After a killer motorist mowed down bicyclist Robert Niedbalec in the Fletcher Avenue bike lane, Dan Magazu contacted me and asked about a ghost bike. Dan bikes on the same stretch of road where Robert -- a 52-year-old vet -- was killed by a speeding motorist Feb. 13. I also bike on the same bike lane where Robert was killed by a motorist.
Dan did more than just talk. After we chatted, he went and got an old bike from my good friend Mike Olsen of God's Pedal Power and painted the bike white.
He bought a gorgeous memorial plaque and had it installed on the bike.
And he then worked with my pal Chris Chow to weld rebar on the bike for the ghost bicycle memorial to be installed today.
And at 1:30 PM, the memorial for Robert Niedbalec was installed off Fletcher Avenue, a grim reminder for motorsists to be careful around bicyclists and for bicyclists to always remember Robert Niedbalec and to be vigilant about their safety.
Channel 13 FOX News did a cool report on the bike safety and the ghost bike.
Dan begins installing the ghost bike this afternoon.
Dan and Bridget install the ghost bike.
Nice job and good work Dan.
Dan gets interviewed by Anthony from FOX 13 News.
Dan, Bridget and I at the ghost bike and sign.
Two days ago, I visited the ghost bike of Diane Vega because patch.com is doing a story on vulnerable road users in light of the bicyclist bloodshed on Tampa-area roadways .
1 comment:
Many thanks to those who put up the ghost bike. On Saturday, Dec 15, I rode past this spot, stopped to read the plaque, and searched for more information. I live in Tallahassee, but my girlfriend lives just a couple of miles south of here.
Edward
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