Ghost bikes could vanish from Alberta roads without community support

The group that posts white motorcycles, known as ghost bikes, at the scene of fatal crashes could disappear without monetary help. Amanda Anderson reports.

Motorcycles painted all in white serve as a marker for where a cyclist has died, and the man who started the “ghost bike” memorials in Alberta said he can no longer support the program with money from his own pocket.

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Cory Bacon started the Edmonton group Ride in Paradise Memorial Edmonton, or RIP’M, to honour riders who lost their lives and to remind both drivers and cyclists to pay attention on the road.

“We wanted to make sure everybody gets recognized,” Bacon told CTV News Edmonton. “It’s not to blame anybody. It’s to help families with their grieving.”

He said the first ghost bike was placed on Bellamy Hill in downtown Edmonton in 2019. There are now five bikes in total in the city – four move around to different locations as a new tribute, and one sits permanently on the Anthony Henday in the west end.

There are three bikes in Calgary, and one bike in cities like Fort Saskatchewan, Red Deer, Lloydminster and Gibbons.

“Times have been getting hard for everybody and it’s getting hard to do this as well,” said Bacon, who has funded the ghost bikes with his own money. “(We’re) looking at thousands of dollars every year.”

Bacon said it costs about $250 to $350 per bike and while “most of everything is done by donation,” he said the annual total is about $3,000 for maintenance, storage and transport of the bikes. It’s a financial amount he can no longer afford on his own.

Kara Verbeek’s nephew, Joshua, died on July 30 after his bike crashed into a car turning on 82 Street and 167 Avenue. He was 25 years old.

A ghost bike adorned with flowers and written messages now sits at the side of the intersection and has been a source of comfort for Joshua’s family and friends for the past few months.

“He passed away – like right there on the road – and … it’s just been cathartic,” Verbeek said on Wednesday, wearing a pendant with some of Joshua’s ashes. “We just come out here sometimes and just sit to feel that he’s here with us.”

The ghost bike for Joshua is moving to a new location soon to honour another cyclist.

“It’s also devastating and awful to know that it’s going to go someplace else and another family is going to go through this (and) that doesn’t make it easier to see it go,” Verbeek said.

Her eldest son is planning a golf tournament next summer to help raise money for Bacon to continue with his cause.

“It makes me a little emotional,” Bacon said.“It’s great to see that it’s had a lasting impact with families and that people (are) wanting to give back just helps build the community even more.”

Bacon said he has enough donations through a GoFundMe drive to continue for next year, and he hopes to keep it going for more years with a sponsorship or more funds.

“I would feel horrible that the families of riders wouldn’t be able to have a site where they can go to and help with their mourning and their grieving,” he said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson