Tonight was the ghost bike memorial for Jonas Mitchell, a 35-year-old male cyclist struck on 15 May 2018 on Lake Shore Blvd at Colborne Lodge Road, the evening before Douglas Crosbie was killed. Jonas died from his injuries on Friday, 8 June 2018.
Here is the ghost bike ride arriving at the crash site.
The ghost bike.
The banner. Actually the traffic waiting to turn left from eastbound Lakeshore was very patient. We appreciated this.
A reminder of another victim on Lakeshore.
A minute of silence.
Alan sings for solidarity.
Jonas’ dad makes a few remarks. He says that we should all take care. However, the difference between careless cars and bikes is that the cars will always win, regardless of fault. He did note that the person who killed Jonas ran a red light.
This has been a difficult week for cyclists in the city, with three dead and another in Markham. There will be other ghost bike rides this coming Sunday and Wednesday. The media was present tonight.
His parents.
With the recent, dense spate of deaths due to traffic, there are finally calls in the mainstream media for something to be done.
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Globe editorial: Toronto’s road safety program, Vision Zero, is a failure
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CBC: Councillors demand more protection for cyclists after city’s Vision Zero plan fails to curb deaths
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Amid wave of Toronto deaths, cyclists hold first of four ghost bike rides
- Star: We know how to make roads safer. We just have to do it
- Guardian: We designed Canada’s cities for cars, not people – and the people are dying
It remains to be seen if the city is serious about Vision Zero. Just throwing more money at it is not going to work.
First step would be to change the membership of PWIC. Second would be to make it easier to reduce speed limits. Too many pedestrians and cyclists are dying on our streets.
This is aside from the fact that we have been asking for improvements at this particular intersection since 2011, with a formal proposal submitted to the city in 2014.
Condolences to family and friends of Jonas Mitchell. Thanks to those who came to tonight’s memorial.
Video ny Mike Whitla:
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