I do not feel any anger or frustration towards aaron, it is healthy to debate such matters. Its necessary to say when the benefits of a campaign outweigh the things considered problematic.
Is this discussion really about improving the Mem Project or just to illustrate that people find it scary?

I can't believe the firestorm my original comment way back at #2 created. However, I found all of the responses very informative and insightful so don't please feel like it was a wasted argument since it was covered a year before.

I'd also like to thank Aaron for being willing to stick his neck out a little on this and take the unpopular side in this arguement. I think there is validity in his concerns but from all that I read (and I mean ALL), I've personally conluded that Ghostbikes and the other Street Memorials are ultimately good for the cause.

Thanks to all,

Andy B

This morning while I was checking on David's bike, a woman that witnessed the accident stopped to talk to me. She asked me if I knew
David, and I explained that I did not, that I was volunteering for the Street Memorials Project to help maintain the bike. She said she will never open a car door again in the same way, and that walking past David's bike was a daily reminder.

It prompted him to call me and initiate a discussion about beginning some bike-related initiatives in the Bronx.

I thought this was a very positive response to ghost bikes that was worth sharing on this thread.

And with that, I will sign off.

http://backspace.com/commarts.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/10bike.html?ex=1357621200&en=ac67a485691151b7&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

it is also always nice to check here for the growing list of reactions to ghost bikes in NYC: http://www.ghostbikes.org/reactions

as people who care passionately about these issues, we all have the power to turn all of the conversations we have about street memorials into advocacy for public (person-by-person style)engagement in making our streets safer for all who use them.

Were the ghost bikes and memorials simply a political campaign this should raise a red flag, but my understanding is that the essence of this project is about honoring and memorializing the victims. If the water is getting cloudy on that fact, maybe we should step back and remind ourselves that any agenda, no matter how well-intentioned, is peripheral to the experience and wishes of the victims' family and friends.

There are a lot of scary things that happen in the street, but is collective art, reclaimed street space and a memorial really so terrifying?

Also a few more of my own thoughts about being a biker and a pedestrian that I've learned over the last few years:
1. Wearing a helmet won't save my life if I am run over by a truck, suv, or am doored
2. Biking and walking on the greenways and bike paths do not protect me if drivers continue to use them as entranceways or parking spaces
3. Unsafe construction areas impede upon my safety
4. Drunk drivers remain on the roads

All of these issues, do not stop me from riding and walking. I know that I take my life into my own hands every time I head out onto streets. The sad reality is that our streets are not safe. Countless pedestrians die each year. I don't blame people for being afraid to get on a bike or walk down the street. People should be afraid, or at least have an awareness about dangers that exist. We can't have a false sense of security, that is a major weakness. That's why we are fighting to change things. Being naive will not save us. When I see a ghost bike or pedestrian memorial, I know that something has happened, a person was killed, I feel that loss, I know it could have been me. If I ignore that fact, then I am only hurting myself. Seeing ghost bikes and pedestrian memorials on the street remind me not to make my own foolish choices, such as riding in crosswalks or running red lights, jaywalking, talking on my phone while traveling, or standing too far from the curb as vehicles whiz by. I know that the way I travel through this city affects everyone I pass by. Memorials remind me to respect my fellow travelers.

The Street Memorials Project also puts up plaques for pedestrians hit by cars. More info here:

http://streetmemorials.org/

It is a really hard project to stay on top of because the number of pedestrians killed by cars in the city is so much higher than that of cyclists. There are also many more "unknown" pedestrians than cyclists. Finding out where and when these fatalities take place is really hard since not every death is reported. We do not have solid numbers for 2007 yet.

Roadside memorials to dead drivers have become increasingly common in the south, I've read, and have become an issue with highway departments. I'm told they are based on a Mexican custom of marking the spot where a loved one died.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-11-roadside-memorials_x.htm

That's why I like the weekly carnage. It make you think twice.