember those who've died and remind the rest of us to slow the hell down and respect the safety of those on two wheels.
12.04.2006
Ghost bike for Eric Ng
For a year and a half, Eliot and his friends at Visual Resistance have been making "ghost bikes" throughout New York, but today he posts that he had to make one of these white-painted bikes--memorials to cyclists killed by cars--for a friend, 22-year-old NYU grad Eric Ng, who was run down on a bike path by a drunk driver. Through his eulogy for Eric—he remembers the math and history major as a "body full of honest energy and a face like contagious hope"--he potently conveys the message of the white bikes, to remember those who've died and remind the rest of us to slow the hell down and respect the safety of those on two wheels.
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4 comments:
thanks for posting this about Eric. We're all going to miss him, every day, and we're glad other people will remember him.
A ghost bike is needed in Urbana IL to commemorate the life of 25 yr old Matthew Wilhelm, mechanical engineer. He was killed Sept 8, 2006 by Jennifer Stark, a 19 yr old with three prior convictions of unsafe driving. Apparently, she hit him while downloading ringtones into her cell phone.
Matthew's parents are lobbying for legislation that specifically addresses "careless and negligent use of interactive technology including, but not limited to, cell phones, e-mail and iPods." All Jennifer got was a fine. "Matt's Law" would make negligent driving a felony.
Makes me think of Charles Ray's car...
this is from Transportation Altenatives...
On the surface Enrique Peñalosa and Mary Beth Kelly don't have a whole lot in common. One is the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia who installed over 217 miles of bikeways in his city during his tenure, the other lives on the Upper West Side, is a family therapist, a mother and a recent widow. But both are drawn together by their love of and commitment to cycling and walking. As Sr. Peñalosa said this fall to an audience of over 600 transportation decision makers in New York City, "a bikeway is important not only to protect cyclists but also as a symbol that a citizen on a $20 bicycle is just as important as one in a $30,000 car."
But as Ms. Kelly said in a recent interview in Transportation Alternatives Magazine "a greenway that fails to protect cyclists is a sign that the City is not yet fully committed to ensuring our safety. Just like any other uncommitted relationship there are decisions made and actions taken based on that ambivalence." She speaks from personal experience because her husband, Dr. Carl Henry Nacht, was one of two people killed on the Hudson River Greenway this year.
As Peñalosa said this fall, "We have to chose between a city that is friendlier to cars or a city that is friendlier to people."
Stephan Geras
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