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Jake Gilmore ghost bike removed ahead of council deadline

Bike will reappear to mark cyclist’s birthday and the anniversary of his death

A white ‘ghost bike’ commemorating a 19-year-old cyclist killed in Bath has been removed ahead of a council deadline for removal. The bike had been chained up on Midland Bridge Road since Jake Gilmore’s death in November 2013 but the council recently ordered its removal, citing complaints from members of the public.

Gilmore was riding home from his job at the Lamb and Lion pub in central Bath when he was hit by Raymond Isherwood’s Volkswagen Golf.

Isherwood drove to nearby Royal Victoria Park and covered his car with a plastic sheet to conceal its smashed windscreen and dented body, then walked to his flat.

Gilmore suffered serious head injuries and later died at Bath’s Royal United Hospital.

Isherwood later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to three years in jail.

Last month Bath & North East Somerset Council said that the removal of the ghost bike was in line with an initiative being piloted by a number of local authorities across the UK regarding roadside tributes to people who have lost their lives in collisions, as well as bikes used for advertising purposes or ones that have been abandoned.

Cycling UK said that it could not find any evidence of a nationwide policy regarding roadside memorials, and that the approach taken tends to depend on the individual local authority involved.

Gilmore’s parents, who live in Chard, Somerset, said that it should be up to the citizens of Bath to decide whether or not the bike should stay.

The deadline given for removal was Monday, but the Bath Chronicle reports that the bike disappeared on Saturday, with Twitter user GhostBikeBath claiming to have taken it as a result of the council's "sad threat".

Regarding the bike’s mooted reappearance, GhostBikeBath added that they had been told that the council, “have trumped up some ‘policy’ that they are allowed for 30 days.”

A council spokesman said:

"We are currently undertaking a six-month trial (through to June 2017) to remove bikes such as these and those used for illegal advertising following complaints from members of the public concerned that pedestrians could trip or knock into them. The trial is similar to those adopted by other local authorities.

"The council received a complaint last July about the bike being messy with brown and muddy flowers. This follows other comments about roadside memorials, which led to the policy being drafted.

"We are sympathetic to the use of bikes being used for memorials but we ask that they are removed within one month. They can be returned to mark anniversaries, but must be removed after 30 days."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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8 comments

Avatar
surfingobo | 7 years ago
5 likes

Real story should be about how his killer only got 3 years even after trying to hide evidence.

 

Avatar
nniff | 7 years ago
3 likes

In some parts of France they put up silhouettes for people who have died on some of the  more dangerous roads.  One in the Bordeaux region is quite sobering - every five to ten miles there's a silhouette standing at the side of the road, then a group - a couple of 'adult' ones and a couple of smaller 'child' ones, the  more single ones.  Certainly the most stark reminder that I've ever seen.

Avatar
davel replied to nniff | 7 years ago
1 like
nniff wrote:

In some parts of France they put up silhouettes for people who have died on some of the  more dangerous roads.  One in the Bordeaux region is quite sobering - every five to ten miles there's a silhouette standing at the side of the road, then a group - a couple of 'adult' ones and a couple of smaller 'child' ones, the  more single ones.  Certainly the most stark reminder that I've ever seen.

Exactly this.

Ghost bikes appeal to me because of their simplicity and because they're a reminder at the scene - and they're cheap. Part of their purpose needs to be to serve as a stark reminder to road users as to the consequences of behaviour.

If you leave it to the council alone, or crowdfund a separate memorial, it will 1. be tucked away somewhere to lose its impact, 2. no longer be an instant reminder that someone was killed on a bike, and 3. be prohibitively expensive - what happens when the next poor kid who gets squashed by a twat in a car can't get crowdfunded or a sympathetic council?

All this needs is a new bike or coat of paint.

Avatar
brooksby | 7 years ago
3 likes
Quote:

We are currently undertaking a six-month trial (through to June 2017) to remove bikes such as these and those used for illegal advertising following complaints from members of the public concerned that pedestrians could trip or knock into them.

I do hate it when bike stands are taken up with advertising bikes.

But I'm not sure how advertising bikes or ghost bike memorials are any worse than filling up pavements with sandwich-board/A-stands advertising stuff.

Avatar
ClubSmed replied to brooksby | 7 years ago
0 likes
brooksby wrote:
Quote:

We are currently undertaking a six-month trial (through to June 2017) to remove bikes such as these and those used for illegal advertising following complaints from members of the public concerned that pedestrians could trip or knock into them.

I do hate it when bike stands are taken up with advertising bikes.

But I'm not sure how advertising bikes or ghost bike memorials are any worse than filling up pavements with sandwich-board/A-stands advertising stuff.

 

I'm pretty sure that A-stands are illegal in most by-laws too

Avatar
alansmurphy | 7 years ago
1 like

think roadsise tributes have a place as well, it's easy to readin a local paper and ignore, when you pass the scene it acts as a stark reminder. Left neglected though the impact is lost and it 'cheapens' the memory somewhat (no offence intended). I think by marking particular days it has the ability to increase the awareness again.

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Crowdfund a proper memorial for the boy, and get the council's blessing. Council can do pretty much whatever they want here so if you really want to have the boy remembered as a priority, and not just going on a warpath for the virtue-signalling, then set up a meeting, crowdfund the greens, get a local artist to quote and model the work and off you go. 

Avatar
alansmurphy | 7 years ago
1 like

Before all the hatred of the authorities starts, if these are a tribute to people then I'd hope they were a bit better looked after...

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