Kelly O’Brien, Centretown News
The city is contemplating changes to its roadside memorial policy that would limit the duration of displays like this to six months.
The eerie painted bikes placed at the scene of fatal cycling accidents recently sparked a debate at city hall between those who view them as fitting memorials and others worried that they are potential hazards and municipal eyesores.
Ottawa is making changes to its roadside memorial policy that will require permits to have bicycles placed at the scene of accidents and limit the duration of such displays to six months.
At a Nov. 4 transportation committee meeting, an initial proposal from city staff for a three-month limit on memorials had several councillors arguing that such a timeframe was far too short. Capital Coun. David Chernushenko proposed extending it to six months – which the committee approved – but others said the memorials should be allowed to stay longer.
“I didn’t agree with it,” says Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney. “I dissented on the motion to have it extended to six months. I thought it should have been a year.”
The proposed six-month limit goes to full council this week.
Some, however, say that ghost bikes can be a distraction to drivers and a nuisance to pedestrians, especially in the winter when the makeshift memorials can limit the city’s snow-clearing abilities.
The spray-painted bicycles, often referred to as “ghost bikes,” serve to commemorate cyclists killed on the road. Often the bikes stay up for years, with mementos and flowers frequently placed at the site.
“Ghost bikes provide a powerful opportunity when you don’t know where else to turn,” says Brent Nacu, whose sister Danielle was killed while riding her bike in Centretown.
Danielle Nacu was killed on Queen Street after being hit by a motorist’s opening door and then knocked into traffic. Since then, her brother has become an advocate for bicycle safety. He says he supports extending the ghost bike time limit, but thinks that there are also better alternatives.
Nacu says Chernushenko is pioneering an idea for a sort of “National Cycling Monument” that he wholeheartedly supports.
“That could be a place that I could go to for five generations, with my kids, grandkids, great grandkids,” he says.
Though the immediate purpose of ghost bikes is to remember the victims of tragedies, they serve other purposes too.
“They are bringing light to the fact that cyclists are being killed on the road and I think that’s a good thing,” says Sebastian Printup, an avid Ottawa cyclist who supports the educational message the ghost bikes convey.
“It’s a powerful symbol for a horrible tragedy that happened at a specific location, but it also reminds us when we’re on the road as drivers that we do have a responsibility to be careful on the road,” adds McKenney.
She says the city takes the death of any cyclist very seriously and that ghost bikes help get the message across.
“They are a cue for us here at the city that we need to always be aware that our infrastructure or the way that we design or engineer roads needs to change to be safer for everyone.”
Some Canadian cities, including Toronto, have started installing bike lanes that are separated from the road travelled by cars.
Ottawa does have some of these, including beautiful paths along the Rideau Canal, but few lanes along major streets downtown. A downtown stretch of Laurier Avenue is one exception, and so-called “complete streets” with dedicated cycling lanes placed between sidewalks and car lanes – now implemented on Churchill Avenue in Westboro and under construction on Main Street in Ottawa East – are envisioned for other roadways in the downtown.
In the wake of Krista Johnson’s death, separate lanes were installed along some stretches of Bronson Avenue, and safety-enhancing roadwork is currently under way in the area.
Queen and Bank streets still have no significant infrastructure improvements for cyclists.