Anyone passing by the intersection of Lane Avenue and Tuttle Park Place the past few weeks witnessed a silent reminder of the dangers bicyclists face every day. A bike-painted completely white-was chained to the fence bordering the sidewalk along Lane Avenue.
A sign on the bike displayed five simple words: "A Cyclist was Killed Here."
Though most who passed the memorial did not know it, the white bike paid tribute to Nichole Meifert. Meifert was a senior at Ohio State when she was hit by a car at that intersection on Oct. 13, 2005. She died four months later.
"Everybody who knew her said she was the most determined, strong girl they knew and they could look to her for whatever support they needed," said her father, Ed Meifert, in a 2006 Toledo Blade article.
Meifert's friend, Katie Ignasiak summed it up when she spoke to The Lantern in 2006.
"I lost the best friend I ever had," Ignasiak said.
Police say Meifert was crossing Tuttle Park from the north, against a "Do Not Walk" light, when she was struck by a car driven by 17-year-old Joshua J. Dibari of Columbus. He was sentenced in June 2007 to 300 hours of community service and two years without driving privileges. The Franklin County Juvenile Court determined Dibari failed to maintain a "due regard for the safety of others."
That is the precise reason for the memorial: to remind drivers to be careful. Similar memorials have been popping up around the country, and around the world. It is all a part of a movement started by GhostBikes.org.
According to the Web site, the posts on Ghostbikes.org are intended to be memorials for the fallen and reminders to everyone to share the road with one another.
"Ride safe and give cyclists a break," reads a banner on the site's home page.
Last month, the group brought together cyclists throughout central Ohio for a memorial ride. The "ride of silence" ended at the Statehouse, memorializing fallen cyclists and reminding both riders and drivers of the importance of being careful.
"They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel," states the GhostBikes Web site.
Captain David Rose with the Ohio State University Police department said that although he does not know of the exact number of bicycle accidents on campus, they do happen from time to time.
"Most of them are not very serious," Rose said. "But the thing to remember is that this is a pedestrian campus. It is very difficult to get where you are going without walking or riding, and drivers need to remember that.
While the memorial is no longer in place, Rose said he wants to remind both cyclists and motorists of the importance of sharing the road.
Lauren Schmoll can be reached at schmoll.4@osu.edu.
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