Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Ghost Bikes

Friday Video: How (and Why) To Paint a Ghost Bike

Roadside memorials can make the human costs of our traffic violence crisis visible — at least until someone tears them down. That's why filmmaker made it his mission to restore two ghost bikes that had vanished from Boston roads.

Roadside memorials to victims of traffic violence are an unfortunately common sight across America. Even more unfortunately, though, those altars are often removed by people who don't understand their importance to the people left grieving — and to advocates who refuse to allow the deadly impacts of car culture to be erased from the public realm.

Bostonian filmmaker Matt Ognibene made it his quest to restore two of his city's lost "ghost bikes," and help preserve the memory of two cyclists who were taken too soon. And he also included a handy how-to for anyone else who wants to call attention to the deadly roads where their neighbors were killed, and the slain riders whose stories deserve to be told.

Give it a watch, and check out our past coverage of the roadside memorial movement, including a 2022 interview with historian and author Peter Norton.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Five Simple Ways To Get Kids Biking To School

Kids aren't riding bikes like they used to — but that doesn't mean we can't get them back in the saddle.

October 10, 2025

Friday’s Easy Rider Headlines

Where do you draw the line between the new generation of fast e-bikes and motorcycles?

October 10, 2025

Parking Titan Donald Shoup’s Legacy Continues

There's a new book and a new UCLA center honor the world's foremost expert on parking, Donald Shoup, who died in February.

October 9, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Under a Highway in Birmingham Alabama

Ben Donsky of Agora Partners on City Walk BHAM in Birmingham, Alabama, a public space project that connects two sides of the city separated by a highway.

October 9, 2025

America Has a Golden Opportunity to End the ‘Highway Boondoggle’ Crisis

America's wasteful highway spending has gotten out of control — and if President Trump really wants to promote efficient government, he'll urge Congress to stop it.

October 9, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Sleep Tight

A new study links insomnia with the length of a person's commute.

October 9, 2025
See all posts