“Looks, there’s speed bumps now. What more do you want?” Angry drivers target family of 11-year-old cyclist killed in hit-and-run with hate messages, forcing them to call off ghost bike plans + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Looks, there’s speed bumps now. What more do you want?” Angry drivers target family of 11-year-old boy killed by hit-and-run motorist while cycling with hate messages, forcing them to call off ghost bike plans
In one of the more depressing and concerning cycling stories we’ve seen in recent times, a family in Quebec City has been forced to postpone plans to install a ghost bike in memory of their son, after angry motorists targeted them with “wildly inappropriate” messages.
11-year-old Alex Côté was riding his bike on des Sablonnières Avenue in the Beauport borough of the Canadian city on 29 June when he was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver. He was found by emergency crews in cardiac arrest and rushed to hospital, where he died. A 76-year-old woman, who fled the scene, was later arrested.
Alex’s death sparked calls from residents and campaigners for greater safety measures on a road which does not feature a footpath on either side and, according to one local, has long been treated as a throughfare by motorists, even though it is lined with schools, family homes, and parks.
The Côté family were planning to install a ghost bike yesterday in memory of Alex, which they hoped would honour their son while also sensitising motorists to the dangers faced by vulnerable road users and highlighting the lack of safe cycling and walking infrastructure in the area.
Last month, the local authority started installing 13 new speed bumps near the site of Alex’s fatal crash. The safety measures had been planned months before the 11-year-old’s death.
However, their installation prompted, depressingly, a wave of anger and vitriol on social media, as local drivers directed their ire towards the Côté family and their ghost bike plans with a slew of hate-filled messages.
The whole thing became so ugly that Alex’s father was forced to announce that the ghost bike unveiling has been, at least temporarily, called off.
“Faced with certain reactions from citizens and after receiving hateful messages, we have chosen to take a step back,” he posted.
“We want to ensure this moment remains a positive and respectful gathering and not a source of division.”
> Carol Boardman ghost bike removed by council after complaints it was distracting drivers
According to Mathieu Murphy-Perron, a member of Souliers et vélos fantômes Québec, which helps families organise ghost bike memorials, the messages sent to the Côtés this week were “wildly inappropriate”.
While he did not share any details of the content of the messages, Murphy-Perron told CBC that some locals took issue with the ghost bike itself, claiming it would create safety issues due to pedestrians crossing the road to visit it.
“Concerns that I think are a little unfounded,” he said. “We’ve never seen that in Montreal, despite the fact that there are a great number of ghost bikes installed here.”
He also said most of the messages centred on the installation of the speed bumps, which Facebook users erroneously claimed were being introduced as a result of Alex’s death, despite the plans being in place for months.
“Some people were just saying, ‘Haven’t you had enough, look there’s speed bumps now. What more do you want?’” he said.
“Never in 13 years of supporting grieving families have we seen such a wave of hatred directed at the loved ones of someone who passed away.”
The whole sorry debacle has forced local politicians to intervene, city councillor Mélanie Sauvé calling for residents to “learn how to co-exist” after admitting that the memorial was called off as the family “didn’t want things to spill over”.
Meanwhile, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand said he was “profoundly outraged by this situation”, criticising the drivers who chose “insults over compassion”.
“What world are we living in that someone thinks it’s a good idea to pour their hatred on parents who have been through a sad event like that?” Marchand said, a few days after he was also sworn at by a motorist while unveiling a new cycle lane in the city.
As I said earlier, it’s just thoroughly depressing.
Weekend round-up: Picnic’s sports directors leap to under-fire team’s defence, new LTN data published (and it’s promising), and Silca go all retro with their new bike computer
Just in case you missed ‘em, here’s a quick round-up of our stories from the weekend:
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@jackcycles two-tier justice you say? Quite, that would never happen with driving - they throw the book * at you if you break the law then. You certainly wouldn't just be given "points" and a second chance, or allowed to do a course rather than paying a fine! * The Beano?
@jackcycles Sorry you didn't see it. We covered this story twice on our live blog on Wednesday and Thursday, and the original announcement back in January: https://road.cc/content/news/safety-film-option-cyclists-who-run-red-lights-317487
"yellow tan" ! They are yellow, the René Herse mentioned above were tan.
Good to see the rest of the world catching up to where René Herse were a decade ago 😎 https://road.cc/content/review/rene-herse-antelope-hill-endurance-tyre-302063
@slc I went to have a look last time I visited and I can only concur. It was a hellscape of parked cars * with the deadening silence of the ghost town only broken by the chirping of birds, chatter of people out in the streets, the occasional ringing of a bell and the wailing and gnashing of teeth from a couple of houses with all the "stop the ELBN" signs. Doubtless the worst fears of the fire brigade and the disabled woman with that minibus have come true. I can only assume the local Greens are running a "bulldoze an A-road through for social justice" campaign! * Actually I did really notice those, packed together filling up most of the space, same as before I guess...
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@the little onion It hardly matters. Trump, Farage etc. show that where their anti-cyclist, anti-active travel, anti-LTN, anti-climate change, anti-immigrant, anti- traffic law, pro-drive and park everywhere at all times nutters are concerned, the criminality of their heroes is of no concern.