Pittsburgh Ghost Bike for Tom Haykins on Route 28

Tom Haykin was a frequent, proficient cyclist who often rode to work along Route 28. On the morning of Aug.29th, per press reports, Tom Haykin was riding in the right lane. A van who was attempting to pass him hit Tom in the head with his passenger-side, rear-view mirror. Tom was knocked off the bike and onto the pavement, where he was run over by a second van.

It bears mentioning that of the 17 recent cyclist fatalities, 13 were on roads owned by PennDot. As we see in many of these deaths, this was not a joy ride or an exercise routine, this was a local person riding to work - which is the purpose of public roads.

Pittsburgh Ghost Bikes have evolved a tradition that we support if (and only if) it's consistent with the family's preferences. First we start with a Ghost Bike. Tom Haykin's ghost bike was prepared by David Work and his children, and we thank them very much.

Then at the Funeral Home, grievants are asked to write a message, a hope, a prayer, or a thought for David's ghost bike on a brightly colored ribbon. This is a sample of message-ribbons from a January 2019 ghost bike:

This is Tom Haykins' ghost bike at the funeral home, along with the ribbons from his loved ones and from area cyclists.

The concept has a few layers. The grieving loved ones get to write their thoughts down and their message is attached to a public artifact of the deceased. That's pretty powerful. Then the bike and messages are put on public display very close to the scene of the crime. This is a visual reminder that local drivers will see for years. Finally, in about two years, some of the ribbons will fuse together in the hot summer months, and the ink will fade and be blown by the wind to the four corners of the world, in a manner similar to Tibetan prayer flags.

This is the ghost bike installed on Route 28. Major thanks to Jim Logan and Jon A. Webb for rising to the occasion and making this happen.

Mark the date: on Sept.29th at 1 pm there's a memorial ride along Route 28 and the scene of the crime.