Ghost Bike Removed

woodgob

Sad......shame about some of the small-minded and ignorant comments from posters though. I apologise on behalf of Brighton. :oops:

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4311984. ... _decision/

always_tyred

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed. Lets face it, the police are essentially members of the motoring public in uniform. We are fair game, an irritant, a dirty secret, life would be so much simpler if we didn't exist, or didn't actually have any rights.

Brighton is the town that gives cyclists speeding tickets isn't it?

spen666

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed.

I don't think you would. It happens very often across the country.

Whether it should happen is a different matter though

roger_merriman

they took it away after 12 weeks same as any other seems fair to be honest, if it had no contact or who it was for then one can hardly complain they didn't contact.

always_tyred

spen666 wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed.

I don't think you would. It happens very often across the country.

Whether it should happen is a different matter though

True enough, however this does appear to be a singling out of cyclists. Cyclists are subject to a great deal of unjustified venom. In my experience its no different from the phenomenon of bullying in schools - certain people are simply fair game. When there is a stark reminder that the object of collective hate is in fact a person, and has paid the price of their vunerability with their life, its just a tad too uncomfortable. Its far easier for the greater number of motorists not to be reminded, because they can go on safely hating those pesky cyclists.

roger_merriman

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed. Lets face it, the police are essentially members of the motoring public in uniform. We are fair game, an irritant, a dirty secret, life would be so much simpler if we didn't exist, or didn't actually have any rights.

Brighton is the town that gives cyclists speeding tickets isn't it?

i'm fairly sure that the police didn't allow the fathers of the lasses killed in crash on the mountain road nr my folks where the lad hit "ice" to put a granit block as memorial. flowers are one thing bikes and others are another and the white bike is less memorial and more political.

always_tyred

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed. Lets face it, the police are essentially members of the motoring public in uniform. We are fair game, an irritant, a dirty secret, life would be so much simpler if we didn't exist, or didn't actually have any rights.

Brighton is the town that gives cyclists speeding tickets isn't it?

i'm fairly sure that the police didn't allow the fathers of the lasses killed in crash on the mountain road nr my folks where the lad hit "ice" to put a granit block as memorial. flowers are one thing bikes and others are another and the white bike is less memorial and more political.

Yes, there have been some migivings on threads on this site also. However, we don't know if the family was involved in any way. I certainly have a problem if a 3rd party takes it upon themselves to place a memorial.

roger_merriman

Always Tyred wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed. Lets face it, the police are essentially members of the motoring public in uniform. We are fair game, an irritant, a dirty secret, life would be so much simpler if we didn't exist, or didn't actually have any rights.

Brighton is the town that gives cyclists speeding tickets isn't it?

i'm fairly sure that the police didn't allow the fathers of the lasses killed in crash on the mountain road nr my folks where the lad hit "ice" to put a granit block as memorial. flowers are one thing bikes and others are another and the white bike is less memorial and more political.

Yes, there have been some migivings on threads on this site also. However, we don't know if the family was involved in any way. I certainly have a problem if a 3rd party takes it upon themselves to place a memorial.

the latter it was from Bricycles a cycling group. so political and use of a sad death springs to mind.....

spen666

Always Tyred wrote:

spen666 wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed.

I don't think you would. It happens very often across the country.

Whether it should happen is a different matter though

True enough, however this does appear to be a singling out of cyclists.....

Erm well er yes - as it is a memorial to a cyclist, then removing it must be singling out....cyclists.

Its hardly singling out gay single parents against the bomb is it?

woodgob

Never heard speeding fine being issued but cylists do seem to have a bit of a dirty name with the local rag and there's no shortage of readers who are happy to post their opinions in hostile agreement (some in support of cyclists too). That said, there is a pretty good cycling infrastructure here and improving too - cycle commute numbers are growing all the time.

