In Concord apparently even placing a ghost bike is too much for the locals.
More than anything, Erik Limpaecher was surprised.
The Concord resident late Sunday night erected a “ghost bike” along a busy road in the neighboring town of Lincoln, near where a cyclist was killed in a crash on Aug. 17. By Monday morning, the memorial, a stripped-down bike painted a glaring white and adorned with a sign bearing the victim’s name, had vanished.
“I didn’t expect it to be taken down within hours,” said Limpaecher. “It was really disappointing.”
Limpaecher said he spoke to a police officer parked near where the ghost bike had been chained to a stop sign on Virginia Road. The officer told Limpaecher that the bike had been removed by the town, and would need to be placed on private property if he wanted it to stay up.
“The police officer was deferential, and said he appreciated the sentiment, but said some people don’t appreciate having such a stark reminder of a tragedy like that,” said Limpaecher. “I assume they [took it down] because of some interpretation of the town’s laws. But I would hope that they would have empathy for the family of the cyclist, and for the cycling community.”
Insensitive, and problematic. Boston used to do this sort of thing in the bad old days, and it solved nothing and only made the problem worse.
I can’t imagine a worse way to handle this sort of thing, city of Concord, get your shit together.
