News Coverage of Bike Fatalities

When addressing the need for improved cycling infrastructure in any urban environment, it’s not only important to consider the design of the improvements, but how they will be implemented. Convincing a city to spend precious funds on cycling infrastructure can sometimes be a hard sell, and often looked upon as foolish. Compare Raleigh NC, with little infrastructure, with San Francisco, CA where cycling infrastructure is abundant. Raleigh has ample transportation engineering firms, landscape architecture consultants, and funding. It’s problem lies not in the ability to create change, but the reluctance to attempt it. 

Bicycle fatalities are a horrendous tragedy, but can illuminate problems with a cities cycling system. While no one would ever wish for any biking deaths to occur in any city, these tragedies can be  events for cycling communities to rally around, and push for new change. They can be very convincing evidence that change should occur, and are impossible not to take seriously. These fatalities however require coverage to be effective and depending on a cities views on biking, they may be brushed under the rug. Ghost bikes serve as a permanent reminder of terrible events, and an ominous warning to urban planners of what must be changed. They also alert the public to be watchful for bikers and be careful when around them. These two elements, ghost bikes and news coverage, are largely missing in Raleigh’s dangerous cycling past,  with some ghost bikes being eventually removed, and other fatalities being neglected by the media. Raleigh’s reluctance to create change leads to the dismissal of cycling deaths, and increased danger for future bikers.

Nancy Leidy’s death on Nazareth Street, near NC State campus, was largely uncovered by the media and didn’t lead to policy changes in the city. Killed by a NC State engineering student who was driving under the influence on the 21st birthday, the NC State lab assistant’s death was memorialized by a ghost bike on Nazareth Street. Her death however was only covered briefly in local newspapers, in brief and terse paragraphs which barley describe the problems which led to her death. They simply state the collision and the arrest of the accused, not addressing any cycling problems in Raleigh. Considering other cities such as San Francisco have created miles of bike lanes/trails after cycling deaths, its hard to watch a death go so uncovered and have little impact on a community.

Raleigh needs to take responsibility for the safety of their citizens, and local newspapers have the responsibility to tell the whole story behind cycling accidents and fatalities in the Raleigh area. The lack of coverage given to cycling deaths like Nancy Leidy’s cause these learning opportunities to go unnoticed, and more cyclists to be in danger. To save future cyclists, Raleigh must implant change, and make sure the past isn’t hidden. If they fail to do this, Nancy Leidy won’t be the last ghost bike constructed in Raleigh, and cycling infrastructure will continue to be subpar in a city which can afford it.