Decatur To Dedicate Memorial Bike Rack on Decatur Square to Paul Taylor
Decatur Metro | March 12, 2014 | 10:00 am
Decatur commissioner Fred Boykin sends in this announcement…
You remember Paul Taylor, the cyclist struck and killed on N. Decatur Rd (near Superior) two years ago this April? Local riders put up a Ghost Bike memorial to him, but it disappeared after a few months. The City has been in contact with Ms. Taylor and others to dedicate a bike rack in his memory on the grounds of the Old Courthouse (where Clairemont intersects Ponce). The dedication will take place on Saturday, March 15th at 10 am. The rack will replace the old ribbon style one located near the Thomas Jefferson sculpture. Invitation above. Here’s the program. The public is invited.Bike Rack Dedication Honoring Paul H. Taylor – 1958-2012Welcome& IntroductionsFred Boykin, Decatur City CommissionerRemarksBarbara TaylorUnveiling of Bike RackMemorial Bike Ride(http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3949276) Old Courthouse SquareDecatur, GeorgiaMarch 15, 201410:00 AMCity of DecaturBike Friendly Atlanta
What a great idea. I was actually driving past the spot of his old memorial yesterday on N. Decatur Rd. and thought about how sad it was that someone stole it. That’s some serious bad karma right there!
What ever happened with the benches that were to be a memorial to Alma Fleetwood?
There is an Alma Fleetwood memorial bench in front of College Heights.
This conflicts directly with the Tour deCatur. The 5k starts at 9:15 and, while most should be done by 10:00, there is general celebration and award ceremonies that easily go past 10:00. Is there a way to delay the dedication a bit so more people can attend?
We knew that Tour deCatur was happening, but this was one of the few days/times that worked for everyone’s schedule. We probably won’t start right at 10 and hopefully Tour folks can stop by if they can.
FWIW, the ghost bike that was near the bench at the corner of N. Decatur and Superior was there well past the 1st year anniversary of Mr. Taylor’s death. Perhaps I nitpick over words; but, ‘after few months’ does not really accurately reflect the truth. I had perhaps wrongly assumed the person associated with the organization (http://ghostbikes.org) who put the bike there may have taken it down. Given the number of cyclist fatalities across the country, I would think if every memorial were left in place forever they would be as numerous as parking meters.
I remember a great nytimes article and this memorable quote:
“We do not know of a single case of a cyclist fatality in which the driver was prosecuted, except for D.U.I. or hit-and-run,” Leah Shahum, the executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html?action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry648%23%2Fcyclist&_r=0
I don’t know of another ghost bike memorial in Decatur, so it’s doubtful they’d be as numerous as parking meters so that’s not really relevant. There are more in cities with more cyclists, but to suggest such a thing is a gross exaggeration. By the way, the writer admittedly takes his most serious rides in his basement, so take that for what it’s worth.
Mr. Wu was killed on N. Decatur Road last June, not nearly a year ago. I hope you never lose a loved one whose memorial becomes ‘as numerous as parking meters’.
I feel my comment was misunderstood. Regardless, I apologize for any offense I may have caused.