Where this bike was postitioned was on a junction of two country roads and not on a bend. If you GoogleMap the junction of Dyke Road and Saddlescombe Road in Brighton you can even see the ghost bike on the little island on sat view (I tried to insert a screengrab but couldn't). But I guess as this is a country road, some people find it very tempting to drive waaaaaaay too fast. If, like a tw*t, you're doing 70-80mph here and you've never seen the bike it might distract you enough to kill someone else. Another cyclist perhaps.
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roger_merriman

the police (at least the reason given) where worried about people stopping as it's a junction one could imgine that there could be nr misses.

if the council removes memorials after 12 weeks why should this one have stayed?

rolf_f

Sad though anyones premature death is, it doesn't give people a right to litter the countryside with even more junk than is already there whether in the form of white painted bicycles or wreaths.

Fine to mourn a personal sad event but competely wrong to inflict it on everyone else.

On the other hand, if everyone who'd been killed in a traffic accident had a permanent roadside memorial, there would no longer be any space for the cars to drive!

always_tyred

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

I think one would struggle to find a case of a flower/picture roadside memorial to a motorcyclist or pedestrian being removed. Lets face it, the police are essentially members of the motoring public in uniform. We are fair game, an irritant, a dirty secret, life would be so much simpler if we didn't exist, or didn't actually have any rights.

Brighton is the town that gives cyclists speeding tickets isn't it?

i'm fairly sure that the police didn't allow the fathers of the lasses killed in crash on the mountain road nr my folks where the lad hit "ice" to put a granit block as memorial. flowers are one thing bikes and others are another and the white bike is less memorial and more political.

Yes, there have been some migivings on threads on this site also. However, we don't know if the family was involved in any way. I certainly have a problem if a 3rd party takes it upon themselves to place a memorial.

the latter it was from Bricycles a cycling group. so political and use of a sad death springs to mind.....

Possibly, we simply don't know.

woodgob

Bricycles site...this is new to me.

http://www.bricycles.org.uk/#CIDC

Article about this bike on ghostbikes.org.....
"A white bike has been placed at the junction of Devil's Dyke Road and Saddlescombe Road, where cyclist James Danson-Hatcher was hit and killed by a car travelling at around 60 mph.

Bricycles campaigns for traffic speed reduction on rural roads. People need space to exercise and to enjoy the countryside. It is no longer acceptable for traffic to travel so fast that it is impossible for the driver to avoid a crash with a pedestrian or a cyclist. 40 mph is more than enough on the city’s rural roads and 20 is plenty in places where people live."

Stuey01

Is there any evidence of other, non-cycling related, memorials being left indefinately or at least for longer than this one, by this council?

If not then it doesn't look like singling out of cyclists, rather execution of a policy that in this case happens to apply to a cycling related memorial.

Some of the comments on the newspaper's page are full of venom, but the council/police can hardly be held responsible for that.

roger_merriman

they may well have a point about those roads, i've not been to that area for quite a while. but they are political, i'd have more sympathy if say it was put up by friends/family etc. though as AT says we don't really know.

woodgob

Stuey01 wrote:

Is there any evidence of other, non-cycling related, memorials being left indefinately or at least for longer than this one, by this council?

If not then it doesn't look like singling out of cyclists, rather execution of a policy that in this case happens to apply to a cycling related memorial.

Some of the comments on the newspaper's page are full of venom, but the council/police can hardly be held responsible for that.

Sad though it is I think it is just a case of policy rather than the singling-out of cyclists - to be fair to the council they do seem to be generally supportive of cycle commuting. It's just that some Brighton residents don't share that view as you can see (I've had my fair share of maniacs driving AT me on the way home from work although curiously never on the way to work). Mind you, the venom is not reserved solely for cyclists. Read any story about immigration and you'll see some particularly unpleasant people come out of the woodwork.

davmaggs

It sounds like the council is being fair. They're aren't being heavy handed by removing informal memorials immediately, but at the same time they are reclaiming the public space after a time.

As sad as a death is there are 60 million of us wedged on this island, and more and more we are getting moutain tops and road sides being covered by rotting mounds of fluffy toys or dead flowers. Even the people who set them up seem to move on as demonstrated by the fact they don't maintain those tributes that survive the authorities.

I think it is a good comprimise to let people have some time after a tragic event, and then for the authorities to tidy up.

chuckcork

Perhaps while the police etc are at it, they could remove the memorial to someone I never heard of whos drunk girlfrind crashed a car while going over a bridge in Barnes? T-Rex singer or something?